XM to Broadcast in Surround Sound

Leading satellite radio provider announces it will use Neural Audio technology to broadcast select channels in 5.1 surround sound come March.

XM Satellite Radio and audio development company Neural Audio today announced that select XM channels would begin broadcasting in 5.1 surround sound later this year. XM plans to demo XM HD Surround at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

XM HD Surround, said the satellite radio company, will become available on new home audio systems from the likes of Denon, Onkyo, Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc., and Yamaha in March 2006. The initial channels XM will broadcast in 5.1 surround sound, which the company says is a first for 24 hour a day stations, include free-form music channel Fine Tuning (XM Channel 76) and the classical pops music channel XM Pops (XM Channel 113) in XM HD Surround. XM will also broadcast a variety of special shows and live music performances at the XM studios in surround sound.

Content in XM HD Surround is provided in six discrete channels of digital full fidelity audio powered by Neural Audio technology.

“XM is the first radio company — satellite or terrestrial — to broadcast 5.1 Surround Sound on the radio 24 hours a day,” said Hugh Panero, XM President and CEO. “Terrestrial radio stations are just starting to convert from analog to digital. XM has been broadcasting in digital format since the day we launched in 2001, and now we are taking another leap forward with the introduction of 5.1 Surround in partnership with Neural Audio. XM HD Surround is the latest example of the technological edge that has made XM the number- one satellite radio company.