Loss concealment for multi-channel streaming audio

With the advent of high-speed networks such as Internet2, high quality uncompressed transmission of multi-channel audio streams has become possible. For interactive applications, such as a distributed musical performance, minimizing latency is of paramount importance. Given the strict latency requirements, error recovery (via either retransmission or FEC) may not always be successful, and thus concealment is frequently required. In this paper we propose a novel concealment algorithm, based on inter-channel redundancy, for multi-channel, professional quality, uncompressed audio streams, with particular emphasis on an experimental 10.2 audio standard, which provides an immersive experience for the audience and the players in a performance. We also propose a smoothing method based on Bezier curves. We focus on interactive applications; thus we investigate concealment techniques that can be performed in real time. Our algorithms are implemented in a testbed capable of streaming up to 24 uncompressed audio channels with end-to-end latency of less than 6 ms. Our results show that our techniques outperform existing methods. We expect that our protocol will become an important part of a distributed immersive musical performance system currently being developed at our university.