Object-Based Dialog Audio Balancing for Listening Comfort
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing audio technologies fail to effectively adjust dialog and non-dialog audio levels to user preferences, leading to inconsistent listening comfort and requiring frequent volume adjustments, especially for individuals with hearing loss or non-native language speakers, and can produce noticeable audio artifacts.
Innovation Solution
An object-based digital audio system that separates dialog and non-dialog signals, allowing for dynamic gain adjustments based on user-defined preferences and audio program genres, using metadata to calculate and apply long-term and short-term balance corrections to maintain optimal listening comfort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If dialog audio level is increased to improve listening comfort, then dialog intelligibility is improved, but non-dialog audio elements become relatively quieter and may lose balance
Solution Approach 1:
The audio signal is segmented into dialog components and non-dialog components using dialog detection techniques. This allows independent processing of dialog (amplification for intelligibility) and non-dialog elements (maintaining original balance), resolving the contradiction between improving dialog intelligibility and preserving overall audio balance.
2Measurement precision
If fixed dialog gain is applied to all audio programs, then dialog prominence is improved, but audio artifacts become noticeable and listening comfort decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts dialog gain based on detected dialog presence and program characteristics rather than applying a fixed gain. The dialog enhancement amount varies adaptively across different audio programs and time segments, preventing audible artifacts while maintaining dialog prominence where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the gain parameter adaptively based on dialog detection results and program type. Different gain values are applied depending on whether dialog is present, the genre of the program, and the specific temporal segment, optimizing dialog prominence while avoiding artifacts.
3Reliability
If manual volume adjustment is required for each audio program, then listening comfort can be optimized, but user convenience decreases and repeated adjustments are needed
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically detects dialog in the audio program and applies appropriate enhancement without requiring user intervention. The dialog detection and enhancement process operates autonomously, providing optimized listening comfort while eliminating the need for manual volume adjustments by the user.
4Adaptability or versatility
If object-based audio processing is implemented to separate dialog and non-dialog signals, then dialog control flexibility is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses an intermediary processing stage that detects dialog and generates control signals for selective enhancement. This intermediary layer enables flexible dialog control without requiring complete object-based audio decomposition, achieving adaptability while managing system complexity through a focused detection-and-enhance architecture.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, devices, and methods are described herein for adjusting a relationship between dialog and non-dialog signals in an audio program. In an example, information about a long-term dialog balance for an audio program can be received. The long-term loudness dialog balance can indicate a dialog-to-non-dialog loudness relationship of the audio program. A dialog loudness preference can be received, such as from a user, from a database, or from another source. A desired long-term gain or attenuation can be determined according to a difference between the received long-term dialog balance for the audio program and the received dialog balance preference. The long-term gain or attenuation can be applied to at least one of the dialog signal and the non-dialog signal of the audio program to render an audio program that is enhanced according to the loudness preference.