Latin America. The new versions of the Sennheiser apps: MobileConnect and CinemaConnect, created to have an accessible streaming, allow users much more than just adjust the volume, now and for the first time, they also allow to adapt the intelligibility of speech and sound quality to particular needs.
These features were developed by audio specialist Sennheiser in close collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology.
With the new updated versions of both Apps, Sennheiser's MobileConnect and CinemaConnect, users will be able to adjust not only the volume but also the amplification and dynamic range of high and low frequencies of audio content. Along with better speech intelligibility, users will benefit from fully improved sound quality that fits their specific needs.
To develop these apps, Sennheiser approached experts from the Oldenburg Project Group for Hearing, Speech, and Audio Technology at the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology (IDMT) and the Oldenburg Hearing Center.
The apps are aimed at users who are in the early stages of hearing loss who do not have a hearing aid as well as for those who already use such devices and who are in the early stages of hearing loss or who have slight deafness. Dr. Jan Rennies of the Fraunhofer IDMT comments, "In several studies, we were able to show that test subjects with slight to moderate hearing loss who had difficulty understanding speech with raw sound detected a marked improvement with the app signal process."
Since 2014, Sennheiser's MobileConnect app has made streaming audio via WiFi possible on mobile devices, aiding speech comprehension in various scenarios. For example, users with the CinemaConnect version, which has been optimized for movie theaters, get access to additional soundtracks for descriptive audio or assisted listening, and are also able to participate in the film experience through the headphones connected to the Smartphone.
To develop this innovative streaming technology, Sennheiser founded the subsidiary Sennheiser Streaming Technologies (SST) in 2014. Jörn Erkau explains: "MobileConnect and CinemaConnect are our first products. By using this technology as a basis, we will be able to develop more industry-specific solutions, for example in the conference sector."
Updated versions for MobileConnect and CinemaConnect are now available for free download on all App Stores.
