Communications signal transcoder

• US 20100267330A1
• Filed: 06/29/2010
• Published: 10/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Jaffe, Steven, Krafft, Stephen Edward, Kwentus, Alan Y., Brooks, Charles Alan
• Granted Patent: US 8,014,449 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/3.20
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2383 Channel coding or modulation of digital bit-stream, e.g. QPSK modulation arrangements for detecting or preventing errors in the information received by adapting the channel coding H04L1/0009; analogue front ends or means for connecting modulators, demodulators or transceivers to a transmission line H04L27/0002
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4382 Demodulation or channel decoding, e.g. QPSK demodulation analog front ends or means for connecting modulators, demodulators or transceivers to a transmission line H04L27/0002

Abstract

Communications signal transcoder. A solution is provided to transcode a signal from a first signal type to a second signal type to ensure proper interfacing between devices that may operate using different signal types. For example, within a communication system, a first signal type (having a first modulation type, e.g., 8 PSK) may be received. The transcoder then ensures that this signal, after it has undergone any initial processing (such as tuning, down-converting, decoding, and so on), is encoded into a second signal type (having a second modulation type, e.g., QPSK) such that it can interface properly with a device for which the received signal is intended. This transcoder functionality may be implemented within discrete components, or it may alternatively be integrated within a functional block of an integrated circuit. This functionality may be implemented in a variety of communication systems including satellite, cable television, Internet, and others.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a transcoder functional block for processing a first signal having a first signal type thereby generating a second signal having a second signal type; and

a microcontroller or a state machine, communicatively coupled to the transcoder functional block, for directing operation of the transcoder functional block in processing the first signal thereby generating the second signal;

a first DiSEqC (Digital Satellite Equipment Control) transceiver for interfacing the microcontroller or the state machine to an LNB (Low Noise Block Converter) of a satellite dish; and

a second DiSEqC transceiver for interfacing the microcontroller or the state machine to a Set Top Box (STB); and

wherein;

the first signal type includes a first modulation, a first code rate, a first symbol rate, and a first data rate;

the second signal type includes a second modulation, a second code rate, a second symbol rate, and a second data rate; and

the microcontroller or the state machine being operative to coordinate communication and control of the STB and the LNB.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the transcoder functional block further comprising:

a satellite receiver for decoding the first signal having the first signal type, wherein the first signal including information encoded by one of a plurality of codes, the satellite receiver including a plurality of decoding functionalities for respectively decoding in accordance with each of the plurality of code types, and the satellite receiver adaptively employing one of the plurality of decoding functionalities that respectively corresponds to the one of the plurality of codes for decoding the first signal;

a modulator, connected to the satellite receiver, for encoding and modulating decoded output from the satellite receiver; and

a DAC (Digital to Analog Converter), connected to the modulator, for transforming the second signal having the second signal type from a digital signal into an analog signal.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein:

the transcoder functional block being implemented within an integrated circuit;

the transcoder functional block including a first functional block and a second functional block; and

the first functional block and the second functional block being functional blocks within the integrated circuit.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein:

the transcoder functional block being implemented within an integrated circuit;

the first functional block being the satellite receiver; and

the second functional block including the modulator and the DAC.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the apparatus being implemented within at least one of a satellite communication system, an HDTV (High Definition Television) communication system, a cable television system, and a cable modem communication system.

6. An apparatus, comprising:

a transcoder functional block for processing a first signal having a first signal type thereby generating a second signal having a second signal type; and

a microcontroller or a state machine, communicatively coupled to the transcoder functional block, for directing operation of the transcoder functional block in processing the first signal thereby generating the second signal; and

wherein;

the first signal type includes a first modulation, a first code rate, a first symbol rate, and a first data rate; and

the second signal type includes a second modulation, a second code rate, a second symbol rate, and a second data rate.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the transcoder functional block further comprising:

a satellite receiver for decoding the first signal having the first signal type, wherein the first signal including information encoded by one of a plurality of codes, the satellite receiver including a plurality of decoding functionalities for respectively decoding in accordance with each of the plurality of code types, and the satellite receiver adaptively employing one of the plurality of decoding functionalities that respectively corresponds to the one of the plurality of codes for decoding the first signal;

a modulator, connected to the satellite receiver, for encoding and modulating decoded output from the satellite receiver; and

a DAC (Digital to Analog Converter), connected to the modulator, for transforming the second signal having the second signal type from a digital signal into an analog signal.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein:

the transcoder functional block being implemented within an integrated circuit;

the transcoder functional block including a first functional block and a second functional block; and

the first functional block and the second functional block being functional blocks within the integrated circuit.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein:

the transcoder functional block being implemented within an integrated circuit;

the first functional block being the satellite receiver; and

the second functional block including the modulator and the DAC.

10. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the transcoder functional block further comprising:

a satellite receiver for adaptively processing the first signal based on the first signal type; and

wherein;

the first signal type being a turbo code signal type or an LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) code signal type.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein:

the first signal type being the turbo code signal type;

the first signal type including an 8 PSK (Phase Shift Keying) modulation type, a code rate of ⅔

, a symbol rate of approximately 21.5 Msps (Mega-symbols per second), and a data rate of approximately 41 Mbps (Mega-bits per second); and

the second signal type including a QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying) modulation type, a code rate of ⅞

, a symbol rate of approximately 20 Msps, and a data rate of approximately 32.25 Mbps.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein:

the first signal type being the LDPC code signal type;

the first signal type including an 8 PSK (Phase Shift Keying) modulation type, a code rate of ⅔

, a symbol rate of approximately 20 Msps (Mega-symbols per second), and a data rate of approximately 40 Mbps (Mega-bits per second); and

the second signal type including a QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying) modulation type, a code rate of 6/7, a symbol rate of approximately 20 Msps, and a data rate of approximately 30.5 Mbps.

13. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein:

the microcontroller or the state machine being operative to coordinate communication and control of a Set Top Box (STB) and an LNB (Low Noise Block Converter) of a satellite dish that are both respectively communicatively coupled to the transcoder functional block.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising:

a first DiSEqC (Digital Satellite Equipment Control) transceiver for interfacing the microcontroller or the state machine to the LNB; and

a second DiSEqC transceiver for interfacing the microcontroller or the state machine to the STB.

15. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein:

the transcoder functional block including a DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting) encoder/modulator for ensuring that the second signal having the second signal type is a DVB STB (Set Top Box) compatible signal.

16. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein:

the apparatus being implemented within at least one of a satellite communication system, an HDTV (High Definition Television) communication system, a cable television system, and a cable modem communication system.

17. A method, comprising:

operating a transcoder functional block for processing a first signal having a first signal type thereby generating a second signal having a second signal type; and

operating a microcontroller or a state machine, communicatively coupled to the transcoder functional block, for directing operation of the transcoder functional block in processing the first signal thereby generating the second signal; and

wherein;

the first signal type includes a first modulation, a first code rate, a first symbol rate, and a first data rate; and

the second signal type includes a second modulation, a second code rate, a second symbol rate, and a second data rate.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

operating a satellite receiver, implemented within the transcoder functional block, for adaptively processing the first signal based on the first signal type, wherein the first signal type being a turbo code signal type or an LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) code signal type.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein:

the first signal type being the turbo code signal type;

the first signal type including an 8 PSK (Phase Shift Keying) modulation type, a code rate of ⅔

, a symbol rate of approximately 21.5 Msps (Mega-symbols per second), and a data rate of approximately 41 Mbps (Mega-bits per second); and

the second signal type including a QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying) modulation type, a code rate of ⅞

, a symbol rate of approximately 20 Msps, and a data rate of approximately 32.25 Mbps.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein:

the first signal type being the LDPC code signal type;

the first signal type including an 8 PSK (Phase Shift Keying) modulation type, a code rate of ⅔

, a symbol rate of approximately 20 Msps (Mega-symbols per second), and a data rate of approximately 40 Mbps (Mega-bits per second); and

the second signal type including a QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying) modulation type, a code rate of 6/7, a symbol rate of approximately 20 Msps, and a data rate of approximately 30.5 Mbps.