Audio speaker system with virtual music performance

• US 9,866,986 B2
• Filed: 01/24/2014
• Issued: 01/09/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Milne, James R., Carlsson, Gregory Peter, Richman, Steven Martin, Zustak, Frederick J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsang, Fan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Yu, Norman
• Application Number:
  US14/163,415
• Publication Number:
  US 20150215722A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,446 Days
• Field of Search: 381119, 381 77, 381 80, 381 17, 381 26, 381300, 700 94
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/301 Automatic calibration of stereophonic sound system, e.g. with test microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/305 Electronic adaptation of stereophonic audio signals to reverberation of the listening space H04S7/301 takes precedence

Abstract

In a multi-speaker audio system for, e.g., a home entertainment system or other entertainment system, each networked-speaker (wired or wireless) can be assigned a particular voice, instrument, group of voices and/or instruments, or a particular stage location of a performance to reproduce a more realistic and life-like audio experience.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

at least one computer memory that is not a transitory signal and that comprises instructions executable by at least one processor for;

receiving plural audio speaker network addresses and speaker characteristics, each associated with a respective speaker;

receiving information regarding plural tracks of an audio recording, the information indicating for each track one or more of;

individual instruments, individual voice types, individual voice roles, individual instrument types, modeled stage position of a source of audio for the respective track; and

using speaker network addresses, assigning tracks to respective speakers, wherein the information regarding plural tracks of an audio recording indicates, for at least plural tracks, respective modeled stage positions of respective sources of audio for the respective tracks, and the respective tracks are assigned to respective speakers based on the modeled stage positions of the respective sources of audio and the speaker characteristics, wherein at least one track is associated with a respective speaker combination comprising plural speakers.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the instructions are executable for mapping tracks to respective speakers based at least in part on user input.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the information regarding plural tracks of an audio recording is received from a storage medium bearing the audio recording.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the information regarding plural tracks of an audio recording is received from a network server separate from a storage medium bearing the audio recording.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the information regarding plural tracks of an audio recording indicates, for at least one track, an individual instrument.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the information regarding plural tracks of an audio recording indicates, for at least one track, an individual voice type.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the information regarding plural tracks of an audio recording indicates, for at least one track, an individual voice roles.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the information regarding plural tracks of an audio recording indicates, for at least one track, an individual instrument type.

9. Method comprising:

receiving first information pertaining to plural tracks of an audio recording;

the information regarding plural tracks of an audio recording indicating, for at least plural tracks, respective modeled stage positions of respective sources of audio for the respective tracks; and

assigning by an application and/or by hardware the respective tracks to respective speakers based on the modeled stage positions of the respective sources of audio and speaker characteristics received from a network.

10. The method of claim 9, comprising providing a track to speaker mapping application to a consumer electronics (CE) device usable by a person to execute a user input.

11. The method of claim 10, determining whether speaker characteristics have been obtained and responsive to a determination that the characteristics have not been obtained, communicating with the speakers via individual speaker identifications (IDs) to obtain the characteristics.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the information regarding plural tracks includes, for at least some tracks, for each track one or more of:

individual instruments, individual voice types, individual voice roles, individual instrument types, modeled stage position of a source of audio for the respective track.