Micronas and 1 Ltd unveil Digital Sound Projector turnkey solution (0701)
FREIBURG, Germany and CAMBRIDGE, England, January 3, 2007 – Micronas (SWX Swiss Exchange: MASN) and 1 Ltd today announced the availability of a turnkey solution in software and hardware that for the first time provides the functionality of Digital Sound Projector™ fully integrated in a consumer audio system-on-chip at lowest cost. Digital Sound Projector technology produces real surround-sound without the need for multiple loudspeaker enclosures and wiring. The complete solution gives TV and home-audio manufacturers a pre-engineered platform that enables them to quickly and cost-effectively get to market with Digital Sound Projector applications.
Digital Sound Projectors comprise of a single speaker enclosure containing an array of speakers. These speakers simultaneously produce multiple beams of sound, which are individually steered and projected within the room. The walls and ceiling are then used to reflect these beams producing real surround-sound for the TV viewer. The technology provides a complete surround-sound solution, which replaces an amplifier, unsightly cables and multiple speaker boxes.
Furthermore, the flexibility of the sound beams allows TV viewers to simultaneously watch different programmes being shown on a split screen – without using headphones. Called Beam2Me®, this function collapses each programmes surround sound into a mono beam which is then beamed directly at each viewer. Beam2Me can also send the audio beam from one room to another using wall reflections and door openings, features unavailable from other surround systems.
Digital Sound Projector technology is implemented in the firmware of the QuadMAU® audio DSP in Micronas’ MAP-M and MSP-M family of audio processors. Both product families offer Micronas´ Customizable Modular Processing (CMP) capability, which provides CE manufacturers with nearly unlimited flexibility and maximum product differentiation.
While the MSP-M is designed for televisions receiving analog and digital broadcasts, the MAP-M is optimized for televisions focusing on digital TV as well as for home-audio applications such as integrated audio systems or Home-Theater-in-a-Box (HTiB). MSP-M and MAP-M provide multiple interfaces such as S/PDIF and I2S for digital audio, line I/O and phono- and microphone-inputs for analog signals.
The realistic playback of surround-sound with a single loudspeaker-unit is one of the hottest topics in the TV-audio and home-audio market, driven by movie soundtracks being available to everyone on DVD and digital TV. To address this rapidly growing market, the two companies have combined their flagship products creating an easy-to-adopt solution.
The basic software of the Micronas QuadMAU DSP provides complete audio decoding as well as equalization, balance, and tone control functions. The 1 Ltd technology programmed into the audio processors creates the sound beams for Digital Sound Projection and Beam2Me® functionality. Additional software sets up all these features automatically. The combined technologies enable OEMs to quickly develop a full-featured and cost-effective TV- or home-audio Sound Projector system with all required audio functions.
“We are delighted to offer 1 Ltd’s advanced Digital Sound Projector technology in our IC family” said Stefan Hepp, director marketing Consumer Audio at Micronas. “Micronas has offered intelligent surround-sound solutions for several years. Now we can offer a breakthrough in system partitioning and cost with the Digital Sound Projector technology on our chip platform. We believe this combination will meet a strong need in the market.”
“Implementing Digital Sound Projector IP into the leading range of Micronas SoC audio processors is the first step in gaining mass consumer take-up of the technology. Consumers will be able to purchase FPTV’s with an integrated Digital Sound Projector exploiting its advanced beaming features whilst taking advantage of a real surround-sound system without the clutter of separate speakers and cables.” said Steve Collicott, Business Development Manager of 1 Ltd. “unlike psycho-acoustic offerings, the Micronas solutions allow all of the audio channels to be heard, even when moving around the room”.