Embedded coding of speech: A vector quantization approach

Embedded speech coders are characterized by the property that their output quality degrades gracefully as their bit rate is decreased. Design methods for vector quantizers with the embedded coding property are presented and their performance simulated for the medium-band of 32-8 Kbits/sec. Listening tests indicate that these coders can provide good quality speech at 32 and 24 Kbits/sec and intelligible speech down to 8 Kbits/sec.