Perceptual Audio Coders: What to Listen For

AUDIO ENGINEERING SOCIETY
RELEASES TUTORIAL CD-ROM ON CODING ARTIFACTS

Technical Council Project Provides Listener with a Framework for Aural Recognition and an Understanding of the Underlying Principles of Perceptual Audio Coding

New York, January 11, 2002-The Audio Engineering Society's Technical Council has launched a tutorial project on CD-ROM, "Perceptual Audio Coders: What to Listen For." Developed by the Technical Committee on Coding of Audio Signals, and produced by Dr. Markus Erne, the unique CD-ROM is the first of its kind to be produced by the AES. It has been developed to familiarize audio engineers, broadcast engineers, and students of audio with the underlying principles of perceptual audio coding.

For more than forty years audio professionals have been trained in listening to conventional audio artifacts using analog equipment. Perceptual audio coding is a relatively new field and exhibits completely different types of artifacts. "Perceptual Audio Coders: What to Listen For" will be especially helpful to audio professionals, including engineers, designers, and students who are presented with audio material that has undergone audio compression, in which the process of coding artifacts takes place.

The CD-ROM demonstrates the sonic side of audio technology, providing examples of various types of audio coding artifacts. The artifacts are sorted according to type and severity as audio files, which enable listeners to enhance their ability to recognize these artifacts. Listeners are first presented with distortion grades that are obvious and then proceed to more subtle ones.

Because generic properties of coding algorithms are considered, the nature of the artifacts presented in the CD-ROM applies to virtually all current coding schemes. In addition to the CD-ROM's inclusion of 8 different chapters on audio coding artifacts, there are 3 tutorials on audio coding principles designed to familiarize the reader with the underlying technology.

Computer-platform-independent HTML navigation is offered, meaning that any WWW-browser on any computer platform can be used to read the disk, and the CD-ROM can also can be played on any conventional CD player, using the accompanying booklet as a guideline.

"Perceptual Audio Coders: What to Listen For," is available for purchase at a special price of $15.00 for members or $20.00 for nonmembers. Additionally, libraries, research labs, and institutes can obtain a volume discount.

For more information on volume discounts please contact AES Publications. or telephone +1 212 661 8528 ext 39.