Convention Paper
Time-Frequency Methods for Virtual Microphone Signal Synthesis
AES Convention 111 · Paper 5416 · November 2001
Abstract
Multichannel audio offers significant advantages for music reproduction that include the ability to provide better localization and envelopment, as well as reduced imaging distortion. Consumer media such as DVD-Audio and SACD allow the delivery of multichannel program material today. However, although there are thousands of music recordings available in mono or two-channel stereo, only a handful have been recorded using microphone techniques that would allow subsequent multichannel rendering. In this paper we propose a new method that is capable of synthesizing the required microphone signals from a smaller set of signals recorded in a particular venue. These synthesized "virtual" microphone signals can be used to produce multichannel recordings that accurately capture the acoustics of the particular venue. Applications of the proposed system include remastering of existing monophonic and stereophonic recordings for multichannel rendering, as well as transmission of multichannel audio over the current internet infrastructure.
