Apparatus and a Method for Calculating a Number of Spectral Envelopes

• US 20110202358A1
• Filed: 01/11/2011
• Published: 08/18/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fraunhofer Gesellschaft Zur Foerderung Der Angewandten Forsching E.V.
• Original Assignee: Fraunhofer Gesellschaft Zur Foerderung Der Angewandten Forsching E.V.
• Inventors: Gayer, Marc, Lohwasser, Markus, Bacigalupo, Virgilio, Jander, Manuel, Neuendorf, Max, Popp, Harald, Nagel, Frederik, Grill, Bernhard, Multrus, Markus, Kraemer, Ulrich, Rettelbach, Nikolaus
• Granted Patent: US 8,296,159 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/503
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/0208 Subband vocoders
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/025 Detection of transients or attacks for time/frequency resolution switching
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/20 using sound class specific coding, hybrid encoders or object based coding
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/038 using band spreading techniques

Abstract

An apparatus calculates a number of spectral envelopes to be derived by a spectral band replication (SBR) encoder, wherein the SBR encoder is adapted to encode an audio signal using a plurality of sample values within a predetermined number of subsequent time portions in an SBR frame extending from an initial time to a final time, the predetermined number of subsequent time portions being arranged in a time sequence given by the audio signal. The apparatus has a decision value calculator for determining a decision value, the decision value measuring a deviation in spectral energy distributions of a pair of neighboring time portions. The apparatus further has a detector for detecting a violation of a threshold by the decision value and a processor for determining a first envelope border between the pair of neighboring time portions when the violation of the threshold is detected.

Claims

1. An apparatus for calculating a number of spectral envelopes to be derived by a spectral band replication (SBR) encoder, wherein the SBR encoder is adapted to encode an audio signal using a plurality of sample values within a predetermined number of subsequent time portions in an SBR frame extending from an initial time to a final time, the predetermined number of subsequent time portions being arranged in a time sequence given by the audio signal, the apparatus comprising:

a decision value calculator for determining a decision value, the decision value measuring a deviation in spectral energy distributions of a pair of neighboring time portions;

a detector for detecting a violation of a threshold by the decision value;

a processor for determining a first envelope border between the pair of neighboring time portions when the violation of the threshold is detected;

a processor for determining a second envelope border between a different pair of neighboring time portions or at the initial time or at the final time for an envelope comprising the first envelope border based on the violation of the threshold for the other pair or based on a temporal position of the pair or the different pair in the SBR frame; and

a number processor for establishing the number of spectral envelopes comprising the first envelope border and the second envelope border.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, in which a length in time of a time portion of the predetermined number of subsequent time portions is equal to a minimal length in time, for which a single envelope is determined, and in which the decision value calculator is adapted to calculate a decision value for two neighboring time portions comprising the minimal length in time.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is adapted to fix the first border at a first detected violation, and wherein the processor is adapted to fix the second envelope border after comparing of at least one other decision value with the threshold.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising an information processor for providing additional side information, the additional side information comprises the first envelope border and the second envelope border within the time sequence of the audio signal.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the detector is adapted to investigate in a temporal order each of the borders between neighboring time portions.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the predetermined number of time portions is equal to n with n−

1 borders between neighboring time portions, which are numbered and ordered with respect to the time so that the borders comprise even and odd borders, and wherein the number processor is adapted to establish n as the number of spectral envelopes if the detector detects the violation at an odd border.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the detector is adapted to detect first the violation at odd borders.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the detector is adapted to determine the second border such that the spectral envelopes comprise a same temporal length and the number of spectral envelopes is a power of two.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the predetermined number is equal to 8, and wherein the number processor is adapted to establish the number of spectral envelopes to 1, 2, 4 or 8 such that each of the spectral envelopes comprises a same temporal length.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the detector is adapted to use a threshold, which depends on a temporal position of the violation such that at a temporal position yielding a larger number of spectral envelopes a higher threshold is used than for a temporal position yielding a lower number of spectral envelopes.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a transient detector with a transient threshold, the transient threshold being larger than the threshold and/or further comprising an envelope data calculator, the envelope data calculator being adapted to calculate spectral envelope data for a spectral envelope extending from the first envelope border to the second envelope border.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a switch decision unit configured to provide a switch decision signal, the switch decision signal signals a speech-like audio signal and a general audio-like audio signal, wherein the detector is adapted to lower the threshold for speech-like audio signals.

13. An encoder for encoding an audio signal comprising:

a core coder for encoding the audio signal within a core frequency band;

an apparatus for calculating a number of spectral envelopes to be derived by a spectral band replication (SBR) encoder, wherein the SBR encoder is adapted to encode an audio signal using a plurality of sample values within a predetermined number of subsequent time portions in an SBR frame extending from an initial time to a final time, the predetermined number of subsequent time portions being arranged in a time sequence given by the audio signal, the apparatus comprising;

a decision value calculator for determining a decision value, the decision value measuring a deviation in spectral energy distributions of a pair of neighboring time portions;

a detector for detecting a violation of a threshold by the decision value;

a processor for determining a first envelope border between the pair of neighboring time portions when the violation of the threshold is detected;

a processor for determining a second envelope border between a different pair of neighboring time portions or at the initial time or at the final time for an envelope comprising the first envelope border based on the violation of the threshold for the other pair or based on a temporal position of the pair or the different pair in the SBR frame; and

a number processor for establishing the number of spectral envelopes comprising the first envelope border and the second envelope border; and

an envelope data calculator for calculating envelope data based on the audio signal and the number.

14. A method for calculating a number of spectral envelopes to be derived by a spectral band replication (SBR) encoder, wherein the SBR encoder is adapted to encode an audio signal using a plurality of sample values within a predetermined number of subsequent time portions in an SBR frame extending from an initial time to a final time, the predetermined number of subsequent time portions being arranged in a time sequence given by the audio signal, the method comprising:

determining a decision value, the decision value measuring a deviation in spectral energy distributions of a pair of neighboring time portions;

detecting a violation of a threshold by the decision value;

determining a first envelope border between the pair of neighboring time portions when the violation of the threshold is detected;

determining a second envelope border between a different pair of neighboring time portions or at the initial time or at the final time for an envelope comprising the first envelope border based on the violation of the threshold for the other pair or based on a temporal position of the pair or the different pair in the SBR frame; and

establishing the number of spectral envelopes comprising the first envelope border and the second envelope border.

15. A computer program for performing, when running on a processor, a method for calculating a number of spectral envelopes to be derived by a spectral band replication (SBR) encoder, wherein the SBR encoder is adapted to encode an audio signal using a plurality of sample values within a predetermined number of subsequent time portions in an SBR frame extending from an initial time to a final time, the predetermined number of subsequent time portions being arranged in a time sequence given by the audio signal, the method comprising:

determining a decision value, the decision value measuring a deviation in spectral energy distributions of a pair of neighboring time portions;

detecting a violation of a threshold by the decision value;

determining a first envelope border between the pair of neighboring time portions when the violation of the threshold is detected;

determining a second envelope border between a different pair of neighboring time portions or at the initial time or at the final time for an envelope comprising the first envelope border based on the violation of the threshold for the other pair or based on a temporal position of the pair or the different pair in the SBR frame; and

establishing the number of spectral envelopes comprising the first envelope border and the second envelope border.