Virtual broadband receiver and method of receiving data

• US 8,649,402 B2
• Filed: 12/12/2010
• Issued: 02/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LiveU Ltd. (LiveU, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: LiveU Ltd. (LiveU, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ohayon, Rony Haim, Cohen, Avichai
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Brian D
• Application Number:
  US12/965,879
• Publication Number:
  US 20110115976A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,157 Days
• Field of Search: 370/537, 370/394, 370/412, 370/428, 370/235, 370/236
• US Class Current: 370/537
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0697 using spatial multiplexing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0041 Arrangements at the transmitter end
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0045 Arrangements at the receiver end
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0058 Block-coded modulation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0071 Use of interleaving interleaving per se H03M13/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2212/00 Encapsulation of packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/02 Details ; arrangements for supplying electrical power along data transmission lines systems for transmitting signals via power distribution lines H04B3/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/25 with rate being modified by the source upon detecting a change of network conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/9057 Arrangements for supporting packet reassembly or resequencing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/60 Network streaming of media packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/324 in the data link layer [OSI layer 2], e.g. HDLC
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2187 Live feed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2383 Channel coding or modulation of digital bit-stream, e.g. QPSK modulation arrangements for detecting or preventing errors in the information received by adapting the channel coding H04L1/0009; analogue front ends or means for connecting modulators, demodulators or transceivers to a transmission line H04L27/0002
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4382 Demodulation or channel decoding, e.g. QPSK demodulation analog front ends or means for connecting modulators, demodulators or transceivers to a transmission line H04L27/0002
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6131 involving transmission via a mobile phone network wireless downlink channel access H04W74/006
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6143 involving transmission via a satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6175 involving transmission via Internet broadcast-related systems characterised by the transmission system being the Internet H04H60/82
• 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 21/6375 for requesting retransmission , e.g. of data packets lost or corrupted during transmission from serverARQ protocols H04L1/18; implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP] H04L69/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/21 : in the uplink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/542 : using measured or perceived quality
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/15 : Setup of multiple wireless link connections

Abstract

A virtual broadband receiver includes a receiving unit to receive a multiplicity of media data streams and an assembly engine to assemble them. The receiving unit receives the data streams from a multiplicity of data connections, wherein each media data stream was transmitted along one of at least one wireless communication network accessible from a remote reporting location to one of the data connections. The assembly engine assembles the data streams into a single media stream forming a live media transmission from the remote reporting location.

Claims

1. A virtual broadband receiver comprising:

means to receive a multiplicity of video data streams from a multiplicity of data connections, wherein each video data stream was transmitted along one of at least one wireless communication network accessible from a remote reporting location to one of said data connections; and

an assembly engine to assemble said multiplicity of video data streams into a single video stream to form a live video transmission from said remote reporting location;

wherein said data streams comprise a series of data packets with serial numbers, and

wherein said data packets arrive in a generally non serial order;

wherein said assembly engine comprises a jitter buffer comprising storage spaces for said data Rickets to be inserted in logical order according said serial numbers;

wherein said jitter buffer comprises;

means to view a logical receiving window comprising an area of said jitter buffer associated with said data packets possessing generally recently issued said serial numbers;

means to view a logical retransmission window comprising an area of said jitter buffer associated with said data packets possessing less recently issued said serial numbers than those associated with said logical receiving window; and

means to view a logical output window comprising an area of said jitter buffer associated with said data packets possessing less recently issued said serial numbers than those associated with said logical receiving window.

2. The virtual broadband receiver according to claim 1 wherein said data connections comprise connections to at least one of the following types of network:

the Internet, a leased line network and a cellular network.

3. The virtual broadband receiver according to claim 1 and wherein said video data streams comprise at least one of video and audio data.

4. The virtual broadband receiver according to claim 1, and wherein said data packets also comprise Forward Error Correction (FEC) data.

5. The virtual broadband receiver according to claim 1, and wherein said assembly engine also comprises a Forward Error Correction (FEC) decoder to use FEC data to reconstruct improperly received data packets and to insert reconstructed data packets into said jitter buffer as per their associated said serial numbers.

6. The virtual broadband receiver according to claim 1 and wherein said assembly engine also comprises a retransmit requester to request retransmission of missing data packets whose associated said serial numbers are logically located in said logical retransmission window.

7. The virtual broadband receiver according to claim 1, and also comprising:

a back channel through which a retransmit request can be transmitted; and

a back channel manager to control operations of said back channel.

8. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 1, and also comprising a statistics collector to collect statistics from the operation of said jitter buffer.

9. The virtual broadband receiver according to claim 8 and wherein said statistics comprise time stamps and said serial numbers associated with at least one of the following:

said data packets, empty spaces, reconstructed data packets, and retransmission requests.

10. The virtual broadband receiver according to claim 1, and also comprising an output rate controller to regulate a rate at which said data packets are released from said logical output window.

11. The virtual broadband receiver according to claim 1 and also comprising a video decoder to decode video data included in said data packets.

12. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 1, wherein said virtual broadband receiver is associated with a virtual broadband connection having a combined upload capacity from a remote location that approximates an upload capacity of a single line of sight satellite connection.

13. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 1, wherein said multiplicity of video data streams are received via two or more different data connections selected from the group consisting of:

Internet connection, leased line connection, cellular network connection, Wi-Fi connection Wi-Max connection.

14. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 1, wherein said virtual broadband receiver is implemented as a mobile unit.

15. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 1, wherein said virtual broadband receiver receives data via a virtual broadband connection comprised of a multiplicity of channels.

16. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 15, wherein said multiplicity of channels are associated with one or more network operators.

17. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 15, wherein said multiplicity of channels are associated with one or more networks.

18. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 17, wherein said one or more networks comprise networks of different technologies.

19. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 1, wherein at least one of said logical receiving window, said logical retransmission window, and said logical output window is dynamically defined.

20. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 1, wherein said logical receiving window is dynamically defined using offsets from a most recent data packet to be output from said jitter buffer.

21. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 1, wherein at least one of said logical receiving window, said logical retransmission window, and said logical output window is a shifting logical window.

22. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 1, wherein said logical retransmission window defines a window of opportunity to request retransmission of missing data packets.

23. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 1, wherein said logical retransmission window utilizes a retransmit threshold which defines a point at which retransmit requests are no longer a viable option for a given data packet.

24. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 1, wherein said logical retransmission window is configurable.

25. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 1, wherein said jitter buffer further comprises an activation window to store missing data packets that are reconstructed using Forward Error Correction (FEC) codes of other data packets that arrived to said jitter buffer.

26. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 25, wherein a size of said activation window is a function of at least one of:

FEC percentages used, and an amount of time required to reconstruct a given data packet.

27. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 25, wherein a size of said activation window is reconfigured during operation.

28. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 25, wherein a size of said activation window is reconfigured during operation in order to compensate for error rates.

29. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 1, further comprising a Forward Error Correction (FEC) decoder.

30. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 1, further comprising a retransmit requester.

31. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 1, further comprising a Forward Error Correction (FEC) decoder and a retransmit requester;

wherein said FEC decoder and said retransmit requester simultaneously use said jitter buffer.

32. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 1, wherein the virtual broadband receiver shares wireless resources with a virtual broadband transmitting unit.

33. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 1, wherein the virtual broadband receiver is housed in a physical unit having a virtual broadband transmitting unit.

34. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 1, wherein the assembly engine forwards a serial packet stream to an output rate controller.

35. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 34, wherein the output rate controller regulates a rate at which said serial packet stream is released.

36. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 34, wherein the output rate controller regulates a rate at which said serial packet stream is released in order to maintain an appropriate broadcast rate.

37. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 34, wherein output of the output rate controller is forwarded to a packet decapsulator which removes at least one of:

packet numbering and packet timestamps.

38. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 1, further comprising a feedback manager which comprises at least one of:

statistics collector and a back channel manager.

39. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 38, wherein the statistics collector receives packet statistics from said jitter buffer.

40. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 1, wherein the virtual broadband receiver utilizes one or more back channels to pass performance data from the virtual broadband receiver to a traffic analyzer.

41. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 40, wherein said performance data comprises one or more of:

time stamps for arrival of data packets, missing packet numbers, numbers of data packets having errors, requests to retransmit data packets.

42. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 1, wherein said jitter buffer comprises bins;

wherein each received data packet is placed in an associated bin.

43. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 1, wherein a size of said logical retransmission window is reduced if a rate of missing packets is low.

44. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 1, wherein a size of said logical output window is reduced if said virtual broadband receiver receives data from a virtual broadband transmitter having fast modems.

45. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 1, wherein a size of said logical output window is reduced if turn-around time for retransmission is quick.

46. The virtual broadband receiver of claim 1, wherein a missing packet that arrives is placed in said logical output window even if a retransmit request was previously submitted from said logical retransmission window.

47. A method comprising:

receiving a multiplicity of video data streams from a multiplicity of data connections, wherein each video data stream was transmitted along one of at least one wireless communication network accessible from a remote reporting location to one of said data connections; and

assembling said multiplicity of video data streams into a single video stream forming a live video transmission from said remote reporting location;

wherein said data streams comprise a series of data packets with serial numbers, and wherein said data packets arrive in a generally non serial order;

wherein said assembling comprises using a jitter buffer comprising storage spaces for said data packets to be inserted in logical order according to said serial numbers;

wherein said jitter buffer comprises;

means to view a logical receiving window comprising an area of said jitter buffer associated with said data packets possessing generally recently issued said serial numbers;

means to view a logical retransmission window comprising an area of said jitter buffer associated with said data packets possessing less recently issued said serial numbers than those associated with said logical receiving window; and

means to view a logical output window comprising an area of said jitter buffer associated with said data packets possessing less recently issued said serial numbers than those associated with said logical receiving window.

48. The method according to claim 47, and also comprising sending retransmission requests for missing said data packets that are logically associated with said logical retransmission window.

49. The method according to claim 47, and also comprising:

tracking performance statistics for said assembling; and

transmitting said performance statistics to said remote reporting location.

50. The method according to claim 49 and wherein said performance statistics comprise performance details for modems used to upload said data packets from said remote reporting location.

51. The method according to claim 50 and wherein said performance details comprise at least one of the following:

missing said data packets, invalid said data packets, retransmission requests for said data packets, and length of transmission time for said data packets.

52. The method according to claim 49 and also comprising:

analyzing said performance statistics;

determining required changes to operational settings as per said analyzing; and

transmitting said required changes to said remote reporting location.

53. The method of claim 47, wherein said data packets further comprise Forward Error Correction (FEC) data.

54. The method of claim 47, wherein the assembling comprises:

using Forward Error Correction (FEC) data to reconstruct improperly received data packets and to insert reconstructed data packets into said jitter buffer as per their associated said serial numbers.

55. The method of claim 47, wherein the assembling comprises:

requesting retransmission of missing data packets whose associated said serial numbers are logically located in said logical retransmission window.

56. The method of claim 47, comprising:

transmitting a retransmission request through a back channel; and

controlling operations of said back channel.

57. The method of claim 47, comprising:

collecting statistics from the operation of said jitter buffer.

58. The method of claim 47, comprising:

regulating a rate at which said data packets are released from said logical output window.

59. The method of claim 47, comprising:

decoding video data included in said data packets.

60. The method of claim 47, wherein said multiplicity of video data streams are received via two or more different data connections selected from the group consisting of:

Internet connection, leased line connection, cellular network connection, Wi-Fi connection Wi-Max connection.

61. The method of claim 47, wherein said multiplicity of video data streams are received via a virtual broadband connection comprised of a multiplicity of channels.

62. The method of claim 61, wherein said multiplicity of channels are associated with one or more network operators.

63. The method of claim 61, wherein said multiplicity of channels are associated with one or more networks.

64. The method of claim 47, comprising:

dynamically defining at least one of said logical receiving window, said logical retransmission window, and said logical output window.

65. The method of claim 47, comprising:

utilizing by said logical retransmission window a retransmit threshold which defines a point at which retransmit requests are no longer a viable option for a given data packet.

66. The method of claim 47, wherein said logical retransmission window is configurable.

67. The method of claim 47, comprising:

storing in an activation window, comprised in said jitter buffer, missing data packets that are reconstructed using Forward Error Correction (FEC) codes of other data packets that arrived to said jitter buffer.

68. The method of claim 67, comprising:

reconfiguring a size of said activation window during operation.

69. The method of claim 47, further comprising:

utilizing a Forward Error Correction (FEC) decoder to decode FEC data.

70. The method of claim 47, further comprising:

transmitting a retransmit requester.

71. The method of claim 47, wherein the method is implemented by utilizing a virtual broadband receiver which shares wireless resources with a virtual broadband transmitting unit.

72. The method of claim 47, wherein assembling comprises:

forwarding a serial packet stream to an output rate controller.

73. The method of claim 72, comprising:

regulating a rate at which said serial packet stream is released.

74. The method of claim 72, comprising:

forwarding output of the output rate controller to a packet decapsulator, which removes at least one of;

packet numbering and packet timestamps.

75. The method of claim 47, further comprising:

utilizing a feedback manager which comprises at least one of;

statistics collector and a back channel manager.

76. The method of claim 47, comprising:

utilizing one or more back channels to pass performance data to a traffic analyzer.

77. The method of claim 76, wherein said performance data comprises one or more of:

time stamps for arrival of data packets, missing packet numbers, numbers of data packets having errors, requests to retransmit data packets.

78. The method of claim 47, comprising:

reducing a size of said logical retransmission window if a rate of missing packets is low.

79. The method of claim 47, comprising:

reducing a size of said logical output window if data is received from a virtual broadband transmitter having fast modems.

80. The method of claim 47, comprising:

reducing a size of said logical output window if turn-around time for retransmission is quick.

81. The method of claim 47, comprising:

placing a missing packet that arrives, into said logical output window, even if a retransmit request was previously submitted from said logical retransmission window.