top of page
Immersive Multi-Channel Audio Production and Distribution
presentation Glossary
5.1.4
Immersive audio configuration with five surround channels, one low-frequency channel, and four height channels.
7.1.4
A surround sound speaker configuration with 7 main speakers, 1 subwoofer, and 4 height speakers.
AC-3
Audio Codec 3 - Audio codec developed by Dolby for multichannel (up to 5.1) digital formats such as DVD, ATSC 1.0 broadcast, and Laserdisc. It compresses surround audio with perceptual loss.
AES
Audio Engineering Society - The Audio Engineering Society is an international professional society devoted to audio technology, disseminating new knowledge and research and publishing standards.
ATSC
Advanced Television Systems Committee standards are a set of standards for digital television transmission over terrestrial, cable, and satellite networks. It is largely a replacement for the analog NTSC standard, and like that standard, used mostly in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
ATSC 3.0
A major version of the ATSC standards, comprises around 20 standards covering different aspects of the system, that are designed to offer support for newer technologies, including HEVC for video channels of up to 2160p 4K resolution at 120 frames per second, wide color gamut, Dolby AC-4 and MPEG-H 3D Audio, datacasting capabilities, and more robust mobile television support through advanced modulation methods.
Audio Virtualization
The process of creating a virtual sound environment using digital audio processing.
Bits
The basic unit of information in computing and digital communications.
CBI
One of the two kinds of Dolby Atmos, Channel Based Immersive (CBI) is typically 5.1.4 (five floor channels, Low Frequency Effects, and four over head channels) and is used for live events.
CX
Crosstalk Cancellation - Technique used to prevent a signal intended for one ear from being heard by the other, essential for speaker-based audio virtualization.
DAW
Digital Audio Workstation - Software for digital audio production enabling recording, editing, mixing, and rendering of audio content, including immersive formats like Dolby Atmos.
Dolby atmos
A surround sound technology developed by Dolby Laboratories. It expands on existing surround sound systems by adding height channels, allowing sounds to be interpreted as three-dimensional objects.
Dolby Stereo
A sound format that uses four audio channels to create a surround sound experience.
E-AC-3
Enhanced Audio Codec 3 - Enhanced version of AC-3, used in OTT streaming and ATSC 3.0. Supports more channels, better compression efficiency, and audio metadata.
EQ
Equalization - Process of adjusting the balance of audio frequencies to improve sound quality.
HRTF
Head-Related Transfer Function - Mathematical function modeling how sound is filtered by the head, ears, and torso before reaching the eardrums. Used in binaural spatialization for audio virtualization systems.
Immersive Audio
Immersive Audio: Audio technology that creates a 3D sound environment, making the listener feel as if they are inside the sound.
LFE
Low-Frequency Effects - Audio channel dedicated to low frequencies (typically <120 Hz), used for impactful sound effects in surround systems.
Matrix Decode
Matrix Decode: A process used to extract multiple audio channels from a matrix-encoded signal.
Mono, Stereo, Immersive audio
Mono, Stereo, Immersive Audio: Mono audio uses a single channel, stereo uses two channels for a sense of direction, and immersive audio uses multiple channels to create a 3D sound environment.
Multichannel Analogue
Multichannel Analogue: An audio system that uses multiple analogue signals to create a surround sound experience.
Multichannel Digital
Multichannel Digital: An audio system that uses multiple digital signals to create a surround sound experience.
OBI
One of the two kinds of Dolby Atmos, Object Based Immersive (OBI) introduces the concept of audio objects and spatial coding. Object based immersive is used for post produced/file based content.
Object Audio
Object Audio: Audio technology that treats sounds as individual objects that can be placed in a 3D space.
OTT
Over-the-top - refers to movies and television shows that are delivered directly to users. Instead of requiring a cable or satellite television subscription, OTT content can be downloaded and viewed on demand. Popular OTT media includes Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and HBO Now. Free services like YouTube and Vimeo are also considered OTT, although they compete less directly with television providers.
PCM
Method of digitally encoding analog signals, used for lossless audio data transmission.
Rendering
Rendering: The process of generating audio or visual content from a model or specification.
Sprocket Hole
The holes along the edge of a film strip used to advance the film through a projector.
bottom of page