Multi-resolution audio signals

• US 10,194,239 B2
• Filed: 11/06/2012
• Issued: 01/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Yliaho, Marko T., Koski, Ari J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Yogeshkumar
• Application Number:
  US13/669,932
• Publication Number:
  US 20140126751A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,275 Days
• Field of Search: 381122, 381 74, 381 716, 381 717, 381 731, 381119, 381 1, 707E17009, 715748, 715727, 700 94, 709204, 709271, 709219, 34820799, 348E05026
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/10546 specifically adapted for audio data
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2227/005 Audio distribution systems for home, i.e. multi-room use
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2410/03 Reduction of intrinsic noise in microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/11 Transducers incorporated or for use in hand-held devices, e.g. mobile phones, PDA's, camera's
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/00 Circuits for transducers , loudspeakers or microphones

Abstract

An apparatus including at least one microphone; audio circuitry connected to the at least one microphone; and a memory connected to the audio circuitry. The audio circuitry is configured to output a first audio track and at least one second audio track. The audio circuitry is configured to form the first audio track from an output signal, provided by the at least one microphone, by processing the output signal with a first audio configuring, and where the audio circuitry is configured to form the at least one second audio track from the output signal, provided by the at least one microphone, without the first audio configuring. The memory is configured to store the first audio track and the at least one second audio track together.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

at least one microphone;

audio circuitry connected to the at least one microphone, where the audio circuitry is configured to output a first audio track and at least one second audio track, where the audio circuitry is configured to form the first audio track from at least one output signal, provided by the at least one microphone, by processing the at least one output signal with a first audio configuring and form the first audio track with a first audio resolution, and where the audio circuitry is configured to form the at least one second audio track from the same at least one output signal, provided by the same at least one microphone, by processing the at least one output signal with a different second audio configuring and form the at least one second audio track with a second different audio resolution;

a memory connected to the audio circuitry which is configured to store the first audio track and the at least one second audio track; and

a selector configured to automatically select the first audio track or the at least one second audio track to be played after the first and second audio tracks have been stored in the memory, where a plurality of the audio tracks has a different audio resolution of a same sound received at the at least one microphone, where the apparatus is;

configured to be able to play at least one of the respective audio resolutions, and

configured to not be able to play at least one other one of the respective audio resolutions, and

where the selector is configured to automatically select the first audio track to be played or the at least one second audio track to be played based at least partially upon an audio resolution playing capability of the apparatus to play the at least one of the respective audio resolutions and an audio resolution playing incapability of the apparatus to play the at least one other one of the respective audio resolutions.

2. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the apparatus is configured to store the first audio track and the at least one second audio track in the memory in a common file.

3. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the audio circuitry is configured to process the at least one output signal with the first audio configuring comprising the at least one output signal being dynamic range lowered with a first range lowering to a dynamic range of about 20 bits or 16 bits.

4. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the audio circuitry is configured to process the at least one output signal with the first audio configuring comprising at least one of:

the at least one output signal being expanded to a higher dynamic range,

the at least one output signal being upsampled to a higher sample rate.

5. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the at least one output signal from the at least one microphone is processed by the at least one microphone with a microphone driver and hardware specific microphone processing.

6. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the audio circuitry is configured to perform at least one of:

the processing of the at least one output signal to form the first audio track comprising noise reduction, upmixing, audio zooming, and/or audio encoding, and

the processing of the at least one output signal to form the at least one second audio track comprising noise reduction, upmixing, audio zooming, and/or audio encoding.

7. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the audio circuitry is configured to form at least one of the second audio track(s) without any resampling and/or dynamic range changing.

8. An apparatus as in claim 3 where the audio circuitry is configured to form at least one of the second audio track(s) with the second audio configuring comprising a second different downsampling and/or a second different range lowering.

14. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the audio circuitry is configured to process the at least one output signal with the first audio configuring comprising the at least one output signal being downsampled with a first downsampling to a sample rate of about 96 kHz or 48 kHz.

9. A method comprising:

recording a first audio track on a memory of an apparatus, where the first audio track is formed from an output signal provided by a microphone, of sound received at the microphone, which has been processed with a first audio configuring and forms the first audio track with a first audio resolution;

recording at least one second audio track on the memory with the first audio track, where the at least one second audio track is formed from the same output signal provided by the same microphone, of the same sound received at the microphone, which has been processed with a different second audio configuring and forms the second audio track with a second different audio resolution; and

a selector of the apparatus automatically selecting the audio track to be played by the apparatus from the first audio track and the at least one second audio track after the first audio track and the at least one second audio track have been stored in the memory, where each of the audio tracks has a different audio resolution of the same sound, where the apparatus is configured to be able to play at least one of the respective audio resolutions and configured to not be able to play at least one other one of the respective audio resolutions, and where the selector automatically selects the audio track to be played based upon an audio resolution playing capability of the apparatus to play the at least one respective audio resolution of the selected audio track, where the apparatus is incapable of playing the at least one other one of the respective audio resolutions.

10. A method as in claim 9 where the recording of the first audio track and the recording of the at least one second audio track on the memory is in a common file.

11. A method as in claim 9 further comprising at least one of:

compressing the output signal to a dynamic range of about 20 bits or 16 bits as the first audio configuring, and downsampling the output signal to a sample rate of about 96 kHz or 48 kHz as the first audio configuring.

12. A method as in claim 9 further comprising at least one of:

providing a user an ability to select the first audio resolution of the first audio track including dynamic range and sample rate, and

providing the user an ability to select the second different audio resolution of at least one of the second audio track(s) including dynamic range and sample rate of the at least one second audio track(s).

13. A non-transitory program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine for performing operations, the operations comprising:

recording a first audio track on a memory of an apparatus, where the first audio track is formed from an output signal provided by a microphone, of sound received at the microphone, which has been processed with a first audio configuring;

recording at least one second audio track on the memory with the first audio track, where the second audio track is formed from the same output signal provided by the same microphone, of the same sound received at the microphone, which has been processed with a second different audio configuring;

automatically selecting, by a selector of the apparatus, at least one of the audio tracks to be played by the apparatus from the audio tracks of the same sound received by the microphone after the first and second audio tracks have been stored in the memory, where a plurality of the audio tracks have different audio resolutions of the same sound, where the apparatus is configured to be able to play at least one of the respective audio resolutions and configured to not be able to play at least one other one of the respective audio resolutions, and where the selector automatically selects the audio track to be played based upon an audio resolution playing capability of the apparatus to play the at least one respective audio resolution of the selected at least one audio track and an audio resolution playing incapability of the apparatus to play the at least one other one of the respective audio resolutions; and

the apparatus playing the automatically selected at least one audio track.