While the two frontrunners in the NGA codec stakes are similar in many ways, a comparison of their background and frame of reference gives some interesting insights, writes John Maxwell Hobbs.
The two leading implementations of Next-Generation Audio (NGA) are Dolby AC-4 and MPEG-H 3D audio. Although they are both based around a central set of recommendations from the ITU, they have different origins, advantages, and limitations.
Dolby AC-4 vs MPEG-H 3D Audio: Background
Multi-channel audio broadcasts have been around since 1881, when Clément Alder connected pairs of telephone lines to send stereo audio from the Paris Opera to rooms at the Paris Electrical Exhibition. Between 1890 and 1932, audio programmes using this technology were commercially available in France and England. Since that time, broadcasting has gone from a single audio channel to as many as 22...
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