Calculating and adjusting the perceived loudness and/or the perceived spectral balance of an audio signal

• US 8,488,809 B2
• Filed: 12/27/2011
• Issued: 07/16/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation (Dolby Laboratories Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation (Dolby Laboratories Incorporated)
• Inventors: Seefeldt, Alan Jeffrey
• Primary Examiner(s): Mei, Xu
• Application Number:
  US13/338,126
• Publication Number:
  US 20120163629A1
• Time in Patent Office: 567 Days
• Field of Search: 381/98, 381/107, 381/109, 381102-104, 381/106
• US Class Current: 381/104
• 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: G10L 21/0232 Processing in the frequency domain
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/038 using band spreading techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/21 the extracted parameters being power information
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 3/20 Automatic control H03G3/005 takes precedence; combined with volume compression or expansion H03G7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 3/3005 in amplifiers suitable for low-frequencies, e.g. audio amplifiers H03G3/32, H03G3/34 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 3/32 the control being dependent upon ambient noise level or sound level
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 9/005 of digital or coded signals
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 9/025 frequency-dependent volume compression or expansion, e.g. multiple-band systems H03G9/10, H03G9/18 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 9/14 for gain control and tone control
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 9/24 having semiconductor devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 2420/03 Application of parametric coding in stereophonic audio systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 3/02 of the matrix type, i.e. in which input signals are combined algebraically, e.g. after having been phase shifted with respect to each other

Abstract

The invention relates to the measurement and control of the perceived sound loudness and/or the perceived spectral balance of an audio signal. An audio signal is modified in response to calculations performed at least in part in the perceptual (psychoacoustic) loudness domain. The invention is useful, for example, in one or more of: loudness-compensating volume control, automatic gain control, dynamic range control (including, for example, limiters, compressors, expanders, etc.), dynamic equalization, and compensating for background noise interference in an audio playback environment. The invention includes not only methods but also corresponding computer programs and apparatus.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a perceptual loudness of a digital audio signal, comprising:

deriving modification parameters from the digital audio signal for modifying reproduction of the digital audio signal to reduce a difference between the perceptual loudness and a target loudness, the modification parameters comprising amplitude scale factors, each amplitude scale factor respectively operating in a frequency band of a plurality of frequency bands;

applying the modification parameters to the digital audio signal to reduce the difference between the perceptual loudness and the target loudness,

wherein the perceptual loudness varies both with frequency and acoustic level;

wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

time smoothing the amplitude scale factors.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

band smoothing of the amplitude scale factors.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of frequency bands are derived from a filter bank.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the digital audio signal is a discrete time sequence.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein applying the modification parameter is configured to be selectable by a user.

7. An apparatus for controlling a perceptual loudness of a digital audio signal, comprising:

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware that derives modification parameters from the digital audio signal for modifying reproduction of the digital audio signal to reduce a difference between the perceptual loudness and a target loudness, the modification parameters comprising amplitude scale factors, each amplitude scale factor respectively operating in a frequency band of a plurality of frequency bands;

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware that applies the modification parameters to the digital audio signal to reduce the difference between the perceptual loudness and the target loudness,

wherein the perceptual loudness varies both with frequency and acoustic level.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising:

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware that time smoothens amplitude scale factors.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising:

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware that band smoothens the amplitude scale factors.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the plurality of frequency bands are derived from a filter bank.

11. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the digital audio signal is a discrete time sequence.

12. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the application of the modification parameter is configured to be selectable by a user.

13. A non-transitory computer readable medium, storing software instructions for controlling a perceptual loudness of a digital audio signal, which when executed by one or more processors cause performance of the steps of:

deriving modification parameters from the digital audio signal for modifying reproduction of the digital audio signal to reduce a difference between the perceptual loudness and a target loudness, the modification parameters comprising amplitude scale factors, each amplitude scale factor respectively operating in a frequency band of a plurality of frequency bands;

applying the modification parameters to the digital audio signal to reduce the difference between the perceptual loudness and the target loudness,

wherein the perceptual loudness varies both with frequency and acoustic level.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, further comprising:

time smoothing the amplitude scale factors.

15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, further comprising:

band smoothing of the amplitude scale factors.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the plurality of frequency bands are derived from a filter bank.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the digital audio signal is a discrete time sequence.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein applying the modification parameter is configured to be selectable by a user.