Audio Bitstream Rendering Blocks for Low-Latency Wireless Playback

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing audio streaming technologies face challenges in maintaining high-quality, low-latency wireless transmission of immersive audio programs due to varying speaker setups and wireless link quality, which affects both audio and additional signal types.

Innovation Solution

A method for generating and decoding audio signals that involves grouping related audio signals, applying joint-coding tools, and combining them with device-specific parameters like delay, gain, and equalization into an encoded bitstream, allowing for flexible rendering and efficient decoding on individual devices.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If audio signals are transmitted with device-specific parameters (delay, gain, equalization) for each playback device, then adaptability to different speaker configurations is improved, but device complexity and processing overhead increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveadaptability to speaker configurationsVSAvoidprocessing complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The audio signal is segmented into independent blocks, each containing audio signals and associated device-specific parameters (delay, gain, equalization curves) for specific playback devices. This segmentation allows each block to be independently decoded and applied to the target device, achieving adaptability without requiring complex global processing for each device.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Device-specific parameters (delay values, gain adjustments, equalization curves) are pre-calculated and embedded into the encoded bitstream during the encoding phase. This preliminary action eliminates the need for complex real-time calculations at the decoding stage, reducing processing complexity while maintaining adaptability to different speaker configurations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Productivity

If joint-coding tools are applied to grouped audio signals, then coding efficiency is improved, but decoding complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecoding efficiencyVSAvoiddecoding complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Audio signals are divided into groups of related signals that are jointly-coded together in independent blocks. By segmenting the audio content into meaningful groups (e.g., spatially related sources, correlated signals), joint-coding efficiency is achieved only where beneficial, while avoiding unnecessary complexity for unrelated signals.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Joint-coding tools are applied selectively to groups of audio signals rather than to all signals universally. This partial application of joint-coding achieves efficiency gains for correlated signals while avoiding the excessive decoding complexity that would result from applying joint-coding to all audio content regardless of correlation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

3Adaptability or versatility

If audio is streamed over wireless links with varying quality, then coverage and accessibility are improved, but audio quality and reliability deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewireless link compatibilityVSAvoidaudio quality

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The encoded bitstream structure allows dynamic adaptation to varying wireless link qualities. Independent blocks can be transmitted and decoded independently, allowing the system to adapt to packet loss and varying channel conditions by recovering from individual block failures without compromising the entire audio stream, thus maintaining reliability over variable wireless links.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

4Loss of time

If low latency format is used for wireless distribution, then latency is reduced, but audio quality may be compromised

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovelatencyVSAvoidaudio quality

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of timeVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The audio stream is divided into independent blocks that can be transmitted and decoded with minimal buffering requirements. This segmentation enables low-latency processing by allowing immediate decoding of received blocks without waiting for complete frame assemblies, achieving low latency while maintaining audio quality through efficient block-level processing.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS20260112374A1Method, apparatus, and medium for encoding and decoding of audio bitstreams with parametric flexible rendering configuration data

Publication Date: 2026.04.23 DOLBY LABORATORIES LICENSING CORP

AI summary

A method for generating an encoded bitstream from an audio program comprising a plurality of audio signals, the method comprising receiving, for each of the plurality of audio signals, information indicating a playback device with which the respective audio signal is associated, receiving, for each playback device, information indicating at least one of a delay, a gain, and an equalization curve associated with the respective playback device, determining, from the plurality of audio signals, a group of two or more related audio signals, applying one or more joint-coding tools to the two or more related audio signals of the group to obtain jointly-coded audio signals, and combining the jointly-coded audio signals, an indication of the playback devices with which the jointly-coded audio signals are associated, and indications of the delay and the gain associated with the respective playback devices with which the jointly-coded audio signals are associated, into an independent block of an encoded bitstream.