Some pundits expect Apple to introduce a (slightly) less expensive model of the HomePod (the HomePod Mini?), while I’d love to see a higher end, home theater model with Dolby Atmos support (the HomePod Theater?). The tech giant has been granted a patent (number 10,091,583) that shows the company has at least considered the latter.
A home audio system that includes an audio receiver and one or more loudspeaker arrays is described in the patent. The audio receiver measures the acoustic properties of the room in which the loudspeaker arrays reside and the audio characteristics of the sound program content to be played through the loudspeaker arrays.
Based on these measurements, the audio receiver assigns a directivity ratio and potentially various beam patterns to one or more segments of the sound program content. The assigned directivity ratio is used by the receiver to play the segment of the sound program content through the loudspeaker arrays. Other embodiments are also described.
By the way, Dolby Atmos is an audio format for creating and playing back multichannel movie soundtracks. It was developed to give movie sound a more three-dimensional effect. Traditional 5.1- and 7.1-channel surround setups deliver captivating sound using speakers placed all around your room. Dolby Atmos takes this to another level with speakers to create a “height” layer of sound above the listener.
