Controlling spatial audio coding parameters as a function of auditory events

Abstract

An audio encoder or encoding method receives a plurality of input channels and generates one or more audio output channels and one or more parameters describing desired spatial relationships among a plurality of audio channels that may be derived from the one or more audio output channels, by detecting changes in signal characteristics with respect to time in one or more of the plurality of audio input channels, identifying as auditory event boundaries changes in signal characteristics with respect to time in the one or more of the plurality of audio input channels, an audio segment between consecutive boundaries constituting an auditory event in the channel or channels, and generating all or some of the one or more parameters at least partly in response to auditory events and / or the degree of change in signal characteristics associated with the auditory event boundaries. An auditory-event-responsive audio upmixer or upmixing method is also disclosed.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to audio coding methods and devices in which an encoder downmixes a plurality of audio channels to a smaller number of audio channels, generating one or more parameters (all or some of them). The invention also relates to an audio method and device for upmixing a plurality of audio channels to a greater number of audio channels as a function of auditory events. The invention also relates to a computer program for implementing such a method or controlling such a device. Background technique [0002] spatial coding [0003] Certain finite-bit-rate digital audio coding techniques analyze an input multi-channel signal to derive a "down-mixed" composite signal (a signal containing fewer channels than the input signal) and side information containing a parametric model of the original sound field . The side information (side chains) and the composite signal (e.g., coded by lossy and / or lossless bitrate reduction coding) can ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

However, the Bhadkamkar et al. patent loses confidence in the practical application of audio context analysis and leads to the conclusion that, despite scientific interest regarding audio context analysis as a model of human sound processing, currently, in Without significant advances, it is too computationally demanding to be considered a practical technique for sound separation

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