Audio Mixer for Conference Calls with Sample Rate Segmentation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional audio mixers for conference calls require multiple decoding, resampling, and encoding steps, leading to quality loss and high computational load, especially when dealing with participants using different sample rates, resulting in unnecessary processing and reduced audio quality.
Innovation Solution
The audio mixer employs a dynamic architecture with pre-mixers, resamplers, and post-mixers for each sample rate, using a 'mix indicator' to optimize processing based on active sample rates, reducing unnecessary resampling steps and adapting to changes in participant settings, thereby improving audio quality and efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional audio mixer processes all audio streams through multiple decodes, resamplings, and encodes, then all participants can be mixed regardless of sample rate differences, but audio quality deteriorates and computational load increases
Solution Approach 1:
The audio mixer is segmented into multiple mixing arrangements, with each arrangement dedicated to a specific sample rate (e.g., 8kHz, 16kHz, 48kHz). Audio streams are routed to the mixing arrangement matching their sample rate, eliminating unnecessary resampling operations and preserving audio quality while maintaining compatibility across different sample rates.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adapts its processing path based on the sample rate of incoming audio streams. Each mixing arrangement is activated only when needed for its corresponding sample rate, allowing the system to optimize processing in real-time and avoid fixed, over-processing architectures.
2Ease of operation
If conventional audio mixer resamples all audio streams to the highest sample rate, then mixing can be performed uniformly, but computational load increases and processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
Each mixing arrangement is optimized for its specific sample rate with dedicated pre-mixers and post-mixers configured for that rate. This local optimization allows uniform mixing operations to be performed efficiently at each sample rate level without the need to convert all streams to the highest sample rate, significantly reducing computational load and processing time.
3Adaptability or versatility
If conventional audio mixer performs multiple resampling operations on each audio path, then all streams can be mixed at common format, but audio quality is reduced due to cumulative resampling loss
Solution Approach 1:
The mixing system is segmented into independent mixing arrangements for different sample rates. Audio streams remain in their native sample rate throughout the mixing process within their dedicated arrangement, eliminating cumulative resampling loss while still achieving common format mixing through the coordinated operation of multiple sample rate-specific arrangements.
4Ease of operation
If conventional audio mixer processes audio streams independently through separate decoders and encoders, then each participant's audio can be processed individually, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple independent audio paths are merged into sample rate-specific mixing arrangements. Instead of processing each participant's audio completely independently through separate decoder-resampler-encoder chains, streams of the same sample rate are combined in dedicated mixing arrangements, reducing the total number of processing components while maintaining independent path processing capabilities.
Data Source
AI summary
An audio mixer for mixing audio signals from a plurality of participants, including audio signals of different sample rates; the audio mixer comprising: a plurality of mixing arrangements, each mixing arrangement for a given one of said sample rates; each mixing arrangement comprising: a pre-mixer configured to mix audio signals having the given sample rate; one or more resamplers, each resampler configured to convert pre-mixed audio signals from other mixing arrangements into a signal of the given sample rate; and a post-mixer configured to mix the output of the pre-mixer with the output of each resampler to produce an output at the given sample rate; the audio mixer further comprising a subtractor configured to subtract the participant's input audio signal from the post-mixed output.