Audio enhancement
Audio enhancement ranges from simple clean-up to rescuing speech that is barely intelligible. Here is how the two differ.
What is audio enhancement?
Another one of our services is audio enhancement. Although the definition of it is quite simple the levels that this service can be used on vary greatly in degree and operational difficulty. In its most simple form it is defined as any audible improvement in a sound recording without degrading the quality of the original recording. There are software and hardware manufacturers that specialise in enhancing processors with variable uses from sound spatialisation to noise reduction and other various processes that are capable of improving the quality of a sound recording.
What does forensic audio enhancement involve?
In forensic audio enhancement the process can be applied to a sound recording in which speech intelligibility is poor and needs to be improved, has some kind of background or foreground noise disturbance which needs to be removed or eliminated, or any other sound artefact that interferes with it. Some examples are removing static noise, eliminating interference caused by cellular phones, clearing up random noises such as birds chirping, dogs barking, bells ringing as well as many other noise disturbances.
The methods implemented in the removal or elimination of those noises vary depending on the nature of the noise present and the outcome that the customer wants to achieve.
How is forensic enhancement different from music?
Unlike audio enhancement in musical compositions where the objective is to make them sound sweet, indulgent or more inviting, in forensic sound enhancement the result can be abrupt and not smooth sounding in order to improve for example the speech intelligibility in a recording where the intelligibility is at negligible levels.
The tools and methods that we use to approach each case in a forensic audio enhancement are carefully selected so the best outcome can be achieved at the best possible cost and within the time frame that we agree to deliver the job to the customer. We use extremely sophisticated equipment with cutting edge technology which is capable of delivering the results that we seek during the enhancing process.
I wanted to keep the terms and content of this article simple so it can be understood by everyone and avoided the use of terms and technical lingo used in forensic audio enhancement.
Sakis Anastopoulos