Method and apparatus for transmitting high bandwidth signals with low bandwidth transponders

• US 10,080,045 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2016
• Issued: 09/18/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DIRECTV, LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Pontual, Romulo, Basse, Hanno, Pejhan, Sassan, Santoru, Joseph, Chen, Ernest C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jiang, Charles C
• Assistant Examiner(s): DEFAUW, THAD N
• Application Number:
  US15/384,124
• Publication Number:
  US 20170099509A1
• Time in Patent Office: 638 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23655 Statistical multiplexing, e.g. by controlling the encoder to alter its bitrate to optimize the bandwidth utilization
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2662 Controlling the complexity of the video stream, e.g. by scaling the resolution or bitrate of the video stream based on the client capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6193 involving transmission via a satellite arrangements for data linking, networking or transporting, or for controlling an end to end session in a satellite broadcast system H04B7/18526
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services

Abstract

A method and apparatus for transmitting a plurality of elementary data streams to a plurality of receivers is disclosed. In one embodiment, the method comprises the steps of generating M data streams comprising K multiplexed elementary data streams in a first entity, transmitting the M data streams to a second entity, generating N transmitter streams from the M data streams in the second entity; and transmitting each of the N transmitter streams to the plurality of receivers using an associated one of N broadcast sub-transmitters.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting a plurality of elementary data streams to a plurality of receivers, comprising the steps of:

generating M data streams comprising K multiplexed elementary data streams in a first entity;

wirelessly transmitting a first subset of the M data streams to a first transmitter element;

wirelessly transmitting a second subset of the M data streams to a second transmitter element;

generating a first subset of N transmitter streams from the first subset of the M data streams in the first transmitter element by performing steps comprising;

multiplexing the first subset of the M data streams in the first transmitter element to generate a first single data stream; and

demultiplexing the first single data stream into a first subset of N transmitter streams in the first transmitter element;

generating a second subset of N transmitter streams from the second subset of the M data streams in the second transmitter element by performing steps comprising;

multiplexing the second subset of the M data streams in the second transmitter element to generate a second single data stream; and

demultiplexing the second single data stream into a second subset of N transmitter streams in the second transmitter element;

transmitting each of the first subset of N transmitter streams to the plurality of receivers using an associated one of first subset of N broadcast sub-transmitters;

transmitting each of the second subset of N transmitter streams to the plurality of receivers using an associated one of second subset of N broadcast sub-transmitters;

wherein a first subset of the M data streams are wirelessly transmitted via first communication path and a second subset of the M data streams are wirelessly transmitted via a second communication path spatially diverse from the first communication path.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating the M data streams comprises the steps of:

statistically multiplexing the K elementary data streams into a single intermediate data stream having a peak bit rate less than a sum of the peak bit rates of each of the K elementary data streams; and

generating the M data streams by demultiplexing the single intermediate data stream.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein;

the first transmitter element comprises a first satellite;

the second transmitter element comprises a second satellite spaced a distance from the first satellite;

a first subset of the M data streams is transmitted to the first satellite and the second subset of the remaining M data streams are transmitted to the second satellite.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein;

the first transmitter element comprises a first satellite;

the second transmitter element comprises a terrestrial transmitter spaced a distance from the first satellite;

a first subset of the M data streams is transmitted to the first satellite and the second subset of the remaining M data streams are transmitted to the terrestrial transmitter.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the first subset of N broadcast sub-transmitters each use a different, non-contiguous portion of a signal spectrum; and

the second subset of N broadcast sub-transmitters each use a different, non-contiguous portion of the signal spectrum.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein:

the method further comprises the steps of;

error correction encoding the single intermediate data stream; and

the M data streams are generated from the error correction encoded single intermediate data stream.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein a bit rate of the single intermediate data stream exceeds the bit rate of any of the first subset of N broadcast sub-transmitters and any of the second subset of N broadcast sub-transmitters, but does not exceed a combined bit rate of the first set of N broadcast sub-transmitters and the second set of N broadcast sub-transmitters.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein:

each of the K multiplexed elementary data streams has an associated temporally varying bit rate BRD₁(t), BRD₂(t), . . . , BRD_K(t);

the single intermediate data stream comprises a bit rate of

9. The method of claim 5, wherein the different portions of the signal spectrum comprise guard bands in the signal spectrum.

10. The method of claim 5, wherein at least one of the first set and second set of N broadcast sub-transmitters has a different bandwidth than the other of the first set and second set of N broadcast sub-transmitters.

11. An apparatus for transmitting a plurality of elementary data streams to a plurality of receivers, comprising:

a signal distributor, for generating M data streams comprising K multiplexed elementary data streams;

a first transmission element, having a first set of N broadcast sub-transmitters, the first transmission element for wirelessly receiving a first set of the M data streams from the signal distributor, for generating a first set of N broadcast sub-transmitter data streams from the received first set of M data streams, and transmitting the first set of N broadcast sub-transmitter data streams via an associated one of the first set of N broadcast sub-transmitters to the plurality of receivers;

a second transmission element, having a second set of N broadcast sub-transmitters, the second transmission element for wirelessly receiving a second set of the M data streams from the signal distributor, for generating a second set of N broadcast sub-transmitter data streams from the received second set of M data streams, and transmitting the second set of N broadcast sub-transmitter data streams via an associated one of the second set of N broadcast sub-transmitters to the plurality of receivers;

wherein the first transmission element generates the first set of N transmitter streams from the first set of M data streams by multiplexing the first set of M data streams to generate a first single data stream and demultiplexing the first single data stream into the first subset of N transmitter streams; and

wherein the second transmission element generates the second set of N transmitter streams from the second set of M data streams by multiplexing the second set of M data streams to generate a second single data stream and demultiplexing the second single data stream into the second set of N transmitter streams.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the signal distributor comprises:

a statistical multiplexer, for statistically multiplexing the K elementary data streams into a single intermediate data stream having a peak bit rate less than a sum of the peak bit rates of each of the K elementary data streams; and

a demultiplexer for generating the M data streams from the single intermediate data stream.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein:

the first transmitter element comprises a first satellite;

the second transmitter element comprises a second satellite;

the first subset of the M data streams is transmitted to the first satellite by a first subset of the plurality of uplink sub-transmitters and another subset of the second subset of the M data streams are transmitted to the second satellite by a second subset of the plurality of uplink subtransmitters.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein M=1 and N is an integer greater than or equal to two.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein N=1 and M is an integer greater than or equal to two.

16. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein M=N and M and N are integers greater than one.

17. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein M≠

N and M and N are integers greater than one.

18. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein a bit rate of the single intermediate data stream exceeds the bit rate of any of the first set of N broadcast sub-transmitters and any of the second set of N broadcast sub-transmitters, but does not exceed a combined bit rate of the N broadcast sub-transmitters and the N broadcast sub-transmitters.

19. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein:

each of the K multiplexed elementary data streams has an associated temporally varying bit rate BRD₁(t), BRD₂(t), . . . , BRD_K(t);

the single intermediate data stream comprises a bit rate of

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein:

the first transmitter element comprises a first satellite;

the second transmitter element comprises a terrestrial transmitter spaced a distance from the first satellite; and

a first subset of the M data streams is transmitted to the first satellite and the second subset of the remaining M data streams are transmitted to the terrestrial transmitter.