Verance To Showcase 3.0 Personalized Audio

Verance Corp. today announced it will showcase the personalized audio capabilities of ATSC 3.0, ranked in consumer surveys among the most compelling Next Gen TV experiences, at NAB. 

Using the Aspect audio watermark, which was selected by the Advanced Television Systems Committee as part of the ATSC 3.0 Next Gen TV Standard, and Dolby AC-4, the next generation audio solution from Dolby Laboratories, Verance will demonstrate consumer-facing ATSC 3.0 features that can be rapidly introduced to the linear TV marketplace.

The Aspect watermark increases the reach of Next Gen TV features by enabling broadband-connected TV sets to discover and launch interactive experiences over any distribution path: 1.0 over-the-air (OTA), 3.0 OTA, and Multichannel Video Programming Distributors (MVPD) including cable, satellite and telco services.

Dolby AC-4 enables automatic generation of audio with enhanced dialogue within all programming. It also enables broadcasters the ability offer many alternate languages (not limited to the main and secondary audio available via ATSC 1.0) and multiple audio commentaries.

Pairing Aspect with Dolby AC-4 enables the following personalized audio experiences, which will be demonstrated by Verance at Booth N1124 in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center near Futures Park.

• Dialogue Enhancement, enabling viewers to improve program dialogue by bringing it forward relative to background noise, such as music or sound effects.
• Audio Replacement, allowing viewers to switch the default language and choose from multiple languages or video descriptive services.
• Alternative Commentary, permitting viewers to select commentary from other sources when watching content, including live broadcasts; for instance, the director’s cut of a movie or a favorite home town announcer while watching a live network sports event.

Personalized audio provides broadcasters with an easy path to introducing two-way connectivity to their existing service offerings, while automatically improving the consumer experience and increasing viewer engagement. Television original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), gain the advantage of offering personalized audio as a valuable Next Gen TV experience to promote to consumers, accelerating consumer upgrade cycles and increasing market share.

U.S. consumers responding to a Magid consumer survey ranked “better audio quality” second on their list of the potential ATSC 3.0 features most important to them.  In fact, consumers listed audio among four of the top-eight elements they would like to see and, most importantly, stated a high willingness to spend more to obtain personalized audio features.

“We are constantly looking for ways to deliver value to viewers and increase ROI for broadcaster partners,” said Nil Shah, CEO of Verance. “Because Aspect is compatible with all distribution paths and even 1.0 broadcasts today, we’re able to bring Next Gen TV experiences — including personalized audio and program guides, advanced emergency alerts and catch-up TV — to more households more quickly.”

Other Next Gen TV capabilities being showcased at NAB by Verance include dynamic ad insertion and the Aspect Analytics Dashboard for Broadcasters. An additional Verance demonstration in the ATSC section of Futures Park will showcase how the Aspect watermark works. Industry partners Ad-ID and EIDR will be featured within demonstrations at these locations.

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