Method and apparatus for improving the quality of a recorded broadcast audio program

• US 7,366,461 B1
• Filed: 05/17/2004
• Issued: 04/29/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wendell Brown
• Original Assignee: Wendell Brown
• Inventors: Brown, Wendell
• Primary Examiner(s): Sharma; Sujatha
• Application Number:
  US10/848,444
• Time in Patent Office: 1,443 Days
• Field of Search: 455/3.06, 455/2.01, 455/561, 455/563, 455/566, 455/432.3, 455/509, 455/515, 455/435.1, 455/450, 455/426.1, 455/517, 455/422.1, 455/518, 455/519, 725 9- 22, 725/39, 725/105, 725/32, 725/34, 725/35, 725/95, 725/135, 725/140, 704/275, 704/215, 704/233, 704/223, 704/210, 704/226, 704/205
• US Class Current: 455/3.06
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/1803 by redundancy in data representation
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/3027 used signal is digitally coded
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 2201/13 radio data system/radio broadcast data system [RDS/RBDS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/27 Arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/72 using electronic programme guides [EPG] focusing on identifying broadcast space time H04H60/39 ; menu type display of EPG in television receivers H04N21/47
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/74 using programme related information, e.g. title, composer or interpreter

Abstract

Recordings of broadcast audio content often contain errors (e.g., noise, signal loss, interference, talkover). A method and apparatus are provided for improving the quality of such a recording. Multiple recordings of a broadcast audio program are identified, and are aligned according to some time index of the program, such as the beginning, midpoint or end of one of the recordings. Samples of each recording are taken and compared. If a majority (or plurality) of the samples agree (e.g., they match within an allowable threshold of variance), one of them is used to generate or populate a new recording. If there is no majority (or plurality), one of the samples may be chosen at random, on the basis of which recording has most often been in the majority (or plurality), or on some other basis. Or, the method may be repeated or extended to obtain samples of other recordings.

Claims

1. A method of improving the quality of a recorded broadcast audio program, the method comprising:

(a) identifying multiple recordings of a broadcast audio program;

(b) aligning the multiple recordings at a selected time index of the program;

(c) obtaining samples of each of the recordings for a given time period of the program;

(d) comparing the samples;

(e) from the multiple samples, attempting to select a sample believed to be a relatively high quality sample of the program;

(f) writing the selected sample to a new recording of the program; and

(g) repeating (c)-(f) one or more times.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, prior to said identifying:

automatically recording the program.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said automatically recording comprises:

upon receipt of an audio program guide, programming a recording device to record the program.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said selected time index corresponds to a midpoint of a first recording of the multiple recordings.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said selected time index corresponds to a beginning of a first recording of the multiple recordings.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said selected time index corresponds to an end of a first recording of the multiple recordings.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said comparing comprises:

identifying a plurality of the multiple samples that agree within a threshold of variance.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said selecting a sample comprises:

if a plurality of the multiple samples agree, selecting one of the plurality of samples.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said selecting a sample comprises:

selecting the sample obtained from the recording from which samples have most often been among a majority or plurality of agreeing samples.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said selecting a sample comprises:

selecting a sample at random.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said selecting a sample comprises:

(e′

) obtaining an additional sample from a recording not included in the multiple recordings;

(e″

) re-comparing the samples and the additional sample; and

(e″

′

) repeating (e′

) and (e″

) until a majority or a plurality of the samples and the additional samples agree.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said repeating comprises:

repeating (c)-(f) until samples of the entire program have been compared.

22. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that the new recording of the program is incomplete;

obtaining one or more additional recordings of the program; and

repeating (c)-(f) to write a missing portion of the program to the new recording.

23. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

if no sample is believed to be of relatively high quality compared to other samples, generating a new sample by automatically recording another broadcast of the program; and

resuming (d)-(f).

13. A computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform a method of improving the quality of a recorded broadcast audio program, the method comprising:

(a) identifying multiple recordings of a broadcast audio program;

(b) aligning the multiple recordings at a selected time index of the program;

(c) obtaining samples of each of the recordings for a given time period of the program;

(d) comparing the samples;

(e) from the multiple samples, attempting to select a sample believed to be a relatively high quality sample of the program;

(f) writing the selected sample to a new recording of the program; and

(g) repeating (c)-(f) one or more times.

14. An apparatus for improving the quality of a recorded broadcast audio program, comprising:

a recording device configured to record a broadcast audio program;

a sampler configured to sample broadcast audio programs;

a comparator configured to;

compare samples of multiple versions of a first audio program; and

select from the multiple samples a sample of a higher quality than the other samples; and

a recorder configured to combine multiple higher quality samples into an improved version of the first audio program.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein one or more of the sampler and the comparator is further configured to align the multiple versions of the audio program.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the multiple versions are aligned at a midpoint of one of the multiple versions.

17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein:

the sampler is configured to make multiple sets of samples of the multiple versions of the first audio program; and

each set of samples comprises a sample from each of the multiple versions, of substantially the same time period of the first audio program.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the multiple sets of samples span the length of the first audio program.

19. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the comparator selects a sample of higher quality by:

identifying a subset of the multiple samples that are identical within a threshold level of variation; and

selecting a sample from the subset of samples.

20. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising an analog/digital converter.

21. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the recording device comprises the recorder.