Speex .2 Beta 1 review

Speex is an Open Source/Free Software patent-free audio compression format designed for speech. The Speex Project aims to lower th

License: BSD License File size: 207K Developer: Jean-Marc Valin

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Speex is an Open Source/Free Software patent-free audio compression format designed for speech.

The Speex Project aims to lower the barrier of entry for voice applications by providing a free alternative to expensive proprietary speech codecs.

Moreover, Speex is well-adapted to Internet applications and provides useful features that are not present in most other codecs. Speex project is released under the Xiph.org variant of the BSD license and it is part of the GNU Project.

Speex is based on CELP and is designed to compress voice at bitrates ranging from 2 to 44 kbps.

Here are some key features of "Speex":
Narrowband (8 kHz), wideband (16 kHz), and ultra-wideband (32 kHz) compression in the same bitstream
Intensity stereo encoding
Packet loss concealment
Variable bitrate operation (VBR)
Voice Activity Detection (VAD)
Discontinuous Transmission (DTX)
In-progress fixed-point port

Note that Speex has a number of features that aren’t in other codecs such as intensity stereo encoding, integration of multiple sampling rates in the same bitstream, and a VBR mode.

What's New in 1.2 Beta 1 Development Release:
This release brings many significant improvements.
The quality has been improved at the encoder and the decoder.
This includes enhancer improvements, high-pass filters, and fixes for minor regressions in previous 1.1.x releases.
Memory use has been greatly reduced (more than 50%), especially for fixed-point and narrowband. In general, CPU requirements have gone down and the Blackfin port has been sped up significantly.
Non-codec improvements include an extension to the echo canceller API and a Speex-independent version of the jitter buffer.
The echo canceller is also more robust.