Apparatus, method and system for wireline audio and video conferencing and telephony, with network interactivity

• US 6,011,579 A
• Filed: 12/10/1996
• Issued: 01/04/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Newlin, Douglas J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kuntz, Curtis A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ramakrishnaiah, Melur
• Application Number:
  US08/763,159
• Time in Patent Office: 1,120 Days
• Field of Search: 348/14, 348/15, 348/17, 348/6, 348/12, 379/93.07, 379/93.21
• US Class Current: 348/14.08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/148 Interfacing a video terminal to a particular transmission medium, e.g. ISDN

Abstract

A video access apparatus (110, 150, 160) provides for audio and video teleconferencing and telephony via a first communication channel (103) having communication with a network (140), such as the public switched telephone network or an ISDN network. The network (140) is preferably an intelligent network (115) having an intelligent peripheral (125) which provides for user interface functionality, for call control and configuration, and for interworking functions. The video access apparatus (160) includes a wireline network interface (210) for reception of a first protocol signal to form a received protocol signal and for transmission of a second protocol signal to form a transmitted protocol signal; a radio frequency modulator/demodulator (205) to convert a baseband output video signal to a radio frequency output video signal and to convert a radio frequency input video signal to a baseband input video signal; and a processor arrangement (190) responsive, through a set of program instructions, to convert the received protocol signal to the baseband output video signal and to an output audio signal, and to convert the baseband input video signal and an input audio signal to the second protocol signal.

Claims

1. A video access apparatus, comprising:

a wireline network interface coupleable to a first communication channel, the wireline network interface having an ISDN interface for reception of a first ISDN encoded H.32x digital audio/video protocol signal, for transmission of a second ISDN encoded H.32x digital audio/video protocol signal, and for transmission and reception of a digital telephony signal;

a radio frequency modulator to convert a baseband NTSC/PAL encoded composite output video signal to a radio frequency amplitude modulated vestigial sideband output video signal;

a radio frequency demodulator to convert a radio frequency amplitude modulated vestigial sideband input video signal to a baseband NTSC/PAL encoded composite input video signal;

an audio interface for reception of an input analog audio signal and conversion of the input analog audio signal to an input digital audio signal, and for conversion of an output digital audio signal to an output analog audio signal and for output of the output analog audio signal;

a microprocessor subsystem coupled to the wireline network interface and the audio interface, the microprocessor subsystem responsive, through a set of program instructions, to decode the first ISDN encoded H.32x digital audio/video protocol signal to form an H.32x encoded output audio/video digital data stream, the microprocessor subsystem further responsive to convert an H.32x encoded input digital audio signal and an H.32x encoded input video signal data stream to the second ISDN encoded H.32x digital audio/video protocol signal; and

an audio/video compression and decompression subsystem coupled to the microprocessor subsystem, and further coupled to the radio frequency modulator and to the radio frequency demodulator, the audio/video compression and decompression subsystem responsive, through the set of program instructions, to convert and compress the baseband NTSC/PAL encoded composite input video signal to the H.32x encoded input video signal data stream, to convert and compress the input digital audio signal to the H.32x encoded input digital audio signal, and to decompress and convert the H.32x encoded output audio/video digital data stream to the baseband NTSC/PAL encoded composite output video signal and the output digital audio signal.

2. A video access apparatus, comprising:

a wireline network interface coupleable to a first communication channel, the wireline network interface having a telephony interface for reception and demodulation of a first V.x encoded H.32x analog audio/video protocol signal to form a first V.x encoded H.32x digital audio/video protocol signal, for modulation and transmission of a second V.x encoded H.32x digital audio/video protocol signal to form a transmitted V.x encoded H.32x analog audio/video protocol signal, and for transmission and reception of an analog telephony signal;

a radio frequency modulator to convert a baseband NTSC/PAL encoded composite output video signal to a radio frequency amplitude modulated vestigial sideband output video signal;

a radio frequency demodulator to convert a radio frequency amplitude modulated vestigial sideband input video signal to a baseband NTSC/PAL encoded composite input video signal;

an audio interface for reception of an input analog audio signal and conversion of the input analog audio signal to an input digital audio signal, and for conversion of an output digital audio signal to an output analog audio signal and for output of the output analog audio signal;

a microprocessor subsystem coupled to the wireline network interface and the audio interface; and

an audio/video compression and decompression subsystem coupled to the microprocessor subsystem, and further coupled to the radio frequency modulator and to the radio frequency demodulator, the audio/video compression and decompression subsystem responsive, in conjunction with the microprocessor subsystem and the audio interface, through the set of program instructions, to decode, decompress and convert the first V.x encoded H.32x digital audio/video protocol signal to the baseband NTSC/PAL encoded composite output video signal and the output digital audio signal, and further responsive to encode, compress and convert the baseband NTSC/PAL encoded composite input video signal and the digital input audio signal to the second V.x encoded H.32x digital audio/video protocol signal.