Voice-to-remaining audio (VRA) interactive hearing aid and auxiliary equipment
AssigneeAkiba Electronics Institute LLC
InventorsMichael A. Vaudrey, William R. Saunders
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An integrated individual listening device and decoder for receiving an audio signal including a decoder for decoding the audio signal by separating the audio signal into a voice signal and a background signal, a first end-user adjustable amplifier coupled to the voice signal and amplifying the voice signal; a second end-user adjustable amplifier coupled to the background signal and amplifying the background signal; a summing amplifier coupled to outputs of said first and second end-user adjustable amplifiers and outputting a total audio signal, said total signal being coupled to an individual listening device.
Claims5
A set-top-terminal for providing voice-to-remaining audio capability comprising:
- a decoder for decoding a bitstream and producing as its output, a digital preferred audio signal and a said digital remaining audio signal;
- a digital to analog (D/A) converter coupled to said decoder, said D/A converter converting said digital preferred audio signal and a digital remaining audio signal into an analog preferred audio signaI and an analog remaining audio signal;
- a transmitter coupled to said D/A converter and transmitting said analog preferred audio signal and said analog remaining audio signal;
- a first end-user adjustable amplifier coupled to said analog preferred voice signal and amplifying said analog preferred voice signal;
- a second end-user adjustable amplifier coupled to said analog remaining audio signal and amplifying said analog remaining audio signal;
- and
- a summer coupled to outputs of said first and second end-user adjustable amplifiers and outputting a total audio signal.
A method for processing a digital bitstream from a set-top terminal, comprising:
- decoding a bitstream to produce a digital preferred audio signal and a digital remaining audio signal;
- converting said digital preferred audio signal and said digital remaining audio signal into an analog preferred audio signal and an analog remaining audio signal;
- transmitting said analog preferred audio signal to a first end-user adjustable amplifier coupled to receive said analog preferred audio signal and said analog remaining audio signal to a second end-user adjustable amplifier coupled to receive said analog remaining audio signal;
- amplifying said analog preferred voice signal with said first end-user adjustable amplifier;
- amplifying said analog remaining audio signal with said second end-user adjustable amplifier;
- and
- summing output from said first and second end-user adjustable amplifiers and outputting a total audio signal to an individual listening device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.