12/1/08

Microphone array


With the constant enlargement of the internet bandwidth, the internet video conference has become possible. However, the wide bandwidth does not mean high quality of sound. The consumers usually need to wear the earphones to get the clear sound effects, and it is really inconvenient for them. Therefore, VISTA has already started to support the function of microphone array, which help to record sound more clearly, and can eliminate the noise and wind shear sound in the background. Naturally, besides the support of the operating system, the computer hardware also needs to be matched. Consequently, with the collocation of the microphone array and the DSP, the consumers can easily enjoy using the web phone such as SKYPE without wearing the headsets.



The theory of the microphone array is to set more than two pieces of microphones to record the sound separately, and than the DSP will pick the tonic we want. The simplest design is to pair a unidirectional microphone and an Omni directional one, which can limit the sound receiving range at the width of 120-140 degrees in front of the microphone, and then the SPL will be reduced over 20dB beyond this conical area. This is the reason why the ambient noises can be reduced widely and hardly to be heard.