Patent ID: 6405163
Filing Date: 2002-06-11
Classification: H04S

Abstract:
A method, performed by a computer, for removing voice from a stereo recording including first and second stereo channels, said method comprising the steps of:splitting the first and second stereo channels of the stereo recording into overlapping, windowed, short-term frames; processing said frames into a series of short-term frequency domain spectra representing the spectral content of the first and second stereo channels in each short-term frame; locating a plurality of peak frequencies at which maxima occur in the frequency domain spectra for each stereo channel; forming a difference spectra, at each peak frequency, equal to the difference between the frequency domain spectra of the first and second stereo channels at the same peak frequency, where the size of the difference spectra is small for frequencies of voice or other instruments panned to the center of the first and second stereo channels; and multiplying the magnitude of the frequency domain spectra at each peak frequency by a gain factor being a function of the magnitude of the difference spectra at the same peak frequency so that frequency components of voice signals panned to the center of the stereo channels are reduced in magnitude.