Multi-channel audio receiver and transceiver in multi-user audio system and methods of use thereof

Abstract

This disclosure describes systems, apparatus, methods, and computer readable media for a multi-channel software defined radio (SDR) audio transceiver, a multi-user audio system using the same, and methods using the same. The SDR audio transceiver can include an antenna and / or a radio transmitter. The SDR audio transceiver can be configured for multi-channel audio transmission. The multi-channel audio transmission can include broadband channels or channels allocated across broadband spectrum. The multi-channel audio transmission can include narrowband channels or channels allocated to relatively narrower spectral bands.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 63 / 315,391, filed on March 1, 2022, and entitled “Multi-Channel Software-Defined Audio Transceivers, Multi-User Audio Systems Using the Same, and Methods of Using the Same,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. Technical Field

[0003] The present application relates generally to high-fidelity, low-latency audio systems and more particularly to software-defined radio transceivers for audio applications and even more particularly to multi-channel software-defined audio transceivers for wireless multi-user audio systems. Background Art

[0004] In high-fidelity, low-latency audio applications, transceivers are used to send and receive audio payloads, control information, synchronization information, etc. Audio transceivers use radio transmissions to transmit audio, audio channel information, and / or synchronization information, etc. Digital audio transceivers send and / or receive audio, etc. in binary form, usually stored in frames and allocated to (one or more) specific sub-bands in the frequency domain of available spectrum resources. Audio payload information can be carried in (one or more) audio channels, in (one or more) sub-bands of the spectrum across one or more periods in the time domain of available spectrum resources. Summary of the invention

[0005] This article describes systems, devices, methods and computer-readable media for sending and receiving audio using a software defined radio (SDR) audio transceiver. The SDR audio transceiver may include an antenna and / or a radio transmitter. The SDR audio transceiver may be configured for multi-channel audio transmission. The multi-channel audio transmission may include a wideband channel or a channel allocated across a wideband spectrum. The multi-channel audio transmission may include a narrowband channel or a channel allocated to a relatively narrow spectrum band. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] For a detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0007] Figure 1A is a schematic diagram of an audio system according to an embodiment.

[0008] Figure 1B is a schematic diagram of an audio system according to an embodiment.

[0009] Figure 1C is a schematic diagram of an audio system according to an embodiment.

[0010] Figure 1D is a schematic diagram of an audio system according to an embodiment.

[0011] Figure 1E is a schematic diagram of an audio system according to an embodiment.

[0012] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an audio channel allocation method according to an embodiment.

[0013] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an audio transceiver according to an embodiment.

[0014] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a double conversion RF architecture according to an embodiment.

[0015] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of frequency band splitting for a software defined radio transceiver according to an embodiment.

[0016] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of frequency band splitting for a multi-function high-end software defined radio transceiver according to an embodiment.

[0017] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a software defined radio hardware platform for an audio system according to an embodiment.

[0018] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of channel and antenna arrangements for a transceiver according to an embodiment.

[0019] Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of an audio system including a software defined radio transceiver according to an embodiment.

[0020] Fig.10 is a diagram of tuning ranges for various example software defined radio audio transceivers in accordance with various embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] First, it should be understood that although the illustrative implementation of one or more embodiments is described below, the disclosed devices, systems, and methods can be implemented using any number of technologies, whether currently known or not yet available. The present disclosure should in no way be limited to the illustrative implementations, drawings, and techniques described below, but can be modified within the full scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0022] Musicians, singers, broadcasters, newsreaders, performers, conference speakers, radio hosts, and podcasters rely on audio systems that include microphones or audio sensors to capture audio. Such audio systems use speakers to broadcast the audio, in-ear monitors (IEMs) and / or intercom devices to play the audio back to users of the system, and mixing and / or recording equipment to process or package the audio. Audio systems may be used or implemented at conference venues, live professional audio venues, concerts, live and / or recorded broadcast events, television news broadcasts, movies, sporting events, live or recorded gatherings, and the like.

[0023] Audio in such systems is often transmitted wirelessly between these and / or other audio devices and within one or more different regions, ranges, or sub-bands of the available spectrum according to one or more different audio encoding / transmission protocols. A transceiver may be configured to transmit (TX) or receive (RX) audio in one or more audio channels.

[0024] Many transceivers are also not bandwidth flexible or configurable to monitor one or more different sub-bands or frequency ranges from the available spectrum resources. Transceivers are also typically statically configured to accommodate one or a group of multiple audio channels. This often means that if a user desires to increase or decrease the number of channels used by the audio system, the user must replace the current transceiver(s) with a new transceiver(s) that accommodates a different number of audio channels.

[0025] Additionally, when an RF signal is received at a wireless audio receiver, the RF signal may be degraded due to multipath fading caused by constructive interference and / or other types of interference. This degradation may cause the RF signal to have a poor signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), which may result in bit errors that may cause audio artifacts and muting of the resulting output audio. However, in many situations and environments, such as during professional stage productions and concerts, muting the output audio is undesirable. The effects of such multipath fading and interference are most prevalent in harsh RF environments, where physical and electrical factors affect the transmission and reception of RF signals, such as movement of microphones within the environment, other RF signals, operation in large venues, and the like.

[0026] In order to alleviate the problem of multipath fading of RF signals, wireless audio components can utilize frequency diversity and / or antenna diversity technology. In particular, the wireless audio transmitter can utilize frequency diversity to simultaneously transmit two RF signals of two separate frequencies in the combined RF signal on one antenna, wherein both RF signals include the same audio signal. Then, the wireless audio receiver can use one or both of the underlying RF signals. In addition, the wireless audio receiver can utilize antenna diversity to simultaneously receive RF signals from the wireless audio transmitter on multiple antennas. The received RF signals can be combined to produce a single audio output.

[0027] A two-antenna system may not be sufficient to provide adequate performance. More than two antennas may be desirable in order to benefit from using antennas with different directional gains, thereby extending the coverage of the wireless system. For example, a particular venue may have multiple "zones" that need to be covered by a single wireless receiver and / or the venue may be very large. In these cases, having more than two antenna locations may result in improved coverage and a reduced transmitter-to-antenna distance.

[0028] When using frequency diversity and / or antenna diversity techniques, some wireless audio receivers may combine multiple RF signals received on multiple antennas by scaling each RF signal using maximum ratio combining (MRC) under the assumption that equal noise power is present in each RF signal. However, if the antennas are subject to asymmetric noise, for example, when one antenna is closer to an interference source, MRC does not maximize the signal-to-noise ratio of the combined signal. This can cause the receiver to produce non-optimal audio output, such as degraded sound or silence.

[0029] Multiple RF signals can be flexibly routed to different RF analog processing modules in different selectable modes. By combining multiple RF signals by scaling them to their corresponding SNRs, the SNR of the combined signal can be increased and / or maximized. Received RF signals can be cascaded to allow daisy chaining of receivers. Additional redundant RF processing channels can be assigned to additional antenna inputs for mission-critical audio sources. Fewer RF processing channels can be assigned to a given audio channel to increase and / or maximize the number of audio channels that can be decoded. Some non-limiting examples of such frequency diversity / antenna diversity mode methods are described in co-owned U.S. Patent No. 10,069,525, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

[0030] Described herein is a transceiver configured to receive audio via a large number of audio channels, such as a multi-channel audio receiver (MCR). The MCR can be configured to include a spectrum manager, such as a digital spectrum manager, for demodulating different audio signals received across an extended tuning bandwidth. The spectrum manager can employ operations configured to scan a wide bandwidth of the spectrum. The spectrum manager can employ further operations configured to evaluate which frequencies are suitable for wireless audio transmission. In various embodiments described herein, the MCR can include in a single device functionality distributed across multiple devices in a less desirable system.

[0031] MCR can be compatible with narrowband or broadband devices and associated audio systems. Portable devices (such as uplink transmitters) connected in some audio systems may not be coordinated subscribers, but act as independent asynchronous transmitters. There may not be any reverse link from the MCR to (one or more) portable devices, or tuned to a reference for timing and / or frequency synchronization. Thus, in some MCR systems, synchronization of each uplink transmission to the MCR can be performed by a software defined radio (SDR), such as using one or more digital signal processing (DSP) algorithms to independently resample each transmission.

[0032] The MCR may be compatible with narrowband transceivers such as wireless transmitters. The MCR may be configured to communicate with an uplink transmitter that is timing / frequency synchronized with a reference such as a master clock. In such embodiments, the spectrum manager may be configured to lock the baseband clocks for subscribers in the wireless microphone system to the access point by generating corresponding baseband clocks from a common reference. The access point or the MCR and / or other subscriber devices may include one or more baseband clocks (i.e., controlling the audio sampling clock and / or the data sampling clock) that are set based on the reference oscillator.

[0033] Embodiments of the present disclosure may include tuning a reference oscillator of each subscriber device based on the measured phase difference so that the baseband clocks of all subscribers and access points are synchronized. Additional information and details regarding digital spectrum management and timing synchronization are provided in commonly owned U.S. Patent No. 10,944,535, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

[0034] The MCR may include or communicate with a spectrum analyzer configured to listen to specific sub-bands from within a wideband of the spectrum to sample received signals to obtain audio information associated with one or more specific audio channels (e.g., audio payload subcarriers).

[0035] For example, in embodiments where the MCR has poor or incompatible compatibility with narrowband wireless audio devices, the MCR can be tuned to a reference frequency (i.e., reference oscillator) based on sampling clock timing (i.e., phase) offset measurements between the subscriber and the access point, which measurements are obtained for each frame during communications between the access point and the subscriber device (e.g., the MCR).

[0036] The MCR may be configured to implement various hybrid modules, filters, amplifiers, modulators / demodulators, and / or detectors, etc., which would otherwise be implemented by additional hardware, but are instead implemented by a computer-readable medium storing software defined radio (SDR) modules using local or remote computing hardware. The MCR may include SDR antennas that adaptively lock to a signal and eliminate or reduce interference from adjacent signals and / or channels, etc. A non-limiting example of a system that combines overlapping frequency bands and adaptive locking of SDR antennas to a signal to eliminate or reduce interference from adjacent signals / channels is provided in commonly owned U.S. Patent No. 10,720,953, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

[0037] Reference below Figure 1A-9 Additional example MCR devices and MCR implementations are provided. The depicted example MCR devices and implementations are provided to illustrate a variety of different audio channel capacities that may be accommodated for use with different wireless transmitters and / or in different multi-user audio systems.

[0038] Figures 1A-1E Various embodiments of an audio system 100 are illustrated that include an MCR 101 and a network switch 102. The depicted MCR 101 is in communication with the network switch 102. The MCR 101 may include or communicate with one or more antennas (not shown). Some example embodiments (such as Figures 1A-1C The embodiment shown in ) also includes an audio console 103 that communicates with the network switch 102.

[0039] The MCR 101 is configured to accommodate a large number of different audio channels, such as 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24 and / or more. The MCR 101 can be locally or remotely configured to accommodate fewer or more audio channels. For example, a user can initially purchase the MCR 101 and / or install it in an example audio system 100 that is configured to accommodate up to 12 audio channels. A user can initially permit a 12 audio channel configuration, and the MCR 101 can be configured to limit its audio channels to 12.

[0040] If the user's needs for a particular use case change, such that the user determines that an increase in the number of audio channels is necessary, the MCR 101 may be configured to accommodate such a change. For example, the user may license additional audio channels, and the MCR 101 may be locally and / or remotely reconfigured to accommodate the additional licensed audio channels, e.g., four additional audio channels, such that the MCR 101 is now configured to accommodate up to 16 audio channels. If the user's needs for a particular use case change, such that the user no longer requires the additional audio channel capacity of the MCR 101, the user may relinquish the additional license(s), e.g., four additional audio channels, such that the MCR 101 may be locally and / or remotely reconfigured to accommodate the original 12 audio channels.

[0041] The MCR 101 may include a processor configured to operate one or more software defined radio functions, a memory operatively communicating with the processor, a memory storing program code, and an integrated circuit (IC) operatively communicating with the processor.

[0042] The memory and program code of the MCR 101 can be configured with the processor and IC to cause the MCR 101 to scan the available spectrum, such as by using a portion of all configurable audio channels, a portion of audio channelization resources, a portion of one or more resources (e.g., antenna time and / or directivity, antenna resource usage, logical channel mapping, audio channel transmission scheduling, etc.). The scanning can be performed within a particular sub-band of the spectrum (e.g., a 70 MHz sub-band) and / or can be performed across / between different sub-bands of the spectrum (e.g., between different 70 MHz sub-bands). The MCR 101 can determine (one or more) antenna configurations, the number of audio channels, channelization characteristics, audio channel allocations, (one or more) transmission modes, etc. based on the scanning of the available spectrum.

[0043] For example, the MCR 101 may cause the IC to map audio channels according to a new allocation, or reconfigure antennas / antenna arrays based on an available spectrum scan for the MCR 101. The spectrum scan may also or alternatively be a spectrum quality / transmission quality scan, which may cause the MCR 101 to be reconfigured for channel quality reasons, interference reduction reasons, etc., regardless of whether there is a spectrum availability issue.

[0044] Alternatively or additionally, the MCR 101 may be configured to send information about available spectrum to the network switch 102. The network switch 102 may generate configuration information / audio channel allocation information, etc. (such as described above and elsewhere herein) in response to receiving the information about available spectrum from the MCR 101 and provide it to the MCR 101. Based on the configuration information or audio channel allocation information, etc., the MCR 101 may be reconfigured to accommodate a new number of audio channels, accommodate a new audio channel allocation / logical channel mapping, adjust antenna transmission mode(s), etc.

[0045] As mentioned herein, a license can take any suitable form and can be communicated between a licensor and a licensee via any suitable means. For example, a license can include a digital key, a digital license, an access code, a reconfiguration file, etc. MCR 101 can be configured to communicate with one or more computing devices via a network, which provide the reception, implementation, and authentication of a license at MCR 101. MCR 101 can be configured to be automatically reconfigured to accommodate additional audio channels based on the reception of a license, a key, a license file, an access code, a signal, etc. The license can also or alternatively be realized by a transient signal, a hardware key or a dongle, a user-enterable value or a license key, a license file, etc.

[0046] The MCR 101 may include or communicate with additional lateral hardware that may facilitate reconfiguration of the MCR 101 to accommodate additional audio channels. The MCR 101 may include or communicate with additional lateral hardware that may be used directly to increase the audio channel capacity of the MCR 101. In other words, the additional lateral hardware may provide additional antennas, computational capacity, demodulation units, digital-to-analog filters, analog-to-digital filters, Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) / Inverse FFT (IFFT) modules, etc.

[0047] For example, the MCR 101 may be configured to receive a license, such as a digital license key, or other suitable information that may indicate to the MCR 101 the specific channel capacity that should be licensed. The license may be received wirelessly or via a wired connection from a local audio system component or via the Internet.

[0048] The MCR 101 may include a reconfigurable component, such as a logic block array including a plurality of programmable interconnects, which may be selectively programmed using a hardware description language (HDL), etc. The MCR 101 may be configured to determine the number of licensed audio channels based on a digital license key and to set the programmable interconnects of the logic block array so that the MCR 101 may accommodate the correct number of licensed audio channels.

[0049] Different logic block arrays, such as field programmable gate array images, can be provided to support different audio channel configurations, different numbers of audio channels, different channel types, etc. When multiple FPGAs are provided for different audio channel configurations, different audio types, different numbers of audio channels, etc., the MCR 101 can be configured to perform joint spectrum analysis. The MCR 101 can be configured to scan wideband VHF to 2GHz to provide information to the user about available spectrum. If necessary, the MCR 101 can also be configured to provide backup frequencies for deployment.

[0050] The FPGA may be a high performance FPGA configured for wide tunability. For example, the high performance FPGA may be configured for wide range frequency tunability and / or simultaneous reception and / or transmission of multiple channels. The MCR 101 may also be configured for front end wide capture. A spectrum manager (e.g., a digital spectrum manager) may be configured to receive and transmit multiple channels simultaneously in either HD mode or standard mode via one channel on FM or Axient. On monitoring.

[0051] For example, to accommodate wideband tunability, the MCR 101 may include a greater number of antennas. The MCR 101 may be configured to support a variety of different antenna configurations, a variety of different number of configurations, a variety of different audio channel modes, a variety of different modulation schemes, etc. For example, the MCR 101 may be configured to simultaneously support ULXD, Axient HD mode, FM, etc. Some or all of the different modes may have or be allocated a certain amount of bandwidth.

[0052] Specific different masks can be provided to achieve certain audio quality and / or for certain modulation schemes. For certain different transmission modes or channel types, different antenna configurations, different switching diversity, different FPGA configurations, etc. can be used to adapt to one or more different transmission modes or channel types.

[0053] Different transmit modes or audio system applications may employ different codecs with different latency impacts. The MCR 101 may be configured to support full transmit mode diversity to accommodate different inputs simultaneously, may be configured to vary the number of inputs, and so on.

[0054] MCR 101 can send and / or receive data, particularly audio data. Radio frequency (RF) signals can be received from a wireless audio transmitter and / or microphone via one or more antennas, for example, the transmitter and / or microphone has captured the sound of a production or other audio source. MCR 101 can be configured to communicate or receive audio data in parallel with one or more other transceivers. MCR 101 can operate a single channel, or can operate multiple channels simultaneously. Therefore, MCR 101 can operate using either or both of frequency diversity and antenna diversity, either individually and / or in combination with other transceivers.

[0055] The MCR 101 may be configured to operate independently of other transceivers. The MCR 101 may have a corresponding center frequency and bandwidth that may be tunable independently of all other transceivers in the audio system. The MCR 101 may also be configured to operate in a diversity configuration.

[0056] Diversity operation can include MCR 101 causing one or more antennas to receive signals from the same source. As a specific example, antenna diversity involving the use of two or more antennas can be particularly effective in alleviating multipath situations, in which interference is introduced into the signal via differences in signal propagation as the signal travels from the source to the antenna. Each antenna will experience a different interference environment. Therefore, if one antenna is experiencing deep fading, the other antenna can have a relatively improved signal, or even a sufficient signal. Therefore, the dual antenna configuration provides additional robustness, thereby improving signal quality and allowing more robust communication without signal dropout or signal loss. Antenna diversity can include the use of physically separated antennas (i.e., antennas positioned separately in space) to receive the same source signal at two different locations.

[0057] Antenna diversity is described above as using two antennas, but it should be appreciated that "diversity" operation may also include using one, three, or more antennas (i.e., M antennas). In the case of using four antennas for antenna diversity, such diversity operation may be referred to as Quadversity. TM model.

[0058] The MCR 101 can be configured to accommodate, for example, two audio channels with different send modes and Quadversity TM Four audio channels in mode, for a total of up to eight inputs. Other embodiments may accommodate more or different audio channel inputs at the MCR 101.

[0059] The MCR 101 can be configured to enable operation in various modes, including diversity (e.g., one, two, or more (M) antenna diversity) and multi-transceiver diversity (e.g., two, three, four, or more (2M) antenna diversity), where the operating bandwidth of the system may include a portion covered by diversity or multi-transceiver diversity.

[0060] The MCR 101 can be configured to mix and match different audio channel types or transmission modes for the same receiver during the same time period. Alternatively, the entire MCR 101 can be configured for or switched to a single mode for a single audio transmission mode or audio channel type, such as ULXD, QLXD, etc.

[0061] The MCR 101 may include a software defined integrated circuit and a processor and / or a microcontroller configured to perform reconfiguration of an array of logic blocks. The software defined integrated circuit and processor may be configured to perform at least some of a variety of different receiver capabilities, such as filtering, mixing, de-noising, amplification, modulation, demodulation, detection, etc., such that the MCR 101 functions as or includes a software defined radio communication system.

[0062] The MCR 101 may include one or more integrated circuits that may act as a controller and / or tuner for digital signal processing, demodulation, RF filtering, audio filtering, signal enhancement, equalization, binaural presentation and / or bandpass filtering, timing offset correction, frequency offset correction, etc.

[0063] The specific configuration of the logic block array may also indicate to the field programmable antenna array how many antennas should be activated to accommodate the correct number of licensed audio channels.

[0064] The MCR 101 may also include multiple receiver modules that are configured to perform separate software defined radio capabilities. The MCR 101 may be configured to activate and / or deactivate multiple receiver modules based on a digital license key stored and / or received at the MCR 101 to accommodate the correct number of licensed audio channels. Depending on the application, such as when the audio system is deployed for professional audio applications, live broadcast applications, etc., improved audio quality requirements, such as audio latency, fidelity, user experience, turnaround time, open audio time, and / or some combination thereof, may be achieved by performing various signal processing functions using the software defined radio functionality of the MCR 101 as described herein.

[0065] MCR 101 can be configured for joint spectrum scanning and spectrum analysis. MCR 101 can be configured to scan available spectrum and present available spectrum to user. MCR 101 can be configured to receive audio payload and scan available spectrum simultaneously. The term "simultaneously" used in this context is not limited to simultaneous actions in an absolute sense, but refers to simultaneous, nearly simultaneous and / or parallel audio payload reception and scanning operations performed by a single MCR101 device. MCR 101 can be configured to provide information about available spectrum to access point / baseband device, and then access point / baseband device can determine the audio channel allocation within the available spectrum accordingly. Alternatively, MCR 101 can be configured to internally determine (i.e., without using access point / baseband device) the audio channel allocation within the available spectrum, and assign / reassign audio channels within the available spectrum.

[0066] Also refer to Figure 2 , the MCR 101 may be configured to initially scan for available spectrum, such as upon power-up or wake-up. The MCR 101 may perform the initial scan using a scanning engine, a microcontroller unit (MCU), a processor, additional FPGA capacity, etc. For example, the MCR 101 may include an MCU or processor (e.g., such as a processor) that may control and / or perform the scan for available spectrum. Figure 3 The processor 207 in the MCR 101 may be, for example, using an FPGA or the like. The MCR 101 may scan the available spectrum from the full spectrum range that can be occupied / used locally based on interference, local regulations, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the MCR 101 may initially scan the available spectrum from only a portion of the available spectrum. Based on the initial scan of the available spectrum, the MCR 101 may determine at least a portion (e.g., a 70 MHz portion) of the available spectrum in which to allocate audio channels for one or more wireless devices.

[0067] The MCR 101 may include a processor and a memory storing program code. The MCR 101 may be configured to determine a first candidate channelized portion of an available spectrum (e.g., as discussed below, Figure 2The MCR 101 may be configured to receive digitized audio associated with at least one of the plurality of audio channels within one or more audio payload carrying subbands of a first candidate channelized portion of the available spectrum. The MCR 101 may also be configured to identify one or more audio payload carrying subbands within the first candidate channelized portion of the available spectrum based on the initial audio channel allocation. The MCR 101 may also be configured to cause at least a portion of an integrated circuit (IC), etc., to perform a second scan of the available spectrum using at least one of the one or more antennas. The MCR 101 may also be configured to determine subsequent audio channel allocations for the plurality of audio channels within the first candidate channelized portion of the available spectrum or within the second candidate channelized portion of the available spectrum based on at least this second scan of the available spectrum. The MCR 101 may be configured to cause at least the portion of the IC to perform the second scan of the available spectrum while receiving digitized audio, identifying one or more audio payload carrying subbands within the first candidate channelized portion of the available spectrum, and / or demodulating digitized audio associated with at least one of the plurality of audio channels.

[0068] Figure 2 , an example initial audio channel allocation of sub-bands of spectrum to wireless devices for a particular time period is illustrated as two 200kHz sub-bands of a 70MHz portion 107 (e.g., a first candidate channelized portion) of the available spectrum, which are mapped to / associated with wireless devices, such as wireless microphones, IEM devices, wireless speakers, instrument microphones, etc. Such wireless devices may also be referred to herein as demodulators. Figure 2 , a first 70 MHz portion 107 of the spectrum is shown as including at least two sub-bands allocated to a first demodulator 104 and an Nth demodulator 105 .

[0069] Therefore, if Figure 2 As shown in , the first 70 MHz portion 107 of the available spectrum is represented as a sub-band overlap region (or coverage) of the spectrum assigned / allocated to demodulators 104 and 105 and / or other demodulators, such as demodulators assigned / allocated to sub-bands spaced apart from those shown for demodulators 104 and 105 (collectively referred to as "demodulators 104, 105"). The range for a particular demodulator may be, for example, 200 kHz, etc. within, for example, 70 MHz.

[0070] During initial channelization / audio channel allocation, the MCR 101 may look at other non-overlapping ranges, such as a second non-overlapping 70 MHz portion of the spectrum (not shown) that is distinct from the first 70 MHz portion of the spectrum 107. For example, Figure 2As shown in , the MCR 101 can enable 24 audio channel capacities for audio channels associated with a plurality of different demodulators (such as 24 different demodulators), and these audio channels can be initially or permanently allocated to the first 70 MHz portion 107 of the available spectrum. For ease of illustration, Figure 2 Each of the 24 different demodulators is not shown in the diagram, but is represented by demodulators 104, 105 associated with User 0 and User 23. For the purposes of the above discussion, any reference to demodulators 104, 105 may similarly refer to twenty-two additional demodulators that are not shown, but which may be assigned / allocated to other subbands of the first 70 MHz portion 107 of the available spectrum between the subbands assigned to User 0 and User 23.

[0071] After the initial channelization / audio channel allocation, the MCR 101 may be configured to perform receive / demodulation activities for the demodulators 104, 105 based on the initial channelization / audio channel allocation determined after the initial scan for available spectrum. The MCR 101 may be configured to statically assign / allocate sub-bands of the first 70 MHz portion 107 of available spectrum to the demodulators 104, 105, and / or may be configured to dynamically assign / allocate sub-bands to the demodulators 104, 105 at least in part based on determined or received information about the remaining available spectrum in the first 70 MHz portion 107, changes in the available spectrum, audio channel quality, audio payload traffic, changes in audio channel quality requirements, etc.

[0072] The MCR 101 can be configured to determine information about available spectrum or initially allocated audio channels based on external or internal spectrum scanning capabilities. The MCR 101 can be configured to scan the available spectrum within the first 70 MHz portion 107 of the spectrum, such as between the sub-bands of the audio channels allocated to the demodulators 104, 105.

[0073] The depicted MCR 101 embodiment may be configured to Figure 2 104, 105. The MCR 101 may be configured to scan alternative sub-bands within the first 70 MHz portion 107 of the spectrum shown in the figure to determine whether the reassignment / reallocation of one or more audio channels associated with any particular user or demodulator is beneficial to audio channel quality, network throughput, interference avoidance, latency, demodulation accuracy, decoding error rate reduction, etc. The MCR 101 may be configured to perform such scans at any time when awake / active. It is noteworthy that the MCR 101 may be configured to perform such scans while managing the reception of audio payloads via the audio channels assigned to the demodulators 104, 105.

[0074] The MCR 101 can be configured to scan other portions of the first 70 MHz portion 107 of the available spectrum in parallel / simultaneously and / or independently of demodulating / decoding the audio channels for the demodulators 104, 105 and other audio channels assigned / allocated to other users / demodulators therebetween to assess spectrum availability, determine the potential for interference, predict audio channel quality for other possible audio channel assignment / allocation schemes, etc.

[0075] The MCR 101 may additionally or alternatively be configured to scan at least a portion of the second 70 MHz of the available spectrum (e.g., a second candidate channelized portion not shown) and / or other portions of the available spectrum in parallel / simultaneously with modulating / demodulating the audio channels for the demodulators 104, 105 and other audio channels assigned / allocated to other users / demodulators therebetween to assess spectrum availability, determine interference potential, predict audio channel quality for other possible audio channel assignment / allocation schemes, etc. Thus, the MCR 101 may be configured to determine / assess spectrum availability and evaluate current / proposed mapping schemes for audio channels without ceasing audio transmission / demodulation activities using existing audio channel assignment / allocation schemes.

[0076] Depending on the FPGA capacity or other processing / circuitry capacity, the MCR 101 can be configured to instantiate a scanning engine, etc. to perform the spectrum frequency scanning functions described herein and improve audio channel allocation in terms of audio channel quality / interference avoidance. It is worth noting that in various embodiments, the spectrum scanning, analysis, audio channel allocation, and audio channel reallocation attributed to the MCR 101 discussed herein are enabled by the same device that performs receiving / demodulating audio payloads from the demodulators 104, 105.

[0077] Without wishing to be bound by any particular theory, because audio channel allocation, reception and demodulation of audio payloads are performed in the same device (e.g., MCR 101) as the instantiated scanning engine that scans in parallel / concurrently with the allocation / reception / demodulation activities, the various embodiments discussed herein enable efficiency gains in terms of time and resource usage to scan the available spectrum and allocate / reallocate audio channels accordingly, because the same device already has access to current audio channel allocation information, audio payload traffic information, interference information, audio channel quality information, etc. The efficiency gains associated with the MCR 101 embodiments discussed herein are estimated to be 2 to 3 times the performance of systems that rely on coordination with external hardware / devices for channelization / audio channel allocation.

[0078] Because the MCR 101 can be configured to perform a scan of the available spectrum and determine the assignment / reallocation of audio channels to specific demodulators 104, 105, the MCR 101 can achieve relatively rapid audio channel assignment / reallocation and improved tuning of wireless devices and receivers relative to systems that rely on external scanning capabilities, external devices for indicating audio channel assignments, external instructions for tuning / reallocation of wireless transceivers and receivers, etc.

[0079] In addition, the described MCR 101 can reduce or eliminate the need for external device signaling and / or system coordination associated with scanning and channel allocation operations. External coordination (such as coordination with baseband equipment) can introduce additional interference and error risks, increase the turn-on to tuning time of wireless microphones, etc., increase the time spent in audio channel reallocation, and can cause other undesirable results. Therefore, the MCR 101 can reduce the required inter-device coordination, reduce computational complexity, reduce inter-device signaling requirements, reduce computation time, reduce perceived audio latency, and comprehensively improve the user experience of users of wireless microphones or other such devices assigned / allocated to sub-bands of available spectrum by the MCR 101. Another benefit of the MCR 101 as described herein is that it reduces or eliminates the need for additional hardware to perform initial / subsequent spectrum analysis, determine initial / subsequent audio channel allocations, etc.

[0080] In another embodiment, the MCR 101 can be configured to support up to 24 active audio channels of wireless microphones in a multi-user audio system, and the MCR 101 can be configured to reserve audio channels 1-12 for active frequency / spectrum scanning, while assigning audio channels 13-24 for carrying audio payloads from one or more wireless microphones via over-the-air transmission. Audio channels 13-24 can be allocated per audio channel to one wireless microphone. However, the allocation of audio channels for audio payloads can be flexible, such that they can be changed over time, etc., based on demand and / or based on available spectrum scanning results.

[0081] In addition, the number of time slots / audio channels reserved for active frequency / spectrum scanning and the number of time slots / audio channels carrying audio payloads can be configured by the MCR 101 to change over time based on implementation use cases. For example, the MCR 101 referenced above that initially allocates audio channels 1-12 for active frequency / spectrum scanning and audio channels 13-24 for carrying audio payloads can be configured to reallocate some or all of audio channels 1-12 for carrying audio payloads based on defined mode or system transitions (e.g., completion of a calibration or setup routine), channel configuration changes determined based on active frequency / spectrum scanning, and / or channel configuration instructions determined based on a changed system topology (e.g., an increase or decrease in microphones, transmitters, interference sources, etc.). Such MCR 101 embodiments can also be configured to reallocate channels in the opposite direction (e.g., from audio payload carrying to active frequency / spectrum scanning) to support changed system requirements or operating conditions.

[0082] Alternatively, two or more of the audio channels 13-24 may be allocated for a single wireless microphone, while other audio channels in the audio channels 13-24 may be allocated for one or more other wireless microphones. The MCR 101 may be configured so that a single audio channel may be allocated for more than a single wireless microphone. To achieve this audio channel allocation flexibility, the MCR 101 may allocate audio channels to sub-bands in the frequency dimension and / or sub-carriers in the time dimension, for example, using a digital multiplexing method such as OFDMA. The MCR 101 may be configured to simultaneously perform a scan of the available spectrum while also performing channelization.

[0083] The MCR 101 may have a tuning range between about 174 MHz and about 2 GHz. The MCR 101 may be configured to concurrently tune in multiple sub-bands within the total range (e.g., a 70 MHz span). The MCR 101 may be coupled to other transmitters such as Transmitter, Transmitter and Axient The MCR 101 may be configured to flexibly accommodate between 1 audio channel and 24 or more channels. The MCR 101 may include antenna inputs, such as between one antenna input and about four antenna inputs or more. The MCR 101 may include a four-port Ethernet switch for split / redundant Dante audio outputs, Power over Ethernet inputs, direct circuit power modules, etc.

[0084] The MCR 101 may include a display for presenting network configuration and audio channel allocation information to a user, facilitating configuration and metering, etc. The MCR 101 may include ports such as an infrared radiation (IR) port for linking, synchronization, and firmware updates. The MCR 101 may be configured to link with a transmitter to help avoid interference, for channel quality monitoring and metering, etc. The MCR 101 may be configured to facilitate frequency diversity, high-density channelization, and audio channel encryption.

[0085] The MCR 101 may be configured to receive and store FPGA images, raw binary files, program images, resource utilization files, etc. associated with different audio channel capacities, programmable logic block configurations, logical channel mappings, FPGA array schematics, IP cores, circuit layout schematics, etc. The MCR 101 may be configured to select an FPGA image and / or implement software defined radio (SDR) functionality in order to adapt the FPGA or processor of the MCR 101 to an appropriate number of audio channels, one or more specific audio channel types, one or more antenna configurations, one or more channel mapping / logical channelization methods, etc.

[0086] The MCR 101 may be configured to select a single FPGA image or similar configuration instance from a larger set in order to properly configure / reconfigure the FPGA of the MCR 101 to accommodate a desired number of audio channels, antenna diversity, bandwidth usage, audio channel allocation, etc. The MCR 101 may be configured to select the FPGA image or similar configuration instance based on a digital license key, etc. The digital license key may be sent to the MCR 101 and stored at the MCR 101.

[0087] When a configuration change is desired, MCR 101 may request and / or receive a new digital license key, and based on the new digital license key, a different FPGA image may be selected. The new FPGA image may be implemented to reconfigure the FPGA of MCR 101 such that MCR 101 is configured for a different number of audio channels, a different antenna configuration, using (one or more) different bandwidth ranges, and / or a different audio channel allocation.

[0088] Additionally or alternatively, the MCR 101 may be configured to employ software defined radio (SDR) elements to perform configuration changes such as audio channel allocation, channelization, filtering, mixing, scanning of available spectrum, modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, etc.

[0089] The MCR 101 may be configured to reserve one or more time slots / audio channels for scanning for available audio, for purposes of interference detection / reduction, audio channel allocation improvement, elimination of channelization bottlenecks, etc. To this end, the MCR 101 may designate one or more audio channels to iteratively and / or continuously search for clear frequencies, troubleshoot interference issues, identify changes in channel quality, etc. By designating one or more audio channels for such scanning activities, the MCR 101 may designate antenna resources, processing capacity, SDR capabilities, time / spectrum resources, etc. associated with / mapped to the logical audio channels designated for scanning. For example, if the MCR 101 has a maximum audio channel capacity of 24 channels, then 12 audio channels may be designated for active audio payload transmission, and 12 audio channels may be designated for scanning available spectrum.

[0090] MCR 101 can not only scan the available spectrum, but also scan the congestion within the spectrum resources, the quality of the audio channels, the availability of the spectrum resources of the orthogonal / concurrently received / provided audio channels, etc. By scanning the available spectrum in a continuous, non-continuous, etc. manner, MCR 101 can be desirably configured so that interference mitigation can be achieved without re-tuning the hardware; instead, MCR 101 can be configured to view a wider / wider range of spectrum and re-tune (one or more) audio channels to mitigate interference without discrete scanning of the available spectrum. Such MCR 101 embodiments are configured to perform better than traditional systems in various performance metrics (such as re-tuning time). Such MCR 101 embodiments are also configured to perform better than traditional systems because MCR 101 embodiments are configured to maintain communication with microphones or other system devices, which often drop when traditional systems re-tune designated channels.

[0091] Based on the result of this audio scanning, MCR 101 can be configured to abandon / occupy the available resources for audio channel to reduce / increase audio channel capacity. MCR 101 can be configured to send original / new audio channel allocation information and / or antenna configuration information to one or more wireless audio transmitting devices (such as wireless microphone). MCR 101 can be configured to send original / new audio channel allocation information and / or antenna configuration information to one or more wireless audio receiving devices (such as in-ear monitor or wireless speaker).

[0092] The MCR 101 can operate in a frequency band having multiple audio channels. Therefore, in such embodiments, the change of audio channels can be performed as an intra-band switch or an intra-band resource switch. Since the audio data in a particular audio channel is digitized, the digital audio information and / or information about the available spectrum can be provided to a frequency management node or baseband device to process and determine whether other audio channels can be allocated to the available spectrum.

[0093] The MCR 101 may also include system functionality configured to determine how to best use the available spectrum. The MCR 101 may be programmatically configured to improve or optimize the use of the available spectrum and cause the upstream transmitter to be appropriately configured based on this improved or optimized system configuration.

[0094] The MCR 101 and its processor and / or microcontroller components may be configured to perform certain software defined radio features, such as channel linking, backup pools, and receiver linking. As a wide tuning box, the MCR 101 may be configured for out-of-band filtering to reduce or eliminate noise from other persistent high power RF sources that would desensitize the MCR 101's RF receiver. This may be accomplished using software defined ratio features, such as linear filters, band pass filters, etc., implemented on a processor or other computing device that is part of the MCR 101. Additionally or alternatively, the MCR 101 may be configured to communicate with one or more external components, one or more external computer devices configured to operate as a software defined radio, one or more external digital signal processing equipment, etc. - the MCR 101 may cause these components and devices to perform filtering, etc.

[0095] The MCR 101 can be configured to use and / or adapt to all frequency bands and sub-bands between about 2 GHz and very high frequency (VHF) (e.g., 174 MHz), including all values ​​and ranges therebetween. The MCR 101 can be configured to adapt to audio channels having any suitable channel bandwidth or any suitable portion of the occupied frequency dimension. For example, the MCR 101 can be configured to use and / or adapt to audio channels having a medium frequency of about 900 MHz, etc.

[0096] The MCR 101 may be configured to receive and demodulate audio in audio channels across a set of different frequency bands / sub-bands in the frequency domain. The MCR 101 may be configured to receive and demodulate audio from a plurality of different transmitters using more than one different transmission scheme or technology. For example, the MCR 101 may be configured to receive and demodulate audio from one or more single-channel transmitters, one or more multi-channel transmitters, one or more belt-pack transmitters, one or more microphone transceivers, one or more lavalier microphone transceivers, one or more podium microphone transceivers, one or more musical instrument transceivers, one or more other microphone transceivers, one or more other receivers, etc., some or all of which may be wireless, some or all of which may be body-worn, some or all of which may be digital, and some or all of which may be analog.

[0097] Relative to larger receiver deployments, the MCR 101 can exhibit reduced antenna distribution complexity, power management requirements, and thermal management requirements. Without wishing to be bound by any particular theory, this can be at least because the MCR 101 can be deployed in a configuration that accommodates a smaller number of audio channels and implements reduced hardware, fewer antennas, less or slower cooling equipment, etc., while still being selectively reconfigurable as needed for a greater number of audio channels.

[0098] The MCR 101 may additionally or alternatively be configured to tune to (or listen to) more than one different sub-band or frequency range within an overall range of about 2 GHz and about 174 MHz, etc. For example, the MCR 101 may be configured to concurrently tune to two or more 70 MHz frequency spans within the overall frequency range.

[0099] The MCR 101 may additionally or alternatively be configured for use with certain digital wireless transmitters such as the Shure Transmitter and Shure transmitter) across up to 24 channels. The MCR 101 may additionally or alternatively be configured to communicate with certain other digital wireless transmitters (such as the Shure Axient Transmitter) communicates across up to 16 channels. As described above, MCR 101 may include a larger FPGA, in which case MCR 101 may additionally or alternatively be configured to communicate across up to 25 channels, 30 channels, 35 channels, 40 channels, or more channels.

[0100] The MCR 101 may additionally or alternatively include multiple antenna inputs, such as two, three, four or more. The MCR 101 may additionally or alternatively include multiple outputs, such as ports, port Ethernet switches, split / redundant Dante audio outputs, other audio transmission modes, etc. The MCR 101 may additionally or alternatively include one or more Power over Ethernet (PoE) ports, such as PoE configured to power the MCR 101 and / or other hardware. The MCR 101 may additionally or alternatively include one or more direct current (DC) power modules. The MCR 101 may additionally or alternatively include one or more displays for displaying MCR setup information, channel configuration information, channel usage metering information, channel license information, etc.

[0101] The MCR 101 can additionally or alternatively be configured to use Dante Browse TM Perform headphone monitoring. Dante Browse TM feature can allow the headset to monitor audio from any Dante-enabled device in the audio system. The MCR101 can additionally or alternatively be configured to TM The feature is designated as a cue station so that the designed cue station receiver is configured as a listening station for monitoring audio from other audio devices in the audio system.

[0102] The MCR 101 may additionally or alternatively be configured to link with an external computing system, cloud computing device, external network or access point, etc. The MCR 101 may be configured to synchronize with one or more other MCRs, one or more other audio system devices, a central access point, etc. The MCR 101 may be configured to wirelessly connect to any suitable network, server, computing device, access point, tower, etc., such as to complete firmware updates, send and receive updated licenses and license terms, send and receive additional licenses for additional audio channels, etc. This may be performed via an infrared radiation (IR) port, wirelessly via any suitable telecommunication or radio signaling protocol, etc.

[0103] MCR 101 can be configured to remotely control the transmitter of link at least in part. MCR 101 can be configured for continuous, on-demand, self-organized or other such transmitter link arrangement. MCR 101 can be configured to avoid interference with possible linked and possible nearby audio system hardware, such as other transceivers, audio mixing equipment, wireless audio equipment (both upstream and downstream of MCR 101) etc. MCR 101 can be configured to perform channel quality measurement in one or more of the multiple audio channels that it is configured to adapt to according to current license terms. For example, MCR 101 can measure or receive information related to bit error rate, audio payload packet loss etc. MCR 101 can be configured for talk switch output routing, frequency diversity, high-density audio channel allocation, encryption of audio channels, receiving and decrypting encrypted audio channels etc.

[0104] The MCR 101 can be configured to tune multiple antennas to a single audio channel. Without wishing to be bound by any particular theory, a dual or quad MCR can exhibit high performance RF and transparent digital audio that is configured for software control. The MCR 101 can assign more than one antenna (e.g., two, four, or more antennas) to a single channel to facilitate greater coverage and signal quality. The hardware configuration and architecture that enables multiple antennas to be assigned to a single audio channel can be described as Quadversity TM model.

[0105] Quadversity TM The mode may be automatically activated by the MCR 101, such as in the case where the MCR 101 is programmed for lower channel capacity and has an extra antenna that can be assigned for a single audio channel. In other words, the MCR 101 may be configured for only 16 channels, and the software defined radio component or processor / microcontroller of the MCR 101 may determine that certain antennas would otherwise be inactive and may activate Quadversity for one or more high priority audio channels. TM Mode to improve coverage and signal quality by assigning multiple antennas to a single audio channel. Examples of other receiver hardware for increasing channel flexibility and associated methods are described in more detail in commonly owned U.S. Patent Nos. 9,667,285, 9,793,936, 10,069,525, 10,230,412, 10,615,828, and 10,720,953, the complete disclosure of each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

[0106] MCR 101 can be networked with other MCRs and / or other audio devices to facilitate audio channel decryption, demodulation, decoding, etc. The operating mode of MCR 101 can be limited by the modulation scheme rather than by the availability of audio channels. For example, when MCR 101 is Axient When the operating mode is implemented, the MCR 101 may be configured for a lower maximum channel count (eg, 16) than other operating modes, such as the ULX-D operating mode (which may be configured for, for example, a maximum channel count of 24).

[0107] The MCR 101 can be configured to demodulate two or more concurrent 70 MHz spans within its overall tuning range, for example, allocating the first 70 MHz span to cover some or all of the ULX-D transmitter band and allocating two adjacent 70 MHz spans to cover some or all of the ULX-D transmitter band. In the case where the two 70 MHz spans overlap, the MCR 101 can support Quadversity TM Mode. Quadversity TM The mode can operate using the overlap between two adjacent 70MHz spans. TM The modes and associated hardware and methods are further described in commonly owned U.S. Patent No. 10,720,953 and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2022 / 0021410A1, the entire disclosure of each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

[0108] Some of the advantages of the various MCR embodiments described herein may include:

[0109] · Reduction in size and storage cost of wireless digital audio system hardware,

[0110] Reduction in weight and shipping costs of wireless digital audio system hardware,

[0111] Reduction in heat generated and power consumed by wireless digital audio system hardware,

[0112] Increased simplification of antenna systems for high channel count wireless audio systems,

[0113] Increased flexibility of variable channel count implementations,

[0114] Increased versatility of audio systems to adapt to different spectrum environments and changing spectrum resource availability,

[0115] Increased channel density and channel diversity,

[0116] Increased interoperability with different transmitters,

[0117] Improved performance and spectrum optimization based on dynamic spectrum scanning and channelization by allocating specific channels for frequency scanning and allocating other channels for carrying audio payloads,

[0118] Increased flexibility in receiving audio payloads according to a variety of different wireless audio modulation and transmission protocols.

[0119] The MCR 101 can be configured to accommodate or monitor multiple channels, such as audio channels. Figure 1A In the system 100, the MCR 101 is configured based on current configuration inputs (such as license terms, authentication keys, etc.) to accommodate or monitor up to eight audio channels. Figure 1B In the system 100, the MCR 101 is configured based on the current configuration input to accommodate or monitor up to 16 audio channels. Figure 1C In the system 100, the MCR 101 is configured based on the current configuration input to accommodate or monitor up to 24 audio channels. Figure 1D In the system 100, the MCR 101 is configured based on the current configuration input to accommodate or monitor up to eight audio channels. Figure 1E In the system 100, the MCR 101 is configured based on the current configuration input to accommodate or monitor up to 16 audio channels.

[0120] The MCR 101 may be configured to receive digital and / or analog audio signals. The MCR 101 may be configured to receive signals including audio payload, synchronization information, beacon symbols, pilot tones, etc. The audio payload information may be organized in radio frames carrying subcarriers assigned to different audio channels mapped across one or more subbands of the frequency domain. Examples of several suitable audio transmissions that the MCR 101 may be configured to receive, as well as various encoding, modulation, encryption, scrambling, and distribution schemes, are described in commonly owned U.S. Patent Nos. 8,755,447, 9,667,285, 9,793,936, 10,069,525, 10,134,412, 10,230,412, 10,615,828, 10,944,535 and U.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2020 / 0059400A1, 2021 / 0274331A1, 2021 / 0141590A1, and 2022 / 0029678A1, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.

[0121] The network switch 102 may be configured to receive packets from the MCR 101 via packet switching, the packets including audio payload information. The network switch 102 may be configured to provide audio payload packets for a plurality of different audio channels to the MCR 101 in a serial or parallel manner. The network switch 102 may be or may include a multilayer switch, a stackable switch, a standalone switch, a rack-mount switch, an access point, a communication tower, a baseband device, etc. The network switch 102 may be or may include an unmanaged switch, a managed switch, an intelligent switch, an adaptive switch, a network managed switch, an enterprise managed switch, etc. Other configurations, implementations, embodiments, and options for suitable network switches will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art.

[0122] The network switch 102 can be configured to organize, direct, route or otherwise send packets (such as audio payload packets) to the audio console 103. The audio console 103 can be or include a mixing board, etc. The audio console 103 can be configured to receive audio payload packets from the network switch 102 and mix mono and stereo mixes. The audio console 103 can be configured to filter, sum, adjust, modify, balance, record, send or otherwise produce completed audio content based on the audio payload packets received from the network switch 102. Those of ordinary skill in the relevant art will readily understand other configurations, implementations, embodiments and options for suitable audio consoles. For example, the MCR 101 can include or be configured to communicate with one or more junction boxes, which are configured to convert the MCR audio network output (e.g., Dante or other) into other formats, such as analog, other digital schemes, etc.

[0123] Figure 3 An MCR 201 is illustrated that is configurable for different audio channel capacities and can be remotely reconfigured based on changes to a digital license key item. The MCR 201 can be similar or identical to the MCR 101, and the MCR 201 is shown in more detail with respect to its user interface, subcomponent communications, and audio output. The MCR 201 can include a front panel 202 that includes encoder buttons 203, one or more displays 204, 205, and an optional headphone jack 206. The MCR 201 can also include a microprocessor (MCU) or processor 207 configured for input / output control and user experience. The processor 207 of the MCR 201 can be configured to perform scans of available spectrum, assessments of spectrum / audio channel quality or sources of interference, initial assignment / allocation of audio channels to available spectrum, reassignment / reallocation of audio channels to other portions of the spectrum, etc., such as described herein with respect to Figure 1A-2The MCR 201 may also include an Ethernet switch 208 in operable communication with the processor 207. The MCR 201 may also include Dante 209 configured to transmit uncompressed, multi-channel, low-latency digital audio within and outside the MCR 201.

[0124] MCR 201 may also include a field programmable gate array (FPGA) 210 configured for RF signal processing and digital audio processing. FPGA 210 may be static or flexible, may include flexible memory blocks, and / or may be reprogrammed for different logic tasks, receiver configurations, receiver architectures, channel configurations, etc. FPGA 210 may be part of or communicate with an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). FPGA 210 may be implemented as a system on chip (SOC) ASIC. FPGA and ASIC may be used to implement discrete time processing of input signals in wireless audio equipment (such as MCR 201). FPGA 210 may be similar to the FPGA described in further detail in co-owned U.S. Patent No. 8,755,447, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

[0125] FPGA 210 may communicate with and / or be controlled by processor 207. FPGA 210 may also communicate with optional headphone jack 206 to send processed, uncompressed, unfiltered, unmixed audio from one or more selected channels to the headphones when the headphones are plugged into MCR 201 at the headphone jack 206.

[0126] The MCR 201 may also include analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) 212, 214 configured to convert analog RF signals carrying digital audio payload information received from RF receivers 213, 215. The RF receivers 213, 215 may be configured to control an antenna array 216 to scan and / or listen to RF signals carrying audio payload information via a plurality of different audio channels. An antenna switching ratio of 6:2 or any other suitable antenna to RF receiver ratio may be used. The processor 207 and / or the FPGA 210 may be configured to control the RF controllers 213, 215 and / or the antenna array 216.

[0127] Figure 4A double conversion architecture 300 is illustrated that can be used for digital signal processing (e.g., demodulation and frequency synchronization) of digital audio information when using a wideband receiver (such as MCR 201 or MCR 101). According to the double conversion architecture 300, an audio signal is received at an antenna 301 and filtered 302 for a sub-range of, for example, 172 MHz to 2 GHz. A frequency mixer 303 module then mixes the incoming radio frequency signal from the antenna 301 with a signal from a local oscillator (LO) 304 to produce a lower fixed frequency signal. This lower fixed frequency signal is then sampled 305 again for the same sub-range and amplified 306 to form a first intermediate frequency (IF) signal having a bandwidth of approximately 2,655 MHz. The first IF signal is then sampled 307 again.

[0128] The first IF signal is then frequency mixed 308 again with a fixed frequency signal from a LO / ADC clock (CLK) 309 having a frequency of approximately 3,072 MHz to form a second IF signal having a frequency of approximately 417 MHz. The second IF signal is then amplified 310 and provided to an ADC 311 for analog-to-digital conversion. Without wishing to be bound by any particular theory, this dual conversion architecture 300 can provide improved frequency planning for wideband receivers.

[0129] The MCR may be a heterodyne or superheterodyne receiver that converts the raw signal to an IF signal or baseband using one or more variable frequency oscillators, one or more mixers, and one or more filters. The ADC 311 may then sample this IF or baseband signal. It may not be necessary to convert the raw signal to an IF or baseband signal, and instead, the ADC 311 may sample the raw audio signal directly or after simple amplification.

[0130] The frequency mixer, LO, IF amplifier, LO / ADC clock, and ADC / DAC modules are described in more detail in commonly owned U.S. Patent Nos. 8,755,447, 9,667,285, 9,793,936, 10,069,525, 10,230,412, and 10,615,828, the complete disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.

[0131] Figure 4 and Figure 5 Each diagram shows a portion of the frequency domain of an audio signal, within which two 70 MHz time slots are identified. Figure 5 In the case of a 100-second time slot, the two time slots do not overlap, which allows dual-channel configurations but does not allow Quadversity TM mode. However, in Figure 6In the case of a 1-th order, the two time slots overlap, which allows Quadversity TM Mode. Use Quadversity TM The mode can allow for the deployment of distributed antennas and the creation of different zones by combining signals from four antennas to increase signal strength and extend coverage. TM The combined signal overcomes the typical noise floor, improves the quality of the signal received from the transmitter at the antenna, and reduces signal loss, signal distortion, etc. TM mode, the channel count accommodated by the receiver can be reduced, for example, by half. TM The quad receiver can be reconfigured as a dual receiver when in 1-channel mode.

[0132] Figure 7 An SDR implementation 400 for an MCR (e.g., MCR 101 or MCR 201) is illustrated. The illustrated SDR implementation 400 may be used for digital signal processing, channel capacity changes, antenna assignment, etc. The SDR implementation 400 may include a hardware platform 401 that includes, for example, a microprocessor, an antenna array, a radio receiver, etc. The SDR implementation 400 may also include an FPGA 402. The SDR implementation 400 may also include a software defined integrated circuit (SDIC) 403 that communicates with or is integrated into the FPGA 402. The SDIC 403 may be implemented and / or reconfigured by embedded software 404, for example, based on instructions, signals, commands, etc. provided by a user, for example, via user interaction with application software 405.

[0133] FPGA 402 may be configured to act as a modem for inter-network or intra-network communications, such as for receiving / confirming licensing information, firmware / software updates, user authentication, decryption assistance, etc. FPGA 402 may also be configured to facilitate audio processing, such as through phase shifting / correction, denoising, demodulation, phase offset correction, timing offset correction, coarse / fine carrier offset correction, frequency offset correction, pilot-assisted synchronization, etc.

[0134] FPGA 402 may be configured to communicate with a remote computing device or network element, such as a server, cloud computing device, access point, etc. A user portal may be provided for users to create and manage accounts, register specific hardware or subcomponents by serial number, purchase upgrades, purchase channel upgrade licenses, etc. The user portal may communicate with the remote computing device or network element such that when a user purchases, for example, a new license to increase the available audio channels for their MCR from 16 to 24, etc., the remote computing device or network element may provide reconfiguration instructions to the MCR (e.g., 101) associated with the user.

[0135] Users can purchase digital license keys in the user portal or otherwise. The digital license key can be a node-locked licensing transaction for the hardware, for example, without the need for internet or IoT connectivity to unlock the persistent capacity purchased on the user portal. From a user perspective, enabling license upgrades via the user portal and automatically reconfiguring the MCR hardware in the background means that reconfiguration and scaling up or down of MCR channel capacity is much less involved than in a typical firmware update.

[0136] MCR devices as configured in this article enable users to manage up to 24 transmitters linked to a single device. In some embodiments, a backup transmitter can be linked to each channel. Linking and synchronizing backup transmitters typically employs complex system interactions and requires the user to align the IR ports of the components, or otherwise manually associate the individual transmitters. Furthermore, the different functionality provided by different transmitters and transmitter technologies means that the scalability of many receivers is limited by the complexity and non-interoperability of the specific different types of transmitters implemented and the details of the receiver(s) used.

[0137] The MCR embodiments discussed herein are configured to support many different transmitter types, which can result in increased complexity and an increased number of corner / edge cases that need to be facilitated. To reduce the time, effort, and frustration required to configure the MCR, a user can synchronize and move registered transmitters via software only, e.g., through SDIC 403.

[0138] The workflow of updating transmitter firmware via the IR port is often time consuming and error prone, which is a well known and well documented usability problem. An advantage of the various MCR embodiments discussed herein is that such embodiments accommodate batch processing of transmitter firmware updates, which eliminates the need to maintain each transmitter in close proximity to the receiver's IR port for minutes at a time, and often serially. This batch-by-batch processing for transmitter firmware update processing can be accomplished via a single IR port on the various MCR embodiments.

[0139] Various methods for performing over-the-air (OTA) receiver and / or transmitter updates are described in more detail in commonly owned U.S. Patent Publication No. 2020 / 0059400, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The MCR can be configured to perform such OTA firmware updates for multiple transmitters, such as transmitters associated with wireless microphones. The MCR can also be configured to receive OTA firmware updates, digital license keys, etc., from another component of the audio system, such as an access point, a baseband controller, etc.

[0140] Moreover, in order to increase the amount of analytical data collected from the transmitter and / or receiver using the software application, the MCR can be configured to capture many key data points from the hardware itself. The MCR can have an increased capacity to store digital licenses generated through online transactions. The MCR may not be used as an IoT device and may not have a direct Internet connection in certain usage environments. In other embodiments, the MCR can be an IoT device and / or can have a direct Internet connection for receiving digital license keys, firmware updates, user authentication, etc. The MCR can be configured to collect, store, and upload usage data to a software ecosystem, server, etc.

[0141] Figure 8 An embodiment of an MCR is illustrated in which a single MCR 500 is configured to accommodate up to 24 audio channels. The MCR 500 may include multiple antennas 501, 502, 503, 504. Antennas 501 and 502 may be configured to receive UHF transmissions, such as transmissions with a frequency of approximately 500 MHz. Antennas 503 and 504 may be configured to receive AFTRCC transmissions, such as transmissions with a frequency of approximately 1.5 GHz. Other antennas may be included and / or one or more of the antennas 501-504 may be allocated and configured to receive transmissions other than those described.

[0142] MCR 500 may also include receivers 505 and 506 configured to control, configure and receive signals from antennas 501, 502, 503, 504. Receivers 505 and 506 may be configured to receive signals including raw audio information from antennas 501, 502, 503 and / or 504. Receivers 505 and 506 or microprocessors, etc. may then be configured to monitor specific sub-portions of received signals known to be assigned to specific audio channels, and sample (one or more) audio signals for these sub-portions of the audio signals. The audio channels (which may include up to 24 different audio channels) may then be filtered, frequency / time synchronized, demodulated and decoded. The decoded audio may then be optionally converted into digital audio information. The decoded audio or digital audio information may then be output via a Dante audio output, an output port, an Ethernet port, etc.

[0143] The digital audio signals (including combined digital audio signals) output by the MCR 500 may conform to the Audio Engineering Society AES3 standard, the Dante standard, and / or the AVB / AVNU standard for sending audio over Ethernet. Furthermore, the MCR 500 may output the digital audio signals on an XLR connector output, an Ethernet port, or other suitable types of outputs. The MCR 500 may output analog audio signals on an XLR connector output, a 1 / 4" audio output, and / or other suitable types of outputs.

[0144] The MCR 500 may be rack mountable and may include a display for displaying various information, full audio meters, and an RF signal strength indicator, and may also include control switches, buttons, etc. for setting user controls and configuration options. The MCR 500 may include one or more RF ports (not shown). The RF ports may be BNC, SMA (Subminiature Version A) coaxial connectors, N-type, or other suitable connectors for connecting to external antennas and / or cables.

[0145] Fig. 9 An audio system is illustrated that includes an MCR 601 that is configured to selectively communicate wirelessly with one of a first group of audio devices 602 (e.g., one or more wireless audio transmitters as discussed below) and / or a second group of audio devices 603 (e.g., one or more wireless audio transmitters as discussed below). The MCR 601 may be partially or completely similar to the MCR 101 described above. The MCR 601 may include a processor configured to operate one or more software defined radio functions, a memory in operative communication with the processor, a memory storing program code, and an integrated circuit (IC) in operative communication with the processor.

[0146] The first set of audio devices 602 may include, for example, a wireless microphone and a corresponding body-worn transmitter, such as from Shure The second set of audio equipment 603 may include, for example, wireless microphones and corresponding body-worn transmitters, such as from Shure Axient In the case where the MCR 601 is configured for wireless communication with a first group of audio devices 602, the MCR 601 can be configured to accommodate up to 24 audio channels based on transmitter-side limitations specific to the first group of audio devices 602. In the case where the MCR 601 is configured for wireless communication with a second group of audio devices 603, the MCR 601 can be configured to accommodate up to 16 audio channels based on transmitter-side limitations specific to the second group of audio devices 603.

[0147] The memory and program code of MCR 601 can be configured together with the processor and IC to cause MCR 601 to scan the available spectrum, such as by using a portion of all configurable audio channels, a portion of audio channelization resources, a portion of one or more resources (e.g., antenna time and / or directivity, antenna resource usage, logical channel mapping, audio channel transmission scheduling, etc.). The scanning can be performed in-band / intra-band within a specific sub-band of the spectrum (e.g., a 70MHz sub-band), and / or can be performed across / between different sub-bands of the spectrum (e.g., between different 70MHz sub-bands). MCR 601 can determine (one or more) antenna configurations, the number of audio channels, channelization characteristics, audio channel allocations, (one or more) transmission modes, etc. based on the scanning of the available spectrum.

[0148] For example, the MCR 601 may cause the IC to map audio channels according to a new allocation, or reconfigure the antenna / antenna array based on an available spectrum scan for the MCR 601. The spectrum scan may also or alternatively be a spectrum quality / transmission quality scan, which may cause the MCR 601 to be reconfigured for channel quality reasons, interference reduction reasons, etc., regardless of whether there is a spectrum availability issue.

[0149] Fig.10Example tuning ranges for several different example MCR implementations are illustrated, where the MCR is configured to receive VHF, UHF, STL bands, JP 1.2 bands, and other bands of available spectrum resources. As can be seen in Examples 1, 4, and 5, the mix of technologies and required / desired bands can result in no overlap between dedicated time slots for different audio channels and transmitter technologies. However, as can be seen in Examples 2 and 3, some other mix of technologies and required / desired bands can result in overlap of dedicated time slots. For example, in the case of Examples 2 and 3, the MCR can be configured to implement Quadversity TM modes, which can result in greater channel density and spectral efficiency due to overlap.

[0150] Additional Embodiments

[0151] The descriptions, diagrams, and hardware / circuit diagrams provided are provided only as illustrative examples, and are not intended to require or imply that the steps of the various embodiments must each or all be performed and / or should be performed in the order presented or described. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the order of steps in some or all of the embodiments may be performed in any order. Words such as "thereafter," "then," "next" are not intended to limit the order of steps; these words are only used to guide the reader through the description of the method. In addition, any reference to a claim element in the singular (e.g., using the article "one," "a kind of," or "the") should not be interpreted as limiting the element to the singular.

[0152] The term "comprising" means including but not limited to, and should be interpreted in the manner commonly used in the patent context.

[0153] As used herein, the term "computer-readable medium" as used herein refers to any medium configured to participate in providing information (including instructions for execution) to a processor. Such a medium can take a variety of forms, including but not limited to non-transient computer-readable storage media (e.g., non-volatile media, volatile media) and transmission media. Transmission media include, for example, cables, wires, and carriers that travel in space without the need for wires or cables, such as radio waves, light waves, and infrared waves. Signals include artificial transient changes in amplitude, frequency, phase, polarization, or other physical properties sent through a transmission medium. Examples of non-transient computer-readable media include floppy disks, flexible disks, hard disks, any other non-transient magnetic, optical, or physical storage media, random access memory (RAM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cassette memory, carriers, or any other non-transient medium that a computer can read. The term "computer-readable storage medium" is used herein to refer to any computer-readable medium other than a transmission medium. However, it should be appreciated that where embodiments are described using computer-readable storage media, in alternative embodiments other types of computer-readable media may be used in place of or in addition to the computer-readable storage media.

[0154] As used herein, the terms "memory," "memory medium," and "storage medium" may refer to any of various types of non-volatile memory devices or storage devices, and are intended to include installation media, for example, CD-ROMs, floppy disks, or tape devices; computer system memory or random access memory, such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory (such as flash memory), magnetic media (e.g., hard drives), or optical storage; registers or other similar types of memory elements, and the like.

[0155] As used herein, the term "programmable hardware element" may refer to various hardware devices that include multiple programmable function blocks connected via programmable interconnects. Examples include FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays), PLDs (programmable logic devices), FPOAs (field programmable object arrays), and CPLDs (complex PLDs). Programmable function blocks can range from fine-grained (combinational logic or lookup tables) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic units or processor cores). Programmable hardware elements may also be referred to as "reconfigurable logic".

[0156] As used herein, the terms "channel" and "audio channel" may refer to a medium used to convey information from a sender (transmitter) to a transceiver. It should be noted that since the characteristics of the term "channel" may vary from standard to standard or protocol, the term "channel" as used herein may be considered to be used in a manner consistent with the standard for the type of device using the term. In some standards, the channel width may be variable (e.g., depending on device capabilities, frequency band conditions, etc.). Certain protocols and standards may include different definitions of channels. In addition, certain standards may define and use multiple types of channels, for example, different channels for uplink or downlink and / or different channels for different purposes (such as data, control information, etc.).

[0157] As used herein, the term "frequency band" has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a segment of the spectrum (eg, radio frequency spectrum) where channels are used or reserved for the same purpose.

[0158] As used herein, the term "automatic" refers to an action or operation performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by a computer system) or a device (e.g., a circuit system, a programmable hardware element, an ASIC, etc.) without requiring user input to directly specify or perform the action or operation. Thus, the term "automatic" is contrasted with an operation manually performed or specified by a user, in which the user provides input to directly perform the operation. An automatic process may be initiated by input provided by a user, but the subsequent actions performed "automatically" are not specified by the user, i.e., are not performed "manually," where the user specifies each action to be performed. For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting each field and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typing in information, selecting check boxes, single selections, etc.) is manually filling out a form, although the computer system must update the form in response to the user action. A form may be automatically filled out by a computer system, where the computer system (e.g., software executed on the computer system) analyzes the fields of the form and fills out the form without requiring any user input to specify the answers to the fields. As indicated above, a user may invoke automatic filling out of a form without participating in the actual filling out of the form (e.g., the user does not manually specify the answers to the fields, but rather it is done automatically). This specification provides various examples of operations that are automatically performed in response to actions taken by a user.

[0159] As used herein, the terms "computing device," "processor and memory," "processor," and "computer" refer to a specialized centralized device, network, or system that includes at least a processor and a memory device containing computer program code, and is configured to configure and reconfigure the MCR (e.g., 101, 201) to enable the MCR (e.g., 101, 201) to adopt various antenna diversity modes or frequency / channel diversity modes, operate various SDR functions of the MCR, receive and / or transmit upstream or downstream transmissions, etc.

[0160] As used herein, the terms "approximately," "substantially," and "approximately" generally mean plus or minus 10% of the stated value, for example, "approximately 250 μm" would include 225 μm to 275 μm; "approximately 20 milliseconds (ms)" would include 18 ms to 22 ms; and "approximately 100 kbps" would include 90 kbps to 110 kbps.

[0161] As described herein and defined by the International Telecommunication Union, a "low frequency" signal or carrier may refer to a signal or carrier having a frequency between 30 kHz and 300 kHz, a "medium frequency" signal or carrier may refer to a signal or carrier having a frequency between 300 kHz and 3 MHz, a "high frequency" signal or carrier may refer to a signal or carrier having a frequency between 3 MHz and 30 MHz, a "very high frequency" signal or carrier may refer to a signal or carrier having a frequency between 30 MHz and 300 MHz, and an "ultra-high frequency" signal or carrier may refer to a signal or carrier having a frequency between 300 MHz and 300 MHz.

[0162] In the following, various features will be highlighted in a group of numbered clauses or paragraphs. These features should not be interpreted as limitations on the present invention or inventive concept, but merely as highlights of some of the features described herein, and do not indicate a particular order of importance or relevance of such features.

[0163] Item 1. An audio system comprising: one or more wireless audio transmitters configured to transmit audio data; and one or more antennas configured to receive audio data transmitted by the one or more wireless audio transmitters; and a multi-channel receiver (MCR) configured to receive audio data from the one or more antennas.

[0164] Clause 2. The audio system of clause 1, wherein the MCR comprises: a processor configured to operate one or more software defined radio functions; a memory in operable communication with the processor, the memory storing program code; and an integrated circuit (IC) in operable communication with the processor, wherein the memory and the program code together with the processor and the IC are configured to cause the MCR to at least: scan at least a portion of a plurality of audio channels using at least one of the one or more antennas; determine one or more of: an antenna configuration, a transmit mode, an audio channel allocation, or a number of audio channels to which the MCR is to adapt in order to improve use of the available spectrum; and provide configuration information to the IC using the processor so that the IC can cause configuration or reconfiguration of at least one of the antennas based on the antenna configuration, the transmit mode, or the number of audio channels to which the MCR is to adapt.

[0165] Clause 3. The audio system of any of clauses 1-2 further includes a network switch that wirelessly communicates with the MCR, wherein the memory and program code of the MCR are also configured together with the processor and the IC to cause the MCR to at least: send information about available spectrum to the network switch; and receive configuration information from the network switch in response to sending the information about the available spectrum, and wherein the network switch is configured to at least: receive information about available spectrum from the MCR; generate configuration information; and send configuration information to the MCR.

[0166] Clause 4. The audio system of any of clauses 1-3, wherein scanning of the available frequency spectrum is performed by only a portion of the one or more antennas.

[0167] Clause 5. The audio system of any of clauses 1-4, wherein the scanning of the available spectrum is performed within a specific sub-band previously assigned to the MCR.

[0168] Clause 6. The audio system of any of clauses 1-5, wherein the memory and program code of the MCR are further configured with the processor and the IC to cause the MCR to at least: determine configuration information based at least on an available frequency spectrum and current audio channel allocation information.

[0169] Clause 7. The audio system of any of clauses 1-6, wherein the MCR is configured to assign or reassign at least one of the one or more wireless audio transmitters from the first audio channel to the second audio channel based at least on the configuration information.

[0170] Clause 8. The audio system of any of clauses 1-7, wherein the IC comprises one of the following: a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an application specific standard product (ASSP), an application specific instruction set processor (ASIP), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a multi-project chip (MPC), or a system on a chip (SoC).

[0171] Clause 9. The audio system of any of clauses 1 to 8, wherein the IC comprises an FPGA and the configuration information comprises an FPGA image.

[0172] Clause 10. The audio system of any of clauses 1-9, wherein the FPGA image is operable to cause the FPGA to configure or reconfigure the one or more antennas, adapt the FPGA to the one or more transmit modes, or reconfigure the MCR to accommodate the number of audio channels.

[0173] Clause 11. The audio system of any of clauses 1-10, wherein the FPGA image is provided to the FPGA via direct memory access.

[0174] Clause 12. The audio system of any of clauses 1-11, wherein the one or more antennas include a plurality of antennas, and wherein the processor of the MCR is further configured to cause two or more of the plurality of antennas to be tuned to listen for audio data associated with a single audio channel.

[0175] Clause 13. An audio system of any of clauses 1-12, wherein the available spectrum is determined based on one or more digital license keys, wherein the one or more digital license keys indicate at least one of the following: one or more transmission modes to be adapted, one or more modulation schemes to be adapted, an antenna array configuration to be adapted, a number of antennas to be adapted, one or more audio channel types to be adapted, a number of channels to be adapted, a transmission capacity to be adapted, or a number of upstream wireless audio devices to be adapted.

[0176] Clause 14. The audio system of any of clauses 1-13, wherein the processor of the MCR is configured to select the FPGA image based on at least one of the one or more digital license keys stored at the memory of the MCR.

[0177] Clause 15. The audio system of any of clauses 1-14, wherein the MCR is configured to accommodate a plurality of different transmission modes.

[0178] Clause 16. The audio system of any of clauses 1-15, wherein the MCR is configured to accommodate one or more of: different encoding schemes, different audio channel types, or different audio channel bandwidths.

[0179] Clause 17. The audio system of any of clauses 1-16, wherein the MCR is configured to perform one or more different radio functions or digital signal processing functions using a software defined radio (SDR) module, a software defined integrated circuit or IC.

[0180] Clause 18. An audio system comprising a multi-channel receiver (MCR) configured to receive audio data, the MCR comprising a field programmable gate array (FPGA) and one or more antennas, the MCR being configured at least to: determine or define multiple audio channels for receiving audio; configure the one or more antennas to receive audio in at least a portion of the multiple audio channels; scan an available spectrum using the FPGA; determine configuration information for the MCR based at least on the available spectrum, wherein the configuration information comprises one or more of: an antenna mode, a transmit mode, or a number of audio channels to be adapted by the MCR to improve use of the available spectrum; and configure the one or more antennas based on the configuration information, or apply software-defined radio features of the MCR based on the configuration information.

[0181] Clause 19. The audio system of clause 18, wherein the FPGA is configured to select a particular FPGA image from a set of FPGA images based on the available frequency spectrum.

[0182] Clause 20. The audio system of any of clauses 18-19, wherein the MCR is configured to perform one or more different radio functions or digital signal processing functions using a software defined radio (SDR) module, a software defined integrated circuit, or an FPGA.

[0183] Clause 21. The audio system of any of clauses 18-20, further comprising a network switch that wirelessly communicates with the MCR, wherein the memory and program code of the MCR are also configured together with the processor and the IC to cause the MCR to at least: send information about available spectrum to the network switch; and receive configuration information from the network switch in response to sending the information about the available spectrum, and wherein the network switch is configured to at least: receive information about available spectrum from the MCR; generate configuration information; and send configuration information to the MCR.

[0184] Clause 22. The audio system of any of clauses 18-21, wherein scanning of the available frequency spectrum is performed by only a portion of the one or more antennas.

[0185] Clause 23. The audio system of any of clauses 18-22, wherein the scanning of the available spectrum is performed within a specific sub-band previously assigned to the MCR.

[0186] Clause 24. The audio system of any of clauses 18-23, wherein the memory and program code of the MCR are further configured with the processor and the IC to cause the MCR to at least: determine configuration information based at least on an available frequency spectrum and current audio channel allocation information.

[0187] Clause 25. The audio system of any of clauses 18-24, wherein the MCR is configured to assign or reassign at least one of the one or more wireless audio transmitters from the first audio channel to the second audio channel based at least on the configuration information.

[0188] Clause 26. An audio system as recited in any of Clauses 18-25, wherein the IC comprises one of: a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an application specific standard product (ASSP), an application specific instruction set processor (ASIP), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a multi-project chip (MPC), or a system on a chip (SoC).

[0189] Clause 27. The audio system of any of clauses 18-26, wherein the IC comprises an FPGA and the configuration information comprises an FPGA image.

[0190] Clause 28. The audio system of any of clauses 18-27, wherein the FPGA image is operable to cause the FPGA to configure or reconfigure the one or more antennas, adapt the FPGA to the one or more transmit modes, or reconfigure the MCR to accommodate the number of audio channels.

[0191] Clause 29. The audio system of any of clauses 18-28, wherein the FPGA image is provided to the FPGA via direct memory access.

[0192] Clause 30. The audio system of any of clauses 18-29, wherein the one or more antennas include a plurality of antennas, and wherein the processor of the MCR is further configured to cause two or more of the plurality of antennas to be tuned to listen for audio data associated with a single audio channel.

[0193] Clause 31. An audio system of any of clauses 18-30, wherein the available spectrum is determined based on one or more digital license keys, wherein the one or more digital license keys indicate at least one of the following: one or more transmission modes to be adapted, one or more modulation schemes to be adapted, an antenna array configuration to be adapted, a number of antennas to be adapted, one or more audio channel types to be adapted, a number of channels to be adapted, a transmission capacity to be adapted, or a number of upstream wireless audio devices to be adapted.

[0194] Clause 32. The audio system of any of clauses 18-31, wherein the processor of the MCR is configured to select the FPGA image based on at least one of the one or more digital license keys stored at the memory of the MCR.

[0195] Clause 33. The audio system of any of clauses 18-32, wherein the MCR is configured to accommodate a plurality of different transmission modes.

[0196] Clause 34. The audio system of any of clauses 18-33, wherein the MCR is configured to accommodate one or more of: different encoding schemes, different audio channel types, or different audio channel bandwidths.

[0197] Clause 35. The audio system of any of clauses 18-34, wherein the MCR is configured to perform one or more different radio functions or digital signal processing functions using a software defined radio (SDR) module, a software defined integrated circuit or IC.

[0198] Clause 36. An audio system comprising a multi-channel receiver (MCR) configured to receive audio data, the MCR comprising a field programmable gate array (FPGA) and one or more antennas, the MCR being configured at least to: determine or define multiple audio channels for receiving audio; configure the one or more antennas to receive audio in a first portion of the multiple audio channels; scan an available spectrum using a second portion of the multiple audio channels; determine configuration information for the MCR based at least on the available spectrum, wherein the configuration information comprises one or more of: an antenna mode, a transmit mode, or a number of audio channels to be adapted by the MCR to improve use of the available spectrum; and configure the one or more antennas based on the configuration information, or apply software-defined radio features of the MCR based on the configuration information.

[0199] Clause 37. The audio system of clause 36, wherein the FPGA is configured to select a particular FPGA image from a set of FPGA images based on the available frequency spectrum.

[0200] Clause 38. The audio system of any of clauses 36-37, wherein the MCR is configured to perform one or more different radio functions or digital signal processing functions using a software defined radio (SDR) module, a software defined integrated circuit, or an FPGA.

[0201] Clause 39. The audio system of any of clauses 36-38 further includes a network switch that wirelessly communicates with the MCR, wherein the memory and program code of the MCR are also configured together with the processor and the IC to cause the MCR to at least: send information about available spectrum to the network switch; and receive configuration information from the network switch in response to sending the information about the available spectrum, and wherein the network switch is configured to at least: receive information about available spectrum from the MCR; generate configuration information; and send configuration information to the MCR.

[0202] Clause 40. The audio system of any of clauses 36-39, wherein scanning of the available spectrum is performed by only a portion of the one or more antennas.

[0203] Clause 41. The audio system of any of clauses 36-40, wherein the scanning of the available spectrum is performed within a specific sub-band previously assigned to the MCR.

[0204] Clause 42. The audio system of any of clauses 36-41, wherein the memory and program code of the MCR are further configured with the processor and the IC to cause the MCR to at least: determine configuration information based at least on an available frequency spectrum and current audio channel allocation information.

[0205] Clause 43. The audio system of any of clauses 36-42, wherein the MCR is configured to assign or reassign at least one of the one or more wireless audio transmitters from the first audio channel to the second audio channel based at least on the configuration information.

[0206] Clause 44. An audio system as in any of clauses 36-43, wherein the IC comprises one of: a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an application specific standard product (ASSP), an application specific instruction set processor (ASIP), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a multi-project chip (MPC), or a system on a chip (SoC).

[0207] Clause 45. The audio system of any of clauses 36-44, wherein the IC comprises an FPGA and the configuration information comprises an FPGA image.

[0208] Clause 46. The audio system of any of clauses 36-45, wherein the FPGA image is operable to cause the FPGA to configure or reconfigure the one or more antennas, adapt the FPGA to the one or more transmit modes, or reconfigure the MCR to accommodate the number of audio channels.

[0209] Clause 47. The audio system of any of clauses 36-46, wherein the FPGA image is provided to the FPGA via direct memory access.

[0210] Clause 48. The audio system of any of clauses 36-47, wherein the one or more antennas include a plurality of antennas, and wherein the processor of the MCR is further configured to cause two or more of the plurality of antennas to be tuned to listen for audio data associated with a single audio channel.

[0211] Clause 49. An audio system of any of clauses 36-48, wherein the available spectrum is determined based on one or more digital license keys, wherein the one or more digital license keys indicate at least one of the following: one or more transmit modes to be adapted, one or more modulation schemes to be adapted, an antenna array configuration to be adapted, a number of antennas to be adapted, one or more audio channel types to be adapted, a number of channels to be adapted, a transmit capacity to be adapted, or a number of upstream wireless audio devices to be adapted.

[0212] Clause 50. The audio system of any of clauses 36-49, wherein the processor of the MCR is configured to select the FPGA image based on at least one digital license key of the one or more digital license keys stored at the memory of the MCR.

[0213] Clause 51. The audio system of any of clauses 36-50, wherein the MCR is configured to accommodate a plurality of different transmission modes.

[0214] Clause 52. The audio system of any of clauses 36-51, wherein the MCR is configured to accommodate one or more of: different encoding schemes, different audio channel types, or different audio channel bandwidths.

[0215] Clause 53. The audio system of any of clauses 36-52, wherein the MCR is configured to perform one or more different radio functions or digital signal processing functions using a software defined radio (SDR) module, a software defined integrated circuit or IC.

[0216] Clause 54. An audio system comprising a multi-channel receiver (MCR), the multi-channel receiver comprising at least one processor, at least one memory storing program code, and a field programmable gate array (FPGA), wherein the at least one memory and program code, together with the at least one processor, are configured to cause the MCR to at least: determine an audio channel configuration for the MCR based on one or more digital license keys, wherein the audio channel configuration includes an indication of a number of audio channels that the MCR is to be configured to accommodate, and use the at least one processor to cause the FPGA to configure or reconfigure multiple radio frequency receivers or antenna arrays of the MCR so that the MCR is configured to accommodate the number of audio channels indicated by the one or more digital license keys.

[0217] Clause 55. A method comprising providing a multi-channel receiver (MCR) configured to receive audio data from one or more antennas and / or one or more wireless audio transmitters, the MCR comprising: a processor configured to operate one or more software defined radio functions; a memory in operable communication with the processor, the memory storing program code; and an integrated circuit (IC) in operable communication with the processor.

[0218] Clause 56. The method of clause 55 further includes using the MCR to enable at least a portion of the IC to scan available spectrum; determining one or more of the following: antenna configuration, transmission mode, audio channel allocation, or the number of audio channels to be adapted by the MCR to improve the use of the available spectrum; and using a processor to provide configuration information to the IC so that the IC can configure or reconfigure at least one antenna in the antenna or the audio channel allocation based on the antenna configuration, transmission mode, or the number of audio channels to be adapted by the MCR.

[0219] Clause 57. The method of any of clauses 55-56, further comprising: sending information about available spectrum to a network switch using the MCR; and receiving configuration information from the network switch at the MCR in response to sending the information about available spectrum.

[0220] Clause 58. The method of any of clauses 55-57, further comprising: receiving information about available spectrum from the MCR at a network switch; generating configuration information; and sending the configuration information from the network switch to the MCR.

[0221] Clause 59. The method of any of clauses 55-58, wherein scanning of the available spectrum is performed by only a portion of the one or more antennas.

[0222] Clause 60. The method of any of clauses 55-59, wherein the scanning of the available spectrum is performed within a specific subband previously assigned to the MCR.

[0223] Clause 61. The method of any of clauses 55-60, further comprising: determining configuration information based at least on an available frequency spectrum and current audio channel allocation information.

[0224] Clause 62. The method of any of clauses 55-61, further comprising: assigning or reassigning at least one of the one or more wireless audio transmitters from the first audio channel to the second audio channel using the MCR based at least on the configuration information.

[0225] Clause 63. The method of any of clauses 55-62, wherein the IC comprises one of: a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an application specific standard product (ASSP), an application specific instruction set processor (ASIP), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a multi-project chip (MPC), or a system on a chip (SoC).

[0226] Clause 64. The method of any of clauses 55-63, wherein the IC comprises an FPGA and the configuration information comprises an FPGA image.

[0227] Clause 65. The method of any of clauses 55-64, wherein the FPGA image is operable to cause the FPGA to configure or reconfigure the one or more antennas, adapt the FPGA to the one or more transmit modes, or reconfigure the MCR to accommodate the number of audio channels.

[0228] Clause 66. The method of any of clauses 55-65, wherein the FPGA image is provided to the FPGA via direct memory access.

[0229] Clause 67. The method of any of clauses 55-66, wherein the one or more antennas include a plurality of antennas, and wherein the processor of the MCR is further configured to cause two or more of the plurality of antennas to be tuned to listen for audio data associated with a single audio channel.

[0230] Clause 68. A method of any of clauses 55-67, wherein the available spectrum is determined based on one or more digital license keys, wherein the one or more digital license keys indicate at least one of the following: one or more transmit modes to be adapted, one or more modulation schemes to be adapted, an antenna array configuration to be adapted, a number of antennas to be adapted, one or more audio channel types to be adapted, a number of channels to be adapted, a transmit capacity to be adapted, or a number of upstream wireless audio devices to be adapted.

[0231] Clause 69. The method of any of clauses 55-68, further comprising: using the MCR, selecting the FPGA image based on at least one digital license key of the one or more digital license keys stored at a memory of the MCR.

[0232] Clause 70. The method of any one of clauses 55-69 further comprises: configuring the MCR to accommodate a plurality of different transmission modes.

[0233] Clause 71. The method of any of clauses 55-70, further comprising: configuring the MCR to accommodate one or more of: different encoding schemes, different audio channel types, or different audio channel bandwidths.

[0234] Clause 72. The method of any of clauses 55-71, further comprising: configuring the MCR to perform one or more different radio functions or digital signal processing functions using a software defined radio (SDR) module, a software defined integrated circuit or IC.

[0235] Clause 73. A method comprising providing a multi-channel receiver (MCR) configured to receive audio data from one or more antennas and / or one or more wireless audio transmitters, the MCR comprising a processor configured to operate one or more software defined radio functions; a memory in operable communication with the processor, the memory storing program code; and an integrated circuit (IC) in operable communication with the processor.

[0236] Clause 74. The method of clause 73 further includes using the MCR to enable at least a portion of the multiple audio channels to scan the available spectrum; determining one or more of the following: antenna configuration, transmission mode, audio channel allocation, or the number of audio channels that the MCR is to adapt to improve the use of the available spectrum; and using the processor to provide configuration information to the IC so that the IC can configure or reconfigure at least one of the antennas based on the antenna configuration, transmission mode, or the number of audio channels that the MCR is to adapt to.

[0237] Clause 75. The method of any of clauses 73-74, further comprising: sending information about available spectrum to a network switch using the MCR; and receiving configuration information from the network switch at the MCR in response to sending the information about available spectrum.

[0238] Clause 76. The method of any of clauses 73-75, further comprising: receiving information about available spectrum from the MCR at the network switch; generating configuration information; and sending the configuration information from the network switch to the MCR.

[0239] Clause 77. The method of any of clauses 73-76, wherein scanning of the available spectrum is performed by only a portion of the one or more antennas.

[0240] Clause 78. The method of any of clauses 73-77, wherein the scanning of the available spectrum is performed within a specific subband previously assigned to the MCR.

[0241] Clause 79. The method of any of clauses 73-78, further comprising: determining configuration information based at least on an available spectrum and current audio channel allocation information.

[0242] Clause 80. The method of any of clauses 73-79, further comprising: assigning or reassigning at least one of the one or more wireless audio transmitters from a first audio channel to a second audio channel using the MCR based at least on the configuration information.

[0243] Clause 81. The method of any of clauses 73-80, wherein the IC comprises one of: a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an application specific standard product (ASSP), an application specific instruction set processor (ASIP), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a multi-project chip (MPC), or a system on a chip (SoC).

[0244] Clause 82. The method of any of clauses 73-81, wherein the IC comprises an FPGA and the configuration information comprises an FPGA image.

[0245] Clause 83. The method of any of clauses 73-82, wherein the FPGA image is operable to cause the FPGA to configure or reconfigure the one or more antennas, adapt the FPGA to the one or more transmit modes, or reconfigure the MCR to accommodate the number of audio channels.

[0246] Clause 84. The method of any of clauses 73-83, wherein the FPGA image is provided to the FPGA via direct memory access.

[0247] Clause 85. The method of any of clauses 73-84, wherein the one or more antennas include a plurality of antennas, and wherein the processor of the MCR is further configured to cause two or more of the plurality of antennas to be tuned to listen for audio data associated with a single audio channel.

[0248] Clause 86. A method of any of clauses 73 to 85, wherein the available spectrum is determined based on one or more digital license keys, wherein the one or more digital license keys indicate at least one of the following: one or more transmit modes to be adapted, one or more modulation schemes to be adapted, an antenna array configuration to be adapted, a number of antennas to be adapted, one or more audio channel types to be adapted, the number of channels to be adapted, the transmit capacity to be adapted, or the number of upstream wireless audio devices to be adapted.

[0249] Clause 87. The method of any of clauses 73-86, further comprising: using the MCR, selecting the FPGA image based on at least one digital license key of the one or more digital license keys stored at a memory of the MCR.

[0250] Clause 88. The method of any of clauses 73-87, further comprising: configuring the MCR to accommodate a plurality of different transmission modes.

[0251] Clause 89. The method of any of clauses 73-88, further comprising: configuring the MCR to accommodate one or more of: different encoding schemes, different audio channel types, or different audio channel bandwidths.

[0252] Clause 90. The method of any of clauses 73-89, further comprising: configuring the MCR to perform one or more different radio functions or digital signal processing functions using a software defined radio (SDR) module, a software defined integrated circuit or IC.

[0253] Item 91. An audio system comprising a multi-channel receiver (MCR) configured to receive audio data, the MCR comprising a field programmable gate array (FPGA) and one or more antennas, the MCR being configured at least to: determine or define multiple audio channels for receiving audio; configure the one or more antennas to receive audio in a first portion of the multiple audio channels; scan an available spectrum using a second portion of the multiple audio channels; determine configuration information for the MCR based at least on the available spectrum, wherein the configuration information comprises one or more of: an antenna mode, a transmit mode, or a number of audio channels to be adapted by the MCR to improve use of the available spectrum; and configure the one or more antennas based on the configuration information, or apply software-defined radio features of the MCR based on the configuration information.

[0254] Clause 92. The audio system of clause 91, wherein the FPGA is configured to select a particular FPGA image from a set of FPGA images based on the available frequency spectrum.

[0255] Clause 93. The audio system of any of clauses 91-92, wherein the MCR is configured to perform one or more different radio functions or digital signal processing functions using a software defined radio (SDR) module, a software defined integrated circuit, or an FPGA.

[0256] Clause 94. The audio system of any of clauses 91-93, further comprising a network switch that wirelessly communicates with the MCR, wherein the memory and program code of the MCR are also configured together with the processor and the IC to cause the MCR to at least: send information about available spectrum to the network switch; and receive configuration information from the network switch in response to sending the information about the available spectrum, and wherein the network switch is configured to at least: receive information about available spectrum from the MCR; generate configuration information; and send configuration information to the MCR.

[0257] Clause 95. The audio system of any of clauses 91-94, wherein scanning of the available spectrum is performed by only a portion of the one or more antennas.

[0258] Clause 96. The audio system of any of clauses 91-95, wherein the scanning of the available spectrum is performed within a specific sub-band previously assigned to the MCR.

[0259] Clause 97. The audio system of any of clauses 91-96, wherein the memory and program code of the MCR are further configured with the processor and the IC to cause the MCR to at least: determine configuration information based at least on an available frequency spectrum and current audio channel allocation information.

[0260] Clause 98. The audio system of any of clauses 91-97, wherein the MCR is configured to assign or reassign at least one of the one or more wireless audio transmitters from a first audio channel to a second audio channel based at least on the configuration information.

[0261] Clause 99. An audio system of any of clauses 91-98, wherein the IC comprises one of: a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an application specific standard product (ASSP), an application specific instruction set processor (ASIP), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a multi-project chip (MPC), or a system on a chip (SoC).

[0262] Clause 100. The audio system of any of clauses 91-99, wherein the IC comprises an FPGA and the configuration information comprises an FPGA image.

[0263] Clause 101. The audio system of any of clauses 91-100, wherein the FPGA image is operable to cause the FPGA to configure or reconfigure the one or more antennas, adapt the FPGA to the one or more transmit modes, or reconfigure the MCR to accommodate the number of audio channels.

[0264] Clause 102. The audio system of any of clauses 91-101, wherein the FPGA image is provided to the FPGA via direct memory access.

[0265] Clause 103. The audio system of any of clauses 91-102, wherein the one or more antennas include a plurality of antennas, and wherein the processor of the MCR is further configured to cause two or more of the plurality of antennas to be tuned to listen for audio data associated with a single audio channel.

[0266] Clause 104. An audio system of any of clauses 91-103, wherein the available spectrum is determined based on one or more digital license keys, wherein the one or more digital license keys indicate at least one of: one or more transmit modes to be adapted, one or more modulation schemes to be adapted, an antenna array configuration to be adapted, a number of antennas to be adapted, one or more audio channel types to be adapted, a number of channels to be adapted, a transmit capacity to be adapted, or a number of upstream wireless audio devices to be adapted.

[0267] Clause 105. The audio system of any of clauses 91-104, wherein the processor of the MCR is configured to select the FPGA image based on at least one of the one or more digital license keys stored at the memory of the MCR.

[0268] Clause 106. The audio system of any of clauses 91-105, wherein the MCR is configured to accommodate a plurality of different transmission modes.

[0269] Clause 107. The audio system of any of clauses 91-106, wherein the MCR is configured to accommodate one or more of: different encoding schemes, different audio channel types, or different audio channel bandwidths.

[0270] Clause 108. The audio system of any of clauses 91-107, wherein the MCR is configured to perform one or more different radio functions or digital signal processing functions using a software defined radio (SDR) module, a software defined integrated circuit or IC.

[0271] Clause 109. An audio system comprising a multi-channel receiver (MCR), the MCR comprising at least one processor, at least one memory storing program code, and a field programmable gate array (FPGA), wherein the at least one memory and program code, together with the at least one processor, are configured to cause the MCR to at least: determine an audio channel configuration for the MCR based on one or more digital license keys, wherein the audio channel configuration includes an indication of a number of audio channels that the MCR is to be configured to accommodate, and using the at least one processor, cause the FPGA to configure or reconfigure multiple radio frequency receivers or antenna arrays of the MCR so that the MCR is configured to accommodate the number of audio channels indicated by the one or more digital license keys.

[0272] Clause 110. An audio receiver comprising: a processor; a memory in operable communication with the processor, the memory storing program code and configured to store one or more digital license keys; a field programmable gate array in operable communication with the processor; a software defined integrated circuit in operable communication with the field programmable gate array; a plurality of radio frequency receivers in operable communication with the field programmable gate array and the processor; and an antenna array in operable communication with the plurality of radio frequency receivers, wherein the memory and the program code together with the processor are configured to: determine an audio channel configuration for the audio receiver based on the one or more digital license keys, wherein the audio channel configuration includes an indication of a number of audio channels to which the audio receiver is to be configured, and use at least the processor, the field programmable gate array, and the software defined integrated circuit to reconfigure the plurality of radio frequency receivers or the antenna array so that the audio receiver is configured to accommodate the number of audio channels indicated by the one or more digital license keys.

[0273] Clause 111. A method comprising: using at least a processor, determining an audio channel configuration for an audio receiver based on one or more digital license keys, wherein the audio channel configuration includes an indication of a number of audio channels that the audio receiver is to be configured to accommodate, and using at least the processor, a field programmable gate array, and a software defined integrated circuit to reconfigure multiple radio frequency receivers or antenna arrays of the audio receiver so that the audio receiver is configured to accommodate the number of audio channels indicated by the one or more digital license keys.

[0274] Item 112. A multi-channel receiver (MCR) configured to receive audio data from one or more wireless audio transmitters, the MCR comprising: a processor configured to operate one or more software defined radio functions; a memory in operable communication with the processor, the memory storing program code; and an integrated circuit (IC) in operable communication with the processor, wherein the memory and the program code, together with the processor and the IC, are configured to cause the MCR to at least: cause one or more antennas to scan an available spectrum; determine an antenna configuration for the MCR, one or more transmit modes to be adapted by the MCR, or one of a number of audio channels to be adapted by the MCR to improve use of the available spectrum; and provide configuration information to the IC using the processor.

[0275] Clause 113. The MCR of Clause 112, wherein the IC comprises one of the following: a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an application specific standard product (ASSP), an application specific instruction set processor (ASIP), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a multi-project chip (MPC), or a system on a chip (SoC).

[0276] Clause 114. The MCR of any of clauses 112-113, wherein the IC includes an FPGA and the configuration information includes an FPGA image.

[0277] Clause 115. The MCR of any of clauses 112-114, wherein the FPGA image is operable to cause the FPGA to configure or reconfigure the one or more antennas, to adapt the FPGA to the one or more transmit modes, or to reconfigure the MCR to accommodate the number of audio channels.

[0278] Clause 116. The MCR of any of clauses 112-115, wherein the memory and program code together with the processor and IC are configured to cause the MCR to at least: cause the one or more wireless audio transmitters to be configured for the one or more transmission modes; or cause the one or more wireless audio transmitters to be assigned to the number of audio channels to which the MCR is reconfigured to accommodate.

[0279] Clause 117. The MCR of any of clauses 112-116, further comprising: a plurality of RF receivers in operable communication with the IC and the processor; and an antenna array in operable communication with the plurality of RF receivers or the processor.

[0280] Clause 118. The MCR of any of clauses 112-117, wherein the processor is further configured to cause two or more antennas of the antenna array to be tuned to listen for audio data associated with a single audio channel.

[0281] Clause 119. The MCR of any of clauses 112-118, wherein the memory is further configured to store one or more digital license keys.

[0282] Clause 120. An MCR of any of clauses 112-119, wherein the one or more digital license keys indicate at least one of: one or more transmit modes to be adapted, one or more modulation schemes to be adapted, an antenna array configuration to be adapted, a number of antennas to be adapted, one or more audio channel types to be adapted, a number of channels to be adapted, a transmit capacity to be adapted, or a number of upstream wireless audio devices to be adapted.

[0283] Clause 121. The MCR of any of clauses 112-120, wherein the processor is configured to select the FPGA image based on at least one digital license key of the one or more digital license keys stored at the memory.

[0284] Clause 122. The MCR of any of clauses 112-121, wherein the MCR is configured to accommodate a plurality of different transmission modes.

[0285] Clause 123. The MCR of any of clauses 112-122, wherein the MCR is configured to accommodate a plurality of different encoding schemes.

[0286] Clause 124. The MCR of any of clauses 112-123, wherein the MCR is configured to accommodate a plurality of different audio channel types.

[0287] Clause 125. The MCR of any of clauses 112-124, wherein the MCR is configured to accommodate multiple different audio channel bandwidths.

[0288] Clause 126. The MCR of any of clauses 112-125, wherein the MCR is configured to perform one or more different radio functions or digital signal processing functions using a software defined radio (SDR) module, a software defined integrated circuit or IC.

[0289] Clause 127. The MCR of any of clauses 112-126, wherein the memory and the program code are further configured with the processor and the IC to cause the MCR to at least: facilitate deployment of multiple wireless RF transmitters in the audio system based on available spectrum and the FPGA image.

[0290] Item 128. An audio system comprising: one or more wireless audio transmitters configured to transmit audio data; one or more antennas configured to receive audio data transmitted by the one or more wireless audio transmitters; and a multi-channel receiver (MCR) configured to receive audio data from the one or more antennas, the MCR comprising: a processor configured to operate one or more software defined radio functions; a memory in operable communication with the processor, the memory storing program code; and an integrated circuit (IC) in operable communication with the processor, wherein the memory and the program code, together with the processor and the IC, are configured to cause the MCR to at least: cause the one or more antennas to scan an available spectrum; determine one of an antenna configuration for the MCR, one or more transmit modes to be adapted by the MCR, or a number of audio channels to be adapted by the MCR in order to improve use of the available spectrum; and provide configuration information to the IC using the processor.

[0291] Clause 129. The audio system of clause 128, wherein the IC comprises one of the following: a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an application specific standard product (ASSP), an application specific instruction set processor (ASIP), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a multi-project chip (MPC), or a system on a chip (SoC).

[0292] Clause 130. The audio system of any of clauses 128-129, wherein the IC includes an FPGA and the configuration information includes an FPGA image.

[0293] Clause 131. The audio system of any of clauses 128-130, wherein the FPGA image is operable to cause the FPGA to configure or reconfigure the one or more antennas, adapt the FPGA to the one or more transmit modes, or reconfigure the MCR to accommodate the number of audio channels.

[0294] Clause 132. The audio system of any of clauses 128-131, wherein the FPGA image is provided to the FPGA via direct memory access.

[0295] Clause 133. An audio system of any of clauses 128-132, wherein the memory and program code of the MCR, together with the processor and IC of the MCR, are configured to cause the MCR to at least: cause the one or more wireless audio transmitters to be configured for the one or more transmission modes; or cause the one or more wireless audio transmitters to be assigned to the number of audio channels to which the MCR is reconfigured to accommodate.

[0296] Clause 134. The audio system of any of clauses 128-133, wherein the MCR further comprises: a plurality of radio frequency receivers in operable communication with the IC and the processor.

[0297] Clause 135. The audio system of any of clauses 128-134, wherein the one or more antennas include a plurality of antennas, and wherein the processor of the MCR is further configured to cause two or more of the plurality of antennas to be tuned to listen for audio data associated with a single audio channel.

[0298] Clause 136. The audio system of any of clauses 128-135, wherein the memory of the MCR is further configured to store one or more digital license keys.

[0299] Clause 137. An audio system of any of clauses 128-136, wherein the one or more digital license keys indicate at least one of: one or more transmit modes to be adapted, one or more modulation schemes to be adapted, an antenna array configuration to be adapted, the number of antennas to be adapted, one or more audio channel types to be adapted, the number of channels to be adapted, the transmit capacity to be adapted, or the number of upstream wireless audio devices to be adapted.

[0300] Clause 138. The audio system of any of clauses 128-137, wherein the processor of the MCR is configured to select the FPGA image based on at least one of the one or more digital license keys stored at the memory of the MCR.

[0301] Clause 139. The audio system of any of clauses 128-138, wherein the MCR is configured to accommodate a plurality of different transmission modes.

[0302] Clause 140. The audio system of any of clauses 128-139, wherein the MCR is configured to accommodate a plurality of different encoding schemes.

[0303] Clause 141. The audio system of any of clauses 128-140, wherein the MCR is configured to accommodate a plurality of different audio channel types.

[0304] Clause 142. The audio system of any of clauses 128-141, wherein the MCR is configured to accommodate multiple different audio channel bandwidths.

[0305] Clause 143. The audio system of any of clauses 128-142, wherein the MCR is configured to perform one or more different radio functions or digital signal processing functions using a software defined radio (SDR) module, a software defined integrated circuit or IC.

[0306] Clause 144. The audio system of any of clauses 128-143, wherein the memory of the MCR and the program code of the MCR are further configured together with the processor of the MCR and the IC of the MCR to cause the MCR to at least: facilitate deployment of multiple wireless RF transmitters in the audio system based on available spectrum and FPGA images.

[0307] Item 145. A method comprising: causing one or more antennas of a wireless audio system to scan an available spectrum; determining one of an antenna configuration for a multi-channel receiver (MCR), one or more transmit modes to be adapted by the MCR, or a number of audio channels to be adapted by the MCR to improve utilization of the available spectrum; providing a field programmable gate array (FPGA) of the MCR with an FPGA image, the FPGA image being operable to cause the FPGA to configure or reconfigure the one or more antennas according to the antenna configuration, to adapt the FPGA to the one or more transmit modes, or to reconfigure the MCR to accommodate the number of audio channels.

[0308] Clause 146. The method of clause 145, wherein the FPGA image is provided to the FPGA via direct memory access.

[0309] Clause 147. The method of any of clauses 145-146 further includes: causing one or more wireless audio transmitters in the wireless audio system to be configured for the one or more transmission modes; or causing the one or more wireless audio transmitters to be assigned to the number of audio channels to which the MCR is reconfigured to adapt.

[0310] Clause 148. The method of any of clauses 145-147, further comprising: storing in a memory of the MCR one or more digital license keys associated with one or more users of the audio system.

[0311] Clause 149. A method of any of clauses 145-148, wherein the one or more digital license keys indicate at least one of: one or more transmit modes to be adapted, one or more modulation schemes to be adapted, an antenna array configuration to be adapted, the number of antennas to be adapted, one or more audio channel types to be adapted, the number of channels to be adapted, the transmit capacity to be adapted, or the number of upstream wireless audio devices to be adapted.

[0312] Clause 150. The method of any of clauses 145-149, further comprising: using the MCR, selecting the FPGA image based on at least one digital license key of the one or more digital license keys stored at a memory of the MCR.

[0313] Clause 151. The method of any of clauses 145-150, wherein the MCR is configured to accommodate a plurality of different transmission modes.

[0314] Clause 152. The method of any of clauses 145-151, wherein the MCR is configured to accommodate a plurality of different encoding schemes.

[0315] Clause 153. The method of any of clauses 145-152, wherein the MCR is configured to accommodate a plurality of different audio channel types.

[0316] Clause 154. The method of any of clauses 145-153, wherein the MCR is configured to accommodate multiple different audio channel bandwidths.

[0317] Clause 155. The method of any of clauses 145-154, wherein the MCR is configured to perform one or more different radio functions or digital signal processing functions using a software defined radio (SDR) module, a software defined integrated circuit, or an FPGA.

[0318] Clause 156. The method of any of clauses 145-155, further comprising: facilitating deployment of multiple wireless RF transmitters in the audio system based on available spectrum and the FPGA image.

[0319] Item 157. An audio system comprising: components for causing at least a portion of a plurality of audio channels to scan an available spectrum; components for determining one or more of: an antenna configuration, a transmit mode, an audio channel allocation, or a number of audio channels to be adapted to improve use of the available spectrum; components for providing configuration information; and components for causing configuration or reconfiguration of at least one antenna, a software defined radio element, or an audio channel allocation based on the antenna configuration, the transmit mode, or the number of audio channels to be adapted.

[0320] Clause 158. The audio system of clause 157, further comprising: means for sending information about available spectrum to a network switch using the MCR; and means for receiving configuration information from the network switch at the MCR in response to sending the information about available spectrum.

[0321] Clause 159. The audio system of any of clauses 157-158, further comprising: means for receiving information about available spectrum from the MCR at a network switch; and means for generating configuration information; and sending the configuration information from the network switch to the MCR.

[0322] Clause 160. The audio system of any of clauses 157-159, wherein scanning of the available spectrum is performed by only a portion of the one or more antennas.

[0323] Clause 161. The audio system of any of clauses 157-160, wherein the scanning of the available spectrum is performed within a specific sub-band previously assigned to the MCR.

[0324] Clause 162. The audio system of any of clauses 157-161, further comprising: means for determining configuration information based at least on an available frequency spectrum and current audio channel allocation information.

[0325] Clause 163. The audio system of any of clauses 157-162, further comprising: means for assigning or reassigning at least one of the one or more wireless audio transmitters from the first audio channel to the second audio channel using the MCR based at least on the configuration information.

[0326] Clause 164. An audio system of any of clauses 157-163, wherein the IC comprises one of: a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an application specific standard product (ASSP), an application specific instruction set processor (ASIP), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a multi-project chip (MPC), or a system on a chip (SoC).

[0327] Clause 165. The audio system of any of clauses 157-164, wherein the IC comprises an FPGA and the configuration information comprises an FPGA image.

[0328] Clause 166. The audio system of any of clauses 157-165, wherein the FPGA image is operable to cause the FPGA to configure or reconfigure the one or more antennas, adapt the FPGA to the one or more transmit modes, or reconfigure the MCR to accommodate the number of audio channels.

[0329] Clause 167. The audio system of any of clauses 157-166, wherein the FPGA image is provided to the FPGA via direct memory access.

[0330] Clause 168. The audio system of any of clauses 157-167, wherein the one or more antennas include a plurality of antennas, and wherein the processor of the MCR is further configured to cause two or more of the plurality of antennas to be tuned to listen for audio data associated with a single audio channel.

[0331] Clause 169. An audio system of any of clauses 157-168, wherein the available spectrum is determined based on one or more digital license keys, wherein the one or more digital license keys indicate at least one of: one or more transmit modes to be adapted, one or more modulation schemes to be adapted, an antenna array configuration to be adapted, a number of antennas to be adapted, one or more audio channel types to be adapted, a number of channels to be adapted, a transmit capacity to be adapted, or a number of upstream wireless audio devices to be adapted.

[0332] Clause 170. The audio system of any of clauses 157-169, further comprising: means for selecting, using the MCR, the FPGA image based on at least one of the one or more digital license keys stored at a memory of the MCR.

[0333] Clause 171. The audio system of any of clauses 157-170, further comprising: components for configuring the MCR to accommodate multiple different transmission modes.

[0334] Clause 172. The audio system of any of clauses 157-171, further comprising: components for configuring the MCR to accommodate one or more of: different encoding schemes, different audio channel types, or different audio channel bandwidths.

[0335] Clause 173. The audio system of any of clauses 157-172, further comprising: means for configuring the MCR to perform one or more different radio functions or digital signal processing functions using a software defined radio (SDR) module, a software defined integrated circuit or IC.

[0336] Clause 174. An audio system comprising: components for determining an audio channel configuration for an audio receiver based on one or more digital license keys, wherein the audio channel configuration includes an indication of a number of audio channels that the audio receiver is to be configured to accommodate, and using at least a processor, a field programmable gate array, and a software-defined integrated circuit to reconfigure multiple radio frequency receivers or antenna arrays of the audio receiver so that the audio receiver is configured to accommodate the number of audio channels indicated by the one or more digital license keys.

[0337] Item 175. An audio system comprising: components for causing one or more antennas of a wireless audio system to scan an available spectrum; components for determining one of an antenna configuration for a multi-channel receiver (MCR), one or more transmit modes to be adapted by the MCR, or a number of audio channels to be adapted by the MCR to improve utilization of the available spectrum; components for providing a field programmable gate array (FPGA) of the MCR with an FPGA image, the FPGA image being operable to cause the FPGA to configure or reconfigure the one or more antennas according to the antenna configuration, to adapt the FPGA to the one or more transmit modes, or to reconfigure the MCR to accommodate the number of audio channels.

[0338] Clause 176. The audio system of clause 175, wherein the FPGA image is provided to the FPGA via direct memory access.

[0339] Clause 177. The audio system of any of clauses 175-176 further includes: causing one or more wireless audio transmitters in the wireless audio system to be configured for the one or more transmission modes; or causing the one or more wireless audio transmitters to be assigned to the number of audio channels to which the MCR is reconfigured to adapt.

[0340] Clause 178. The audio system of any of clauses 175-177, further comprising: storing in a memory of the MCR one or more digital license keys associated with one or more users of the audio system.

[0341] Clause 179. An audio system of any of clauses 175-178, wherein the one or more digital license keys indicate at least one of: one or more transmit modes to be adapted, one or more modulation schemes to be adapted, an antenna array configuration to be adapted, the number of antennas to be adapted, one or more audio channel types to be adapted, the number of channels to be adapted, the transmit capacity to be adapted, or the number of upstream wireless audio devices to be adapted.

[0342] Clause 180. The audio system of any of clauses 175-179, further comprising: using the MCR, selecting the FPGA image based on at least one of the one or more digital license keys stored at a memory of the MCR.

[0343] Clause 181. The audio system of any of clauses 175-180, wherein the MCR is configured to accommodate a plurality of different transmission modes.

[0344] Clause 182. The audio system of any of clauses 175-181, wherein the MCR is configured to accommodate a plurality of different encoding schemes.

[0345] Clause 183. The audio system of any of clauses 175-182, wherein the MCR is configured to accommodate a plurality of different audio channel types.

[0346] Clause 184. The audio system of any of clauses 175-183, wherein the MCR is configured to accommodate multiple different audio channel bandwidths.

[0347] Clause 185. The audio system of any of clauses 175-184, wherein the MCR is configured to perform one or more different radio functions or digital signal processing functions using a software defined radio (SDR) module, a software defined integrated circuit, or an FPGA.

[0348] Clause 186. The audio system of any of clauses 175-185, further comprising: facilitating deployment of multiple wireless RF transmitters in the audio system based on available spectrum and the FPGA image.

[0349] Clause 187. A computing device comprising: one or more processors; and a memory storing instructions that, when executed, cause the computing device to perform the method of any of clauses 55-90, 111, or 145-156.

[0350] Clause 188. A system comprising: one or more computing devices configured to perform the method of any of clauses 55-90, 111, or 145-156.

[0351] Clause 189. A computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause performance of the method of any of clauses 55-90, 111, or 145-156.

Claims

1. An audio system, comprising: one or more wireless audio transmitters configured to transmit audio data; as well as one or more antennas configured to receive audio data transmitted by the one or more wireless audio transmitters; as well as a multi-channel receiver (MCR) configured to receive audio data from the one or more antennas, the MCR comprising: a processor configured to operate one or more software defined radio functions; a memory in operable communication with the processor, the memory storing program code; and an integrated circuit (IC) in operable communication with the processor, wherein the memory and the program code together with the processor are configured to cause the MCR to at least: causing at least a portion of the IC to scan an available frequency spectrum using at least one of the one or more antennas; determining one or more of: an antenna configuration, a transmit mode, an audio channel allocation, or a number of audio channels to be accommodated by the MCR to improve use of available spectrum; and The processor is used to provide configuration information to the IC to enable the IC to cause configuration or reconfiguration of at least one of the antennas based on antenna configuration, transmit mode, or number of audio channels to be accommodated by the MCR.

2. The audio system of claim 1, further comprising: A network switch that communicates wirelessly with the MCR, The memory and program code of the MCR are also configured together with the processor and the IC to cause the MCR to at least: sending information about available spectrum to a network switch; and receiving configuration information from a network switch in response to sending the information about available spectrum, and The network switch is configured to at least: receiving information about available spectrum from the MCR; generating configuration information; and Send configuration information to MCR.

3. The audio system of claim 1, wherein scanning of the available frequency spectrum is performed by only a portion of the one or more antennas.

4. The audio system of claim 1, wherein the scanning of the available spectrum is performed within a specific sub-band previously assigned to the MCR.

5. The audio system of claim 1 , wherein the memory and program code of the MCR are further configured with the processor and the IC to cause the MCR to at least: Configuration information is determined based at least on the available frequency spectrum and the current audio channel allocation information.

6. The audio system of claim 1, wherein the MCR is configured to assign or reassign at least one of the one or more wireless audio transmitters from a first audio channel to a second audio channel based at least on the configuration information.

7. The audio system of claim 1 , wherein the memory and program code together with the processor are configured to further cause the MCR to at least: An initial audio channel allocation for a plurality of audio channels within a first candidate channelized portion of an available frequency spectrum is determined.

8. The audio system of claim 7, wherein the memory and program code together with the processor are configured to further cause the MCR to at least: receiving digitized audio associated with at least one audio channel of the plurality of audio channels within one or more audio payload carrying sub-bands of a first candidate channelized portion of an available spectrum; and Based on the initial audio channel allocation, the one or more audio payload carrying sub-bands within a first candidate channelized portion of the available spectrum are identified.

9. The audio system of claim 8, wherein the memory and program code together with the processor are configured to further cause the MCR to at least: causing at least a portion of the IC to perform a second scan of available frequency spectrum using at least one of the one or more antennas; and determining, based at least on the second scan of the available spectrum, a subsequent audio channel assignment to the plurality of audio channels within a first candidate channelized portion of the available spectrum or within a second candidate channelized portion of the available spectrum, Wherein the MCR is configured to cause at least the portion of the IC to perform the second scan of the available spectrum while receiving digitized audio, identifying the one or more audio payload carrying subbands within the first candidate channelized portion of the available spectrum, and / or demodulating the digitized audio associated with the at least one audio channel of the plurality of audio channels.

10. The audio system of claim 1, wherein the IC comprises an FPGA and the configuration information comprises an FPGA image, wherein the FPGA image is operable to cause the FPGA to configure or reconfigure the one or more antennas, to adapt the FPGA to the one or more transmit modes, or to reconfigure the MCR to accommodate the number of audio channels.

11. The audio system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more antennas include a plurality of antennas, and wherein the processor of the MCR is further configured to cause two or more of the plurality of antennas to be tuned to listen to audio data of a single audio channel.

12. An audio system as described in claim 1, wherein the available spectrum is determined based on one or more digital license keys, wherein the one or more digital license keys indicate at least one of the following: one or more transmission modes to be adapted, one or more modulation schemes to be adapted, an antenna array configuration to be adapted, a number of antennas to be adapted, one or more audio channel types to be adapted, a number of channels to be adapted, a transmission capacity to be adapted, or a number of upstream wireless audio devices to be adapted.

13. The audio system of claim 10, wherein the processor of the MCR is configured to select the FPGA image based on at least one of the one or more digital license keys stored at the memory of the MCR.

14. The audio system of claim 1, wherein the MCR is configured to accommodate a plurality of different transmit modes.

15. The audio system of claim 1, wherein the MCR is configured to accommodate one or more of: different encoding schemes, different audio channel types, or different audio channel bandwidths.

16. The audio system of claim 1, wherein the MCR is configured to perform one or more different radio functions or digital signal processing functions using a software defined radio (SDR) module, a software defined integrated circuit or IC.

17. An audio system comprising: A multi-channel receiver (MCR) configured to receive audio data, the MCR comprising a field programmable gate array (FPGA) and one or more antennas, the MCR being configured at least to: determining or defining a plurality of audio channels for receiving audio; configuring the one or more antennas to receive audio in at least a portion of the plurality of audio channels; scanning an available frequency spectrum using at least a portion of the FPGA; determining configuration information for the MCR based at least on the available spectrum, wherein the configuration information comprises one or more of: an antenna mode, a transmit mode, or a number of audio channels to be adapted by the MCR to improve use of the available spectrum; and The one or more antennas are configured based on the configuration information, or a software defined radio feature of the MCR is applied based on the configuration information.

18. The audio system of claim 17, wherein the FPGA is configured to select a particular FPGA image from a group of FPGA images based on the available frequency spectrum.

19. The audio system of claim 17, wherein the MCR is configured to perform one or more of the different radio functions or digital signal processing functions using a software defined radio (SDR) module, a software defined integrated circuit, or an FPGA.

20. An audio system comprising: A multi-channel receiver (MCR) comprising at least one processor, at least one memory storing program code, and a field programmable gate array (FPGA), wherein the at least one memory and the program code together with the at least one processor are configured to cause the MCR to at least: determining an audio channel configuration for the MCR based on the one or more digital license keys, wherein the audio channel configuration includes an indication of a number of audio channels that the MCR is to be configured to accommodate, and Using at least the processor, the FPGA is caused to configure or reconfigure a plurality of radio frequency receivers or antenna arrays of the MCR such that the MCR is configured to accommodate the number of audio channels indicated by the one or more digital license keys.

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