Coding Technologies Ab

Koninklijke Philips Corporation N.v.

Hans Magnus Kristofer Kjorling

Lars Gustaf Liljeryd

Lars Fredrik Henn

Per Rune Albin Ekstrand

Heiko Purnhagen

Erik Gosuinus Petrus Schuijers

Gerard Herman Hotho

Wolfgang Alexander Schildbach

Karl Jonas Roden

Holger Horich

An audio encoder () has a hierarchical encoding structure and generates a data stream comprising one or more audio channels as well as parametric audio encoding data. The encoder () comprises an encoding structure processor () which inserts decoder tree structure data into the data stream. The decoder tree structure data comprises at least one data value indicative of a channel split characteristic for an audio channel at a hierarchical layer of the hierarchical decoder structure and may specifically specify the decoder tree structures to be applied by a decoder. A decoder () comprises a receiver () which receives the data stream and a decoder structure processor () for generating the hierarchical decoder structure in response to the decoder tree structure data. A decode processor () then generates output audio channels from the data stream using the hierarchical decoder structure.

Method and apparatus for generating a number of output audio channels

The present invention proposes a new method and apparatus for the enhancement of source coding systems. The invention employs bandwidth reduction () prior to or in the encoder (), followed by spectral-band replication () at the decoder (). This is accomplished by the use of new transposition methods, in combination with spectral envelope adjustments. Reduced bitrate at a given perceptual quality or an improved perceptual quality at a given bitrate is offered. The invention is preferably integrated in a hardware or software codec, but can also be implemented as a separate processor in combination with a codec. The invention offers substantial improvements practically independent f codec type and technological progress.

Source coding enhancement using spectral-band replication

The present invention proposes a new method and apparatus for the enhancement of source coding systems. The invention employs bandwidth reduction () prior to or in the encoder (), followed by spectral-band replication () at the decoder (). This is accomplished by the use of new transposition methods, in combination with spectral envelope adjustments. Reduced bitrate at a given perceptual quality or an improved perceptual quality at a given bitrate is offered. The invention is preferably integrated in a hardware or software codec, but can also be implemented as a separate processor in combination with a codec. The invention offers substantial improvements practically independent of codec type and technological progress.

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Uppsala, Sweden

Hans Magnus Kristofer Kjorling