DTS audio now in ATSC updated guidelines

DTS, the company that's roots trace back to the early 1990’s when Steven Spielberg and a group of film professionals helped develop technologies that brought multichannel sound into theaters equipped with play back systems operating in strict accordance with DTS-developed standards, recently made several important announcements.

Seeking to further expand its presence in the international market, DTS audio is now included in the Advanced Television Systems Committee’s (ATSC) updated guidelines for standardized broadcast digital video transmission, the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions’ (ATIS) revised standards for IPTV media formats and protocols and European Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) Audio Toolbox.

“With this increased flexibility, viewers demand premium-quality audio to enrich their overall entertainment experience," said Brian Towne, executive vice presient and chief operating officer at DTS. "The integration of DTS audio into evolving broadcast standards demonstrates the industry’s response to consumers’ demands for high quality content and acknowledges the unparalleled entertainment experience afforded by our advanced audio solutions.”

At the recent IBC 2012 conference, DTS showed its latest high-definition surround sound solutions that support MPEG-DASH. DTS-HD is a fully MPEG-DASH compatible surround sound codec and includes the highly efficient DTS Express profile. The profile can deliver HD-quality stereo or surround sound in a single 192kb/s bitstream, enabling content providers to pair the highest-quality audio possible with their content across a virtually limitless range of playback devices. 

“We believe that the MPEG-DASH platform is poised to revolutionize the streaming entertainment services industry and we are excited to be part of the revolution,” said Benn Carr, vice president, corporate strategy and development of DTS. “DASH already possesses tools to unlock the limitations of today’s proprietary streaming models and with the integration of our advanced surround sound technologies on this platform, content providers will now have another tool available to them for delivering the best streaming entertainment experience possible.”

DTS also announced that it has formed an alliance with Bouyges Telecom, the French mobile phone, Internet service provider and IPTV company. DTS will provide advanced audio solutions for that company’s video on demand service, Bbox VOD. 

“We believe that the only way to deliver a compelling home entertainment experience to customers is to provide them with content that has audio that is equally as impressive as the picture,” noted Franck Abihssira, VP Broadband Access, Contents and Services, at Bouygues Telecom. “With DTS’ advanced surround sound solutions, we are able to pack our Bbox Sensation system with the capabilities of delivering a robust audio experience to our customers without any detrimental effect on bandwidth performance.”