Audio calibration and adjustment

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9398392-B2
Application number	US-201414320073-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 30, 2014
Priority date	Jun 30, 2014
Publication date	Jul 19, 2016
Grant date	Jul 19, 2016

Abstract

The subject disclosure is directed towards calibrating sound pressure levels of speakers to determine desired attenuation data for use in later playback. A user may be guided to a calibration location to place a microphone, and each speaker is calibrated to output a desired sound pressure level in its current acoustic environment based upon the attenuation data learned during calibration. During playback, the attenuation data is used. Also described is testing the setup of the speakers, and dynamically adjusting the attenuation data in real time based upon tracking the listener's current location.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system comprising:
an audio output device that outputs audio signals to a plurality of speakers,
a sound pressure level meter coupled to a microphone, the microphone configured to detect audio from the plurality of speakers, and the sound pressure level meter configured to detect a plurality of sound pressure level readings as the sound; and
a calibration mechanism that performs at least one calibration operation based upon the sound pressure level readings from the sound pressure level meter, the calibration mechanism configured to guide a user in calibrating sound pressure levels of the speakers to specified levels, or to perform an automatic adjustment to the sound pressure levels of the speakers to the specified levels,
a sensor configured to dynamically monitor a location of a user in a room,
the calibration mechanism further configured to:
save attenuation data for use by the audio device that is used to recreate the audio output at or near the specified levels during subsequent audio playback, and
dynamically adjust the attenuation data based on the sound pressure level readings and the location of the user as the user moves in the room to maintain the audio output provided to the user at or near the specified levels.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the audio output device is coupled to or incorporates a position sensor that detects the microphone position, the positioning sensor used by the calibration mechanism to direct the user to position the microphone at each microphone calibration position.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the sound pressure level meter is coupled to or is incorporated into a computing device that is configured for communication with the audio device.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the calibration mechanism is incorporated into a computing device that is decoupled from communication with the audio device during the calibration operation, the computing device obtaining the attenuation data and providing the attenuation data to the computing device for communication with the audio device, or to storage accessible by the audio device, or both.

5. The system of claim 1 further comprising a test setup mechanism or a test setup mode of the calibration mechanism, the test setup mechanism or test setup mode configured to automatically determine whether the plurality of speakers are properly arranged relative to recorded or streamed audio intended to be output by each speaker, or to interact with the user to determine whether the plurality of speakers are properly arranged relative to recorded or streamed audio intended to be output by the speakers.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the calibration mechanism is configured to calibrate a plurality of different speaker arrangements, including at least one speaker arrangement that outputs audio that is perceived as coming downwards to a listener.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the audio output device is coupled a position sensor that during recorded or streaming audio playback detects a listener position as listener position data, and wherein the audio output device uses the listener position data to dynamically determine attenuation data to use for adjusting speaker output as the listener changes position.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the calibration mechanism performs a plurality of calibration operations at different microphone positions to provide a plurality of sets of attenuation data, and wherein the audio output device dynamically determines a modified set of attenuation data based upon mathematically combining at least two of the sets of attenuation data for a current listener position.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the audio output device comprises a gaming and entertainment console.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the calibration mechanism performs a plurality of calibration operations for a plurality of different themes to obtain a set of attenuation data for each theme.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the audio output device comprises a gaming console.

12. A method performed at least in part on at least one processor, comprising:
guiding a user to move a microphone to a calibration location relative to a plurality of audio speakers;
for the plurality of audio speakers:
outputting calibration signals to generate audio outputs;
adjusting attenuation levels associated with the calibration signals as needed until desired sound pressure levels as sensed at the calibration location are detected for the plurality of audio speakers; and
associating the attenuation data with corresponding speakers; and

saving the attenuation data associated with the corresponding speakers in a first set of attenuation data for the plurality of speakers;
performing skeletal or head tracking to track movement of the user;
dynamically adjusting the attenuation data associated with the corresponding speakers based on the tracked movement of the user.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein guiding the user comprises using data from a position sensor.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein adjusting the attenuation levels comprise receiving sound pressure readings from a sound pressure level meter.

15. The method of claim 12 further comprising, determining whether the plurality of speakers is correctly connected for audio output.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein determining, at a device, whether the plurality of speakers is correctly connected for audio output comprises informing a user via speech played through a speaker and/or visible information in conjunction with other audio output as to connections for the plurality of speakers.

17. The method of claim 12 further comprising, wherein said performing skeletal or head tracking to track movement of the user comprises tracking a listener's position using position data obtained from a position sensor, and dynamically determining modified attenuation data for at least one of the plurality of speakers based at least in part on position data of one or more sets of saved attenuation data to adjust speaker output as the listener changes position.

Assignees

• Microsoft Technology Licensing Llc

Inventors

• Ridihalgh Robert Lucas
• Shaw Gregory Michael
• Williams Todd Matthew
• Randhawa Iii Tarlochan Singh

Classifications

• H04R5/02

  Spatial or constructional arrangements of loudspeakers · CPC title

• G06F3/165

  Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path · CPC title

• H04S2400/13

  Aspects of volume control, not necessarily automatic, in stereophonic sound systems · CPC title

• H04R5/04

  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 title

• H04R29/008

  Visual indication of individual signal levels (visual indication of stereophonic sound image H04S7/40) · CPC title