Method for selecting the active channel in the audio mix of a multi-party conference call

Abstract

An apparatus comprising an input port for receiving a signal comprising encoded audio signals corresponding to a plurality of sources; and a processor coupled to the input port for calculating a signal for each of the plurality of encoded audio signals parameters, wherein each parameter is calculated without decoding any of said encoded audio signals, some but not all of said encoded audio signals are selected based on said parameters for each of said encoded audio signals, and decoding said selected signals to generate a plurality of decoded audio signals, and combine the plurality of decoded audio signals into a first audio signal.

Description

[0001] Related Applications Cross Application [0002] The present invention requires the invention titled "Method to Select Active Channels in Audio Mixing for Multi-Party Teleconferencing" submitted by Doh-Suk Kim on December 13, 2011. The prior application of U.S. Patent Application No. 13 / 324,056, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference as if reproduced in its entirety. technical field [0003] The present invention relates to communication networks, and more particularly to a method of selecting an active channel in the mixing of a multi-party teleconference. Background technique [0004] Packet-switched teleconferencing systems utilizing standard network communication protocols are becoming more common. These systems can take advantage of the ubiquity and relatively low cost of network communication protocols to better provide teleconferencing services. However, as the popularity of teleconferencing services, and thus the number of users who may part...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

A problem with this approach is that due to the digital representation, the summation of the audio signals from a large number of participants may cause saturation and / or distortion of the audio signal, resulting in poor quality

A second problem with this approach is that audio signals from silent participants may contain only background noise, and adding signals from these participants can increase the level of background noise in the resulting mixed audio signal

Finally, a third problem with this approach is that decoding a large number of signals requires processing resources that are proportional to the number of users (e.g., measured in million instructions per second (MIPS))

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