Method and apparatus for adjusting a speaker system
Contents
1. jp dwy oipny apoy umag uno Busse Y H H H H H H US 8 923 997 B2 Sheet 3 of 7 Dec 30 2014 U S Patent forges dosdej Be RENO IARU suo HES SANGU US 8 923 997 B2 Sheet 4 of 7 Dec 30 2014 U S Patent 2 OMEN HOPO uongonddy JOHN eoeneju jdu ugaaec U S Patent Dec 30 2014 eo har 316 Sheet 5 of 7 FiG 3 US 8 923 997 B2 30147 308 b 914 US 8 923 997 B2 ni Ouid pod Sheet 6 of 7 Dec 30 2014 U S Patent US 8 923 997 B2 Sheet 7 of 7 Dec 30 2014 U S Patent Old uo pas i i eie US 8 923 997 B2 1 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ADJUSTING A SPEAKER SYSTEM CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application claims the benefit of priority to United States Provisional Application No 61 392 918 filed on Oct 13 2010 entitled Method and Apparatus for Adjust ing a Speaker System which is herein incorporated by ref erence in its entirety BACKGROUND 1 Field of the Invention The present invention is related to the area of audio devices and more specifically related to techniques for adjusting a speaker system or loudspeaker2. 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2012 7 2012 6 2002 1 2003 8 2003 11 2003 7 2005 10 2006 1 2007 6 2007 1 2008 1 2008 3 2008 6 2008 7 2008 7 2008 1 2009 McCarty et al Millington Cheng Folio Yang et al McCarty et al 381 81 Yeh Chung Gierl et al Goldberg et al Eng Rajapakse 381 311 Baudino et al 700 94 Huon Miller Greve Park et al 700 94 709 219 2010 0052843 1 3 2010 2010 0284389 1 11 2010 2010 0299639 1 11 2010 2011 0044476 Al 2 2011 Cannistraro 340 3 32 Ramsay et al 370 338 Ramsay et al 715 835 Burlingame et al 2011 0299696 Al 12 2011 Holmgren et al 2013 0022221 1 1 2013 Kallai et al OTHER PUBLICATIONS AudioTron Quick Start Guide Version 1 0 Voyetra Turtle Beach Inc Mar 2001 24 pages AudioTron Reference Manual Version 3 0 Voyetra Turtle Beach Inc May 2002 70 pages AudioTron Setup Guide Version 3 0 Voyetra Turtle Beach Inc May 2002 38 pages UPnP Universal Plug and Play Device Architecture Jun 8 2000 version 1 0 Microsoft Corporation pp 1 54 Yamaha DME 32 manual copyright 2001 cited by examiner US 8 923 997 B2 Sheet 1 of 7 Dec 30 2014 U S Patent BOIDOS 001 US 8 923 997 B2 Sheet 2 of 7 Dec 30 2014 U S Patent Vc ae od ONES
3. using the sound profile 8 A non transitory computer readable medium including a set of instructions for execution by a computer device the set of instructions when executed implementing a method for managing a sound profile the method comprising accessing via a first device a playback device on a local network receiving at the first device via the local network an indi cation that a sound profile is available at a location outside of the local network displaying via the first device based on the received indi cation a graphic interface to facilitate initiation of the playback device to obtain the sound profile and causing the playback device to 1 obtain the sound profile from the location outside of the local network and ii update one or more parameters at the playback device based on the sound profile wherein the playback device is to process an audio signal according to the sound profile 5 20 25 30 40 45 50 10 9 The computer readable medium of claim 8 wherein the sound profile is to be shared with another user remotely located 10 The computer readable medium of claim 8 further including maintaining a plurality of sound profiles each profile selectable by a user or a computer device 11 The computer readable medium of claim 8 wherein the parameters include at least one of band frequency equalizer and gain 12 The computer readable medium of claim 8 further comprising fac
4. work FIG 4 shows a flowchart or process of adjusting various settings in a speaker system and FIG 5 shows a flowchart or process of sharing a profile between two remotely separated sound systems Certain embodiments will be better understood when read in conjunction with the provided drawings which illustrate examples It should be understood however that the embodi ments are not limited to the arrangements and instrumentality shown in the attached drawings DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS The detailed description of certain embodiments is pre sented largely in terms of procedures steps logic blocks processing and other symbolic representations that directly or indirectly resemble the operations of data processing devices coupled to networks These process descriptions and 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 representations are typically used by those skilled in the art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art Reference herein to one embodiment or an embodiment means that a particular feature structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment The appearances of the phrase one embodiment or in an embodiment in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment nor are separate or alter native embodiments mu
5. 8 2009 Lambourne et al 7 643 894 B2 1 2010 Braithwaite et al 7 792 311 Bl 9 2010 Holmgren et al 8 045 952 B2 10 2011 Qureshey et al Continued FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS WO 2013012582 Al 1 2013 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Yamaha DME Desinger 3 5 User Manual Copyright 2004 Continued Primary Examiner Paul McCord 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Hanley Zimmerman LLC Flight and 57 ABSTRACT Certain embodiments provide methods and systems for man aging a sound profile An example method includes accessing a playback device on a network The example method includes displaying a graphic interface to allow a user to adjust the sound profile wherein the sound profile includes a plurality of parameters for user adjustment The example method includes saving the sound profile The example method includes processing an audio signal at the playback device according to the sound profile wherein user adjust ments to the sound profile are used to configure the playback device to process the audio signal upon saving the sound profile 20 Claims 7 Drawing Sheets Sab US 8 923 997 B2 Page 2 56 8 103 009 8 234 395 2002 0078161 2003 0002689 2003 0161479 2003 0210796 2005 0147261 2006 0229752 2007 0003067 2007 0142944 2008 0002839 2008 0025535 2008 0077261 2008 0144864 2008 0162668 2008 0175411 2009 0024662 References Cited U S PATENT DOCUMENTS B2 B2 Al Al Al 1 1
6. a playback device on a network The example method includes displaying a graphic interface to allow a user to adjust the sound profile wherein the sound profile includes a plurality of parameters for user adjustment The example method includes saving the sound profile The example method US 8 923 997 B2 3 includes processing an audio signal at the playback device according to the sound profile wherein user adjustments to the sound profile are used to configure the playback device to process the audio signal upon saving the sound profile Certain embodiments provide a computer readable medium including a set of instructions for execution by a computer device the set of instructions when executed implementing a method for managing a sound profile The example method includes accessing a playback device on a network The example method includes displaying a graphic interface to allow a user to adjust the sound profile wherein the sound profile includes a plurality of parameters for user adjustment The example method includes saving the sound profile The example method includes processing an audio signal at the playback device according to the sound profile wherein user adjustments to the sound profile are used to configure the playback device to process the audio signal upon saving the sound profile Certain embodiments provide a speaker configuration sys tem The example system includes a computing device The example computing de
7. configuration profile can be created to specify configuration values for one or more loudspeaker parameters including tweeter midrange woofer etc A type frequency gain qual ity factor etc can be set for each parameter Once logged in to the loudspeaker the current settings are loaded into a webpage and or other presentation interface for example A user can then adjust any all of the items in each area Once the values are entered into each area the values are updated in real time or substantially real time accounting for some system processing storage and or transmission delay for example on the loud speaker In certain embodiments the configuration webpage can be designed specifically for the loudspeaker under development For example if a loudspeaker includes five transducers five sections can be quickly created such that the webpage has the current number of tuneable sections Thus certain embodiments provide for speaker configura tion configuration profile creation and configuration profile storage The configuration profile can be referred from one user to another from one speaker to another and so on A referred profile can be accessed and implemented at one or more connected speakers to configure the speakers and or other playback devices for playback output for example Brief Description Certain embodiments provide a method for managing a sound profile The example method includes accessing
8. modified by a user software program and so on via the interface FIG 4 shows a flowchart or process 400 of adjusting a profile to be used in a networked audio device At block 405 the process 400 begins At block 410 it is determined whether a playback device is to be logged in If yes at block 415 a default page 15 displayed If no then the process 400 contin 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 8 ues to check for a playback device e g zone player to be logged in to the configuration system At block 420 one or more settings are adjusted e g fre quencies in different bands and so on At block 425 it is determined whether the setting s are to be saved at the device If not the process 400 continues to adjust settings until a desired configuration of settings is reached If so at block 430 the setting s are saved in a memory in the play back device Settings may be associated with a name or other identifier e g Jazz Rock Radio and so on Saved settings may form a speaker profile for example Settings may be shared with another remotely located speaker system via the profile for example At block 435 the playback device is configured based on the setting s For example a profile and or other stored set tings may be selected to configure the playback device accordingly At block 440 after the playback device is con figured the process 400 ends The playback devic
9. via a network 2 Background Designing and fine tuning of loudspeakers are often a labo rious process In a typical process certain electrical compo nents have to be repeatedly changed or adjusted to generate a new equalization or new firmware has to be upgraded on some modern products Typically during development a loud speaker is placed inside a large anechoic chamber where acoustic measurements are gradually taken After each mea surement the product is removed from the chamber and brought out to be adjusted and then setup again to be re measured The process often takes days or weeks until the final sound of the loudspeaker is determined BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Certain embodiments of the present invention will be readily understood by the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals designate like structural elements and in which FIG 1 shows an example configuration in which certain embodiments may be practiced FIG 2A shows an example functional block diagram of a player in accordance with certain embodiments FIG 2B shows an example of controllers that may be used to remotely control one of more players of FIG 1 FIG 2C shows an example internal functional block dia gram ofa controller in accordance with certain embodiments FIG 3 shows an example interface in an embodiment to allow a user to graphically adjust various settings via a net
10. 12 United States Patent Kallai et al US008923997B2 US 8 923 997 B2 Dec 30 2014 10 Patent No 45 Date of Patent 54 75 73 9 21 22 65 60 51 52 58 56 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ADJUSTING A SPEAKER SYSTEM Inventors Christopher Kallai Santa Barbara CA US Michael Darrell Andrew Ericson Santa Barbara CA US Assignee Sonos Inc Santa Barbara CA US Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U S C 154 b by 665 days Appl No 13 272 833 Filed Oct 13 2011 Prior Publication Data US 2012 0096125 Al Apr 19 2012 Related U S Application Data Provisional application No 61 392 918 filed on Oct 13 2010 Int Cl G06F 17 00 H03G 5 00 H03G 5 02 H03G 5 16 U S CI CPC 2006 01 2006 01 2006 01 2006 01 H03G 5 005 2013 01 H03G 5 025 2013 01 H03G 5 165 2013 01 700 94 USPC Field of Classification Search USPC 700 94 See application file for complete search history References Cited U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 5 218 710 A 5 553 147 5 668 884 A 6 1993 Yamaki et al 9 1996 Pineau 9 1997 Clair Jr et al 5 673 323 9 1997 Schotz et al 5 946 343 8 1999 Schotz et al 6 704 421 Bl 3 2004 Kitamura 6 778 869 B2 8 2004 Champion 6 916 980 B2 7 2005 Ishida et al 6 931 134 8 2005 Waller Jr et al 7 171 010 B2 1 2007 Martin et al 7 571 014
11. 6 interface is based on an industry standard e g infrared radio wireless standard IEEE 802 112 802 11b or 802 11g When a particular audio source is being played in the zone player 200 a picture if there is any associated with the audio source may be transmitted from the zone player 200 to the controller 240 for display In an embodiment the controller 240 is used to select an audio source for playback In another embodiment the controller 240 is used to manage e g add delete move save or modify a playlist In the example of FIG 2B the user interface for the con troller 240 includes a screen 242 e g a LCD screen anda set of functional buttons as follows a zones button 244 a back button 246 a music button 248 a scroll wheel 250 ok button 252 set of transport control buttons 254 a mute button 262 a volume up down button 264 a set of soft buttons 266 corresponding to the labels 268 displayed on the screen 242 In the example of FIG 2B the screen 242 displays various screen menus in response to a selection by a user In an embodiment the zones button 244 activates a zone man agement screen or Zone Menu to allow a user to group players in a number of desired zones so that the players are synchronized to play an identical playlist or tracks The back button 246 may lead to different actions depending on the current screen In an embodiment the back button trigger
12. ain a plurality of sound profiles each profile select able by a user or a computing device 18 The system of claim 15 wherein the parameters include at least one of band frequency equalizer and gain 19 The system of claim 15 wherein the interface com prises a web based interface to facilitate review and editing of the sound profile remotely 20 The system of claim 15 wherein the sound profile is to include a number of tuneable sections corresponding to a number of transducers in a speaker to be configured using the sound profile
13. e configuration and a slave device in another configuration for example Also shown is a computing device 144 provided to com municate with one or all of the devices on the network 108 The computing device 144 may be a desktop computer a laptop computer a tablet a smart phone or any computing device with a display screen According to an embodiment each of the networked devices on the network 108 has an IP address The computing device 144 is used by a user to access one or all of the zone players to adjust a sound profile Depending on implementation the sound profile includes various filters frequencies equalizers gains or other factors that may affect a listening experience Referring now to FIG 2A there is shown an example functional block diagram ofa playback device such as a zone player 200 zone player 200 includes a network interface 202 a processor 204 a memory 206 an audio processing circuit 210 a setting module 212 an audio amplifier 214 and a set of speakers The network interface 202 facilitates a data flow between a data network e g the data network 108 of FIG 1 and the zone player 200 and typically executes a special set of rules e g a protocol to send data back and forth One example protocol is TCP IP Transmission Con trol Protocol Internet Protocol commonly used in the Inter net In general a network interface manages the assembling of an audio source or file into smaller packets that are tra
14. e may then be used to playback multimedia content for example In certain embodiments the playback device may be configured or re configured based on profile settings while multimedia content is being played back FIG 5 shows a flowchart or process of sharing a profile between two remotely separated sound systems At block 505 the process 500 begins At block 510 a speaker profile is saved For example a Joe s Jazz Profile sound profile for a playback device or other speaker is configured and saved by a user via an interface such as the example profile interface 300 of FIG 3 At block 515 the profile is shared The profile may be shared with another user another device and so on For example a copy of the profile may be sent to a user device and so on Alternatively a link to the profile may be sent to a user device and so on At block 520 the profile is read For example the profile is accessed by a playback device at a location remote from a location at which the profile was created The playback device a controller associated with the playback device or both the controller and the playback device read the profile At block 525 the playback device is configured based on setting s in the profile For example a profile and or other stored settings may be selected to configure the playback device accordingly At block 530 it is determined whether the profile is to be saved at the playback device If so at block 535 the
15. e method comprising accessing via a first device a playback device on a local network receiving at the first device via the local network an indi cation that a sound profile is available at a location outside of the local network displaying via the first device based on the received indi cation a graphic interface to facilitate initiation of the playback device to obtain the sound profile and causing the playback device to i obtain the sound profile from the location outside of the local network and ii update one or more parameters at the playback device based on the sound profile wherein the playback device is to process an audio signal according to the sound profile 2 The method of claim 1 wherein the sound profile is to be shared with another user remotely located 3 The method of claim 1 further including maintaining a plurality of sound profiles each profile selectable by user or a computer device 4 The method of claim 1 wherein the parameters include at least one of band frequency equalizer and gain 5 method of claim 1 further comprising facilitating review of the sound profile remotely via a web based inter face 6 The method of claim 5 wherein the sound profile is editable remotely via the web based interface 7 The method of claim 1 wherein the sound profile is created to include a number of tuneable sections correspond ing to a number of transducers in a speaker to be configured
16. e screen 242 It can be understood that in a multi zone system there may be mul tiple audio sources being played respectively in more than one zone players The music transport functions described herein shall apply selectively to one of the sources when a corresponding zone player is selected FIG 2C illustrates an internal functional block diagram of an example controller 270 which may correspond to the controller 240 of FIG 2B The screen 272 on the controller 270 may be a LCD screen The screen 272 communicates with and is commanded by a screen driver 274 that is con trolled by a microcontroller e g a processor 276 The memory 282 may be loaded with one or more application modules 284 that can be executed by the microcontroller 276 with or without a user input via the user interface 278 to achieve desired tasks US 8 923 997 B2 7 an embodiment an application module is configured to facilitate other control functions for the zone players for example to initiate a downloading command to receive a sound profile from another user or a speaker system For example a first user wants to share with a second user his sound profile created specifically for a type of jazz music The second user can use the controller 270 to access the system e g the system in FIG 1 of the first user to receive the profile provided the first user allows The received profile can be saved and put into effect in the system being used by the s
17. econd user As a result both systems of the first and second users produce substantially similar sound effects when a jazz music is played back In operation when the microcontroller 276 executes one of the application modules 284 the screen driver 274 generates control signals to drive screen 272 to display an application specific user interface accordingly more of which will be described below In the example of FIG 2C the controller 270 includes a network interface 280 referred to as a RF interface 280 that facilitates wireless communication with a zone player via a corresponding wireless interface or RF interface thereof The controller 270 may control one or more zone players such as 102 104 and 106 of FIG 1 Nevertheless there may be more than one controllers each preferably in a zone e g a room and configured to control any one and all of the zone players It should be pointed out that the controller 240 in FIG 2B is not the only controlling device that may practice certain embodiments Other devices that provide the equivalent con trol functions e g a computing device a PDA a hand held device and a laptop computer etc may also be configured to practice certain embodiments In the above description unless otherwise specifically described keys or buttons are generally referred to as either the physical buttons or soft buttons enabling a user to enter a command or data FIG 3 shows an example interface 300 for a
18. ents a home Thus the zone players 102 and 104 may be located in two of the bedrooms respectively while the zone player 106 may be installed in a living room ofthe zone players 102 104 and 106 are coupled directly or indirectly to a data network 108 that is also referred to as ad hoc network formed by a plurality of zone players and one or more controllers In addition a computing device 110 is shown to be coupled on the network 108 In reality any other devices such as a home gateway device a storage device or an MP3 player may be coupled to the network 108 as well The network 108 may be a wired network a wireless net work or a combination of both In one example all devices including the zone players 102 104 and 106 are wirelessly coupled to the network 108 e g based on an industry stan dard such as IEEE 802 11 In yet another example all devices including the zone players 102 104 and 106 are part of a local area network that communicates with a wide area network e g the Internet 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 4 devices on the network 108 may be configured to download and store audio sources or receive streaming audio sources For example the computing device 110 can down load audio sources from the Internet and store the down loaded sources locally for sharing with other devices on the Internet or the network 108 The zone player 106 can be configured to receive streaming audio
19. ilitating review of the sound profile remotely via a web based interface 13 The computer readable medium of claim 12 wherein the sound profile is editable remotely via the web based inter face 14 The computer readable medium of claim 8 wherein the sound profile is created to include a number of tuneable sections corresponding to a number of transducers in a speaker to be configured using the sound profile 15 A speaker configuration system comprising a computing device including an application module to facilitate control functions for a playback device on a local network including access via a first device to a sound profile to configure the playback device and an interface to based on receipt at the first device via the local network of an indication that a sound profile is available at a location outside of the local network facilitate initiation of the playback device to obtain the sound profile wherein the computing device is to cause the playback device to i obtain the sound profile from the location outside of the local network and ii update one or more parameters at the playback device based on the sound profile wherein the playback device is to process an audio signal according to the sound profile 16 The system of claim 15 wherein the computing device is to facilitate sharing of the sound profile with another user remotely located 17 The system of claim 15 wherein the computing device is to maint
20. io playback device and includes one or more digital to analog converters DAC an audio preprocessing part an audio enhancement part or a digital signal processor and others In operation when an audio source e g audio source is retrieved via the network interface 202 the audio source is processed in the audio processing circuit 210 to produce analog audio signals The processed analog audio signals are then provided to the audio amplifier 214 for playback on speakers In addition the audio processing circuit 210 may include necessary circuitry to process analog signals as inputs to produce digital signals for sharing with other devices on a network Depending on an exact implementation the setting module 212 may be implemented within the audio processing circuit 210 or as a combination of hardware and software The setting module 212 is provided to access different sound profiles stored in the memory 206 of the zone player and work with the audio processing circuit 210 to effectuate the sound qual ity or sound experience In the example of FIG 2A the audio amplifier 214 includes an analog circuit that powers the provided analog audio sig nals to drive one or more speakers 216 In an embodiment the amplifier 214 is automatically powered off when there is no incoming data packets representing an audio source or pow ered on when the zone player is configured to detect the presence of the data packets In the example of FIG 2A the s
21. ns mitted over the data network or reassembles received packets into the original source or file In addition the network inter face 202 handles the address part of each packet so that it gets to the right destination or intercepts packets destined for the zone player 200 In the example of FIG 2A the network interface 202 may include either one or both of a wireless interface 216 and a wired interface 217 The wireless interface 216 such as a radiofrequency RF interface provides network interface US 8 923 997 B2 5 functions wirelessly for the zone player 200 to communicate with other devices in accordance with a communication pro tocol such as the wireless standard 802 11a 802 11b or 802 11g The wired interface 217 provides network interface functions by a wired connection e g an Ethernet cable In an embodiment a zone player referred to as an access zone player includes both of the interfaces 216 and 217 and other zone players include only the RF interface 216 Thus these other zone players communicate with other devices on a network or retrieve audio sources via the access zone player The processor 204 is configured to control the operation of other parts in the zone player 200 The memory 206 may be loaded with one or more software modules that can be executed by the processor 204 to achieve desired tasks In the example of FIG 2A the audio processing circuit 210 resembles most of the circuitry in an aud
22. peakers 216 may be in different configurations For example the speakers may be a configuration of 1 2 channel the stereo audio player is connected to two speakers left and right speakers to form a stereo sound 2 3 channel or 2 1 sound effects the stereo audio player is connected to three speakers left and right speakers and a subwoofer to form a stereo sound and 3 6 channel or 5 1 sound effects the stereo audio player is connected to five speakers front left front right cen ter rear left and rear right speakers and a subwoofer to form a surrounding sound Unless specifically stated herein a device being adjusted includes one or more speakers When a profile is determined asound may be produced collectively from the speakers from one of the speakers and so on Referring now to FIG 2B there is shown an example of a controller 240 which may correspond to the controlling device 140 or 142 of FIG 1 The controller 240 may be used to facilitate the control of multi media applications automa tion and others in a living complex In particular the control ler 240 is configured to facilitate a selection of a plurality of audio sources available on the network controlling opera tions of one or more zone players e g the zone player 200 through a RF interface corresponding to the wireless interface 216 of FIG 2A According to one embodiment the wireless 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65
23. profile is saved at the playback device At block 540 after the playback device is configured the process 500 ends The playback device may then be used to playback multimedia content for example In certain embodiments the playback device may be configured or re configured based on profile settings while multimedia content is being played back processes sequences or steps and features discussed above and in the appendix are related to each other and each is believed independently novel in the art The disclosed processes and sequences may be performed alone or in any combination to provide a novel and unobvious system or a portion ofa system It should be understood that the processes and sequences in combination yield an equally independently novel combination as well even if combined in their broadest sense e g with less than the specific manner in which each ofthe processes or sequences has been reduced to practice in the disclosure herein The forgoing and attached are illustrative of various aspects embodiments ofthe present invention the disclosure of specific sequence steps and the inclusion of specifics with regard to broader methods and systems are not intended to limit the scope of the invention which finds itself in the US 8 923 997 B2 9 various permutations of the features disclosed and described herein as conveyed to one of skill in the art What is claimed is 1 A method for managing a sound profile th
24. s the current screen display to go back to a previous one In another embodiment the back button negates the user s erroneous selection The music button 248 activates a music menu which allows the selection of an audio source e g a song track to be added to a playlist e g a music queue for playback In the example of FIG 2B the scroll wheel 250 is used for selecting an item within a list whenever a list is presented on the screen 242 When the items in the list are too many to be accommodated in one screen display a scroll indicator such as a scroll bar or a scroll arrow is displayed beside the list When the scroll indicator is displayed a user may rotate the scroll wheel 250 to either choose a displayed item or display a hidden item in the list The ok button 252 is use to confirm the user selection on the screen 242 or activate a playback of an item In the example of FIG 2B there are three transport buttons 254 which are used to control the effect of the currently playing track For example the functions of the transport buttons may include play pause and forward rewind a track move forward to the next track or move backward to the previous track According to an embodiment pressing one of the volume control buttons such as the mute button 262 or the volume up down button 264 activates a volume panel In addition there are three soft buttons 266 that can be activated in accordance with the labels 268 on th
25. source and share the source with other devices Shown as a stereo system the device 112 is configured to receive an analog source e g from broadcasting or retrieve a digital source e g from a compact disk The analog sources can be converted to digital sources certain embodiments all audio sources regardless of where they are located or how they are received may be shared among the devices on the network 108 Any device on the network 108 may be configured to control operations of playback devices such as the zone players 102 104 and 106 In particular one or more control ling devices 140 and 142 are used to control zone players 102 104 and 106 as shown in FIG 1 The controlling devices 140 and 142 may be portable for example The controlling devices 140 and 142 may remotely control the zone players via a wireless data communication interface e g infrared radio wireless standard IEEE 802 11b 802 11g etc In an embodiment besides controlling an individual zone player the controlling device 140 or 142 is configured to manage audio sources and other characteristics of all the zone players regardless where the controlling device 140 or 142 is located in a house or a confined complex In certain embodiments a playback device may commu nicate with and or control other playback devices For example one zone player may provide data to one or more other zone players A zone player may serve as a master device in on
26. tually exclusive of other embodi ments Further the order of blocks in process flowcharts or diagrams representing one or more embodiments do not inherently indicate any particular order or imply any limita tions Certain embodiments provide techniques for adjusting loudspeakers referred to herein interchangeably as speakers via the Internet The adjustment includes at least tuning configuration and creation of customized equalizers EQs In one embodiment a graphic interface is provided to tune a loudspeaker and allows a user to do quick iteration on the final sound of the loudspeaker In another embodiment a set of settings can be remotely adjusted or shared with another speaker system In an example application when loudspeakers are placed in a listening environment a customer home or a remote location the loudspeakers sound can be adjusted remotely by a professional or an experienced user through the Internet This allows a listener to be able to select his her favorite sound from a variety of options and sometimes share his her sound with another listener remotely located In certain embodiments the loudspeaker incorporates a method to connect the speaker to the network via a connec tion such as Ethernet or wireless 802 11n For example the Internet Protocol IP address of the loudspeaker is typed into a computer and the computer screen displays a loudspeaker parameter configuration layout In certain embodiments a
27. user to create adjust or update a sound profile When the profile 300 is saved various parameters in the profile 301 are updated When the profile 300 is selected the parameters are put into use and cause an audio signal to be processed accordingly e g to band pass certain frequencies In certain embodi ments a profile 300 may be selected from a plurality of profiles via a controller In certain embodiments a profile 300 may be sent from one user or system to another user or system to configure one or more speakers at the receiving system In certain embodiments a profile 300 may be requested by a user or system As illustrated in the example of FIG 3 the profile 300 may include a preset name or reference 301 an overall gain 303 e g in decibels dB and one or more speaker component settings 305 307 309 e g tweeter midrange woofer and so on For each component one or more parameters e g type frequency e g Hertz quality factor channel gain e g dB delay e g samples phase limiter e g threshold attack e g microseconds release e g milliseconds etc soft clip e g threshold attack e g microseconds release e g milliseconds etc and so on may be specified Thus using the example interface of FIG 3 one or more parameters for one or more settings of a speaker profile 300 may be set In certain embodiments the profile 300 may be initialized with factory or default values and
28. vice includes an application module to facilitate control functions for a playback device including access to a sound profile to configure the playback device The example computing device includes an interface to allow a user to adjust the sound profile wherein the sound profile includes a plurality of playback device parameters for user adjustment The example computing device is to save the sound profile and facilitate application of the sound profile to the playback device to configure output of multimedia con tent via the playback device EXAMPLES Referring now to the drawings in which like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views FIG 1 shows an example configuration 100 in which the present invention may be practiced The configuration may represent but not be limited to a part of a residential home a business building or a complex with multiple zones There are a number of mul timedia players of which three examples 102 104 and 106 are shown as audio devices Each of the audio devices may be installed or provided in one particular area or zone and hence referred to as a zone player herein As used herein unless explicitly stated otherwise a track and an audio source are used interchangeably an audio source or audio sources are in digital format and can be transported or streamed across a data network To facilitate the under standing of the present invention it is assumed that the con figuration 100 repres
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