Enhanced middleware cuts mobile processing load

New middleware supports Enhanced aacPlus audio coding technology to ensure higher quality audio over limited data transfer speeds and maintain existing sound quality over lower transfer rates.

Renesas Technology Europe has developed Enhanced aacPlus Decoding Middleware for use in multimedia applications for mobile phones employing SH-Mobile application processors.

This software supports the new Enhanced aacPlus audio coding technology which ensures higher quality audio over limited data transfer speeds and maintains existing sound quality over lower transfer rates.

The Enhanced aacPlus Decoding Middleware, the successor to the current aacPlus Decoding Middleware, is now available.

The Enhanced aacPlus Decoding Middleware simplifies the development process of applications supporting music data distribution, video distribution with audio and other services using Enhanced aacPlus in mobile phones with an SH-Mobile application processor.

The enhanced software has also been optimised for the top-end SH4AL-DSP SH-Mobile CPU core, allowing application designers to make full use of its advanced capabilities.

By using the enhanced middleware, processing load is reduced by approximately 20% compared with SH4AL-DSP products using current middleware versions.

This creates a performance margin, allowing designers to develop more advanced and complex multimedia applications for existing technology.

aacPlus is tipped for adoption across a variety of applications, one of which is the audio processing of terrestrial digital broadcasting.

aacPlus has already been formally adopted as an audio codec for this purpose in Japan.

Also, the European DVB Steering Board has approved a revision to its well known implementation guidelines for audio and video codecs over a broadcast transport stream to include the option of the aacPlus audio codec.

The new coding standard brings substantial improvements in coding efficiency and is of much interest for DVB-H applications.

Terrestrial digital broadcast audio processing requires processing of audio multiplex channels (dual monaural channels) comprising main and sub audio channels in addition to monaural and stereo channels.

Enhanced aacPlus Decoding Middleware incorporates dual monaural channel audio processing, enabling terrestrial digital broadcasting to be handled.

The new software also incorporates a low power mode function which helps to extend the viewing or listening time for digital broadcast or other multimedia applications.

aacPlus is a highly efficient audio coding technology that combines AAC (advanced audio coding) and the SBR (spectral band replication) technology developed by Coding Technologies.

aacPlus offers twice the coding efficiency of the conventional AAC LC method, enabling data of the same quality to be achieved at approximately half the data transfer speed (bitrate).

The Enhanced aacPlus decoding method improves the compression ratio through the use of the parametric stereo tool (PS), developed by Coding Technologies and Royal Philips Electronics, along with the aacPlus technology.

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