阅读说明：本技术 感知方向的环绕声播放 (Direction-aware surround sound playback ) 是由 孙学京 马桂林 郑羲光 于 2014-08-29 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明的实施例涉及感知方向的环绕声播放。公开了一种用于在包括多个扬声器的电子设备上处理音频的方法,所述扬声器布置在所述电子设备的多于一个的维度上。该方法包括响应于多个接收的音频流的接收生成与所述多个接收的音频流相关联的渲染分量；确定所述渲染分量的基于方向的分量；通过根据所述扬声器的方向更新所述基于方向的分量来处理所述渲染分量；以及基于所处理的渲染分量将所述接收的音频流分派到所述多个扬声器以播放。还公开了相应的系统和计算机程序产品。(Embodiments of the present invention relate to direction-aware surround sound playback. A method for processing audio on an electronic device comprising a plurality of speakers arranged in more than one dimension of the electronic device is disclosed. The method includes generating, in response to receipt of a plurality of received audio streams, rendering components associated with the plurality of received audio streams; determining a direction-based component of the rendering component; processing the rendered component by updating the direction-based component according to the direction of the speaker; and dispatching the received audio streams to the plurality of speakers for playback based on the processed rendering components. Corresponding systems and computer program products are also disclosed.)

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, by an audio rendering system, one or more audio streams;

generating, by the audio rendering system, one or more rendering components, the one or more rendering components comprising a rendering matrix R;

determining a direction-based component O of the rendering matrix R, the direction-based component O being a function of a direction in three-dimensional space;

updating the direction-based component O according to an orientation of one or more electronic devices, the orientation of the one or more electronic devices being determined by one or more orientation sensors; and

dispatching, by the audio rendering system, the one or more audio streams to one or more downstream devices according to the one or more rendering components including the direction-based component.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the rendering matrix R comprises a direction independent component.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the direction in three-dimensional space is a direction of the one or more electronic devices.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the one or more electronic devices are speakers.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the direction in three-dimensional space is a continuous device change.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the rendering matrix R comprises N sets of direction-based matrices and corresponding direction-independent matrices.

7. The method of claim 6, comprising applying different directional compensations of the rendering matrix R to the direct part and the diffuse part, respectively.

8. A system, comprising:

one or more processors; and

a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions operable to cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

receiving one or more audio streams;

generating one or more rendering components, the one or more rendering components comprising a rendering matrix R;

determining a direction-based component O of the rendering matrix R, the direction-based component O being a function of a direction in three-dimensional space;

updating the direction-based component O according to an orientation of one or more electronic devices, the orientation of the one or more electronic devices being determined by one or more orientation sensors; and

dispatch the one or more audio streams to one or more downstream devices according to the one or more rendering components including the direction-based component.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the rendering matrix R includes a direction independent component.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the direction in three-dimensional space is a direction of the one or more electronic devices.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the direction in three-dimensional space is a continuous device change.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the rendering matrix R comprises N sets of direction-based matrices and corresponding direction-independent matrices.

13. The system of claim 12, the operations comprising applying different directional compensations of the rendering matrix R to direct and diffuse portions, respectively.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the one or more electronic devices are speakers.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions operable to cause one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

receiving one or more audio streams;

generating one or more rendering components, the one or more rendering components comprising a rendering matrix R;

determining a direction-based component O of the rendering matrix R, the direction-based component O being a function of a direction in three-dimensional space;

updating the direction-based component O according to an orientation of one or more electronic devices, the orientation of the one or more electronic devices being determined by one or more orientation sensors; and

dispatch the one or more audio streams to one or more downstream devices according to the one or more rendering components including the direction-based component.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the rendering matrix R includes a direction independent component.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the direction in three-dimensional space is a direction of the one or more electronic devices.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the direction in three-dimensional space is a continuous device change.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the rendering matrix R includes N sets of direction-based matrices and corresponding direction-independent matrices.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, the operations comprising applying different directional compensations of the rendering matrix R to a direct portion and a diffuse portion, respectively.

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to audio processing and, more particularly, to a method and system for directional surround sound playback.

Background

Nowadays, electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets or televisions are becoming increasingly popular. They are typically used for media consumption including movies or music.

Currently, with the development of the multimedia industry, people try to transmit surround sound through speakers on electronic devices. Many portable devices, such as tablet computers and cell phones, include multiple speakers to help provide stereo or surround sound. However, when surround sound is present, the user experience drops off rapidly once the user changes the orientation of the device. Some of these devices attempt to provide some form of sound compensation (i.e., move the left or right sound, or adjust the sound level of the speaker) when the orientation of the device changes.

However, it is desirable to provide a more efficient method to address the problems associated with direction changes.

Disclosure of Invention

To solve the above problems, the present invention proposes a method and system for processing audio on an electronic device including a plurality of speakers.

In one aspect, embodiments of the invention provide a method for processing audio on an electronic device comprising a plurality of speakers, the speakers being arranged in more than one dimension of the electronic device, the method comprising: generating rendering components associated with a plurality of received audio streams in response to receipt of the plurality of received audio streams; determining a direction-based component of the rendering component; processing the rendered component by updating the direction-based component according to the direction of the speaker; and dispatching the received audio streams to the plurality of speakers for playback based on the processed rendering components. Embodiments of this aspect also include corresponding computer program products.

In another aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a system for processing audio on an electronic device comprising a plurality of speakers, the speakers being arranged in more than one dimension of the electronic device, the system comprising: a generating unit configured to generate rendering components associated with a plurality of received audio streams in response to receipt of the plurality of received audio streams; a determination unit configured to determine a direction-based component of the rendering component; a processing unit configured to process the rendered component by updating the direction-based component according to a direction of the speaker; and a dispatch unit configured to dispatch the received audio stream to the plurality of speakers for playback based on the processed rendering components.

As will be understood from the following description, surround sound may be presented with high fidelity according to embodiments of the present invention. Other benefits provided by embodiments of the present invention will become apparent from the description below.

Drawings

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Several embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which:

fig. 1 shows a flow diagram of a method for processing audio on an electronic device comprising a plurality of speakers according to an example embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 shows two examples of three loudspeaker layouts according to an example embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 shows two examples of four loudspeaker layouts according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a crosstalk cancellation system for stereo speakers;

fig. 5 shows a flow diagram of a method for audio object extraction according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of a system for processing audio on an electronic device including multiple speakers according to another example embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of a computer system suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present invention.

Like or corresponding reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views.

Detailed Description

The principles of the present invention will be described below with reference to a number of exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings. It should be understood that these examples are described only to enable those skilled in the art to better understand and to implement the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention in any way.

Referring initially to fig. 1, a flow diagram of a method 100 for processing audio on an electronic device including a plurality of speakers is shown, according to an example embodiment of the present invention.

In step S101, in response to the reception of the plurality of received audio streams, rendering components associated with the plurality of received audio streams are generated. The input audio stream may be in various formats. For example, the input audio content may follow a stereo, surround 5.1, surround 7.1, etc. format. In some embodiments, the audio content may be represented as a frequency domain signal. Alternatively, the audio content may be input as a time domain signal.

For a given S speaker (S)>2) Array and one or more sound sources Sig₁,Sig₂,…,Sig_MThe rendering component R may be defined according to the following equation:

wherein Spkr_i(i-1 … S) represents a matrix of loudspeakers, r_i,j(i-1 … S, j-1 … M) represents an element in the render component, and Sig_i(i ═ 1 … M) represents a matrix of audio signals.

Equation (1) can be written in the following simplified form:

Spkr＝R×Sig (2)

the rendering component may be thought of as the product of a series of separate matrix operations based on input signal characteristics including the format and content of the input signal and playback requirements. The elements of the rendering component R may be complex variables that are functions of frequency. In this case, r can be represented by equation (1)_i,jBy r_i,j(ω) instead to increase accuracy.

Sign Sig₁,Sig₂,…,Sig_MA corresponding audio channel or a corresponding audio object, respectively, can be represented. For example, Sig when inputting two-channel audio input signals₁Represents the left channel and Sig₂Represents the right channel, and Sig when the input signal is in the object audio format₁,Sig₂,…,Sig_MCan represent corresponding audio objects, which refer to individual audio elements that are present in a sound field for a certain duration.

In step S102, a direction-based component of the rendering components is determined. In one embodiment, the direction of the speaker is associated with the angle between the electronic device and its user.

In some embodiments, the direction-based component may be decoupled from the rendering component. That is, the rendering component may be divided into a direction-based component and a direction-independent component. The direction-based components may be unified into the following structure:

wherein O is_s,mRepresenting a direction-based component.

In one embodiment, the rendering component R may be divided into a default direction-invariant translation matrix P and a direction-based compensation matrix O, as follows:

R＝O×P (4)

where P represents a direction independent component and O represents a direction based component.

Equation (4) may use different scores when the electronic device is in different orientationsExpressed by a quantity such as R ═ O_LX P or R ═ O_PX P wherein O_LAnd O_PRepresenting direction-based compensation matrices in the landscape mode and the portrait mode, respectively.

Further, the direction-based compensation matrix O is not limited to the above two directions, and it can be a function of successive device directions in a three-dimensional space. Equation (4) can be written as:

R(θ)＝O(θ)×P (5)

where θ represents the angle between the electronic device and its user.

The decomposition of the rendering matrix can be further extended to allow the following added components:

wherein O is_i(theta) and P_iRepresenting the direction-based matrix and the corresponding direction-independent matrix, respectively, there may be N sets of such matrices.

For example, the input signal may undergo direct and diffuse decomposition via a PCA (principal component analysis) based method. In this way, the eigen analysis of the variance matrix of the multi-channel input yields a rotation matrix V, and the principal components E are calculated by rotating the original input using V.

E＝V×Sig (7)

Wherein Sig represents the input signal, Sig ═ Sig₁ Sig₂…Sig_M]^T. V represents a rotation matrix, V ═ V₁ V₂…V_N]N ≦ M, and each column of V represents an M-dimensional feature vector. E denotes the principal component E₁,E₂…E_NFrom E ═ E₁ E₂…E_N]^TWherein N is less than or equal to M.

And the direct and diffuse signals are obtained by applying a suitable gain G on E

Sig′_direct＝G×E (8)

Sig′_diffuse＝(1-G)×E (9)

Wherein G represents the gain.

Finally, different directional compensations are used for the direct and diffuse portions, respectively.

R(θ)＝O_direct(θ)×G×V+O_diffuse(θ)×(1-G)×V (10)

In step S103, the rendering component is processed by updating the direction-based component according to the direction of the speaker.

The electronic device may include a plurality of speakers arranged in more than one dimension of the electronic device. That is, the number of lines passing through at least two speakers on one plane is more than one. In some embodiments, there are at least three speakers. Fig. 2 and 3 show examples of three and four loudspeaker layouts, respectively, according to an embodiment of the invention. In other embodiments, the number of speakers and the layout of the speakers may vary for different applications.

Increasingly, electronic devices capable of rotation are able to determine their orientation. The direction can be determined by using a direction sensor or other suitable means, such as a gyroscope and an accelerometer. The direction determination module can be arranged inside or outside the electronic device. Detailed embodiments of orientation determination are known in the art and will not be explained in this disclosure in order to avoid obscuring the present invention.

For example, when the orientation of the electronic device changes from 0 degrees to 90 degrees, the orientation-based component will correspondingly be from O_LChange to O_P。

In some embodiments, the direction-based component may be determined in the rendering component without decoupling from the rendering component. Accordingly, the direction-based component, and thus the rendering component, can be updated based on the direction.

The method 100 then proceeds to step S104, where the audio stream is dispatched to a plurality of speakers based on the processed rendered components.

A reasonable mapping between audio input and speakers is critical in achieving the desired audio experience. In general, multi-channel or binaural audio conveys spatial information by assuming a particular physical speaker setup. For example, a minimum L-R speaker setting is required for rendering a binaural audio signal. A commonly used surround 5.1 format uses five loudspeakers, respectively a center, left, right, left surround and right surround channel. Other audio formats may include a channel for an overhead speaker that is used to render an audio signal having altitude/elevation information, such as rain, thunder, and the like. In this step, the mapping between the audio input and the speakers should change depending on the orientation of the device.

In some embodiments, the input signal may be downmixed or upmixed according to the speaker layout. For example, when playing on a portable device with only two speakers, the surround 5.1 signal may be downmixed to two channels. On the other hand, if the device has four speakers, it is possible to create the left and right channels plus two height channels by a downmix/upmix operation according to the number of inputs.

Regarding upmixing embodiments, upmixing algorithms employ decomposition of the audio signal into diffuse and direct parts via methods such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The diffuse portion provides a spacious overall impression, while the direct signal corresponds to a point source. The solution to optimizing/maintaining the listening experience may be different for the two parts. The width/extent of the sound field is largely based on inter-channel correlation. A change in the loudspeaker layout may change the effective interaural correlation at the middle ear. The purpose of the directional compensation is therefore to maintain a suitable correlation. One way to deal with this problem is to introduce a layout-based decorrelation process, for example using an all-pass filter based on the effective distance between the two farthest loudspeakers. For directional audio signals, the processing goal is to maintain the trajectory and timbre of the object. This can be handled by HRTF (head related transfer function) of the object direction and physical speaker position as in conventional speaker virtualizers.

In some embodiments, the method 100 may further include processing the metadata when the input audio stream contains metadata. For example, object audio signals typically have metadata that may include information about channel level differences, temporal differences, spatial characteristics, object trajectories, and the like. This information may be pre-processed via optimization for a particular speaker layout. Preferably, the transformation can be expressed as a function of the rotation angle. In real-time processing, the metadata may be loaded and smoothed according to the current angle.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the method 100 may include a crosstalk cancellation process. For example, when a binaural signal is played through a speaker, it is possible to eliminate crosstalk components using an inverse filter.

By way of example, fig. 4 shows a block diagram of a crosstalk cancellation system for stereo speakers. The input binaural signal from the left and right channels is given in vector form x (z) ═ x₁(z),x₂(z)]^TAnd the signal received by both ears is denoted as d (z) ═ d₁(z),d₂(z)]^TWherein the signal is represented in the z-domain. The purpose of crosstalk cancellation is to better reproduce the binaural signal at the middle ear of the listener by inverting the acoustic path g (z) with a crosstalk cancellation filter h (z). H (z) and g (z) are represented by the following matrix forms, respectively:

wherein G is_i,j(z), i, j ═ 1,2 denotes the transfer function from the jth speaker to the ith ear, and H_i,j(z), i, j is 1,2 denotes the number x_jA crosstalk cancellation filter to the ith speaker.

In general, the crosstalk canceller h (z) can be calculated as the product of the inverse of the transfer function g (z) and the delay term d. By way of example, in one embodiment, crosstalk cancellation h (z) may be obtained as follows:

H(z)＝z^-dG^-1(z) (12)

where h (z) denotes a crosstalk canceller, g (z) denotes a transfer function and d denotes a delay term.

As shown in FIG. 5, a speaker (such as LS) in an electronic device_LAnd LS_R) Change, angle theta_LAnd theta_RIt will be different, which results in different acoustic transfer functions g (z) and thus different crosstalk cancellers h (z).

In one embodiment, the crosstalk canceller can be decomposed into direction-varying and invariant components, assuming that the HRTF contains the resonant system of the ear canal, with its resonant frequency and Q-factor independent of the direction of the source. In particular, HRTFs can be modeled by using poles independent of source direction and zeros based on source direction. By way of example, a Model known as the Common acoustic Pole/Zero Model (CAPZ) has been proposed for Stereo Crosstalk cancellation (see "A Stereo Crosstalk cancellation System Based on the Common-acoustic Pole/Zero Model", Lin Wang, Fuliang Yin and Zhe Chen, EURASIP Journal on Advances in Signal Processing 2010,2010:719197) and can be used in conjunction with the present invention. For example, according to CAPZ, each transfer function may be modeled by a common pole combining a unique set of zeros, as follows:

wherein

Representing a transfer function, N_qAnd N_pRepresents the number of poles and zeros, and

and

representing the pole coefficient vector and the zero coefficient vector, respectively.

The pole and zero coefficients are estimated by minimizing the total modeling error for all K transfer functions. For each crosstalk cancellation function, h (z) can be obtained by:

wherein

And

d₁₁、d₁₂、d₂₁and d₂₂Respectively, represents the transfer delay from the speaker to the ear, and δ ═ d- (d)₁₁+d₂₂) Indicating a delay.

In one embodiment, the crosstalk cancellation function can be divided into direction-based components (nulls)And a component independent of direction (pole)

And the overall processing matrix is:

two sound channels

The input audio stream may be in different formats. In some embodiments, the input audio stream is a two-channel input audio signal, e.g., a left channel and a right channel. In this case, equation (1) can be written as:

where L represents the left channel input signal and R represents the right channel input signal. The signal can be converted to mid-side (mid-side) format for ease of processing, e.g., as follows:

wherein Mid is 1/2 (L + R) and Side is 1/2 (L-R).

In one embodiment, the simplest processing would be to select a pair of speakers suitable for outputting a signal based on the current device orientation. For example, for the three-speaker case of fig. 2, when the electronic device is initially in landscape mode, equation (1) may be written as:

it can be seen from equation (18) that the left and right channel signals are sent to speakers a and b, while speaker c is unchanged. After rotation, assuming the device is in portrait mode, then equation (1) can be written as:

it can be seen that the rendering matrix is changed and when the device is in portrait mode, the left and right channel signals are sent to speakers c and b, respectively, while speaker a is muted.

The above embodiment is a simple way of selecting different subsets of loudspeakers for different directions to output L and R signals. More complex rendering components, as described below, may also be employed. For example, for the speaker layout in fig. 2, the right channel may be evenly divided between b and c, since speakers b and c are closer to each other relative to speaker a. Thus, in the landscape mode, the direction-based component may be selected as:

when the electronic device is in portrait mode, the direction-based component may change as follows:

as the orientation of the electronic device changes, the orientation-based component changes accordingly.

Where O (θ) represents the corresponding direction-based component when the angle equals θ.

The rendering matrix may similarly be used for other speaker layout scenarios, such as a four speaker layout, a five speaker layout, and so on. When the input signal is a binaural signal, the crosstalk canceller and mid-side (mid-side) processing described above can be employed simultaneously, and the direction-invariant matrix becomes:

in this case, the direction-based component is the product of the zero component of the crosstalk canceller and the layout-based rendering matrix.

Multi-channel sound source

The input signal may comprise a plurality of channels (N > 2). For example, the input signal may be in dolby digital/dolby digital plus 5.1 format, or MPEG surround format.

In one embodiment, the multi-channel signal may be converted to a stereo or binaural signal. The signal can then be fed back to the loudspeaker accordingly using the techniques described above. The conversion of the multi-channel signal into a stereo/binaural signal may be achieved, for example, by a suitable downmix or binaural audio processing method based on the particular input format. For example, left/right full channel (Lt/Rt) is suitable for decoding with a dolby professional logic decoder to obtain a downmix of surround 5.1 channels.

Alternatively, the multi-channel signal can be fed directly to the speakers or in a custom format rather than the traditional stereo format. For example, for the four speaker layout shown in fig. 3, the input signal may be converted to an intermediate format containing C, Lt and Rt, as follows:

wherein (C L R L_s R_s)^TRepresenting the input signal.

For the transverse mode, when the Lt and Rt channel signals are sent to speakers a and C shown in fig. 3, the C signal is equally divided to speakers b and d, and the direction-based components are as follows:

alternatively, the input can be processed directly by a direction-based matrix, so that each independent channel can be adapted separately according to the direction. For example, depending on the speaker layout, more or less gain can be applied to the surround channels.

The multi-channel input may contain an altitude channel, or an audio object with altitude/elevation information. Audio objects such as rain or airplanes may also be extracted from the conventional surround 5.1 audio signal. For example, the input signal may contain conventional surround 5.1 plus 2 height channels, represented by surround 5.1.2.

Object audio format

The current audio development introduces a new audio format that includes audio channels (ambient sounds) and audio objects to create a more immersive audio experience. Thus, channel-based audio means that the audio content typically contains a predetermined physical location (typically corresponding to the physical location of the speakers). For example, stereo, surround 5.1, surround 7.1, etc. can be classified as channel-based audio formats. Unlike channel-based audio formats, object-based audio refers to individual audio elements that exist in a sound field for a particular duration, and an audio object may be dynamic or static. This means that when the audio object is stored in a mono audio signal format, the trajectory to be stored and transmitted according to the metadata will be rendered by the available speaker array. It can thus be derived that the sound scene saved in the object based audio format contains a static part stored in the vocal tract and a dynamic part stored in the object, and corresponding metadata indicating the trajectory.

Thus, in the content of the object-based audio format, two rendering matrices are required for the objects and channels, which are formed by their corresponding direction-based components and direction-independent components. Therefore, equation (1) becomes:

wherein O is^objRepresenting an object rendering matrix R^objIs based on a direction component, P^objRepresenting an object rendering matrix R^objOf a direction-independent component, O^chnRepresenting a channel rendering matrix R^chnIs based on the direction of the component, and P^chnRepresenting a channel rendering matrix R^chnIs the direction independent component of (a).

Ambisonics (high fidelity stereo) B-format

The received audio signal may be in Ambisonics B format. The first order B format without the height z channel is commonly referred to as the WXY format.

For example, processing by the following linear mixing process is referred to as Sig₁To generate three signals W₁、X₁And Y₁。

Where x represents cos (θ), y represents sin (θ), and θ represents Sig₁In the direction of (a).

B-format is a scalable intermediate audio format that can be converted to various audio formats suitable for speaker playback. For example, there are high fidelity surround sound decoders that can be used to convert B-format signals to binaural signals. Crosstalk cancellation is further applied to stereo speaker playback. Once the input signal is converted to a binaural format or a multi-channel format, the rendering method proposed above can be employed to play the audio signal.

When used in the content of a voice communication, the B-format is used to reconstruct all or part of the sound field of the transmitter on the receiving device. For example, various methods are known to render WXY signals, particularly first order horizontal sound fields. With increasing spatial cues, spatial audio such as WXY improves the user's voice communication experience.

In some known solutions it is assumed that the voice communication device has a horizontal loudspeaker array (as described in WO2013142657a 1) which is different from the embodiment of the invention in that the loudspeaker array is set vertically, for example when the user uses the device to emit video speech. The rendering algorithm is not changed, which results in an overhead view of the sound field for the end user. This may lead to some non-conventional perception of the sound field, where the spatial separation of the talkers is well perceived and the separation effect may be even more pronounced.

In this rendering mode, the sound field may be rotated accordingly when the orientation of the device is changed, for example as follows:

where θ represents the rotation angle. The rotation matrix constitutes a direction-based component in this document.

Fig. 6 shows a block diagram of a system for processing audio on an electronic device comprising a plurality of speakers arranged in more than one dimension according to another example embodiment of the present invention.

The generating unit 601 is configured to generate rendering components associated with the plurality of received audio streams in response to the plurality of received audio streams. The rendering component is associated with the input signal characteristics and the playback requirements. In some embodiments, the rendering component is associated with the content or format of the received audio stream.

The determination unit 602 is configured to determine a direction-based component of the rendering component. In some embodiments, the determination unit 602 can be further configured to divide the rendering components into a direction-based component and a direction-independent component.

The processing unit 603 is configured to process the rendering component by updating the direction-based component in accordance with the direction of the loudspeaker. The number of speakers and the layout of the speakers can vary from application to application. The direction can be determined by using a direction sensor or other suitable means, such as a gyroscope and an accelerator. The direction determination module can be provided inside or outside the electronic device. The direction of the speaker is continuously associated with the angle between the electronic device and its user.

The assigning unit 604 is configured to assign the accepted audio stream to a plurality of loudspeakers for playing based on the processed rendering components.

It should be noted that some optional components may be added to the system 600, and one or more blocks of the system shown in fig. 6 may be omitted. The scope of the invention is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the system 600 further comprises an upmix or downmix unit configured to upmix or downmix the received audio stream in dependence on the number of loudspeakers. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the system can further include a crosstalk canceller configured to cancel crosstalk of the received audio stream.

In other embodiments, the determination unit 602 is further configured to divide the rendering components into a direction-based component and a direction-independent component.

In some embodiments, the received audio stream is a binaural signal. Furthermore, the system further comprises a conversion unit configured to convert the received audio stream into a mid-side (mid-side) format when the received audio stream is a binaural signal.

In some embodiments, the received audio stream is in an object audio format. In this case, the system 600 can further comprise a metadata processing unit configured to process metadata carried by the received audio stream.

FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a computer system 700 suitable for use in implementing embodiments of the present invention. As shown in fig. 7, the computer system 700 includes a Central Processing Unit (CPU)701, which can perform various appropriate actions and processes in accordance with a program stored in a Read Only Memory (ROM)702 or a program loaded from a storage section 708 into a Random Access Memory (RAM) 703. In the RAM 703, data for the CPU 701 to execute various processes and the like are also stored as necessary. The CPU 701, the ROM 702, and the RAM 703 are connected to each other via a bus 704. An input/output (I/O) interface 705 is also connected to bus 704.

The following components are connected to the I/O interface 705: an input portion 706 including a keyboard, a mouse, and the like; an output section 707 including a display such as a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), and the like, and a speaker; a storage section 708 including a hard disk and the like; and a communication section 709 including a network interface card such as a LAN card, a modem, or the like. The communication section 709 performs communication processing via a network such as the internet. A drive 710 is also connected to the I/O interface 705 as needed. A removable medium 711 such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, or the like is mounted on the drive 710 as necessary, so that a computer program read out therefrom is mounted into the storage section 708 as necessary.

In particular, the processes described above with reference to fig. 1-6 may be implemented as computer software programs, according to embodiments of the present invention. For example, an embodiment of the invention includes a computer program product comprising a computer program tangibly embodied on a machine-readable medium, the computer program comprising program code for performing the method 100. In such an embodiment, the computer program can be downloaded and installed from a network through the communication section 709, and/or installed from the removable medium 711.

In general, the various exemplary embodiments of this invention may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Certain aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of the embodiments of the invention may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that the blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

Also, blocks in the flow diagrams may be viewed as method steps, and/or as operations that result from operation of computer program code, and/or as a plurality of coupled logic circuit elements understood to perform the associated functions. For example, embodiments of the invention include a computer program product comprising a computer program tangibly embodied on a machine-readable medium, the computer program comprising program code configured to implement the method described above.

Within the context of this disclosure, a machine-readable medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The machine-readable medium may be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. A machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination thereof. More detailed examples of a machine-readable storage medium include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof.

Computer program code for implementing the methods of the present invention may be written in one or more programming languages. These computer program codes may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program codes, when executed by the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, cause the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks to be performed. The program code may execute entirely on the computer, partly on the computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server.

Additionally, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In some cases, multitasking or parallel processing may be beneficial. Likewise, while the above discussion contains certain specific implementation details, this should not be construed as limiting the scope of any invention or claims, but rather as describing particular embodiments that may be directed to particular inventions. Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

Various modifications, adaptations, and other embodiments of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the relevant arts in view of the foregoing description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Any and all modifications will still fall within the scope of the non-limiting and exemplary embodiments of this invention. Furthermore, the foregoing description and drawings provide instructive benefits and other embodiments of the present invention set forth herein will occur to those skilled in the art to which these embodiments of the present invention pertain.

Thus, the present invention may be embodied in any of the forms described herein. For example, the Enumerated Example Embodiments (EEEs) below describe certain structures, features, and functions of certain aspects of the present invention.

EEE 1. a method of outputting audio on a portable device, comprising:

receiving a plurality of audio streams;

detecting a direction of a speaker array, the speaker array comprising at least three speakers arranged in more than one dimension;

generating a rendering component according to an input audio format;

dividing the rendering component into a direction-based component and a direction-independent component;

updating the direction-based component according to the detected direction;

outputting the processed plurality of audio streams through at least three speakers arranged in more than one dimension.

EEE 2. the method according to EEE1, wherein the loudspeaker direction is detected by a direction sensor.

EEE 3. the method according to EEE2, wherein the rendering component comprises a crosstalk cancellation module.

EEE 4. the method according to EEE3, wherein the rendering component comprises an upmixer.

EEE 5. the method according to EEE2, wherein the plurality of audio streams are in WXY format.

EEE 6. the method according to EEE2, wherein the plurality of audio streams is in 5.1 format.

EEE7. the method according to EEE6, wherein the plurality of audio streams is in stereo format.

It is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.