At Midem in Cannes, France, Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS is introducing a new mp3 surround streaming module that allows manufacturers to build web radios featuring true 5.1 surround sound.

Mp3 surround compresses surround music in a highly efficient way and is fully backward compatible with existing mp3 players. With the mp3 surround streaming module, high-quality surround music can now even be streamed over the internet at bit rates normally used for stereo mp3. The first radio station streaming a multi-channel music program using mp3 surround is the Erlangen based campus radio bit eXpress. At Midem, Fraunhofer IIS demonstrates the new WinAmp mp3 surround plug-in and a Flash-based web radio. The WinAmp plug-in is also available for download on www.mp3surround.com.

Besides mp3 surround, Fraunhofer IIS presents many surround music technologies at Midem such as Ensonido for play back of surround sound over stereo headphones, MP3 SX for upgrading stereo mp3 files to mp3 surround, and SX Pro the professional tool for upmixing any legacy stereo material to multi-channel sound.