Bandwidth sharing in a distributed wireless client application using inverse multiplexing termination

• US 8,289,997 B2
• Filed: 02/02/2010
• Issued: 10/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Concert Technology Corporation
• Original Assignee: Novara Technology LLC
• Inventors: Evans, Gregory M., Curtis, Scott, Purdy, Sean T., Issa, Alfredo C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pezzlo, John
• Application Number:
  US12/656,528
• Publication Number:
  US 20120039309A1
• Time in Patent Office: 987 Days
• Field of Search: 370/252, 370/329, 370/442, 370/474
• US Class Current: 370/474
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/611 for multicast or broadcast systems for broadcast or conference H04L12/18; arrangements for broadcast or distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/00; arrangements for broadcast applications with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time H04H60/00; selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS], H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/756 adapting media to device capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/30 using hierarchical techniques, e.g. scalability H04N19/63 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43637 involving a wireless protocol, e.g. Bluetooth, RF or wireless LAN [IEEE 802.11] arrangements for wireless networking or broadcasting of information in indoor or near-field type systems H04B10/114
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/631 Multimode Transmission, e.g. transmitting basic layers and enhancement layers of the content over different transmission paths or transmitting with different error corrections, different keys or with different transmission protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/632 using a connection between clients on a wide area network, e.g. setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet for retrieving video segments from the hard-disk of other client devices broadcast-related systems characterised by transmission among terminal devices H04H60/80; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104

Abstract

A system and method for bandwidth sharing in a distributed wireless client application using inverse multiplexing termination. The system includes: a group of collocated client playback devices having wide area network (WAN) and local area network (LAN) connectivity, and a centralized inverse multiplexing (IMUX) server which optimizes shared bandwidth of both the WAN via inverse multiplexing and the LAN using either broadcast or multicast of all virtual multiplexing paths to all other client playback devices of the group of collocated client playback devices. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A method of bandwidth sharing in a distributed wireless client application, comprising:

establishing a unicast connection with each of a plurality of client devices having wide area network (WAN) and local area network (LAN) connectivity;

establishing a LAN between the plurality of client devices;

beginning an inverse multiplexed session with each of the plurality of client devices within the LAN;

streaming in a unicast format via the inverse multiplexed session over a multi-transport path terminating at each of the client devices, wherein each of the client devices receives its unicast and then retransmits over the LAN, such that each of the client devices receives all unicast sessions of all of the other client devices; and

terminating the inverse multiplexed session into a streamed media.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the LAN comprises a wireless localized ad hoc LAN.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the streamed media comprises a scalable video coded stream.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising playing back the scalable video coded stream based on at least one of bandwidth received using inverse multiplexing and playback capabilities of each of the client devices.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the playback capabilities of each of the client devices comprise one or more of screen size, central processing unit (CPU) power, and battery usage.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein digital rights management (DRM) is used to allow only authorized client devices access to the scalable video coded stream.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein a bandwidth of the LAN is greater than the sum of WAN unicast bandwidths.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the streamed media comprises a single high-bandwidth H.264 scalable video format stream.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein additional H.264 layers may be added or deleted based on additional client devices joining or leaving the inverse multiplexed session.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the retransmitting over the LAN uses a Layer-2 Media Access Control (MAC) broadcast to the other client devices.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the retransmitting over the LAN uses a Layer-3 route multicast protocol to the other client devices.

12. A computer readable medium comprising a program for instructing a wireless client device to:

receive from a wireless wide area network (WAN) one or more logical channels of a multiple channel inverse multiplexed session;

re-transmit the received logical channels for multicast delivery over a local area network (LAN) or a personal area network (PAN) for the inverse multiplexed session;

receive from the LAN or the PAN additional inverse multiplexed logical channels associated with the inverse multiplexed session from other wireless client devices;

terminate the inverse multiplexed session for the wireless client device per defined inverse multiplexed protocol into a media stream; and

play back available multimedia layers on the media stream based on at least one of bandwidth received using inverse multiplexing and playback capabilities of the wireless client device.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the LAN comprises a wireless localized ad hoc LAN.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the media stream comprises a scalable video coded stream.

15. A computer readable medium comprising a program for instructing a centralized inverse multiplexing server to:

establish a unicast connection with each of a plurality of client devices having wide area network (WAN) and local area network (LAN) connectivity;

establish a LAN between the plurality of client devices;

begin an inverse multiplexed session with each of the plurality of client devices within the LAN;

stream in a unicast format via the inverse multiplexed session over a multi-transport path terminating at each of the client devices, wherein each of the client devices receives its unicast and then retransmits over the LAN, such that each of the client devices receives all unicast sessions of all of the other client devices; and

terminate the inverse multiplexed session into a streamed media.

16. A method operating in a wireless client device, comprising:

receiving from a wireless wide area network (WAN) one or more logical channels of a multiple channel inverse multiplexed session;

re-transmitting the received logical channels for multicast delivery over a local area network (LAN) or a personal area network (PAN) for the inverse multiplexed session;

receiving from the LAN or the PAN additional inverse multiplexed logical channels associated with the inverse multiplexed session from other wireless client devices;

terminating the inverse multiplexed session for the wireless client device per defined inverse multiplexed protocol into a media stream; and

playing back available multimedia layers on the media stream based on at least one of bandwidth received using inverse multiplexing and playback capabilities of the wireless client device.

17. A wireless client device comprising a controller to:

receive from a wireless wide area network (WAN) one or more logical channels of a multiple channel inverse multiplexed session;

re-transmit the received logical channels for multicast delivery over a local area network (LAN) or a personal area network (PAN) for the inverse multiplexed session;

receive from the LAN or the PAN additional inverse multiplexed logical channels associated with the inverse multiplexed session from other wireless client devices;

terminate the inverse multiplexed session for the wireless client device per defined inverse multiplexed protocol into a media stream; and

play back available multimedia layers on the media stream based on at least one of bandwidth received using inverse multiplexing and playback capabilities of the wireless client device.

18. A server comprising a controller to:

establish a unicast connection with each of a plurality of client devices having wide area network (WAN) and local area network (LAN) connectivity;

establish a LAN between the plurality of client devices;

begin an inverse multiplexed session with each of the plurality of client devices within the LAN;

stream in a unicast format via the inverse multiplexed session over a multi-transport path terminating at each of the client devices, wherein each of the client devices receives its unicast and then retransmits over the LAN, such that each of the client devices receives all unicast sessions of all of the other client devices; and

terminate the inverse multiplexed session into a streamed media.