Apparatus and method for audio rendering employing a geometric distance definition

A decoder device comprising:

• a USAC decoder for decoding a bitstream to acquire one or more audio input channels, to acquire one or more input audio objects, to acquire compressed object metadata and to acquire one or more SAOC transport channels,
• an SAOC decoder for decoding the one or more SAOC transport channels to acquire a group of one or more rendered audio objects,
• an object metadata decoder, for decoding the compressed object metadata to acquire uncompressed metadata,
• a format converter for converting the one or more audio input channels to acquire one or more converted channels, and
• a mixer for mixing the one or more rendered audio objects of the group of one or more rendered audio objects, the one or more input audio objects and the one or more converted channels to acquire one or more decoded audio channels,
• wherein the object metadata decoder and the mixer together form an apparatus for playing back an audio object associated with a position, said apparatus comprising:
• a distance calculator for calculating distances of the position to speakers,
• wherein the distance calculator is configured to take a solution with a smallest distance, and
• wherein the apparatus is configured to play back the audio object using the speaker corresponding to the solution,
• wherein the distance calculator is configured to calculate the distances depending on a distance function which returns a great-arc distance, or which returns weighted absolute differences in azimuth and elevation angles, or which returns a weighted angular difference,
• wherein the object metadata decoder comprises the distance calculator of said apparatus, wherein the distance calculator is configured, for each input audio object of the one or more input audio objects, to calculate distances of the position associated with said input audio object to speakers, and to take a solution with a smallest distance, and
• wherein the mixer is configured to output each input audio object of the one or more input audio objects within one of the one or more decoded audio channels to the speaker corresponding to the solution determined by the distance calculator of said apparatus for said input audio object.

A method for playing back an audio object associated with a position, comprising:

• calculating distances of the position to speakers,
• taking a solution with a smallest distance, and
• playing back the audio object using the speaker corresponding to the solution,
• wherein calculating the distances is conducted depending on a distance function which returns a great-arc distance, or which returns weighted absolute differences in azimuth and elevation angles, or which returns a weighted angular difference.

A non-transitory digital storage medium having a computer program stored thereon to perform the method for playing back an audio object associated with a position, said method comprising:

• calculating distances of the position to speakers,
• taking a solution with a smallest distance, and
• playing back the audio object using the speaker corresponding to the solution,
• wherein calculating the distances is conducted depending on a distance function which returns a great-arc distance, or which returns weighted absolute differences in azimuth and elevation angles, or which returns a weighted angular difference,
• when said computer program is run by a computer.