xHE-AAC and MPEG-D DRC were substantially developed by Fraunhofer IIS and are natively supported in the latest generation (version 9) of the Android mobile operating system, “Pie”. Fraunhofer provides Android 9 Pie’s default xHE-AAC implementation, available as part of the FDK2 AAC Codec Library for Android.
The Android 9 Pie rollout is proceeding faster on average than previous versions of Google’s mobile operating system*, with a great number of mobile devices already updated to this version. However, the next Android generation featuring the latest AAC codec is already lined up: in mid-March, Google announced the release of Android Q Beta**.
Visitors to the Fraunhofer booth (SU4816) at NAB Show 2019 can experience xHE-AAC and MPEG-D DRC in various video and Internet radio streaming applications from April 8 until April 11.
About xHE-AAC
xHE-AAC, the latest addition to the AAC codec family, offers maximum coding efficiency, with a bit rate range from 12 kbit/s to 500 kbit/s and above for stereo services. MPEG-D DRC Loudness and Dynamic Range Control provides mandatory loudness control to play back content at a consistent volume as well as dynamic range control processing, thus offering the best possible listening experience regardless of platform and environment. Combining these features with seamless bit rate switching over DASH and HLS makes xHE-AAC the ideal solution for adaptive audio and video streaming services – whether for movies, music, audiobooks or podcasts – as well as for digital radio broadcasting.
Professional xHE-AAC encoder software for service providers and app developers is available either from Fraunhofer directly, or from one of our streaming equipment partners, such as Modulation Index or Telos.
xHE-AAC and MPEG-D DRC are included in the AAC patent licensing program administered by VIA Licensing at no additional cost.
More information about xHE-AAC:
- Adaptive Bit Rate Audio Codec for Music and Video Streaming
- MPEG Unified Speech and Audio Coding – The ISO/MPEG Standard for High-Efficiency Audio Coding of All Content Types
- xHE-AAC Implementation Guidelines for Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH)
- iis.fraunhofer.de/xheaac
Sources:
*: https://www.androidauthority.com/faster-android-updates-942929/
**: https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2019/03/introducing-android-q-beta.html, https://developer.android.com/reference/android/media/AudioFormat
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