Spatial Component Quantizer Bit Allocation for Audio Encoding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current psychoacoustic audio coding techniques face challenges in efficiently quantizing spatial components, leading to audio artifacts such as incorrect localization and poor spatial resolution, due to independent quantization of spatial and foreground audio signals.
Innovation Solution
Integrating a spatial component quantizer (SCQ) within the psychoacoustic audio encoding device to align bit allocations for spatial and foreground audio signals, ensuring uniform quantization and reducing artifacts by determining a second bit allocation for the spatial component based on the first bit allocation for the foreground signal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If spatial components and foreground audio signals are quantized independently, then the encoding process is simpler, but audio artifacts such as incorrect localization and poor spatial resolution occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the quantization of spatial components and foreground audio signals into a unified process. The bit allocation for spatial components is determined based on the bit allocation of the foreground audio signal, ensuring coordinated quantization that prevents spatial artifacts while maintaining encoding efficiency.
2Productivity
If bit allocation is determined independently for spatial and foreground audio signals, then the encoding is faster, but spatial resolution and localization accuracy deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary bit allocation for the foreground audio signal first, then uses this allocation to determine the bit allocation for spatial components. This sequential approach maintains encoding efficiency while ensuring that spatial quantization is appropriately coordinated with the foreground signal quality.
3Loss of energy
If spatial components are quantized with insufficient bits, then the bit rate is lower, but spatial artifacts and poor localization occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic bit allocation for spatial components based on the foreground audio signal characteristics. The bit allocation for spatial components is adjusted dynamically according to the first bit allocation, ensuring optimal spatial quality at varying bit rates without wasting bits on already well-represented foreground signals.
Data Source
AI summary
In general, techniques are described for quantizing spatial components based on bit allocations determined for psychoacoustic audio coding. A device comprising a memory and one or more processors may perform the techniques. The memory may store a bitstream including an encoded foreground audio signal and a corresponding quantized spatial component. The one or more processors may perform psychoacoustic audio decoding with respect to the encoded foreground audio signal to obtain a foreground audio signal, and determine, when performing the psychoacoustic audio decoding, a first bit allocation for the encoded foreground audio signal. The one or more processors may also determine, based on the first bit allocation, a second bit allocation, and dequantize, based on the second bit allocation, the quantized spatial component to obtain a spatial component. The one or more processors may reconstruct, based on the foreground audio signal and the spatial component, scene-based audio data.