Portable Playback Equalization via Local Room Response Matching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Portable playback devices face challenges in calibrating themselves to account for changing acoustic environments due to their frequent repositioning and lack of access to network devices or remote databases for multi-location acoustic response detection.
Innovation Solution
These devices utilize built-in microphones and a locally stored database of calibration settings and room responses, which are generalized from previous multi-location calibration data, to perform self-calibration by determining a localized acoustic response and matching it to stored data for applying appropriate calibration settings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If portable playback devices perform multi-location acoustic response detection using network devices or remote databases, then calibration accuracy is improved, but device complexity and network dependency increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential calibration data (acoustic response characteristics) from the complex networked system and stores it locally in a database within the portable playback device. This allows the device to perform calibration independently without requiring network devices or remote databases, thereby maintaining calibration accuracy while reducing system complexity and network dependency.
Solution Approach 2:
The portable playback device is equipped with built-in microphones and processing capabilities to autonomously perform acoustic response detection and calibration. The device uses its own hardware resources (microphones, processors, local database) to conduct self-calibration without external assistance, eliminating the need for network devices and reducing system complexity while maintaining calibration precision.
2Measurement precision
If portable playback devices rely on network devices for calibration, then calibration quality is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to setup complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The device performs self-calibration using its own built-in microphones and local database, eliminating the need for users to set up network devices or connect to remote systems. This autonomous approach maintains high calibration quality while dramatically simplifying the user setup process to just placing the device in the desired location.
Solution Approach 2:
The calibration data and acoustic response characteristics are pre-stored in a local database within the device. This preliminary preparation allows the device to immediately perform calibration without requiring real-time network connections or additional setup steps, thereby maintaining calibration quality while improving ease of operation.
3Ease of operation
If portable playback devices use built-in microphones for self-calibration, then ease of operation is improved, but measurement precision may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The device uses built-in microphones to capture acoustic responses and pre-process this data into a local database of calibration settings. This preliminary action allows the device to perform rapid self-calibration using simple microphone inputs while maintaining measurement precision through sophisticated signal processing and comparison against pre-stored reference data.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a local copy of acoustic response characteristics in the device's database, which can be quickly referenced during calibration. This copying approach allows the device to use simple built-in microphones for measurement while achieving high precision by comparing results against pre-stored reference patterns, thereby maintaining both ease of operation and measurement accuracy.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables portable playback devices to effectively calibrate themselves in various environments without relying on network devices or remote databases, ensuring consistent audio quality across different locations.
Implementation Method 1
capturing, via the microphone, audio data representing reflections of the audio content within the room in which the playback device is located
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein are example techniques to facilitate calibrating a portable playback device. An example implementation involves determining that a playback device is to perform an equalization calibration of the playback device and initiating the equalization calibration. Initiating the equalization calibration involves (i) outputting audio content, (ii) capturing audio data representing reflections of the audio content within an area in which the playback device is located, (iii) determining an acoustic response of the area in which the playback device is located, (iv) selecting a stored acoustic response from the acoustic response database that is most similar to the determined acoustic response of the area in which the playback device is located, and (v) applying to the audio content, via the playback device, a set of stored audio calibration settings associated with the selected stored acoustic area response.