Personal Audio Profile Processing for Subjective Fidelity

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing audio processing methods fail to accurately replicate the intended listening experience of an audio content creator for individual listeners due to natural differences in hearing acuity and perceptual biases among listeners, leading to subjective variations in audio perception.

Innovation Solution

The method involves identifying and applying a 'Personal Waveform Profile' (PWP) for both the content creator and the listener, using audiometric testing and processing algorithms to transform audio signals, adjusting frequencies and phase to compensate for individual hearing differences, thereby aligning the listener's experience with the creator's intended experience.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Manufacturing precision

If high-fidelity audio reproduction systems are used, then the acoustic quality and fidelity to source content are improved, but the subjective listening experience still varies among listeners due to individual hearing differences

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveaudio reproduction fidelityVSAvoidconsistency of listening experience
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by customizing the audio signal processing for each individual listener based on their specific hearing profile. Instead of using a universal high-fidelity reproduction approach, the system adjusts frequency responses, applies individualized equalization, and modifies audio characteristics to match each listener's perceptual characteristics, thereby achieving consistent subjective experience across different listeners while maintaining high fidelity to the creator's intent

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent utilizes parameter changes by dynamically adjusting audio signal parameters such as frequency response, gain, and equalization settings based on the listener's hearing profile and the content creator's reference profile. The system modifies these parameters in real-time to compensate for individual hearing differences, ensuring that each listener experiences the audio content as the creator intended, thus resolving the contradiction between high fidelity reproduction and consistent subjective experience

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Reliability

If audiometric testing and personal waveform profiles are applied to customize audio signals, then subjective fidelity and listening experience consistency are improved, but system complexity and processing requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesubjective fidelityVSAvoidaudio processing system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by conducting audiometric testing and generating personal waveform profiles in advance, before the actual audio listening experience. The system pre-processes and stores individual hearing profiles and reference profiles, so that when audio content is played, the appropriate transformations can be applied immediately without real-time complexity. This approach improves subjective fidelity while managing system complexity by performing complex operations beforehand

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent uses copying by creating a digital representation (copy) of the content creator's reference listening experience through their personal waveform profile. This reference profile is then used as a template to transform and adapt audio signals for individual listeners. By copying and applying the creator's perceptual characteristics to the audio signal processing, the system achieves high subjective fidelity without requiring the creator's actual presence, thus managing complexity while maintaining reliability

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentUS10700657B2Transforming audio content for subjective fidelity
Publication Date: 2020.06.30 WARNER BROS ENTERTAINMENT INC
  • US10700657B2 patent drawing
  • US10700657B2 patent drawing
  • US10700657B2 patent drawing

AI summary

A method or apparatus for delivering audio programming such as music to listeners may include identifying, capturing and applying a listener's audiometric profile to transform audio content so that the listener hears the content similarly to how the content was originally heard by a creative producer of the content. An audio testing tool may be implemented as software application to identify and capture the listener's audiometric profile. A signal processor may operate an algorithm used for processing source audio content, obtaining an identity and an audiometric reference profile of the creative producer from metadata associated with the content. The signal processor may then provide audio output based on a difference between the listener's and creative producer's audiometric profiles.