Parametric binaural synthesis: Background, applications and standards

The amount of information present in HRTFs and the required processing capabilities for real-time and interactive binaural rendering have long been a challenge for many applications for binaural rendering. More recently, parametric methods to capture the perceptually-relevant information from HRTFs have been developed. By means of extracting perceptually-relevant attributes from HRTF pairs, binaural rendering can be performed at lower complexity compared to the employment of HRTF convolution. Furthermore, parameter-based binaural rendering can be efficiently integrated with parametric audio coders. Last but not least, parametric spatial processing can be used to provide a more convincing spatial reproduction for conventional stereo signals. This paper provides an overview of the perceptual consequences and limitations of HRTF parameterization, its applications, and relevant standardization efforts.