A conference system is provided for connection in a digital audio signal
transmission system (50), for receiving N encoded audio signals from N
conferees, wherein N is a positive integer greater than or equal to three.
The system comprises a decoding system (90, 91, 92) for decoding the N
audio signals, a selection system (100, 130) for selecting one from the N
decoded audio signals, and means for switching (160) the selected encoded
audio signal from an input stage (80, 81, 82) of the conference circuit to
an output (161) of the conference circuit, for transmission at least to
the N-1 conferees from whom the selected audio signal did not originate.
This arrangement enables the audio from one conferee to be provided as the
conference signal, without undergoing decoding and subsequent re-encoding.
A decision is made as to whether one signal is appropriate or whether
multiple audio signals should be combined.
