# US 10,374,564 B2 · Loudness control with noise detection and loudness drop detection

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- Number: US 10,374,564 B2
- Document ID: US10374564B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/492,807
- Filed: 2017-04-20
- Published: 2018-10-25
- Granted: 2019-08-06
- Earliest claimed: 2017-04-20
- Assignees: DTS, Inc.
- Applicants: DTS, Inc.
- Inventors: Brandon Smith; Aaron Warner; Jeff Thompson
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10374564B2

## CPC

- H03G 3/3005: {in amplifiers suitable for low-frequencies, e.g. audio amplifiers (H03G3/32, H03G3/34 take precedence)}
- G10L 21/034: Automatic adjustment
- G10L 25/84: for discriminating voice from noise
- H03G 3/32: the control being dependent upon ambient noise level or sound level
- G10L 25/18: the extracted parameters being spectral information of each sub-band
- G10L 25/21: the extracted parameters being power information
- H03G: CONTROL OF AMPLIFICATION
- G10L: SPEECH ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES OR SPEECH SYNTHESIS; SPEECH RECOGNITION; SPEECH OR VOICE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES; SPEECH OR AUDIO CODING OR DECODING

## Abstract

Loudness control systems or methods may normalize audio signals to a predetermined loudness level. If the audio signal includes moderate background noise, then the background noise may also be normalized to the target loudness level. Noise signals may be detected using content-versus-noise classification, and a loudness control system or method may be adjusted based on the detection of noise. Noise signals may be detected by signal analysis in the frequency domain or in the time domain. Loudness control systems may also produce undesirable audio effects when content shifts from a high overall loudness level to a lower overall loudness level. Such loudness drops may be detected, and the loudness control system may be adjusted to minimize the undesirable effects during the transition between loudness levels.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A system configured to detect noise in an input signal, the system comprising:
a filter bank component configured to generate a frequency domain signal based on the input signal;
a spectral flux measurement component configured to calculate a spectral flux value of the frequency domain signal;
a peakiness measurement component configured to generate a peakiness value by estimating tonal characteristics of the frequency domain signal;
a signal-to-noise (SNR) estimator component configured to estimate a noise power spectrum based on the spectral flux value and the peakiness value, and generate a signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio;
a hysteresis component configured to generate a content-versus-noise classification value for the input signal based on the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR); and
a temporal smoothing component configured to adjust gain correction speeds based on the content-versus-noise classification value.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1 further comprising:
a decibel converter configured to generate a power spectrum based on the frequency domain signal and convert the power spectrum to the decibel (dB) domain;
wherein the temporal smoothing component is also configured to generate a time-smoothed power spectrum by estimating temporal averages of energy and of each frequency band of the power spectrum;
wherein the spectral flux measurement component is configured to calculate the spectral flux value by calculating a mean difference of the power spectrum and the time-smoothed power spectrum;
wherein the peakiness measurement component is configured to generate a peakiness value by estimating tonal characteristics of each sub-band of the power spectrum by measuring a relative energy of a sub-band compared to its neighbors.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1 wherein the signal-to-noise ratio estimator component is configured to calculate a wide-band noise level and a signal level.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1 further comprising:
wherein the temporal smoothing component is also configured to generate a smoothed SNR based on the SNR.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The system of claim 4 wherein, the SNR estimator component is configured to estimate the noise power spectrum of the signal by removing any temporal dynamics or tonal components from an original spectrum of the signal that are assumed to be components of desired content.

### Claim 6

A loudness control system configured to detect noise in an input signal, the system comprising:
a filter bank component configured to generate a frequency domain signal based on the input signal;
a spectral flux measurement component configured to calculate a spectral flux value of the frequency domain signal;
a peakiness measurement component configured to generate a peakiness value by estimating tonal characteristics of the frequency domain signal;
a signal-to-noise (SNR) estimator component configured to estimate a noise power spectrum based on the spectral flux value and the peakiness value, and generate a signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio;
a hysteresis component configured to generate a content-versus-noise classification value for the input signal based on the SNR; and
a temporal smoothing component configured to generate a smoothed SNR based on the SNR and configured to adjust gain correction speeds based on the content-versus-noise classification value.