norm for comparative ratin automatic prediction from the value. In the rest of this paper proposed measure, analyze its scores, and compare it to other 2.(Smseg), the distortion m several known features of sounds by the human e a , spe . Frequency scale band integration in the cochlea,
ABSTRACTA new, perceptually-motivated objective measure for estimating the subjective quality of coded speech is presented. It takes into account (i) auditory frequency warping (Bark transformation), (ii) critical-band integration, (iii) amplitude sensitivity variations with frequency and (iv) conversion from loudness level to loudness. For each 10 ms segment of an utterance, a weighted spectral vector is computed via 15 critical band filters. The overall distortion, called Bark Spectral Distortion (BSD), is the average squared Euclidean distance between spectral vectors of the original and coded utterance. In tests with speech distorted by a modulated noise reference unit (IvlNRU) or coded at rates of 2.4 -64 kbh, the measure predicted mean opinion score (MOS) ratings notably better than segmental SNR. The standard error in estimating MOS scores with the new measure was 0.2 -0.3.
A critical band filtering function attributed to Schroeder [A. J. Fourcin et al., ‘‘Speech processing by man and machine,’’ in Recognition of Complex Acoustic Signals, edited by Theodore H. Bullock (Dahlem Konferenzen, Berlin, 1977)] is modified to (i) ensure 1-Bark bandwidth, (ii) have asymptotic slopes which reflect filtering characteristics of the human ear, and (iii) attain its maximum at 0 Bark. A bank of the new filters spaced at 1-Bark intervals is presented, and its smoothing effect on a vowel spectrum is illustrated.
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