Scale-factor precision trades quantizer utilization against side-information bit cost

Evidence

There is also an issue about the scale precision. The minimum scale precision is 6 dB, which allows for a very simple implementation, but there is a possibility that only just over half the quantizer’s range is used, because if the input has a sample that is just over half the quantizer’s range, the scale would set to that case, as the next-lower scale value would result in an overload. Increasing precision of the scale factor would allow a greater proportion of the quantizer to be used on average but would require the scale value to have a longer word length to handle the increased precision. This increases the amount of side information that must be sent to the receiver. MPEG uses finer scale factors of 1.5 dB to 2 dB. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 2662

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 2662
• XREF: connects to: Non-uniform quantizer spacing exploits masking and signal statistics to cut noise; Loud-signal masking of weak signals enables bit-saving adaptive quantizers — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 2657

Broader Connections

• Non-uniform quantizer spacing exploits masking and signal statistics to cut noise #expands (0.82)
• Loud-signal masking of weak signals enables bit-saving adaptive quantizers #expands (0.80) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 2657