Playback Loudness Tracking With Shorter Time Constants During Source Switching
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Solution Overview
Problem
During media content replacement events, playback devices often fail to detect and respond to user-adjusted volume changes, leading to a poor user experience as they lack access to volume playback information from the source device, resulting in apparent malfunctions or unresponsive volume controls.
Innovation Solution
The playback device monitors an audio signal corresponding to the replaced media content, detects changes in loudness levels, and adjusts the volume of the new content accordingly, even when volume information from the source is inaccessible, by determining loudness levels for shorter portions during replacement events.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the playback device uses a longer time constant for loudness measurement, then the volume control responsiveness is improved, but the ability to detect volume changes during media replacement events deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically adjusts the time constant based on the playback state. During media replacement events, the system switches to a shorter time constant to enable rapid detection of volume changes. During normal playback, it uses a longer time constant for stable volume control. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by allowing the system to have both fast response when needed and stable control when not in replacement mode.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the measurement parameter (time constant) based on operational conditions. By switching between different time constant values depending on whether a media replacement event is detected, the system optimizes both the responsiveness during replacements and the overall volume control stability, effectively resolving the technical contradiction.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the playback device monitors loudness continuously with longer intervals, then the volume stability is improved, but the responsiveness to user adjustments during media replacement deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring interval is dynamically adjusted based on playback state. During media replacement events, the system switches to shorter monitoring intervals to quickly detect user volume adjustments. During normal playback, it uses longer intervals to maintain volume stability. This dynamic behavior resolves the contradiction between stability and responsiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the monitoring interval parameter according to operational context. By implementing shorter intervals during replacement events and longer intervals during normal playback, the system achieves both volume stability and user control responsiveness, resolving the technical contradiction.
3Measurement precision
If the playback device accesses volume information from the source device, then the volume control accuracy is improved, but the system complexity increases due to inter-device communication requirements
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of accessing the source device directly, the patent creates a local copy of the audio signal and performs loudness measurements on this copy. This eliminates the need for complex inter-device communication while maintaining volume control accuracy, as the playback device can independently measure and adjust volume based on the copied signal.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the audio signal processing function from the source device and implements it locally in the playback device. By taking out the loudness measurement capability and implementing it independently, the system achieves accurate volume control without requiring complex communication infrastructure between devices.
Data Source
AI summary
In one aspect, an example method includes (i) determining, by a playback device, a first loudness level of a first portion of first media content from a first source while the playback device presents the first media content, with the first portion having a first length; (ii) switching, by the playback device, from presenting the first media content from the first source to presenting second media content from a second source; (iii) based on the switching, determining, by the playback device, second loudness levels of second portions of the first media content while the playback device presents the second media content, with the second portions having a second length that is shorter than the first length; and (iv) while the playback device presents the second media content, adjusting, by the playback device, a volume of the playback device based on one or more of the second loudness levels.