Multi-Channel Audio Routing Across Wired and Wireless Paths
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing multimedia systems with set-top boxes lacking wireless communication modules struggle to optimize multi-channel audio rendering across heterogeneous audio devices, requiring complex and expensive audio processing in these devices to ensure synchronized sound rendering.
Innovation Solution
An accessory equipment with a wired input, a wired output, a wireless communication circuit, and a routing circuit that synchronizes and routes audio channels to specific devices based on their capabilities, ensuring synchronized multi-channel rendering without complicating the audio rendering equipment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If an audio repeater is used to transmit audio channels to speaker enclosures in a set-top box system without wireless communication module, then the system can achieve multi-channel audio rendering, but the audio rendering equipment becomes more complex and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an accessory equipment as an intermediary device between the set-top box and audio rendering equipment. This accessory equipment includes a wired input port, wired output port, wireless communication circuit, and routing circuit. The routing circuit extracts first audio channels from the digital audio-video signal and transmits them wirelessly to speaker enclosures, while the wired output port transmits the complete signal to audio-video rendering equipment. This intermediary solution enables multi-channel audio rendering without requiring complex processing in the audio rendering equipment themselves.
2Adaptability or versatility
If heterogeneous audio rendering devices are used, then the system can support different types of audio equipment, but each device requires its own audio processing chain which increases complexity and cost
Solution Approach 1:
The accessory equipment serves as a central intermediary that handles all audio processing operations. The routing circuit within the accessory equipment intelligently separates first audio channels (intended for wireless speaker enclosures) from second audio channels (intended for wired audio-video rendering equipment). By consolidating processing functions in the accessory equipment rather than distributing them across multiple heterogeneous devices, the system achieves device compatibility without requiring complex processing chains in each audio rendering device.
3Reliability
If all audio channels are transmitted to all audio rendering devices, then the system can ensure synchronized audio delivery, but the wireless communication bandwidth is insufficient and processing becomes inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the audio channels into two distinct groups: first audio channels are extracted and transmitted wirelessly to speaker enclosures, while second audio channels are transmitted through the wired output port to audio-video rendering equipment. This segmentation allows each transmission path to carry only the audio channels it needs, optimizing wireless bandwidth usage and improving processing efficiency. Synchronization is maintained because the routing circuit processes both channel groups from the same source signal simultaneously.
Data Source
AI summary
An accessory equipment includes a wireless communication circuit, and a routing circuit arrange to receive from a source equipment, via the input port and the first wired link, a digital audio-video signal including a video signal and audio channels, the audio channels including at least one first audio channel belonging to a multi-channel audio signal, and at least one second audio channel, transmit to the wireless communication circuit only the at least one first audio channel for the wireless communication circuit to transmit to at least one audio rendering equipment via a wireless link, and transmit to the audio-video rendering equipment only the video signal and the at least one second audio channel.