Ambient Higher-Order Ambisonic Coefficient Transition Encoding

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current technologies face challenges in efficiently compressing and decoding higher-order ambisonic audio data, particularly in representing and rendering soundfields independently of speaker geometry, while maintaining backward compatibility and adaptability to varying playback conditions.

Innovation Solution

The method involves determining transitions in ambient higher-order ambisonic coefficients, generating reduced vectors, and encoding transition state information in a bitstream, allowing for decoding without referencing previous frames and enabling flexible rendering across different speaker configurations.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If ambient higher-order ambisonic coefficients are continuously updated in each frame, then the soundfield representation accuracy is improved, but the bitstream complexity and decoding dependency increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesoundfield representation accuracyVSAvoidbitstream complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts only the essential elements needed for accurate soundfield representation by identifying specific vector elements associated with transitioning coefficients and incorporating only those into the reduced vector, rather than transmitting complete coefficient data for every frame

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent segments the bitstream into frames with independent decodability, where each frame contains self-contained information about transitioning coefficients through the reduced vector and state information, eliminating dependency on previous frames while maintaining accuracy

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Ease of operation

If transition state information is encoded in the bitstream, then the decoding independence is improved, but the bitstream data volume increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedecoding independenceVSAvoidbitstream data volume
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by providing detailed transition state information only for specific coefficients that are actually transitioning, rather than encoding state information for all coefficients in every frame, thus minimizing additional data volume while ensuring decoding independence where needed

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

3Loss of information

If the reduced vector includes all vector elements, then the spatial component completeness is improved, but the compression efficiency deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvespatial component completenessVSAvoidcompression efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts only the necessary vector elements that correspond to transitioning ambient higher-order ambisonic coefficients and includes them in the reduced vector, removing redundant elements to achieve compression while preserving spatial completeness for transitioning components

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies partial action by including only the specific vector elements needed for representing transitioning coefficients rather than all elements, achieving sufficient spatial representation for the changing components without the overhead of complete vector transmission

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentEP3100263B1Transitioning of ambient higher-order ambisonic coefficients
Publication Date: 2018.04.04 QUALCOMM INC
  • EP3100263B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3100263B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3100263B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

In general, techniques are described for transitioning an ambient higher order ambisonic coefficient. A device comprising a memory and a processor may be configured to perform the techniques. The processor may obtain, from a frame of a bitstream of encoded audio data, a bit indicative of a reduced vector. The reduced vector may represent, at least in part, a spatial component of a sound field. The processor may also obtain, from the frame, a bit indicative of a transition of an ambient higher-order ambisonic coefficient. The ambient higher-order ambisonic coefficient may represent, at least in part, an ambient component of the sound field. The reduced vector may include a vector element associated with the ambient higher-order ambisonic coefficient in transition. The memory may be configured to store the frame of the bitstream.