ClearOne IP Speaker - Manual (Page 2)

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StreamNet
™
Connected IP Speakers W H I T E P A P E R
owners will look to their trusted advisors – their integrators – to separate fact from
fiction.
In the custom audio market the big environmental offender is energy consumption and
the use of copper. For every pound of copper that we take out the ground and process,
we release four pounds of carbon dioxide, a green house gas. In a 100lbs amplifier and
matrix switch unit there is on the order of 50lbs of copper. The copper in this system
alone results in about 50 (multiply by 4, the number of pounds of carbon dioxide per
pound of copper) = 200 pounds of carbon dioxide or about 0.1 tons!
Internet Connectivity
There are many reasons for connectivity but the biggest drivers are access to audio
content and monitoring and upgrades of systems. Today’s answer to the first
requirement is to download content to a hard disc, convert it to analog and distribute it
around the business or home. This is fine in a world of fixed online services with a
single download to disk business model. Unfortunately this is not the world we live in;
we have content that is streamed from a subscription service, downloaded to iPods and
mobile phones as well as audio codecs that media servers don’t support out of the box.
The real answer must be a true connectivity and distribution option for the digital audio
files and streams of all kinds. The second part of Internet connectivity is a more
common use, remote access to systems allowing dealers to design services to ensure
that the systems are delivering the optimal experience for the customer. While many
analog systems can tell if the matrix switch and amp are running, telling whether a
speaker is working is a lot harder, and telling whether it’s producing great sound is not
even in the realm of possibility for analog systems. From the simple to the advanced,
the delivery of diagnostic services builds on the foundation provided by Internet
connectivity.
Processing Intelligence for DRM and upgradeability
One reality of online content is the unfortunate presence of DRM, of course it’s
unfortunate only in that there isn’t one kind of DRM but the myriad of different open and
proprietary schemes that make a consumers life a nightmare. The ability to
authenticate the user in their environment is something that any audio distribution
system will have to do in the future. In addition, since the particular flavor of DRM is
unknown ahead of time, the audio distribution system must be capable of adapting itself
to the DRM in use by the customers’ favorite online music service.
Sound Customization to the Environment:
Every customer wishes that the sound that came from their speakers could be tailored
to their environment. Whether the environment is a hospital that had specific paging
groups that could be created on the fly or whether the environment was an exquisite