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NTIA Technical Memorandum TM-03-398

Compensating for System Gain-Motivations, Derivations and Relations for Three Common Solutions

October 2002

Stephen D. Voran

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Abstract: It is often desirable to compensate for system gain, especially before objectively estimating perceived audio or video quality from system inputs and outputs. A common approach is to scale the system output to compensate for system gain. One can take three views of the system, and this leads to three different gain compensation solutions: one that minimizes distortion, one that matches inputoutput power, and one that maximizes signal-to-distortion ratio. We derive these three solutions, describe the algebraic and geometric relationships between them, and provide a generalized result that subsumes all three. We provide audio and video examples and show that these three solutions can differ significantly. We also report some of the gain compensation choices found in the objective audio and video quality estimation literature.

Keywords: audio quality estimation, gain compensation, gain estimation, speech quality estimation, system gain, video quality estimation

Disclaimer: Certain commercial equipment, components, and software are identified in this report to specify adequately the technical aspects of the reported results. In no case does such identification imply recommendation or endorsement by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, nor does it imply that the equipment or software identified is necessarily the best available for the particular application or uses.

To request a reprint of this report, contact:
Margaret Luebs, Publications Officer
Institute for Telecommunication Sciences
Voice: (303) 497-3572
info@its.bldrdoc.gov

For technical information concerning this report, contact:
Stephen D. Voran, Electronics Engineer
Institute for Telecommunication Sciences
Voice: (303) 497-3839
svoran@its.bldrdoc.gov

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