In Broadcast - January 2013 - 28

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

N E W S

WWW.INBROADCAST.COM | ISSUE 15 - JANUARY 2013

InSOUND

Radically Improving The Audio Quality For Internet Broadcast Content
Audiences are looking to the Internet for alternative programming, but they deserve better audio quality than either MP3 or WMA can deliver at affordable bit rates… By Peter J. Lee VP European Operations, Orban www.orban.com
evaluated in multiple 3rd party tests by MPEG, the European Broadcasting Union, and Digital Radio Mondiale. aacPlus v1 outperformed all other codecs in the competition. The full ‘EBU Subjective Listening Test On Low Bit Rate Audio Codecs’ study may be downloaded from the website. Orban’s Opticodec-PC family of streaming and ﬁle encoders use standards-based, genuine Coding Technologies’ AAC/aacPlus v2 codecs. The Opticodec-PC family is versatile, allowing you to stream or download to widely available free players like Winamp (5.05 and higher) and RealPlayer (version 10 or higher). Opticodec-PC 1010 PE (Professional Edition) supports 3GPP streaming to mobile devices. All versions of Opticodec-PC support both HTTP and RTP-based servers, including the free Apple Darwin server, Real/ Helix, SHOUTcast / Icecast2, and Ultravox 3. All versions of the 1010 streaming encoder feature reliable auto-reconnect in case of network interruption and feature robust, hassle-free implementation of metadata (like artist and title information). The Opticodec-PC family is professional, industrialstrength software suitable for anything from an individual’s desktop netcast to a major organisation’s multiple streaming to thousands of client players. The codec is half of the equation. The other half is audio processing before the codec. Broadcasters have been accustomed to processing audio for AM and FM transmission with transmission audio processors

etcasting is once again making headlines in business publications. Thanks in part to streaming-enabled 3GPP devices, some analysts see netcasting as supplanting broadcasting because netcasting offers a virtually limitless number of programming formats, and is now untethered… Until now, most of the public has associated netcasts with low quality, due in part to inferior codecs such as Windows Media Audio. There is a dramatic difference between the audio quality of a typical FM broadcast and a 32 kbps stereo WMA stream. The FM sounds punchy, while the WMA stream sounds like it’s underwater and phasey. Indeed, the only reason why many netcasters have compromised on WMA is because a WMA player is in every

Orban’s Optimod-PC brings consistency to netcasts

copy of Windows. There is a better way, and it’s based on worldwide open standards. MPEG-4 HE-AAC v2 (also known by its trade name of aacPlus v2) delivers higher audio quality at lower bandwidths than any other audio codec technology currently available. This saves operating costs while improving audio quality and stream reliability. aacPlus v2 provides extremely stable audio quality over a wide bit rate range, making it the ﬁrst choice for all application ﬁelds in mobile music, digital broadcasting, and the Internet, including podcasting. In rigorous doubleblind listening tests conducted by 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), aacPlus v2 proved its superiority to its competitors even at bitrates as low as 18 kbps. Hence, 3GPP mobile streaming has standardised on the aacPlus codec. Surprisingly, some mobile carriers are not standards-based, instead employing closed systems using Microsoft streaming solutions with very poor audio and video quality. aacPlus v1 (a version of aacPlus without Parametric Stereo) has been

Optimod-PC the ‘Orban-quality’ audio processor

like Orban’s Optimod series. Optimod-PC is an Orban-quality audio processor on a PCI sound card. It achieves several important goals in a netcast. It performs dynamic range compression to adapt the audio to typical listening environments like autos, homes, and public places, and it ensures a consistent presentation. In radio, programme material from different producers is constantly juxtaposed. Yet most successful broadcasters agree that achieving a “major market” sonic image requires an overall consistency of sound texture and spectral balance from source to source. Optimod-PC brings this consistency to your netcast. Audiences are moving to the Internet for alternative programming. They deserve better audio quality than MP3 or WMA can deliver at affordable bit rates. Used together, Opticodec-PC and Optimod-PC bring FM broadcast quality to your netcast. Unlike video streaming, audio streaming is now reliably capable of broadcast quality, allowing a positive user experience. This gives your audience a compelling reason to listen and, more importantly, to return again and again.

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In Broadcast - January 2013

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