MP3 ( ( Surround ) )

MP3 Surround is a type of MP3 that supports 5.1 channels of audio.

Illustration of 5.1-channels

It was developed by Fraunhofer IIS in collaboration with Agere Systems and released in December 2004.

MP3 Surround is backward compatible with standard MP3. The data overhead is 16 kbit/s, which allows for file sizes similar to standard stereo MP3 files. The file size is approximately 10% larger than that of a typical MP3 file. The current evaluation encoder is licensed for personal and non-commercial uses. An MP3 Surround file can be created from 5 or 6 channels of WAV audio.

Several companies, such as DivX, Inc. and Magix, have announced support for the new codec. DivX, Inc. released their first player with MP3 Surround support on September 6, 2006.

In January 2006, Thomson and Fraunhofer IIS also released two new companion technologies: Ensonido, which allows playback of MP3 Surround 5.1 channel sound through stereo headphones, and MP3 SX, which upgrades standard stereo mp3 file to mp3 surround files.

On its 5.5 release, Nullsoft Winamp has included the MP3 Surround format as a part of its integrated MPEG audio decoder (released October 10, 2007).

As of 2 July 2008, with system software v2.40, PlayStation 3 supports MP3 Surround playback.

MP3 SX

mp3 SX (Stereo eXtended) is a program that allows users to upgrade mp3 stereo files to MP3 Surround files. mp3 SX analyzes the existing natural ambience of the stereo material and plays it back through the rear channels. The sound sources remain in the front channels, but are played back through the Left, Center and Right channel, providing a stable front image even for off-sweet-spot listening. mp3 SX preserves the original stereo sound stage, creating additional surround envelopment, with only 15 kB/s additional information.

By Naveen