The plugin for MPEG-H Authoring by Fraunhofer IIS is now available for free to Pro Tools Ultimate customers. Recently, Fraunhofer IIS announced a strategic partnership with Avid. Today, the partnership is bearing fruit as Avid enables MPEG-H Authoring to their Pro Tools Ultimate customers, thereby opening up unimagined creative possibilities.
The new functionalities enable content creators to produce personalized and immersive audio. Sound sources such as vocals, chorus, and instruments can be positioned in a three-dimensional space to perfectly match the creative and artistic intent. MPEG-H Audio also makes it possible to define personalization options during production that can then be delivered to the audience: ranging from accessibility features such as dialogue enhancement and various audio presets in TV broadcast to sophisticated interactive music productions.
MPEG-H Audio and Pro Tools – a Powerful Combination
Pro Tools is the world’s most used and awarded audio production software for making music, movies, and TV shows. Offering integrated software, hardware, control surfaces, and storage, Pro Tools systems meet the needs of any size facility or producer to achieve their creative vision quickly and deliver memorable sonic experiences. The powerful combination of state-of-the-art production software and the unmet creative options of MPEG-H Audio is the key to making your artistic vision come alive.
Broadcasters and streaming providers around the globe count on MPEG-H Audio for their services. It is the only audio system of the world’s first terrestrial UHD TV service in South Korea, and in Brazil, it was selected as the only mandatory audio system for the next-generation TV 3.0 broadcast service. A new broadcast standard planned in Japan also considers the technology. Immersive MPEG-H Audio content can be played back over TV sets, Audio/Video Receivers, mobile devices, and MPEG-H Audio equipped soundbars, which are already available. The audio data created in production is rendered in the playback device and combined with information about the individual listening environment to accurately recreate the vision as opposed to predefined speaker signals.
“We are excited to be working closely with the Fraunhofer IIS team in 2023 to develop a frictionless experience when producing MPEG-H Audio content in Pro Tools,” said Francois Quereuil, Vice President, Product Management for Audio and Music Solutions, Avid. “Developing tighter support for MPEG-H Audio will expand creative options for Pro Tools users to produce compelling immersive audio experiences for diverse audiences around the globe.”
Eminent music producers and sound engineers do not only value MPEG-H Audio for its remarkable sound quality, binaural headphone rendering, and extraordinary immersive playback experience. The seasoned audio experts also appreciate the tools that empower creatives to fully realize their creative concepts by truly working on the finest details. In addition, MPEG-H Audio ushers in a new era of connections and relationships between artists and their fans by opening up exciting, innovative opportunities to engage with each other.
How to Benefit from the New Plugin
The plugin for MPEG-H Authoring by Fraunhofer IIS is available for free for all Pro Tools Ultimate customers on an active monthly or annual subscription or perpetual license with a current Software Updates + Support Plan. Customers can find and install the plugin through Avid Link or via their Avid Account. The installer also provides users with Pro Tools-specific templates to get them up and running quickly.
“Partnering with Avid to provide a seamless integration of MPEG-H Audio into the world’s leading digital audio workstation paves the way for a new era in object-based and personalized audio production. Enabling MPEG-H Authoring for all Pro Tools Ultimate users now empowers artists and producers to make all their creative concepts reality,” says Yannik Grewe, Senior Engineer for Media Technologies at Fraunhofer IIS. “We are delighted about this collaboration and look forward to all the unique sonic experiences it will enable.”
Once installed, Fraunhofer supports Pro Tools customers with an in-depth series of tutorials, demo content, and additional information. Make sure to also check out the Avid resource page.