Voice amp re-opens dialogue with drama fans
When Marcell Faller created a way to relieve his father’s pain, disorientation and fatigue when watching films, the German inventor and music specialist created something that heightens the pleasure we get from movies, plays and any soft of human performance. The Oskar TV voice amplifier (herein Oskar) that Faller has developed hides a lot of complexity by engineering it into a neat box with simple user interface. A small device has an unexpectedly powerful effect on the user, because it’s as f they can hear again. This could make it an invaluable assets for mobile network operators.
The selective voice amplification technology Faller developed has been engineered into a commercial product, as a handheld voice amplifier. In early tests this neat device has helped a wide demographic of mobile users who have problems with the way mobile content is delivered is both a strain and exhausting.
The problem it solves for mobile network operators is that a lot of ‘content makers’ don’t seem to understand what their audiences want. They make a product that’s hard to consume and enjoy for a significant portion of their subscribers. For example, a Drama such as Succession, is driven by conflict, which unfolds in the dialogue. But there is a modern trend among film actors to mumble their words, and that leaves audiences straining to hear, according to Faller. The effect of prolonged strain on his father was that he would become tired and may even fall asleep. When Faller developed hand sized amplifier, he concentrated on identify the sound produced by the human larynx, isolated them, concentrated them to stand out among all other noises, and raised the volume. The effect on the ‘hard of hearing’ (me included) of an Oskar amp is that they can relax, allow the Oskar to do the work and enjoy the film without strain or becoming prematurely aged.
Many older people use the Sub-titles when available but this is a poor option. The human voice is the most sophisticated and exquisitely designed communications app ever produced. It is capable of exuding a range of emotions that two dimensional text will ever aspire to. Trying to follow a story by reading the dialogue on screen is at best a terrible substitute and at worst another eye strain. To make maters worse, many directors show their contempt for the audience my putting white sub-titles against a white background.
Why should mobile operators care? Because more mobile operators are looking for content to play a major role in monetising their 5G networks. Documentaries, films, plays and other form of high brow editorial could give mobile operators the ‘content’ they want to ‘monetise’ despite under estimating their audience. The Oskar vastly improves the customer experience, though it’s unlikely to show up in any customer analysis.
Years of development
As reported the Oskar solves a major comms problem by allowing people to enjoy watching online content categories, namely films and documentaries, many of which are practical for the first time since the became available. The amplifier uses voice optimisation technology developed by Faller who enjoyed 15 years developing music systems for his first company, Sonoro Audio. In two and a half years of intense development, he sat down with many people who suffer from hearing loss. He also learned from Ear, Nose and Throat doctors and international researchers into hearing acoustics. This knowledge was all finessed with reference to care professionals as he sought to bring those without perfect hearing into the fold.
All this complicated learning is engineered into an oldie-friendly system. At the touch of a button, voices and important frequency bands for speech are actively emphasised, while distracting background noise is dynamically filtered out and minimised. There are three user settings for the ideal sound solution. Two full-range speakers and a passive driver ensure the best sound and clear speech reproduction.
This mobile system does not work through TV sets, but it could persuade more people to watch films and documentaries on AllFour, ITV and BBC iPlayer if it work well on Galaxies, iPhones and other hand sets. Only the mobile provides them with the tool they need to cancel out the noise and help produce the actor’s voice. Faller said he is unable, at the moment, to deal with background noises such as Dorito Munching, Fizzy Drink Slurping and PopCorn Guzzling that frequently interfere with the enjoyment of films in Odeon Cinemas. Nor can it prevent enthusiastic editors from putting their entire music collection into the soundtrack of a documentary, because the narrator’s voice can’t be isolated from the incessant musical interventions.
For the moment the Oskar is for home use only as the supplied docking station connects to an audio source via Optical or 3.5mm audio cable. The docking station also acts as a charging unit and wireless transmitter for up to 30m of wire-free listening.
Is ‘Lost Plot Syndrome’, where the content makers forget that documentaries are for imparting information a figment of our imagination? Or is this one of the great unreported scandals of our age that needs investigation? The rising popularity of sub-titles among mobile content user is a clue.
“We have noticed that more and more people are using subtitles. It seems to be becoming the norm especially with Youtube content,” said Faller. This is not a minor annoyance, given that Faller originally researched the technology as a sort of health solution for his father who was losing his hearing. “My father’s hearing was getting worse and worse and he had to make more and more of an effort to understand the TV sound. Above all, he could no longer hear the dialogue properly and quickly became tired due to the strain of listening.”