ORF, Austrian Broadcasting uses MAYAH’s 5.1 multichannel codec solution to transmit Carmen from Graz to Vienna

Munich / Amsterdam / Vienna, 7th of September 2005:
High Quality 5.1 Multichannel with CENTAURI® II 3300/3301

The new CENTAURI® II Audio Codecs offer multichannel audio en- /decoding, streaming and transmission in a wide range of audio formats. Multichannel audio transmission is a rapidly expanding market and the requirements vary greatly depending on the specific application.

So far, two major applications have been addressed using the CENTAURI® II 3300/3301:

This flexible concept allows CENTAURI® to be used in various environments and in combination with Dolby E or Dolby AC-3 technology.

Existing CENTAURI® I or II 3000 /3001s can be easily upgraded to multichannel capability with the appropriate multichannel audio I/O. Both digital and analog versions are available.

Carmen opera in 5.1 live from Graz to Vienna

In June 2005, ORF transmitted the opera Carmen from the Franz-Liszt hall in Graz to the ORF Broadcasting Center in Vienna for the first time using multichannel 5.1 audio. The successful transmission continued via satellite on ORF 1 to the listeners. The 6 discrete audio channels were connected directly, via AES/EBU, between the digital mixing console and the MAYAH multichannel equipment; an AES/ADAT optical converter and the multichannel audio codec CENTAURI® II 3301for realtime encoding and streaming. For the desired high quality, Enhanced apt-X was used with a total bit rate of 152 kbps net. The IP signal was connected to the ATM-network of ORF (L-NET) and the audio was then decoded with another CENTAURI® II 3301 at ORF’s Broadcasting Center in Vienna. The multichannel audio signal was then turned into DolbyE (5.1) and then encoded in AC-3 in order to be inserted into the multiplexer for the satellite uplink. This modern and efficient way of multichannel transmission allows ORF to use cost-effective IP connections for transmission and to avoid using additional encoders. ORF considers it particularly advantageous to use CENTAURI® 3301 bi-directionally, thus obtaining a monitoring signal of the final broadcast audio. This shortens any activity in case of transmission problems and simplifies the control of the start and end of the broadcasted multichannel program.

An identical configuration is used to transmit the ”Salzburger Festspiele” to Vienna in 5.1 technique with CENTAURI®.

Economic efficiency; Bi-directional 5.1 via IP

Until now, multichannel audio transmissions were very cost intensive because of equipment and line capacities. With CENTAURI® 3300/3301 this has changed; the equipment is a standard MAYAH product with multichannel I/O. The required bit rates depend on the application and can be as low as 160 kbps with AAC+SBR (MPEG 4 AAC HE) or up to 6 mbps with linear audio. As the best compromise, Eapt-X with bitrates between 1 and 2 mbps is recommended. Connectivity via both IP and ISDN is possible and access to such networks is today standard.

About MAYAH Communications

MAYAH Communications, a technology leader in audio transmission and inventor of FlashCast®, the automatic codec recognition, which allows compatibility to nearly all standard and proprietary audio codecs in the market, is developing innovative hardware and software products for audio and audio video transmission in the broadcasting market and beyond: Contribution, Distribution, Emission and Reporting, InHouseStreaming, WebRadio, ISDN, other broadcast networking applications and Digital Handheld Recording.

MAYAH started its operations at the end of 1997 and is a privately held company with its headquarter in Hallbergmoos near Munich, an R&D department in Flensburg and a worldwide distribution network. Its personnel is dominated by R&D, marketing and sales, highly experienced people from the industry and related businesses.

With major milestones in 2000 with the first IP/ISDN audio codec CENTAURI ® and 2002 with the popular handheld recorder FLASHMAN ®, MAYAH has been introducing its first full PAL/NTSC resolution MPEG-4 SP/ASP audio video codec IO [io] 8000 in 2003. In 2005 MAYAH is introducing CENTAURI II, the multichannel audio gatewy codec with a unique combination of functionalities for broadcasters and other users.

MAYAH stands in close relationship with and is licensing technology from FhG-IIS, Coding Technologies, Thomson, IRT, Via, AudioMpeg, France Telekom, APT and others. Its customers are in radio and TV broadcasting as well as telecommunications, studios and ISPs.

For further information please contact:

www.mayah.com
MAYAH Communications GmbH
Am Soeldnermoos 17
D- 85399 Hallbergmoos
Tel.: +49-811-551714
Fax: +49-811-551755

Or visit us at the IBC show in Amsterdam at booth 1.541

For more information please e-mail to: info@mayah.com