Erlangen, Germany - Jan 18, 2007 - At Midem, a music and gaming convention held in Cannes, France, Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits introduced a new MP3 surround streaming module that allows manufacturers to build Web radios featuring 5.1 surround sound. MP3 Surround compresses surround music in a highly efficient way and is fully backward compatible with existing MP3 players. With the MP3 surround-streaming module, surround music can be streamed over the Internet at bit rates normally used for stereo MP3. This allows MP3 Web radios to introduce surround music in a smooth, compatible and cost-effective way.

The first radio station streaming a multi-channel music program using MP3 surround is the Erlangen-based campus radio station Bit Express. At Midem, Fraunhofer demonstrates the new Winamp MP3 surround plug-in and a Flash-based web radio. The Winamp plug-in is also available for download on www.mp3surround.com.