Apparatus and method for uncompressed, wireless transmission of video

• US 8,559,525 B2
• Filed: 10/20/2006
• Issued: 10/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amimon Limited (Vitec Group PLC)
• Original Assignee: Amimon Limited (Vitec Group PLC)
• Inventors: Reznic, Zvi, Elnathan, Nathan, Feder, Meir, Freundlich, Shay
• Primary Examiner(s): WONG, ALLEN C
• Application Number:
  US11/551,641
• Publication Number:
  US 20070098063A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,552 Days
• Field of Search: 375/240, 375/240.01, 375/240.03, 375/240.2, 375/240.26, 375/344, 348/403.1, 370/208
• US Class Current: 375/240.26
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 11/044 involving transform coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/60 using transform coding

Abstract

An apparatus and method for wireless transmission of uncompressed HDTV video overcomes the challenges of sending vast amounts of information over a wireless link. This is achieved by direct mapping of transformation coefficients of the video components to communication symbols, such as OFDM symbols. A main portion of the important transform coefficients, for example the MSBs of the coefficients representing lower frequencies of each of the video components, and in particular the quantized values of the lower frequencies components, are sent in a coarse representation using, for example, QPSK or QAM. The coefficients representing higher frequencies of the video components, and the quantization error values of the lower frequencies components, or some, non-linear transformation thereof, are sent as pairs of real and imaginary portions of a complex number that comprises a point in a fine constellation. The invention further provides a delay-less and buffer-less implementation of transmitter and receiver pairs.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a transmitter to generate a wireless transmission corresponding to a video signal, said transmitter comprising;

an encoder to generate at least one coarse constellation symbol representing a first component of a data value characterizing a portion of said video signal, wherein said at least one coarse constellation symbol corresponds to a point on a conventional Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) constellation of points; and

said encoder adapted to compand a second component of said data value to at least one fine constellation symbol corresponding to a point of a QAM constellation of points, and wherein said first component is relatively more significant for rendering than said second component.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said wireless transmission represents a plurality of transformation coefficients corresponding to said video signal, and wherein said data value comprises a transformation coefficient of said plurality of transformation coefficients.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said first component comprises a quantized value of said transformation coefficient, and wherein said second component comprises a quantization-error value corresponding to said quantized value.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said fine constellation symbol comprises a complex number, and wherein one of real and imaginary portions of said complex number represents said second component, and another of said real and imaginary portions represents a component of another transformation coefficient.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the component of the other transformation coefficient comprises a quantization error value corresponding to the other transformation coefficient.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said transmission comprises another coarse constellation symbol representing a quantized value of the other transformation coefficient.

7. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said transmission comprises another fine constellation symbol including a complex number, and wherein one of real and imaginary portions of said complex number represents a first other transformation coefficient of said plurality of transformation coefficients, and another of said real and imaginary portions represents a second other transformation coefficient of said plurality of transformation coefficients.

8. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said plurality of transformation coefficients comprise a first plurality of transformation coefficients corresponding to a luminance component of said video signal, a second plurality of transformation coefficients corresponding to a first chrominance component of said video signal, and a third plurality of transformation coefficients corresponding to a second chrominance component of said video signal;

and

wherein a number of the transformation coefficients corresponding to said luminance component is larger than at least one of a number of the transformation coefficients corresponding to said first chrominance component and a number of the transformation coefficients corresponding to said second chrominance component.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the number of the transformation coefficients corresponding to said luminance component is at least three times larger than at least one of the number of the transformation coefficients corresponding to said first chrominance component and the number of the transformation coefficients corresponding to said second chrominance component.

10. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said transformation coefficient comprises a discrete-cosine transformation coefficient.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said discrete-cosine transformation coefficient comprises a low-frequency discrete-cosine transformation coefficient.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said at least one coarse constellation symbol comprises a plurality of coarse constellation symbols representing said first component.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said video signal comprises a high-definition-television video signal.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said high-definition-television video signal has a rate of at least 45 frames per second.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said high-definition-television video signal comprises an uncompressed high definition video signal having a data rate of more than 100 Megabit per second.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said coarse constellation symbol comprises a quadrature-amplitude-modulation constellation symbol.

17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said transmission comprises an orthogonal frequency division modulation transmission.

18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said transmitter comprises a plurality of antennas to transmit said transmission over a multiple-input-multiple-output link.

19. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said data value comprises a pixel data element of said video signal.

20. A video system comprising:

a video source to generate a video signal; and

a transmitter to generate a wireless transmission representing said video signal, said transmission comprising;

at least one coarse constellation symbol representing a first component of a data value characterizing a portion of said video signal, wherein said at least one coarse constellation symbol corresponds to a point of a conventional Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) constellation of points; and

at least one fine constellation symbol companded from a second component of said data value corresponding to a point of a QAM constellation of points, and wherein said first component is relatively more significant for rendering than said second component.

21. The video system of claim 20, wherein said wireless transmission represents a plurality of transformation coefficients corresponding to said video signal, and wherein said data value comprises a transformation coefficient of said plurality of transformation coefficients.

22. The video system of claim 21, wherein said first component comprises a quantized value of said transformation coefficient, and wherein said second component comprises a quantization-error value corresponding to said quantized value.

23. The video system of claim 21, wherein said fine constellation symbol comprises a complex number, and wherein one of real and imaginary portions of said complex number represents said second component, and another of said real and imaginary portions represents a component of another transformation coefficient.

24. The video system of claim 21, wherein said plurality of transformation coefficients comprise a first plurality of transformation coefficients corresponding to a luminance component of said video signal, a second plurality of transformation coefficients corresponding to a first chrominance component of said video signal, and a third plurality of transformation coefficients corresponding to a second chrominance component of said video signal;

and

wherein a number of the transformation coefficients corresponding to said luminance component is larger than at least one of a number of the transformation coefficients corresponding to said first chrominance component and a number of the transformation coefficients corresponding to said second chrominance component.

25. The video system of claim 20, wherein said at least one coarse constellation symbol comprises a plurality of coarse constellation symbols representing said first component.

26. The video system of claim 20, wherein said video signal comprises a high-definition-television video signal.

27. The video system of claim 20, comprising a receiver to receive said wireless transmission and to generate an output corresponding to said video signal.

28. A method comprising:

transmitting a wireless transmission via a transmitter corresponding to a video signal, said transmission comprising;

generating by the transmitter at least one coarse constellation symbol representing a first component of a data value characterizing a portion of said video signal, wherein said at least one coarse constellation symbol corresponds to a point from a conventional Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) constellation of points; and

companding at least one fine constellation symbol representing a second component of said data value corresponding to a point from QAM constellation of points, and wherein said first component is relatively more significant for rendering than said second component.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein said wireless transmission represents a plurality of transformation coefficients corresponding to said video signal, and wherein said data value comprises a transformation coefficient of said plurality of transformation coefficients.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein said first component comprises a quantized value of said transformation coefficient, and wherein said second component comprises a quantization-error value corresponding to said quantized value.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein said fine constellation symbol comprises a complex number, and wherein one of real and imaginary portions of said complex number represents said second component, and another of said real and imaginary portions represents a component of another transformation coefficient.

32. The method of claim 29, wherein said plurality of transformation coefficients comprise a first plurality of transformation coefficients corresponding to a luminance component of said video signal, a second plurality of transformation coefficients corresponding to a first chrominance component of said video signal, and a third plurality of transformation coefficients corresponding to a second chrominance component of said video signal;

and

wherein a number of the transformation coefficients corresponding to said luminance component is larger than at least one of a number of the transformation coefficients corresponding to said first chrominance component and a number of the transformation coefficients corresponding to said second chrominance component.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the number of the transformation coefficients corresponding to said luminance component is at least three times larger than at least one of the number of the transformation coefficients corresponding to said first chrominance component and the number of the transformation coefficients corresponding to said second chrominance component.

34. The method of claim 28, wherein said video signal comprises a high-definition-television video signal.