1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to setting an equalizer for an audio file, and more particularly, to a method of setting an automatically adjustable equalizer so as to enlarge a sound field in reproducing an audio file and a method of reproducing an audio file thereby.
2. Description of the Related Art
An equalizer is a device for enlarging a sound field according to features of the music by amplifying a specified value in a frequency domain. Generally, equalizers modify an audio file by dividing an audio band into sub-bands. The equalizers are classified into graphic equalizers and parametric equalizers based on their structure. Operations of both kinds of equalizer are set by three parameters, which are mean frequency, bandwidth, and a level variation. In a graphic equalizer, mean frequency and bandwidth are fixed and only the level can be adjusted. The graphic equalizer has been used widely in audio file players such as MP3 players. In a parametric equalizer, the three parameters can be adjusted independently, so manual adjustment is difficult.
The most general method of setting an equalizer is by manually setting the equalizer setting information. FIG. 1 shows a conventional window for manually setting equalizer information. Referring to FIG. 1, when an equalizer setting menu (EQ) 112 is selected in an audio file player 110, a pre-set graphic equalizer setting window 130 is displayed. A user can adjust a level with respect to each frequency by moving a tab 132. However, since this operation has to be performed for each piece of music, it is troublesome. In addition, it is difficult for a user to adequately set an equalizer without knowledge of the music.
Another general method of setting an equalizer involves selecting equalizer setting information in a pre-set equalizer list, as shown in FIG. 2. A user selects a corresponding menu “PRESETS” 134, and then selects one of the pre-set equalizer information settings, which is thought to be suitable for the piece of music to be listened to, thereby setting the equalizer. Although this method is more convenient than the method in FIG. 1, this method still requires user manipulation. The entire selection is reproduced based on the selected equalizer setting information, so bars and segments for which the equalizer setting information is not suitable may exist.
In Korean Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-82512, a method of reading genre information recorded in an audio file header and performing equalization corresponding to the genre when an audio file is reproduced is disclosed. In this case, although user manipulation is not needed, whole selections are reproduced by setting an equalizer by genre, so segments for which the setting of the equalizer is not suitable may exist.