Audio Decoder Special Frames for Immediate Playback Startup
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing audio encoding and decoding technologies face challenges in seamlessly switching between different codec configurations, leading to decoder start-up delays and potential glitches during bitrate fluctuations in variable transmission channels.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a special frame with additional information that includes encoded audio sample values from preceding frames, allowing the decoder to initialize and switch between codec configurations efficiently, ensuring immediate playback and seamless transitions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If the decoder initializes normally without pre-roll frames, then the device complexity is reduced, but the start-up delay increases and immediate playback cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by including pre-roll frames (encoded audio sample values from preceding frames) within the current frame data structure. These pre-roll frames are decoded before the current frame to initialize the decoder's internal state, allowing immediate playback without external initialization procedures. The determiner identifies these pre-roll frames, and the initializer decodes them in advance to prepare the decoder for seamless playback.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the decoder switches between different codec configurations, then the adaptability to varying transmission conditions is improved, but the risk of glitches and playback interruptions increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-decoding the pre-roll frames included in the special frame before switching to a different codec configuration. This initialization process prepares the decoder's internal state in advance, ensuring that when the codec configuration changes, the transition is seamless without causing glitches or playback interruptions. The determiner detects the codec configuration change, and the initializer uses the pre-roll frames to prepare the decoder before the switch occurs.
3Loss of time
If additional information including pre-roll frames is included in each frame, then the immediate playback capability is improved, but the bitrate and data transmission volume increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by designing the special frame structure to serve multiple functions simultaneously. The same pre-roll frames included in the additional information serve both as initialization data for the decoder and as valid audio content that can be decoded and played back. This multi-functional approach allows the system to achieve immediate playback capability without proportionally increasing the overall bitrate, as the pre-roll frames are not redundant data but useful audio content.
Data Source
AI summary
An audio decoder decodes a bit stream of encoded audio data, which bit stream represents a sequence of audio sample values and includes a plurality of frames, wherein each frame includes associated encoded audio sample values. The audio decoder includes a determiner configured to determine whether a frame of the encoded audio data is a special frame including encoded audio sample values associated with the special frame and additional information, wherein the additional information include encoded audio sample values of a number of frames preceding the special frame, wherein the encoded audio sample values of the preceding frames are encoded using the same codec configuration as the special frame, wherein the number of preceding frames is sufficient to initialize the decoder to be in a position to decode the audio sample values associated with the special frame if the special frame is the first frame upon start-up of the decoder.