JP2010166534A - Control apparatus, audio output device, theater system, control method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To propose a theater system in which lip-sync correction and time alignment can be automatically performed even when a topology of a surround system is changed. <P>SOLUTION: A topology detection unit 19 inside an AV controller 2 detects a topology of a surround system and records it in an audio/video correction value memory 18 as topology information and when the topology is changed, a video signal delay unit 13 and an audio processing unit 14 perform lip-sync correction and time alignment by adjusting delay amounts of video signals and audio signals in accordance with the topology information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to, for example, a control apparatus, an audio output apparatus, a theater system, a control method, and a program for reproducing a video signal and an audio signal to be output in synchronization.

  The surround system has more channels (multi-channel) than 2 channels (stereo sound), so that the details of the sound image and the atmosphere of the sound field can be reproduced more faithfully at the listening position (listening point). Refers to the sound system. FIG. 17 shows a configuration diagram of a 5.1 channel surround system. As shown in FIG. 17, the 5.1ch surround system is composed of six speakers: a front speaker LR, a center speaker C, a surround speaker SL / SR, and a subwoofer SW. The front speakers L and R are arranged on the front left and right of the listening position (the position indicated by the broken line with the microphone 1010). Further, the center speaker C is arranged at the front center of the listening position, and the surround speakers SL and SR are arranged at the rear left and right of the listening position. The subwoofer SW is a speaker that produces a bass effect. When each speaker outputs a defined sound, it is possible to reproduce a three-dimensional sound with a sense of reality rather than stereo. Examples of the source device 1001 that is a source source of the surround system include a DVD audio, a super audio CD (SACD), and a terrestrial digital radio.

  Further, as described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, there is a configuration example in which speakers are connected in a daisy chain or tree topology (connection form) using an IEEE 1394 network or the like as an interface. Constructing a surround system with such a topology has the merit that wiring can be simplified, such as improvement of the degree of freedom in cable connection and reduction of power wiring.

  Since the surround system is composed of multiple speakers as described above, the playback sound field at the listening position is optimal depending on the distance between the listening position and each speaker, the shape of the room, and the presence or absence of obstacles. There are many cases that do not become. For this reason, some have a time alignment function for correcting the reproduction sound field before performing audio reproduction.

  In general, an AV controller has a time alignment function. Time alignment will be described with reference to FIG. When performing time alignment, the AV controller 1002 first supplies a test signal for sound field correction to each speaker (C, L, R, SL, SR) connected to the own apparatus in order, and outputs it. And the sound output from each speaker (C, L, R, SL, SR) is collected using the microphone 1010 installed in the listening position. The microphone 1010 feeds back the collected audio signal to the AV controller 1002. With the above operation, the AV controller 1002 can grasp, for each speaker, the time until the audio signal output from the own device is output from each speaker and propagates to the listening position (microphone 1010). Therefore, the AV controller 1002 can perform so-called time alignment that adjusts the delay amount of the audio signal supplied to each speaker so that the audio output from each speaker is simultaneously propagated to the listening position.

  In recent years, home theater systems combining a surround system and a television receiver such as a liquid crystal television or a plasma television have become widespread. With the increase in image quality of video signals, the processing load such as the conversion of the number of scanning lines and the image quality improvement processing in the television receiver increases, and the time required for the video signal processing becomes longer than the audio signal processing. As a result, there is a problem that the video and audio are out of synchronization. For this reason, recent television receivers have a so-called lip sync correction function that delays audio output from the built-in speaker of the television receiver according to the time required for video signal processing.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 18, a home theater system for reproducing video signals and audio signals from the source device 1001 by the television receiver 1003 and multi-channel speakers (C, L, R, SL, SR, SW) is constructed. Think about the case. In this case, since the television receiver 1003 and the external speakers (C, L, R, SL, SR, and SW) operate independently, the external speaker takes time for video signal processing performed inside the television receiver 1003. I can't figure it out. Therefore, lip sync correction cannot be performed, and the video and audio are out of synchronization.

Patent document 3 is mentioned as a prior art which solves said problem. The lip sync correction of the home theater system described in Patent Document 3 will be described below with reference to FIG. First, the AV controller 1002 supplies a test signal for correction to the external speakers (C, L, R, SL, SR, SW) connected to the AV controller 1002 and the speaker 1011 with a built-in television receiver 1003. Output. And the sound which each speaker output is collected using the microphone 1010 installed in the listening position. With the above operation, the AV controller 1002 can grasp for each speaker the time taken for the test signal supplied to the speaker to be output from the speaker and propagated to the listening position (installation position of the microphone 1010). As described above, the built-in speaker 1011 incorporated in the television receiver delays the supplied audio signal by the time required for the video signal processing, and then performs output. Therefore, lip sync correction and time alignment can be performed by adjusting the output timing of the external speakers (C, L, R, SL, SR, SW) in accordance with the output timing of the television receiver built-in speaker 1011. Hereinafter, the above-described conventional lip sync correction and time alignment are referred to as initial lip sync correction.
JP 2002-199487 A JP 2003-61186 A JP 2007-329633 A

  However, when external speakers are connected by daisy chain connection or tree connection, as described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, there are problems described below.

  FIG. 19 shows a configuration example of a home theater system in which external speakers are connected in a daisy chain. In the surround system shown in FIG. 19, the audio signal from the AV controller 1002 is propagated to each speaker according to the topology of the external speakers (C, L, R, SL, SR, SW) on the network. Such time (hereinafter, voice transmission time) varies. This will be described with reference to FIGS. 19A and 19B.

  In the topology (A) shown in FIG. 19A, the audio signal output from the AV controller 1002 passes through two speakers until it propagates to the surround speakers SL and SR that are the end speakers. On the other hand, in the topology (B) shown in FIG. 19B, the audio signal supplied by the AV controller 1002 passes through the five speakers before propagating to the subwoofer SW that is the terminal speaker. That is, when the topology (A) and the topology (B) are compared, the topology (B) passes through three more speakers before the audio signal reaches the end speaker. That is, the audio transmission time required for the topology (B) to reach the terminal speaker is longer.

  Here, consider a case where initial lip sync correction (lip sync correction and time alignment) is performed using the technique of Patent Document 3 in the surround system of topology (A). After the initial lip sync correction, it is assumed that only the topology is changed from topology (A) to topology (B) without changing the position of the speaker. Then, as described above, since the audio transmission time of each speaker changes, the synchronization between audio and video and audio is lost. The above problem becomes more prominent as the number of speaker channels increases to 7.1 ch and 9.1 ch. In addition, it becomes more prominent when an interface that digitally modulates and transmits an audio signal and performs digital modulation / demodulation every time it passes through a node is adopted.

  In a surround system in which external speakers are connected in a daisy chain shape or a tree shape, it is considered that there is a case where the topology is changed without changing the position of the speakers as described above due to room redesign. For example, while enjoying video viewing with the home theater system of topology (B) shown in FIG. 19, the sofa was placed at the listening position, and the cable 2001 was in the way. Therefore, this is a case where the connection form of the external speaker is changed to topology (A).

  In such a case, in the conventional technology, every time the user changes the speaker topology, a microphone is installed at the listening position, and an initial lip sync correction such as emitting a test signal from each speaker must be performed. It is very troublesome. In addition, since the position of the speaker is not changed depending on the user, it may be erroneously determined that the sound field will not change only by changing the topology.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention automatically estimates lip sync correction and audio transmission time by estimating and appropriately correcting the audio transmission time to the audio output device even if the topology of the audio output device is changed after the initial lip sync correction. The purpose is to enable time alignment.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following configuration. A control device that is connected to a plurality of audio output devices and a video display device, outputs a video signal to the video display device, and outputs an audio signal to the audio output device, and the audio output device And detecting means for detecting the connection form, and sound delay means for delaying the sound signal output to the sound output device based on the connection form detected by the detecting means.

  According to the present invention, even when the topology of the audio output device is changed after the initial lip sync correction, the lip sync correction and the time alignment can be automatically performed. Therefore, it is possible to improve the convenience by eliminating the time for the user to consciously correct.

  Embodiments of a home theater system proposed by the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a home theater system in the present embodiment. The home theater system of FIG. 1 includes a source device 1, an AV controller 2, a television receiver 3, and a plurality of external speakers (C, L, R, SL, SR, SW that are independent of the television receiver 3). ). At this time, the external speakers (C, L, R, SL, SR, SW) are daisy chain connected as shown in FIG. The AV controller 2 can be connected with a microphone 10 for correcting the sound field. The daisy chain connection is a connection form in which devices are connected in series, and can be regarded as a tree connection without branching if attention is paid to its topology.

  The source device 1 is a video / audio reproduction device such as a DVD player or a home server. The video and audio signals output from the source device 1 pass through the AV controller 2, the video signals are sent to the television receiver 3, and the audio signals are sent to the external speakers (C, L, R, SL, SR, SW), respectively. Is transmitted. The AV controller 2 is a video / audio control device that totally controls an audio signal and a video signal, and an AV amplifier or the like is a typical example.

  The configuration of the AV controller 2 will be described. The I / F 12 in the AV controller 2 separates the video and audio signals transmitted from the source device 1 into video signals and audio signals, respectively. Here, the I / F 12 is an interface such as HDMI.

  The video signal output from the I / F 12 is output to the television receiver 3 through the video signal delay unit 13. On the other hand, the audio signal output from the I / F 12 is subjected to signal processing such as delay adjustment in the audio processing unit 14, and then passes through the I / F 15 to external speakers (C, L, R, SL, SR). , SW). That is, the audio processing unit 14 also has a function of an audio signal delay unit. Although details will be described later, lip sync correction and time alignment in the home theater system of FIG. 1 will be briefly described below.

  First, the test signal generator 16 in the AV controller 2 generates and outputs a test signal for correction. The output test signal is sequentially supplied to the external speakers (C, L, R, SL, SR, SW) and the speaker 11 with built-in television receiver 3 through the audio processing unit 14. Then, the external speakers (C, L, R, SL, SR, SW) and the television receiver 3 built-in speaker 11 sequentially reproduce the supplied test signals. The reproduced sound is collected using the microphone 10 installed at the listening position and fed back to the sound field analysis unit 17 as a response signal. The sound field analysis unit 17 analyzes the input response signal and stores the analysis result in the audio / video correction value memory 18 as delay time information. The audio processing unit 14 reads the delay time information stored in the audio / video correction value memory 18 and adjusts the delay amount of the audio signal. As described above, in this embodiment, the lip sync correction and the time alignment are performed by providing the audio signal feedback system. Hereinafter, the lip sync correction and time alignment process described above will be referred to as initial lip sync correction.

  The topology detector 19 detects the topology of the speaker network constituting the surround system at an arbitrary timing. The topology information is updated every arbitrary timing or when the connection form is changed, and stored in the audio / video correction value memory 18. A method for detecting the topology will be described later with reference to FIGS.

  In the present embodiment, the test signal generator 16 is provided in the AV controller 2, but the present invention is not limited to this form. For example, it may be provided outside the AV controller 2 or a method of reproducing from the source device 1 using a DVD medium or the like on which a test signal is recorded may be used.

  In this embodiment, the 5.1 channel surround system will be described. However, the present invention can be applied to any multi-channel such as 7.1 channel or 9.1c, and the number of channels is not particularly specified. In this embodiment, two output ports from the AV controller 2 to the external speaker are prepared, but there is no particular limitation because it is sufficient if the number of ports is one or more and less than the number of channels.

<Propagation of audio signal>
Next, an audio signal propagation method in the surround system of this embodiment will be described. First, the I / F 15 of the AV controller 2 will be described. The I / F 15 includes a modulator 20 and a demodulator 21 as shown in FIG. The modulation unit 20 performs predetermined modulation on the audio signal from the audio processing unit 14 or the topology diagnosis signal from the topology detection unit 19 to be described later, and outputs it to external speakers (C, L, R, SL, SR, SW). . Further, the demodulator 21 performs a predetermined demodulation on a topology notification signal from each speaker, which will be described later, and outputs it to the topology detector 19.

  The modulation / demodulation method applied by the modulation unit 20 and the demodulation unit 21 is not particularly specified. Any modulation / demodulation method may be used as long as it can perform voice transmission. In FIG. 1, the AV controller 2 and the external speaker or the external speaker and the external speaker are connected with one cable. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and two or more cables are used. Also good.

  Next, the configuration and operation of the external speakers (C, L, R, SL, SR, SW) will be described. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the external speaker. The I / F 22 that is an interface unit of external speakers (C, L, R, SL, SR, SW) is configured by a modulation unit 23, a modulation unit 25, a demodulation unit 24, and a demodulation unit 26. The demodulator 24 demodulates the audio signal or the topology diagnosis signal from the AV controller 2 or the upstream external speaker, and outputs the audio signal to the own CH extraction unit 28 and the topology diagnosis signal to the topology notification unit 27. Here, it is assumed that the audio signal has a configuration in which all CH data is included in one frame as shown in FIG. The own channel extraction unit 28 extracts only the own channel audio signal from the input audio signal and outputs the input audio signal to the modulation unit 25 as it is. Then, the modulation unit 25 performs predetermined modulation on the input audio signal and outputs it to the downstream external speaker. The sound signal of the own CH extracted by the own CH extraction unit 28 is converted into an analog signal by the DAC 30, the analog signal is amplified by the AMP 31, and is emitted as sound by the speaker 32.

  In the present embodiment, the audio signal is propagated as described above. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that an ID indicating the role of the own CH (hereinafter, role ID information) is held in advance in the role notification unit 33 in each speaker as information unique to the device. Here, the role refers to C, L, R, SL, SR, and SW. The own CH extraction unit 28 and the topology notification unit 27 to be described later grasp the role of the own CH by reading the role ID information stored in the role notification unit 33, for example, when the system is started.

<Topology detection>
Next, the operation of the topology notification unit 27 in FIG. 2 will be described. The topology notification unit 27 receives the topology diagnosis signal from the topology detection unit 19, and sends a topology notification signal, which is connection type information including the role ID information of the own device and information on the network type, to the modulation unit 23, and creates a new topology. Diagnostic signals are output to the modulator 25, respectively. Details of the topology notification signal and the topology diagnosis signal will be described later with specific examples. Upon receiving the topology notification signal, the modulation unit 23 performs predetermined modulation and outputs the result to the upstream external speaker or AV controller 2. Upon receiving the topology diagnosis signal, the modulation unit 25 performs predetermined modulation and outputs the result to a downstream external speaker.

  The demodulator 26 demodulates the topology communication signal from the downstream external speaker and outputs the demodulated signal to the topology notification unit 27. Upon receiving the topology notification signal, the topology notification unit 27 outputs the topology notification signal to the modulation unit 23 as it is. At this time, the topology notification signal of the own device may be added to the topology notification signal from the downstream external speaker and output.

  Next, a specific example of topology detection will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 shows examples of topology diagnosis signals and topology notification signals. The topology diagnosis signal is composed of 3 bits as shown in FIG. 4, and includes topology information (hereinafter referred to as stage number information) indicating the number of levels in the hierarchy from the AV controller 2. On the other hand, the topology notification signal is composed of 6 bits, and has a structure in which role ID information 3 bits indicating the role of the own CH is added to 3 bits including the stage number information.

  A topology detection method using the topology diagnosis signal and topology notification signal of FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIG. First, a topology diagnosis signal 000 is output from the AV controller 2. Upon receiving the topology diagnosis signal 000, the center speaker C and the subwoofer SW transfer 001 obtained by adding 1 to the stage number information to the downstream front speaker L and front speaker R as a new topology diagnosis signal 001. Similarly, the front speaker L and the front speaker R that have received the topology diagnosis signal 001 transfer 010 obtained by adding 1 to the stage number address to the surround speaker SL and the surround speaker SR as a new topology diagnosis signal 010.

  Here, it is assumed that 3-bit role ID information indicating the role of the own CH is added to each speaker in advance. As described above, this role ID information is stored in the role notification unit 33 inside the external speaker. Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the center speaker C, the front speaker L, the front speaker R, the surround speaker SL, the surround speaker SR, and the subwoofer SW are set with role IDs 000, 001, 010, 011, 100, and 101, respectively. Has been. The external speaker that has received the topology diagnosis signal outputs a topology notification signal in which the role ID information of the own channel is added to the topology diagnosis signal to the upstream external speaker or AV controller 2. Further, the topology notification signal is output from the downstream external speaker as it is, or is added to its own topology notification signal and output to the upstream external speaker or AV controller 2. As described above, each speaker can transmit the topology notification signal including the role ID information of the own CH and the topology information (stage number information) of the own CH to the AV controller 2. Then, the topology detector 19 of the AV controller 2 that has received the topology notification signal from each external speaker grasps the topology of the external speakers (C, L, R, SL, SR, SW) constituting the surround system on the network. can do. The audio / video correction value memory 18 updates and records the topology information grasped by the topology detection unit 19 at any timing or when the connection form is changed.

  Note that the topology detection method described above is an example, and another method may be used. Moreover, you may change the structure of a topology diagnostic signal and a topology notification signal as needed.

<Initial lip sync correction method>
Next, in this embodiment, an initial lip sync correction and time alignment method when a home theater system is installed will be described. As described above, this initial correction means is hereinafter referred to as initial lip sync correction.

  First, when performing the initial lip sync correction, the microphone 10 is installed at the listening position as shown in FIG. The microphone 10 is connected to the sound field analysis unit 17 of the AV control 2, and the sound field analysis unit 17 digitally converts the sound signal collected by the microphone 10 and performs signal analysis.

  When performing the initial lip sync correction, first, the test signal generation unit 16 in the AV controller 2 generates a test signal for correction and outputs it to the audio processing unit 14. At this time, the test signal generator 16 outputs time information (hereinafter, output timing information) related to the timing at which the test signal is output to the sound field analyzer 17. The audio processing unit 14 first supplies a test signal to the television receiver 3. The television receiver 3 that has received the test signal delays the audio signal by the time required for the video signal processing inside the television receiver 3 and then outputs it from the built-in speaker 11.

  The sound output from the television receiver 3 propagates through the space and is collected using the microphone 10. The sound signal collected from the microphone 10 is output to the sound field analysis unit 17 as a response signal. Upon receiving the response signal, the sound field analyzer 17 compares the time difference between the timing at which the response signal is input and the output timing of the test signal. Then, the audio delay time (the audio transmission time up to the speaker built in the television receiver 3 + the space propagation time until the audio output from the speaker propagates to the microphone) is grasped.

  Similarly, the test signal is supplied to the external speakers (C, L, R, SL, SR, SW), and the microphone 10 collects the sound emitted from the external speaker. Then, the sound field analysis unit 17 receives and analyzes the response signal, thereby grasping the sound delay time (the sound transmission time to each external speaker + the space propagation time until the sound output from the speaker propagates to the microphone). To do.

  The sound field analysis unit 17 obtains information about the audio delay time (hereinafter referred to as delay time information) of the television receiver built-in speaker 11 and the external speakers (C, L, R, SL, SR, SW) obtained by the above operation as audio. / Write to video correction memory 18 The audio processing unit 14 then delays until the audio signal is supplied to the external speaker in accordance with the audio delay time of the television receiver built-in speaker 11 based on the delay time information written in the audio / video correction memory 18. Adjust the amount. Thereafter, the built-in speaker 11 of the television receiver 3 is controlled to be muted.

  By performing the correction as described above, in the present embodiment, initial lip sync correction (lip sync correction and time alignment) is performed.

  In the present embodiment, the above method is used as the initial lip sync correction method. However, the method is not limited to this method, and lip sync correction and time alignment may be used by another method.

<Lip sync correction and time alignment corresponding to topology change>
Next, a description will be given of a lip sync correction method in the case where the topology of the external speakers constituting the surround system is changed after the initial lip sync correction process is performed. Here, as a specific example, a case will be described in which the initial lip sync correction is performed in the topology (A) shown in FIG. 6A and then changed to the topology (B) shown in FIG. 6B.

  When the topology is changed from topology (A) to topology (B), the number of stages through which the front speaker R, the surround speaker SR, and the subwoofer SW pass through the speaker from the AV controller changes. Therefore, the voice transmission time also changes.

  FIG. 7 illustrates the change in the audio transmission time in the external speakers (C, L, R, SL, SR, SW) caused by the topology change. Here, it is assumed that the audio signal and the video signal shown in FIG. 7 are signals that should be simultaneously transmitted to the listening position at the synchronization timing.

  Before the topology is changed, that is, in the state of topology (A), since the initial lip sync correction is performed, as shown in FIG. 7A, each audio signal and video signal are simultaneously set to the listening position at the synchronization timing. Has been propagated. However, when the topology (B) is changed in this state, the number of external speakers through which audio information passes increases. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7B, there is a delay of Td in the surround speaker SR, 3Td in the front speaker R, and 5Td in the subwoofer. Here, Td is a delay time generated when an audio signal passes through one speaker, that is, a time required for modulation / demodulation processing. In practice, the delay in the cable also changes, but it is negligible in the present embodiment because it is very small compared to the time required for the modulation / demodulation process.

  When the topology of the external speakers constituting the surround system is changed from topology (A) to topology (B) as described above, a delay of Td occurs in the surround speaker SR. The reason is that the number of speakers passing between the AV controller 2 and the surround speakers SR (hereinafter referred to as the number of vias) is increased by one. Similarly, the front speaker R has three stages, the subwoofer SW has five stages, and the number of transit stages increases as the topology changes, so that delays of 3Td and 5Td occur as shown in FIG. 7B.

  As described above, due to the change in the topology of the external speaker, the audio transmission time in each external speaker is shifted. For this reason, the video and audio and the audio are out of synchronization. However, the AV controller 2 knows in advance the topology change and the delay time Td when the audio signal passes through one speaker, and the audio processor 14 appropriately adjusts the delay amount of the audio signal. Therefore, lip sync correction and time alignment corresponding to the topology change can be performed. A lip sync correction and time alignment method corresponding to the topology change will be described below.

  As described above, the topology detector 19 in FIG. 1 detects the topology of the external speaker at an arbitrary timing. The arbitrary timing here is an arbitrary period when the system is started, when audio reproduction is started, or during audio reproduction, and is not particularly defined as long as a change in topology can be detected.

  As described above, the topology detection unit 19 outputs a topology diagnosis signal to each external speaker at an arbitrary timing, and receives the topology notification signal from the external speaker, thereby detecting the topology of the external speaker. The topology information detected by the topology detector 19 is stored in the audio / video correction memory 18 at an arbitrary timing or when the topology changes. Thereby, it has a function as a connection form memory | storage means.

  The audio processing unit 14 performs lip sync correction and time alignment processing based on the above-described delay time information and topology information. When the topology of the external speaker is changed, the topology detection unit 19 stores the topology information after the topology change in the audio / video correction value memory 18. The audio / video correction value memory 18 calculates a difference between the stored topology information before and after the topology change (hereinafter, topology change information) and stores it as topology change information. The audio processing unit 14 estimates a change in audio transmission time of each speaker based on the topology change information, and adjusts the delay amount of the audio signal based on the estimated value. Through the above operation, the synchronization gap between the voices caused by the topology change is corrected. At the same time, the video signal delay unit 13 adjusts the delay amount of the video signal based on the topology change information of the audio / video correction memory so that the video and audio are not synchronized. As described above, lip sync correction and time alignment after topology change are performed.

  A specific correction method will be described below by taking as an example the case where the topology (A) in FIG. 6 is changed to the topology (B). FIG. 8 shows a specific example of the topology information held in the audio / video correction memory 18. The information held in the table 1 of FIG. 8 is the stage number information of each speaker in the topology (A) when the initial lip sync correction is performed. For example, since the center speaker C is directly connected to the AV controller 2, the stage number information is held as zero. Since the front speaker L is connected via the center speaker C, the stage number information is held as 1. As described above, the table 1 holds the information on the number of stages of each speaker when the initial lip sync correction is performed, and this information is not updated until the next initial lip sync correction.

  On the other hand, the topology information held in the table 2 is information on the number of stages of each speaker in the current topology of the surround system, and this information is updated every time the topology detection unit 19 performs topology detection. Table 3 holds the difference (topology change information) between the number of stages information held in Table 1 and Table 2.

  FIG. 8I shows the topology information held before the topology change, that is, inside the audio / video correction memory of the topology (A). In Table 1, information on the number of stages of external speakers in the topology (A) subjected to the initial lip sync correction is registered. Also, in the table 2, the number of stages information of the same topology (A) as the table 1 is registered. Table 3 holds topology change information. Since no topology change is performed at this stage, all 0s are held in Table 3. The voice processing unit 14 reads the topology change information in the table 3 at an arbitrary timing. In FIG. 8 (I), since all the values held in the table 3 are 0, the audio processing unit 14 assumes that the topology of the external speaker has not been changed, and the audio signal is corrected with the correction values so far. Adjust the delay amount.

  When the topology is changed from topology (A) to topology (B), the topology information is updated as shown in FIG. The topology information in the topology (A) is held as it is in the table 1 in FIG. 8 (II), but the topology information in the changed topology (B) is registered in the table 2. Table 3 holds the difference in the stage number information between topology (A) and topology (B).

  The voice processing unit 14 determines that the topology has been changed because the values held in the table 3 include values other than 0. By reading Table 3, the audio processing unit 14 compares the current topology (topology (B)) with the topology (topology (A)) in which the initial lip sync was performed. As a result, it can be seen that the number of via stages increased by one for the surround speaker SR, three for the front speaker R, and five for the subwoofer SW. The audio processing unit 14 performs correction based on the value with the largest number of via stages, in this example, the five stages of the subwoofer SW.

  The audio processing unit 14 adjusts the delay amount when supplying the audio signal to the external speaker so that the audio transmission time to all the speakers is delayed in the same manner as the deviation of the audio transmission time generated in the subwoofer SW: 5Td. FIG. 7C shows the corrected audio and video timing. Specifically, the center speaker C delays 5Td, the front speaker L 5Td, the front speaker R 2Td, the surround speaker SL 5Td, and the surround speaker SR 4Td delayed to transmit an audio signal. By the correction operation using the correction value described above, the audio signal is propagated to the listening position in synchronization with the synchronization timing as shown in FIG. At this time, the video signal delay unit 13 also adjusts the video signal to be delayed by 5 Td as shown in FIG.

  By performing the correction as described above, in this embodiment, even when the topology of the external speaker is changed after the initial lip sync correction, the lip sync correction can be automatically performed.

  Next, the case where the topology (B) in FIG. 6 is changed to the topology (A) will be described contrary to the above-described example. The state of the output timing of the audio and video at this time is shown in FIG. 9 in the same format as FIG. FIG. 10 shows the topology information held in the audio / video correction memory in the same format as in FIG.

  FIG. 10I shows the topology information held before the topology change, that is, inside the audio / video correction memory of topology (B), as in FIG. 8I. In Table 1, information on the number of stages of external speakers in the topology (B) subjected to the initial lip sync correction is registered. In addition, the number of stages of the same topology (B) as in Table 1 is registered in Table 2. Table 3 holds topology change information. Since no topology change is performed at this stage, all 0s are held in Table 3. Since all values held in the table 3 are 0, the audio processing unit 14 assumes that the topology of the external speaker has not been changed, and adjusts the delay amount of the audio signal with the correction values so far.

  When the topology is changed from topology (B) to topology (A), the topology information is updated as shown in FIG. The topology information in topology (B) is held as it is in table 1 in FIG. 10 (II), but the topology information in topology (A) after the change is registered in table 2. Table 3 holds the difference in the number of stages information between topology (B) and topology (A).

  The voice processing unit 14 determines that the topology has been changed because the values held in the table 3 include values other than 0. The audio processing unit 14 reads the table 3, and in the current topology (A), the surround speaker SR has one stage, the front speaker R has three stages, and the subwoofer SW has five stages compared to the topology (B) in which the initial lip sync is performed. It can be seen that the number of transit stages has decreased. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9C, the audio processing unit 14 adjusts only the difference value of the audio transmission time so as to delay each speaker in which the difference occurs. That is, the lip sync correction and the time alignment can be performed as shown in FIG. 9C by delaying the output by Td for the surround speaker SR, 3Td for the front speaker R, and 5Td for the subwoofer SW.

  As described above, even if the speaker topology is changed after the initial lip sync correction, the lip sync correction and time alignment can be automatically performed without the user's awareness, improving convenience. be able to.

<Embodiment 2>
In the first embodiment, a case where a home theater system is constructed using a surround system in which external speakers are connected in a daisy chain has been described. In the present embodiment, a case where a home theater system is constructed using a surround system in which external speakers are tree-connected and / or daisy-chain connected will be described.

  FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of a home theater system in the present embodiment. The home theater system of FIG. 11 is similar to FIG. 1 in that the source device 1, AV controller 2, television receiver 3, and external speakers (C, L, R, SL, SR, SW) independent of the television receiver 3 are used. It is composed of At this time, the external speakers (C, L, R, SL, SR, SW) are tree-connected as shown in FIG. The AV controller 2 can be connected with a microphone 10 for correcting the sound field.

  Here, since the source device 1, the AV controller 2, and the television receiver 3 have the same configuration as that of the first embodiment, detailed operations are omitted. The difference from the first embodiment is that the number of output ports owned by external speakers has increased from 1 to 2, and the number of other external speakers that can be connected as output destinations has increased. In this embodiment, the number of output ports of the external speaker is limited to 2, but two or more output ports may be owned.

<Propagation of audio signal>
Next, the configuration and operation of the external speakers (C, L, R, SL, SR, SW) will be described. FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram of external speakers (C, L, R, SL, SR, SW) in the present embodiment. The difference from the configuration of the external speaker described in the first embodiment (FIG. 2) is that it has two output ports for the downstream speaker.

  Since the operations of the blocks other than the modulation unit 33 and the demodulation unit 34 and the audio signal propagation method are the same as those in the first embodiment, detailed description thereof will be omitted. The modulation unit 33 performs predetermined modulation on the new topology diagnosis signal from the topology notification unit 27 and the audio signal from the own CH extraction unit 28, and outputs them to two (or one) external speakers connected downstream. To do. The demodulator 34 receives topology notification signals from two (or one) external speakers connected downstream, performs predetermined demodulation, and outputs to the topology notification unit 27.

<Topology detection>
Next, a specific example of topology detection in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The topology diagnosis signal and the topology notification signal are configured as shown in FIG. 4 as in the first embodiment.

  A topology detection method using the topology diagnosis signal and topology notification signal of FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the AV controller 2 outputs a topology diagnosis signal 000 to an external speaker. The front speaker L that has received the topology diagnosis signal 000 outputs 001 obtained by adding 1 to the stage number information as a new topology diagnosis signal 001 to the center speaker C and the surround speaker SL, which are downstream external speakers. Similarly, the subwoofer SW that has received the topology diagnosis signal 000 outputs 001 obtained by adding 1 to the stage number information to the front speaker R and the surround speaker SR that are downstream external speakers as a new topology diagnosis signal 001.

  Each speaker is added with 3-bit role ID information indicating the role of the own CH. Here, it is assumed that role ID information of 000, 001, 010, 011, 100, and 101 is set in advance for the center speaker C, front speaker L, front speaker R, surround speaker SL, and surround speaker SR, respectively. . The external speaker that has received the topology diagnosis signal outputs a topology notification signal in which the role ID information of the own channel is added to the topology diagnosis signal to the upstream external speaker or AV controller 2. The topology notification signal from the downstream external speaker is output as it is to the upstream external speaker or AV controller 2 without adding the topology notification signal of its own device. As described above, each external speaker can transmit the topology notification signal including the role ID information of the own CH and the topology information (stage number information) of the own CH to the AV controller 2. Then, the topology detector 19 of the AV controller 2 that has received the topology notification signal from each external speaker can grasp the topology of the surround system.

<Lip sync correction method after topology change>
Next, a description will be given of a lip sync correction method when the topology of the surround system is changed after performing the initial lip sync correction processing in the home theater system of the present embodiment. Since the initial lip sync correction method is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

  Here, as a specific example, a case will be described in which the initial lip sync correction is performed in the topology (C) shown in FIG. 14C and then the topology (D) shown in FIG. 14D is changed. When the topology is changed from topology (C) to topology (D), the number of vias from the AV controller 2 changes in the center speaker C, front speaker L, surround speaker SL, surround speaker SR, and subwoofer SW. Therefore, the voice transmission time also changes.

  FIG. 15 illustrates the change in the audio transmission time in the external speakers (C, L, R, SL, SR, SW) caused by the topology change. Before the topology is changed, that is, in the state of topology (C), since the initial lip sync correction is performed, as shown in FIG. 15 (a), each audio data and video data is simultaneously listened at the synchronization timing. Is propagated to. However, when the topology is changed to the topology (D) in this state, as shown in FIG. 15B, a deviation occurs from the synchronization timing before the topology change (topology (C)). Here, the center speaker C has a Td advance (difference in audio transmission time, in other words, a delay of -Td), the front speaker L, the surround speaker SL, and the surround speaker SR have a Td delay, and the subwoofer has a 2Td delay. It will occur. Here, Td is a delay time generated when an audio signal passes through one speaker, as in the first embodiment. As described above, the topology detection unit 19 outputs a topology diagnosis signal to each external speaker at an arbitrary timing, and receives the topology notification signal from each speaker, thereby detecting the topology of the external speaker. The topology information detected by the topology detector 19 is stored in the audio / video correction memory 18.

  FIG. 16 shows a specific example of the topology information held in the audio / video correction memory. As in the first embodiment, the information stored in the table 1 is the number of stages of each speaker in the topology (C) when the initial lip sync correction is performed. The topology information held in the table 2 is speaker stage number information in the current surround system topology. The table 3 holds a difference value (topology change information) between the number-of-stage information held in the tables 1 and 2.

  FIG. 16I shows the topology information held before the topology change, that is, inside the audio / video correction memory of topology (C). In Table 1, information on the number of stages of external speakers in the topology (C) subjected to the initial lip sync correction is registered. Also, in the table 2, the stage number information of the same topology (C) as the table 1 is registered. Also, topology change information is registered in Table 3. Since no topology change is performed at this stage, all 0s are held in Table 3.

  Similar to the first embodiment, the voice processing unit 14 reads the topology change information in the table 3 at each arbitrary timing. Since all the values held in the table 3 are 0, the audio processing unit 14 considers that the topology of the external speaker is not changed, and adjusts the delay amount of the audio signal with the correction values so far.

  When the topology is changed from topology (C) to topology (B), the topology information is updated as shown in FIG. In FIG. 16 (II), the topology information in the topology (C) is held as it is in the table 1, but the topology information in the changed topology (D) is registered in the table 2. Table 3 holds the difference in the number of stages information between topology (C) and topology (D).

  The voice processing unit 14 determines that the topology has been changed because the value held in the table 3 includes a value other than 0. By reading the table 3, the speech processing unit 14 knows that the number of via stages has increased in the current topology (D) compared to the topology (C) in which the initial lip sync was performed. Here, it can be seen that the center speaker C is −1 stage, the front speaker L is 1 stage, the surround speaker L is 1 stage, the surround speaker R is 1 stage, the subwoofer SW is 2 stages, and the number of vias is increased. The audio processing unit 14 performs correction based on the value having the largest number of via stages, in this example, two stages of the subwoofer SW.

  The audio processing unit 14 adjusts the delay amount when supplying the audio signal to the external speaker so that the audio transmission time of all the speakers is delayed in the same manner as the deviation of the audio transmission time generated in the subwoofer SW: 2Td. Specifically, the center speaker C 3Td, the front speaker L Td, the front speaker R 2Td, the surround speaker SL Td, and the surround speaker SR transmit an audio signal with a delay Td. At the same time, the video signal delay unit 13 also adjusts the video signal to be delayed by 2Td and displays the video. By the operation as described above, audio and video are simultaneously propagated to the listening position as shown in FIG.

  As described above, even if the speaker topology is changed after the initial lip sync correction, the lip sync correction and the time alignment can be automatically performed by appropriately performing the audio delay and the video delay. This eliminates the need for the user to consciously correct and can improve convenience.

<Remarks>
An object of the present invention is to supply a recording medium recording a program for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and to read and execute the program stored in the storage medium by a computer of the system or apparatus. Is also achieved. In this case, the executable program itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program itself and the storage medium storing the program constitute the present invention.

  For example, the processing of the voice processing unit 14 and the topology detection unit 19 can be performed by software.

  In addition, according to the present invention, an operating system (OS) or the like running on a computer performs part or all of actual processing based on a program instruction, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. This is also included. Furthermore, the present invention is also applied to a case where a program read from a storage medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion card inserted into a computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. In that case, the CPU of the function expansion card or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing based on the written program instruction, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

  Further, the embodiments of the invention describe an apparatus or a method configured with the present invention as a core. For this reason, in this embodiment, additional constituent elements are described in addition to the essential part of the present invention. That is, providing the constituent elements of the apparatus or method described in the embodiment of the present invention is not a necessary condition, although it is a sufficient condition for establishing the present invention.

It is an example of the block diagram regarding the whole home theater system of Embodiment 1 to which this invention is applicable. It is an example of the block diagram of the external speaker in the home theater system of Embodiment 1 to which this invention is applicable. It is an example figure of the frame structure of the flame | frame of the audio | voice signal in the proposed home theater system which can apply this invention. It is an example figure of the structure of the topology diagnostic signal and topology notification signal in the proposed home theater system which can apply this invention. It is a figure explaining the topology detection method in the home theater system of Embodiment 1 to which this invention is applicable. It is a figure which shows the example of a topology structure of the home theater system of Embodiment 1 which this invention can apply. It is a figure showing the change of the synchronous timing of an audio | voice and an image | video by the case where it changes from topology (A) to topology (B) in the home theater system of Embodiment 1 which this invention can apply. It is a table figure regarding the topology information memorize | stored in audio | voice correction | amendment value memory when changing from topology (A) to topology (B) in the home theater system of Embodiment 1 which this invention can apply. It is a figure showing the change of the synchronous timing of an audio | voice and an image | video by the case where it changes from topology (B) to topology (A) in the home theater system of Embodiment 1 which this invention can apply. It is a table figure regarding the topology information memorize | stored in an audio | voice / video correction value memory, when changing from topology (B) to topology (A) in the home theater system of Embodiment 1 which this invention can apply. It is an example of the block diagram regarding the whole home theater system of Embodiment 2 to which this invention is applicable. It is an example of the block diagram of the external speaker in the home theater system of Embodiment 2 to which this invention is applicable. It is an example of the figure explaining the topology detection method in the home theater system of Embodiment 2 to which this invention is applicable. It is an example figure which shows the example of a topology structure of the home theater system of Embodiment 2 which this invention can apply. It is a figure showing the change of the synchronous timing of an audio | voice and an image | video by the case where it changes from topology (C) to topology (D) in the home theater system of Embodiment 2 which this invention can apply. It is a table figure regarding the topology information memorize | stored in an audio | voice / video correction value memory when changing from topology (C) to topology (D) in the home theater system of Embodiment 2 which this invention can apply. It is a block diagram of a general 5.1CH surround system. It is a block diagram of a general home theater system. It is an example of a block diagram of a home theater system in which external speakers are connected in a daisy chain.

1 Source device 2 AV controller 3 TV receiver 10 Microphone 11 TV receiver built-in speaker 12 I / F
13 Video signal delay unit 14 Audio processing unit 15 I / F
16 Test signal generator 17 Sound field analyzer 18 Audio / video correction value memory 19 Topology detector 20 Modulator 21 Demodulator

Claims (13)

A control device that is connected to a plurality of audio output devices and a video display device, outputs a video signal to the video display device, and outputs an audio signal to the audio output device,
Detecting means for detecting a connection form with the audio output device;
A control device comprising: audio delay means for delaying the audio signal output to the audio output device based on the connection form detected by the detection means. Video delay means for delaying the video signal to be output to the video display device;
The control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the video delay unit adjusts a delay amount of the video signal based on a connection form detected by the detection unit.   The control device according to claim 1, further comprising an update unit that updates a change in the connection form detected by the detection unit.   The said audio | voice delay means adjusts the delay amount of the said audio | voice signal so that the output timing by the output means of each connected apparatus may synchronize. Control device. The detection means detects information related to a hierarchy in the connection form of each of the connected audio output devices,
The audio delay means delays an audio signal according to the level of each of the audio output devices,
The control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the video delay unit delays the video signal so as to be synchronized with the audio signal.   The control device according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit further detects information regarding a role of each of the connected audio output devices.   7. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a correcting unit that synchronizes the video display and the audio output so that the video display by the video display device and the audio output by the audio output device are synchronized. The control device described. An audio output device connected to the control device and other audio output devices,
Receiving means for receiving information relating to a connection form from the control device or the other audio output device;
Generating means for generating connection form information based on the information received by the receiving means, the role of the audio output device and the connection form on the network;
Transmission means for transmitting the connection form information generated by the generation means to the control device,
The transmission means adds information specific to the voice output device to the information related to detection of the connection form received by the reception means, and forwards the information to the other voice output device. A theater system having a plurality of audio output devices and video display devices,
Detecting means for detecting a connection form with the audio output device;
Audio delay means for delaying the audio signal to be output to the audio output device based on the connection form detected by the detection means;
The audio output device is configured to receive information related to detection of the connection form from the control device or the other audio output device;
Generating means for generating connection form information based on the information received by the receiving means, the role of the audio output device and the connection form;
A theater system comprising: a transmission unit configured to transmit the connection form information generated by the generation unit to the control device. A control method executed by a system in which a plurality of audio output devices and video display devices are connected,
A detection step of detecting a connection form with the audio output device;
And a sound delay step of delaying the sound signal output to the sound output device based on the connection form detected in the detection step. A control method for an audio output device connected to a control device and another audio output device,
A receiving step of receiving information related to a connection form from the control device or the other audio output device;
A generation step of generating connection form information based on the information received in the reception step, the role of the audio output device and the connection form on the network;
A transmission step of transmitting the connection form information generated in the generation step to the control device,
The transmission method includes adding information specific to the audio output device to the information related to detection of the connection form received in the reception step, and transferring the information to the other audio output device. Computer
Detecting means for detecting a connection form of the audio output device;
A program for functioning as an audio delay unit that delays the audio signal output to the audio output device based on the connection form detected by the detection unit. Audio output device
Receiving means for receiving information relating to the connection form from the control device or other audio output device;
Generating means for generating connection form information based on the information received by the receiving means, the role of the audio output device and the connection form;
The connection type information generated by the generation unit is transmitted to the control device, and information specific to the audio output device is added to the information related to the detection of the connection type received by the reception unit, and the other audio is added. A program for functioning as a transmission means for transferring to an output device.

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