Sonicemotion Ag

Harman International Industries, Inc.

Other

L-acoustics

L-acoustics UK Ltd

Sonic Emotion Labs

Sennheiser Electronic Gmbh & Co Kg

Etienne Corteel

Matthias Rosenthal

Ulrich Horbach

Renato Pellegrini

Khoa-Van Nguyen

Christophe Combet

Guillaume Le Nost

Frederic Roskam

Nguyen Khoa-Van

Clemens Kuhn-Rahloff

Matthais Rosenthal

Clemens Kuhn

Florent Bernard

Matthias FLÜCKIGER

Nguyen Khoavan

The present invention relates to a spatial arrangement for optimizing the broadcasting of a sound signal and thus replacing the conventional stereo systems. For this purpose, the spatial arrangement is capable of broadcasting a spatialized sound signal, the spatialized sound signal comprising N mutually distinct audio signals, N being an integer strictly greater than 3, and the spatial arrangement comprising a set of N sound broadcasting devices predominantly distributed over the entire width of a scene. Each sound broadcasting device receives an audio signal of which it will amplify and broadcast the transmitted sound. In particular, each sound broadcasting device is specifically capable of reproducing and preserving the characteristics of the sound transmitted by the audio signal received, in particular the sound frequency bands and the sound intensity of the frequency bands of the audio signal.

Spatial arrangement of sound broadcasting devices

A signal processing system and method is disclosed for applying time-based effects to an N-channel audio input signal for reproduction on a set of loudspeakers having a predetermined configuration. A first M-channel audio signal is produced from the N-channel audio input signal. Each channel of the first M-channel audio signal is associated with a subset of the loudspeakers. A second M-channel audio signal is produced from the first M-channel audio signal according to an M&#xd7;M matrix, each element aij in the M&#xd7;M matrix including a delay term. A minimum value of the delay term in each element aij is determined according to a distance between at least two loudspeakers in at least one of the i and j subsets of loudspeakers and according to minimum delay value of a time-based delay effect applied to each channel of the second M-channel audio signal. A K-channel audio signal is then produced from the or each second M-channel audio signal.

Method and system for applying time-based effects in a multi-channel audio reproduction system

A method for optimizing the design and sound field control of a compact loud-speaker array, which includes a plurality of loudspeakers located on a closed loudspeaker surface and the control of the emitted sound field by the loudspeakers within a limited reproduction subspace, having the steps of capturing the sound field using a plurality of microphones and adjusting filter coefficients that modify the alimentation signals of the loudspeakers to minimize the difference between reproduced signals captured by the microphones and target signals describing a target sound field. A conical reproduction surface encloses a reproduction subspace is defined such that the apex of the conical reproduction surface is within the closed loudspeaker surface. Loud-speakers are positioned on a limited loudspeaker surface and the closed loudspeaker surface. The microphones are located on a limited microphone surface defined by the intersection of the inner volume of the conical reproduction subspace and the closed microphone surface.

Method for efficient sound field control of a compact loudspeaker array

The method of playing back a multichannel audio signal via a playback device comprises a plurality of loudspeakers arranged at fixed locations of the device and define a spatial window for sound playback relative to a reference spatial position. The method comprises for at least one sound object extracted from the signal, estimating a diffuse or localized nature of the object and estimating its position relative to the window. The audio signal is played back via the loudspeakers of the device during which playback treatment is applied to each sound object for playing back via at least one loudspeaker of the device, which treatment depends on the diffuse or localized nature of the object and on its position relative to the window, and includes creating at least one virtual source outside the window from loudspeakers of the device when the object is estimated as being diffuse or positioned outside the window.

Method and system for playing back an audio signal

A method for 3D sound field reproduction from a first audio input signal using a plurality of loudspeakers distributed over a loudspeaker surface aiming at synthesizing a 3D sound field within a listening area in which none of the loudspeakers are located with the sound field radiating from a virtual source, includes the steps of calculating positioning filters using virtual source description data and loudspeaker description data according to a sound field reproduction technique derived from a surface integral, applying positioning filter coefficients to filter the first audio input signal to form second audio input signals. Loudspeakers are positioned for a sampling of the loudspeaker surface into second loudspeaker surfaces for which the loudspeaker spacing is smaller for loudspeakers located in the horizontal plane than for elevated loudspeakers.

Method for practical implementation of sound field reproduction based on surface integrals in three dimensions

A method for sound field reproduction into a listening area of spatially encoded first audio input signals according to sound field description data using an ensemble of physical loudspeakers. The method includes computing reproduction subspace description data from loudspeaker positioning data describing the subspace in which virtual sources can be reproduced with the physically available setup. Then, second and third audio input signals with associated sound field description data, in which second audio input signals include spatial components of the first audio input signals located within the reproducible subspace and third audio input signals include spatial components of the first audio input signals located outside of the reproducible subspace. A spatial analysis is performed on second audio input signals to extract fourth audio input signals corresponding to localizable sources within the reproducible subspace with associated source positioning data. Components of second audio input signals after spatial analysis are merged with third audio input signals into fifth audio input signals with associated sound field description data for reproduction within the reproducible subspace. Loud-speaker alimentation signals are computed from fourth and fifth audio input signals.

Method and device for enhanced sound field reproduction of spatially encoded audio input signals

A method and a device for sound field reproduction from a first audio input signal uses a plurality of loudspeakers for synthesizing a sound field within a preferred listening area in which none of the loudspeakers are located and therefore described as emanating from a virtual source. The method further includes the steps of calculating a plurality of positioning filter coefficients using virtual source description data and loudspeaker description data according to a sound field reproduction technique; and modifying the first audio input signal using the positioning filter coefficients to form second audio input signals. A loudspeaker ranking of the importance of each loudspeaker for the synthesis of the sound field within the preferred listening area is therefore defined. Then, second audio input signals are modified according to the loudspeaker ranking to form third audio input signals. Finally, the loudspeakers are alimented with the third audio input signals which synthesize a sound field.

Method and device for improved sound field rendering accuracy within a preferred listening area

The invention relates to a method and device for reproducing sound from a first input audio signal () using a plurality of first loudspeakers () and producing a target binaural impression to a listener () within a listening area (). In order to decrease the sensibility of the reproduction of sound to the environment acoustics and to simplify the adaptation of the reproduced sound to the listener's head orientation and position, it is proposed to first define a plurality of second virtual loudspeakers () positioned outside of the listening area (), then to estimate a transfer function () between each second virtual loudspeaker () and the listener's ears (and), to compute from the estimated transfer functions () transaural filters () that modify the said first input audio signal () to synthesize second audio input signals () and to synthesize input signals () from second audio input signals () for creating a synthesized wave field () by the said first loudspeakers () that appears, within the listening area (), to be emitted by the plurality of second virtual loudspeakers () as a plurality of wave fronts () in order to reproduce the target binaural impression at the ears of the listener (and).

Method and system for producing a binaural impression using loudspeakers

A sound system obtains a desired sound field from an array of sound sources arranged on a panel. The desired sound field allows a listener to perceive the sound as if the sound were coming from a live source and from a specified location. Setup of the sound system includes arranging a microphone array adjacent the array of sound sources to obtain a generated sound field. Arbitrary finite impulse response filters are then composed for each sound source within the array of sound sources. Iteration is applied to optimize filter coefficients such that the generated sound field resembles the desired sound field so that multi-channel equalization and wave field synthesis occur. After the filters are setup, the microphones may be removed.

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Malakoff, France

Etienne Corteel