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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!

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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

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