DTS:X to Be 'Leveraged' in Next-Gen ATSC 3.0 Audio Submission, DTS Confirms

“We can confirm that a portion of DTS:X, our next generation object-based audio platform, will be leveraged in the ATSC 3.0 submission,” DTS spokesman Jordan Miller emailed us Wednesday. “We will reveal more info and plans in March when we have our official launch.”

Now that proponents have registered their intentions with ATSC to vie for selection as the ATSC 3.0 audio system, there's a rigid fast-track schedule for the process, designed to select a winning platform by Aug. 15, said the ATSC's Dec. 8 call for proposals (CFP) (see 1412090019). Along the way, crucial deadlines abound, including one on March 9 when "detailed system descriptions" are due from the various proponents, the CFP says. Less than two weeks later, by March 20, ATSC will inform contestants through letters of acceptance which it has chosen as "certified proponents," it says.

Though DTS has said it won’t divulge technical details of DTS:X until the platform makes its official debut in March, it gave a sneak-peek demo of the technology at CES to showcase the immersive experience of the object-based audio technology that adds a height dimension to home theater surround (see 1501070021). One of the features of DTS:X that DTS also touted at CES was dialogue control that allows listeners to boost or lower the volume level of dialogue in a movie or other digital content. The technology also has the capability to allow listeners to choose different announcers, a feature likely to appeal to sports fans who could select their hometown announcers for a game, DTS said in Las Vegas. Implementation will depend on what broadcasters or content creators want to adopt, but the technology allows multiple audio tracks for a program, it said.

DTS was one of three parties, along with Dolby Labs and the “MPEG-H Audio Alliance” of Fraunhofer, Qualcomm and Technicolor, that submitted audio proposals for next-gen ATSC 3.0 (see 1501130054). Of them, MPEG-H Audio has been most public for the past year or more in showcasing its technology based on open international specifications (ISO/IEC23008-3) and its adaptability to next-gen broadcast standards like ATSC 3.0.

According to a presentation the alliance gave at the Audio Engineering Society convention in Los Angeles in October, MPEG-H Audio fits the bill of the demands for ATSC 3.0 audio to be both personalized and immersive. The presentation said MPEG-H Audio typifies next-gen codecs that allow for height-oriented, object-based surround to make home theater sound reproduction more realistic. Like DTS:X, MPEG-H Audio will allow listeners to “adjust elements in the sound mix to their liking,” the presentation said. That includes the ability to “boost dialogue for hearing-impaired or second language listeners,” or enable the capability of listening to “alternative audio content” on the fly, such as the choice between home team vs. visiting team commentary, the presentation said.

Of the three proponents, Dolby has been least forthcoming about what it submitted to ATSC 3.0. Enough is on the public record to surmise that Dolby Atmos figures prominently in Dolby’s submission to ATSC 3.0, just as DTS:X figures prominently in the DTS proposal. Dolby representatives didn’t comment.

Dolby's website touts its AC-4 codec as the successor to AC-3, the platform that’s built into the existing ATSC broadcast system. “Our latest audio format delivers a whole new range of involving and personalized experiences, combining industry-leading bandwidth efficiency and advanced solutions,” Dolby said of AC-4, which was published as an international spec in April at the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). Dolby views AC-4 as “an ideal audio component for the next generation of broadcast and IP delivery systems,” Dolby said.

AC-4 provides “the compression efficiency required for the broad variety of tomorrow's broadcast and broadband delivery environments,” says the published ETSI spec (ETSI TS 103 190). It also enables “system integration features in order to address particular challenges of modern media distribution, all with the flexibility to support future audio experiences,” the spec says. Among the features built into AC-4 are “intelligent and independent dynamic range and loudness controls,” which act across a wide range of devices and applications “and can be configured to align with numerous worldwide standards and/or recommendations,” the spec says.