CSR Launches Soundbar Platform Designs for Audio Makers, ODMs

CSR launched three wireless soundbar “example designs” that give audio manufacturers “complete and flexible” platforms to bring entry-, mid- and high-end soundbars to market, it said. Citing Research and Markets data predicting the global soundbar market will increase at a compound annual growth rate of 28 percent by 2018, CSR said its designs allow CE makers and original design manufacturers to capitalize on the market by bringing together the silicon technologies, software and configuration tools to support source to speaker processing. “The requirements for features, performance, cost and conformance with power consumption regulations place a heavy burden on the development resource needs of a manufacturer entering or growing a portfolio of products for this market,” said Anthony Murray, senior vice president-business group. CSR addresses this by enabling rapid development of differentiated products, he said. By integrating the DSP, a microcontroller, analog and digital interfaces and wireless connectivity into one SoC device, the CSR8670 entry-level platform reduces overall system complexity and the bill of materials for the customer to create single-chip 2.0- or 2.1-channel soundbars, said CSR. The entry-level design supports analog and digital inputs, audio decoding and post processing, a wireless subwoofer and Bluetooth audio streaming, including support for CSR’s aptX codec, from smartphones, tablets, PCs and laptops, it said. The mid-tier platform uses CSR’s MAPX7 audio DSP that enables multiple decoding and post-processing options for an immersive listening experience, which could be CSR’s meloD suite or third-party processing such as Dolby or DTS, it said. The high-end product adds to the mid-level offering with support for high-res audio decoders and post-processors from Dolby and DTS, it said.