Improved Channel Level Difference Quantization for Spatial Audio Coding

The channel level difference (CLD) is a main parameter in the reference model 0 (RM0) for MPEG Surround. Nevertheless, the CLD quantization method in the RM0 has problems such as the lack of theoretical background and inappropriate quantization levels. In this letter, a new CLD quantization method is proposed based on the virtual source location information which has strength in the quantization process. From experimental results, it is confirmed that the proposed scheme greatly reduces the quantization distortions measured in dB and degrees without any additional complexity.