WiSA DS technology brings more reliable wireless spatial audio technology solutions

As high-definition televisions (HDTVs) become thinner, it becomes increasingly challenging to build high-quality internal speakers into them. The result? A huge gap between the quality of the video and audio experience. Sound bars have entered the market, offering consumers a convenient way to enhance the quality of the audio experience, but different technologies offer very different experiences when it comes to audio quality and reliability.

An entry-level soundbar is simply an extension of your TV's built-in speakers—ones that can be easily connected via HDMI or optical and offer a somewhat better audio experience. Some may come with a subwoofer (aka a subwoofer) that connects wirelessly to the soundbar to provide enhanced bass. While this setup is convenient, a limited number of speakers will never provide the same audio experience as the existing video experience in an HDTV. The only way to bring audio quality up to video quality levels is to surround yourself with sound, and the only way to do that is to install speakers in front of and behind the viewer.

Many mid-range soundbars offer wireless connectivity to rear speakers, but not all soundbars are created equal. Reliably delivering high-quality audio in a crowded wireless environment is a challenge, but with the right technology, a soundbar with rear speakers can also deliver immersive audio, and its level of reliability is critical to creating a high-quality immersive audio experience.

True spatial audio requires speakers that surround the listener

Choose the right wireless technology to create a reliable and high-quality immersive audio experience

It is important to understand the basic technical requirements for transmitting and receiving high-quality spatial audio:

• Bandwidth: Spatial audio requires multiple audio streams to be transmitted simultaneously to external speakers. Not only do you need bandwidth to support multiple audio streams, but you also need enough bandwidth to load uncompressed high-bitrate audio, which determines the audio quality.

• Tight speaker synchronization: Multiple speakers need to work in sync to create a realistic immersive experience. In a 5.1-channel scenario, there will be a center speaker, left and right front speakers, left and right rear speakers, and a subwoofer, and the audio transmission technology needs to keep all the speakers in tight sync.

• Low latency: Transmission delay is critical, especially when playing video, where even the slightest delay between the video and the corresponding audio track can be easily noticed

• Reliability: Tight speaker synchronization and low latency are of little benefit if the technology cannot reliably transmit the audio stream. Managing communications reliability in an environment where wireless pathways are becoming increasingly congested is critical.

What is the right wireless medium? What is the right wireless transmission?

There are two basic considerations when choosing wireless spatial audio technology: medium and transmission. The medium is the wireless technology used to transmit the audio signal from the audio source to the external speakers.

Transport is the technology layer that runs on top of the medium and manages the key requirements to deliver an immersive audio experience: synchronization requirements between speakers and the required latency to make the video and audio streams work seamlessly together.

Communication media: Bluetooth vs. Wi-Fi

The most common wireless protocols for interconnecting home devices are Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Both protocols were designed for transmitting data, not multi-channel audio. As a result, current solutions on the market tend to use proprietary narrowband or broadband protocols, neither of which is compatible with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

Bluetooth is a narrowband wireless protocol that can only stream audio in mono (single channel) or stereo (two channels). Bluetooth does not support 2.1-channel audio, or any surround sound formats - it simply does not have the bandwidth to support multi-channel spatial audio. There are many soundbars on the market that use Bluetooth to connect to the subwoofer, as latency and synchronization are not critical for the low-frequency sounds produced by the subwoofer. Bluetooth was never designed for high-bitrate, uncompressed multi-channel audio streaming, and is typically only found on low-cost, entry-level systems that offer wireless connectivity to a single subwoofer.

Wi-Fi is ubiquitous and extremely fast, so it seems like the obvious medium of choice to provide the highest quality yet affordable multi-channel wireless audio solutions. Most homes have Wi-Fi networks, and the cost of Wi-Fi chips continues to drop. While Wi-Fi has the bandwidth required for multi-channel audio, the protocol itself was not designed from the ground up to manage the speaker synchronization and critical latency required for an immersive audio experience. As a result, most multi-channel audio products on the market offer their own proprietary narrowband or wideband solutions that operate in the same 2.4 - 5 GHz frequency band as Wi-Fi.

Proprietary protocols are facing new challenges

This strategy of using portions of the 2.4 – 5 GHz band to run proprietary wireless protocols presents many new challenges. As Wi-Fi technology has matured, regulators and the Wi-Fi Alliance have opened up previously reserved portions of the spectrum. Proprietary multi-channel audio protocols have leveraged these previously reserved bands to reliably manage multi-channel audio in congested wireless environments, but this will no longer be possible in the future. New routers on the market are operating in these newly opened bands and are causing issues for current multi-channel audio transmitters and receivers.

WiSA Technologies: A leader in high-quality, multi-channel wireless audio technology

WiSA Technologies, Inc. has over a decade of experience developing high-quality, multi-channel, spatial audio delivery solutions. The company (formerly known as Summit Wireless) has its technology incorporated into products by some of the most prestigious audio brands, including premium sound system companies such as Bang & Olufsen and Harmon Kardon, and HDTV manufacturers such as Hisense, TCL and LG.

Over the past 10 years, the market has changed, with sound bars becoming an increasingly popular and cost-effective way to bring multi-channel audio into the home.

Wirelessly connecting a subwoofer and rear speakers to a soundbar has become the easiest way to achieve a truly immersive audio experience in the home, but without the right transmission layer, it's impossible to deliver the performance that listeners expect.

What makes WiSA's transport layer so powerful

WiSA's multi-channel audio transport technology is the core driver of WiSA and its customers' success. The transport layer technology ensures that multi-channel audio streams reach the speakers with very low latency and maintain synchronization between speakers. Most importantly, the transport layer ensures the reliability of the audio stream. WiSA has spent more than 10 years developing its transport layer technology.

WiSA's transport layer technology manages audio streaming, control data, system settings and voice assistance

WiSA Launches Wi-Fi Compatible DS Solution Designed for Managing Multi-Channel Audio in Congested Wi-Fi Environments

After creating audio technology for high-end audio brands, WiSA Technologies turned its attention to improving wireless audio quality in the soundbar market. WiSA DS technology is designed to bring high-quality multi-channel wireless audio to soundbars, enabling entry-level to mid-range audio systems to deliver unparalleled spatial audio at an affordable price…and do it reliably.

Operates in the 2.4 GHz band, delivering performance and reliability that exceeds other 5 GHz solutions on the market

WiSA DS runs on an ultra-low-cost 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi IoT transceiver module with internal antenna and is able to:

• Supports transmission of 5 channels (4 full-range audio channels and 1 high-fidelity subwoofer channel) of uncompressed, 16-bit audio at a sampling rate of 48 kHz, exceeding CD sound quality

o Transmitter (TX): transmits up to 4 independent audio channels plus subwoofer channel

o Receiver (RX): A single module in RX mode can output up to two audio channels

• Speaker synchronization within ±1 audio sample

• 30ms fixed transmission delay meets International Telecommunication Union (ITU) lip sync specifications

• Wi-Fi compatible: Designed to work on Wi-Fi protocols and capable of operating in highly congested wireless environments

Use cases for WiSA DS modules:

The DS module is targeted at soundbars that want to deliver premium audio technology and be used to drive additional external wireless speakers such as subwoofers and rear speakers.

Primary use case: Embedded in a soundbar to wirelessly drive two rear speakers and a subwoofer.

Due to the ultra-low cost of the DS module, it can also be used with entry-level soundbars to implement a wireless subwoofer, which is usually connected via Bluetooth technology.

Other use cases include connecting a high-definition television (HDTV) via HDMI ARC or eARC to a DS module-enabled external adapter to wirelessly connect and drive a center speaker, left and right front speakers, and a subwoofer (left). Embedding the DS module into an HDTV can achieve the same functionality but eliminates the need for an external audio adapter (right)

5.1 Systems using WiSA DS modules

Use the Smart Center Speaker to connect to your HDTV via ARC/eARC to wirelessly connect 2 front speakers, 2 rear speakers and a subwoofer for a full 5.1 immersive system.

Using DS mods to create a 5.1.4 ATMOS spatial audio system with a soundbar

Even more exciting, and showcasing the unique feature set of the DS module, is that audio equipment manufacturers can use this low-cost technology to build new soundbar use cases, including 5.1.2 and 5.1.4 systems, bringing true Dolby Atmos spatial audio to market at a very competitive price.