The Experience of Using Voice Chips and Modules

Posted on June 28th, 2018 by Quertime Writer in Hardware

At present, the choice of voice chips in the market, module, may be selected according to the length of time and function, the following are some experience, and hope that the first choice for the use of voice chip users can help.

Considering the length of time:

Generally speaking, the length of voice chip (default OTP: one-time) is 10 seconds – 340 seconds. Basically, it is concentrated in a short number of seconds. It has the advantages of clear voice, short time, low price, easy production and unlimited quantity. Therefore, it is the first choice in the product test stage. The price of chips on the market for about 20 seconds is about 3 – 4 yuan; 40 seconds are around 5-6 yuan; 170 seconds are about 10 – 12 yuan.

Generally speaking, the sample is made by the manufacturer. When ordering the service, the manufacturer will burn the content to the user and submit it to the user. So users can save some effort. If the voice of the user needs to be changed regularly, you can buy a set of programmers (also called a writer, a downloader), and learn how to make it, and you can make it by yourself. The use of voice chips is focused on toys, voice prompts, gifts and so on.

Voice module, its structure is probably: MCU+ external memory, so its storage capacity will be much larger than the chip, from 10 to 30 minutes, but the price usually varies from 20 yuan – 80 yuan, which is several times the chip. The volume is larger than the chip, and the power consumption is great.

Voice chip can be basically divided into recording voice chip and playback voice chip from its function. To design a product using a voice chip, first of all, we should consider whether to use the recording field voice, if you need to record the voice, and choose a voice chip with a recording function. Otherwise, we should choose a voice chip with only a sound function. The voice chip usually has the function of replaying the voice, but there is no special sound chip in the sound quality when playing the voice, so the function and the sound quality should be weighed in the selection of the voice chip.

The security system, the conference recording system, the recording toy and other products all require recording functions. The development of this type of product will use audio audio chip. The chips in the market are mainly ISD1110, ISD1400, ISD1700, ISD1800, ISD2500, ISD3300, ISD4000, WTR010, WTV040, APR6000 and so on. The recording module developed by the recording chip has a simpler peripheral circuit and better results. Such as WTR-S4, WTV-NAND recording module, these modules use external FLASH ROM as storage center, and thus can record longer time speech.

There are many devices that only use the playback function, such as therapeutic apparatus, reversing radar, reporting station, alarm, etc. This type of product does not need to record live voice, downloading the already processed voice tool to the voice chip. According to the storage mode, the playback chip can be divided into four types: OTP ROM, FLASH ROM, EEPROM and MASK.

The production of MASK makes the whole voice chip reduce nearly half of the cost under the condition of keeping performance and function unchanged, and most voice modules sound chips do not need to change the peripheral circuits in the MASK production. But MASK needs more than 2~7 orders for production, otherwise the manufacturer will charge a high amount of mask fees, and the MASK production time will take about 1 months. At present, the MASK chip has WTB and WT588D (less than 4Mbit FLASH ROM), and its voice time is 5 seconds to 340 seconds. It is the best choice for mass production.

A SD card scheme that can store more voice. SD card has become a mainstream storage carrier in the market. Its advantages such as low price, large storage space and strong portability are favored by most manufacturers. The recordable audio chips also develops to the direction of the external SD card. According to the characteristics of the main chip, the manufacturer designs the SD card players that can play various audio formats, such as WAV, MP3, WMA, AD4 and other mainstream audio formats. The WTM-SD module and the USBSD module can play WAV and MP3 audio formats when they plug in the SD card. The WTV020-SD module can play AD4, WAV audio format, etc. This module can play for dozens of hours.