ReleaseWire

Sennheiser's MobileConnect Brings Assistive Listening over WiFi to Students' Smartphones

Posted: Tuesday, February 07, 2017 at 2:49 PM CST

Amsterdam, Netherlands -- (ReleaseWire) -- 02/07/2017 --As part of its ongoing commitment to inclusion, Sennheiser is advancing the availability of assisted listening solutions for universities, with its innovative MobileConnect solution. By offering the ability to live stream audio via WiFi to a user's own device, the system is ideally suited to academic institutions wishing to quickly and cost effectively enable access to education to hearing impaired students.

At MobileConnect's heart is the ConnectStation, a streaming server providing near latency-free multi-channel audio streaming over WiFi in auditoriums, classrooms, theaters, gymnasiums and wherever the campus WiFi is available. As MobileConnect operates over the existing WiFi infrastructure, it is fast and cost-effective to install and integrates seamlessly with existing network infrastructure and audio equipment. The service is supremely convenient to users too: Without the need for bulky equipment, hearing impaired individuals can use their choice of smart device and headphones to listen to audio via the intuitive MobileConnect app, which is available free of charge for iOS and Android.

"MobileConnect is a disruptive solution that elegantly rethinks accessibility," explains Xenios Maroudas, Portfolio Manager of Business Communication at Sennheiser. "MobileConnect utilizes existing network technologies and a "bring your own device" approach. The system thus reduces the total cost of ownership for organizations such as universities by removing barriers to being able to offer a genuinely practical to the needs of hearing impaired students."

In addition to academia, MobileConnect can also be used to complement digital signage, offer assistive listening, audio description or even simultaneous translation. Its virtually unlimited fields of application include theaters, houses of worship or conference centers.

Meeting individual hearing needs with the Personal Hearing Assistant

Sennheiser's MobileConnect app makes the service highly intuitive to use and can also be tailored to a user's particular hearing needs via the Personal Hearing Assistant. This innovative piece of software makes it possible not only to adjust volume but also to adapt speech intelligibility and sound quality, including the amplification and dynamic range of high and low-frequency audio content. Users can adjust sound to their particular requirements by simply sliding their finger across an on screen control until it is just right. The features were developed in close collaboration with hearing experts at the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology as part of Sennheiser's ongoing efforts to develop dedicated solutions for inclusion.

For further information MobileConnect, please visit: https://en-us.sennheiser.com/mobile-connect

About Sennheiser
Audio specialist Sennheiser is one of the world's leading manufacturers of headphones, microphones and wireless transmission systems. Based in Wedemark near Hanover, Germany, Sennheiser operates its own production facilities in Germany, Ireland and the USA and is active in more than 50 countries. With 19 sales subsidiaries and long-established trading partners, the company supplies innovative products and cutting-edge audio solutions that are optimally tailored to its customers' needs. Sennheiser is a family owned company that was founded in 1945 and which today has 2,750 employees around the world that share a passion for audio technology. Since 2013, Sennheiser has been managed by Daniel Sennheiser and Dr. Andreas Sennheiser, the third generation of the family to run the company. In 2015, the Sennheiser Group had sales totaling 682 million.

http://www.sennheiser.com