Institut für Rundfunktechnik

About: Institut für Rundfunktechnik is a facility organization based out in Munich, Germany. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Signal & Audio signal. The organization has 293 authors who have published 286 publications receiving 1673 citations. The organization is also known as: IRT.

Video Quality Experts Group: Current results and future directions

Abstract: The Video Quality Experts Group (VQEG) was formed in October 1997 to address video quality issues. The group is composed of experts from various backgrounds and affiliations, including participants from several internationally recognized organizations working int he field of video quality assessment. The first task undertaken by VQEG was to provide a validation of objective video quality measurement methods leading to recommendations in both the telecommunications and radiocommunication sectors of the International Telecommunications Union. To this end, VQEG designed and executed a test program to compare subjective video quality evaluations to the predictions of a number of proposed objective measurement methods for video quality in the bit rate range of 768 kb/s to 50 Mb/s. The results of this test show that there is no objective measurement system that is currently able to replace subjective testing. Depending on the metric used for evaluation, the performance of eight or nine models was found to be statistically equivalent, leading to the conclusion that no single model outperforms the others in all cases. The greatest achievement of this first validation effort is the unique data set assembled to help future development of objective models.

Method of transmitting or storing digitalized, multi-channel audio signals

Abstract: In order to transmit or to store digitalized, multi-channel audio signals which are digitally represented by a plurality of spectral subband signals, at an encoder, subband signals of different audio channels but having the same frequency position are combined across channels according to a dynamic control signal. This control signal is derived from several audio channels by an audio signal analysis based on a psycho-acoustic binaural model. At a decoder, the subband signals of several audio channels but having the same frequency position are dissociated across channels according to a control value derived from the dynamic control signal, transmitted or stored therewith.

5G New Radio for Terrestrial Broadcast: A Forward-Looking Approach for NR-MBMS

Abstract: 3GPP LTE eMBMS release (Rel-) 14, also referred to as further evolved multimedia broadcast multicast service (FeMBMS) or enhanced TV (EnTV), is the first mobile broadband technology standard to incorporate a transmission mode designed to deliver terrestrial broadcast services from conventional high power high tower (HPHT) broadcast infrastructure. With respect to the physical layer, the main improvements in FeMBMS are the support of larger inter-site distance for single frequency networks (SFNs) and the ability to allocate 100% of a carrier’s resources to the broadcast payload, with self-contained signaling in the downlink. From the system architecture perspective, a receive-only mode enables free-to-air (FTA) reception with no need for an uplink or SIM card, thus receiving content without user equipment registration with a network. These functionalities are only available in the LTE advanced pro specifications as 5G new radio (NR), standardized in 3GPP from Rel-15, has so far focused entirely on unicast. This paper outlines a physical layer design for NR-MBMS, a system derived, with minor modifications, from the 5G-NR specifications, and suitable for the transmission of linear TV and radio services in either single-cell or SFN operation. This paper evaluates the NR-MBMS proposition and compares it to LTE-based FeMBMS in terms of flexibility, performance, capacity, and coverage.

An Edge-to-Cloud Virtualized Multimedia Service Platform for 5G Networks

Abstract: The focus of research into 5G networks to date has been largely on the required advances in network architectures, technologies, and infrastructures. Less effort has been put on the applications and services that will make use of and exploit the flexibility of 5G networks built upon the concept of software-defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV). Media-based applications are amongst the most demanding services, requiring large bandwidths for high audio–visual quality, low-latency for interactivity, and sufficient infrastructure resources to deliver the computational power for running the media applications in the networked cloud. This paper presents a novel service virtualization platform (SVP), called 5G-MEDIA SVP, which leverages the principles of NFV and SDN to facilitate the development, deployment, and operation of media services on 5G networks. The platform offers an advanced cognitive management environment for the provisioning of network services (NSs) and media-related applications, which directly link their lifecycle management with user experience as well as optimization of infrastructure resource utilization. Another innovation of 5G-MEDIA SVP is the integration of serverless computing with media intensive applications in 5G networks, increasing cost effectiveness of operation and simplifying development and deployment time. The proposed SVP is being validated against three media use cases: 1) immersive virtual reality 3-D gaming application; 2) remote production of broadcast content incorporating user generated contents; and 3) dynamically adaptive content distribution networks for the intelligent distribution of ultrahigh definition content. The preliminary results of the 5G-MEDIA SVP platform evaluation are compared against current practice and show that the proposed platform provides enhanced functionality for the operators and infrastructure owners, while ensuring better NS performance to service providers and end users.

Wave field synthesis - a promising spatial audio rendering concept

Abstract: Modern convolution technologies offer possibilities to overcome principle shortcomings of loudspeaker stereophony by exploiting the Wave Field Synthesis (WFS) concept for rendering virtual spatial characteristics of sound events. Based on the Huygens principle loudspeaker arrays are reproducing a synthetic sound field around the listener, whereby the dry audio signal is combined with measured or modelled information about the room and the source’s position to enable the accurate reproduction of the source within its acoustical environment. Not surprisingly, basic and practical constraints of WFS systems limit the rendering accurateness and the perceived spatial audio quality to a certain degree, dependent on characteristic features and technical parameters of the sound field synthesis. However, recent developments have shown already that a number of applications could be possible in the near future. An attractive example is the synthesis of WFS and stereophony offering enhanced freedom in sound design as well as improved quality and more flexibility in practical playback situations for multichannel sound mixes.