Patent ID: 8340269

Claim:
A method for processing multi-channel audio signals, comprising: receiving L-channel audio signals from participating conference terminals, decoding the L-channel audio signals, and determining N conference terminals whose audio signals are to be mixed from the participating conference terminals according to the data obtained through decoding, wherein L and N are natural numbers and L>N>0; selecting an encoder as a common encoder from L−N encoders (indicating that the number of encoders is equal to the value of L minus N) of the participating conference terminals except the N conference terminals whose audio signals are to be mixed, encoding decoded audio signals of the N conference terminals whose audio signals are to be mixed, and sending encoded data to conference terminals corresponding to the L−N encoders (indicating that the number of encoders is equal to the value of L minus N); wherein, when the N conference terminals whose audio signals are to be mixed change, and any of the encoders corresponding to the N conference terminals whose audio signals are to be mixed is selected as a new common encoder, the method also comprising: choosing M new conference terminals whose audio signals are to be mixed from the participating conference terminals, wherein the M new conference terminals whose audio signals are to be mixed and the N original conference terminals whose audio signals are to be mixed include S same conference terminals, wherein M and S are natural numbers and 0<=S<min{M,N}; and stopping sending signals, and incompletely encoding decoded audio signals of the M new conference terminals whose audio signals are to be mixed when encoding status information of encoders corresponding to N-S-1 conference terminals (indicating that the number of conference terminals is equal to the value of N minus (S+I)) among the N original conference terminals whose audio signals are to be mixed except encoders corresponding to the S same conference terminals and the new common encoder is consistent with the encoding status information of the encoders corresponding to the new conference terminals whose audio signals are to be mixed to synchronize the encoding status information of the encoders corresponding to the N-S-1 conference terminals with the encoding status information of the new common encoder; and updating encoding status information of L−N−1 encoders (indicating that the number of encoders is equal to the value of L minus (N+I) except the common encoder to synchronize with encoding status information of the common encoder when L−N>I (L−N indicates that L subtracts N).