Dialogue enhancement in audio codec
AssigneeDolby International AB
InventorsStanislaw Gorlow, Leif Jonas Samuelsson, Holger Hoerich, Tobias Friedrich
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Abstract
Dialogue enhancement of an audio signal, comprising obtaining a set of time-varying parameters configured to estimate a dialogue component present in said audio signal, estimating the dialogue component from the audio signal, applying a compressor only to the estimated dialogue component, to generate a processed dialogue component, applying a user-determined gain to the processed dialogue component, to provide an enhanced dialogue component. The processing of the estimated dialogue may be performed on the decoder side or encoder side. The invention enables an improved dialogue enhancement.
Claims20
A method for dialogue enhancement of an audio signal, comprising:
- receiving an encoded bit stream including the audio signal,
- obtaining a set of time-varying parameters configured to estimate a dialogue component present in said audio signal,
- estimating said dialogue component from said audio signal,
- applying a compressor only to said estimated dialogue component, to generate a processed dialogue component,
- applying a user-determined gain to the processed dialogue component, to provide an enhanced dialogue component, and
- combining said enhanced dialogue component with said audio signal to form a dialogue-enhanced audio signal, wherein combining the enhanced dialogue component with the audio signal includes forming a non-dialogue component by subtracting the estimated dialogue component from the audio signal, and summing said non-dialogue component with said enhanced dialogue component.
A method for encoding an audio signal to enable dialogue enhancement, comprising:
- providing an audio signal,
- providing a set of time-varying dialogue-enhancement parameters configured to estimate a dialogue component present in said audio signal,
- estimating an estimated dialogue component by applying the set of time-varying dialogue-enhancement parameters to the audio signal,
- applying a compressor only to said estimated dialogue component, to generate a processed dialogue component,
- dividing said processed dialogue component by said estimated dialogue component, to determine a set of time-varying adjustment gains, and
- combining said set of time-varying dialogue-enhancement parameters with said set of time-varying adjustment gains, to provide a set of modified dialogue-enhancement parameters, and
- encoding said audio signal and said set of modified dialogue-enhancement parameters in a bit stream.
A decoder for dialogue enhancement of an audio signal, said decoder having obtained a set of time-varying parameters configured to estimate a dialogue component present in said audio signal, the decoder comprising:
- a decoder element for decoding the audio signal received in an encoded bit stream,
- a dialogue estimator for estimating said dialogue component from said audio signal,
- a compressor for compressing only the estimated dialogue component to generate a processed dialogue component,
- a gain element for applying a user determined gain to the processed dialogue component, to provide an enhanced dialogue component, and
- a combining path for combining said enhanced dialogue component with said audio signal to form a dialogue-enhanced audio signal, wherein the combining path comprises a subtractor for subtracting the estimated dialogue component from the audio signal to form a non-dialogue component, and a summation point for summing said non-dialogue component with said enhanced dialogue component.
An encoder for encoding an audio signal to enable dialogue enhancement, comprising:
- a dialogue estimator for estimating a dialogue component present in an audio signal by applying a set of time varying dialogue enhancement parameters to the audio signal,
- a compressor for compressing only said estimated dialogue component, to generate a processed dialogue component,
- a divider for dividing said processed dialogue component by said estimated dialogue component, to determine a set of time-varying adjustment gains,
- a combiner for combining said set of time varying dialogue enhancement parameters with said set of time varying adjustment gains, to provide a set of modified dialogue enhancement parameters, and
- an encoder element for encoding said audio signal and said set of modified dialogue enhancement parameters in a bit stream.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.