Calibration State Sync for Consistent Multi-Room Audio Playback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing media playback systems face challenges in maintaining calibration across multiple devices and environments, leading to inconsistent audio quality due to changes in device configuration, location, and acoustics, which affects the listening experience.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a calibration state variable that is stored and shared among devices within a media playback system, allowing for the maintenance of calibration status across power cycles and triggering recalibration when necessary, using sound analysis to determine frequency responses and adjust equalization accordingly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If calibration is performed for each device in a media playback system, then audio quality consistency is improved, but system complexity increases due to the need to maintain and synchronize calibration state across multiple devices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a calibration state variable that is copied and synchronized across multiple devices in the media playback system. Each device maintains a local copy of the calibration state, allowing them to operate with calibrated settings without requiring continuous communication or coordination, thus reducing system complexity while maintaining audio quality consistency
Solution Approach 2:
The calibration state variable is established and distributed to all devices before actual playback operations begin. This preliminary calibration action ensures that all devices are pre-configured with the correct settings, eliminating the need for real-time calibration adjustments during operation and simplifying the overall system architecture
2Manufacturing precision
If calibration state is maintained across power cycles, then audio quality consistency is improved, but information storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential calibration information into a compact calibration state variable that can be stored in memory. By separating the critical calibration parameters from the full calibration dataset, the system maintains audio quality consistency across power cycles while minimizing storage requirements, as only the essential state information needs to be persisted
Solution Approach 2:
The calibration state variable is designed to capture only the essential parameters needed to maintain audio quality, rather than storing complete calibration datasets. This parameter optimization allows the system to maintain consistency across power cycles with minimal storage overhead, as the condensed state information can be efficiently stored in volatile or non-volatile memory
3Manufacturing precision
If recalibration is triggered automatically when calibration state changes, then audio quality is maintained, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the calibration state variable is monitored for changes, and recalibration is automatically triggered only when necessary. This selective feedback approach ensures audio quality is maintained by performing recalibration only when the calibration state actually changes, avoiding unnecessary processing time while still responding to relevant events such as device additions, removals, or configuration changes
Data Source
AI summary
Example techniques involve a calibration state variable. An example implementation receives, via a network interface, an indication that the first playback device is calibrated. Based on receiving the indication that the first playback device is calibrated, the example implementation updates a calibration state variable to indicate that the first playback device is calibrated, wherein the calibration state variable is stored in the data storage. The example implementation sends, via the network interface, an indication of the updated calibration state variable to a second device.