Audio Playback Captioning With Segment-Level Speed Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing audio playback systems render words or portions of audio streams unintelligible when played at increased speeds, such as 1.5× or 2×, despite listener preferences for faster playback.
Innovation Solution
An audio playback optimizer transcribes audio streams at normal and high speeds, identifies unintelligible portions, reduces playback speed for those portions until intelligible, and plays unintelligible portions at the optimal speed when requested at high speed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If playback speed is increased to improve efficiency and listening speed, then productivity is improved, but intelligibility of audio content deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The audio stream is segmented into multiple portions based on intelligibility assessment. The system identifies specific segments that become unintelligible at high playback speeds and processes them separately from the rest of the audio content.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the audio stream are assigned different playback speeds based on their intelligibility characteristics. Intelligible portions play at high speed while unintelligible portions play at reduced speed, creating a non-uniform playback experience optimized for both efficiency and comprehension.
2Reliability
If playback speed is reduced to improve intelligibility, then reliability is improved, but productivity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The audio is divided into intelligible and unintelligible segments based on transcription comparison. Only the necessary unintelligible segments receive speed reduction treatment, while the majority of intelligible content maintains high playback speed.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of reducing playback speed for the entire audio stream, the system applies speed reduction only partially to the specific portions that require it, minimizing the overall impact on listening efficiency while maximizing intelligibility where needed.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, a structure, and a computer system for playback optimization. The exemplary embodiments may include transcribing an audio stream at normal and at high playback speed, as well as determining whether portions of the audio stream are unintelligible at the high playback speed. The exemplary embodiments may further include reducing a speed of the high playback speed for portions determined unintelligible, and transcribing the audio stream with the unintelligible portions played at the reduced high playback speed. The exemplary embodiments may further include determining whether the unintelligible portions are still unintelligible at the reduced high playback speed and, if not, identifying the reduced high playback speed as an optimal playback speed of the unintelligible portions. The exemplary embodiments may additionally include, in response to receiving a request to play the audio stream at the high playback speed, playing the unintelligible portions at the optimal playback speed.