Method of setting equalizer for audio file and method of reproducing audio file

• US 8,027,487 B2
• Filed: 10/10/2006
• Issued: 09/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Park, Gun-han
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin; Vivian
• Assistant Examiner(s): FAHNERT, FRIEDRICH
• Application Number:
  US11/544,583
• Publication Number:
  US 20070127739A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,813 Days
• Field of Search: 381/61, 381/62, 381/63, 381/98, 381/101, 381/102, 381/103, 381/104, 381/107, 381/106, 704/233, 704/228, 704/226, 704/203, 704/236
• US Class Current: 381/103
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/10046 filtering or equalising, e.g. setting the tap weights of an FIR filter
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/10212 compensation for data shift, e.g. pulse-crowding effects
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/10527 Audio or video recording; Data buffering arrangements G11B20/12 - G11B20/18 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/10555 wherein the frequency, the amplitude, or other characteristics of the audio signal is taken into account
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/10564 frequency
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/11 by using information not detectable on the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/00 Indicating arrangements; Control arrangements, e.g. balance control

Abstract

A method of setting an equalizer so as to enlarge a sound field in reproducing an audio file and a method of reproducing an audio file thereby, includes: dividing an input audio file into segments with a predetermined time length; extracting an audio feature value for each segment; determining equalizer information for reproducing each segment by the use of the extracted feature value; and determining an equalizer sequence for the audio file by the use of the determined equalizer information of each segment. Since the equalizer setting information can be automatically changed without user manipulation, the user can listen to an audio file of which the sound field is dynamically enlarged.

Claims

1. A method of setting an equalizer for an audio file, the method comprising:

dividing an input audio file into segments;

extracting an audio feature value for each segment;

determining equalizer information for reproducing each segment by the use of the extracted feature value; and

determining an equalizer sequence of the audio file by the use of the determined equalizer information for each segment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining equalizer information comprises determining equalizer information for each segment by searching a database storing information of reference equalizer settings for a record most similar to the extracted audio feature value.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining an equalizer sequence comprises interpolating equalizer parameter values between two neighboring segments, when the equalizer parameter values corresponding to the same frequency band of the two neighboring segments are different by more than a predetermined amount.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of interpolating equalizer parameter values comprises:

dividing all or a part of at least one of the two neighboring segments into a plurality of sub-segments; and

allocating a gradually varying equalizer parameter value to the frequency band of each sub-segment.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the input audio file is divided into segments based on a predetermined time length.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the audio feature value comprises one of Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficients, Bark-scale Frequency Cepstral Coefficients, Spectral Centroid, Spectral Flux, and Delta of Cepstral Coefficients.

5. A method of reproducing an audio file, the method comprising:

receiving an audio file;

acquiring an equalizer sequence including equalizer information on a series of segments of the audio file;

converting a PCM waveform obtained by decoding the audio file into frequency domain information;

applying the equalizer sequence to the frequency domain information and generating modified frequency domain information; and

converting the modified frequency domain information into the PCM waveform and reproducing the PCM waveform.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of acquiring an equalizer sequence comprises:

dividing the audio file into segments;

extracting an audio feature value of each segment;

determining equalizer information for reproducing each segment by the use of the extracted feature value; and

determining the equalizer sequence of the audio file by the use of the determined equalizer information for each segment.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of determining equalizer information for reproducing each segment comprises determining equalizer information for each segment by searching a database storing information of reference equalizer settings for a record most similar to the extracted audio feature value.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of determining the equalizer sequence further comprises interpolating equalizer parameter values between two neighboring segments, when the equalizer parameter values corresponding to the same frequency band of the two neighboring segments are different by more than a predetermined amount.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of interpolating the equalizer parameter values comprises:

dividing all or a part of at least one of the two neighboring segments into a plurality of sub-segments;

allocating a gradually varying equalizer parameter value to the frequency band of each sub-segment.