Multimedia server with channel control and methods for use therewith

• US 8,477,736 B2
• Filed: 02/04/2011
• Issued: 07/02/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: VIXS Systems Incorporated (Pixelworks Incorporated)
• Inventors: Dong, Suiwu, Girardeau, Jr., James Ward
• Primary Examiner(s): CHAN, SAI MING
• Application Number:
  US13/021,394
• Publication Number:
  US 20110128877A1
• Time in Patent Office: 879 Days
• Field of Search: 707/3, 707781-783, 370/332, 370/334, 370/338, 370/241, 370/348
• US Class Current: 370/332
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0001 Systems modifying transmission characteristics according to link quality, e.g. power backoff adaptive data allocation for multicarrier modulation H04L5/0044; controlling transmission power for radio systems H04W52/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0003 by switching between different modulation schemes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0022 in which mode-switching is influenced by the user
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0025 Transmission of mode-switching indication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0026 Transmission of channel quality indication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0032 Without explicit signalling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/02 by diversity reception

Abstract

A multimedia server includes a first transceiver that modulates a data signal to produce a first radio frequency (RF) signal and that transmits the first RF signal to a client over a first transceiver channel when the first transceiver is in a transceive mode. The first transceiver includes a first channel control that performs a first channel scan when the first transceiver is in a scan mode, that determines at least one performance parameter of the first transceiver channel and asserts a low performance signal when the at least one performance parameter compares unfavorably to a performance threshold, and that switches the first transceiver to a selected alternative transceiver channel when the low performance signal is asserted.

Claims

1. A multimedia server comprising:

an encoder for generating an encoded signal from a multimedia input signal;

a first transceiver that modulates the encoded signal to produce a first radio frequency (RF) signal and that transmits the first RF signal, that includes a packetized video signal, to a client over a first transceiver channel when the first transceiver is in a transceive mode, the first transceiver including;

a first channel controller that performs a first channel scan during a quiet time between video packet acknowledgements when the first transceiver is in a scan mode, that determines at least one performance parameter of the first transceiver channel and asserts a low performance signal when the at least one performance parameter compares unfavorably to a performance threshold, and that switches the first transceiver to a selected alternative transceiver channel when the low performance signal is asserted;

a second transceiver for modulating the encoded signal to produce a second RF signal and for transmitting the second RF signal over a second transceiver channel when the second transceiver is in a transceive mode, wherein the second transceiver includes;

a second channel controller that performs a second channel scan when the second transceiver is in a scan mode and wherein the switch is coupled to the second channel control module, and wherein the second channel scan includes determining at least one performance parameter of a plurality of alternative transceiver channels and selecting the selected alternative transceiver channel of the plurality of alternative transceiver channels;

wherein the first transceiver channel is a channel of a broadband wireless access network.

2. The multimedia server of claim 1 wherein the first channel scan includes determining at least one performance parameter of a plurality of alternative transceiver channels and selecting the selected alternative transceiver channel of the plurality of alternative transceiver channels.

3. The multimedia server of claim 1 wherein the first channel controller performs the first channel scan in response to the low performance signal.

4. The multimedia server of claim 1 wherein the first channel controller performs the first channel scan in response to the expiration of a time interval.

5. The multimedia server of claim 1 wherein the first transceiver is coupled to a first antenna and the second transceiver is coupled to a second antenna that is spatially diverse from the first antenna.

6. The multimedia server of claim 1 wherein the first transceiver further transmits switch data to the client.

7. The multimedia server of claim 1 wherein the first channel controller further arbitrates the switch to the alternative transceiver channel with the client.

8. A multimedia server comprising:

a first transceiver that modulates a data signal to produce a first radio frequency (RF) signal and that transmits the first RF signal to a client over a first transceiver channel when the first transceiver is in a transceive mode, the first transceiver including;

a first channel controller that determines at least one performance parameter of the first transceiver channel and asserts a low performance signal when the at least one performance parameter compares unfavorably to a performance threshold, and that switches the first transceiver to a selected alternative transceiver channel when the low performance signal is asserted;

a second transceiver for modulating the data signal to produce a second RF signal and for transmitting the second RF signal over a second transceiver channel when the second transceiver is in a transceive mode, the second transceiver including;

a second channel controller that performs a second channel scan when the second transceiver is in a scan mode, wherein the second channel scan includes determining at least one performance parameter of a plurality of alternative transceiver channels and selecting the selected alternative transceiver channel of the plurality of alternative transceiver channels.

9. The multimedia server of claim 8 wherein the first channel scan includes determining at least one performance parameter of a plurality of alternative transceiver channels and selecting the selected alternative transceiver channel of the plurality of alternative transceiver channels.

10. The multimedia server of claim 8 wherein the first RF signal includes a packetized video signal and the second channel control performs the second channel scan during a quiet time between video packet acknowledgements.

11. The multimedia server of claim 8 wherein the first channel controller performs the first channel scan in response to the low performance signal.

12. The multimedia server of claim 8 wherein the first channel controller performs the first channel scan in response to the expiration of a time interval.

13. The multimedia server of claim 8 further wherein the first transceiver is coupled to a first antenna and the second transceiver is coupled to a second antenna that is spatially diverse from the first antenna.

14. The multimedia server of claim 8 wherein the first transceiver is further transmits switch data to the client module.

15. The multimedia server of claim 8 wherein the first channel controller further arbitrates the switch to the alternative transceiver channel with the client module.

16. The multimedia server of claim 8 wherein the first transceiver channel is a channel of a broadband wireless access network that conforms to at least one of the following standards:

802.11x, Ultra Wideband (UWB), and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX).

17. The multimedia server of claim 8 further comprising:

an encoder for generating the data signal from a multimedia input signal that includes a composite video signal.

18. A method for use in a transceiver that includes a first transceiver module and a second transceiver module, wherein the first transceiver module modulates an encoded signal to produce a first radio frequency (RF) signal that includes a packetized video signal and that transmits the first RF signal to a client module over a first transceiver channel when the first transceiver module is in a transceive mode, the method comprising:

performing a first channel scan via the second transceiver module to identify a selected alternative transceiver channel via the second transceiver module when the first transceiver module is in a transceiver mode and the second transceiver is in a scan mode;

determining at least one performance parameter of the first transceiver channel;

asserting a low performance signal when the at least one performance parameter compares unfavorably to a performance threshold; and

switching the first transceiver module to the selected alternative transceiver channel when the low performance signal is asserted.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the first channel scan includes determining at least one performance parameter of a plurality of alternative transceiver channels and selecting the selected alternative transceiver channel of the plurality of alternative transceiver channels.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein the step of performing the first channel scan is performed in response to the expiration of a time interval.