Patent ID: 8300849

Claim:
A method for compressing the level of digital audio, the method comprising: receiving an input audio signal that is divided into a plurality of blocks, each block comprising a plurality of samples; determining a measure of loudness of the input audio signal using a perceptually derived filter; determining a target gain amount based at least in part upon a target loudness level and the measure of loudness; based at least in part on the target gain amount, determining a first linear gain amount using piecewise linear attack/release logic to be applied to samples of a first block of the plurality of blocks; based at least in part on the target gain amount and on the first linear gain amount, determining a second linear gain amount using the piecewise linear attack/release logic to be applied to samples of a second block of the plurality of blocks, wherein the first linear gain amount is different from the second linear gain amount and wherein both the first linear gain amount and the second linear gain amount are applied to the respective blocks during one of either an attack phase or a release phase; and producing an output audio signal by adjusting the input audio signal by the first and the second linear gain amounts.