Background, Concept, and Architecture for the Recent MPEG Surround Standard on Multichannel Audio Compression

An overview of the recently finalized ISO/MPEG standard for multichannel audio compression MPEG Surround is provided. This audio compression scheme enables backwardcompatible multichannel audio coding and transmission at unsurpassed coding efficiency. This is achieved by generating a mono, stereo, or matrixed-surround compatible down mix, which can be transmitted using any existing mono or stereo service, extended with a small amount of parametric side information that describes the perceptually relevant spatial properties of the original multichannel content. The concepts behind spatial parameterization are outlined, and the architecture of the MPEG Surround system is explained. Results of subjective evaluations are included to demonstrate its efficiency.