CSR spotlights on wireless networked audio and Bluetooth smart technologies

2013 International CES, USA: CSR plc unveiled a bold array of demonstrations of turnkey hardware and software solutions at the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show that manufacturers can use to deliver exciting capabilities and differentiating features in the next generation of wireless and networked audio products and a variety of Bluetooth® Smart devices.

With more than 40 public and private demonstrations at the show, CSR underscores the diversity of wireless connectivity, voice and music, advanced imaging and printing, automotive infotainment and indoor location and navigation solutions it is providing to the world’s most popular consumer electronics brands.

New platforms for Wi-Fi enabled audio
At the show, CSR is demonstrating its leadership in Wi-Fi enabled home audio by introducing the Sonata networked media processor and the VibeHub and VibePlayer networked audio platforms. These turnkey hardware and software solutions will make it easier for manufacturers to rapidly create a broad range of affordable DLNA-Certified intelligent audio hubs and low-cost, portable, battery-powered wireless speakers and speaker docks with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Bluetooth smart connectivity that will allow people to enjoy very high-quality, synchronised multi-room audio throughout the home, indoors and out.

“Networked, wireless home audio and the smart home present exciting new opportunities for CSR, and we have put a huge effort into building upon our proven technologies to create exciting new solutions for consumer electronics manufacturers in these markets, as evidenced by the extent of the demonstrations we are presenting at this show,” said Patrick Little, senior VP of sales and marketing at CSR.

“Our µEnergy and Wi-Fi technology opens the door to exciting new applications in the home, outdoors and on the road by enabling smart devices and sensors to interact with each other to automate many common tasks and provide greater convenience. Our turnkey solutions make it easier for manufacturers to bring new applications to market quickly and cost effectively.”

New platforms for sound bars
CSR is also introducing two new platform solutions that will enable OEMs and ODMs to quickly and easily develop a full range of high-quality, cost-optimised sound bar products with Bluetooth wireless subwoofers addressing the low to high ends of this growing market.

From a single-chip platform for sound bars based on the CSR8670 wireless audio SoC (system-on-chip) to a fully integrated and scalable solution based on the CSR MAPX multimedia applications processor SoC family, these turnkey hardware and software platforms give consumer electronics manufacturers the greatest flexibility to address all segments of the market with a comprehensive range of products from a single vendor.

New low-latency aptX for gaming
CSR will be demonstrating numerous Bluetooth enabled headphones, speaker docks, sound bars, tablets and smartphones that incorporate CSR aptX technology for delivering high-quality audio over wireless connectivity. The aptX audio codec now features in consumer audio products from leading global brands such as Beats, Creative, Denon, Monster, Nokia, Samsung, Sennheiser and many others.

In addition, CSR will be giving what is believed to be the first practical demonstration of its aptX Low Latency audio codec being used to empower Bluetooth connectivity to deliver action-synchronised, high-quality audio to a wireless gaming headset.

By overcoming Bluetooth’s inherent inability to allow users to play games interactively with synchronised high-quality audio and visual action, the aptX Low Latency codec opens the door to new markets for Bluetooth, making possible “universal” headsets serving both high-fidelity wireless audio and gaming applications.

Elsewhere, CSR will be demonstrating the superb audio performance and software-driven configurability of its unique DDFA® all-digital amplification technology which employs direct digital feedback to make extremely efficient, compact, multi-channel, high-quality audio power amplifiers for a variety of speaker systems designed for the home and for in-car entertainment.

µEnergy platforms for Bluetooth smart
CSR has extended its leadership in ultra low power connectivity technology with a collection of CSR µEnergy Bluetooth low energy solutions that OEMs and ODMs can customise to rapidly develop new and innovative Bluetooth Smart fitness, smart home and human interface products.

Various practical demonstrations of these Bluetooth Smart solutions illustrate the revolutionary possibilities that CSR µEnergy technology can enable across a range of applications, allowing, for example, smart devices and sensors to interact with each other to automate common tasks and provide greater consumer convenience.

SiRFusion platform for location-as-a-service
CSR will demonstrate its innovative SiRFusion location platform at this year’s show. SiRFusion combines GNSS, Wi-Fi and pedestrian dead-reckoning measurements on a smartphone platform with indoor maps to provide an unparalleled user experience.

This capability will be demonstrated live, together with CSR Location Services, a new, cloud-based location service platform that enables seamless indoor/outdoor positioning augmented with proximity awareness and geo-fencing for rapid deployment in asset and data management applications for enterprise and government systems.

AtlasVI platform for automotive infotainment
On the automotive infotainment front, CSR will demonstrate a number of automotive-grade multimedia SoC, location, connectivity and audio technologies. For example, one demonstration shows the SiRF AtlasVI platform, the latest-generation, location-aware, multimedia SoC from CSR, performing a number of graphics-intensive applications combined with in-vehicle use cases for Bluetooth Smart; another demonstration shows how the SiRFstarV, the latest-generation, location-aware SoC is capable of simultaneously tracking GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO and COMPASS global navigation satellite systems.

Finally, the UniFi CSR6000 Wi-Fi demonstration highlights the exciting range of use cases for in-car Wi-Fi, while another automotive infotainment demonstration proves the concept of using Bluetooth to stream high-quality audio within the vehicle by making use of the CSR aptX audio codec.

COACH platforms for digital-SLR cameras
A collection of the latest CSR COACH video and image processor-based cameras will be demonstrated, highlighting advanced video, connectivity and image quality features.