Bitstream syntax for multi-process audio decoding

• US 9,741,354 B2
• Filed: 04/29/2016
• Issued: 08/22/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Koishida, Kazuhito, Mehrotra, Sanjeev, He, Chao, Chen, Wei-Ge
• Primary Examiner(s): JACKSON, JAKIEDA R
• Application Number:
  US15/143,387
• Publication Number:
  US 20160247515A1
• Time in Patent Office: 480 Days
• Field of Search: 704500
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/002 Dynamic bit allocation for perceptual audio coders G10L19/032
• 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 19/022 Blocking, i.e. grouping of samples in time; Choice of analysis windows; Overlap factoring
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/03 Spectral prediction for preventing pre-echo; Temporary noise shaping [TNS], e.g. in MPEG2 or MPEG4
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/038 Vector quantisation, e.g. TwinVQ audio
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/04 using predictive techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/167 Audio streaming, i.e. formatting and decoding of an encoded audio signal representation into a data stream for transmission or storage purposes
• 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 decoder provides a combination of decoding components including components implementing base band decoding, spectral peak decoding, frequency extension decoding and channel extension decoding techniques. The audio decoder decodes a compressed bitstream structured by a bitstream syntax scheme to permit the various decoding components to extract the appropriate parameters for their respective decoding technique.

Claims

1. A method of decoding a compressed audio bitstream containing syntax elements conforming to a bitstream syntax to produce at least one audio signal, the bitstream syntax defining a base coding layer and a frequency extension coding layer that codes a portion of audio content using a frequency extension coding, the method comprising:

with a processor;

reading the frequency extension coding layer of the compressed audio bitstream;

parsing a plurality of syntax elements from the frequency extension coding layer specifying parameters used in the frequency extension coding, the parameters associated with different frequency sub-bands and including a number of sub-bands and at least one starting point associated with a change in a coding transform between frequency bands wherein the at least one starting point is identified based on an energy difference between the compressed audio bitstream and an original audio signal in a selected frequency band;

reconstructing the portion of the audio content;

by processing the coded audio content based on the starting point, wherein the processing includes changing a coding transform at the starting point so as to produce a corresponding audio signal; and

outputting the audio signal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one starting point is associated with an energy of the original signal in a selected frequency band that is greater than an energy of the compressed audio bitstream in the selected frequency band.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one starting point is based on an energy difference between the energy of the original signal and the energy of the compressed audio bitstream in the selected frequency band that is greater than a predetermined threshold.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of syntax elements from the frequency extension coding layer specifying parameters used in the frequency extension coding comprise parameters specifying frequency extension coding using a different transform window size than the base coding layer.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the parameters comprise parameters identifying tiles coded with a frequency extension coding with a different transform window size than a base coding layer.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the parameters comprise dynamic band configuration parameters specifying spectral band locations where frequency extension coding is applied.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said dynamic band configuration parameters specify start and end positions of spectral bands coded using vector quantization.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the parameters comprise displacement vector search range, step size for displacement vector quantization, scale factor and codeword modifications.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the coded audio content of the frequency extension coding layer is processed by applying an inverse vector quantization process to produce decoded spectral coefficients, and the decoded spectral coefficients are inverse transformed to reconstruct the portion of audio content in the audio output signal.

10. An audio decoder situated to receive a compressed audio bitstream containing syntax elements conforming to a bitstream syntax, the bitstream syntax defining a base coding layer and a frequency extension coding layer for coding at least a portion of the audio content using frequency extension coding, the audio decoder comprising:

a processor that parses the base coding layer and the frequency extension coding layer of the compressed audio bitstream to obtain a plurality of syntax elements from the frequency extension coding layer specifying parameters used in the frequency extension coding, the parameters associated with different frequency bands, a number of frequency sub-bands, and at least one starting point identified based on an energy difference between the compressed audio bitstream and an original audio signal in a selected frequency band and associated with a change in a coding transform between frequency bands, wherein the processor reconstructs the portion of audio content to produce an output audio signal based on changing a coding transform at the at least one starting point.

11. The audio decoder of claim 10, wherein the at least one starting point is associated with an energy of the original signal in the frequency band that is greater than the energy of the compressed audio signal the frequency band.

12. The audio decoder of claim 11, wherein the at least one starting point is based on an energy difference between the energy of the original signal and the energy of the compressed audio signal the frequency band that is greater than a predetermined threshold.

13. The audio decoder of claim 10, wherein the plurality of syntax elements from the frequency extension coding layer specifying parameters used in the frequency extension coding comprise parameters specifying frequency extension coding using a different transform window size than a base coding layer.

14. The method of claim 10 wherein the parameters comprise parameters identifying tiles coded using frequency extension coding with a different transform window size than a base coding layer.

15. The audio decoder of claim 10, wherein the specified parameters comprise dynamic band configuration parameters specifying spectral band locations where frequency extension coding is applied.

16. The audio decoder of claim 10, wherein the specified parameters comprise one or more shape parameters and one or more scale parameters for the frequency-domain data;

the one or more shape parameters comprising for the first sub-band in the extended-band frequency range, a second sub-band in the baseband frequency range whose sub-band shape matches that of the first sub-band in the extended-band frequency range within a tolerance, the first sub-band in the baseband frequency range being displaced an even number of sub-bands from the first sub-band in the extended-band frequency range.

17. The audio decoder of claim 16, wherein the parameters comprise scale factors and anchor points associated with selected frequency bands, and the processor reconstructs the portion of the audio content based on at least one scale factor and associated anchor points, and interpolated scale parameters at time windows between the anchor points.

18. A method of decoding a compressed audio bitstream, comprising:

at a processor, receiving syntax elements conforming to a bitstream syntax to produce at least one audio signal, the bitstream syntax defining a base coding layer, a channel extension coding layer, and a frequency extension coding layer that codes a portion of audio content using a frequency extension coding and a channel extension coding layer;

with the processor, reading the base coding layer and the frequency extension coding layer of the compressed audio bitstream and parsing a plurality of syntax elements from the frequency extension coding layer specifying parameters used in the frequency extension coding, the parameters associated with different frequency sub-bands and including a number of sub-bands and a starting point associated with a change in a coding transform, band configuration parameters specifying spectral band locations where frequency extension coding is applied with a different transform window size than the base coding; and

reconstructing the portion of the audio content by processing the coded audio content based on the starting point, the sub-bands, and the band configuration parameters by changing a coding transform at the starting point to produce a corresponding audio output signal.