Junger Audio Helps Broadcasters Get To Grips With 5.1 Upmixing

Television viewers who have invested in home cinema systems will already know how dreadful mono and stereo audio can sound when played through 5.1 surround sound speakers. Instead of being enveloped by carefully mixed 5.1 surround sound, viewers are, instead, subjected to unbalanced audio coming at them from unpredictable directions.
This problem is particularly noticeable when a programme or movie broadcast in 5.1 surround is interspersed with a mono or stereo studio feed or commercial break. The contrast between the two sound sources is always horrible and can really spoil the atmosphere and viewing experience.
This problem was the inspiration behind the latest development from dynamics processing specialist Jnger Audio. The German-based company has introduced a new software plug-in know as UPMIX that can easily be incorporated into its LEVEL MAGIC™-based 5.1 solution for controlling loudness in production and broadcast.
Jnger Audio’s C8000 LEVEL MAGIC system incorporates a suite of DSP and interface cards that enable it to completely integrate workflow for managing surround sound and Dolby coded 5.1 audio signals in production, ingest and playout. These include HD/SDI De-embedding/Embedding with VANC; Dolby E resynchronisation with in-built video delay and Dolby Metadata generation. The introduction of UPMIX functionality effectively completes the chain, making it possible for broadcasters to resolve the interrupted ‘surround sound feeling’ while reproducing mono and stereo sources and also maintaining UPMIX loudness consistency compliant with Dialnorm and ITU specifications.
Peter Prs, managing director of Jnger Audio, says: “The new UPMIX function was developed and introduced as a direct result of customer demand. Broadcasters, particularly those in the USA and Asia, recognised that with High Definition/5.1 installations on the increase there was a real need to resolve this problem. There are other products on the market that can sort out the upmix of stereo signals, but ours is the only solution that also delivers a dedicated scenario for mono sources as well as loudness consistency. We achieve this by linking UPMIX to our LEVEL MAGIC adaptive level control algorithm. In this way we are effectively sorting out two problems at once and helping broadcasters deliver a much better listening experience to their viewers.”
The UPMIX function takes a mono or stereo signal and filters the ambient information as well as the spectral composition to create a proper 5.1 upmix. The solution comes with a SURROUND CHECKER™ auto format detector, enabling the LEVEL MAGIC suite to identify the channel format of the signal and initiate adequate UPMIX or 5.1 processing.
“We introduced UPMIX at IBC and have now started shipping,” Peter Poers adds. “We have already received substantial orders from North and South America and the first units are shipped to Brazil this month.”