Although Pioneer released this $40,000 seven-channel digital surround sound system a while ago, the PDSP-1 continues to have an interesting feature set.
The system consists of one 5-inch thick single-source speaker panel, which contains 254 individual speakers, each with its own digital amplifier. The panel projects up to seven separate sound beams, by using phased array beamforming.
The beamforming algorithms can subsequently be adjusted in order to compensate for room size, floor and wall texture, as well as curtains. As the PDSP-1 provides 500 watts of 5.1-channel surround sound, no other speakers are required. This eliminates the need for 4 or 5 conventional speakers. This is the world’s first digital sound projector.
Alternatively, the Acoustic Projector from Yamaha, with only 56 speakers is expected to be considerably less expensive. Introduced at CES 2004, it should be available by year-end 2004. Good for those with space constraints.
The 2 devices described above are examples of smart antennas. This same principle can be applied to cellphone networks in order to increase network capacity and reduce interference. This achieved by steering the beam toward a specific individual…instead of broadcasting in all directions evenly.
But more on smart antenna systems later.
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hi there, simply wanted to say thanks for this post, it helped me become aware of one thing I hadnt given much deliberation to it in the past.
Ah, those beamforming algorithms: is there anything they can’t do?