Quality Adviser – A Multichannel Audio Quality Expert System

The basic audio quality of 5.1 multichannel audio reproduction was evaluated under different technical conditions. The obtained database of subjective responses was used to develop a multichannel audio quality expert system. There are three aims of this development: (1) to predict audio quality as a function of individual channel bandwidth, (2) to predict audio quality as a function of given down-mix algorithms, (3) to predict the optimum technical tradeoff between these factors for a given total bandwidth of a multichannel audio signal. Obtained results indicate a close correspondence between the predicted and actual quality ratings. It is intended that the final version of the Quality Adviser will be suitable as a decision making aid for broadcasters and codec designers.