Obviously the face of live concerts has changed during the pandemic so, keen to get the feel of live performance to viewers, WOWOW, Japan’s premium pay-TV broadcaster, has live-streamed a musical performance in real-time using MQA audio with HD video. The event took place on 06 October 2020 in a Covid secure environment.

Makoto Nakura

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’.

Virtuoso marimba player, Makoto Nakura

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

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.”

Tokyo’s stunning Hakuju Hall

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.”

Real-Time Streaming

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.

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