MPEG audio committee

      Grad MuE students Jon Boley and Neri Osmanovic are active members of the MPEG audio committee. The audio committee of MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group) has standardized various technologies for the coding of digital audio including mp3 and AAC. Most recently, MPEG has been working to standardize a protocol for spatial audio coding. Several companies have proposed algorithms which encode a surround-sound signal as either a mono or stereo file with side information. This side information is based on perceptual location cues and is used to extract spatial information and expand the encoded mono or stereo sound to surround sound. The University of Miami, represented by Jon and Neri, volunteered to conduct listening tests to help determine which algorithm sounds best. The results of these listening tests will be combined with results of listening tests at 6 other locations around the world and used to decide which coder should become the basis for a standardized surround sound coder.