Arrangement for distributing head related transfer function filters

Abstract

Arrangement for distributing head related transfer function filters. In the arrangement a user device sends a request for a head related transfer function filter to the service being used. The service verifies if the user of the device has a subscription for a head related transfer function filters in the service being used and retrieves a filter as a response to a positive verification result. The service may filter audio channels and transmit filtered audio further. In an alternative embodiment the service transmits the filter to the user device for filtering the audio.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for distributing a head related transfer function (HRTF) filter comprising:
 receiving a request for an audio session from a user device coupled to headphones;   determining whether a user associated with the user device has access to a HRTF filter service;   obtaining, in response to determining that the user has access, a headphone-specific HRTF filter based on an identification of the user and a model of the headphones, wherein the headphone-specific HRTF filter takes into account a frequency response of the model of the headphones; and   transmitting the headphone-specific HRTF filter to the user device for filtering an audio channel at the user device.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining whether the user has access includes determining whether the user has a subscription to the HRTF filter service. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein obtaining the headphone-specific HRTF filter includes
 sending, in response to determining that the user has the subscription, a request for the headphone-specific HRTF filter to a filter server, wherein the request for the headphone-specific HRTF filter comprises the identification of the user and the model of the headphones, and   receiving the headphone-specific HRTF filter from the filter server, wherein the headphone-specific HRTF filter is unique to the user.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the request identifies a type of an application requesting the audio session, and wherein obtaining the HRTF filter is based on the type of the application. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the request is for a game session, and further comprising:
 determining that the request is from a game application; and   switching an audio mode of a game service to account for the headphone-specific filter being used to filter the audio channel at the user device.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the user device is coupled to second headphones associated with a second user, and further comprising:
 obtaining a second headphone-specific HRTF filter based on a second identification of the second user and a second model of the second headphones, wherein the second headphone-specific HRTF filter takes into account a second frequency response of the second headphones, and   transmitting the second headphone-specific HRTF filter to the user device for filtering the audio channel at the user device.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 extracting the identification of the user and the model of the headphones from the request for the audio session; and 
 generating a request for the headphone-specific HRTF filter including the extracted identification. 
 
     
     
         8 . An apparatus for distributing a head related transfer function (HRTF) filter comprising:
 a data communication interface configured to communicate with a user device;   a memory configured to store instructions;   a processor configured to execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to
 receive a request for an audio session from the user device coupled to headphones, 
 determine whether a user associated with the user device has access to a HRTF filter service, 
 obtain, in response to determining that the user has access, a headphone-specific HRTF filter based on an identification of the user and a model of the headphones, wherein the headphone-specific HRTF filter takes into account a frequency response of the model of the headphones, and 
 transmit the headphone-specific HRTF filter to the user device for filtering an audio channel at the user device. 
   
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein determining whether the user has access includes determining whether the user has a subscription to the HRTF filter service. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein obtaining the headphone-specific HRTF filter includes
 sending, in response to determining that the user has the subscription, a request for the headphone-specific HRTF filter to a filter server, wherein the request for the headphone-specific HRTF filter comprises the identification of the user and the model of the headphones, and   receiving the headphone-specific HRTF filter from the filter server, wherein the headphone-specific HRTF filter is unique to the user.   
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the request identifies a type of an application requesting the audio session, and wherein obtaining the HRTF filter is based on the type of the application. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the request is for a game session, and wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to:
 determining that the request is from a game application; and   switching an audio mode of a game service to account for the headphone-specific filter being used to filter the audio channel at the user device.   
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the user device is coupled to second headphones associated with a second user, and wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to:
 obtaining a second headphone-specific HRTF filter based on a second identification of the second user and a second model of the second headphones, wherein the second headphone-specific HRTF filter takes into account a second frequency response of the second headphones, and   transmitting the second headphone-specific HRTF filter to the user device for filtering the audio channel at the user device.   
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to:
 extract the identification of the user and the model of the headphones from the request for the audio session; and   generate a request for the headphone-specific HRTF filter including the extracted identification.   
     
     
         15 . A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions, which when executed by one or more processors of a data processing system, cause the data processing system to perform a method comprising:
 receive a request for an audio session from a user device coupled to headphones;   determine whether a user associated with the user device has access to a HRTF filter service;   obtain, in response to determining that the user has access, a headphone-specific HRTF filter based on an identification of the user and a model of the model of the headphones, wherein the headphone-specific HRTF filter takes into account a frequency response of the headphones; and   transmit the headphone-specific HRTF filter to the user device for filtering an audio channel at the user device.   
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein determining whether the user has access includes determining whether the user has a subscription to the HRTF filter service. 
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein obtaining the headphone-specific HRTF filter includes
 sending, in response to determining that the user has the subscription, the request for the headphone-specific HRTF filter to a filter server, wherein a request for the headphone-specific HRTF filter comprises identification of the user and the model of the headphones, and   receiving the headphone-specific HRTF filter from the filter server, wherein the headphone-specific HRTF filter is unique to the user.   
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the request identifies a type of an application requesting the audio session, and wherein obtaining the HRTF filter is based on the type of the application. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the request is for a game session, and wherein the method further comprises:
 determining that the request is from a game application; and   switching an audio mode of a game service to account for the headphone-specific filter being used to filter the audio channel at the user device.   
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the user device is coupled to second headphones associated with a second user, and wherein the method further comprises:
 obtaining a second headphone-specific HRTF filter based on a second identification of the second user and a second model of the second headphones, wherein the second headphone-specific HRTF filter takes into account a second frequency response of the second headphones, and   transmitting the second headphone-specific HRTF filter to the user device for filtering the audio channel at the user device.