Networked Audio Clocking With Local Asynchronous Oscillators
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-performance audio systems with low latency and professional quality audio require complex circuitry, expensive components, and high network bandwidth, making them costly for applications that do not need such high fidelity and precision clocking hardware, which is difficult to procure.
Innovation Solution
Implementing local asynchronous media clocks in audio devices using less precise oscillators like crystal-based or MEMS oscillators, independent of network synchronization, to simplify and reduce costs while maintaining audio quality and latency requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If precision clocking hardware modules are used to achieve low latency and high performance audio transmission, then audio quality and latency are improved, but device complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive precision clocking hardware with software-based clock synchronization mechanisms that use standard network time protocols. This allows the system to achieve the required timing precision through software rather than requiring costly hardware modules, directly addressing the contradiction between audio quality and device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes mechanical/physical precision clocking hardware with an electronic software-based time synchronization system. By using network time protocols and software-controlled timing, the system eliminates the need for complex physical clocking hardware while maintaining the necessary timing accuracy for high-quality audio transmission
2Manufacturing precision
If precision clocking hardware modules are procured to meet audio quality requirements, then audio performance is improved, but procurement difficulty and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs standard network time protocol implementations that are readily available in software form, eliminating the need to procure specialized precision clocking hardware. This substitution with easily obtainable software solutions directly resolves the procurement difficulty while maintaining clocking precision requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses standard network time synchronization protocols that can be implemented across multiple devices and platforms without requiring device-specific hardware. This universal approach allows any standard audio device to achieve precision clocking through software, making the solution broadly applicable and easy to manufacture
3Manufacturing precision
If high network bandwidth is utilized for professional quality audio transmission, then audio quality is improved, but network resource utilization and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically adjusts audio transmission parameters such as sample rate, bit depth, and packetization based on available network bandwidth. This allows the system to optimize the balance between audio quality and network resource consumption, transmitting at the highest quality the network can support without wasting bandwidth
Data Source
AI summary
An audio device may be connected to a communication network. The audio device may send or receive audio data via a network, based on a network clock that may be synchronized with other audio device connected to the network. The audio device may buffer, convert between digital audio signals and analog audio signals, encrypt, decrypt, packetize, depacketize, compress, and/or decompress audio data using a local asynchronous media clock using a relatively lower precision clocking technology such as a crystal-based oscillator.