MPEG-H Audio Tested on Worldcup Live Transmissions

Fans around the world that are following the football/soccer worldcup games are probably not aware that those transmissions are creating a new test bed for the possibilities of immersive sound and different personalization options using MPEG-H audio technology. Fraunhofer is supporting its partners worldwide in setting up live transmissions of the tournament in Brazil and South Korea, the two countries that already adopted MPEG-H.

MediaTek, the semiconductor company from Taiwan, and Fraunhofer IIS, primary developer of the MPEG-H 3D Audio standard, have once again collaborated for bringing the most advanced audio experience to consumer homes. In January 2022, MPEG-H Audio was selected by the SBTVD Forum as the sole mandatory audio codec for the TV 3.0 Brazilian broadcast system. MediaTek has now integrated MPEG-H Audio into its Pentonic series.

The Brazilian SBTVD Forum (Brazil's digital TV technical coordination entity) recently finalized the technical evaluation phase of its TV 3.0 Project for the definition of the next-generation television system in Brazil. It comprised a detailed technical evaluation of all proposed technologies. As a result, the MPEG-H Audio system was selected as the sole mandatory audio codec for the future Brazilian broadcast system. Fraunhofer IIS supported the SBTVD Forum in the testing and evaluation process.

The SBTVD (Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão Digital / Brazilian Digital Television System) Forum has selected MPEG-H Audio for inclusion as an additional audio system in the ISDB-Tb (Brazil's own digital terrestrial standard) specifications. Fraunhofer IIS and its technology partners EiTV and ATEME have showcased live ISDB-Tb broadcasting using MPEG-H Audio for the first time at the 2019 SET Expo trade show, taking place from August 27 to 29 in São Paulo, Brazil.

The World Cup 2014 in Brazil has been the ideal test field for the first live global broadcasts in Ultra High-Definition (4K). Used for 4K football live production at Maracanã Stadium, GloboSat’s new TV OB truck is fitted with audio equipment from Lawo and state-of-the-art RAVENNA IP networking technology.

During the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the production company Host Broadcast Services (HBS) will be using wireless and wired microphones from Sennheiser, including the new Esfera surround microphone system and around 300 MKH shotgun microphones, to capture the stadium atmosphere as realistically as possible.