UWA: Bringing self-developed Ultra HD audio tech to consumer

The Audio Vivid Music Festival is on show at the CEIC on Nov. 6. Photos by Zhen Jianhong

A music festival lit up the Consumer Electronics Innovation Congress (CEIC) on Nov. 6-8. Powered by the world's first AI-driven audio codec standard, Audio Vivid, the festival delivered an immersive 3D sound experience. This cutting-edge technology, developed by the UHD World Association (UWA), made audiences feel as if they were right in the middle of the performance.

Visitors flock to the UWA booth to experience their ultra-HD video and audio solutions.

UWA is a global NGO primarily initiated by China Central Television (CCTV), Huawei, and Japan's Sharp.

A staffer from the company operating the production room for the music festival explained how the system worked backstage.

"The core of this production suite is the ZECK mixing console you see here," said Dai Aiqiu, a staffer of Advanced Communication Equipment (International) Co. Ltd. "Within the production workflow, this console surface, equipped with 24 faders, handles the main mixing tasks."

"The system supports both IP and baseband signal transmission modes. This architecture is highly secure and reliable," Dai added.

Jin Ruifeng, technical director of UWA Audio Vivid, operates the mixing console at the production room.

Jin Ruifeng, technical director of UWA Audio Vivid, explained that the UWA exhibition area focused on the industrial application of spatial audio. The showcase featured a specific setup used for producing and livestreaming the UWA Audio Vivid Music Festival.

Jin noted that beyond professional environments, the technology is most commonly experienced by consumers using smartphones paired with headphones. "Through binaural rendering, they can listen to spatial audio," he said.

He also highlighted the significance of presenting at the congress: "This initiative aligns with the national push for Ultra HD standards and industry upgrades. It enables more consumers to experience the effects of our domestically developed Ultra HD audio technology and raises awareness of our homegrown Ultra HD standards."