Fraunhofer IIS, primary developer of the xHE-AAC and AAC Enhanced Low Delay (AAC-ELD) audio codecs, and LG Electronics, a global innovator in technology and consumer electronics, are pleased to announce that LG has licensed Fraunhofer’s audio codec implementations for use in its home entertainment products.
xHE-AAC enables consumers to enjoy uninterrupted streaming with all types of content – such as movies, music, audiobooks or podcasts. It offers maximum coding efficiency with a usable bit rate range from 12 kbit/s to 500 kbit/s and above for stereo services. This helps video and audio streaming providers to overcome audio bandwidth constraints and thereby facilitates an enhanced, more reliable consumer experience.
One of the other key features of xHE-AAC is the mandatory MPEG-D loudness and dynamic range control metadata. This allows service providers such as Netflix to embed content- and endpoint-specific metadata in the audio bit stream for transmission, which can then be used on the playback end to achieve a consistent loudness level and optimal dynamic range for any playback device and environment. Netflix recently reported on their usage of xHE-AAC in their blog post “Optimizing the Aural Experience on Android Devices with xHE-AAC.”
Already widely used for consumer communication applications such as FaceTime and wireless audio connectivity (including Apple AirPlay), AAC-ELD is the state-of-the-art MPEG-4 audio communication codec that provides excellent speech and audio quality at a very low coding delay. It is natively supported by all mobile operating systems and provides crystal-clear entertainment audio content on wirelessly connected speakers. xHE-AAC and AAC-ELD patents are included in the AAC patent licensing program administered by VIA Licensing at no additional cost.
“LG’s consumer products have been empowered by MPEG Audio codecs to deliver best-in-class entertainment experiences for decades,” says Marc Gayer, Head of Business Department & Deputy Division Director Audio and Media Technologies at Fraunhofer IIS. “With the addition of the latest generation of AAC audio codecs, that successful partnership continues and we couldn’t be more pleased.”
This licensing agreement between Fraunhofer IIS and LG Electronics enables the latter’s Home Entertainment segment to further improve the entertainment, communications, and wireless audio capabilities of its industry-leading TV and home audio products by integrating Fraunhofer’s xHE-AAC and AAC-ELD implementations.