Spatial Audio Processing (PDF)

This book collects a wealth of information about spatial audio
coding into one comprehensible volume. It is a thorough reference
to the 3GPP and MPEG Parametric Stereo standards and the MPEG
Surround multi-channel audio coding standard. It describes key
developments in coding techniques, which is an important factor in
the optimization of advanced entertainment, communications and
signal processing applications.

Until recently, technologies for coding audio signals, such as
redundancy reduction and sophisticated source and receiver models
did not incorporate spatial characteristics of source and receiving
ends. Spatial audio coding achieves much higher compression ratios
than conventional coders. It does this by representing
multi-channel audio signals as a downmix signal plus side
information that describes the perceptually-relevant spatial
information.

Written by experts in spatial audio coding, Spatial Audio
Processing:

* reviews psychoacoustics (the relationship between physical
measures of sound and the corresponding percepts) and spatial audio
sound formats and reproduction systems;

* brings together the processing, acquisition, mixing, playback,
and perception of spatial audio, with the latest coding
techniques;

* analyses algorithms for the efficient manipulation of multiple,
discrete and combined spatial audio channels, including both MP3
and MPEG Surround;

* shows how the same insights on source and receiver models can
also be applied for manipulation of audio signals, such as the
synthesis of virtual auditory scenes employing head-related
transfer function (HRTF) processing and stereo to N-channel audio
upmix.

Audio processing research engineers and audio coding research
and implementation engineers will find this an insightful guide.
Academic audio and psychoacoustic researchers, including
post-graduate and third/fourth year students taking courses in
signal processing, audio and speech processing, and
telecommunications, will also benefit from the information
inside.