The Advanced Television Systems Committee has approved an enhanced version of its AC-3 digital audio standard to provide improved performance and flexibility.
Enhanced AC-3 (A52B) provides expanded audio capabilities for broadcast, cable, satellite, DVD and other applications.
ATSC first standardized the AC-3 digital audio system in November 1994. AC-3 is now widely used in digital television systems around the world. Dolby Laboratories submitted enhanced AC-3 to the ATSC for consideration in response to a Request for Information published in December 2002.
E-AC-3 offers new coding tools that fundamentally improve performance and new features that allow operation over a wider range of bit-rates and numbers of channels. E-AC-3 can be converted into AC-3 for playback compatibility on existing consumer A/V decoders.
For more information, visit www.atsc.org/standards.html.