Simulcast transmission of digital programs to shared antenna receiving systems
First Claim
1. A communication system comprising:
- a plurality of transmitters located at spaced apart sites transmitting a signal including multiplexed channels so that areas of propagation from respective ones of the transmitters substantially overlap over each other in at least a major portion of a reception area; and
a receiver system located within the reception area and serving a plurality of living units, said receiver system comprising;
(1) at least two directional receiving antennae, each directional receiving antenna being directed to receive said signal from a different one of the transmitters;
(2) signal processing circuitry receiving a signal from each of the receiving antennae and in response thereto outputting a single representation of said signal including multiplexed channels; and
(3) terminals located in a plurality of the living units, each terminal receiving the single representation of said signal including multiplexed channels from the signal processing circuitry and processing a selected one of the multiplexed channels of the single representation of said signal to present program information from a selected channel.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Within a desired service area, multiple transmitters at separately located sites simultaneously broadcast the same multi-channel, multi-program signal. Broadcast waves from the transmitters propagate throughout substantially overlapping portions of the service area. Obstructions in the service area, e.g. mountains, buildings, trees, etc., may block reception from one or more of the transmitters at certain sites. However, at most receiving sites, the receiving antenna can receive a clear line-of-sight transmission from at least one and often two or more of the transmitters. Each broadcast channel carries a multiplexed digital data stream containing packets of information for a plurality of programs, e.g. television programs. A shared antenna system, typically including multiple receiving antennae aimed at a plurality of the transmitters, supplies received signals to terminals in a plurality of living units. The shared system includes processing circuitry to supply an optimal signal from the receiving antennae to the terminals.
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Citations
46 Claims
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1. A communication system comprising:
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a plurality of transmitters located at spaced apart sites transmitting a signal including multiplexed channels so that areas of propagation from respective ones of the transmitters substantially overlap over each other in at least a major portion of a reception area; and a receiver system located within the reception area and serving a plurality of living units, said receiver system comprising; (1) at least two directional receiving antennae, each directional receiving antenna being directed to receive said signal from a different one of the transmitters; (2) signal processing circuitry receiving a signal from each of the receiving antennae and in response thereto outputting a single representation of said signal including multiplexed channels; and (3) terminals located in a plurality of the living units, each terminal receiving the single representation of said signal including multiplexed channels from the signal processing circuitry and processing a selected one of the multiplexed channels of the single representation of said signal to present program information from a selected channel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A communication system comprising:
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a headend comprising; (1) a source of a first digital multiplexed data stream containing a plurality of packet streams, each packet stream carrying digitized data representing one of a first group of video programs, (2) a source of a second digital multiplexed data stream containing a plurality of packet streams, each packet stream carrying digitized data representing one of a second group of video programs, (3) a modulation system modulating the first digital multiplexed data stream and the second digital multiplexed data stream into first and second channels, respectively; a plurality of wireless transmitters located at respective different sites in a service area, the transmitters simultaneously transmitting a combined wireless signal containing the first and second channels into overlapping portions of the service area; and a plurality of receiver systems within the service area, at least one of the receiver systems serving a plurality of living units, said at least one of the receiver systems comprising; (i) at least two directional receiving antennae, each directional receiving antenna being directed to receive said combined wireless signal from a different one of the transmitters, (ii) signal processing circuitry receiving signals from the receiving antennae and in response thereto outputting a single representation of a combined signal containing the first and second channels, and (iii) terminals located in a plurality of the living units, each terminal comprising (a) an interface module processing the single representation to select one of the first and second channels thereof and acquire a digital multiplexed data stream from the selected channel, and (b) a digital signal processing section for processing digitized data from a selected packet stream contained in the acquired digital multiplexed data stream to present a selected video program to a viewer. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A shared receiving system serving a plurality of living units, said shared receiving system comprising:
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at least two directional receiving antennae, each directional receiving antenna being directed to receive a signal including multiplexed channels from a different one of a plurality of spaced apart transmitters which provide overlapping simultaneous broadcasts of the signal including multiplexed channels; signal processing circuitry receiving a signal from each of the receiving antennae and in response thereto outputting a single representation of said signal including multiplexed channels; a distribution system for broadcasting the single representation of said signal; and terminals located in a plurality of the living units, each terminal receiving the single representation of said signal including the multiplexed channels via the distribution system and processing a selected one of the multiplexed channels of the single representation of said signal to present program information from the selected channel. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A method comprising the steps of:
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a) simultaneously transmitting from multiple spaced transmitting sites the same signal so that areas of propagation from respective ones of the transmitting sites substantially overlap over each other in at least a major portion of a reception area, said signal transmitted from said transmitting sites including multiplexed channels, each channel carrying digitally multiplexed data representing a plurality of programs; b) at one receiving site in the major portion of said reception area, directionally receiving a signal from each of the transmitting sites; c) from the signals received from the transmitting sites, producing a single representation of said signal including multiplexed channels; d) distributing the single representation of said signal to a plurality of living units; and e) in at least one living unit, processing a selected portion of the digitally multiplexed data carried in a selected one of the multiplexed channels of the single representation of said signal to present information from a selected one of the programs. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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Specification