NEWSLETTER Parrot, November 2006

On the road to acoustic excellence…

Parrot, the number one supplier of hands-free kits, is taking its first steps into Hi-Fi technology, with the ambitious aim of becoming the benchmark for sound quality.

At a time of converging technology and the advent of digital, coupled with DVD and home cinema systems, you can fully enjoy the magic of Dolby sound and 5.1 Surround Sound in the comfort of your own home, as if you were in a dark cinema auditorium. This quest for perfection is also evident with Hi-Fi. Apart from traditional offerings with music systems recreating sound effects, we are also seeing the development of speakers that are compatible with an iPod, enhancing the pleasure of listening to music even further. Similarly, it is not uncommon for Hi-Fi speakers to be connected to a computer to improve the sound quality and allow people to listen to their play list or podcasts downloaded from the Internet. It is also interesting to note how mobile phones have actually evolved to become mobile music players. This trend, started by Sony Ericsson with its Walkman series of phones, is now extending to Nokia, with its Nseries Music Range. Mobiles come with up to 8 GB of memory for storing several hundred songs, with special buttons allowing you to access MP3 tracks. Phone manufacturers are also recommending customers to buy headsets (with or without wires) to enjoy the best possible, high-quality sound.

 

An auditorium on four wheels

Car manufacturers have clearly realised that their customers are interested in high-quality sound. Many leading marques are collaborating with benchmark companies in the Hi-Fi sector. These sound systems, which are customised right from the design phase of the vehicle, allow drivers to fully enjoy listening to a CD or FM radio station, while filtering out the enchanting purr of a Porsche or Ferrari engine. Agreements have been signed by the main players in the Hi-Fi and automotive sectors. Volvo is certainly one of the main manufacturers in the forefront of this development, with its Dolby Surround Pro Logic sound across five channels, which it offers in most of its models. Since then, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Cadillac, Lexus and Maybach have followed suit. But just recently, BMW set a new trend in becoming the first manufacturer in Europe to adopt THX-certified sound (patented by George Lucas, who directed the Star Wars films) in its Z4 Coupé and Roadster, thereby providing a unique musical experience.

Entering the age of audio streaming

 

Nowadays, communication technologies make it possible to incorporate mobile functionality in cars, with astounding sound quality. As MP3 players are tending towards Bluetooth and mobile phones are integrating the A2DP (Bluetooth Stereo) profile more and more, it is now possible to run audio streaming in cars. This feature is offered by the new Parrot MK6000 kit. Once the phone is paired, you can listen to an MP3 track directly through the vehicle's four speakers. You simply send the track via Bluetooth to the hands-free kit. And as if by magic, the track starts to play in Hi-Fi quality throughout the vehicle, without needing to wear a headset. This is another way of enjoying your favourite songs. And if you want to listen to music at home, Parrot is investing in a home stereo system and offering the Parrot SOUND SYSTEM on the same model. This includes Bluetooth stereo Hi-Fi speakers, which are amplified and equipped with an MP3 player, capable of reproducing music from a mobile phone, an MP3 player or a portable computer. Not only does this mean that you no longer need any wires, you can also listen to your MP3 tracks in proper stereo.

 

Continuity of sound

There is a revolution under way in the world of sound: the continuity of sound - at home, at the office, in the car…
If you are in your car the music must not distract you from the main thing you are doing. If a product like the Parrot RHYTHM N’BLUE efficiently combines the car radio (FM radio, CD and MP3 player) and Bluetooth, you expect, at the very least, a hands-free kit to convey telephone conversations efficiently, with the best quality possible. In this respect, Parrot can offer expertise putting it head and shoulders above the competition. The algorithms developed to cancel echo and reduce permanent and incidental noise produce excellent sound quality. In addition, the integrated voice recognition and Text To Speech functions make the hands-free kit very easy to use. Parrot also helps producers of GPS systems to convert their products to hands-free kits, offering high-quality sound. In the case of the Garmin models, for example, the engineers managed to capture the voice, even though the unit combining the GPS's microphone and speaker was in a confined space. Thanks to this expertise, enhanced through cooperation with car manufacturers as part of first-fit operations, Parrot has now been able to make the difference heard.

When it comes to sound and music quality, the Parrot brand can expect to feature highly in any discussion about acoustic excellence.

Parrot's sound quality acknowledged by independent laboratory

 

In August 2006, three standalone hands-free kits available on the market, including the new Parrot MINIKIT, were tested by an independent laboratory in Germany. According to the results, the Parrot MINIKIT mainly came out on top following the stringent tests carried out in accordance with the VDA standard (adopted by the car industry). This product stands out in particular in terms of the quality of voice transmission (2.5 on a scale of 1 to 5, a result which is more than impressive, given the Parrot MINIKIT's dimensions) and of voice reception (2.4). The Parrot MINIKIT also passed with flying colours the echo reduction tests carried out at maximum volume (at the top of the scale based on a range from 0 to 50 dB), and in particular, signal attenuation at maximum volume (- 7.3 dB). The Parrot MINIKIT has the best echo cancellation performance, even with its compact design.

After three years of development, Parrot has now definitely proved its acoustic expertise in a consumer product. Plug & Play now goes hand in hand with quality.

The complete results are available on the Parrot website.

 

Benoit Pochon	Guillaume Vitte
Head of the signal processing team at Parrot	Engineer in research and development at Parrot

 

 

Why does Parrot have voice processing expertise nowadays?

You need to remember that one of Parrot's first areas of activity was voice recognition. From the outset, the company has developed specific algorithms, such as those for reducing noise and echo. As a result, we have been inspired by the same methods of working in our quest for state-of-the-art technology based on university research. This is how we have developed cutting-edge algorithms for processing voice communication with hands-free kits. We should also mention in passing that Parrot has filed a number of patents both for echo cancellation and noise reduction technologies. Research is currently geared towards developing algorithms for improving signal processing before developing the products.

One of your latest innovations is Parrot Beamforming. What does this involve?

We have developed a state-of-the-art technology that uses two microphones to capture the sound of the voice. The advantage of this method is that it processes voice communication more accurately, while also identifying lateral noise, such as the sound of traffic when you are driving with the window open. We can actually use our algorithms to suppress this noise. This means that the person at the end of the line can still hear the driver clearly, even with a noisy background. This technology is going to become widely available. The ultimate goal is to achieve the same level of quality as on a fixed line, so that the person you are speaking to doesn't even realise any more that he is calling you while you are in your car.

What are the challenges in terms of music?

Music is transferred digitally. This means that there is no signal loss when there is a wireless connection between the phone (or a PDA, MP3 player or computer) and the system. We have simply integrated an MP3 decoder so that you can play a song transferred to the Parrot SOUND SYSTEM or Parrot MK6000. But it's worth mentioning that we have also added an equaliser to the Parrot SOUND SYSTEM, so that people can enjoy sound effects. With its next home entertainment products, Parrot wants customers to be able to enjoy an even broader stereo sound. They will somehow have the impression that the sound is coming from somewhere other than the wireless speaker, in Hi-Fi quality too. With this in mind, we have carried out simulations to ensure that the signal is picked up properly at ear level. Another challenge is being able to develop a voice-controlled MP3 player. This means that you could ask for an MP3 track to be played, stop it, move to a later section and say the name of the song or artist. This will be more difficult to achieve in a car with music, speech and the noise of the car to contend with. This is why we are working on "word-spotting", a procedure which involves putting the speech recognition function in sleep mode and responding when key words are pronounced.