Method and an apparatus for decoding an audio signal

• US 7,783,050 B2
• Filed: 10/02/2009
• Issued: 08/24/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Oh, Hyen-O, Jung, Yang-Won
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin; Vivian
• Assistant Examiner(s): KURR, JASON RICHARD
• Application Number:
  US12/573,061
• Publication Number:
  US 20100010820A1
• Time in Patent Office: 326 Days
• Field of Search: 700/94, 704/500, 704/504, 381/22, 381/23, 381/2, 381/119, 381 17- 19, 386/54, 386/96, 369/1, 369/4
• US Class Current: 381/22
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/008 Multichannel audio signal coding or decoding using interchannel correlation to reduce redundancy, e.g. joint-stereo, intensity-coding or matrixing
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 2420/01 Enhancing the perception of the sound image or of the spatial distribution using head related transfer functions [HRTF's] or equivalents thereof, e.g. interaural time difference [ITD] or interaural level difference [ILD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 2420/03 Application of parametric coding in stereophonic audio systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 3/008 in which the audio signals are in digital form, i.e. employing more than two discrete digital channels data reduction aspects thereof based on psychoacoustics G10L19/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/302 Electronic adaptation of stereophonic sound system to listener position or orientation H04S7/301 takes precedence

Abstract

A method for processing an audio signal, comprising: receiving a downmix signal and a downmix processing information; and, processing the downmix signal using a downmix processing information, comprising: de-correlating the downmix signal; and, mixing the downmix signal and the de-correlated signal in order to output the processed downmix signal, wherein the downmix processing information is estimated based on an object information and a mix information is disclosed.

Claims

1. A method for decoding an audio signal performed by an audio coding system, comprising:

receiving a downmix signal comprising at least one object signal;

receiving object information determined when the downmix signal is generated;

receiving mix information for controlling the at least one object signal;

generating downmix processing information based on the object information and the mix information; and

,

processing the downmix signal using the downmix processing information, the processing comprising;

de-correlating the downmix signal to generate a de-correlated signal; and

,

mixing the downmix signal and the de-correlated signal using the downmix processing information to output a processed downmix signal,

wherein;

the object information includes at least one of object level information and object correlation information; and

the downmix signal corresponds to a first mono channel signal or a first stereo channel signal and the processed downmix signal corresponds to a second mono channel signal or a second stereo channel signal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein one channel signal of the processed downmix signal is generated based on another channel signal of the downmix signal.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein one channel signal of the processed downmix signal is generated based on another channel signal of the downmix signal multiplied by a gain factor, and wherein the gain factor is estimated based on the mix information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the processed downmix signal is outputted by a 2×

2 matrix operation if the downmix signal corresponds to the first stereo signal.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the downmix signal corresponds to the first stereo signal, and wherein the de-correlated signal comprises the first channel de-correlated using a de-correlator and the second channel de-correlated using the de-correlator.

6. An apparatus for decoding an audio signal, comprising:

an information generating unit receiving object information determined when a downmix signal is generated, receiving mix information for controlling at least one object signal, and generating downmix processing information based on the object information and the mix information; and

,

a downmix processing unit receiving the downmix signal comprising at least one object signal, and processing the downmix signal using the downmix processing information, the downmix processing unit comprising;

a de-correlating part de-correlating the downmix signal to generate a de-correlated downmix signal; and

,

a mixing part mixing the downmix signal and the de-correlated signal using the downmix processing information to output a processed downmix signal,

wherein;

the object information includes at least one of object level information and object correlation information;

the downmix signal corresponds to a first mono channel signal or a first stereo channel signal and the processed downmix signal corresponds to a second mono channel signal or a second stereo channel signal.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein one channel signal of the processed downmix signal is generated based on another channel signal of the downmix signal.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein one channel signal of the processed downmix signal is generated based on another channel signal of the downmix signal multiplied by a gain factor, and wherein the gain factor is estimated based on the mix information.

9. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the processed downmix signal is outputted by a 2×

2 matrix operation if the downmix signal corresponds to the first stereo signal.

10. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the downmix signal corresponds to a stereo signal, and wherein the de-correlated signal comprises a first channel de-correlated using a de-correlator and second channel de-correlated using the de-correlator.