London/Tokyo, 13 October 2020 – WOWOW, Japan’s leading premium pay TV broadcaster, livestreamed a musical performance in real time using MQA audio with HD video recently, firmly establishing WOWOW as the leader in sound quality for its live OTT (over the top) broadcasting.
Virtuoso marimba player, Makoto Nakura, performed a selection of Bach repertoire in Tokyo’s stunning Hakuju Hall. The audio was captured at 192/24, encoded in MQA in real time, and encapsulated concurrently within the HD video file to deliver the highest quality livestream to both on-site and remote audience members. MQA’s technology enables a 192/24 file to be ‘folded’ into a smaller file of 48/24 which is the standard for broadcast video.
Hideo Irimajiri, senior expert, engineering division and project lead at WOWOW, had previously remarked, “It makes no sense that audio quality still lags behind, while video is achieving higher definition with 4k and 8k resolution display,” and praised MQA’s technology for ‘solving a problem’.
Regarding the latest livestream, Irimajiri-san stated, “Since the pandemic struck, artists and broadcasters have been finding ways of bringing the live experience to audiences, with varying degrees of success. Music not only consists of pitch, volume and timbre, but also conveys emotion. Too much detail is lost with regular compressed audio. At WOWOW we will be championing the tagline “conveys emotion” and the *HPL-MQA demonstration on 6 October is a precursor to this activity. Stay tuned.”
MQA founder Bob Stuart, commented, “MQA enables original audio playback in the areas of VOD, broadcasting and livestreams, as well as recorded music for which we are most known. WOWOW understands the importance of preserving natural sound and marrying it with high definition visuals, and it’s exciting to continue pushing the boundaries with such a forward-thinking broadcast partner.”
Musician Makoto Nakura added, “All of my concerts in spring and summer evaporated, and I had no chance to play, so it became more and more important to get connected with our audience, particularly in the best possible way. This is high resolution streaming and I’m very proud to be part of this concert.”
The performance was streamed in real time using MPEG-4 ALS lossless technology (developed by NTT SMARTCONNECT), which supports bit-perfect PCM data transmission. *HPL is a binaural technology which enables 3D spatial audio to be rendered in 2 channels.
About MQA
Using pioneering scientific research into how people hear, MQA has created a technology that captures the sound of the original studio performance. The master MQA file is fully authenticated and is small enough to stream or download, while also being backward compatible, so you can play MQA music on any device. MQA’s award-winning technology is licensed by labels, music services and hardware manufacturers worldwide. MQA is a privately held UK-based company.
For more information visit www.mqa.co.uk or https://mqa.jp
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Notes
Performance details:
- Bach Cello Suites in C Minor BWV 995/1011
- Bach Chorales
- Du, o schönes Weltgebäude BWV 56
- O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort BWV 20
- Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme BWV 140
- Bach Prelude (from Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin no. 3 BWV 1006)
Stringent safety measures were in place at Hakuju Hall to ensure strict adherence to Covid-19 guidelines for all event attendees.
On-site audience members, who included a select number of journalists, MQA partners and invited guests, were able to switch between watching the on-stage live performance in the auditorium and viewing the livestream of the performance in the foyer. Remote viewers accessed the livestream via a URL link played through the VLC media player.
