High fidelity Multichannel Audio Coding
This invaluable monograph addresses the specific needs of audio-engineering students and researchers who are either learning about the topic or using it as a reference book on multichannel audio compression. This book covers a wide range of knowledge on perceptual audio coding, from basic digital signal processing and data compression techniques to advanced audio coding standards and innovate coding tools. It is the only book available on the market that solely focuses on the principles of high-quality audio codec design for multichannel sound sources. This book includes three parts. The first part covers the basic topics on audio compression, such as quantization, entropy coding, psychoacoustic model, and sound quality assessment. The second part of the book highlights the current most prevalent low-bit-rate high-performance audio coding standards—MPEG-4 audio. More space is given to the audio standards that are capable of supporting multichannel signals, that is, MPEG advance audio coding (AAC), including the original MPEG-2 AAC technology, additional MPEG-4 toolsets, and the most recent aacPlus standard. The third part of this book introduces several innovate multichannel audio coding tools, which have been demonstrated to further improve the coding performance and expand the available functionalities of MPEG AAC, and is more suitable for graduate students and researchers in the advanced level.
Why Read This Book
You should read this book if you need a practical, single-source treatment of perceptual multichannel audio coding: it walks through the DSP foundations, psychoacoustic modeling, codec building blocks and concrete multichannel design techniques. You will get both the theory and engineering perspectives needed to design, evaluate, and optimize high-quality multichannel codecs.
Who Will Benefit
Engineers, graduate students, and researchers working on audio codec design, spatial audio, or multichannel signal processing who want a focused treatment of perceptual coding and implementation issues.
Level: Advanced — Prerequisites: Solid undergraduate-level DSP (Fourier transforms, sampling, quantization), familiarity with digital audio concepts, and basic probability/entropy coding; MATLAB or coding experience helps for implementing examples.
Key Takeaways
- Understand the principles of perceptual audio coding and how psychoacoustic models drive compression
- Design multichannel coding architectures including matrixing, decorrelation and parametric spatial coding
- Implement efficient quantization and entropy coding strategies tailored for high-fidelity multichannel audio
- Evaluate codec quality using objective and subjective assessment methods and perceptual metrics
- Apply existing standards (e.g., MPEG Surround / MPEG-4 tools) and innovate on practical coding tools for multichannel scenarios
- Optimize bitrate allocation and coding trade-offs specific to spatial and multichannel audio
Topics Covered
- Part I — Fundamentals of Audio Compression
- 1. Introduction to Multichannel Audio and Coding Goals
- 2. Digital Audio Basics and Signal Representations
- 3. Quantization and Entropy Coding
- 4. Psychoacoustics and Perceptual Models
- 5. Sound Quality Assessment: Objective and Subjective Methods
- Part II — Multichannel Coding Techniques
- 6. Spatial Perception and Multichannel Signal Models
- 7. Matrixing, Downmixing and Channel Correlation
- 8. Parametric and Transform-Based Multichannel Coding
- 9. Bit Allocation and Rate-Distortion for Multichannel Signals
- Part III — Standards, Tools, and Implementation
- 10. Overview of Relevant Standards (MPEG Surround, AAC tools) and Practical Codec Architectures
- 11. Implementation Considerations and Optimization
- 12. Case Studies, Evaluation, and Future Directions
Languages, Platforms & Tools
How It Compares
More narrowly focused on multichannel perceptual coding than Bosi & Goldberg's "Introduction to Digital Audio Coding and Standards", offering deeper practical codec-design guidance and spatial coding techniques; complements broader DSP/audio books like Zölzer's "Digital Audio Signal Processing".
