APT (Audio Processing Technology Ltd) today announces a technology agreement with Creative, which facilitates the deployment of APT’s high-performance apt-X® audio codec technology in new products for global consumer electronics markets.
This technology will provide Creative with outstanding audio quality, ultra low latency (unnoticeable delays between an input being processed and the corresponding output), strong error resilience (ability to detect errors and continue to decode despite errors and finally correct the errors) that enhance the user experience and versatility of digital audio delivered over short-range wireless connectivity.
Potential applications of apt-X in Creative products include stereo headsets, wireless speaker products and home entertainment systems.
This is pretty much in line with the direction that Creative is heading. It recently released it's first wireless Sound Blaster X-Fi Notebook ExpressCard and X-Fi receiver and the HS-1200 wireless gaming headset. Kent Lew, Creative Regional Marketing for Asia also let slip of the company's next strategy, which is to create a "wireless audio ecosystem".
"While desktop computers will still be our core business, we're foreseeing a growth in the gaming and mobile business, that's why we're launching products that cater to these segments," Lew said.
While the idea of wireless is good, those of you who actually own wireless products would know that it could sometime be a very tedious affair to get the wireless products to communicate with each other and even if you did, the quality is sometimes laggy and mediocre. And Creative's wants to solve this problem by partnering with APT to implement Apt-X Audio Codec into its product. What does this partnership means to regular consumers like us?
The Apt-X works with Bluetooth Advanced Audio Distribution Profile, VHF FM, 2.4GHz ISM, or other proprietary wireless standards. The next generation of ZEN can have built-in bluetooth (or the more stable 2.4GHz) which will then allow you to wireless-ly stream audio across the room to a pair of wireless GigaWorks, with no lag or distortion or whatsoever. Currently, there are no existing Creative products that is using Apt-X but one other pro-audio brand that have licensed Apt-X is Shure.
Before we go, I'm sure some of you still doesn't have the faintest idea of what Apt-X Audio is. Simply put, Apt-X is a near-lossless form of digital audio "predictive" compression that works in actual real-time and delivers superior audio quality. Apt-X is great for live transmission, that's why it's been widely adopted by radio & TV broadcasters, and movie post production recording studios (like George Lucas's Skywalker Sound). DTS has used apt-X in its surround sound systems for movie theaters.
We will keep you updated on the development of the Creative-Apt-x partnership, which most likely will be during January's CES 2009 ;) We will also have the link for you when the press release is up.
2 comments:
cool, but i have never heard of atp before.
I know there's alot of potential for wireless for headphones, speakers etc but i really do hope they do implement the streamless playing from ZEN to speakers/headphones. I can only wish for a wireless headphones for jogging, without the wireless adapter.
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