Voice control and speech recognition have been instrumental in the call center, as these technologies allow for enhanced real-time analytics to be used in conjunction with call recording software. This means call centers can gather information and revealing statistics regarding performance, service quality, efficiency, and so on. And being able to assess the performance of a call center means that the call center knows what it needs to work on to become the best version possible.

But what happens when speech recognition goes beyond call recording and contact centers … and into your TV? Earlier this week at CES 2014, Conexant Systems (News - Alert) Inc. announced the next generation of its high-performance, far-field voice input processor system-on-chip (SoC), which is designed specifically for smart TVs. The chip, known as the CX2092x, has integrated highly advanced voice-control technology that will allow consumers to use voice commands from farther away than ever before, without having to worry about the speech recognition struggling. Conexant calls this “increased clarity in far-field conditions.”

Remarkably, the technology will work at up to four meters—or about 13 feet—away from the TV. With consumer demands at an all-time high for the best in visual and audio quality, Conexant is revealing the CX2092x as part of its AudioSmart solutions series, which offers extremely accurate voice recognition for smart TVs, and includes even more control over a TV with voice commands. Who needs to search the couch cushions for a remote when you can just tell the TV what you want?

Whether you’re simply making a call to a friend from your smartphone, or you’re a contact center agent using call recording technology to monitor and assess each session with a customer, audio quality is important. It determines how clearly you can understand the person at the other end, and how accurate speech analytics will be in interpreting the sound. This is no different for voice technology in smart TVs, and the CX2092x features echo cancellation to help filter out background noise and make each voice command come through with enhanced clarity.