Multistandard Sound Processor from MICRONAS INTERMETALL now offers Virtual Dolby option (9809)

Surround sound for a wider audience

Munich, November 12, 1998 -

At Electronica'98 MICRONAS INTERMETALL presents its new Multistandard Sound Processor, the MSP 3451G, with integrated Virtual Dolby Surround decoder. This means that, for the first time, surround sound is set to become an interesting proposition for standard television receivers as well as TV-compatible personal computers, too.

Virtual Dolby Surround

The well-known spatial sound system Dolby Pro Logic Surround enables the stereo signal to carry spatial information which can be reproduced at the receiver end via several (generally five) loudspeakers to achieve perfect 3D surround sound. At present, only top-of-the-range products are equipped with this system due to the extra hardware required at the receiver end (additional speakers and amplifiers). However, the new system, Virtual Dolby Surround, enables a comparable sound quality to be achieved with only two speakers. This is done by utilizing the characteristic transmission functions of the human ear, although it only works within a narrowly defined range around the centre axis between the two speakers, the so-called sweet spot. Consequently, the system is particularly suitable for small TV receivers or PCs equipped with a TV tuner where the viewer is generally positioned within this range.

The MSP processor family

The Virtual Dolby Processor MSP 3451G belongs to the successful multistandard audio processor family MSP from MICRONAS INTERMETALL. The"co-processor" DPL 3518A and DPL 3519A, which can generate both Dolby Pro Logic and Virtual Dolby Surround, have already been available for some time as an expansion/upgrade option for the MSP. With this two-chip solution, it was only necessary to provide a plug-in location for the co-processor and to prepare the software accordingly.

Now, with the MSP 3451G, there is an even simpler solution for Virtual Dolby Surround. Thanks to the pin- and software compatibility with the other ICs in the MSP 34xxG series, it is sufficient simply to change the chip in order to turn a standard stereo receiver into a Virtual Dolby Surround-compatible set. For this purpose, the MSP 3451G contains a"Virtualize" which distributes the spatial sound information carried by the audio signal to the speaker channels. Virtual Dolby Surround can then be switched in as easily as wide-base stereo or other sound effects. The difference is, that the new system uses"genuin" signal information, i.e. coded at the transmitter end, rather than merely producing an effect at the receiver end.

For the rest, the MSP 3541G shares the features of the other MSP versions:

• Complete TV audio signal processing from the IF to the output stage on a single chip
• Multistandard worldwide
• Largely autonomous controlling, i.e. minimal dependence on external controller hardware and software
• Automatic recognition of the current audio standard (Automatic Standard Detection)
• Automatic matching of the dematrixing to the transmission standard and the operating mode (Automatic Sound Selection)
• Downward compatibility with previous MSP generations.

Available package types

The MSP 3451G is available in a choice of package types:
68-pin PLCC, 64-pin PSDIP, 52-pin PSDIP and 80-pin PQFP. Test samples will be available from the first quarter of 1999.
The standard delivery includes an application kit comprising product and application documentation, two test boards and a Windows software package with a user-friendly interface intended as an introduction to the functions of the MSP 34xxG, as well as for debugging and controller matching purposes.