22.2 ch Audio Encoding/Decoding Hardware System Based on MPEG-4 AAC

A 22.2 multichannel (22.2 ch) sound system has been adopted as an audio system for 8K Super Hi-Vision (8K). The 22.2 ch sound system is an advanced sound system composed of 24 channels three-dimensionally located in a space to envelop listeners in an immersive sound field. NHK has been working on standardizing and developing an 8K broadcasting system via a broadcasting satellite in time for test broadcasting in 2016. For an audio coding scheme, NHK developed a world-first 22.2 ch audio encoding/decoding hardware system (22.2 ch audio codec) capable of real time encoding/decoding. The fabricated 22.2 ch audio codec is based on MPEG-4 AAC and was assembled into the 8K codec together with the 8K video codec and the multiplexer. The audio quality of the fabricated 22.2 ch audio codec was assessed in an objective evaluation, and the evaluation results revealed the operational bit rates of the fabricated codec. An 8K satellite broadcasting experiment was carried out as a final verification test of the 8K broadcasting system, and 22.2 ch audio codec was found to be valid.