13 April 2004, Cleveland Ohio, USA

Telos Systems / Omnia Audio and Fraunhofer Institute (FhG), the developers of MP3 and other MPEG audio codecs, announce a surprising development: a spatial audio coding system that takes advantage of the most recent research in aural perception and enables transmission of 5.1 channel surround audio over HD Radio.

“This system gives listeners a clear and compelling reason to buy HD radio receivers, especially for automobiles, which are a natural environment for the surround-sound experience,” says Denny Sanders, Telos Systems Managing Director.

“Only a couple of years ago, it seemed we didn't have enough bandwidth for full-fidelity stereo on IBOC,” says Telos President Steve Church. “With this breakthrough, it's possible to have very impressive surround on HD Radio. We invite skeptics to listen for themselves at NAB.”

The new system works with the existing HD Radio codec and transmission equipment and is fully compatible with stereo broadcasts.

Telos / Omnia will demonstrate the system privately to major broadcast groups at the upcoming NAB Convention in Las Vegas. Journalists and other interested individuals are invited to inquire at the Telos / Omnia / Axia booth, N1416, for the location and time of additional demonstrations.

Telos is the originator of Zephyr, the world's most popular audio codec. Omnia is the processor of choice among the majority of America's Top 100 rated FM stations. Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS is the world's leading research laboratory in the area of perceptual audio coding.

For more information, contact Caroline Dorsey at Telos Systems / Omnia, +1-216- 241-7225, or email us.

---

Telos Systems, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio with offices in Europe and Canada, is a leading manufacturer of ISDN, coded audio and telephone interface products for talk-shows, teleconferencing, audio production, remote broadcasts, and intercom applications.