Categorization of Broadcast Audio Objects in Complex Auditory Scenes

Woodcock J, Davies WJ, Cox TJ, Melchior F. Categorization of Broadcast Audio Objects in Complex Auditory Scenes. J Audio Eng Soc. 2016;64(6):380-394. doi:10.17743/jaes.2016.0007

@article{Woodcock2016_18297,
  author = {Woodcock, James and Davies, William J. and Cox, Trevor J. and Melchior, Frank},
  title = {{Categorization of Broadcast Audio Objects in Complex Auditory Scenes}},
  journal = {Journal of the Audio Engineering Society},
  volume = {64},
  number = {6},
  pages = {380--394},
  year = {2016},
  month = jun,
  publisher = {Audio Engineering Society},
  doi = {10.17743/jaes.2016.0007},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.17743/jaes.2016.0007}
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Categorization of Broadcast Audio Objects in Complex Auditory Scenes
AU  - Woodcock, James
AU  - Davies, William J.
AU  - Cox, Trevor J.
AU  - Melchior, Frank
T2  - Journal of the Audio Engineering Society
J2  - J. Audio Eng. Soc.
VL  - 64
IS  - 6
SP  - 380
EP  - 394
PY  - 2016
DA  - 2016/06/06
DO  - 10.17743/jaes.2016.0007
UR  - https://doi.org/10.17743/jaes.2016.0007
PB  - Audio Engineering Society
LA  - en
AB  - Because object-based audio is becoming an important framework for the representation of complex sound scenes, this research describes a series of experiments to determine a categorization framework for broadcast audio objects. Categorization is a fundamental human strategy for reducing cognitive load, and knowledge of these categories should be beneficial for the development of perceptually based representations and rendering strategies for object-based audio. In this study, 21 expert and non-expert listeners took part in a free card sorting task using audio objects from a variety of different types of program material. Hierarchical agglomerative clustering suggests that there are 7 general categories, which relate to sounds indicating actions and movement, continuous background sound, transient background sound, clear speech, non-diegetic music and effects, sounds indicating the presence of people, and prominent attention-grabbing transient sounds. A three-dimensional perceptual space calculated via multidimensional scaling suggests that these categories vary along the dimensions of semantic content, continuous-transient, and presence-absence of people. The position of an audio object along the dimensions of the perceptual space relates to its perceived importance.
ER  -