Techniques for improved multicast content delivery

• US 9,565,672 B2
• Filed: 01/26/2015
• Issued: 02/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Oyman, Ozgur
• Primary Examiner(s): Lai, Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): Andrews, Hoyet H
• Application Number:
  US14/605,742
• Publication Number:
  US 20150134787A1
• Time in Patent Office: 743 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/69 Spread spectrum techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/024 Co-operative use of antennas of several sites, e.g. in co-ordinated multipoint or co-operative multiple-input multiple-output [MIMO] systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0413 MIMO systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0456 Selection of precoding matrices or codebooks, e.g. using matrices antenna weighting
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0617 for beam forming
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0623 Auxiliary parameters, e.g. power control [PCB] or not acknowledged commands [NACK], used as feedback information
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0626 Channel coefficients, e.g. channel state information [CSI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0639 Using selective indices, e.g. of a codebook, e.g. pre-distortion matrix index [PMI] or for beam selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0026 Transmission of channel quality indication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0027 Scheduling of signalling, e.g. occurrence thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0031 Multiple signaling transmission H04L1/1664, F15 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1864 ARQ related signaling H04L1/1607 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1887 Scheduling and prioritising arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1896 ARQ related signaling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/189 in combination with wireless systems selective distribution or broadcast in wireless communication networks H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/2607 Cyclic extensions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0035 Resource allocation in a cooperative multipoint environment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0048 Allocation of pilot signals, i.e. of signals known to the receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/005 of common pilots, i.e. pilots destined for multiple users or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0053 Allocation of signaling, i.e. of overhead other than pilot signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/1469 : using time-sharing
• 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 65/65 : Network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0094 : Definition of hand-off measurement parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/04 : Reselecting a cell layer in multi-layered cells
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 : User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 : Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 : Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0216 : using a pre-established activity schedule, e.g. traffic indication frame
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/04 : Wireless resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/044 : based on the type of the allocated resource
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/20 : Control channels or signalling for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 : in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/53 : based on regulatory allocation policies
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/541 : using the level of interference
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/542 : using measured or perceived quality
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/27 : Transitions between radio resource control [RRC] states
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/28 : Discontinuous transmission [DTX]; Discontinuous reception [DRX]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 : in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Techniques for improved multicast content delivery are described. In some embodiments, for example, an apparatus includes a processor circuit, a communication component operative by the processor circuit to receive a data transmission containing a description segment and a correspondence segment, a correspondence processing component operative by the processor circuit to determine a plurality of multicast content streams representing different versions of a media content based on the correspondence segment, and a selection component operative by the processor circuit to select and receive one or more of the plurality of multicast content streams based on characteristics identified in the description segment. In various such embodiments, the apparatus includes an adaptation component operative by the processor circuit to adaptively switch across the plurality of multicast content streams for reception and processing based on characteristics identified in the description segment. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Claims

1. User Equipment (UE), comprising:

a radio frequency (RF) receiver arranged to receive a multicast transmission comprising a user service description (USD) of a multimedia broadcast/multicast service (MBMS) protocol, the multicast transmission to comprise a description section and a correspondence section; and

a processor circuit arranged to identify a multicast content stream bundle comprising multicast content streams based on the correspondence section, each of the plurality of multicast content streams corresponding to one of a plurality of content versions, and select one of the multicast content streams to process based on characteristics identified in the description section and on a channel quality measurement for a channel over which the selected multicast content stream is to be received.

2. The UE of claim 1, the processor circuit to render and playback media content from one of the multicast content streams.

3. The UE of claim 1, the processor circuit to adaptively switch across a set of multicast content streams to receive and process one of the multicast content streams based on characteristics identified in the description section.

4. The UE of claim 1, each of the multicast content streams to comprise a multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS).

5. The UE of claim 4, the multicast content stream bundle comprising an MBMS service bundle.

6. The UE of claim 1, comprising a dynamic adaptive streaming over hypertext transfer protocol (DASH) client.

7. The UE of claim 1, the multicast transmission comprising a user services description (USD) transmission to represent the correspondence section.

8. The UE of claim 7, the description section comprising a media presentation description (MPD) metadata file within the USD transmission.

9. The UE of claim 1, the RF receiver arranged to receive one of the multicast content streams from a multicast content source device.

10. User Equipment (UE), comprising:

a radio arranged to receive a multicast transmission comprising a description section and a correspondence section; and

a processor circuit arranged to identify a multicast content stream bundle comprising multicast content streams based on the correspondence section, each of the multicast content streams corresponding to one of a plurality of content versions communicated via a multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), and select one of the multicast content streams to process based on characteristics identified in the description section and on a channel quality measurement for a channel over which the selected multicast content stream is to be received.

11. The UE of claim 10, the radio to establish one or more file delivery over unidirectional transport (FLUTE) sessions, each of the plurality of FLUTE sessions corresponding to one of the multicast content streams, and the correspondence section to comprise information identifying, for each multicast content stream and corresponding MBMS service, a corresponding FLUTE session.

12. The UE of claim 11, the processor circuit to determine a FLUTE session corresponding to a MBMS service comprising the selected multicast content stream.

13. The UE of claim 12, the communication component to receive the selected multicast content stream in the MBMS service corresponding to the determined FLUTE session.

14. The UE of claim 10, the processor circuit to select the multicast content stream based on a format or underlying bitrate of a content version to which the multicast content stream corresponds, or based on an effective bitrate associated with transmission of the multicast content stream.

15. The UE of claim 10, each multicast content stream and MBMS service to correspond to a layer in a scalable video coding (SVC) bitstream.

16. The UE of claim 10, each multicast content stream and MBMS service to correspond to a view in a multi-view video coding (MVC) bitstream.

17. User Equipment (UE), comprising:

a radio interface to receive a wireless data transmission comprising a description section and a correspondence section; and

circuitry to identify one or more multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS) content streams based on the correspondence section, each of the MBMS content streams corresponding to one of multiple content versions, and select at least one of the MBMS content streams to process based on the description section and on a channel quality measurement for a channel over which the at least one selected MBMS content stream is to be received.

18. The UE of claim 17, the circuitry to select the at least one of the MBMS content streams based on a format or underlying bitrate of a content version to which the at least one of the MBMS content streams corresponds, or based on an effective bitrate associated with transmission of the at least one of the MBMS content streams.

19. The UE of claim 17, the circuitry to adaptively switch across the MBMS content streams to receive and process based on characteristics identified in the description section.

20. The UE of claim 17, the radio interface to establish multiple file delivery over unidirectional transport (FLUTE) sessions, each of the FLUTE sessions corresponding to one of the MBMS content streams, the correspondence section comprising information identifying, for each of the MBMS content streams, a corresponding one of the FLUTE sessions.

21. The UE of claim 17, the radio interface to receive the selected at least one MBMS content stream in one or more MBMS services corresponding to the determined FLUTE sessions.

22. The UE of claim 17, the MBMS content streams comprised within an MBMS service bundle.

23. The UE of claim 17, the description section comprising a media presentation description (MPD) file within a user services description (USD) transmission.

24. The UE of claim 17, comprising a dynamic adaptive streaming over hypertext transfer protocol (DASH) client.

25. The UE of claim 17, each of the MBMS content streams corresponding to a layer in a scalable video coding (SVC) bitstream or a view in a multi-view video coding (MVC) bitstream.