Method and apparatus for encoding speech

An apparatus, comprising:

• receiving means for receiving a speech signal including voice signals and background signals;
• detecting means for detecting voice activity and providing an indicator when no voice activity is detected;
• encoding means for encoding the speech signal to generate a plurality of parameters representing the signal, the plurality of parameters comprising a linear prediction calculation vector of quantized linear prediction filter coefficients, a gain parameter based on open-loop lag value, and a residual vector;
• and
• outputting means for, when said indicator is not present, outputting a first parametric representation of the speech signal comprising said plurality of parameters, and, when the indicator is present, modifying at least one of the parameters and outputting a second parametric representation of the speech signal including the modified parameter.

A computer readable medium storing a computer program which, when executed, encodes speech by implementing a method, the method comprising:

• receiving, in an encoder, a speech signal including voice signals and background signals;
• detecting voice activity and providing an indicator when no voice activity is detected;
• encoding the speech signal to generate a plurality of parameters representing the signal, the plurality of parameters comprising a linear prediction calculation vector of quantized linear prediction filter coefficients, a gain parameter based on open-loop lag value, and a residual vector;
• and
• when the indicator is not present, outputting a first parametric representation of the speech signal comprising the plurality of parameters, and, when the indicator is present, modifying at least one of the plurality of parameters and outputting a second parametric representation of the speech signal including the modified parameter.

A system, comprising:

• an input unit which receives a speech signal including voice signals and background signals;
• a voice activity detector which detects voice activity and to provide an indicator when no voice activity is detected;
• an encoder which encodes the speech signal to generate a plurality of parameters representing the signal, the plurality of parameters comprising a linear prediction calculation vector of quantized linear prediction filter coefficients, a gain parameter based on open-loop lag value, and a residual vector;
• a modifying unit which modifies, when the indicator is present at least one of the parameters;
• and
• an output unit which outputs, when the indicator is not present, a first parametric representation comprising said plurality of parameters, and to which outputs a second parametric representation of the speech signal when the indicator is present, the second parametric representation comprising the modified parameter.

An apparatus, comprising:

• an input which receives a speech signal including voice signals and background signals;
• a voice activity detector which detects voice activity and to provide an indicator when no voice activity is detected;
• an encoder which encodes the speech signal to generate a plurality of parameters representing the signal, the plurality of parameters comprising of a linear prediction calculation vector of quantized linear prediction filter coefficients, a gain parameter based on open-loop lag value, and a residual vector;
• modifying circuitry which modifies, when the indicator is present, at least one parameter of the plurality of parameters;
• and
• an output which outputs a first parametric representation of the speech signal when the indicator is not present, the first parametric representation comprising the plurality of parameters, and which outputs a second parametric representation of the speech signal when the indicator is present, the second parametric representation comprising the modified parameter.

A network entity, comprising:

• an input which receives a speech signal including voice signals and background signals;
• a voice activity detector which detects voice activity and to provide an indicator when no voice activity is detected;
• an encoder which encodes the speech signal to generate a plurality of parameters representing the signal, the plurality of parameters comprising a linear prediction calculation vector of quantized linear prediction filter coefficients, a gain parameter based on open-loop lag value, and a residual vector;
• modifying circuitry which modifies, when the indicator is present, at least one parameter of the plurality of parameters;
• and
• an output which outputs a first parametric representation of the speech signal when the indicator is not present, the first parametric representation comprising the plurality of parameters, and which outputs a second parametric representation of the speech signal when the indicator is present, the second parametric representation comprising the modified parameter.