MULTIMEDIA BROADCAST FORWARDING SYSTEMS AND METHODS

• US 20090268807A1
• Filed: 04/27/2009
• Published: 10/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Krishnaswamy, Dilip, Raveendran, Vijayalakshmi R., Daley, Robert S.
• Granted Patent: US 9,083,474 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 375/240.10
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/08 among terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/42 Arrangements for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/92 for local area
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/02 Selection of wireless resources by user or terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

In various embodiments, communication apparatus and methods for providing robust communications are disclosed. For example, an exemplary communication apparatus for distributing media to one or more receiving apparatus may include receiving circuitry configured to receive a first wireless multimedia broadcast signal containing at least a first media stream, transmitting circuitry configured to wirelessly transmit one or more individual media streams simultaneously to the one or more receiving apparatus using one or more wireless transmit signals, and decision circuitry configured to control the transmitting circuitry to transmit the first media stream to at least one receiving apparatus using at least one wireless transmit signal type based on a forward-link data capacity of each wireless channel between the transmitting circuitry and each receiving apparatus.

Claims

1. A wireless communication device for distributing media to one or more receiving apparatus, comprising:

receiving circuitry configured to receive a first wireless multimedia broadcast signal containing at least a first media stream;

extraction circuitry configured to extract individual media streams from the received multimedia broadcast signal;

transmitting circuitry configured to wirelessly transmit one or more individual media streams simultaneously to the one or more receiving apparatus using one or more wireless transmit signals; and

decision circuitry configured to control the transmitting circuitry to transmit the first media stream to at least one receiving apparatus using at least one wireless transmit signal type based on a forward-link data capacity of each wireless channel between the transmitting circuitry and each receiving apparatus.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the receiving circuitry has a capability of receiving a wireless multimedia broadcast signal containing a plurality of different media streams, at least a subset of the media streams provided under different multimedia protocols.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein at least a subset of the media streams comprises a multimedia broadcast transmissions comprises signals selected from the group of Forward Link Only (FLO), DVB-H, DVB-SH, ATSC M/H, DVB-T, ISDB-T and S-DMB signals.

4. The device of claim 3, further comprising:

extraction circuitry configured to extract individual media streams from the received wireless multimedia broadcast signal,

wherein the wireless multimedia broadcast signal contains a plurality of audio-visual media streams.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the decision circuitry has a capability of controlling the transmit circuitry responsive to at least one of a signal environment and a capability of a plurality of the receiving apparatus.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the decision circuitry has a capability of receiving feedback information from the receiving devices representative of wireless reception by the receiving devices.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein:

the information representative of the forward-link data capacity includes channel quality information of the wireless channels between the transmitting circuitry and each receiving apparatus; and

the transmitting circuitry transmits media streams to receiving apparatus using a plurality of wireless signal types, including include at least one of Bluetooth, an 802.11 variant, an 802.15 variant, and Ultra Wide Band (UWB), and wherein the decision circuitry selects at least one wireless signal type for the transmitting circuitry to transmit the first media stream to at least one receiving apparatus.

8. The device of claim 6, wherein:

the decision circuitry selects among different versions or protocols of the first data stream based on the forward-link data capacity of at least one wireless channel between the transmitting circuitry and each receiving apparatus;

or

the decision circuitry has a capability of dynamically changing a version of the first data stream based upon changes of the forward-link data capacity of at least one wireless channel between the transmitting circuitry and each receiving apparatus carrying the first media stream.

9. The device of claim 6, wherein the decision circuitry selects among different versions or protocols of the first data stream based on the visual resolution of a display of each receiving apparatus.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein the different versions or protocols of at least one of the individual media streams with one of the different versions or protocols having at least one of a lesser quality and a lesser bandwidth requirement than another one of the different versions or protocols.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein the decision circuitry has a capability of one of:

controlling the transmitting circuitry to transmit the first media stream to at least one receiving apparatus using at least one wireless transmit signal type based on previously allocated transmit resources of the transmitting circuitry;

or

dynamically reallocating transmit resources of the transmitting circuitry based upon changes of the forward-link data capacity of at least one wireless channel between the transmitting circuitry and each receiving apparatus;

or

dynamically reallocating transmitting circuitry resources based upon changes of the forward-link data capacity of at least one wireless channel between the transmitting circuitry and each receiving apparatus carrying the first media stream;

or

causing the transmitting circuitry to add an additional transmit signal to transmit the first media stream such that a receiving apparatus having a diminishing forward-link data capacity will continue to receive the first media stream;

or

automatically selecting a media-coding scheme for the media-coded stream of data based on at least one of a wireless communication standard used between the transmitting circuitry and the receiving apparatus, a data transfer capacity of a wireless channel between the transmitting circuitry and the receiving apparatus and information provided by the receiving apparatus about a physical characteristic of the receiving apparatus.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein the change to the first data stream comprises a translating operation.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein the first wireless multimedia broadcast signal comprises one or more signals selected from the group of Forward Link Only (FLO), DVB-H, DVB-SH, ATSC M/H, DVB-T, ISDB-T and S-DMB signals.

14. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

the receiving circuitry configured to receive the first wireless multimedia broadcast signal containing a plurality of different media streams for the extraction of the individual media streams; and

the decision circuitry coupled to the transmitting circuitry and configured to allocate at least one of the one or more wireless channels based on at least one of data bandwidth and channel quality of each wireless transmit channel.

15. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

an outer-coding circuit configured to dynamically change an outer-coding scheme for a first stream of data to use one of a plurality of available outer-coding schemes with each outer-coding scheme having a different level of robustness to produce a dynamically outer-coded stream of data; and

a transmitting circuit configured to transmit the dynamically outer-coded stream of data to a receiving apparatus.

16. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

decryption circuitry including a decryption key, the decryption circuitry being configured to decrypt one or more of the encrypted media streams to produce at least a decrypted first media stream;

the transmitting circuitry configured to encrypt and transmit one or more of the individual media streams to the one or more receiving apparatuses using one or more transmit signals;

media control circuitry configured to control the distribution of the first media stream to at least one receiving apparatus via the transmitting circuitry, and to provide the at least one receiving apparatus with at least a first session key enabling the at least one receiving apparatus to access the first media stream.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein the decryption circuitry has a capability of permitting reception “

pass-through”

transmissions or transmissions of a reduced encryption without decryption processing.

18. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

the transmitting circuitry configured to transmit a first stream of payload information to a first receiving apparatus using a plurality of different communication protocols;

a protocol selection circuit configured to cause the transmitting circuitry to perform a dynamic protocol handoff such that transmission of the first stream of payload information is changed from a first communication channel using a first communication protocol to a second communication channel using a second communication protocol without appreciable interruption of data flow between the transmitting circuitry and the first receiving apparatus; and

the transmitting circuitry comprising a plurality of transmitting circuits each configured to transmit a first stream of payload information to a first receiving apparatus using different protocols;

the decision circuitry configured to perform at least one of determining a more/most advantageous communication protocol and receiving information relating to a change of protocol from the first receiving apparatus; and

handoff circuitry responsive to the decision circuit for controlling the transmitting circuits to change protocols.

19. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

an outer-coding circuit configured to differentially change an outer-coding scheme for a first stream of data to use one of a plurality of available outer-coding schemes with each outer-coding scheme having a different level of robustness to produce a differentially outer-coded stream of data; and

the transmitting circuit configured to transmit the differentially outer-coded stream of data to a receiving apparatus.

20. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a constraint processing module, responsive to at least one factor related to a capability of the of the wireless communication device to provide service to ones of the receiving devices at a predetermined quality of service (QoS), by limiting the transmission of said one or more wireless transmit signals to the client devices in accordance with the capability of the wireless communication device.

21. The device of claim 20, wherein the factors related to the capability of the wireless communication device to provide service comprises at least one of a wireless protocol capability of the receiving devices, output link quality data, energy available to the multimedia broadcast forwarding device or “

battery indicator”

data, processing constraints of the multimedia broadcast forwarding device, and processing constraints of the receiving devices.

22. The device of claim 20, further comprising:

a wireless protocol capability module providing the constraint processing module with data concerning a wireless protocol capability of the receiving devices;

an output link quality indicators module providing the constraint processing module with data concerning a output link quality data;

a platform energy level indicator providing the constraint processing module with data concerning energy available to the multimedia broadcast forwarding device or “

battery indicator”

data; and

a constraints processing module providing the constraint processing module with data concerning processing constraints of the multimedia broadcast forwarding device and processing constraints of the receiving devices, the constraint processing module, responsive to at least one factor related to a capability of the of the wireless communication device to provide service to ones of the receiving devices, by limiting the transmission of said one or more wireless transmit signals to the client devices in accordance with the capability of the wireless communication device based on at least one of a wireless communication standard used between the transmitting circuitry and the receiving apparatus, a data transfer capacity of a wireless channel between the transmitting circuitry and the receiving apparatus and information provided by the receiving apparatus, wherein the information provided by the receiving device comprises information provided by the receiving apparatus about a physical characteristic of the receiving apparatus.

23. The device of claim 20, wherein:

the constraint processing module controls the transmission of the one or more individual media streams simultaneously to the one or more receiving apparatus using one or more wireless transmit signals by limiting the number and output power of the output streams;

in the case of substantially unrestrained availability of platform energy, reduces or eliminates restraint on the number and output power of the output streams responsive to availability of platform energy; and

in cases of limited availability of platform energy, the constraint processing module limits output in order to provide service to at least some client devices with at least a predetermined quality of service (QoS).

24. The device of claim 23, wherein the information provided by the receiving device comprises information provided by the receiving apparatus about an ability of the receiving apparatus to process signals selected from the group of Forward Link Only (FLO), DVB-H, DVB-SH, ATSC M/H, DVB-T, ISDB-T and S-DMB signals.

25. A method for distributing media to one or more receiving apparatus, comprising:

receiving a wireless multimedia broadcast signal containing a plurality of different media streams;

extracting a first media stream from the received multimedia broadcast signal;

allocating at least one of the one or more wireless channels of transmitting circuitry configured to wirelessly transmit one or more individual media streams simultaneously to the one or more receiving apparatus based on at least one of data bandwidth and channel quality of each wireless transmit channel; and

transmitting the first media stream using the allocated one or more wireless channels.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

transmitting one or more individual media streams simultaneously to one or more receiving apparatus using one or more wireless transmit signals; and

controlling the transmissions by transmitting the first media stream to at least one receiving apparatus using at least one wireless transmit signal type based on a forward-link data capacity of each wireless channel between transmitting circuitry and said one receiving apparatus, or

controlling the transmissions to transmit the first media stream to at least one receiving apparatus using at least one wireless transmit signal type based on a forward-link data capacity of each wireless channel for transmissions to each receiving apparatus.

27. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

receiving a wireless multimedia broadcast signal containing a plurality of different media streams, at least a subset of the media streams provided under different multimedia protocols;

extracting individual media streams from the received wireless multimedia broadcast signal; and

selecting among different versions or protocols of the first data stream based on the forward-link data capacity of at least one wireless channel for transmissions to each receiving apparatus.

28. The method of claim 25, further comprising receiving a wireless multimedia broadcast signal containing a plurality of different media streams, at least a subset of the media streams provided under different multimedia protocols, wherein at least a subset of the media streams comprises signals selected from the group of Forward Link Only (FLO), DVB-H, DVB-SH, ATSC M/H, DVB-T, ISDB-T and S-DMB signals.

29. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

receiving information representative of the forward-link data capacity of each wireless channel for transmissions to each receiving apparatus, and controlling the transmissions based on the received information, wherein the information representative of the forward-link data capacity includes channel quality information of the wireless channels for transmissions to each receiving apparatus; and

dynamically changing a version of the first data stream based upon changes of the forward-link data capacity of at least one wireless channel for transmissions to each receiving apparatus carrying the first media stream; and

selecting among different versions or protocols of the first data stream based on the visual resolution of a display of each receiving apparatus, or controlling the transmissions to transmit the first media stream to at least one receiving apparatus using at least one wireless transmit signal type based on previously allocated transmit resources.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising:

transmitting media streams to receiving apparatus using a plurality of wireless signal types, including include at least one of Bluetooth, an 802.11 variant, an 802.15 variant, and Ultra Wide Band (UWB), and wherein

selecting at least one wireless signal type for the transmissions to transmit the first media stream to at least one receiving apparatus.

31. The method of claim 25, wherein the different versions or protocols of at least one of the individual media streams with one of the different versions or protocols having at least one of a lesser quality and a lesser bandwidth requirement than another one of the different versions or protocols.

32. The method of claim 25, further comprising dynamically reallocating transmit resources based upon changes of the forward-link data capacity of at least one wireless channel for transmissions to each receiving apparatus, wherein the change to the first data stream comprises a translating operation.

33. The method of claim 25, further comprising dynamically reallocating transmit resources based upon changes of the forward-link data capacity of at least one wireless channel for transmissions to each receiving apparatus carrying the first media stream.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising causing the transmissions to add an additional transmit signal to transmit the first media stream such that a receiving apparatus having a diminishing forward-link data capacity will continue to receive the first media stream.

35. The method of claim 25, selecting a media-coding scheme for the media-coded stream of data based on at least one of a wireless communication standard used for transmissions to the receiving apparatus, a data transfer capacity of a wireless channel for transmissions to the receiving apparatus and information provided by the receiving apparatus about a physical characteristic of the receiving apparatus.

36. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

dynamically changing an outer-coding scheme for a first stream of data to a different one of a plurality of available outer-coding schemes with each outer-coding scheme having a different level of robustness to produce a dynamically outer-coded stream of data; and

transmitting the dynamically outer-coded stream of data to a receiving apparatus.

37. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

decrypting one or more of the encrypted media streams to produce at least a decrypted first media stream;

encrypting and transmitting one or more of the individual media streams to the one or more receiving apparatuses using one or more transmit signals;

controlling the distribution of the first media stream to at least one receiving apparatus, and providing the at least one receiving apparatus with at least a first session key enabling the at least one receiving apparatus to access the first media stream.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the decryption circuitry has a capability of permitting reception “

pass-through”

transmissions or transmissions of a reduced encryption without decryption processing.

39. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

configuring a plurality of transmitting circuits to transmit a first stream of payload information to a first receiving apparatus using different protocols and transmitting a first stream of payload information to a first receiving apparatus using a plurality of different communication protocols;

selecting a protocol to cause the transmissions to perform a dynamic protocol handoff such that transmission of the first stream of payload information is changed from a first communication channel using a first communication protocol to a second communication channel using a second communication protocol without appreciable interruption of data flow transmissions to first receiving apparatus;

performing at least one of determining a more/most advantageous communication protocol and receiving information relating to a change of protocol from the first receiving apparatus; and

controlling the transmitting circuits to change protocols.

40. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

differentially changing an outer-coding scheme for a first stream of data to use one of a plurality of available outer-coding schemes with each outer-coding scheme having a different level of robustness to produce a differentially outer-coded stream of data; and

transmitting the differentially outer-coded stream of data to a receiving apparatus.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the factors related to the capability of the wireless communication device to provide service comprises at least one of a wireless protocol capability of the receiving devices, output link quality data, energy available for multimedia broadcast forwarding or “

battery indicator”

data, processing constraints for multimedia broadcast forwarding, and processing constraints of the receiving devices.

42. The method of claim 25, wherein:

controlling the transmission of the one or more individual media streams simultaneously to the one or more receiving apparatus using one or more wireless transmit signals by limiting the number and output power of the output streams;

in the case of substantially unrestrained availability of platform energy, reducing or eliminating restraint on the number and output power of the output streams responsive to availability of platform energy; and

in cases of limited availability of platform energy, limiting output in order to provide service to at least some client devices with at least a predetermined quality of service (QoS).

43. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

controlling the transmissions responsive to at least one factor related to a capability to provide service to ones of the receiving devices, by limiting the transmission of said one or more wireless transmit signals to the client devices based on at least one of a wireless communication standard used for transmissions to the receiving apparatus, a data transfer capacity of a wireless channel for transmissions to the receiving apparatus and information provided by the receiving apparatus, wherein the information provided by the receiving device comprises information provided by the receiving apparatus about a physical characteristic of the receiving apparatus.

44. A processor comprising circuitry for performing the method of claim 25, comprising said processor provided as a chipset including at least one monolithic integrated circuit.

45. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer-readable medium comprising;

a first instruction for causing a computer to receive a wireless multimedia broadcast signal containing a plurality of different media streams;

a second instruction for causing the computer to extract a first media stream from the received multimedia broadcast signal;

a third instruction for causing the computer to allocate at least one of the one or more wireless channels of transmitting circuitry configured to wirelessly transmit one or more individual media streams simultaneously to the one or more receiving apparatus based on at least one of data bandwidth and channel quality of each wireless transmit channel; and

a fourth instruction for causing the computer to transmit the first media stream using the allocated one or more wireless channels.

46. The computer program product of claim 45, further comprising:

the fourth instruction causing the computer to transmit one or more individual media streams simultaneously to one or more receiving apparatus using one or more wireless transmit signals; and

the fourth instruction causing the computer to control the transmissions by transmitting the first media stream to at least one receiving apparatus using at least one wireless transmit signal type based on a forward-link data capacity of each wireless channel between transmitting circuitry and said one receiving apparatus.

47. Apparatus for distributing media to one or more receiving apparatus, comprising:

means for receiving a wireless multimedia broadcast signal containing a plurality of different media streams;

means for extracting a first media stream from the received multimedia broadcast signal;

means for allocating at least one of the one or more wireless channels of transmitting circuitry configured to wirelessly transmit one or more individual media streams simultaneously to the one or more receiving apparatus based on at least one of data bandwidth and channel quality of each wireless transmit channel;

means for transmitting one or more individual media streams simultaneously to one or more receiving apparatus using one or more wireless transmit signals; and

means for controlling the transmissions by transmitting the first media stream to at least one receiving apparatus using at least one wireless transmit signal type based on a forward-link data capacity of each wireless channel between transmitting circuitry and said one receiving apparatus.

48. The apparatus of claim 47, further comprising:

means for receiving a wireless multimedia broadcast signal containing a plurality of different media streams, at least a subset of the media streams provided under different multimedia protocols;

means for extracting individual media streams from the received wireless multimedia broadcast signal; and

means for selecting among different versions or protocols of the first data stream based on the visual resolution of a display of each receiving apparatus.

49. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the different versions or protocols of at least one of the individual media streams with one of the different versions or protocols having at least one of a lesser quality and a lesser bandwidth requirement than another one of the different versions or protocols.

50. The apparatus of claim 47, further comprising means for dynamically reallocating transmit resources based upon changes of the forward-link data capacity of at least one wireless channel for transmissions to each receiving apparatus carrying the first media stream.

51. The apparatus of claim 47, further comprising:

means for decrypting one or more of the encrypted media streams to produce at least a decrypted first media stream;

means for encrypting and transmitting one or more of the individual media streams to the one or more receiving apparatuses using one or more transmit signals; and

means for controlling the distribution of the first media stream to at least one receiving apparatus, and providing the at least one receiving apparatus with at least a first session key enabling the at least one receiving apparatus to access the first media stream,

wherein the means for decryption has a capability of permitting reception “

pass-through”

transmissions or transmissions of a reduced encryption without decryption processing.

52. The apparatus of claim 47, further comprising:

means for responding to at least one factor related to a capability of the of the wireless communication device to provide service to ones of the receiving devices at a predetermined quality of service (QoS), by limiting the transmission of said one or more wireless transmit signals to the client devices in accordance with the capability of the wireless communication device;

means for controlling the transmission of the one or more individual media streams simultaneously to the one or more receiving apparatus using one or more wireless transmit signals by limiting the number and output power of the output streams;

means for, in the case of substantially unrestrained availability of platform energy, reducing or eliminating restraint on the number and output power of the output streams responsive to availability of platform energy; and

means for, in cases of limited availability of platform energy, limiting output in order to provide service to at least some client devices with at least a predetermined quality of service (QoS).

53. The apparatus of claim 47, further comprising:

means for controlling the transmissions responsive to at least one factor related to a capability to provide service to ones of the receiving devices, by limiting the transmission of said one or more wireless transmit signals to the client devices based on at least one of a wireless communication standard used for transmissions to the receiving apparatus, a data transfer capacity of a wireless channel for transmissions to the receiving apparatus and information provided by the receiving apparatus,

wherein the information provided by the receiving device comprises information provided by the receiving apparatus about a physical characteristic of the receiving apparatus.