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I was wondering if any of the ME's here have ever done any work for purely voice communications (e.g. prepping a track for playing over a bandwidth-limited channel).

I am doing some work at my job where I need to process live voice to maximize volume, maximize intelligibility, reduce background noise, EQ, etc., over a channel limited to the 300-5,000 hz range. Dynamic range can be limited to the 8 bit range, I'm guessing, maybe as low as 6 bits.

Hopefully, some of you have had the need to do something related to this over the years.

Feel free to contact me if you are interested in discussing this. Thanks!

Comments

Boswell Mon, 03/09/2009 - 04:57

dpd wrote: I am doing some work at my job where I need to process live voice to maximize volume, maximize intelligibility, reduce background noise, EQ, etc., over a channel limited to the 300-5,000 hz range. Dynamic range can be limited to the 8 bit range, I'm guessing, maybe as low as 6 bits.

Is the overriding need to reduce the bit rate? This is a classic instance where companding algorithms can be put to good use. With these, there is an S-shaped mapping of an amplitude value on to a bit pattern (6 or 8 bits). In this way, large amplitudes are represented coarsely and lower amplitudes are represented with a resolution equivalent to 12 or 16 bits.

There is scarcely a need for mastering as such for this application. Telephone-style filtering using multi-pole roll-offs at the specified corner frequencies will give you the basic filtered PCM samples. Follow this with some AGC or compression to even out the levels and probably a hard limiter for dealing with plosives, and then any bit-compression algorithm as described above.

RemyRAD Mon, 03/09/2009 - 18:34

If you can swing this? I find that 16-bit at 11kHz sampling, mono, to be quite nice for the human voice. Response to 20 hertz with a top end no higher than 5kHz. Works well over telephones & limited bandwidth mediums. You would probably do well with 12 bit but I think 8-bit & 6-bit is pushing it from a quality standpoint. Even with companding, it'll get so gravelly. Ugh.

Go for the smoothness. We want velvety not itchy.
Ms. Remy Ann David