LAKE FOREST, Calif., - Panasonic Avionics Corporation in Lake Forest, Calif., and HEAR360 Inc., an advanced audio solutions company in Santa Monica, Calif., have announced an agreement to bring Spatial Audio, a 3D theatrical surround sound experience, to Panasonics' Astrova in-flight entertainment suite..
All in-flight entertainment (IFE) content, including movies, music, live television, sporting events, and games, will be presented in 3D Spatial Audio in real time using HEAR360’s proprietary audio technology, and can be delivered over any wired or Bluetooth wireless headphones or earbuds.
Spatial Audio will be available initially as a standard feature with Panasonic Avionics’ new Astrova IFE solution, complementing its 4K OLED screens, and enhancing the cinema grade experience it delivers.
With Spatial Audio as part of their IFE offering, airlines will not need to change their media procurement processes or deliverables, as no special media encoding or file types are required, thereby ensuring no increase in their media spend.
Panasonic says this is the first time Spatial Audio will be offered to passengers for IFE. Spatial Audio is integral to the next phase of Panasonic Avionics’ continued innovation efforts to offer state-of-the-art systems for all cabin experiences.
Matt Marrin, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of HEAR360, says: “We are thrilled to partner with Panasonic Avionics to give all passengers an unparalleled immersive and engaging inflight experience using our revolutionary audio technology. Being content and device agnostic not only means we democratize best-in-class audio for everyone to enjoy, it provides Panasonic Avionics and its airline customers with immediate scalability in a cost-effective manner.”
