Apparatus, method and computer program for providing a set of spatial cues on the basis of a microphone signal and apparatus for providing a two-channel audio signal and a set of spatial cues

An apparatus for providing a two-channel audio signal and a set of spatial cues associated with an upmix audio signal including more than two channels, the apparatus comprising:

• a microphone arrangement including a first directional microphone and a second directional microphone;
• wherein the first directional microphone and the second directional microphone are spaced no more than about 30 cm apart, and the first directional microphone and the second directional microphone are oriented such that a directional characteristic of the second directional microphone is a rotated version of a directional characteristic of the first directional microphone;
• and
• an apparatus for providing a set of spatial cues associated with the upmix audio signal including more than two channels on the basis of a two-channel microphone signal, the apparatus comprising:
• a signal analyzer configured to extract a component energy information and a direction information on the basis of the two-channel microphone signal, such that a first parameter of the component energy information describes estimates of energies of a direct sound component of the two-channel microphone signal and a second parameter of the component energy information describes estimates of energies of a diffuse sound component of the two-channel microphone signal, and such that a parameter of the direction information describes an estimate of a direction from which the direct sound component of the two-channel microphone signal originates;
• and
• a spatial side information generator configured to map the first and second parameters of the component energy information of the two-channel microphone signal and the parameter of the direction information of the two-channel microphone signal onto a spatial cue parameter information describing the set of spatial cues associated with the upmix audio signal including more than two channels;
• wherein the spatial side information generator is configured to map the estimates of the energies of the direct sound component, the estimates of the energies of the diffuse sound component, and the estimate of the direction information onto the spatial cues;
• wherein the apparatus for providing a set of spatial cues associated with the upmix audio signal is configured to receive the microphone signals of the first and second directional microphones as the two-channel microphone signal, and to provide the set of spatial cues on the basis thereof;
• and
• a two-channel audio signal provider configured to provide the microphone signals of the first and second directional microphones, or processed versions thereof, as the two-channel audio signal.

An apparatus for providing a processed two-channel audio signal and a set of spatial cues associated with an upmix signal including more than two channels on the basis of a two-channel microphone signal, the apparatus comprising:

• an apparatus for providing a set of spatial cues associated with the upmix audio signal including more than two channels on the basis of the two-channel microphone signals, the apparatus comprising:
• a signal analyzer configured to extract a component energy information and a direction information on the basis of the two-channel microphone signal, such that a first parameter of the component energy information describes estimates of energies of a direct sound component of the two-channel microphone signal and a second parameter of the component energy information describes estimates of energies of a diffuse sound component of the two-channel microphone signal, and such that a parameter of the direction information describes an estimate of a direction from which the direct sound component of the two-channel microphone signal originates;
• and
• a spatial side information generator configured to map the first and second parameters of the component energy information of the two-channel microphone signal and the parameter of the direction information of the two-channel microphone signal onto a spatial cue parameter information describing the set of spatial cues associated with the upmix audio signal including more than two channels;
• wherein the spatial side information generator is configured to map the estimates of the energies of the direct sound component, the estimates of the energies of the diffuse sound component, and the estimate of the direction information onto the spatial cues;
• and
• a two-channel audio signal provider configured to provide processed two-channel audio signal on the basis of the two-channel microphone signal;
• wherein the two-channel audio signal provider is configured to scale a first audio signal of the two-channel microphone signal using at least one first microphone signal scaling factor, to acquire a first processed audio signal of the processed two-channel audio signal;
• wherein the two-channel audio signal provider is also configured to scale a second audio signal of the two-channel microphone signal using at least one second microphone signal scaling factor, to acquire a second processed audio signal of the processed two-channel audio signal;
• wherein the two-channel audio signal provider is configured to compute the at least one first microphone signal scaling factor and the at least one second microphone signal scaling factor on the basis of the component energy information provided by the signal analyzer of the apparatus for providing a set of spatial cues, such that both the spatial cues and the at least one first microphone signal scaling factor and the at least one second microphone signal scaling factor are determined by the component energy information.

A method for providing a set of spatial cues associated with an upmix audio signal including more than two channels on the basis of a two-channel microphone signal, the method comprising:

• extracting a component energy information and a direction information on the basis of the two-channel microphone signal, such that a first parameter of the component energy information describes estimates of energies of a direct sound component of the two-channel microphone signal and a second parameter of the component energy information describes estimates of energies of a diffuse sound component of the two-channel microphone signal, and such that a parameter of the direction information describes an estimate of a direction from which the direct sound component of the two-channel microphone signal originates;
• and
• mapping the parameters of the component energy information of the two-channel microphone signal and the parameter of the direction information of the two-channel microphone signal onto a spatial cue parameter information describing spatial cues associated with the upmix audio signal including more than two channels;
• wherein the estimates of energies of the direct sound component, the estimates of the energies of the diffuse sound component, and the estimate of the direction information are mapped onto the spatial cues.

A non-transitory digital storage medium comprising a computer program for performing, when the computer program is run on a computer, a method for providing a set of spatial cues associated with an upmix audio signal including more than two channels on the basis of a two-channel microphone signal, the method comprising:

• extracting a component energy information and a direction information on the basis of the two-channel microphone signal, such that a first parameter of the component energy information describes estimates of energies of a direct sound component of the two-channel microphone signal and a second parameter of the component energy information describes estimates of energies of a diffuse sound component of the two-channel microphone signal, and such that a parameter of the direction information describes an estimate of a direction from which the direct sound component of the two-channel microphone signal originates;
• and
• mapping the parameters of the component energy information of the two-channel microphone signal and the parameter of the direction information of the two-channel microphone signal onto a spatial cue parameter information describing spatial cues associated with the upmix audio signal including more than two channels;
• wherein the estimates of energies of the direct sound component, the estimates of the energies of the diffuse sound component, and the estimate of the direction information are mapped onto the spatial cues.