TI Intros New Audio Codec Providing Echo, Noise Cancellation at 16KHz

Those who demand good audio always want higher quality from smaller devices. Texas Instruments (TI) is now delivering, once again, with a new chip.

In the world of computers, at least from what most of us experience, audio is something we take for granted. In the past, everyone had to be an audiophile to get any kind of decent sound from a computer. We knew which brands and large expansion cards could be added. Without them, all we got were beeps out of our systems.

Now of course, technology has progressed so much that a single chip added to the motherboard, or even part of a chip, is enough to give us what most people consider decent sound. This has evolved as well, and now we can get good music playback from smartphones and tiny MP3 players.

But that doesn't mean everyone is happy with what we have now.

TI is well known in the world of microchips, many of which they make are audio related. Their latest release, the TLV320AIC3262, is yet another breakthrough in the field of sounds. The audio codec is the most highly integrated so far, able to provide echo and noise cancellation at wideband voice sampling rates of up to 16KHz, and is embedded with miniDSP cores.

The codec also integrates five amplifiers on top of those cores, and gives designers the ability to link three additional interfaces, including applications, Bluetooth or baseband processors. TI also produces their own audio and voice algorithms, included in the codec, and third-party algorithms can be added as needed.

The TLV320AIC3262 uses next-generation miniDSP technology, providing better noise and echo cancellation than most products currently on the market. It can be used for things like phone calls, VoIP calls and video conference applications. While it can be included in normal systems like PCs or Macs, it's meant to be integrated on a chip in specialized devices like phones, network peripherals and so on.

A special mode called SRS WOW HD is also included as a standard feature, along with the ability to bridge other solutions from TurMedia, CircleSurround and several others. Three asynchronous audio buses allow customers to connect multiple audio sources and even mix the result within the chip.

There's no question audio never gets as much attention than video, especially when people talk about codecs. But what would be a movie or TV show without good audio? And of course, even with email and IM, voice communications remain key to many businesses. So TI keeps producing these chips for people to use.