Support of MP3 Surround in future Medion products

(I-Newswire) March 12, 2005 - MP3 Surround was developed by Fraunhofer IIS in collaboration with Agere Systems and allows the reproduction of high-quality multi-channel sound at bit rates comparable to those currently used to encode stereo MP3 material. Most importantly, the new format offers complete backward compatibility to any existing MP3 software and devices. This makes MP3 Surround perfectly applicable for music download services such as medionmusic.

Martina Effmert, Director Marketing and Cooperation of MEDION AG: "MP3 Surround creates a brand new listening experience. We set a high value on sound quality at medionmusic and offer each MP3 song at 192 kBit/s. We are glad to offer our customers a sound upgrade through the cooperation with Fraunhofer IIS."

Furthermore, Fraunhofer IIS introduces Ensonido - surround sound to go. The software solution enables the playback of multi-channel content over conventional stereo headphones.Ensonido will be demonstrated in combination with a new MEDION headphone.
Further information can be obtained at www.ensonido.com.

"Through the integration into the broad range of MEDION consumer electronics products and the medionmusic store, surround sound comes now into everyday life", confirms Harald Popp, Head of the Multimedia Realtime Systems Department at Fraunhofer IIS.

"Thomson is pleased to be offering MP3 Surround technology as a feature in medionmusic's innovative website, which provides a 'one-stop' resource for accessing the latest digital music content," said Henry Linde, Thomson's Vice President of New Business. "We feel cutting-edge, innovative companies such as MEDION are a perfect outlet for implementing the new MP3 technology."

MEDION AG
Based in Essen, Germany, MEDION employs 1.400 people all over the world. The company's product spectrum is spread across three pillars: Communications Electronics, Entertainment and Household Electronics, and PC & Multimedia. MEDION develops the product lines according to the best-value concept and offers its clients state-of-the-art technology and design at the lowest possible cost.Alongside its hardware product lines, MEDION also provides a comprehensive array of marketing tools and services, covering almost the entire value-added chain in the retail industry. MEDION devises product ideas for goods for one-time sales drives tailored exactly to market and customer requirements, tests the probable product acceptance, advises retail corporations on the technical features the products should possess, designs the product and packaging, identifies high-grade and cost-effective production facilities, and handles the corresponding quality assurance and supply chain management. With a business model that accesses attractive non-food market segments for leading retail corporations while likewise opening up new sales channels for internationally active brand-name manufacturers, MEDION more and more becomes a strategic partner of trade with permanent alliances.
For more information visit visit www.medion.com

Company Contact Information