Audio Encoding Device Prioritizing MDCT Coefficients for Real-Time 3D Audio
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current encoding technologies face challenges in achieving high compression efficiency and real-time performance, particularly in transmitting a large number of audio channels for 3D Audio applications, which is essential for live streaming events like concerts, where maintaining real-time operation is crucial.
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution involves an encoding device and method that prioritize audio signals based on importance, performing time-frequency transforms and bit allocation using MDCT coefficients, and inserting silent data when processing deadlines are not met, ensuring efficient encoding and decoding while maintaining real-time operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If audio signals are encoded in real-time for live streaming, then real-time performance is maintained, but encoding efficiency is insufficient when handling a large number of audio channels
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments audio signals into multiple channels and processes them in parallel using multiple cores. Each core handles a portion of the audio channels independently, allowing simultaneous encoding of multiple channels without sequential processing bottlenecks. This segmentation enables the system to scale with the number of channels while maintaining real-time performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-calculating and storing encoding parameters, metadata, and processing configurations before actual encoding begins. Priority levels for different audio channels are determined in advance, and processing is organized into predefined stages (metadata encoding, audio signal encoding, multiplexing). This preliminary organization reduces real-time processing complexity and improves encoding efficiency.
2Productivity
If more audio channels are processed simultaneously to improve compression efficiency, then compression efficiency improves, but processing load increases and real-time operation becomes difficult to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The processing load is segmented across multiple independent cores, with each core handling a specific subset of audio channels. This distribution prevents any single processing unit from becoming a bottleneck, allowing the system to handle increased channel counts without proportionally increasing the complexity of individual processing units. The parallel architecture maintains real-time operation by preventing processing backlog.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic resource allocation where processing priorities and resource distribution can be adjusted based on system load and real-time requirements. Priority metadata allows the system to dynamically adjust which channels receive more processing resources, enabling flexible adaptation to varying compression efficiency needs while maintaining overall real-time performance.
3Productivity
If audio signals are prioritized and processed in descending order of priority, then encoding efficiency improves, but processing time for lower priority signals increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the processing of priority levels across multiple cores simultaneously. Rather than processing all high-priority channels on one core before moving to low-priority channels, different cores can handle different priority levels in parallel. This reduces the total time lower-priority signals wait in the processing queue, as other cores are working on lower-priority segments concurrently.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent maintains continuous useful action by ensuring that while some cores are processing high-priority channels, other cores are simultaneously processing low-priority channels. This parallel continuity prevents idle time in the overall system, as processing work continues across all priority levels without sequential interruptions, reducing total processing time for lower-priority signals.
Data Source
AI summary
The present technology relates to an encoding device and method, a decoding device and method, and a program that enable to improve an encoding efficiency in a state where a real-time operation is maintained.The encoding device includes a priority information generation unit that generates priority information indicating a priority of an audio signal, on the basis of at least one of the audio signal or metadata of the audio signal, a time-frequency transform unit that performs time-frequency transform on the audio signal and generates an MDCT coefficient, and a bit allocation unit that quantizes the MDCT coefficient of the audio signal, in descending order of the priority of the audio signal indicated by the priority information, for a plurality of the audio signals. The present technology may be applied to the encoding device.