2D to 3D upmixing based on perceptual band allocation (PBA)

Listening tests were carried out to evaluate the performance of a 2D to 3D ambience upmixing technique based on 'Perceptual Band Allocation (PBA)', which is a novel vertical image extension method. 5-channel recordings were made with a 3-channel frontal microphone array and a 4-channel ambience array in a concert hall. The 4-channel ambience signals were low- and high-pass filtered at three different crossover frequencies: 0.5k, 1k and 4kHz. For 2D to 3D upmixing, the low-passed signals were routed to the corresponding lower-layer loudspeakers while the high-passed ones to the upper-layer loudspeakers configured in a 9-channel Auro 3D-inspired setup. Results suggested that the proposed method produced a similar or greater magnitude of perceived 3D listener envelopment compared to an original 9-channel ambience recording as well as the original 5-channel recording, depending on the crossover frequency.