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USB OTG for Digital Audio Players
Adding a USB interface to a digital audio player enables several new consumer applications. Care must be taken in implementing USB functionality to insure that the full benefits of the interface are realized by users.
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By
Marcel Dasen, Vice President of Engineering at BridgeCo, and Spencer Horowitz, President of Corporate Communications for Technology Ventures
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Page 1 of 2
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Audio DesignLine
(10/04/2006 1:51 PM EDT)
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Network-capable consumer audio electronics, often called networked audio adapters or digital audio players, are a rapidly emerging audio product category. BridgeCo, a company that develops processor ICs and software for networked audio applications, has developed several criteria for implementing USB on networked audio products based on extensive user experience.
Digital media players [DMP] enable consumers to enjoy Internet radio stations and free or premium online music services in any room of their home, whether or not a computer is present on the home network. And DMPs also allow user to enjoy playback of computer-archived audio files in any room, and on any audio system, that is networked-connected. DMPs have been implemented as completely independent stand-alone systems with built-in speakers and controls, as stand-alone after-market adapters that add network connectivity to installed legacy audio equipment, and as network interface modules embedded into new audio systems.
Figure 1: New media distribution channels enable more than 40,000 new audio sources.
In each case, the DMP product or embedded module must provide the necessary processing capability and software stack to handle networking protocols [e.g., TCP/IP], content decompression processing [e.g., MP3, WMA], DRM decryption and authentication processing [e.g., PlaysForSure Windows Media] and user interface functions. DMPs also must incorporate wired Ethernet, HomePlug and/or wireless 802.11b/g interfaces to implement a complete audio playback node on a home network.
Now that multiple DMP products have been successfully introduced into the market, manufacturers are seeking new features to differentiate their offerings and add value for consumers. USB interfaces, which have become ubiquitous on computers, peripherals and many other devices, can add flexibility and utility to DMPs by enabling a number of new applications and uses. In addition to sourcing audio content from the Internet or computer archives over a home network, USB-enabled DMPs can also directly access and playback audio files stored on flash drives, memory sticks, portable hard drives and mobile audio players. With USB-enabled DMPs, service providers can permit consumers to purchase songs locally that have just aired over premium online music services, storing the purchased content directly onto mobile phones and other portable devices right from the DMP. Potential USB applications and hardware will only accelerate. Market research firm Instat expects that the number of USB-enabled devices shipped annually will double from 1.4 billion in 2005 to 2.8 billion in 2010.
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