ATC-based hi-fi audio coding for ATM networks

The authors propose an adaptive transform coding (ATC)-based hi-fi audio coding method for asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networks. To maintain robustness despite cell loss, a novel layered coding scheme has been employed in ATC. In this approach, higher/lower priority is assigned to most/least significant bits, rather than to lower/higher frequency bands, as is commonly done in video coding. The number of bits for most/least significant bits is determined on the basis of two different coding-rates. Subjective test results for 192 kbps/96 kbps coding show that, even under conditions of cell loss, it is possible to maintain a level of quality equivalent to 192 kbps coding quality. The proposed approach appears to be promising for high-quality hi-fi audio signal transmission in ATM networks