Audio Decoder DRC Profile Selection Across Rendering Modes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing audio playback systems face challenges in reproducing high-quality audio content across a broad range of devices with varying dynamic range capabilities and listening environments, leading to issues such as clipping or distortion.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating multiple Dynamic Range Control (DRC) profiles within audio frames to enable an audio decoder to select the appropriate DRC profile for the specific playback environment, ensuring high-quality and intelligible audio reproduction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a single DRC profile is used for all playback scenarios, then the device complexity is reduced, but the audio quality and intelligibility deteriorate across different playback environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the audio data structure by separating DRC profile information from the main audio content. Multiple DRC profiles are embedded within the audio bitstream, allowing the decoder to select appropriate profiles for different playback environments without increasing overall system complexity. Each profile contains specific dynamic range control parameters that can be independently applied.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic selection of DRC profiles based on playback environment characteristics. The decoder dynamically switches between different DRC profiles stored in the audio data structure, adapting the dynamic range control parameters to match the specific playback scenario (e.g., television, cinema, portable device) rather than using a static single profile.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple DRC profiles are embedded in the audio bitstream, then the adaptability to different rendering modes is improved, but the bandwidth consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential DRC profile parameters needed for different playback environments and embeds them efficiently within the existing audio bitstream structure. Rather than including complete separate profile data structures, only the critical dynamic range control parameters are included, minimizing the additional bandwidth consumption while maintaining full adaptability.
3Reliability
If DRC processing is applied to all audio content, then the audio quality is improved across different devices, but the processing time and computational load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies DRC processing selectively rather than uniformly to all audio content. The decoder identifies which portions of the audio stream require dynamic range control based on the selected DRC profile and playback environment, applying processing only where necessary. This partial application approach maintains audio quality consistency across devices while reducing overall computational load and processing time.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for decoding an encoded audio signal is described. The encoded audio signal comprises a sequence of frames, and is indicative of a plurality of different dynamic range control (DRC) profiles for a corresponding plurality of different rendering modes. The method comprises determining a first rendering mode from the plurality of different rendering modes; determining one or more DRC profiles from a subset of DRC profiles comprised within a current frame of the sequence of frames; determining whether at least one of the one or more DRC profiles is applicable to the first rendering mode; selecting a default DRC profile as a current DRC profile, if none of the one or more DRC profiles is applicable to the first rendering mode; wherein definition data of the default DRC profile is known at a decoder; and decoding the current frame using the current DRC profile.