Abderrahmane Smimite

In this work, three complementary topics regarding the use of multichannel spatial audio in professional applications have been studied. SIRIUS, is an audio transport mechanism designed to convey multiple professional-grade audio channels over a regular LAN while maintaining their synchronization. The system relia- bility is guaranteed by using a FEC mechanism and a selective redundancy, without introducing any important network overload. The system also offers a low latency that meet the… Voir plus

In this work, three complementary topics regarding the use of multichannel spatial audio in professional applications have been studied. SIRIUS, is an audio transport mechanism designed to convey multiple professional-grade audio channels over a regular LAN while maintaining their synchronization. The system relia- bility is guaranteed by using a FEC mechanism and a selective redundancy, without introducing any important network overload. The system also offers a low latency that meet the professional applications requirements and can operate on the existing infrastructures and coexist with other IT traffic. The second contribution is AQUA, a comprehensive framework for multichannel audio quality assessment that provides efficient tools for both subjective and objective quality evaluation. Audio localization accuracy is reliably evaluated using our gesture-based protocol build around the Kinect. Additionally, this protocol relies on EEG signals analysis for psychological biases monitoring and efficient subjects screening. The third focus of the study is to optimize the listening experience in surround sound systems (OPTIMUS). Considering the sweet spot issue in these systems and the complexity of its widening, we introduce a tracking technique that virtually moves the sweet spot location to the actual position of listener(s). Voir moins

The rising interest toward multichannel audio systems capable of conveying and creating spatial and immersive audio scenes puts focus on how the quality of such systems should be evaluated. Through the study of the existing audio quality assessment techniques, we highlight the missing aspects regarding the analysis of spatial cues, and we introduce our approach to resolve that using a natural, inexpensive and fast gesture-based technique for subjective assessment, built around the Kinect… Voir plus

The rising interest toward multichannel audio systems capable of conveying and creating spatial and immersive audio scenes puts focus on how the quality of such systems should be evaluated. Through the study of the existing audio quality assessment techniques, we highlight the missing aspects regarding the analysis of spatial cues, and we introduce our approach to resolve that using a natural, inexpensive and fast gesture-based technique for subjective assessment, built around the Kinect sensor. The results are quite satisfying with an overall accuracy of less than 5◦, and enable us to establish more reliable subjective and objective methods. A benchmark of some well- known HRTF databases using this protocol is presented to illustrate the usefulness and efficiency of this approach. Voir moins

The study reported in this paper aims to investigate the integration of the experience effect in audio quality assessment methods. During our subjective tests, we have noticed that a low quality audio signal affect strongly and negatively the listeners’ opinion on the next-coming test sequences, even if they are of higher quality. This leads eventually to erroneous data and consequently to a misevaluation of audio codecs and systems. This phenomenon called here, the “experience effect”, is… Voir plus

The study reported in this paper aims to investigate the integration of the experience effect in audio quality assessment methods. During our subjective tests, we have noticed that a low quality audio signal affect strongly and negatively the listeners’ opinion on the next-coming test sequences, even if they are of higher quality. This leads eventually to erroneous data and consequently to a misevaluation of audio codecs and systems. This phenomenon called here, the “experience effect”, is presented and analyzed through an enriched experimental framework, with suggestions for statistical approaches to smooth out raw data and get more reliable results. This paper is a snapshot of our ongoing work on the development of new quality assessment methodologies, combining both the perceptual and behavioral aspects of human response. Voir moins

Cette étude a pour objectif de mettre en place une méthodologie d’évaluation de la qualité du son multicanal. Ce travail est motivé principalement par deux aspects : le premier porte sur le fait que les approches existantes, subjectives ou objectives, ne permettent pas d’analyser de façon efficace, l’information spatiale des flux audio multicanaux. Le deuxième est que ces approches n’intègrent pas certains facteurs psychologiques qui conditionnent l’interprétation des résultats… Voir plus

Cette étude a pour objectif de mettre en place une méthodologie d’évaluation de la qualité du son multicanal. Ce travail est motivé principalement par deux aspects : le premier porte sur le fait que les approches existantes, subjectives ou objectives, ne permettent pas d’analyser de façon efficace, l’information spatiale des flux audio multicanaux. Le deuxième est que ces approches n’intègrent pas certains facteurs psychologiques qui conditionnent l’interprétation des résultats obtenus. Il résulte de ce fait un écart considérable entre différentes réalisations des tests subjectifs menés en laboratoire et ceux réalisés dans les conditions réelles. Dans ce travail nous soulignons les insuffisances des méthodes existantes et proposons une nouvelle approche aussi réaliste et complète que possible. Voir moins

This paper presents an overview of the present and the future of audio networking and its needs, and focus on a light-weight generic architecture that we had experienced on multichannel spatial sound streamed to multiple recipients, in the context of 3D multimedia environment, and which should fit all the current and future requirements of professional audio applications.