DIRECTIVITY OPTIMIZED SOUND REPRODUCTION

• US 20170105084A1
• Filed: 09/26/2014
• Published: 04/13/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Holman, Tomlinson M.
• Granted Patent: US 10,368,183 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/403 loud-speakers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/02 Spatial or constructional arrangements of loudspeakers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/04 Circuit arrangements, e.g. for selective connection of amplifier inputs/outputs to loudspeakers, for loudspeaker detection, or for adaptation of settings to personal preferences or hearing impairments combinations of amplifiers H03F3/68; stereophonic systems H04S
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 3/00 Systems employing more than two channels, e.g. quadraphonic H04S5/00, H04S7/00 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 3/008 in which the audio signals are in digital form, i.e. employing more than two discrete digital channels data reduction aspects thereof based on psychoacoustics G10L19/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/302 Electronic adaptation of stereophonic sound system to listener position or orientation H04S7/301 takes precedence

Abstract

An audio system is described that receives a piece of sound program content for playback from a content distribution system. The piece of sound program content may include a multi-channel dialogue signal and a combined multi-channel music and effects signal. The audio system may determine a first set of directivity patterns for the multi-channel dialogue signal and a second set of directivity patterns for the combined multi-channel music and effects signal. The first set of directivity patterns associated with channels of the dialogue signal may have higher directivity indexes than the second set of directivity patterns associated with corresponding channels of the music and effects signal. By associating dialogue components with a higher directivity than music and effects components, the system increases the intelligibility of dialogue for a piece of sound program content while allowing music and effects to retain conventional directivity having a typical ratio of direct-to-reverberant sound energy.

Claims

1. A method for playing a piece of sound program content, comprising:

determining a first set of directivity patterns for a multi-channel dialogue stem for a piece of sound program content and a second set of directivity patterns for a combined multi-channel music and effects stem for the piece of sound program content;

driving transducers in one or more speaker arrays to play each channel of the multi-channel dialogue stem to produce the first set of directivity patterns; and

driving transducers in the one or more speaker arrays to play each channel of the multi-channel music and effects stem to produce the second set of directivity patterns.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by a sound system, the multi-channel dialogue stem and the combined multi-channel music and effects stem.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the multi-channel dialogue stem and the combined multi-channel music and effects stem are received from a remote content distribution server over a network connection.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of directivity patterns includes a directivity pattern for each channel of the multi-channel dialogue stem and the second set of directivity patterns includes a directivity pattern for each channel of the combined multi-channel music and effects stem.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the first set of directivity patterns and the second set of directivity patterns are determined by the remote content distribution server and delivered to the sound system over the network connection.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the first set of directivity patterns and the second set of directivity patterns are determined by the sound system.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the directivity index of each directivity pattern in the first set of directivity patterns is higher than the directivity index of each corresponding directivity index in the second set of directivity patterns.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein each channel of the multi-channel dialogue stem is assigned to a separate speaker array from the one or more speaker arrays such that a corresponding directivity pattern from the first set of directivity patterns may be produced and each channel of the multi-channel music and effects stem is assigned to a separate speaker array from the one or more speaker arrays such that a corresponding directivity pattern from the second set of directivity patterns may be produced.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein a single channel of the multi-channel dialogue stem is assigned to a first set of speaker arrays from the one or more speaker arrays such that a corresponding directivity pattern from the first set of directivity patterns may be produced by the collective sound generated by the first set of speaker arrays and a single channel of the combined multi-channel music and effects stem is assigned to a second set of speaker arrays from the one or more speaker arrays such that a corresponding directivity pattern from the second set of directivity patterns may be produced by the collective sound generated by the second set of speaker arrays.

10. An audio receiver for playing a piece of sound program content, comprising:

a network interface for receiving a multi-channel dialogue signal and a combined multi-channel music and effects signal for a piece of sound program content; and

a hardware processor to;

determine a first set of directivity patterns for the multi-channel dialogue signal and a second set of directivity patterns for the combined multi-channel music and effects signal,

generate signals for transducers in one or more speaker arrays to play each channel of the multi-channel dialogue signal to produce the first set of directivity patterns, and

generate signals for transducers in the one or more speaker arrays to play each channel of the multi-channel music and effects signal to produce the second set of directivity patterns.

11. The audio receiver of claim 10, wherein the network interface connects the audio receiver and a remote content distribution server such that the multi-channel dialogue signal and the combined multi-channel music and effects signal are received from a remote content distribution server over a network connection.

12. The audio receiver of claim 10, wherein the first set of directivity patterns includes a directivity pattern for each channel of the multi-channel dialogue signal and the second set of directivity patterns includes a directivity pattern for each channel of the combined multi-channel music and effects signal.

13. The audio receiver of claim 12, wherein the directivity index of each directivity pattern in the first set of directivity patterns is higher than the directivity index of each corresponding directivity index in the second set of directivity patterns.

14. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium that stores instructions which, when executed by a processor in a computer,

determine a first set of directivity patterns for a multi-channel dialogue signal for a piece of sound program content and a second set of directivity patterns for the combined multi-channel music and effects signal for the piece of sound program content;

generate signals for transducers in one or more speaker arrays to play each channel of the multi-channel dialogue signal to produce the first set of directivity patterns; and

generate signals for transducers in the one or more speaker arrays to play each channel of the multi-channel music and effects signal to produce the second set of directivity patterns.

15. The article of manufacture of claim 14, wherein the multi-channel dialogue signal and the combined multi-channel music and effects signal are received from a remote content distribution server over a network connection.

16. The article of manufacture of claim 15, wherein the first set of directivity patterns includes a directivity pattern for each channel of the multi-channel dialogue signal and the second set of directivity patterns includes a directivity pattern for each channel of the combined multi-channel music and effects signal.

17. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein the first set of directivity patterns and the second set of directivity patterns are determined by the remote content distribution server and delivered to the sound system over the network connection.

18. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein the first set of directivity patterns and the second set of directivity patterns are determined by the computer.

19. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein the directivity index of each directivity pattern in the first set of directivity patterns is higher than the directivity index of each corresponding directivity index in the second set of directivity patterns.

20. The article of manufacture of claim 14, wherein each channel of the multi-channel dialogue signal is assigned to a separate speaker array from the one or more speaker arrays such that a corresponding directivity pattern from the first set of directivity patterns may be produced and each channel of the multi-channel music and effects signal is assigned to a separate speaker array from the one or more speaker arrays such that a corresponding directivity pattern from the second set of directivity patterns may be produced.

21. The article of manufacture of claim 14, wherein a single channel of the multi-channel dialogue signal is assigned to a first set of speaker arrays from the one or more speaker arrays such that a corresponding directivity pattern from the first set of directivity patterns may be produced by the collective sound generated by the first set of speaker arrays and a single channel of the combined multi-channel music and effects signal is assigned to a second set of speaker arrays from the one or more speaker arrays such that a corresponding directivity pattern from the second set of directivity patterns may be produced by the collective sound generated by the second set of speaker arrays.