Quality and rate control strategy for digital audio

• US 20070061138A1
• Filed: 11/14/2006
• Published: 03/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Lee, Ming-Chieh, Thumpudi, Naveen, Chen, Wei-Ge
• Granted Patent: US 7,295,971 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/230
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/002 Dynamic bit allocation for perceptual audio coders G10L19/032
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/24 Variable rate codecs, e.g. for generating different qualities using a scalable representation such as hierarchical encoding or layered encoding

Abstract

An audio encoder regulates quality and bitrate with a control strategy. The strategy includes several features. First, an encoder regulates quantization using quality, minimum bit count, and maximum bit count parameters. Second, an encoder regulates quantization using a noise measure that indicates reliability of a complexity measure. Third, an encoder normalizes a control parameter value according to block size for a variable-size block. Fourth, an encoder uses a bit-count control loop de-linked from a quality control loop. Fifth, an encoder addresses non-monotonicity of quality measurement as a function of quantization level when selecting a quantization level. Sixth, an encoder uses particular interpolation rules to find a quantization level in a quality or bit-count control loop. Seventh, an encoder filters a control parameter value to smooth quality. Eighth, an encoder corrects model bias by adjusting a control parameter value in view of current buffer fullness.

Claims

1-64. -64. (canceled)

65. A computer-readable medium encoded with computer-executable instructions for causing a computer programmed thereby to perform a method comprising:

selecting a quantization level within a range of quantization levels, wherein the selecting accounts for non-monotonicity of quality measure as a function of quantization level within the range; and

quantizing audio information by the quantization level.

66. The computer-readable medium of claim 65 wherein the audio information is a block of frequency coefficients, and wherein the quantization level is a quantization step size.

67. The computer-readable medium of claim 65 wherein the method further comprises:

computing a first quality measure indicating quality of the audio information as quantized by the quantization level;

comparing the first quality measure to a second quality measure for the audio information, the second quality measure indicating quality of the audio information as quantized by a previous quantization level higher than the quantization level; and

if the first quality measure indicates worse quality than the second quality measure, designating the quantization level as inferior.

101. The computer-readable medium of claim 65 wherein the method further comprises, in a quality control loop, setting a target quality, the quality control loop including the selecting and the quantizing.

102. The computer-readable medium of claim 101 wherein the method further comprises, in a rate control loop, setting a target bit rate and adjusting quantization of the audio information in view of the target bit rate.

103. The computer-readable medium of claim 65 wherein the selecting considers a target quality but not a bit rate associated with the quantization level.

104. The computer-readable medium of claim 65 wherein the method further comprises:

computing a first quality measure indicating quality of the audio information as quantized by the quantization level;

comparing the first quality measure to a second quality measure for the audio information, the second quality measure indicating quality of the audio information as quantized by a previous quantization level lower than the quantization level; and

if the second quality measure indicates worse quality than the first quality measure, designating the previous quantization level as inferior.

105. The computer-readable medium of claim 104, wherein the first quality measure and the second quality measure are noise to excitation ratios.

106. The computer-readable medium of claim 67 wherein, when accounting for non-monotonicity, the selecting includes evaluating each of plural quantization levels within a range of quantization levels, and wherein the selecting otherwise includes replacing the range with a sub-range of the range and evaluating a quantization level within the sub-range.

68. (canceled)

69. (canceled)

70. A computer-readable medium encoded with computer-executable instructions for causing a computer programmed thereby to perform a method comprising:

quantizing audio information by a quantization level;

computing a first quality measure indicating quality of the audio information as quantized by the quantization level;

comparing the first quality measure to a second quality measure for the audio information, the second quality measure indicating quality of the audio information as quantized by a previous quantization level; and

if the comparing indicates non-monotonicity of quality measure as a function of quantization level, designating the quantization level as inferior.

71. The computer-readable medium of claim 70 wherein the audio information is a block of frequency coefficients, and wherein the quantization level is a quantization step size.

107. The computer-readable medium of claim 70, wherein the method further comprises, in a quality control loop, setting a target quality, the quality control loop including the selecting and the quantizing.

108. The computer-readable medium of claim 70 wherein the selecting considers a target quality but not a bit rate associated with the quantization level.

109. The computer-readable medium of claim 70 wherein the first quality measure and the second quality measure are noise to excitation ratios.

72-100. -100. (canceled)

110. In an audio encoder, a method comprising:

receiving audio information;

quantizing and entropy coding the audio information, including;

selecting a quantization level within a range of quantization levels, wherein the selecting accounts for non-monotonicity of quality measure as a function of quantization level within the range; and

applying the quantization level to the audio information for the quantizing;

outputting the entropy coded, quantized audio information.

111. The method of claim 110 wherein the audio information is a block of frequency coefficients, and wherein the quantization level is a quantization step size.

112. The method of claim 110 further comprising:

computing a first quality measure indicating quality of the audio information as quantized by the quantization level;

comparing the first quality measure to a second quality measure for the audio information, the second quality measure indicating quality of the audio information as quantized by a previous quantization level higher than the quantization level; and

if the first quality measure indicates worse quality than the second quality measure, designating the quantization level as inferior.

113. The method of claim 110 further comprising, in a quality control loop, setting a target quality, the quality control loop including the selecting and the quantizing.

114. The method of claim 113 further comprising, in a rate control loop, setting a target bit rate and adjusting quantization of the audio information in view of the target bit rate.

115. The method of claim 110 wherein the selecting considers a target quality but not a bit rate associated with the quantization level.