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WO1997020297A1 - Systeme de karaoke informatise - Google Patents

Systeme de karaoke informatise Download PDF

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Publication number
WO1997020297A1
WO1997020297A1 PCT/US1996/019719 US9619719W WO9720297A1 WO 1997020297 A1 WO1997020297 A1 WO 1997020297A1 US 9619719 W US9619719 W US 9619719W WO 9720297 A1 WO9720297 A1 WO 9720297A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
song
audio
data
video
buffer
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US1996/019719
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Thomas T. Enomoto
Original Assignee
Enomoto Thomas T
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Enomoto Thomas T filed Critical Enomoto Thomas T
Publication of WO1997020297A1 publication Critical patent/WO1997020297A1/fr

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G10—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS
    • G10H—ELECTROPHONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; INSTRUMENTS IN WHICH THE TONES ARE GENERATED BY ELECTROMECHANICAL MEANS OR ELECTRONIC GENERATORS, OR IN WHICH THE TONES ARE SYNTHESISED FROM A DATA STORE
    • G10H1/00—Details of electrophonic musical instruments
    • G10H1/36—Accompaniment arrangements
    • G10H1/361—Recording/reproducing of accompaniment for use with an external source, e.g. karaoke systems
    • G10H1/365—Recording/reproducing of accompaniment for use with an external source, e.g. karaoke systems the accompaniment information being stored on a host computer and transmitted to a reproducing terminal by means of a network, e.g. public telephone lines
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09B—EDUCATIONAL OR DEMONSTRATION APPLIANCES; APPLIANCES FOR TEACHING, OR COMMUNICATING WITH, THE BLIND, DEAF OR MUTE; MODELS; PLANETARIA; GLOBES; MAPS; DIAGRAMS
    • G09B5/00—Electrically-operated educational appliances
    • G09B5/06—Electrically-operated educational appliances with both visual and audible presentation of the material to be studied
    • G09B5/065—Combinations of audio and video presentations, e.g. videotapes, videodiscs, television systems
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09B—EDUCATIONAL OR DEMONSTRATION APPLIANCES; APPLIANCES FOR TEACHING, OR COMMUNICATING WITH, THE BLIND, DEAF OR MUTE; MODELS; PLANETARIA; GLOBES; MAPS; DIAGRAMS
    • G09B5/00—Electrically-operated educational appliances
    • G09B5/08—Electrically-operated educational appliances providing for individual presentation of information to a plurality of student stations
    • G09B5/14—Electrically-operated educational appliances providing for individual presentation of information to a plurality of student stations with provision for individual teacher-student communication
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G10—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS
    • G10H—ELECTROPHONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; INSTRUMENTS IN WHICH THE TONES ARE GENERATED BY ELECTROMECHANICAL MEANS OR ELECTRONIC GENERATORS, OR IN WHICH THE TONES ARE SYNTHESISED FROM A DATA STORE
    • G10H2220/00—Input/output interfacing specifically adapted for electrophonic musical tools or instruments
    • G10H2220/005—Non-interactive screen display of musical or status data
    • G10H2220/011—Lyrics displays, e.g. for karaoke applications
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G10—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS
    • G10H—ELECTROPHONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; INSTRUMENTS IN WHICH THE TONES ARE GENERATED BY ELECTROMECHANICAL MEANS OR ELECTRONIC GENERATORS, OR IN WHICH THE TONES ARE SYNTHESISED FROM A DATA STORE
    • G10H2240/00—Data organisation or data communication aspects, specifically adapted for electrophonic musical tools or instruments
    • G10H2240/011—Files or data streams containing coded musical information, e.g. for transmission
    • G10H2240/046—File format, i.e. specific or non-standard musical file format used in or adapted for electrophonic musical instruments, e.g. in wavetables
    • G10H2240/066—MPEG audio-visual compression file formats, e.g. MPEG-4 for coding of audio-visual objects
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G10—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS
    • G10H—ELECTROPHONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; INSTRUMENTS IN WHICH THE TONES ARE GENERATED BY ELECTROMECHANICAL MEANS OR ELECTRONIC GENERATORS, OR IN WHICH THE TONES ARE SYNTHESISED FROM A DATA STORE
    • G10H2240/00—Data organisation or data communication aspects, specifically adapted for electrophonic musical tools or instruments
    • G10H2240/171—Transmission of musical instrument data, control or status information; Transmission, remote access or control of music data for electrophonic musical instruments
    • G10H2240/201—Physical layer or hardware aspects of transmission to or from an electrophonic musical instrument, e.g. voltage levels, bit streams, code words or symbols over a physical link connecting network nodes or instruments
    • G10H2240/271—Serial transmission according to any one of RS-232 standards for serial binary single-ended data and control signals between a DTE and a DCE
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G10—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS
    • G10H—ELECTROPHONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; INSTRUMENTS IN WHICH THE TONES ARE GENERATED BY ELECTROMECHANICAL MEANS OR ELECTRONIC GENERATORS, OR IN WHICH THE TONES ARE SYNTHESISED FROM A DATA STORE
    • G10H2240/00—Data organisation or data communication aspects, specifically adapted for electrophonic musical tools or instruments
    • G10H2240/171—Transmission of musical instrument data, control or status information; Transmission, remote access or control of music data for electrophonic musical instruments
    • G10H2240/281—Protocol or standard connector for transmission of analog or digital data to or from an electrophonic musical instrument
    • G10H2240/291—SCSI, i.e. Small Computer System Interface
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G10—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS
    • G10H—ELECTROPHONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; INSTRUMENTS IN WHICH THE TONES ARE GENERATED BY ELECTROMECHANICAL MEANS OR ELECTRONIC GENERATORS, OR IN WHICH THE TONES ARE SYNTHESISED FROM A DATA STORE
    • G10H2240/00—Data organisation or data communication aspects, specifically adapted for electrophonic musical tools or instruments
    • G10H2240/171—Transmission of musical instrument data, control or status information; Transmission, remote access or control of music data for electrophonic musical instruments
    • G10H2240/281—Protocol or standard connector for transmission of analog or digital data to or from an electrophonic musical instrument
    • G10H2240/295—Packet switched network, e.g. token ring
    • G10H2240/301—Ethernet, e.g. according to IEEE 802.3

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to karaoke entertainment systems. Description Of The Related Art
  • Karaoke is a form of entertainment which has gained wide popularity in recent years.
  • a karaoke system provides background music, microphones, amplifiers, and voice enhancement circuitry which allow a customer to sing to music of his or her choice.
  • Some of the more advanced karaoke systems also provide a video clip which is shown on a TV set or video screen and which is appropriate to the song being played while displaying the words to the song on the screen.
  • Karaoke systems are commonly found at restaurants, bars, fashion malls, and other public places so that amateur singers are given an opportunity to sing their favorite songs in a public setting
  • a library of video discs is provided for selection by the customer so that the customer is able to select his or her favorite music together with the appropriate video and words displayed on the display screen.
  • a recent development in the karaoke entertainment business has been the provision of karaoke boxes.
  • a box is a commercial space, usually provided in a shopping center, that has rooms rented by the hour Each room provides karaoke services.
  • An autochanger is a machine that stores a number of laser discs (e.g., 72 laser discs wherein each disc has 28 songs) and automatically plays a selected song from one of the stored discs.
  • the user inputs a code through a remote control unit and the machine plays the background music and the video for the customer in the selecting box
  • the song is ordered through a telephone intercom and a person (usually in another room) finds the appropriate disc and manually loads it into a video disc player.
  • Both types of systems usually employ microphones and amplifiers with reverberation and other special features for voice enhancement.
  • a computer based karaoke system includes a hard disc array which stores digitized and compressed audio and video data which is transferred from a laser disc system Furthermore, the digitized audio and video information is divided into segments, wherein each segment represents a song and corresponding video to be played. Each song is assigned a number which a customer may key in via a hand-held remote control unit.
  • An in-room receiver picks up and transmits the order to a client (i.e., a networked computer workstation), the client then opens up a file on the server (i.e., the central computer system) and reads a compressed, digitized audio and video data file.
  • a decompression chip in the client decompresses the audio and video data and converts the data to analog waveforms to be played through the speakers and displayed over the video screen within the box.
  • the hard disc storage also has database management system tied to a publishing type software to produce accurate song books.
  • Figure 1 is a system overview which depicts a schematic block diagram of the computer based karaoke system of the present invention.
  • Figure 2 is a schematic overview which shows the connections of a local area network used to implement the computer based karaoke system of the present invention.
  • FIG 3 is a schematic block diagram which details the main structural and functional elements of the video file servers depicted in Figures 1 and 2.
  • FIG 4 is a schematic block diagram which shows the main structural and functional elements of the video client stations shown in Figures 1 and 2.
  • Figures 5A and 5B are a detailed overall system block diagram showing each of the main elements of the computer based karaoke system of the present invention.
  • Figure 5C illustrates an encoding station constructed in accordance with one preferred embodiment of the invention.
  • Figure 6 is a simplified block diagram showing the main elements of the customer input unit of Figures 1, 4 and 5A.
  • Figures 7A and 7B illustrate flow charts which detail the general method for managing communication between the customer input unit and the client server of Figures 1 , 4 and 5A.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic system overview of the computer based karaoke system 100 of the present invention.
  • the system 100 includes a central digital karaoke server 110.
  • the central server 110 communicates with a plurality of digital karaoke subsystems or "clients" 120 via high speed data network links (e.g., an ETHERNET datalink) 130.
  • each of the digital karaoke client subsystems 120 connects to respective user input and control units 140 via respective serial control lines 150.
  • the user control input unit 140 is depicted in greater detail below with reference to Figure 6.
  • each client server 120 communicates with a respective audio/video output terminal 160 via a respective audio cable 162 and a respective video line 164.
  • a customer within a karaoke box selects a song from a list which may be printed on a sheet, or which may be displayed as a menu on a video screen within the audio/video output terminal 160.
  • the songs are advantageously listed by artist or title, or both.
  • the customer then inputs a song selection via one of the user control input devices 140.
  • a user may use a hand-held remote control which forms part of the customer input unit 140 in one embodiment to seiect from the list of possible song selections.
  • Each song advantageously has an associated number which the customer enters to select the corresponding song and video.
  • the song selection is transmitted to the digital karaoke client 120 via the serial connection 150.
  • the serial connection 150 comprises an RS-232 serial cable with appropriate interfaces in the client 120 and input unit 140.
  • the requested song is then opened on the central server and the contents (encoded video/audio data (e.g., compressed data)) are transmitted over a high speed ETHERNET datalink 130, and then decoded in real-time by the client 120 for playback through a speaker and video monitor (see Figure 5A) within the audio/video output terminal 160.
  • the customer sings the lyrics to the accompanying music into a microphone (not shown specifically in Figure 1 , but forming part of the input unit 140), or the like.
  • the customer's voice is enhanced, mixed with the music, and output via speakers to produce a professional sounding rendition of the song with the customer as the "artist.”
  • the songs sung by the customer are recorded on a cassette tape, or the like, for the customer's future enjoyment. Therefore, by means of the present invention, a customer sings along with the selected music, originally stored in memory as digital data, together with the displayed video and lyrics, by means of a microphone and amplifier which are also tied into the speaker system.
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram which shows a general overview of a local area network which is advantageously used to implement the computer based karaoke system of the present invention.
  • audio/video server 110 connects with a plurality of hubs 220 via 10 megabit per second ETHERNET connections 210.
  • the network may be expanded to include two or more servers 110 to increase the user capacity of the computer based karaoke system 100.
  • the servers 110 advantageously comprise 486DX2 66 computers having four EISA busmaster slots, a 25-megabyte RAM, and a 250-megabyte or greater hard drive.
  • the servers 110 are capable of running STARWORKS 25 PC Version 1.7 video server software.
  • each of the hubs 220 comprises a SMC Tiger 6 Port TP.
  • Each of the hubs 220 connects up to six of the video clients 120 via 1.5 megabit per second ETHERNET connections 240 in the present embodiment.
  • Each of the digital karaoke clients 120 advantageously includes a 486DX 33 MHz PC or a PC of higher performance, having at least 8 Mbytes of RAM and having at least a 250 Mbyte hard drive.
  • Each server 120 is capable of running STARWORKS v2 and OPTIBASE PLAYS v 1.2.6 video server software.
  • the hubs 220 act to divide the 10 Mbit/second signal into this 1.5 Mbitfsecond signals provided to the separate video clients 120.
  • the ETHERNET connection 210, the hub 220, and the ETHERNET connection 240 together comprise the high speed communication link 130 of Figure 1.
  • the video clients 120 transmit requests to the video servers 110 via the hub controller connections 220 and the ETHERNET connection links 240, 210.
  • the hub connectors 220 act as interface circuits which assimilate the data input on each of the 1.5 Mbps connection links 240 and output the assimilated data over the 10 Mbps ETHERNET communication links 210 to the servers 110.
  • the data provided from the audio/video servers 110 to each of the clients 120 is divided by each hub connector 220 into the respective data to be transmitted to the clients 120 over the ETHERNET links 240.
  • the communication protocol between the clients 120 and the servers 110 is conventional for an ETHERNET link.
  • Figure 3 is a schematic block diagram which shows in detail the main structural and functional elements of the central server 110 depicted in Figures 1 and 2.
  • the audio/video server 1 10 comprises a main CPU 300 which, in one embodiment, is a 486DX2 66 EISA CPU with a 25 Mbyte RAM and a 250 Mbyte or larger hard drive.
  • the server 110 advantageously runs DOS v6.2.2, LynxOS, and StarWorks 25M v2.
  • the main server CPU 300 includes a small computer system interface ("SCSI"), two-cable connection 320 which connects the main CPU 300 with a memory storage system 310 via SCSI cables 330.
  • the memory storage system 310 comprises 14 Hewlett Packard C2490, two-gigabyte, SCSI drives in a SMARTstor intelligent, fault-tolerant subsystem.
  • the storage system 320 which corresponds to enough capacity to store between 800 and 1,000 songs with their corresponding video data.
  • the amount of memory storage required for each song varies as a function of the length of the song and the complexity of the accompanying video.
  • approximately 29 songs, with accompanying video, can be stored within one Gigabyte.
  • Such disc storage systems are available from Stream ⁇ ngRAID T ⁇ /Media Integration.
  • the main server CPU 300 further includes an SMC Elite 32 dual port ETHERNET card 340 in a busmaster EISA slot.
  • the ETHERNET card 340 communicates with one of the hubs 220 (see Figure 2) by means of a 10-base-T local area network cable.
  • the hub 220 communicates with the client, as depicted in Figures 1 and 2.
  • the main server CPU 300 manages the storage and retrieval of compressed audio/video data.
  • a constant ETHERNET channel (sometimes called a "pipe") is maintained between the main server CPU 300 and each client 120.
  • the client 120 receives a song-request from the customer input unit 140, the corresponding file is opened up from the server and the encoded audio/video data within that file is sent over the ETHERNET pipe to the client 120 for decoding and subsequent playback to the user. It should be noted that all decompression is performed by the client 120 in real time.
  • Figure 4 is a schematic block diagram which depicts the details of the main structural elements of a client station 230 of Figures 1 and 2.
  • the client station 230 is shown to include the client 120, the customer input unit 140, and audio and video output units.
  • Figure 4 depicts a client CPU 400 which connects to the customer input unit 140 via the serial cable 150 and a serial port connection 410.
  • the customer input unit 140 is specially designed for the present application, and is described in greater detail below with reference to Figure 6.
  • the cable 150 preferably comprises an RS-232 serial cable, while the serial port 410 is a standard serial (COM) port.
  • COM standard serial
  • the customer input unit 140 shown in Figure 4 to include an LCD display 418, receives instructions from a hand-held remote control unit 420 operated by a customer 425.
  • the hand-held remote control 420 allows the customer 425 to select from a number of listed songs and corresponding videos by means of an infrared communication link.
  • An MPEG (Motion Picture Electronics Group) decompress card 430 (advantageously available from OBTIBASE PC MOTION) connects to a video monitor 440 via a cable 450.
  • the cable 450 comprises a coaxial NTSC cable for video transmission.
  • the decompress card 430 also connects to an amplifier/harmonizer 460 via an audio cable 465.
  • the amplifier/harmonizer 460 comprises a karaoke system amplifier/harmonizer available from PIONEER.
  • the amplifier/harmonizer 460 outputs signals to a speaker 470 via an analog audio cable 475.
  • the amplifier/harmonizer 460 receives inputs from a microphone 480 via a microphone cable 485 and mixes the audio data provided by the client CPU 400 with the voice data provided via the microphone 480 to provide a combined audio signal which is sent to the speaker 470 over the cable 475.
  • the user 425 flips through a karaoke songbook (not shown), or the like, and finds a song he or she wants to sing.
  • the user locates the song call number (i.e., the "file retrieval number") which, for example, may be adjacent to the song title on the printed page of the karaoke songbook.
  • the user 425 then enters the call number into the hand-held remote 420.
  • the customer input unit 140 receives the infrared signal from the hand held remote 420 and displays the entered call number, as the user enters them, on the LCD panel 418 on the user input 140.
  • the user input 140 locates the record for the entered call number from a song catalog export file held in random access memory (RAM) within the user input unit 140.
  • the song catalog export file is an indexing file which contains a listing of the possible call numbers and the titles associated with each call number as printed in the karaoke songbook.
  • the user input 140 subsequently displays the associated title on the LCD screen 418 so that the user may confirm that the correct entry has been selected. If the user did not correctly enter the desired song, the user 425 may opt to clear the entry using the remote control 420 and enter another call number.
  • the user input 140 adds the entered call number to a song queue (implemented as a memory buffer within the user input 140) which, in one embodiment, may hold as many as 99 song numbers at once in the present embodiment. While managing user inputs to the queue, the user input 140 converts the call number at the top of the queue into a formatted file name string (i.e., by inserting the required DOS pathname characters) to the client CPU 400 via the RS-232 serial connection 150 and the serial port 410.
  • the client CPU 400 advantageously runs DOS v6.2.2, PLAYS by OPTIBASE, STARWORKS for PC Clients, and a special application execute file (KSM.EXE) designed by NESCO to manage the communication link between the user input 140 and the client CPU 400.
  • the KSM.EXE file will be described in greater detail below with reference to Figures 7A and 7B.
  • the file designated by the transmitted pathname is then opened by the client CPU and decoded for playback along the audio/video channels 450, 465 via the MPEG decompressor 430.
  • the decompressed video portion of the song is displayed on the video screen 440 while an introductory decompressed audio portion of the song is amplified and played via the amplifier 460 and the speakers 470.
  • the user then reads the words from the video display screen 440 and begins to sing into the microphone 480
  • the audio portion of the decompressed song is amplified and harmonized with the users voice (provided via the microphone 480 and the line 485) within the amplifier/ harmomzer 460 to provide a blended musical output over the speakers 470.
  • FIGs 5A and 5B are an overall system diagram which details each of the main elements of the computer based karaoke system 100 of the present invention.
  • a karaoke room 500 includes the customer input unit 140, the speakers 470, the video display screen 440, and other local circuitry which can conveniently be located in the karaoke room 500 with the user 425.
  • the encoding station 510 is used to encode audio and video data transmitted from content sources 520, 521 via a video line 525, an audio line 530.
  • the encoding is performed using the well known MPEG Lab Works compression algorithm performed using MPEGLab compression software.
  • MPEG is a set of industry-wide standards for digitizing and compressing video (and audio/video files).
  • MPEG Lab Works is a software application which comes standard with the OptiBase MPEG4000 encodmg board.
  • the content sources 520, 521 may, for example, comprise audio and video recordings (such as found on compact disks, laser disks, and cassette tapes), or live performances, and other sources of audio and video.
  • the audio data derived from the content source 521 enters the encoding station 510 and is encoded using a PCMotion Pro audio encoder and standard MPEG audio compression algorithms available from OPTIBASE, as represented in a block 540.
  • the video data derived from the content source 520 is transmitted via the line 525 to the encoding station 510 where an OPTIBASE PMPEG4000 encoder 535 is used to encode the video data.
  • the encoded audio and video data provided by the encoders 535, 540 are transmitted to the karaoke server 110 via a SMC ELITE- 16 ETHERNET connection 542, an ETHERNET line 210 and the ETHERNET hub 220.
  • the central server 110 then stores the audio/video data in the array 310.
  • the encoding station 510 comprises a PentiumTM 60 or faster CPU with a 25 megabyte RAM and a 250 megabyte hard disk or larger.
  • the encoding station should run WINDOWS version 3.11, DOS version 6.22, MPEG LAB version 1.1 and STARWORKS CLIENT version 2
  • the encoder 510 uses the audio/video digitizer and compressor (OPTIBASE MPEG LAB PRO) to digitize and compress the source input audio and video signals, in addition to being sent to the server 110, the compressed, digitized audio/video files are archived to a CD-ROM Recorder 541 via a SCSI adaptor 320 in the encoding station 510.
  • Select songs can be transferred to the karaoke server 110 via an ETHERNET connection (210 & 220).
  • the customer song list database is compiled at this time, in concert with the encoding and archiving of the audio/video data.
  • the newly created MPEG files are given two digit file names (plus the standard DOS filename extension for MPEG files ".MPG") and organized into DOS sub-directories, also having two digit names.
  • the karaoke video file "You Light Up My Life” might get the file name "89.MPG” and be stored in a DOS sub-directory called "87", so that the full DOS pathname of that file would be "X: ⁇ 87 ⁇ 89.MPG", where X represents the drive designation letter.
  • the song retrieval code "8789” would be entered into the song list database, along with the Song Title, Artist and Category. This information is then used to generate both the "SONGS.TAB” file, which is downloaded to the user input device 140 ( Figure 5A), and the user song list 5
  • the SONGS.TAB file a copy of which resides on each client 120, is loaded in memory (RAM) at startup.
  • songs ordered from the central server 110 are sent in compressed digital form to the client 120 via the ETHERNET link 210 and the ETHERNET hub 220
  • the client 120 then decompresses the audio and video data using an OPTIBASE PCMOTION PRO MPEG decoding card and transmits this data to the playback equipment 460, 440 via a video cable 552 and an audio cable 554
  • the audio line 554 will typically include separate lines for the left and right stereo speakers 470.
  • a jukebox, or other audio/video equipment could be connected to the amplifier 460 and the video display 440 via a switching box (not shown) and a switch matrix (also not shown) could be used to connect the client 120 to the switching box
  • FIG. 6 is a highly simplified block diagram showing the main internal elements of the customer input unit
  • the input unit 140 is shown in Figure 6 to include an infra red receiver 600 which receives optical signals from the remote 420 (not shown in Figure 6) and converts these signals into electrical signals for transmission to a processing unit 610.
  • the processing unit 610 advantageously comprises an erasable, programmable, read-only memory (EPROM) which is programmed during the manufacture of the input unit 140.
  • EPROM erasable, programmable, read-only memory
  • other processing devices such as a microprocessor, a PAL, or the like could be used in place of an EPROM.
  • the programming code used to "burn" the EPROM 610 is attached herewith as Appendix A.
  • the processing unit 610 manages the reception of signals from the remote 420 and the output of data to the client 120 as well as to the LCD 418
  • the processing unit 610 receives power (at ⁇ 15 volts and 5 volts) from an internal power supply 620.
  • a serial port 630 provides a link, via the RS-232 connection 150, between the processor 610 and the client 120.
  • the serial port 630 is a standard 25 pin (0B-25F) port available from DIGI-KEY.
  • a conventional key change connector 640 provides a connection by which the user can transmit signals to the amplifier 460 to modify the key of the music being played, in accordance with well known techniques
  • the remote 420 includes buttons for changing the key of the song being played The signals which produce this key change are transmitted to the amplifier 460 which is specially adapted to modify the key of the music being played in response to the received signals.
  • changing key is conventional
  • the key change connector comprises a 15-p ⁇ n connector, available from PIONEER
  • the processor unit 610 outputs information to be displayed to the user to a next song display 650, a song stack display 655, and a song input display 660.
  • the next song display 650, a song stack display 655, and a song input display 660 are all part of the LCD 418
  • the next song and song input displays 650, 660 are LCDs capable of displaying two lines of twenty letters each, while the song stack display comprises two seven-segment LEDs.
  • Figures 7A and 7B are flow charts which detail the general method of operation for the customer input unit 140, as well as the method for managing communication between the customer input unit 140 and the client 120 of Figures 1, 4 and 5A. It should be understood that the method described below with reference to Figure 7A is executed primarily under software control within the user input unit 140, while the method described with reference to Figure 7B is executed primarily under software control within the client station 120, unless otherwise noted.
  • the application KSM.EXE residing on the hard drive of the client 120, loads at start-up (boot)
  • the song file (SONGS.TAB), also located on the client hard drive, is transferred into memory (RAM).
  • Infrared signals are received by the user input device 140 and interpreted by the internal logic of the user input device 140.
  • Playback control codes and numeric song codes are sent from the user input device 140 to the KSM.EXE file via the RS 232 connection 150.
  • Song titles are retrieved from the song list in client RAM and sent from the KSM.EXE file to the user input device 140 for display on the LCD 418.
  • Song codes are translated by the KSM.EXE file to file names for playback.
  • control of the decoder PCMotion
  • the user may enter a four-digit song number, one digit at a time, via the infrared remote. Once the four digit song number has been keyed in, the user presses ENTER to actually select the song. The user then has the option of entering "clear” if the user later decides that this is not the song that he desires to listen to or "start" to begin playing the song. Once the song is playing, the user may enter a pause, resume, or stop command in order to pause a song that is playing, resume playing a paused song, or stop a song that is playing.
  • the user input unit 140 waits in an idle state, as represented by a block 700, until the user inputs information via the infrared remote 420.
  • the user input device logic determines whether or not the input mformation is a number, as represented in a decision block 702. If the user input device logic determines that the user has keyed in a number, then a test is performed to determine if the number is the fourth number that has been entered, as represented within a decision block 704.
  • the ke ⁇ ed- ⁇ n number is added to the end of the LCD display, as represented in an activity block 706, and the user input device 140 reenters the idle state 700.
  • the song title is retrieved from the KSM.EXE file, as represented within an activity block 708
  • the song title that was retrieved is displayed on the LCD 660, as represented in an activity block 710.
  • the user input unit 140 then returns to the idle state 700.
  • the user need only press ENTER to select the song for play.
  • a test is performed to determine if the user has keyed in the ENTER command, as represented within a decision block 712 If the user input device logic determines that the user has keyed in the ENTER command, then a further determination is made if the queue that holds the songs to be played (i e , in the server 110) is full, as represented in a decision block 714 As discussed above, the queue advantageously holds a total of 99 songs, so that the queue is considered full if more than 99 songs have been selected to be played.
  • a queue of this size is sufficient to service 10 or more karaoke boxes at once. If it is determined that the queue is full, then the song is not entered, and the user input 140 reenters the idle state 700. However, if it is determined that a queue is not full, then the song on display (i.e., on the LCD screen 660) is placed at the end of the queue The user input unit 140 thereafter enters the idle state 700.
  • a new test is performed to determine if the user has entered the CLEAR command, as indicated within a decision block 716. If it is determined within the decision block 716 that the user has entered the CLEAR command, then the number in the display 660 is deleted, as represented within an activity block 720, and the user input unit 140 reenters the idle state 700. If it is determined within the decision block 716 that a CLEAR command was not entered by the user, then a test is performed to determine if a START command was keyed in by the user, as represented within a decision block 724.
  • a test is performed to determine if a song is currently playing, as represented within a decision block 726. If within the decision block 726 it is determined that a song is not currently playing, then a PLAY command is sent, together with the song at the top of the queue, to the KSM.EXE file, as represented within an activity block 728. Subsequently, the user input unit 140 reenters the idle state 700.
  • the KSM.EXE file is continuously executing in the background, as represented by a loop 729 in dashed lines, so that a song can be played concurrently with the operation of the user input device 140.
  • the queue is not empty, or the user has not paused the song, music is continuously being played by the computer based karaoke system 100.
  • a RESTART command is sent to the KSM.EXE file, as indicated within an activity block 730.
  • the RESTART command causes the currently playing song to start over from the beginning as soon as the RESTART command is executed.
  • the user input unit 140 thereafter enters the idle state 700. If it is determined within the decision block 724 that the user has not keyed in a START command, then a test is performed by the user input device logic to determine if the user has keyed in a PAUSE command, as represented within a decision block 732.
  • the user input unit 140 sends a pause code to the client to cause the song being played to pause until a RESUME command is sent. This is represented within an activity block 734 Thereafter, the user input unit 140 reenters the idle state 700. If it is determined within the decision block 732 that the user has not keyed in the PAUSE command, then a determination is made if the user has keyed in a RESUME command, as represented within a decision block 736. If the user has entered a RESUME command, then the RESUME command is sent to the KSM.EXE file, as represented within an activity block 738, and the user input unit 140 reenters the idle state 700.
  • the RESUME command causes the song which is currently paused to resume from where the music left off. If the RESUME command is inadvertently entered when a song is not paused, then the RESUME command is ignored. However, if it is determined within the decision block 736 that the user has not keyed in a resume command, then this indicates that the user has entered a STOP command. Consequently, the STOP command is sent to the KSM.EXE file, as represented within an activity block 740, and the user input unit 140 sends a PLAY command and the song at the top of the queue to the KSM.EXE file to initiate playing of the next song, as represented within the activity block 728.
  • Figure 7B is a flowchart that gives a general overview of the method used by the KSM.EXE file to control playback of the selected songs and also to retrieve the selected song titles
  • the method begins by loading the SONGS.TAB file into the RAM of the central server 110.
  • the SONGS.TAB file includes a listing of each of the song titles and their associated call numbers.
  • the central server 110 is placed in an idle state wherein the server 110 waits for an input via the command port ( ⁇ .e., from the user input unit 140), as represented within a block 753.
  • a decision is made, as represented within a decision block 756, if the input is the numeric song code. If it is determined that the input is the numeric song code, then this entered code is matched to the song title, as represented within an activity block 759, and the title is sent to the customer i ⁇ tput unit 140 (also referred to herein as the K-MASTER device) (see Figure 6), as represented within an activity block 762. Thereafter, the central server 110 reenters the idle state 753 to wait for further inputs from the command port.
  • the customer i ⁇ tput unit 140 also referred to herein as the K-MASTER device
  • a test is performed to determine if the input is a play command accompanied by the file name, as represented within a decision block 765. If it is determined that the input is a play command accompanied by the file name, then the play command and file name are sent to the PCMotion decoder 430 to initiate playback of the selected song, as represented within an activity block 768 Thereafter, the server enters the idle state 753 while transmitting the audio and video data corresponding to the selected song to the client for playback.
  • the input command is not a RESTART
  • a test is performed to determine if the input is a PAUSE command, as represented within a decision block 777. If the received input is a PAUSE command, then the PAUSE command is sent to the PCMotion decoder 430 to cause the decoder 430 to cease decoding until a RESUME command is received, as represented within an activity block 780.
  • the user at the user input unit 140 will hear a pause in the music, since the PCMotion decoder 430 is no longer transmitting audio data to the speakers 470 or video data to the video display 440.
  • the client 120 thereafter enters the state 753 to wait for further inputs via the COM port 410.
  • a test is performed to determine if the input is a RESUME command, as represented within a decision block 783. If it is determined within the decision block 783 that the received input is a RESUME command, then the RESUME command is sent to the PCMotion decoder, as represented within an activity block 786. When the RESUME command is sent to the PCMotion decoder, this causes the decoder to continue decoding the song data where it left off in response to the PAUSE command. Thus, the user at the client 120 will hear the song resume piaying from the point where the song was paused.
  • the server 110 reenters the state 753 to wait for additional inputs via the COM port. If within the decision block 783 it is determined, however, that a RESUME command was not input, then it is concluded that a STOP command was input, as represented within an activity block 789. Thus, as represented within an activity block 792, the STOP command is sent to the PCMotion decoder to cause the decoder to stop decoding the current song. Thereafter, the central server 110 reenters the state 753 to wait for an additional input via the COM port.
  • a PLAY command will be sent immediately after the STOP command is received so that the next song in the queue will immediately begin playing after the STOP command has caused the PCMotion decoder to stop decoding the last song. In this manner, continuous playback of each of the songs in order in the song queue is accomplished under the control of the KSM.EXE file.
  • ACTUAL INTERRUPT SERVICE int_counter is interrupt counter bit counter is bit counter after start bit
  • SVC1 MOV A, int_counter; INT COUNTER
  • JZ ZTMRO EXIT IF 1ST INTPT SLIPPED THROUGH DJNZ ACC, SVC2 SEE IF IT WAS 1 MOV A, THO YES, IT WAS ADD A, #0F1H MUST BE > OEH JC ZTMRO YES, ZERO TIMER
  • STR01A CLR A CALL SHIFT ;SHIFT 0 INTO CODE INC bit_counter
  • 3DCD MOV rem_code, R5 /CODE NUMBER
  • ZTMR MOV THO, #00H ;ZERO TIMERS
  • SHIF1 MOVX A, ⁇ DPTR
  • CDA DB 'DIGITAL/ANALOG' , OOH
  • RSEG LVARS int_counter DS 1 Interrupt ctr bit-_counter: DS 1 Bit counter rem_code: DS 1 Remote code delay_count : DS 1 Delay counter
  • timer 2 interrupt every 10 ms used to switch multiplexer on the two 7-segment displays.
  • Port assignment (all active low, A - G are cathodes) -.
  • THI 0xE6/ /*1200 baud on ser port*/
  • THO 0 /* clear timer 0 */
  • TRCON Oxll /*T2 autoreload & intrpt */
  • babcock_clear(0) / digit_count 0; babcock_delay(1000) / smsg("Make selection now", 0) ,- babcock delay(1000) /
  • P4 letter & 0XF0; /*sharp3*/ else /*sharps & flats 4 /
  • SBUF 0x01/ /*display reset*/ babcock_delay(1000) ; while ( !TI ) ⁇
  • SBUF 0x15/ /*display clear*/ babcock delay(lOOO),-
  • SBUF' dat/ babcock_delay(64) / //add extra stop bit
  • Pl_2_bit must be low when xxget_char is called.
  • xxstat_rxd[0] XON_STAT; if ( ! (SRA & 0x01) ) i f ( s t a t_bu f f e r ( &po r t_buf f e r [ 0 ] )
  • ⁇ ⁇ x ⁇ stat_txd[l] XOFF_STAT/ while ⁇ !(SRB & 0x04)) / ⁇ transmit XOFF ⁇ /
  • ⁇ xxstat_txd [l] XON_STAT ,- while (! (SRB & 0x04)) /* transmit XON */
  • Pl_2_bit_status Pl_2_bi ;
  • SBUF dat; / ⁇ output character ⁇ /
  • serial receive port 0 wait until any type of character received
  • ⁇ Pl_2_bit_status Pl_2_bit
  • reg_csr 0x44 / if baud 600
  • reg csr 0x55; if baud 1200)
  • reg_csr 0x66, if baud 2400)
  • reg_csr 0x88, if baud 4800)
  • reg_csr 0x99; if baud 9600)
  • reg_mrl reg_mrl 0x00
  • reg mr2 reg mr2 0x00 /
  • MR1A reg_mrl
  • MR2A reg_mr2
  • CRA reg_cr & OxOF; / ⁇ need to be NULL COMMAND ⁇ /
  • MRIB reg_mrl
  • MR2B reg_mr2
  • CRB reg_cr & OxOF; / ⁇ need to be NULL COMMAND ⁇ /
  • ACR reg_acr
  • ETO 0 ; / * disable timerO interrupt */ void enable_tf0_ ⁇ nt (priority) unsigned char priority,-
  • ET1 0/ /* disable t emrl interrupt */ ⁇ void enable_tfl_mt (priority) unsigned char priority,-
  • ET2 0 / /* disable t ⁇ mer2 interrupt ⁇ /
  • EX1 0; / ⁇ disable external interrupt 1 ⁇ /
  • IP1 ( (IP1 & OxOFB) iippll__mmaask) ; if (level)
  • EXEN2 0; / ⁇ disable timer2 external reload */
  • EXEN2 1; / ⁇ enable timer2 external reload

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Multimedia (AREA)
  • Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • Educational Administration (AREA)
  • Educational Technology (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
  • Reverberation, Karaoke And Other Acoustics (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention porte sur un système de reproduction audio/vidéo à base d'ordinateur (100) enregistrant des signaux comprimée audio, vidéo et textuels dans une mémoire (310) accessible à l'ordinateur. Le système (100) comporte un serveur central (110), ayant accès à l'ensemble des chansons enregistrées dans la mémoire (310), tandis que des serveurs locaux (120) communiquant avec le serveur central (110) servent à comprimer et décomprimer les signaux audio et vidéo en vue de leur reproduction destinée à un client de karaoke (425) par l'intermédiaire de haut-parleurs (470) et d'un écran vidéo (440). Dans l'une des réalisations, un dispositif d'introduction conçu à la demande (140) permet à l'utilisateur (425) de gérer l'introduction de sélections de chansons.
PCT/US1996/019719 1995-11-29 1996-11-27 Systeme de karaoke informatise WO1997020297A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US56400995A 1995-11-29 1995-11-29
US08/564,009 1995-11-29

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO1997020297A1 true WO1997020297A1 (fr) 1997-06-05

Family

ID=24252798

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/US1996/019719 WO1997020297A1 (fr) 1995-11-29 1996-11-27 Systeme de karaoke informatise

Country Status (1)

Country Link
WO (1) WO1997020297A1 (fr)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0938075A1 (fr) * 1998-02-23 1999-08-25 Sony Corporation Dispositif terminal, centre de distribution d'information, système et méthode de transmission
GB2426375A (en) * 2005-03-11 2006-11-22 David Michael Karaoke entertainment apparatus
US8977375B2 (en) 2000-10-12 2015-03-10 Bose Corporation Interactive sound reproducing

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5153917A (en) * 1990-02-14 1992-10-06 Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Communication terminal system
US5247126A (en) * 1990-11-27 1993-09-21 Pioneer Electric Corporation Image reproducing apparatus, image information recording medium, and musical accompaniment playing apparatus
US5335073A (en) * 1991-09-02 1994-08-02 Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. Sound and image reproduction system
US5499921A (en) * 1992-09-30 1996-03-19 Yamaha Corporation Karaoke apparatus with visual assistance in physical vocalism
US5588842A (en) * 1994-04-06 1996-12-31 Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Karaoke control system for a plurality of karaoke devices

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5153917A (en) * 1990-02-14 1992-10-06 Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Communication terminal system
US5247126A (en) * 1990-11-27 1993-09-21 Pioneer Electric Corporation Image reproducing apparatus, image information recording medium, and musical accompaniment playing apparatus
US5335073A (en) * 1991-09-02 1994-08-02 Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. Sound and image reproduction system
US5499921A (en) * 1992-09-30 1996-03-19 Yamaha Corporation Karaoke apparatus with visual assistance in physical vocalism
US5588842A (en) * 1994-04-06 1996-12-31 Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Karaoke control system for a plurality of karaoke devices

Cited By (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0938075A1 (fr) * 1998-02-23 1999-08-25 Sony Corporation Dispositif terminal, centre de distribution d'information, système et méthode de transmission
US6477506B1 (en) 1998-02-23 2002-11-05 Sony Corporation Terminal apparatus, information service center, transmitting system, and transmitting method
US7003496B2 (en) * 1998-02-23 2006-02-21 Sony Corporation Terminal apparatus, information service center, transmitting system, and transmitting method
US8977375B2 (en) 2000-10-12 2015-03-10 Bose Corporation Interactive sound reproducing
US9223538B2 (en) 2000-10-12 2015-12-29 Bose Corporation Interactive sound reproducing
US10140084B2 (en) 2000-10-12 2018-11-27 Bose Corporation Interactive sound reproducing
US10481855B2 (en) 2000-10-12 2019-11-19 Bose Corporation Interactive sound reproducing
GB2426375A (en) * 2005-03-11 2006-11-22 David Michael Karaoke entertainment apparatus

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