Via Licensing Corporation announced that it has launched its patent licensing program for the MPEG Extended High-Efficiency Advanced Audio Coding (xHE-AAC) audio format.
For more information visit: www.via-corp.com
Unedited press release follows:
Via Announces Patent Pool License for MPEG xHE-AAC to Support Digital Radio and Mobile Streaming Applications
SAN FRANCISCO — Via Licensing Corporation today announced the availability of a patent pool license for MPEG Extended High-Efficiency Advanced Audio Coding (xHE-AAC), the latest upgrade to the AAC family of audio compression technologies used around the world for broadcast, streaming, downloading, and audio/visual capture and playback applications. xHE-AAC provides exceptional audio quality using low bit rates to deliver a listening experience suitable for mobile devices, but which can scale-up to offer audiophile-quality reproduction.
xHE-AAC is also designed to support the delivery of mixed music and speech content on mobile devices and automotive products. Applications for MPEG xHE-AAC include digital radio broadcasting, streaming over mobile networks, and audio books. Because MPEG xHE-AAC delivers bit rates as low as 12 kilobits per second (kbps) for stereo and 6 kbps for mono, it can save bandwidth and transfer costs for content distribution over the internet or wireless networks. For consumers, it can provide a more enjoyable and cost-effective listening experience on mobile devices. xHE-AAC has already been adopted for the Digital Radio Mondiale (“DRM”) broadcast standard and is currently in use on DRM transmissions around the world.
“MPEG xHE-AAC is an important new technology and a significant addition to the AAC licensing program,” said Andrew Fischer, Sr. Director, Audio Programs, at Via Licensing Corporation. “With xHE-AAC, the range of applications that can be enhanced by the AAC family of codecs continues to expand.”
Licensors contributing research, capital investment, inventions, and development toward the standardization of this important technology include Dolby Laboratories, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), Fraunhofer IIS, Koninklijke Philips N.V., NTT DOCOMO, Orange S.A., Panasonic Corporation, Sony Corporation, and VoiceAge Corporation. Via’s licensors have made their patented inventions available to the industry through Via’s pool on fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory (FRAND) terms.
xHE-AAC is a superset of the technologies licensed under the broadly adopted AAC patent licensing program. Companies that are licensees under an existing AAC Patent License Agreement and that wish to receive a license for xHE-AAC will be able to do so through a simple addendum to their in-place patent license agreement. Similarly, reporting a mix of AAC and xHE-AAC products is streamlined for the convenience of licensees. More information, including the xHE-AAC fee schedule is presented at http://via-corp.com/licensing/xHE-AAC/overview.html
About Via Licensing Corporation
Via Licensing Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dolby Laboratories, Inc., a company with more than 50 years of experience in innovation and technology licensing. Via is dedicated to the development and administration of licensing programs for mandated, de facto, and emerging standards on behalf of innovative technology companies in the audio, broadcast, wireless, and automotive markets. For more information about Via, please visit via-corp.com.