9
Byungki Oh keynote speaker Bob Moses AES president John Oh conference chair 850 J. Audio Eng. Soc., Vol. 56, No. 10, 2008 October

John Oh conference chair - Audio Engineering Society · The workshop Audio in the IT Industry featured the insights of, from left, moderator Yonhong Jhung, John Oh, Juha Backman,

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Byungki Ohkeynote speaker

Bob MosesAES president

John Ohconference chair

850 J. Audio Eng. Soc., Vol. 56, No. 10, 2008 October

34thReport.qxd:Sept2008 10/28/08 9:55 AM Page 1

AES 34AES 34thth

INTERNATIONAL CONFEREINTERNATIONAL CONFERENNCECE

The AES 34th International Conference, New Trends forMobile and Handheld Devices, was held at Hana Hotel on

Jeju Island, Korea, August 28-30, 2008. This conference wasa follow up to the successful 29th Conference, Audio for

Mobile and Handheld Devices, held in Seoul, Korea in 2006.67 participants from 14 countries listened to 17 paper presen-tations and 3 invited lectures on topics ranging from advancedspeech coding technologies to new user interface paradigms.

Many of the hottest consumer electronics products on the

J. Audio Eng. Soc., Vol. 56, No. 10, 2008 October 851

market today are mobile devices such as portable music players,multifunction mobile telephones, and game players. As thesedevices shrink in size, the computing power necessary to supporttheir expanding multimedia features and expectations for higherperformance are increasing exponentially. Audio quality, in partic-ular, is a paramount concern as music delivery continues to be the“killer app.” Thus, mobile devices represent one of the greatestchallenges in the engineering profession. Consumers demand newproducts that are faster, better, cheaper, smaller, and that havelonger battery life. This conference brought together many leadersin this field to share the latest advances in mobile technologies andbusiness models.Known as the “Island of the Gods,” Jeju is the largest of

Korea’s islands and is a popular destination for vacationersthroughout Asia. The tropical paradise offers visitors a staggeringnumber of outdoor activities and culinary delights. Relatively iso-lated from the rest of the world, Jeju’s natural environment hasbeen largely preserved since ancient times. Mt. Halla rises 1950meters above sea level in the center of the island, and 368 sec-ondary craters are scattered throughout its landscape. The island'svolcanic geology, frequent rains, and temperate climate, are verycomparable to the Hawaiian Islands. ➥

34thReport.qxd:Sept2008 10/28/08 9:55 AM Page 2

852 J. Audio Eng. Soc., Vol. 56, No. 10, 2008 October

AES 34AES 34RDRD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCEINTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

Besides tourism, Jeju’s main industries are fishing andagriculture. Of particular note are the legendary Haenyo(diving women) who swim to incredible depths (up to 20meters) in search of shellfish, abalone, seaweed, and othermarine life with nothing more than a hoe, spear, and gourd.They often stay under water for three or four minutes with-out any breathing apparatus, appearing on the surface justlong enough to take in a deep breath of air before divingunderwater again. The Haenyo tradition has been passeddown from generation to generation and is one of Jeju’s mostcelebrated customs. Thus, the setting for this conference wasan interesting juxtaposition of natural wonders, ancient cul-ture, and modern electronics.

DAY 1Conference chair John Oh kicked off the conference on Thurs-day by welcoming attendees and reassuring participants thatthey would be rewarded with an excellent program if theycould avoid the allure of the nearby beaches. AES presidentBob Moses followed by thanking the conference organizers

and presenters for their hard work and the sponsors andexhibitors for their financial support. Moses noted that thiswas only the second AES international conference ever held inAsia and pledged that the AES will strive to better serve itsAsian membership in the future.Byungki Oh of Korean mobile operator KTF kicked off the

technical program with a keynote address exploring the com-pany’s suite of award-winning 3-G mobile services known asSHOW. Oh noted that Korea is a world telecommunicationsleader, having been ranked as the top country in the Interna-tional Telecommunication Union (ITU) Digital OpportunityIndex (DOI) for three consecutive years. As of April 2008,91.3% of the Korean population was subscribed to mobile ser-vice. As one of the leading mobile service providers in Korea,KTF has a customer base of over 14.5 million customers. ItsW-CDMA/HSDPA SHOW service aims to deliver high-speedmultimedia, live television, a music download portal, video ondemand, Internet, global roaming, banking, and other services.Oh’s presentation inspired conference attendees with the mag-nificent promise of future mobile services. ➥

Authors

Among the authorspresenting papers were,from left, top row, KeweiYang, Myung-suk Song,Joachim Thiemann, andYangwon Jung; middle row,Juha Backman, MohammedChalil, Choong Sang Cho,and Te-won Lee; bottomrow, Nathan Bentall, Sang-keun Oh, and Sang HaPark.

34thReport.qxd:Sept2008 10/28/08 9:56 AM Page 3

J. Audio Eng. Soc., Vol. 56, No. 10, 2008 October 855

AES 34AES 34RDRD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCEINTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

Following the keynote address, Kewei Yang of AnalogixSemiconductor gave an invited lecture on the fledgling Dis-playPort Digital Multimedia Display Interface standard. Dis-playPort aims to replace existing interface standards in theconsumer and personal computing marketplaces in “box-to-box” and internal (such as notebook PC LCD panel to mother-board) applications. Yang characterized the DisplayPort archi-tecture as an extension of the PCI Express high-speed serialinterface standard, with the addition of copy protection anddigital audio based on the IEC60958 standard. Yang noted thatmost of the people and businesses behind DisplayPort are notaudio experts and invited audio professionals to join the stan-dardization effort to ensure that audio is handled properly. The Signal Processing, Part 1 session began with the paper

“On Evaluation of Blind Audio Source Separation” presentedby Mingu Lee of Seoul National University. Blind audiosource separation (BASS) is a process of “unmixing” a com-pound signal into its component signals. Many BASS algo-rithms have been published but methods to evaluate them arenot consistent, making it difficult to compare them. Lee pre-sented a unified performance measurement procedure for eval-uating BASS algorithms based on estimated source decompo-sition and the MUSHRA test method. The next paper, “Discrimination of Music Signals for Mobile

Broadcasting Receivers,” was presented by Myung-suk Songof Yonsei University. Song proposed a Gaussian mixturemodel (GMM)-based music-discrimination system for mobilereceivers that can automatically archivemusic from broadcasts that have interfer-ence from human voice, acoustic noise,commercial advertisements, and othersources. After describing the GMMmethod, Song showed experimental resultson Korean and English pop music pro-grams with approximately 80% success. The final paper of this session was

“Non-Linear Signal Processing for LowFrequency Enhancement,” presented byJakob Birkedal Nielsen of AM3D A/S.Nielsen explained how the AM3D algorithm performs bass enhancement onsmall loudspeakers with limited low-fre-quency response by applying a noveldynamics-processing algorithm. This algo-rithm boosts low frequencies when the

original signal has ample headroom and generates harmonicsthat create the perception of a missing fundamental whenavailable headroom is low. Following Nielsen’s presentaion, attendees enjoyed a coffee

break in the exhibit area. The exhibitors were APT, Electron-ics and Telecommunication Institute (ETRI), LG Electronics,Oxford Digital, and Pulsus. APT provided information aboutits apt-x coding technologies that enable real time-delivery ofprofessional quality audio over wireless and Bluetooth links.ETRI demonstrated its MUSIC2.0 interactive music servicethat allows users to control the mix of prerecorded music andto view lyrics, music, videos, slide shows, and other data. LGElectronics showed its ClearVoice technology, whichenhances human voices over background sounds, andMP3Remix technology that allows multitrack MP3 files to bemixed by the user (the subject of a presentation later in theconference). Oxford Digital demonstrated its Tiny DSP core,recently integrated into a number of products: a new general-purpose DSP chip from Sony, schematic-based softwaredevelopment tools for this DSP, and Oxford Digital’s Easy-Tune GUI-based software tool for tuning sound quality on dig-ital audio devices. Pulsus provided information about its fam-ily of digital-to-digital converter (DDC) ICs, which convertPCM audio sources into PWM signals that can be digitallyamplified. The Coding for Audio and Speech, Part 1 session followed

the coffee break. The session began with a presentation byEunmi Oh of the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technologyon “Framework for Unified Speech and Audio Coding.” Ohexplained that algorithms optimized for speech are usuallypoor at coding music, and vice versa. She advocated a newcoding scheme known as frequency-varying modulatedlapped transform (FV-MLT). It offers flexible time/frequencyresolution, perfect reconstruction even when time/frequencyresolution is adaptively changed, and no loss of frequencyresponse compared to conventional methods. Oh presentedexperimental results that showed improved performance atlow bit rates of 16 to 24 kbps versus other methods.The next presentation, “Using Salient Envelope Features for

Audio Coding,” was from Joachim Thiemann of McGill Uni-versity. Theimann described a work-in-progress in which

Papers cochairs Eunmi Oh, left,and Young-Cheol Park

Authors who presented papers in the poster session had an opportunity to give in-depth answers to the questions posed by attendees.

34thReport.qxd:Sept2008 10/28/08 9:56 AM Page 4

856 J. Audio Eng. Soc., Vol. 56, No. 10, 2008 October

he is investigating a new method for perceptual audio codingusing perceptually-salient envelope features. These featuresare found by passing the audio through a series of gammatonefilters and computing Hilbert envelopes. Relevant points onthese envelopes are then transmitted to a decoder that recon-structs the original audio signal iteratively. Initial experimentsshow promise with moderate bitrate reduction on speech sig-nals, but further work is required to improve audio qualitywith tonal signals. The final presentation in this session was “Personalized

Music Service Based on Parametric Object-Oriented SpatialAudio Coding” by Yangwon Jung of LG Electronics. Jungdescribed a method for parametric music control (mix, EQ,etc.) called parametric object-oriented spatial audio coding(POC), based on the spatial audio object coding (SAOC) workby the ISO/MPEG standardization group. POC carries controldata in side information with the MP3 data, allowing the userto remix MP3 audio objects. Jung showed a prototype playercalled MP3Remix that allows real-time mixing of music (leveland pan), as well as preset mixes of varying styles (flat,karaoke, a cappella, etc.). Jung suggested that this serviceenhances the music experience by allowing people to person-alize it to their tastes. The Coding for Audio and Speech session was followed by

a poster session with five papers. One paper, “A Bit ReductionAlgorithm for Spectral Band Replication Using the MaskingEffect” by Sang Bae Chon, et el., discussed a spectral bandreplication (SBR) method that reduces bit rate by modifying

envelope data such that the reduction can not be perceivedsubjectively. Experimental results show a 10 to 12% reductionin envelope data at a bit rate of 24 kbps with no reduction inaudio quality. Another paper, “Bit-Rate Reduction Using Effi-cient Difference Coding of Sinusoid Amplitude” by NamsukLee, described a new method for sinusoid amplitude coding.Lee proposes a new difference method of sinusoid amplitudein birth that achieves nearly 16% reduction in bit rate in exper-imental results. Another poster, “Implementation of 3-DSound Using Grouped HRTF” by Seo Bo-Kug, et el., pro-vided a new method for head-related transfer functions(HRTF) that groups and averages HRTFs in order to improvesound localization and moving sound effects. The fourthpaper, “An Improved Weighting Curve Based on Equal-Loudness Contour” by Inseok Heo and Koeng-Mo Sungdescribed a new loudness weighting curve. The authors pointout that some weighting curves are good at low levels and oth-ers are good at high levels. Their proposed curve claims to beuseful at any signal level. The fifth poster presentation, “LowCarrier Frequency Noise-Shaper for Digital Amplifier” byPark Kyoungsoo and Mo Sung, offered a new noise-shapingmethod optimized for low oversampling ratios.Next came the Implementations and 3-D Audio session.

Mohammed Chalil of Analog Devices led off with a presenta-tion on “Smooth PCM Clipping of Audio.” Chalil discussedthe basic concepts of clipping in digital audio systems andhow his team was able to minimize distortion in an AACcodec by looking ahead and detecting clipping and applying

AES 34AES 34RDRD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCEINTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

During coffee breaks exhibitors APT, Electronics and Telecommunication Institute (ETRI), LG Electronics, Oxford Digital, and Pulsusoffered information on their products and services.

The workshop Audio in the IT Industry featured the insights of, from left, moderator Yonhong Jhung, John Oh, Juha Backman, Te-won Lee, and Eunmi Oh.

34thReport.qxd:Sept2008 10/28/08 9:56 AM Page 5

J. Audio Eng. Soc., Vol. 56, No. 10, 2008 October 857

gain reduction. The Attack Release Sustain Decay characteris-tics of the original audio signal were preserved in this method,thereby maximizing sound quality.Hyun Wook Kim of Samsung Electronics followed with a

presentation titled “Advanced Terrestrial DMB System Struc-ture for Multichannel Audio Services.” Kim described howtwo object-descriptor (OD) streams can be employed to carrymultichannel side information with elementary streams in anMPEG stream. This enables multichannel digital multimediabroadcasts with backward compatibility with stereo systems. Young-Cheol Park of Yonsei University closed the session

with a presentation on “Robust Crosstalk Cancellation Basedon Energy Density Control.” Park described how crosstalkcancelation filters can be used to widen the perceived stereofield and a method of using the energy density function inorder to improve stability compared to conventional pressure-control methodsAt the conclusion of the first day, attendees enjoyed an

excellent Korean buffet followed by an enchanting evening inthe nearby gardens and beaches.

DAY 2Day 2 began with an invited lecture by Juha Backman ofNokia titled “Mobile Phone Audio: The Shape of Things toCome.” Backman predicted the key innovations in themobile field will be increases in processing power, storagecapacity, data transfer rates, the number of connecteddevices, advances in amplifier, signal processing, and trans-ducer technologies, and acoustic modeling. Backmanexplained how mobile-device designers face challengessuch as energy management, consumer expectations for bet-ter/faster/cheaper devices, and long development cycles inan impatient marketplace. He discussed the evolution fromcircuit switched (such as plain old telephone service, orPOTS) to packet switched systems (such as Voice over IP,

or VoIP). He noted that services such as Skype havebrought VoIP into the mainstream, offering a radicalimprovement in network-capacity utilization, better audioquality, no need for echo cancelation, and other advantages.Another interesting innovation is in the area of microelec-tromechanical systems (MEMS) microphones and multi-microphone array technologies that offer improved voicequality. Transducers and headphones are getting smaller andare more efficiently using available space. Improvements inmagnetic materials and digital signal processing are improv-ing fidelity. Backman ended his presentation by noting that10% of the population is hearing impaired but less than 2%wear an assisted-hearing system. Backman warned that allof today’s mobile users will grow older and their hearingwill naturally get worse. Thus, manufactures must addressthis growing problem in future devices so that customerscan continue to enjoy them. Next came the Evaluation and Testing Session. The first pre-

sentation, “A Study of Evaluating the Button Sounds usingWavelets,” was given by Shunsuke Ishimitsu of HiroshimaCity University. Ishimitsu described how button sounds emit-ted by 11 commercial automotive audio units were analyzedboth subjectively and by using wavelet transforms to determinewhich sounds were most pleasing to users. The study foundthat metallic sounds with high force were less pleasing thannonmetallic, low-force sounds. In additional, low-frequencysounds were considered more favorable than high-frequencysounds. The study also concluded that tactile feedback (touchimpression) improved the user experience. The next session was Coding for Audio and Speech, Part

2. Javier Tapia of PacketVideo Corporation began with apresentation on “Introduction to the OpenCore Audio Com-ponents Used in the Android Platform.” Android is a freeand open platform for mobile devices. Originally created byGoogle, Android has evolved into a collaborative effort ➥

AES 34AES 34RDRD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCEINTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

AES 34th Conference Committee: from left, Hyen-O Oh, treasurer; John Oh, conference chair; Bob Moses, AES president;Yonhong Jhung, workshops chair; and Eunmi Oh and Young-Cheol Park, papers cochairs.

34thReport.qxd:Sept2008 10/28/08 9:56 AM Page 6

858 J. Audio Eng. Soc., Vol. 56, No. 10, 2008 October

of 34 companies. The operating system, middleware, andsample applications will be available as open source. Tapiadescribed the OpenCore framework within Android forcombining independent media-processing components suchas file formats, codecs, streaming protocols, and rendering.He also discussed implementation issues such as optimiza-tion, 3rd party add-ons, etc. Simulation results were givenshowing performance and CPU utilization for severalcodecs running on an ARM9E processor.Choong Sang Cho of Korea Electronic Technology Insti-

tute (KETI) followed with the presentation “An EfficientForward Prediction Order Selection Method for MPEG-4Audio Lossless Coding.” Cho gave an overview of theMPEG-4 ALS audio lossless coding structure and discussedthe relationship between complexity and compression ratio.He proposed a mean squared error (MSE)-based order-selection method to achieve superior compression ratios.The final presentation in this session was “Segmented

Dimensionality Reduction Coding on Frequency DomainSignal” by Minje Kim of ETRI. Kim proposed methods tocompress frequency-domain signals using dimensionality-reduction methods. Following the lunch break, attendees were treated to a

tour of three sites on the island. The first excursion was toJusangjeolli Cliff, one of Jeju Island’s natural wonders with20-meter-high hexagon-shaped stone pillars formed whenlava from Mt. Hallasan erupted into the Sea of Jungmun.Attendees spent a half hour exploring and photographingthese pillars. As a bonus, a Haenyo (diving woman) wasspotted near the cliffs selling freshly caught shellfish andsea vegetables “fresh from the bucket.”The next stop on the tour was Yakchunsa Buddhist Temple.

With a height of 30 meters, the 3-story Yakchunsa is thelargest temple in Asia. Famous for its medicinal waters, atten-dees were invited to have a drink and make a wish. Sadly, thewishes of many attendees that they could remain in this tropi-cal paradise forever did not come true.The final stop of the tour was Jeju Folk Village Museum, a

40-acre site with over 100 restored buildings and 8,000 folkartifacts showcasing Jeju life in the 1890s. Among the attrac-

tions are a reconstructed mountain village with farms and ahorse-driven mill, and a hill-country village with a wealthyfamily’s house, blacksmith shop, and other public buildings. Arestored fishing village gave a glimpse of a Haenyo’s houseand her diving equipment, and a shamanism village displayeda local shaman’s shrine, a fortune teller’s house, witch house,virgin shrine, and shrines for mountain and sea gods. The conference banquet followed the afternoon field trips.

Held at the Jeju Korea House, attendees were treated to a tra-ditional Korean BBQ with grilled seafood, “black pork,”numerous side dishes, and capped off with a few rounds ofKorean Shoju and toasts to the people who put the eventtogether. An eclectic multimedia video/musical performancewas provided by students from the Korean National Universityof Arts, led by Professor Jaeho Chang. A stunning sunset pro-vided the backdrop for the outdoor stage, placing an exclama-tion mark on an exceptional day.

DAY 3The conference technical program resumed on Day 3 with aninvited lecture by Te-won Lee of Qualcomm on “SpeechEnhancement for Mobile Applications.” Lee explained theimportance of noise reduction in mobile systems and chal-lenges to reducing noise, such as the loud ambient environ-ments in which mobile devices are commonly used (cars,night clubs, etc.) and the relatively long distance between themouth and microphones worn on the ear. He described single-channel and multichannel methods for speech enhancementsuch as spectral enhancement, beam forming with multiplemicrophones, computational auditory scene analysis, andblind-source separation (BSS). Lee explained how Qualcomhas implemented these techniques to provide noise reduction,echo cancellation, wind noise reduction, and speech enhance-ment. He played several audio demonstrations showing how acacophony of unintelligible voices can be separated into sepa-rate channels, how voice drowned out by loud music can beisolated from the music, and how wind noise can be signifi-cantly reduced. The Signal Processing, Part 2 session followed, beginning

with a presentation by Nathan Bentall of Oxford Digital on

AES 34AES 34RDRD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCEINTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

Attendees visited Yakchunsa Buddhist Temple and Jeju FolkVillage Museum.

34thReport.qxd:Sept2008 10/28/08 9:56 AM Page 7

J. Audio Eng. Soc., Vol. 56, No. 10, 2008 October 859

“Tiny DSP: DSP Core, Algorithm Development and DeviceMastering.” Bentall noted that by their very nature mobiledevices have very small loudspeakers with poor frequencyresponse, posing difficult acoustic challenges. Despite amaz-ing advances in mobile devices (processing power, batterylife, video streaming, etc.), audio quality seems to be gettingworse, not better. Thus, audio quality is an opportunity forproduct differentiation. Bentall explained his company’sconcept of ”device mastering” in which device fidelity canbe improved at the final stage of development by a series of“tweaks,” analogous to mastering in the recording process.He showed several techniques that can be applied duringdevice-mastering such as equalization and compression, anddescribed a software tool called EasyTune that can be usedin the process. Then Bentall introduced the features andarchitecture of a small synthesizable DSP core calledTinyDSP. Requiring only 30,000 gates in a typical imple-mentation, the TinyDSP core is being licensed to semicon-ductor companies and embedded into new mobile devices. Aschematic-driven graphical user interface methodology isused to program the DSP. Sang-keun Oh of LG Electronics wrapped up the session

with the presentation “Simple High-Band Extension MethodUsing Wavelet for Mobile Device.” Oh explained that digitalaudio must be compressed in order to fit within the data band-width constraints imposed by mobile systems. This compres-sion degrades performance in the higher-frequency band. Ohreviewed conventional methods such as spectral folding andspectral translation to copy low-frequency information into thehigh-frequency band. He then proposed a new method usingthe digital wavelet transform (DWT).The next session was 3-D Audio and Synthetic Audio. Till

Schafers of Deutsche Telekom Laboratories began with thepaper “Designing Low-Dimensional Interaction for Mobile

Navigation in 3-D Audio Spaces.” Schafers presented severaluses for mobile spatial audio: teleconferencing, gaming, notifi-cation systems, and navigation. He discussed gesture-basedinteraction, posing the intriguing question, “Why not applyspatial audio techniques to mobile devices and interact in a vir-tual space?” Schafers summarized five interaction schemes:head tracking using a gyroscope attached to headphones,tracking device, orientation using a compass or gyroscope,using a camera to track device movement, sensing tilt usingaccelerometers, and a keypad. He also discussed challengessuch as training users, making gestures while walking, andsensor fidelity.The second presentation in this session was given by Sang

Ha Park of Seoul National University on “A Consonance-Maximization Tuning Algorithm in Equal-TemperamentSynthesized Tones.” Park began with an overview of musi-cal tuning theories and some of the problems with each ofthem (for example, dissonance). She also gave a backgroundon consonance theory and proposed a tuning system thatmaximizes consonance. Park proposed this new tuning forcommercial applications such as ringtone synthesis. The final event of the conference was the roundtable work-

shop “Audio in the IT Industry,” moderated by YonhongJhung of Tamul Multimedia. The four panelists were John Oh,Juhah Backman, Eumni Oh, and Te-won Lee. Backman beganthe discussion by pointing out that engineers may find thetechnology behind mobile devices fascinating but most con-sumers do not care about technology as much as they careabout compelling services such as music delivery. Backmannoted that many other offerings, no matter how technologi-cally superior they were to their predecessors, have failed dueto lack of music content. Thus, he suggested, winning mobileproducts and services must be associated with an excellentmusic-distribution channel.

AES 34AES 34RDRD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCEINTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

Attendees posed for a group photo at the entrance to the Jeju Folk Village Museum.

34thReport.qxd:Sept2008 10/28/08 9:56 AM Page 8

AES 34AES 34RDRD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCEINTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

Eunmi Oh followed with a discussion about trends inspeech and audio coding technologies and a review of stan-dards from MPEG, ITU-T, and 3GPP. Te-won Lee made a pitch for new modalities and sensors

in addition to microphones to enhance the user experience. John Oh gave a short presentation on the customer’s view of

handheld audio. He noted that many interesting new technolo-gies were presented in the conference, but questioned whetherthey will actually be used. Does the general public know thatexcellent mobile audio exists today? Do they care? And, canthey figure out how to use it? Oh noted that he personally hasa video phone but has never used the video features. We arestill in the early market for mobilemultimedia and have a long way to gobefore it is mature. He posed the ques-tions: What makes good audio rele-vant? and What will be the killer app?He also proposed a test for determin-ing the value of any new technology:would it be a good holiday gift foryour grandmother?Backman followed with an oveview

of digital rights management (DRM)technologies and noted how they areoften cumbersome and counter-pro-ductive. Bob Moses responded with abrief explanation of a DRM technol-ogy that has been implemented foronline music sharing called Weed-share, which operates in a manner sim-ilar to a pyramid scheme in whichmusic enthusiasts who distribute musicfiles are rewarded with a small portionof the sale price when the music theyshare is purchased by others. If some-one pirates a song, they circumvent thepyramid and forfeit the opportunity toprofit from further sales. Thus, there isa strong incentive to pay for the musicas an investment toward higher gains.Moses proposed that as mobile ser-vices promote new applications allow-ing users to share photos, videos, ringtones, and music, Weedshare mightprovide a compelling method for com-pensating rights holders.Te-won Lee talked about the

importance of timing the introductionof new technologies to when peopleare ready to purchase and use them.John Oh said we need to create prod-ucts that people need and want, notjust what engineers enjoy inventing.The group ended the conference by

posing some thought-provokingquestions: With mobile technologiesrapidly evolving, which of thesetechnologies offer consumers valuethat they will be willing to pay for,

and which of them are functions dreamed up by engineersthat no one else will understand or want? What is the differ-ence between a mobile device TOY and a mobile deviceTOOL? Is music delivery the killer app? How can rights bemanaged in the mobile environment without the rampantpiracy experienced online? Given the fierce competition andinnovation in the mobile industry, it will be fascinating towatch where this compelling technology takes us next. Wecan hope that it will bring us back to beautiful Jeju Island ina couple years for another compelling AES conference.

Editor’s note: The CD-ROM of conference papers can bepurchased at <www.aes.org/publications/conf.cfm>.

J. Audio Eng. Soc., Vol. 56, No. 10, 2008 October 861

dScope Series IIIaudio analyzer

The dScope Series IIIaudio analyzer includesbuilt-in automation toolsfor production-linetesting.

VBScript IDE forrapid testdevelopment

ActiveX control for 3rd party automation

Multi-tone tools for increasedthroughput

Switching options for multi-channeltesting

Comprehensiveresults for rapiddiagnostics

Email: [email protected]+1-973-983-9577 +44 (0)1223 424988

www.prismsound.com

Product design

Contact us now to arrange your demo

to productionline

34thReport.qxd:Sept2008 10/28/08 9:56 AM Page 9