14 DAY TRIAL // Recently, HDTV manufacturers have entered a race to see who can deliver the thinnest TV set on the market, pushing sound quality to a second place as these new thin form factors dramatically reduce dynamic range and sound pressure levels, so Summit developed a technology that can be embedded into any TV in order to transform it into a wireless audio streaming station.
Dubbed Summit Connect, the solution can deliver multi-channel high-definition audio, automatically setting up the home theater network using the company's proprietary Speakerfinder and MyZone technologies.
In order to do so, Speakerfinder identifies the location and number of speakers available and selects the correct audio channel while MyZone time aligns the audio transmission to the users listening position.
Unlike most other third party technologies, Summit Connect can be embedded into any digital TV, set top box or Blu-ray player as long as it comes with a Linux operating systems and an embedded USB 2.0 port.
"The TV is rapidly becoming the media center largely driven by the significant increase of multichannel content available for both movies and games, including over the air broadcasts and online sources,” said Tony Parker, vice president of marketing, Summit Semiconductor.
In response to consumer demands, flat panel TV brands want to offer A/V receiver connectivity and switching, but they don't want to add the amplification and power needed to drive multichannel speakers, due to size and cost considerations.
With Summit Wireless the cost of the power supply and amplification are ideally redistributed to the speakers allowing the consumer to use the TV as a single source switch with one remote.
“Summit Connect USB preserves the consumer's decision to purchase multichannel wireless audio without requiring them to purchase additional equipment adding unwanted clutter and remote control,” concluded the company's rep.
The Summit Connect USB development environment includes support for Linux 2.6.35 kernel or later, a dongle test platform for digital TV and SoC hardware and technical support.
The technology will be on display during CES 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada.