Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, inventors of mp3, together with Thomson, co-inventors of mp3 and exclusive licensing representative for their mp3 patents and software, and AgereSystems, have joined to launch mp3 SURROUND into the consumer and commercial markets. This technology will enable 5.1 channels surround-quality sound for a broad spectrum of applications includingweb-based music distribution, broadcasting systems, PC-related audiovisual or gaming applications, consumer electronics and automotive systems.
mp3 SURROUND supports high-quality multi-channel sound at bit rates comparable to those currently used to encode stereo mp3 material, resulting in files half the size of common compressed surround formats. At the same time, the new format offers complete backward compatibility to any existing mp3 software and hardware devices.
