AES Warsaw 2015
Paper Session P12
P12 - (Lecture) Applications in Audio
Saturday, May 9, 09:00 — 12:30 (Room: Królewski)
Chair:
Wieslaw Woszczyk, McGill University - Montreal, QC, Canada
P12-1 Reconstruction of Mechanically Recorded Audio Signals Using White-Light Interferometry—Khac Phuc Hung Thai, INSA Centre Val de Loire - Blois, France; Université de Sherbrooke - Sherbrooke, QC, Canada; Philippe Gournay, Université de Sherbrooke - Sherbrooke, QC, Canada; Voiceage - Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Roch Lefebvre, Universite de Sherbrooke - Sherbrooke, QC, Canada; Serge Charlebois, Université de Sherbrooke - Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
This paper presents a method to reconstruct a digital audio signal from a physical and analog sound-recording medium such as the Edison cylinder. A non-contact 3D optical profilometer based on white-light interferometry provides topographic information about small overlapping sections of the recording medium. For each of these sections, the natural curvature of the medium is compensated, grooves on the surface are detected, and short depth trajectories representing the audio signal are extracted. These trajectories are then concatenated to produce a digital audio signal that is post-processed to simulate the distinctive frequency response of an actual mechanical player. The effectiveness of this method is demonstrated on both tonal and vocal recordings using time, frequency, and time-frequency features as well as informal listening.
Convention Paper 9300 (Purchase now)
P12-2 Recognition of Hazardous Acoustic Events Employing Parallel Processing on a Supercomputing Cluster—Kuba Lopatka, Gdansk University of Technology - Gdansk, Poland; Andrzej Czyzewski, Gdansk University of Technology - Gdansk, Poland
A method for automatic recognition of hazardous acoustic events operating on a super computing cluster is introduced. The methods employed for detecting and classifying the acoustic events are outlined. The evaluation of the recognition engine is provided: both on the training set and using real-life signals. The algorithms yield sufficient performance in practical conditions to be employed in security surveillance systems. The specialized framework for parallel processing of multimedia data streams KASKADA, in which the methods are implemented, is briefly introduced. An experiment intended to assess outcomes of parallel processing of audio data on a supercomputing cluster is featured. It is shown that by employing supercomputing services the time needed to analyze the data is greatly reduced.
Convention Paper 9301 (Purchase now)
P12-3 Perceptual Evaluation of an Audio Film for Visually Impaired Audiences—Mariana Lopez, Anglia Ruskin University - Cambridge, UK
This paper explores a format of sonic art referred to as audio film that was developed to study different ways in which film sound production and postproduction techniques could be applied to the enhancement of Audio Description (AD) for visually impaired film and television audiences. A prototype of this format was tested with a group of nine volunteers with sight loss in order to test its effectiveness. The perceptual evaluation demonstrated the potential of this format for conveying a clear narrative as well as providing an entertaining experience. Future work will include the investigation of conventions to indicate scene changes within audio-only formats as well as studying the impact of object-based mixing on audio films.
Convention Paper 9302 (Purchase now)
P12-4 Reproduction of Realistic Background Noise for Testing Telecommunications Devices—Juan David Gil Corrales, Technical University of Denmark - Lyngby, Denmark; Wookeun Song, Brüel & Kjær Sound and Vibration Measurement A/S - Nærum, Denmark; Ewen MacDonald, Technical University of Denmark - Lyngby, Denmark
A method for reproduction of sound, based on crosstalk cancellation using inverse filters, was implemented in the context of testing telecommunications devices. The effect of the regularization parameter, number of loudspeakers, type of background noise, and a technique to attenuate audible artifacts, were investigated. The quality of the reproduced sound was evaluated both objectively and subjectively with respect to the reference sounds, at points where telecommunications devices would be potentially placed around the head. The highest regularization value gave the best results, the performance was equally good when using eight or four loudspeakers, and the reproduction method was shown to be robust for different program materials. The proposed technique to reduce audible artifacts increased the perceived similarity.
Convention Paper 9303 (Purchase now)
P12-5 Simulation of Parameters of Tube Audio Circuits Using Web Browsers—Grzegorz Makarewicz, Warsaw University of Technology - Warsaw, Poland
The paper describes the program/simulator for computer-aided design of audio amplifiers using electron tubes. It was developed in JavaScript scripting language and thanks to its embedding in a web browser it does not require installation on the user’s computer. The simulator can be used for the design and education purposes, without any limitations, by multiple users simultaneously. It is based on mathematical models of the triode and pentode and allows parameters of electron tubes as well as the most important parameters of tube amplifiers to be simulated for both unbalanced (single-ended) and balanced (push-pull) configuration.
Convention Paper 9304 (Purchase now)
P12-6 Improvements and User Preferences in Auralization for Multi-Party Teleconferencing Systems Using Binaural Audio—Emanuel Aguilera, Universidad Politecnica de Valencia - Valencia, Spain; Jose J. Lopez, Universidad Politecnica de Valencia - Valencia, Spain; Pablo Gutierrez-Parera, Universitat de Valencia - Valencia, Spain
The introduction of spatial audio in multi-party teleconferencing systems create realistic communication environments with increased immersion compared to monaural systems. Moreover, the introduction of auralization effects can increase even more the immersion but at the expenses of a reduced intelligibility. In this paper we study the influence of some specific auralization processing details for a trade-off between realism and intelligibility. Our own spatial multi-party teleconferencing software running on smartphones and tablets has been developed for carrying out different subjective experiments. By means of subjective testing with a jury, it has been evaluated the influence in immersion, intelligibility, and user preferences in relation with early echoes, late reverberation, and the introduction of simple near-field HRTF processing when audio sources are very close to the user. Results provide interesting guidelines for developing teleconference systems with more subtle auralization and HRTF effects.
Convention Paper 9305 (Purchase now)
P12-7 Subjective Assessment of Commercial Sound Enhancement System—Krzysztof Brawata, AGH University of Science and Technology - Krakow, Poland; Pawel Malecki, AGH University of Science and Technology - Krakow, Poland; Adam Pilch, AGH University of Science and Technology - Krakow, Poland; Tadeusz Kamisinski, AGH University of Science and Technology - Krakow, Poland
Sound enhancement systems are becoming more and more popular even in very sophisticated concert halls. Especially in places with some acoustics deficiencies, musicians and concert-goers have accepted that kind of solution as very natural sounding and of great possibilities to easily obtain variable acoustics in rooms. On the market, there are some sound enhancement commercial systems, with similar acoustical parameters. Choosing the best one, for defined application, is possible only on the basis of properly designed listening tests. In the paper subjective listening tests of two sound enhancement systems installed in the same room are presented. On the basis of listeners’ evaluation, the quality of stage acoustics, naturalness, and spaciousness of sound created by systems were analyzed.
Convention Paper 9306 (Purchase now)
