BARCO BUYS IOSONO

German 3D audio specialist Iosono has become part of Barco’s Entertainment division and will now be known as Barco Audio Technologies. The move is expected to have a significant impact on the continued development of the Auro 11.1 immersive cinema sound system created by Barco and its partner Auro Technologies, with the addition of the Iosono team and assets providing a deeper pool of experience and expertise with object-based immersive sound.

This year, Barco passed the landmark of 500 Auro 11.1 installations and a growing number of directors and producers are embracing the sound format – box office hits including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Amazing Spiderman 2, How to Train Your Dragon 2, and Transformers: Age of Extinction have all been mixed in Auro 11.1. With the acquisition, the company says it is now ready to “take immersive sound to the next level”.

“Creating a standardised format for immersive sound is critical as it helps to control costs for content to be produced and distributed and will ultimately speed the adoption of immersive sound worldwide,” says Barco’s senior director of strategic business development, Brian Claypool. “As this standardisation effort continues, Barco remains committed to providing immersive sound solutions with its partners Auro Technologies and Iosono that are designed to fulfill the needs of the exhibition industry and give content creators the flexibility and tools to produce the best work imaginable.”

”We have been involved with making immersive sound for motion pictures before any other company in the market,” adds former Iosono CEO and now director of Barco Audio Technologies, Olaf Stepputat. “Adding our capabilities to Barco’s will create a compelling system which will create a listening experience unparalleled in the industry. We look forward to a bright future with Barco bringing Iosono’s experience in the accurate processing and display of acoustical information to Barco’s portfolio of market leading visualisation products.”

Founded in Erfurt, Germany, in 2004, Iosono is recognised as a technology leader in 3D audio. The company specialises in object-based sound rendering in various professional applications including cinema, by incorporating distance data that takes the simple panning of sound around a three-dimensional space to the next level.

Source: media release

Barco: www.barco.com