Producing customizable immersive sound with the MPEG-H Authoring Suite 4.0

Immersive audio experiences are on the rise and are becoming increasingly common in private media consumption. The MPEG-H Audio system delivers enveloping sound on every kind of playback device – from home theaters to 3D soundbars to mobile devices. With its unparalleled range of customization options, it also helps producers and broadcasters meet modern audiences’ demand for personalized and accessible media reception. It enables users to adapt the content to their personal needs and preferences with fully adjustable dialogue levels, customizable audio description, multiple languages, and even interactive object positioning.

To supports creators in the production of content which includes MPEG-H metadata, so-called MPEG-H Masters, Fraunhofer IIS provides the MPEG-H Authoring Suite (MAS) and recently released an updated version 4.0. It is a set of tools that make the production of MPEG-H Masters easier, faster, and available for everybody. The upgraded version streamlines and accelerates MPEG-H production workflows. It can be used in all areas of the field from radio and TV broadcast to immersive music streaming and supports authoring and export in production environments running at 48 and 96kHz sample rates.

It comprises:

• The MPEG-H Authoring Plug-in (MHAPi) that takes users through all steps of creating object- or channel-based MPEG-H Audio productions inside a VST3- or AAX-enabled Digital Audio Workstation (DAW).
• The MPEG-H Authoring Tool (MHAT) that enables users to create MPEG-H metadata with existing audio material without the need of a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW).
• The MPEG-H Conversion Tool (MCO) that converts MPEG-H compliant content masters between different file formats. It also serves as an interface to the MPEG-H Audio ecosystem and supports the import and export of MPEG-H Master files.
• The MPEG-H Production Format Player (MPF Player) that enables quality control of files containing video and associated MPF audio. It supports a variety of video formats, such as ProRes422 in a MOV or H264/H265 in an MP4 container.

Learn more about MAS 4.0 and download it on https://www.iis.fraunhofer.de/mas