Aufgaben:Exercise 3.4: Different Voice Codecs

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Audiosignale von „Narrow–Band”
und „Wide–Band”

The development of the GSM standard after 1990 was accompanied by the standardization of various voice codecs:

• With the first  "Full-Rate Codec"  $\rm (FR)$  from 1991 a reduction to the data rate  $13 \ \rm kbit/s$  was achieved, sufficiently low to be able to transmit a voice signal over a single traffic channel.
• In 1994 the  "Half-Rate Codec"  $\rm (HR)$  with the bitrate  $5.6 \ \rm kbit/s$  was developed with the aim of being able to transmit two calls simultaneously in one traffic channel if required.  However, the quality does not quite reach the full-rate codec.
• The  "Enhanced Full-Rate Codec"  $\rm (EFR)$  from 1995 represented a significant development based on the data reduction method  $\rm ACELP$  ("Algebraic Code Excited Linear Prediction"). The EFR codec delivers a data rate of  $12.2 \ \rm kbit/s$  and stands for the common quality standard in mobile communications nowadays.
• In 1999, ETSI standardized the Adaptive Multi-Rate Codec"  $\rm (AMR)$  for GSM.  This provides eight different modes with data rates between  $4.75 \ \ \rm kbit/s$  and  $12.2 \ \ \rm kbit/s$ .  The AMR codec uses the ACELP method like the EFR codec.
• The  "Wideband AMR"  $\rm(WB-AMR)$  is a further development of the original AMR.  It was standardized by the 3GPP consortium in 2001 and by ITU-T in 2002 and uses the frequency range from  $50 \ \rm Hz$  to  $7 \rm kHz$.  This corresponds to a "WideBand signal".

Notes:

• The task belongs to the chapter  Similarities between GSM and UMTS.
• The graph shows the magnitude spectrum of an audio signal and defines the characteristics "narrowband" and "wideband".
• We refer you to the interactive SWF applet  Qualität verschiedener Sprachcodecs   ⇒   Quality of different voice codecs  
  (based on "Shock Wave Flash",  German language).

Questionnaire

1

What tasks does a voice codec perform?

	It is used for rate reduction of digitised speech.
	It is necessary for error correction reasons.
	It is used for coding and decoding.

2

What advantages does the  $\rm EFR$  codec offer compared to the  $\rm FR$  codec?

	It is designed for broadband signals $($frequency range:   $200 \ \ \rm Hz$ – $7 \ \rm kHz)$ .
	It provides better voice quality.
	The improvement is due to the ACELP method.

3

What are the advantages of the  $\rm AMR$  codec over the  $\rm EFR$  codec?

	It provides better voice quality.
	It provides different modes and is therefore more flexible.
	The lowest mode is identical to the EFR standard.

4

What are the characteristics of  $\text{WB-AMR}$?

	The audio frequency range is  $50 \ \rm Hz$ – $7 \ \rm kHz$.
	It provides modes between  $6.60 \ \ \rm kHz$  and  $23.85 \ \rm kHz$.
	GSM is not sufficient for the higher rate modes.

Solution

Solution

(1)  Correct are the solution suggestions 1 and 3:

• The required data rate is reduced by removing redundancy and irrelevance from the data signal
• The artificial word „Codec” indicates that the same functional unit is used for both encoding and decoding.

(2)  Correct are the answers 2 and 3:

• The EFR–Codec from 1995 is a significant development of the Full–Rate Codecs from 1991, whereby, among other things, speech quality is less affected by background noise.
• Like the AMR, the EFR–Codec is based on the data reduction method ACELP (Algebraic Code Excited Linear Prediction).
• The first proposed solution is wrong. Like the FR and AMR codecs, the EFR codec is only designed for the telephone channel (300 Hz to 3.4 kHz).
• For better intelligibility and to avoid a dull sound, there is also a mid-range boost and a low-frequency cut.

(3) Only the solution 2 is correct:

• The advantage of the AMR–codec over the EFR is its greater flexibility.
• If the channel quality deteriorates significantly, it is possible to switch smoothly to a low-rate mode where transmission errors are less disturbing.
• In addition, as with the Half&ndash Rate Codec, it is possible to have two conversations in one traffic channel.
• The highest mode at 12.2 kbit/s - and not the lowest - is identical to the EFR codec. It is therefore obvious that AMR cannot provide better voice quality than EFR.

(4)  All answers are correct:

• Nine modes are provided in wideband–AMR, but only five of them are used for mobile communications, namely those with data rates of 6.60, 8.85, 12.65, 15.85 and 23.65 kbit/s.
• The modes up to 12.65 kbit/s have the advantage that a voice signal encoded in this way can be accommodated in a single GSM–traffic channel. For the higher rate modes, GSM/EDGE or UMTS is required.
• The higher rate modes (15.85 and 23.65 kbit/s) provide only a slight improvement for speech, but due to the larger frequency range, they provide a noticeable improvement for the transmission of music.
• Both the WB-AMR 12.65 and the higher modes of (narrowband) AMR show weaknesses here. An even lower data rate gives extremely poor results with music signals.
• The WB-AMR has a better voice quality than the NB-AMR with 12.2 kbit/s even at a comparable data rate (12.65 kbit/s). Due to the greater bandwidth, speech sounds more natural and sibilants such as "s", "f" and "sch" become more intelligible.