Audio Render Driver Modification for Echo-Free Sound Sharing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current web conferencing systems face challenges in sharing MPEG-4 videos, requiring separate implementation of streaming devices and players, and suffer from acoustic echo issues when capturing and sharing audio data, leading to distortion.
Innovation Solution
A sound sharing apparatus and method that changes the default audio render driver from a first to a second driver, captures audio data, and mixes it with voice data from a remote machine or local microphone, using a resampler to adjust sampling rates, thereby avoiding acoustic echo and allowing seamless audio sharing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If audio data is captured from the audio render driver to share sound, then sound sharing is enabled, but acoustic echo occurs causing distortion in the shared sound
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the audio data stream into two distinct components: voice data (from the voice channel) and audio data (from the audio render driver). By separating these components and processing them independently, the system captures only the audio data without including the voice data that would cause acoustic echo, thus resolving the contradiction between enabling sound sharing and avoiding echo distortion.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts only the necessary audio data from the captured stream by removing the voice data component. This extraction process ensures that the shared audio contains only the intended audio content without the harmful voice data that would create acoustic echo, thereby maintaining sound quality while enabling sharing.
2Adaptability or versatility
If MPEG-4 video is shared through web conferencing, then video content sharing is enabled, but separate streaming devices and players must be implemented increasing system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the audio render driver universal by enabling it to handle both traditional audio output and sound sharing functions. By capturing audio data from the audio render driver itself, the system eliminates the need for separate streaming devices and players, as the audio render driver serves multiple purposes: driving the speaker and providing audio data for sharing through the existing voice channel.
3Adaptability or versatility
If audio data is captured including voice data to share sound, then sound sharing is enabled, but the remote party has to rehear what they spoke causing poor user experience
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the captured audio data to distinguish between voice data and audio data. By identifying and separating the voice data component from the audio data component, the system ensures that only the audio data is shared with the remote party, preventing them from hearing their own voice and thus avoiding the need to rehear what they spoke.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the voice data from the captured audio stream and removes it before sharing. This extraction process ensures that the remote party receives only the intended audio content without their own voice, significantly improving user experience by eliminating the annoying echo effect of hearing oneself speak.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are a sound sharing apparatus and a sound sharing method. The sound sharing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes at least one processor configured to implement: a modifier configured to change a default audio render driver of a local machine from a first audio render driver to a second audio render driver; a capturer configured to capture audio data transmitted to the second audio render driver; and a mixer configured to mix the captured audio data: i) with first voice data to output first mixed data, wherein the first voice data is received from a remote machine connected to the local machine through a network, or ii) with second voice data to output second mixed data, wherein the second voice data is received input through a microphone of the local machine.