IEC 62574:2011

Audio, video and multimedia systems - General channel assignment of multichannel audio

IEC 62574:2011 specifies the general channel assignment for multichannel audio formats. The general channel assignment as a channel mapping and labeling provides the unified usage of channel assignments for source devices, digital audio interfaces and sink devices. This standard excludes the specification of the exact position of each loudspeaker. It is aimed at consumer applications, but is not targeted for theatrical environments. Up to 32 labels for loudspeaker positions are specified, which can be used for all current multichannel formats.

Systèmes audio, vidéo et multimédia - Affectation générale des voies des systèmes audio à voies multiples

La CEI 62574:2011 spécifie l'affectation générale des voies applicables aux formats audio à voies multiples. Cette affectation générale des voies, comme mappage et étiquetage des voies uniformise la pratique de l'affectation des voies pour les dispositifs sources, les interfaces audionumériques et les dispositifs récepteurs. La présente norme exclut la spécification de la position exacte de chacun des haut-parleurs; elle vise les applications grand public et non les salles de spectacle. Jusqu'à 32 étiquettes de positions de haut-parleurs sont spécifiées, ce qui convient pour tous les formats actuels à voies multiples.

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 06-Apr-2011
• ICS: 33.160.30 - Audio systems
• Technical Committee: TC 100 - Audio, video and multimedia systems and equipment
• Current Stage: DELPUB - Deleted Publication
• Completion Date: 31-Jan-2020

Relations

• Revised: IEC 62574:2020 - Audio, video and multimedia systems - General channel assignment of multichannel audio
• Effective Date: 05-Sep-2023

Standards Content (Sample)

IEC 62574 ®
Edition 1.0 2011-04
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
NORME
INTERNATIONALE
Audio, video and multimedia systems – General channel assignment of
multichannel audio
Systèmes audio, vidéo et multimédia – Affectation générale des voies des
systèmes audio à voies multiples

All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by

any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from either IEC or

IEC's member National Committee in the country of the requester.
If you have any questions about IEC copyright or have an enquiry about obtaining additional rights to this publication,
please contact the address below or your local IEC member National Committee for further information.

Droits de reproduction réservés. Sauf indication contraire, aucune partie de cette publication ne peut être reproduite
ni utilisée sous quelque forme que ce soit et par aucun procédé, électronique ou mécanique, y compris la photocopie
et les microfilms, sans l'accord écrit de la CEI ou du Comité national de la CEI du pays du demandeur.

Si vous avez des questions sur le copyright de la CEI ou si vous désirez obtenir des droits supplémentaires sur cette

publication, utilisez les coordonnées ci-après ou contactez le Comité national de la CEI de votre pays de résidence.

IEC Central Office
3, rue de Varembé
CH-1211 Geneva 20
Switzerland
Email: [e-mail]
Web: www.iec.ch
About the IEC
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is the leading global organization that prepares and publishes
International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies.

About IEC publications
The technical content of IEC publications is kept under constant review by the IEC. Please make sure that you have the
latest edition, a corrigenda or an amendment might have been published.
 Catalogue of IEC publications: www.iec.ch/searchpub
The IEC on-line Catalogue enables you to search by a variety of criteria (reference number, text, technical committee,…).
It also gives information on projects, withdrawn and replaced publications.
 IEC Just Published: www.iec.ch/online_news/justpub
Stay up to date on all new IEC publications. Just Published details twice a month all new publications released. Available
on-line and also by email.
 Electropedia: www.electropedia.org
The world's leading online dictionary of electronic and electrical terms containing more than 20 000 terms and definitions
in English and French, with equivalent terms in additional languages. Also known as the International Electrotechnical
Vocabulary online.
 Customer Service Centre: www.iec.ch/webstore/custserv
If you wish to give us your feedback on this publication or need further assistance, please visit the Customer Service
Centre FAQ or contact us:
Email: [e-mail]
Tel.: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
A propos de la CEI
La Commission Electrotechnique Internationale (CEI) est la première organisation mondiale qui élabore et publie des
normes internationales pour tout ce qui a trait à l'électricité, à l'électronique et aux technologies apparentées.

A propos des publications CEI
Le contenu technique des publications de la CEI est constamment revu. Veuillez vous assurer que vous possédez
l’édition la plus récente, un corrigendum ou amendement peut avoir été publié.
 Catalogue des publications de la CEI: www.iec.ch/searchpub/cur_fut-f.htm
Le Catalogue en-ligne de la CEI vous permet d’effectuer des recherches en utilisant différents critères (numéro de référence,
texte, comité d’études,…). Il donne aussi des informations sur les projets et les publications retirées ou remplacées.
 Just Published CEI: www.iec.ch/online_news/justpub
Restez informé sur les nouvelles publications de la CEI. Just Published détaille deux fois par mois les nouvelles
publications parues. Disponible en-ligne et aussi par email.
 Electropedia: www.electropedia.org
Le premier dictionnaire en ligne au monde de termes électroniques et électriques. Il contient plus de 20 000 termes et
définitions en anglais et en français, ainsi que les termes équivalents dans les langues additionnelles. Egalement appelé
Vocabulaire Electrotechnique International en ligne.
 Service Clients: www.iec.ch/webstore/custserv/custserv_entry-f.htm
Si vous désirez nous donner des commentaires sur cette publication ou si vous avez des questions, visitez le FAQ du
Service clients ou contactez-nous:
Email: [e-mail]
Tél.: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
IEC 62574 ®
Edition 1.0 2011-04
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
NORME
INTERNATIONALE
Audio, video and multimedia systems – General channel assignment of
multichannel audio
Systèmes audio, vidéo et multimédia – Affectation générale des voies des
systèmes audio à voies multiples

INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
COMMISSION
ELECTROTECHNIQUE
PRICE CODE
INTERNATIONALE
CODE PRIX M
ICS 33.160.30 ISBN 978-2-88912-428-2

– 2 – 62574  IEC:2011
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3

INTRODUCTION . 5

1 Scope . 6

2 Terms and definitions . 6

3 General channel assignment . 9

3.1 General . 9

3.2 Model . 10

3.3 Channel maps and labels . 12
Bibliography . 13

Figure 1 – Model of channel spaces . 10
Figure 2 – Top layer . 11
Figure 3 – Middle layer . 11
Figure 4 – Bottom layer. 11

Table 1 – General channel assignment table. 12

62574  IEC:2011 – 3 –
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION

____________
AUDIO, VIDEO AND MULTIMEDIA SYSTEMS –

GENERAL CHANNEL ASSIGNMENT OF MULTICHANNEL AUDIO

FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising

all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote

international co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To
this end and in addition to other activities, IEC publishes International Standards, Technical Specifications,
Technical Reports, Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) and Guides (hereafter referred to as “IEC
Publication(s)”). Their preparation is entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested
in the subject dealt with may participate in this preparatory work. International, governmental and non-
governmental organizations liaising with the IEC also participate in this preparation. IEC collaborates closely
with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by
agreement between the two organizations.
2) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an international
consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation from all
interested IEC National Committees.
3) IEC Publications have the form of recommendations for international use and are accepted by IEC National
Committees in that sense. While all reasonable efforts are made to ensure that the technical content of IEC
Publications is accurate, IEC cannot be held responsible for the way in which they are used or for any
misinterpretation by any end user.
4) In order to promote international uniformity, IEC National Committees undertake to apply IEC Publications
transparently to the maximum extent possible in their national and regional publications. Any divergence
between any IEC Publication and the corresponding national or regional publication shall be clearly indicated in
the latter.
5) IEC itself does not provide any attestation of conformity. Independent certification bodies provide conformity
assessment services and, in some areas, access to IEC marks of conformity. IEC is not responsible for any
services carried out by independent certification bodies.
6) All users should ensure that they have the latest edition of this publication.
7) No liability shall attach to IEC or its directors, employees, servants or agents including individual experts and
members of its technical committees and IEC National Committees for any personal injury, property damage or
other damage of any nature whatsoever, whether direct or indirect, or for costs (including legal fees) and
expenses arising out of the publication, use of, or reliance upon, this IEC Publication or any other IEC
Publications.
8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
indispensable for the correct application of this publication.
9) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this IEC Publication may be the subject of
patent rights. IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
International Standard IEC 62574 has been prepared by IEC technical committee 100: Audio,
video and multimedia systems and equipment.

The text of this standard is based on the following documents:
CDV Report on voting
100/1706/CDV 100/1773/RVC
Full information on the voting for the approval of this technical specification can be found in
the report on voting indicated in the above table.
This publication has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.

– 4 – 62574  IEC:2011
The committee has decided that the contents of this publication will remain unchanged until
the stability date indicated on the IEC web site under "http://webstore.iec.ch" in the data

related to the specific publication. At this date, the publication will be

• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn,
• replaced by a revised edition, or

• amended.
62574  IEC:2011 – 5 –
INTRODUCTION
There are many multichannel audio formats and there will be new formats. These formats

have a specific channel assignment such as a channel mapping and channel labels, but the

basic channel assignments are not so different from each other. These can be unified to one

common channel assignment as the general channel assignment. This general channel

assignment provides audio devices and digital audio interfaces with the usage of unified

channel assignments for any multichannel audio formats.

– 6 – 62574  IEC:2011
AUDIO, VIDEO AND MULTIMEDIA SYSTEMS –

GENERAL CHANNEL ASSIGNMENT OF MULTICHANNEL AUDIO

1 Scope
This International Standard specifies the general channel assignment for multichannel audio
formats. The general channel assignment as a channel mapping and labeling provides the

unified usage of channel assignments for source devices, digital audio interfaces and sink

devices. This standard excludes the specification of the exact position of each loudspeaker. It
is aimed at consumer applications, but is not targeted for theatrical environments. Up to 32
labels for loudspeaker positions are specified, which can be used for all current multichannel
formats.
2 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
NOTE The general sequence of position labels is used: height, front/back, left/centre/right. Absence of a height
letter indicates the middle layer. The other two planes are always indicated. See also Table 1.
2.1
top layer
top (highest) layer of three loudspeaker-layers located at the top of the screen, alternatively at
the top of the room; loudspeaker channels of the top layer are annotated with the letters Tp
2.2
middle layer
middle layer of three loudspeaker-layers located at the vertical centre of the TV screen,
alternatively at the same height as the height of viewer’s ear
2.3
bottom layer
bottom (lowest) layer of three loudspeaker-layers located at the bottom of the TV screen,
alternatively at floor level of the room; loudspeaker channels of the bottom layer are
annotated with the letters Bt
2.4
front left
FL
loudspeaker position located at far left and centred vertically of the middle layer
2.5
front right
FR
loudspeaker position located at far right and centred vertically of the middle layer
2.6
front centre
FC
loudspeaker position located in the middle layer corresponding to the centre of the TV screen,
as viewed from the seating area

62574  IEC:2011 – 7 –
2.7
low frequency effects
LFE
carry only sound effects in low frequency band, generally below 120 Hz; the LFE channel is

not used as a subwoofer channel to compesate for low frequency band of each loudspeaker

2.8
low frequency effects 1
LFE1
LFE loudspeaker position located at the bottom layer
...