Low bit-rate spatial coding method and system
US6016473A · kind A · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 7, 1998 |
| Grant date | Jan 18, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 7, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04S2420/03
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A spatial audio coding system, including an encoder and a decoder, operates at very low bit-rates and is useful for audio via the Internet. The listener or listeners preferably are located within a predictable listening area, for example, users of a personal computer or television viewers. An encoder produces a composite audio-information signal representing the soundfield to be reproduced and a directional vector or "steering control signal." The composite audio-information signal has its frequency spectrum broken into a number of subbands, preferably commensurate with the critical bands of the human ear. The steering control signal has a component relating to the dominant direction of the soundfield in each of the subbands. Because the system is based on the premise that only sound from a single direction is heard at any instant, the decoder need not apply a signal to more than two sound transducers at any instant.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.