EP2859552A1 - Système audio et procédé d'exploitation de ce système audio - Google Patents

Système audio et procédé d'exploitation de ce système audio

Info

Publication number
EP2859552A1
EP2859552A1 EP13736608.4A EP13736608A EP2859552A1 EP 2859552 A1 EP2859552 A1 EP 2859552A1 EP 13736608 A EP13736608 A EP 13736608A EP 2859552 A1 EP2859552 A1 EP 2859552A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
library
user
item
audio
music
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP13736608.4A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Alastair Brown
Martin Dalgleish
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Corsair Memory Inc
Original Assignee
Corsair Memory Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Corsair Memory Inc filed Critical Corsair Memory Inc
Publication of EP2859552A1 publication Critical patent/EP2859552A1/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
    • G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
    • G11B27/00—Editing; Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Monitoring; Measuring tape travel
    • G11B27/10—Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Measuring tape travel
    • G11B27/19—Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Measuring tape travel by using information detectable on the record carrier
    • G11B27/28—Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Measuring tape travel by using information detectable on the record carrier by using information signals recorded by the same method as the main recording
    • G11B27/32—Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Measuring tape travel by using information detectable on the record carrier by using information signals recorded by the same method as the main recording on separate auxiliary tracks of the same or an auxiliary record carrier
    • G11B27/327—Table of contents
    • G11B27/329—Table of contents on a disc [VTOC]
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F16/00—Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
    • G06F16/60—Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor of audio data
    • G06F16/68—Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
    • G06F16/686—Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually using information manually generated, e.g. tags, keywords, comments, title or artist information, time, location or usage information, user ratings

Definitions

  • This invention relates to audio systems having libraries of digital music, and to methods of operating such systems.
  • the Simple AudioTM system of the present applicants http://simpleaudio.co.uk/) provides a multi-room system which can be operated from a number of computers, each of which may have its own library or libraries; however, the present invention is applicable to other types of system.
  • each album and each track of digital music formats prefferably have associated metadata defining, for example, artist, album, track, bit rate, and frequency. This is commonly done, for example, with ID3 tags, but iTunes® for example includes an XML file with more extensive information.
  • a library will frequently contain more than one copy of a given musical item. For example, a particular track may appear in an original album and also in a "greatest hits" compilation, but these are not necessarily present at the same quality in both cases: one may be recorded at a higher bit rate and frequency than the other.
  • the various copies may differ in other characteristics such as file size or presence of associated artwork.
  • the control system recognises duplicate tracks and deletes one of them in order to reduce storage requirements. This, however, has disadvantages. One is that tracks are deleted without regard to quality, and the track deleted may be of higher quality than the retained track. Secondly, this process leaves gaps in albums. If an album is played which has a deleted track, the system will replace it with the retained track. However, if the album is copied or exported, the deleted track will be missing.
  • the present invention does not treat duplicate items as a waste of resource, but rather seeks to benefit from their presence.
  • the present invention provides an audio system comprising:
  • each item of music having associated therewith metadata including a title and data defining one or more characteristics of the item;
  • - decoding means operable to decode selected music items to provide an audio signal
  • an audio amplifier arranged to receive the audio signal to provide an output for one or more loudspeakers
  • - control means operable to select items to be played
  • control means is arranged to cause the source to scan the library to detect duplicates of selected items and, if one or more duplicates is present, to play the version of the item having a user-defined characteristic.
  • the metadata typically includes data defining audio quality, and the user- defined characteristic is optionally audio quality.
  • the metadata may include one or more of file size and artwork, and the user-defined characteristic may be related to one or more of these.
  • the source of the library optionally is a memory device holding a library or libraries within the system.
  • the source of the library may additionally comprise means for streaming audio data from a remote provider.
  • the memory device is suitably part of a computer controlling the system.
  • the system comprises more than one computer connected in a network, each computer having its own library, and the libraries of all computers on the network can be scanned in response to a request for a given item.
  • each user selects the library or libraries to be scanned.
  • Each user may additionally select streaming sources or other online sources to be searched.
  • each search produces a display showing the versions of the selected item which are available together with their source and selected characteristic, and the user has the option of manually selecting one of them.
  • the present invention provides a method of operating an audio system; the audio system comprising at least one source of a library comprising a plurality of items of music in digital format, each item of music having associated therewith metadata including a title and data defining one or more characteristics of the item; the method comprising:
  • the user-defined characteristic may be one or more of audio quality, file size, and associated artwork.
  • the step of scanning optionally comprises scanning a library held on a memory device within the system, typically scanning more than one library held on more than one memory device within the system.
  • the step of scanning may additionally comprise scanning a library available on a remote provider for streaming or downloading audio data.
  • the method is for use with a system which comprises more than one computer connected in a network, each computer having its own library; and the method comprises scanning the libraries of more than one computer on the network in response to a request for a given item.
  • each user selects the library or libraries to be scanned.
  • Each user may additionally select streaming or download sources to be searched.
  • each search produces a display showing the versions of the selected item which are available together with their source and selected characteristic, and the user has the option of manually selecting one of them.
  • Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one form of audio system according to the invention
  • FIG. 2 is a similar diagram showing a more complex system
  • Fig. 3 is a flow chart of a method embodying the present invention.
  • Fig. 4 is a flow chart of a modified method
  • Fig. 5 illustrates a list produced in the method of Fig. 4. Detailed Description
  • an audio system comprises a computer 10, a decoder and audio amplifier 12, and a pair of loudspeakers 14.
  • the computer 10 holds a library of music items in memory; the music can be in any suitable format such as MP3, AAC, WAV or AIFF having metadata defining title and recording quality (typically bit rate and frequency).
  • Music is typically selected by creating a playlist, or by selecting an album which has its own playlist.
  • the computer 10 is programmed to identify the first item on the playlist and search the library to identify all stored items with the same title. If there is more than one of these, the item with the highest quality is selected for play. The process is repeated for each item on the playlist. This process is illustrated in Fig. 3.
  • Fig. 2 shows in schematic form a Simple AudioTM system in which multiple computers, in this example two computers 10, supply music to separate rooms 16.
  • Digital data passes from the computers 10 via a wireless router 18, from which data is passed to chosen rooms via mains power wiring 20 and Ethernet-over-mains adaptors 22.
  • Each room 16 is equipped with a room module 24 which incorporates a decoder and amplifier, and is connected to speakers 14.
  • One of the computers 10 is designated as the system control.
  • Fig. 2 operates in a similar manner to that of Fig. 1 .
  • each computer 10 has the capability to access the library of all other computers which are connected to the system and operational at that time.
  • Each user can select those libraries to be accessed or not accessed from a list. Therefore, the selected libraries contained in all such computers can be searched for the best quality version of the requested item.
  • Standard media players create libraries automatically and add to and expand them automatically as more music is added by the user.
  • Some users create their own libraries which are in effect folder structures with an [artist][album][track] layout.
  • iTunes® uses the same [artist][album][track] layout but in addition creates an XML file that details the contents of these folders, making indexing them much faster.
  • XML file that details the contents of these folders, making indexing them much faster.
  • Each "duplicate" track may have different artwork.
  • the original album may have one cover art and the compilation album may have another. If the item being played is an album with a compilation track dropped in, a user setting may be provided to allow display of the one cover art or various cover arts.
  • the library or libraries being searched need not be physically stored in a local memory.
  • the system can be set up to search remote sources, for example music streaming services such as DeezerTM
  • the system may also use remote internet based storage such as cloud music services or personal cloud storage.
  • the flow chart of Fig. 4 further illustrates a system in which both local libraries (that is, libraries local to the network of Fig. 2) and streaming services can be used.
  • each item on the playlist causes the selected local libraries and available streaming services to be searched.
  • Available versions of the track are displayed, for example as shown in Fig. 5.
  • Each version includes a logo or word identifying its source, and selected characteristics such as bit rate and bit depth.
  • the system will normally be arranged to default to choosing one track automatically on the basis of the characteristic preselected by the use, but the user also has the option to select an alternative from the list.
  • the user does not simply select a single characteristic as the criterion for choice of track, but rather a hierarchy of criteria.
  • the hierarchy could be (1 ) bit rate, (2) bit depth, and (3) artwork. In this case, if two tracks had the same bit rate evaluation would move on to bit depth, and if that were the same then to artwork.
  • recordings of classical works with musically distinct subdivisions usually identify such subdivisions as separate tracks. It would be undesirable, however, to have for example different movements of a given symphony from different recordings (even if metadata gives the same artist, many orchestras and conductors have plural recordings of common repertoire works).
  • popular music performers may issue studio and live recordings of a given work.
  • This issue can be addressed by allowing the user to add distinguishing tags (for example, iTunes® format allows tags to be edited, and some music rippers such as ID3TM allow tags to be edited or tags can also be edited using specific tag editing software), or by providing an on-screen prompt allowing the automatic selection to be over-ridden.
  • distinguishing tags for example, iTunes® format allows tags to be edited, and some music rippers such as ID3TM allow tags to be edited or tags can also be edited using specific tag editing software
  • the system may alternatively be arranged to select between duplicate items according to some characteristic other than audio quality.
  • the user may set the system to select the smallest file size among the duplicate items, or an item having artwork rather than one without, or to select the best audio quality and use artwork from one of the others if the best quality item has no associated artwork.
  • Any other characteristic may be used as the basis of the selection provided it is available within the published metadata or user-defined characteristics.
  • the computer(s) on the system may be any conventional PC or laptop.
  • Other devices may be used such as smartphones and tablets, as will be readily apparent to those in the art.
  • Other forms of networking can be used, such as hard-wired or wireless
  • the present invention thus allows the best quality version available of a given track to be played while preserving the integrity of the library structure.
  • using multi-user local networks are extremely user-specific: each user can access the combined resources of the network with a personalised choice of libraries and selection criteria.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • Library & Information Science (AREA)
  • Multimedia (AREA)
  • Data Mining & Analysis (AREA)
  • Databases & Information Systems (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Reverberation, Karaoke And Other Acoustics (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne un système et un procédé de sélection de musique à partir d'une ou de plusieurs bibliothèques de musique. Une demande pour une piste donnée entraîne le balayage de ladite ou desdites bibliothèques dans le but de trouver des copies dupliquées de la piste. L'une d'elles est sélectionnée sur la base d'une caractéristique définie par l'utilisateur, telle que la qualité audio. Dans des formes préférées de l'invention, le système est un système multi-utilisateur et multi-dispositif, et le balayage est effectué sur les deux bibliothèques locales dans le réseau local et sur des sources distantes, telles que sources de téléchargement et de diffusion en continu.
EP13736608.4A 2012-06-06 2013-06-06 Système audio et procédé d'exploitation de ce système audio Withdrawn EP2859552A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GBGB1209969.3A GB201209969D0 (en) 2012-06-06 2012-06-06 Audio system and audio system operating method
PCT/GB2013/051498 WO2013182853A1 (fr) 2012-06-06 2013-06-06 Système audio et procédé d'exploitation de ce système audio

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP2859552A1 true EP2859552A1 (fr) 2015-04-15

Family

ID=46582351

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP13736608.4A Withdrawn EP2859552A1 (fr) 2012-06-06 2013-06-06 Système audio et procédé d'exploitation de ce système audio

Country Status (3)

Country Link
EP (1) EP2859552A1 (fr)
GB (1) GB201209969D0 (fr)
WO (1) WO2013182853A1 (fr)

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB201420518D0 (en) 2014-11-19 2014-12-31 Smiths Medical Int Ltd Respiratory therapy apparatus

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2356069A (en) * 1999-06-23 2001-05-09 Jonathan Hardie Music management system with plurality of download formats
US20050171939A1 (en) * 2004-02-04 2005-08-04 Clay Fisher Methods and apparatuses for synchronizing and identifying content
US8510301B2 (en) * 2006-12-14 2013-08-13 Qnx Software Systems Limited System for selecting a media file for playback from multiple files having substantially similar media content

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
See references of WO2013182853A1 *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB201209969D0 (en) 2012-07-18
WO2013182853A1 (fr) 2013-12-12

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