Re: ENSC 340 Project Proposal for MRx Home Theatre Interface

Transcription

1 Bandwidth Unlimited School of Engineering Science Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6 September 17, 2001 Dr. Andrew Rawicz School of Engineering Science Simon Fraser University Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6 Re: ENSC 340 Project Proposal for MRx Home Theatre Interface Dear Dr. Rawicz: The attached document, Proposal for MRx Home Theatre Interface, outlines our proposed project for the Engineering Science Project Course, ENSC 340. Our goal is to create a system that will allow people to play Mp3 sound files on their home theatre systems. This proposal presents an overview of the proposed project and outlines various design considerations for the system. In this document, we also discuss our sources of information, financing requirements, possible sources of funding, planned time schedule, and team organization. Bandwidth Unlimited is a team comprised of five highly skilled and talented engineering science students: Mavis Chan, Brian Fraser, Manpreet Gakhal, Ben Lake, and Gabrielle Sheung. If you have any questions or concerns about our proposal, please do not hesitate to us at bandwidth-unlimited@sfu.ca, or to phone me at (604) Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Ben Lake Bandwidth Unlimited Enclosure: Proposal for MRx Home Theatre Interface

2 Bandwidth Unlimited Proposal for MRx Home Theatre Interface Projje Project c Team : Mavis Chan Brian Fraser Manpreet Gakhal Ben Lake Gabrielle Sheung Contact Personnnell n el : Ben Lake benl@sfu.ca Submiitted Submitted To : Dr. Andrew Rawicz ENSC 340 Steve Whitmore ENSC 305 School of Engineering Science Simon Fraser University Issued e date: t September 17, 2001 Reviisiion: Revision: 1.0 Copyright 2001, Bandwidth Unlimited

3 Executive Summary The Mp3 market is an exciting and rapidly expanding area in today s digital world. The introduction of file sharing programs such as Napster and WinMX have allowed people to accumulate massive archives of Mp3 encoded music. Until now, users have been confined to enjoying this music on their computers, or on portable Mp3 players using headphones. Bandwidth Unlimited now proposes the MRx Home Theatre Interface, to bring these massive Mp3 libraries into any room of the house for enjoyment on real, fullsized home theatre systems. The system consists of a host computer containing the music library. The MRx device receives a stream of Mp3 encoded audio via an Ethernet connection, and then delivers the decoded sound to an adjacent home theatre. Full two-way interaction with the available music selections is made possible through interactive control software that runs on a Palm Pilot device. Bandwidth Unlimited is a team of five Engineering Science students from Simon Fraser University. The technical requirements of constructing a device such as the MRx are quite rigorous, but these talented students bring a variety of skills such as multi-tasking operating system programming, application level programming, embedded system programming, and high-speed digital design to the team. The budget and funding required for the device has been proposed. With capital of approximately $300, the team is confident that the first stage of development, a proof of concept prototype, can be achieved by December

4 Table of Contents Executive Summary... 3 Introduction... 5 System Overview... 6 Possible Design Solutions... 7 Mp3 Player User Interface... 7 Mp3 Player to Host Computer Interface... 7 Host Computer Interface... 8 Proposed Design Solution... 9 Sources of Information Budget and Funding Budget Funding Schedule Team Organization Conclusion Sources and References Competitive Products Hardware Manufacturers Suppliers

5 Introduction In recent years, Mp3 compression technology has revolutionized the way we transfer and listen to music. File sharing programs such as Napster and WinMX have enabled people to build libraries of several thousand songs on their computers. With such a vast array of high-quality digital music, it is perplexing that people have only been able to enjoy this music on a pair of second-rate computer speakers. Bandwidth Unlimited is proposing a system that will allow people to listen to digital music in the environment that music should be enjoyed in, their home theatre system. An Mp3 player interface to the home theatre system, with independent access to the Mp3 library on a host computer, will allow people to finally enjoy their music collection with the audio quality they deserve in any room of their home. This project proposal will present an overview of the architecture that we will implement in the Mp3 home theatre system. Possible design solutions for each major section of the design are explored and then a proposed design solution is presented. The financial aspect of the project is described, a proposed project schedule is presented, and a brief description of the members of the Bandwidth Unlimited team is given in this document. 5

6 System Overview The objective of our project is to create an embedded device that allows people to play Mp3 sound files on their home theatre systems. Figure 1 below illustrates the system overview. The Mp3 player will use a network connection to access files stored in computers on the network. The list of available music to play will be displayed on a Palm Pilot type device, giving users full control over how they wish to arrange and playback their music. The two-way infrared link between the remote and the player allows the user to control the player, and to receive updates from the remote of the song title information, playback time, and other useful information. A host computer on the network will run a small application that will send files to the player when requested. The control program is a small task that will be unobtrusive to others that are using the computer. Host Computer Ethernet MRx Remote Control Figure 1: System Overview 6

7 Possible Design Solutions This section details possible high-level design solutions of the various system blocks. These options were examined during the initial planning stage of the project. Mp3 Player User Interface Control of the Mp3 player requires graphical display of the song title and track information so that the user can properly choose musical selections. A remote featuring an LCD with fully independent pixel display would be optimal for this interface. The user would be able to use the on-screen display of the remote to access all of the device features without having to go to the player to customize a playlist or to select special modes of operation. A full remote requires extensive hardware and software development, but offers the most versatility. If a Personal Data Assistant (PDA) type device is used as the remote interface, only application software needs to be developed. The cost of using a device like this was prohibitive in the past, but PDAs are becoming so commonplace now that they are already present in most households. The concept of using a standard universal remote with just play/skip/stop features could be a simple design alternative, but the user must then pre-define a playlist on the front panel interface. Other user options would not be available on the remote control, which despite the simplicity makes it a less attractive option. Mp3 Player to Host Computer Interface The Mp3 Player will usually operate in a separate room than the host computer, so any line of sight communication protocol would not be feasible. Short-haul RF (Radio Frequency) links would be attractive for a project such as this, except the development of such an interface is complex, and requires extensive time, equipment, and expertise to develop. A wired link between the host computer and player allows for much more simplicity in the design. Existing interface standards such as Ethernet or USB allow for high-speed data communications. Currently there are products available that provide an Ethernet interface through the AC outlets of a house. Ethernet is a widely accepted, and still growing, standard which is appropriate for most networked devices. A USB could also be used as the interface standard, however the maximum length of point to point connections is not nearly as long as the Ethernet specification, and could be a constraining feature in larger homes. 7

8 Host Computer Interface The software on the host computer must provide a stream of Mp3 encoded music to the player. The requirements for this interface are quite simple: the interface must allow the user to configure which file areas containing Mp3 files are available for access, and the user should be able to customize some internet accessibility options for the player. A fully graphical interface would allow the user to just drag and drop the desired file into the desired playlist groups. However, fully graphical environments usually require a considerable amount of development time. A simpler file manager style interface would be easier to design, but due to the long file names usually associated with music files, it may become tedious to display the names in a list type format. 8

9 Proposed Design Solution The goal of our proposed design is to provide proof of concept for the hardware section of the player, with fully operational software running on the system. Considerable additional development time and cost would be needed to produce a fully marketable hardware platform, which is outside the scope of our project. Control of the Mp3 player will be accessible via the remote control or the front panel interface. To simplify the operation of the player, minimal control will be offered on the front panel and the full suite of control options will be provided on the remote control. The software on the host computer will contain a user interface that will allow users to setup which file areas are available for the device to play. Shortcuts to streaming audio sources on the Internet can also be defined in this program to allow easy access when using the remote control. Standard laboratory power supplies will be used to supply power to the prototype system. An on-board power supply is not required to prove successful hardware functionality. The player will be equipped with volatile RAM to be used for program execution, and non-volatile RAM that will store the application code while the device is powered off. 9

10 Sources of Information Information will be obtained from a variety of sources as required for the project. Key sources of information are the datasheets and application notes from the manufacturers of the devices being used in the project. Textbooks, technical periodicals, and other reference books will also be consulted for information. Dave Miller, an independent design engineer working in the electronics industry, is known by one of the team members and is willing to offer technical expertise in the design of the project. Scott Wakelin, a graduate student in SFU Engineering Science, has agreed to consult on the project. Scott has many years of high-speed digital design experience, as well as access to exceptional test equipment. 10

11 Budget and Funding Budget The essence of this project is to be student based, so all attempts will be made to minimize costs and excessive ordering times whenever possible. Some components may be obtained via surplus electronic dealers or as evaluation samples from manufacturers. The proposed development budget is shown below in Table 1. The costs are based on the average small quantity retail price from local distributors such as Active, Arrow, and Digi-Key. Some parts may be obtained through sampling, but this method is usually quite slow and unreliable. The proposed budget is conservative and accounts for the purchase of all components. Funding Table 1: Proposed Development Budget Required Materials Cost (C$) CPU Evaluation Board $0 (provided on loan) Prototype Materials $75 (prototype board, sockets ) Codec $20 LCD Screen w/controller $50 Palm Pilot $0 (provided on loan) PC with Ethernet Card $0 (provided on loan) Power Supply and Supervisory $40 components Miscellaneous components $40 (DAC, PLD, Buttons ) Shipping and Taxes $20 20% Overrun Contingency $50 Total $295 Bandwidth Unlimited will request funding from the Engineering Student Society Endowment Fund (ESSEF) for this project. The individual team members will compensate for any funding shortfalls. After completion of the project, Bandwidth Unlimited is optimistic that any prize monies gained from engineering contests such as WECC and CEC can also be used to offset funding required by the team members. 11

12 Schedule A Gantt chart has been created to schedule the development of the project. Table 2: Gantt Chart shows our expected timeline for the project. Figure 2: Project Milestones shows the corresponding milestones for the project. Table 2: Gantt Chart Figure 2: Project Milestones 12

13 Team Organization Bandwidth Unlimited is an engineering project group composed of Mavis Chan, Brian Fraser, Manpreet Gakhal, Gabrielle Sheung, and Ben Lake. The mission statement of the group is to produce a product that sets a new standard for what undergraduate engineering students can achieve. Mavis Chan is a fourth year Systems Engineering student. She has had previous work experience at Raytheon and Philips Semiconductors where she has acquired experience in technical website design and real-time software programming. She also has experience with real-time microprocessor programming as well as skills in basic circuit construction from building several electronic projects from schematics. Mavis s unique combination of skills will be essential for design of the microprocessor code required for the player. Brian Fraser is a fifth year Computing Science Honours student taking an Engineering Minor. Brian has worked at Hewlett-Packard, Pivotal Software Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, and as private contractor. Brian has extensive experience analyzing customer requirements and building software to meet specifications. With two years of Windows programming experience, Brian will certainly take the lead in ensuring that all levels of application software evolve in a coherent and efficient structure. Manpreet Gakhal is a fourth year Computer Engineering student. Manpreet has a strong background in software engineering, having completed work terms as a Software Engineer at Motorola Canada, Raytheon Systems Canada, and PMC-Sierra. Her work terms and course work has allowed her to gain real time programming skills, and experience programming in a variety of languages. This rich array of experience will be essential for the multi-layered application code required for the project. Gabrielle Sheung is a fourth year Systems Engineering student. She has gained significant experience in object-oriented design and debugging using C++ through co-op terms at Nortel Networks and Creo Products. Gabrielle will apply her analytical and technical skills towards overseeing the host computer software and the protocol that ensures communication between the host and the MRx. Ben Lake is a fourth year Systems Engineering student who also holds a Diploma of Electronics Engineering from BCIT. Ben has over three years of hardware design experience at PMC-Sierra and Glenayre Electronics. His knowledge of prototype development and high-speed digital layout will ensure that all facets of the hardware platform are correctly designed, implemented, and tested. 13

14 Conclusion The MRx Home Theatre Interface is a bold project, which will test the mettle of one of the finest Ensc340 groups ever assembled. The scope of the project is quite large in order to achieve the complex task of delivering high quality Mp3 encoded music to any home theatre system in a household. Careful advanced planning was performed by Bandwidth Unlimited to ensure that the MRx Home Theatre Interface is a useful, innovative, and exciting new product to bring to the electronics market. Several products are already commercially available that rival the MRx. However, these products fail to provide several key features that we are confident will ensure the MRx gains a profitable niche in the Mp3 audio marketplace. The Bandwidth Unlimited team was carefully chosen to ensure a mixture of application software, embedded software, and hardware skills. The team s industrial contacts allow certain parts to be obtained on loan, which reduces the financial requirements. This cost effective way of developing a prototype will allow the project to be easily financed, despite limited financial resources. This proposal clearly shows that Bandwidth Unlimited has the skills, resources, and appropriate time frame to deliver a sexy proof of concept prototype by December

15 Sources and References Competitive Products Turtle Beach AudioTron Diamond Rio Audio Products Hardware Manufacturers Cirrus Logic D/A Converters and Microprocessors Micronas Audio Codecs National Semiconductor MPEG components - Sharp LCD components Suppliers - Electrosonic Incorporated Digikey electronics Avnet-Marshall Incorporated Future Electronics Corporation 15