TELECOMMUNICATION AND MULTIMEDIA MANAGEMENT METHOD AND APPARATUS

• US 20090103523A1
• Filed: 08/25/2008
• Published: 04/23/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Voxer IP LLC (Voxer, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rebelvox LLC (Voxer, Inc.)
• Inventors: Katis, Thomas E., Panttaja, Mary G., Ranney, Matthew J., Panttaja, James T.
• Granted Patent: US 8,706,907 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/226 Delivery according to priorities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/23 Reliability checks, e.g. acknowledgments or fault reporting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1083 In-session procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4015 where at least one of the additional parallel sessions is real time or time sensitive, e.g. white board sharing, collaboration or spawning of a subconference
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4053 without floor control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/752 adapting media to network capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/764 at the destination reformatting of additional data in video clients H04N21/4355

Abstract

A method for transferring a complete copy of media designated as time-sensitive over a network. The method involves transmitting media designated as time-sensitive from sending node to a receiving node and receiving the media designated as time-sensitive at the receiving node. At the receiving node, any missing media designated as time sensitive is noted. One or more receipt reports are generated at the receiving node and are sent back to the sending node, the receipt reports including a low priority request for retransmission of the identified missing media. In response, the sending node retransmits the low priority request for retransmission, the retransmission occurring when bandwidth on the network in excess of what is needed to transmit time-sensitive media becomes available. Eventually a complete copy of the media including the missing media is obtained at the receiving node after the retransmission.

Claims

1. A method for transferring a complete copy of media designated as time-sensitive over a network, comprising:

transmitting media designated as time-sensitive from a sending node to a receiving node;

receiving receipt reports at the sending node from the receiving node, the receipt reports including a low priority request for any media designated as time-sensitive and noted as missing as a result of media loss during transmission between the sending node and the receiving node; and

retransmitting the identified missing media in response to the low priority request for retransmission, the retransmission occurring when bandwidth on the network in excess of what is needed to transmit time-sensitive media becomes available,

whereby a complete copy of the media is eventually received at the receiving node after the retransmission.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving at the receiving node the media designated as time-sensitive and transmitted by the sending node;

noting any missing media received at the receiving node; and

maintaining a data quality store at the receiving node for the noted missing media.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising generating the receipt reports at the receiving node by:

scanning the data quality store;

ascertaining the noted missing media in the data quality store; and

generating the receipt reports requesting the retransmission of the missing media noted in the data quality store.

4. The method of claim 5, further comprising removing the notation of the missing media in the data quality store as the media is received after retransmission.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

ascertaining any corrupted media at the receiving node; and

noting the corrupted media as missing in the data quality store.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

ascertaining at the receiving node when the received media designated as time-sensitive is a reduced bit rate representation of the media relative to a full bit rate representation of the media, where the full bit rate representation of the media is derived when the media was originally encoded;

determining if media loss on the network between the sending node and the receiving node falls below a predetermined acceptable threshold when the reduced bit rate representation of the media is received; and

generating at the receiving node a high priority request for the retransmission of the media corresponding to the reduced bit rate representation of the media when the media loss falls below the predetermined acceptable threshold.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the receipt reports at the sending node from the receiving node, the receipt reports including a high priority request for the retransmission of media noted as missing when the media loss exceeds a predetermined acceptable threshold; and

prioritizing in response to the high priority request the retransmission of the media noted as missing over the transmission of other media designated as time-sensitive and media designated as not time sensitive.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the media is designated as time-sensitive when the recipient has indicated an intention to review the media as it is created and received over the network in a near real-time mode,

wherein the intention of the recipient is either a declared intent or inferred from the behavior of the recipient.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the media is designated as time-sensitive when the recipient retrieves the media from a remote storage location on the network and the recipient has indicated an intent to immediately review the media upon receipt,

wherein the intention of the recipient is either a declared intent or inferred from the behavior of the recipient.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the sending node comprises a communication device, the communication device consisting of one of the following:

land-line phone, wireless phone, cellular phone, satellite phone, computer, radio, server, satellite radio, tactical radio or tactical phone.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving node comprises a communication device, the communication device consisting of one of the following:

land-line phone, wireless phone, cellular phone, satellite phone, computer, radio, server, satellite radio, tactical radio or tactical phone.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the media is locally generated at the sending node.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the sending node is a hop on the network between a remote device transmitting the media and the receiving node.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving node is a hop on the network between the sending node and the recipient.

15. The method claim 1, wherein the media further comprises one or more of the following types of media:

voice, video, text, sensor data, position or GPS information, radio signals, or a combination thereof.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the recipient of the transmitted media is a person.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the recipient of the transmitted media is a service running on a device connected to the network.