Satellite Receiving System With Transmodulating Outdoor Unit

• US 20060128300A1
• Filed: 01/31/2006
• Published: 06/15/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Coffin, Louis F. III
• Granted Patent: US 7,783,247 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/3.20
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 40/90 specially adapted for satellite broadcast receiving
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/20 Adaptations for transmission via a GHz frequency band, e.g. via satellite

Abstract

A home satellite receiving system employs a transmodulating outdoor unit (ODU) that tunes to multiple signals, demodulates those signals into streams of data packets, and filters the streams of data packets to select data packets pertaining to viewer-specified programs. The ODU then constructs an integrated bitstream from the selected data packets and modulates that bitstream for transmission to an indoor IRD. This allows transfer of multiple programs from different satellite sources to the indoor IRD over a single coaxial cable. The indoor IRD reconstructs the packet stream timing for the viewer-specified programs from the integrated bitstream.

Claims

1. A home satellite receiving system comprising:

a receiver adapted to receive multiple satellite signals; and

a transmodulating outdoor unit adapted for connection to the receiver to demodulate the satellite signals into multiple corresponding streams of data packets, the transmodulating outdoor unit being configured to form a single bitstream containing the data packets from the multiple streams, and to remodulate the single bitstream for local transmission to an indoor device over a single cable.

2. The home satellite receiving system as recited in claim 1, wherein the transmodulating outdoor unit is adapted to demodulate the satellite signals according to a first modulation technique, and to remodulate the single bitstream according to a second modulation technique that is different than the first modulation technique.

3. The home satellite receiving system as recited in claim 1, wherein the transmodulating outdoor unit comprises:

multiple tuners to tune to the signals; and

multiple demodulators, wherein at least ones of the demodulators are associated with a corresponding tuner to demodulate the signal received by the corresponding tuner.

4. The home satellite receiving system as recited in claim 1, wherein the transmodulating outdoor unit is adapted to facilitate selection of the data packets to be included in the single bitstream based upon a program identifier.

5. The home satellite receiving system as recited in claim 1, wherein the transmodulating outdoor unit is adapted to handle different ones of the data packets at variable delays relative to one another.

6. The home satellite receiving system as recited in claim 1, wherein the transmodulating outdoor unit is adapted to handle different ones of the data packets at variable rates relative to one another.

7. In a satellite receiving system, a transmodulating outdoor unit comprising:

multiple tuners to tune to different satellite signals;

multiple demodulators, with a respective demodulator being associated with a corresponding tuner to demodulate an associated signal received by the corresponding tuner into a stream of data packets;

multiple demultiplexers, with a respective demultiplexer being associated with a corresponding demodulator to select a subset of data packets from an associated stream of data packets output by the corresponding demodulator;

multiple queues, with a respective queue being associated with a corresponding demultiplexer to store the subset of data packets selected by the corresponding demultiplexer;

a multiplexer to aggregate the data packets held in the queues into a single data stream; and

a remodulator to remodulate the single data stream for local transmission to an indoor receiving device over a single cable.

8. The transmodulating outdoor unit as recited in claim 7, wherein the demodulators are adapted to employ a first modulation technique, and wherein the remodulator employs a second modulation technique that is different from the first modulation technique.

9. The transmodulating outdoor unit as recited in claim 7, wherein at least one stream of data packets contains data packets for one or more programs, wherein the demultiplexers are configured to select the subset of data packets according to program identifiers contained in the data packets, with the program identifiers identifying a program to which the data packet belongs.

10. The transmodulating outdoor unit as recited in claim 9, further comprising at least one processor to provide at least one of the program identifiers to the demultiplexers in response to viewer selection of a program.

11. The transmodulating outdoor unit as recited in claim 7, further comprising at least one processor to provide tuning control information to the tuners.

12. The transmodulating outdoor unit as recited in claim 7, further comprising at least one switch to connect multiple satellite receiver connectors with the multiple tuners.

13. The transmodulating outdoor unit as recited in claim 7, further comprising multiple time stamping units, with respective time stamping units being associated with corresponding demultiplexers to time stamp the subset of data packets selected by the corresponding demultiplexer.

14. A home satellite receiving system comprising:

a satellite receiver;

an indoor decoding unit; and

the transmodulating outdoor unit as recited in claim 7 coupled to the satellite receiver and to the indoor decoding unit, the outdoor unit being connected to the indoor decoding unit via a single cable over which the single data stream is transmitted locally.

15. A method comprising:

tuning to multiple satellite signals;

demodulating the signals into respective streams of data packets;

aggregating the data packets from the respective streams into a single data stream; and

remodulating the single data stream for local transmission to an indoor receiving unit over a single cable.

16. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein the demodulating and the modulating utilize different modulation schemes.

17. The method as recited in claim 15, further comprising selecting ones of the data packets from the respective streams for inclusion in the single data stream based upon program identifiers contained in the data packets.

18. The method as recited in claim 15, further comprising transmitting the single data stream over a single coaxial cable to the indoor receiving unit.

19. The method as recited in claim 15, further comprising handling different ones of the data packets at variable rates relative to one another.

20. The method as recited in claim 15, further comprising handling different ones of the data packets at variable delays relative to one another.