InBroadcast - May 2022 - 56

56
www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 12 - Issue 5 | May 2022
InTech
The rise of audio signal processing
loudness and processor specialist
Jünger Audio. Managing Partner
Friedemann Kootz
observes
that
" the audio processing market has
been transforming for many years " ,
although he qualifies this by saying it
has been a slow process.
Kootz calls the move to loudnessworkflows
based
" probably
the
biggest
change in broadcast audio
history " .
While watermarking - embedding
an inaudible electronic
in a signal, typically
cont'd...
demands instant access to material
whether it be audio or video, " he
says. " This means the cloud has
directly
or indirectly
mechanism requirements for getting
different
source materials
from
identifier
for content
monitoring or as proof of copyright
ownership - and speech intelligibility
have assumed equal importance in
recent years, they have not made
as big an impact as loudness. That
could change, however, because they
both play a part in Next Generation
Audio (NGA) formats, including Dolby
AC-4/Dolby Atmos and MPEG-H 3D
Audio.
Both comprise a foundation of
audio channels plus up to 128 audio
objects that can either be placed
anywhere in the 'sound picture' for
immersive sound (Dolby Atmos) or
provide personalisation features
such as
language
aspect
selection
and
assistive options. At the moment
immersive audio is the more widely
promoted
of object-based
audio (OBA)/NGA systems but many
developers, including Fraunhofer IIS
(the main force behind MPEG-H 3D
Audio) see personalisation as the
more compelling implementation.
Personalisation enables
viewers to not only select specific
commentaries and languages but
also alter the balance between
speech and background music/
effects or crowd noise in the case
of a sports broadcast. Jünger Audio
worked with Fraunhofer IIS during the
development of MPEG-H 3D Audio
workflows, which Kootz says gave
the company " a lot of experience
with new audio formats " . He agrees
that
while
immersive
audio
is
the " more impressive " element,
personalisation is the driving factor
for many broadcasters.
" Accessible media - increasing
speech intelligibility, changing
languages
or adding audio
description - has become mandatory
in some countries, " he explains.
" OBA is different from channel-based
audio and we need to adapt existing
concepts and even standards. "
At the moment Jünger Audio is
focusing on real-time processing,
with " the biggest challenge " being
to make low latency
operations
processor
available in cloud
environments. " We can see a growing
interest in shifting large-scale live
production on to cloud platforms, "
Kootz says. " But managing real-time
systems in cloud
is
complicated and that
Fraunhofer IIS MAS 4.0 MPEG-H Audio authoring tools, showing language and commentary options
predictable setting, " says
Fuchs, Head
and
of
Applications
IIS. " Accessibility
language
Media
versions
today's
and
Harald
Systems
at Fraunhofer
features, various
other
customisation options are also a
must-have of modern productions.
This means
flexibly
to all
production
media and
audio production and transmission
require a new audio codec that
adapts
situation, platform requirements
and
Current
playback
codecs
environments.
such as xHE-AAC
include loudness management and
dynamic range control. With MPEG-H
Audio, metadata has enabled us
to [develop] Universal
which allows the content
optimised
automatically
Delivery,
to be
for the
environments
is why
many prefer investing in traditional
hardware-based processing. We still
see demand for both standalone
and software systems. Our flexAI
infrastructure can run on any x86
CPU-based computer and we can
provide the same concept
in virtualised form or as hardware
on
servers
or
audio
processors.
We're also working on making our
processes accessible as time-limited
services. "
It
is
understandable that
have called
the
changes in how 'TV' is made and
distributed
for new
audio processing techniques but
the
diversification
is experienced has
Jayson Tomlin, Telos Alliance
in how media
probably had
an even more profound influence.
" Media is no long consumed
in a stationary, controllable and
respective platform. "
In terms of the type of processors
being used, Cris Garcia at Cobalt
Digital describes standalone units
as " still key in our industry " even
with the growing move into the
cloud. " Many users continue to seek
standalone solutions
for everyday
either
processing, " he says. " But many will
also argue that software-based in
the cloud is the way to go because
users can easily access resources
from any
location
through
edge
devices. However, with this so-called
flexibility you get a series of hurdles,
including security and bandwidth.
Standalone provides ease of use,
full control, no security concerns,
native format support and perpetual
ownership. "
As for the cloud, Garcia comments
is " playing a key role " as
that it
content owners commercially exploit
and re-purpose existing programmes
for multi-deliverable versions.
" Working in the cloud
base band, digital, discrete [and]
embedded [sources]. Technologies
such as MADI, Dante and now [the]
SMPTE ST 2110 [standard] - which
are all available in Cobalt solutions
- allow a flexible and robust way to
deliver a multitude of audio channels
to any cloud destination, where a
compositor or streaming platform can
then define or repurpose those audio
channels into new mixes or copies of
the original source material. "
It does appear that hardware is
not quite out of the game just yet,
with, as
Telos
Alliance's
Tomlin explains, some areas
Jayson
of
broadcasting still relying on good old
physical equipment. " Remote trucks
are a great example of where a live
hardware processor makes sense, "
he says. " While there are inherent
advantages
both on and off
advantage of software is to virtualise
the functionality
of a hardware
processor and use it to scale up or
down as production requirements
change. " Tomlin adds that immersive
audio and NextGen TV (ATSC 3.0)
have created " new opportunities "
to deliver audio processors
enable new experiences
that
such as
personalisation that can be dropped
into existing workflows
through
support for ST 2110 and NDI (Network
Device Interface).
The
basics
of
multi-TV
audio signal
processing remain the same in
today's
channel, multidevice
world but it is an area that has
grown considerably in capability and
reach. Signs are this is something
that will only continue.
established
to using software,
prem, the real
certainly
Harald Fuchs, Fraunhofer

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