Conexant’s Audio Solution for VoIP and More Wins EDN Annual Innovation Award
Conexant Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNXT), a leading supplier of innovative semiconductor solutions for imaging, audio, video, and Internet connectivity applications, today announced that its CX20562 speakers-on-a-chip (SPoC) audio solution won EDN’s 19th Annual Innovation Award in the Application Specific Standard Product (ASSP) category. EDN, a leading publisher of information for design engineers in the electronics community, made the announcement at an event on March 30 in San Jose, CA. The CX20562 integrates key speaker technology and processing functionality into a single device, and is targeted at products that support high-definition audio and voice applications. These include PC sound systems that integrate the functionality of audio speakers and echo-free speakerphones into a single “all-in-one” peripheral, speakers, LCD multimedia monitors, iPod/MP3 docking systems, notebook docking stations, and VoIP peripherals such as speakerphones.
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“We are honored that our audio SPoC solution has been recognized by our peers, customers, and EDN’s knowledgeable staff as an important industry product,” said René Hartner, vice president of marketing for Conexant’s Imaging and PC Media business. “This achievement highlights the expertise of our engineering teams and their ongoing commitment to delivering technical innovations that dramatically improve audio quality.”
The CX20562 features several technical advancements including:
* BrightSound: A Conexant-developed sound processing algorithm that uses dynamic range compression and equalization to “brighten” audio quality when source sound levels are flat or low. BrightSound reduces speaker “clipping,” which occurs when volume is turned up and the power required to generate the louder signal is beyond a level the speaker can support. When this happens, the sound signal is cut-off, or clipped, and audio quality is distorted. In addition, excessive power clipping can cause damage to speaker transducers. BrightSound also has a “night mode” capability that attenuates the loud background sound signals, but elevates the sound of a person’s voice.
* Wideband Echo-cancellation: An advanced wideband acoustic echo-cancellation digital signal processor (DSP) captures a broader range of voice signals resulting in more natural-sounding speech. Speaker-to-microphone echo is also reduced, which is a common problem that affects PC VoIP and IM applications. Currently, consumers are often encouraged to use headphones or a headset to solve this issue. The CX20562 significantly diminishes feedback, allowing consumers to have untethered and consistently high-quality, echo-free voice conversations.
* Noise Reduction: A high-performance DSP array microphone blocks out background noise to improve audio quality. Conexant’s unique beam-forming technology is used to combine signals from multiple microphones into a single “beam” that is focused on a person making a VoIP call. Narrowing the microphone “pick-up” radius helps eliminate background noise, and improves the quality of VoIP calls.
About Conexant
Conexant’s comprehensive portfolio of innovative semiconductor solutions includes products for imaging, audio, video, and Internet connectivity applications. Conexant is a fabless semiconductor company that recorded revenues of more than $500 million in fiscal year 2008. The company is headquartered in Newport Beach, Calif. To learn more, please visit http://www.conexant.com.