Barco, Auro Technologies and DTS collaborate in support of proposed new open format for immersive object-based cinema sound

The following Press Release was issued by Barco today:

Barco, Auro Technologies and DTS collaborate in support of proposed new open format for immersive object-based cinema sound

Alliance responds to NATO’s plea for universal audio rendering platform to simplify adoption of 3D sound by movie exhibitors

Rancho Cordova, Calif., USA – 17 April 2013 – Barco, a global digital cinema technology leader, is aligning with cinema audio innovator Auro Technologies and DTS, Inc., a leader in high-definition audio solutions, to drive the development of an open format approach to producing immersive object-based cinema sound. Their efforts represent a collective desire to protect exhibitors’ freedom of platform choice, ensuring their ability to play any movie regardless of which 3D audio system they procure.

Barco, Auro Technologies and DTS, Inc. are working together to address concerns expressed by the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) and the Union Internationale des Cinemas (UNIC) in their recent statement announcing cinema exhibitor requirements for immersive sound technologies. The goal is to enable theater owners to present movies on any new 3D audio format designed according to the open standard.

Ensuring freedom of choice
NATO has always been a strong supporter of innovation, while cautioning against overly proprietary or incompatible digital formats that could potentially hinder the ability of all stakeholders to easily and affordably adopt new technologies.

Bringing the issue to the forefront
Barco, Auro Technologies, DTS and other industry participants are working on standards-setting activities to help define and deliver both channel- and object-based audio to cinemas, benefitting content creators, sound engineers and movie exhibitors alike. One of those occasions includes an upcoming “Immersive Sound Session” hosted by Barco at CinemaCon 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 17, 2013. Representatives from NATO, Barco, Auro Technologies and others will engage in a panel discussion to explore options for enhancing workflow, creating flexible playback systems, and other technical benefits associated with the proposed open object-oriented 3D sound format.

Emerging technologies emphasize compatibility
Auro 11.1 by Barco offers content creators total freedom with regards to immersive sound development. “The Auro creative toolset from Auro Technologies provides the authoring capabilities for studios to create both channel- and object-based sound masters for movies, so they’re not locked into one sound platform or playback system,” comments Wilfried Van Baelen CEO of Auro Technologies nv.

Brian Claypool, Senior Director Strategic Business Development Entertainment for Barco, elaborates on the benefits of this approach to studios: “The open standard nature of how we create and playback Auro 11.1 by Barco fits with studios’ existing workflows, enabling them to easily create a sound master that can be played on any legacy or immersive audio system.”

DTS, Inc. has developed Multi-Dimensional Audio (MDA™) an open object-based audio creation and authoring platform to accelerate next-generation content creation. The MDA platform supports both channel and audio objects and adapts to any speaker quantity and configuration. During creation, sounds are directed throughout an auditorium by attaching specific X, Y, Z coordinates to audio objects to describe the location, resulting in highly realistic sound placement in concert with the video portion of a movie.

“We are committed to the continued development and adoption of a format-agnostic solution that enables the universal creation, delivery and playback of 3D audio content,” comments John Kellogg, Senior Director, Corporate Strategy and Development. “Like Barco, our entire approach is based on an inclusive, rather than exclusive, philosophy bent on encouraging studios to produce more movies featuring immersive sound while empowering exhibitors to show them in their best light.”

About DTS, Inc.
DTS, Inc. (NASDAQ:DTSI) is dedicated to making digital entertainment exciting, engaging and effortless by providing state-of-the-art audio technology to more than a billion consumer electronics products worldwide. From a renowned legacy as a pioneer in high definition multi-channel audio, DTS became a mandatory audio format in the Blu-ray Disc™ standard and is now increasingly deployed in enabling digital delivery of compelling movies, music, games and other forms of digital entertainment to a growing array of network-connected consumer devices. With the acquisition of SRS Labs, DTS strengthens its position as a leader in providing end-to-end audio solutions to the rapidly growing network entertainment sector.  DTS technology is in car audio systems, digital media players, DVD players, game consoles, home theaters, PCs, set-top boxes, smart phones, surround music content and every device capable of playing Blu-ray™ discs. Founded in 1993, DTS’ corporate headquarters are located in Calabasas, California with its licensing operations headquartered in Limerick, Ireland. DTS also has offices in Los Gatos and Santa Ana, California, Washington, China, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. For further information, please visit www.dts.com. DTS, the Symbol, and DTS and the Symbol together, are registered trademarks of DTS, Inc. All other trademarks are the properties of their respective owners. © 2013 DTS, Inc. All rights reserved. DTS-C

About Auro Technologies
Auro Technologies (www.auro-3d.com; www.auro-technologies.com) is a spin-off of the Galaxy Studios Group and owner of the Auro-3D® Technology Suite. The Auro-3D® Concept and Listening Formats are designed by Wilfried Van Baelen, founder and CEO of Galaxy Studios and Auro Technologies. Galaxy Studios is renowned worldwide for its state-of-the-art leadership in audio innovation for music and sound for film. The Auro-3D® suite offers ground-breaking, easy-to-use and unprecedented levels of sound reproduction capabilities to the professional, automotive, broadcast and consumer electronics markets (such as gaming, smart phones, multimedia PC, notebooks, tablets, audio players, digital TV, media libraries and packaged media).

About Barco
Barco, a global technology company, designs and develops visualization products for a variety of selected professional markets. Barco has its own facilities for Sales & Marketing, Customer Support, R&D and Manufacturing in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. Barco (NYSE Euronext Brussels: BAR) is active in more than 90 countries with about 3,900 employees worldwide. Barco posted sales of 1.156 billion euro in 2012.      Copyright 2013 by Barco

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