Selectively mixing media during a group communication session within a wireless communications system

• US 9,088,630 B2
• Filed: 07/08/2010
• Issued: 07/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Gupta, Abhishek, Santhanam, Arvind V., Kamath, Vidyadhar, Verma, Rajan
• Primary Examiner(s): MIAH, RAZU A
• Application Number:
  US12/832,779
• Publication Number:
  US 20110167104A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,839 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1089 by adding media; by removing media
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4061 Push-to services, e.g. push-to-talk or push-to-video
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/765 intermediate
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS

Abstract

Embodiments are directed selectively mixing media at an application server arbitrating a group communication session for a communication group. In an embodiment, the application server receives media, from one or more session participants of the group communication session, for transmission to the communication group. The application server determines a number of session participants that are providing the received media. The application server determines whether to bypass the received media from entry into a de-jitter buffer based at least in part on the determined number, wherein the de-jitter buffer is configured to queue media from session participants for mixing by the application server during the group communication session. For example, the application server can determine to bypass the received media from entry into the de-jitter buffer if the number is below a threshold number. The application server transmits the received media to the communication group.

Claims

1. A method of selectively mixing media at an application server arbitrating a group communication session for a communication group, comprising:

receiving media for a timeslot from a plurality of session participants sharing a floor of the group communication session for transmission to the communication group;

determining a number of session participants that are providing non-silence media;

determining whether to bypass the received media from entry into a de-jitter buffer based at least in part on whether the determined number exceeds a threshold number during a predefined number of consecutive timeslots, wherein the de-jitter buffer is configured to queue media from session participants for mixing by the application server during the group communication session;

bypassing the received media from entry into the de-jitter buffer in response to determining the determined number does not exceed the threshold number during the predefined number of consecutive timeslots; and

transmitting at least a portion of the received media to the communication group without mixing the at least a portion of the received media.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the threshold number is 1, and bypassing the received media from entry into the de-jitter buffer comprises sending the non-silence media to a mixer for re-formatting.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the predefined number of consecutive timeslots corresponds to more than one timeslot.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

adding the received media into the de-jitter buffer in response to determining the determined number exceeds the threshold number during the predefined number of consecutive timeslots;

removing one or more frames of the received media from the de-jitter buffer; and

mixing the one or more frames; and

transmitting the mixed one or more frames to the communication group.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

formatting the portion of the received media that is to be transmitted to generate a formatted version of the received media, the formatted version of the received media conforming with an output stream transmitted by the application server to the communication group during the group communication session,

wherein transmitting the at least a portion of the received media comprises transmitting the formatted version of the received media to the communication group.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein formatting comprises modifying a header-portion of the portion of the received media that is to be transmitted to conform with a header-portion associated with the output stream.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the at least a portion of the received media comprises transmitting the at least a portion of the received media to each active session participant of the communication group except a respective session participant from which the received media is provided.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transitioning between (i) adding media associated with the group communication session to the de-jitter buffer and (ii) bypassing media associated with the group communication session from entry into the de-jitter buffer, based upon a change to the number of session participants that are providing the non-silence media during the group communication session.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the change corresponds to a decrease in the number of session participants providing the non-silence media, and transitioning comprises transitioning from (i) to (ii).

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the change corresponds to an increase in the number of session participants providing the non-silence media, and transitioning comprises transitioning from (ii) to (i).

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

removing queued media that is currently within the de-jitter buffer; and

transmitting the queued media to the communication group without mixing.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the group communication session corresponds to a half-duplex communication session, a full-duplex communication session or a hybrid-duplex communication session that can have different numbers of floor-holders during the group communication session.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the received media corresponds to one or more media frames that contain voice-media from the plurality of session participants.

14. An application server configured to arbitrate a group communication session for a communication group and to selectively mix media associated with the group communication session, comprising:

one or more processors coupled to at least one memory, configured to;

receiving media for a timeslot from a plurality of session participants sharing a floor of the group communication session for transmission to the communication group;

determining a number of session participants that are providing non-silence media;

determining whether to bypass the received media from entry into a de-jitter buffer based at least in part on whether the determined number exceeds a threshold number during a predefined number of consecutive timeslots, wherein the de-jitter buffer is configured to queue media from session participants for mixing by the application server during the group communication session;

bypassing the received media from entry into the de-jitter buffer in response to determining the determined number does not exceed the threshold number during the predefined number of consecutive timeslots; and

transmitting at least a portion of the received media to the communication group without mixing the at least a portion of the received media.

15. A system configured to arbitrate a group communication session for a communication group and to selectively mix media associated with the group communication session, comprising:

a distributed network of servers comprising;

at least one media control complex (MCC) comprising a controller connected to a de-jitter buffer and a mixer; and

at least one regional dispatcher,

wherein each controller comprises a processor configured with processor-executable instructions to perform processes comprising;

receiving media for a timeslot from a plurality of session participants of the group communication session for transmission to the communication group;

determining a number of session participants that are providing non-silence media;

determining whether to bypass the received media from entry into the de-jitter buffer based at least in part on whether the determined number exceeds a threshold number during a predefined number of consecutive timeslots, wherein the de-jitter buffer is configured to queue media from session participants for mixing during the group communication session;

bypassing the received media from entry into the de-jitter buffer in response to determining the determined number does not exceed the threshold number during the predefined number of consecutive timeslots; and

transmitting at least a portion of the received media to the communication group without mixing the at least a portion of the received media.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by an application server configured to arbitrate a group communication session for a communication group and to selectively mix media associated with the group communication session, cause the application server to perform operations comprising:

receiving media for a timeslot from a plurality of session participants sharing a floor of the group communication session, for transmission to the communication group;

determining a number of session participants that are providing non-silence media;

determining whether to bypass the received media from entry into a de-jitter buffer based at least in part on whether the determined number exceeds a threshold number during a predefined number of consecutive timeslots, wherein the de-jitter buffer is configured to queue media from session participants for mixing by the application server during the group communication session;

bypassing the received media from entry into the de-jitter buffer in response to determining the determined number does not exceed the threshold number during the predefined number of consecutive timeslots; and

transmitting at least a portion of the received media to the communication group without mixing the at least a portion of the received media.