SRS Labs (News - Alert) has ported its TruSurround HD virtual sound audio technology to Tensilica’s HiFi 2 Audio Engine for Xtensa processors and the Diamond Standard 330HiFi Audio Processor.

 

TruSurround HD from SRS is ideal for designers of system-on-chip (SOC) devices for the midrange and high-end digital television and digital home entertainment markets. Tensilica’s HiFi 2 Audio Engine is a commercial audio processor core for SOC designs. Tensilica’s customers are forecasting they will ship 100 million HiFi Audio Engine enabled processor cores in a wide variety of consumer devices in 2007.

 

SRS TruSurround HD can accept any input source, up to a seven-channel (6.1) audio source, and renders surround sound from 2.0–3.1 speaker configurations. When multichannel or Lt/Rt content is received by the televisions featuring SRS TruSurround HD, the technology virtualizes the channels. This creates “phantom” speakers that appear to extend all around the listener, and provide a superior multichannel surround sound effect.

 

TruSurround HD creates an expansive three-dimensional sound field when the audio source is mono or stereo. This provides definition to high frequencies, and offers a center control feature to adjust the mix of center information.

 

Utilizing proprietary algorithms, SRS TruSurround HD can enhance signal clarity and improve the intelligibility of dialog. The psychoacoustic techniques can maximize the perceived bass response. TruSurround HD includes a definition processor to provide maximum high-frequency clarity, and bass management for subwoofer and center speaker designs.

 

Tensilica’s HiFi 2 Audio Engine is very efficient for a wide range of audio-enabled consumer products since it is optimized with hundreds of specialized audio instructions to increase code density (reducing memory requirements) and lower power (reducing MHz requirements).

 

The addition of SRS TruSurround HD to Tensilica’s library of available audio decoders and encoders is expected to expand Tensilica’s popularity of its HiFi 2 Audio Engine to designers of popular digital television sets.

 

With SRS TruSurround HD decoder SOC designers have a drop-in, proven, high-quality 24-bit audio hardware solution boasting over 20 encoders and decoders for a variety of different audio standards.

 

“Tensilica’s customers plan to deliver optimal audio solutions for the home entertainment market based on the HiFi 2 Audio Engine. TruSurround HD will provide a best-in-class audio experience and the available port from SRS Labs will provide a time-to-market advantage,” said Larry Przywara, Tensilica’s director of mobile multimedia in a statement to the press.

 

“SRS WOW XT and SRS Xspace 3D, two very popular mobile sound solutions, are also available for the HiFi 2 Audio Engine,” he added.

 

According to Lenka Koloma, senior director, Strategic IC Partner and Sales, SRS Labs, they were able to create a very efficient port of their TruSurround HD technology in a few weeks versus more typically months for other architectures by utilizing the audio-optimized instructions in the HiFi 2 Audio Engine.

 

Koloma believes that Tensilica’s proven HiFi 2 Audio Engine coupled with TruSurround HD provides SOC designers with a quick way to add an enhanced audio subsystem that will be valued by consumers.

 

SRS Labs develops advanced audio and communications technology that optimizes and improves the listening experience through techniques based on the latest research into the human auditory system.

 

Tensilica, Inc., innovates configurable processor technology and has leveraged that technology to become a major supplier of licensable controllers and DSP cores for mobile audio and video applications.