Multi-Channel Audio Signal Processing Using Space Information
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for processing multi-channel audio signals using spatial audio coding result in low channel transmission efficiency and degraded sound quality due to the disappearance of surround components during down-mixing, requiring large amounts of side information for restoration.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method that utilize space information to down-mix and up-mix multi-channel audio signals, generating and decoding side information to restore surround components, thereby improving compression efficiency and sound quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If spatial audio coding is used to restore surround components from down-mixed stereo signal, then surround components can be restored, but the channel transmission efficiency is low and sound quality is degraded due to large amount of side information required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and transmits only the essential space information (surround level information and phase difference information) needed for surround component restoration, rather than transmitting all side information. This extraction approach reduces the transmission data amount while maintaining restoration quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the representation parameters from traditional binaural cues to space information parameters (surround level and phase difference). This parameter transformation enables more efficient encoding and transmission of the information needed for surround component restoration.
2Reliability
If conventional binaural cue coding is used for spatial audio coding, then surround components can be restored, but crosstalk occurs between surround and non-surround components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the audio signal processing into separate pathways: down-mixing applies space information to surround components, while up-mixing reconstructs them. This segmentation prevents crosstalk by maintaining distinct processing streams for surround and non-surround components throughout the compression and decompression process.
3Productivity
If down-mixing is applied to multi-channel audio signal, then transmission efficiency is improved, but surround components disappear and require large side information for restoration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies space information to surround components during down-mixing as a preliminary action. This preprocessing embeds the necessary spatial characteristics into the down-mixed signal, enabling efficient transmission while preserving the information needed for high-quality restoration without requiring large amounts of additional side information.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for and a method of processing a multi-channel audio signal using space information. The apparatus includes: a main coding unit down mixing a multi-channel audio signal by applying space information to surround components included in the multi-channel audio signal, generating side information using the multi-channel audio signal or a stereo signal of a down-mixed result, coding the stereo signal and the side information, and transmitting the coded result as a coding signal; and a main decoding unit receiving the coding signal, decoding the stereo signal and the side information using the received coding signal, up mixing the decoded stereo signal using the decoded side information, and restoring the multi-channel audio signal.