Applications in Audio

Thursday, October 19, 3:45 pm — 5:00 pm (Rm 1E12)

Chair:
Bob Schulein, ImmersAV Technology - Schaumburg, IL, USA

EB03-1 Evolving the Audio Equalizer—David Yonovitz, Key 49 - Del Mar, CA, USA
Current audio equalization techniques include Shelf, Parametric, and Graphic Equalizers. Each have inherent issues: dynamic spectrum input and the degradation of signal-to-noise ratio. The input spectrum is not static; yet, all the current equalizations are. To be effective, equalization must be dynamic, “tracking” the input signal spectrum. In the case of SNR, output noise is increased when no signal is present in the spectral band when adding gain. In an evolution of equalization, with input tracking capability, signal spectral components are identified and equalized; all other spectrum may be considered as noise and can be attenuated. The evolution of audio equalizers has progressed that negates the stated issues. Its implementation is realized in the Harmonic Tracking Equalizer (HTEq). 

EB03-2 Immersive Audio: Optimizing Creative Impact without Increasing Production Costs—Connor Sexton, Avid - Berkeley, CA, USA
Since its introduction in 2012, Dolby Atmos has gained widespread adoption in theatrical distribution for films, with over 2,000 Dolby Atmos enabled theaters worldwide. Now expanding into TV and gaming, this unique audio mixing format provides a new dimension of creative control over the immersive listening experience. Numerous audio workstations and consoles have been retrofitted for Dolby Atmos, but without native support, workflows have become cumbersome and complex. This paper will present best practices for native immersive audio production, from sound design to mixing to distribution. It will demonstrate how the latest audio production tools and techniques enabled content creators to capitalize on the creative power of immersive audio while streamlining the parallel authoring of traditional formats. 

EB03-3 Withdrawn—N/A

EB03-4 "Match Your Own Voice!": An Educational Tool for Vocal Training—Evangelos Angelakis, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens - Athens, Greece; Panayiotis Velianitis, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens - Athens, Greece; Areti Andreopoulou, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens - Athens, Greece; Anastasia Georgaki, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens - Athens, Greece
In this paper, we discuss the development and preliminary evaluation of a new educational tool, intended for novice and advanced vocal students. The software, written in Max / MSP, aims to assist singing practice by providing users with a visual substitute to their subjective auditory feedback. Under the guidance of their professional vocal instructor, students can store in the software spectral representations of accurately produced sounds, creating personalized Reference Sound Banks (RSBs). When students practice on their own, the software can be put into practice, assisting them to match their current Voice Spectrum Harmonic Content to the stored RSBs one note at a time. Results of a preliminary evaluation showed that, when using this software, students achieve a larger number of accurately produced sounds in a smaller amount of time. 

EB03-5 Measuring Micro-Dynamics—A First Step: Standardizing PSR, the Peak to Short-Term Loudness Ratio—Ian Shepherd, Mastering Media Ltd - Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK; Eelco Grimm, HKU University of the Arts - Utrecht, Netherlands; Grimm Audio - Eindhoven, The Netherlands; Paul Tapper, Nugen Audio - UK; Michael Kahsnitz, RTW - Cologne, Germany; Ian Kerr, MeterPlugs Audio Inc. - Vancouver, BC, Canada
The “loudness war” still rages, but with major digital streaming services switching to loudness normalization by default, its end is near. Since absolute loudness is no longer effective at making music “stand out,” engineers are finding it much more effective to optimize microdynamics instead. The overall PLR (Peak to Loudness Ratio) of an audio track is widely recognized as a useful metric to assess the overall microdynamics of a section of audio and the likely results of normalization. However, short-term variations are also important, especially when judging the results of compression and limiting on audio quality, and these can be usefully assessed by a real-time property known as PSR (Peak to ShortTerm Loudness Ratio). PSR is found to be straightforward and intuitive to use, and several popular meters are already reporting it. This paper proposes a standardization of the term, to encourage consistency and adoption.