Apparatus and method for effectively implementing a wireless television system

• US 9,584,757 B2
• Filed: 07/29/2011
• Issued: 02/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sling Media LLC (Dish Network Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sling Media Incorporated (Dish Network Corporation)
• Inventors: Margulis, Neal
• Primary Examiner(s): Hance, Robert
• Application Number:
  US13/194,834
• Publication Number:
  US 20120030718A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,041 Days
• Field of Search: 725 80- 82
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2812 describing content present in a home automation network, e.g. audio video content retrieval from the Internet G06F16/95
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2829 involving user profiles according to which the execution of a home appliance functionality is automatically triggered
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2838 Distribution of signals within a home automation network, e.g. involving splitting/multiplexing signals to/from different paths adaptations of television systems for transmission by electric cable for domestic distribution H04N7/106; hybrid transport H04L12/6418; home network arrangements specially adapted for distribution of digital video signals H04N7/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2841 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234309 by transcoding between formats or standards, e.g. from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 or from Quicktime to Realvideo conversion of standards in analog television systems H04N7/01
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4122 additional display device, e.g. video projector digital output for controlling a plurality of local displays G06F3/1423
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43637 involving a wireless protocol, e.g. Bluetooth, RF or wireless LAN [IEEE 802.11] arrangements for wireless networking or broadcasting of information in indoor or near-field type systems H04B10/114
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4402 involving reformatting operations of video signals for household redistribution, storage or real-time display details of conversion of video standards at pixel level H04N7/01; video transcoding H04N19/40; adapting incoming signals to the display format of the display terminal G09G5/005; media handling at the source in data packet switching networks H04L65/764
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440218 by transcoding between formats or standards, e.g. from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 conversion of standards in analogue television systems H04N7/01
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/38 Transmitter circuitry for the transmission of television signals according to analogue transmission standards H04N5/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/106 for domestic distribution

Abstract

An apparatus and method for effectively implementing a wireless television system may include a communications processor and a transmitter device that combine at least one of a local-area network interface, a wide-area network interface, and one or more television data interfaces for effectively performing a wireless network transmission process. A transmitted stream from the wireless television system may be received via wireless network processing for viewing local-area network data, wide-area network data (such as Internet data), or television data by flexibly utilizing various electronic devices such as a notepad personal computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or a handheld TV remote control device.

Claims

1. A system to provide television programming to a remotely-located display system via a local area network, the system comprising:

a television receiver to receive and decode the television programming and to generate program information that represents the received and decoded television programming in a digital high definition television format that is suitable for display on a television;

a base station configured to receive the program information in the digital high definition television format that is suitable for presentation on a television and to perform a network processing procedure in which the television programming is transcoded from the digital high definition television format that is suitable for display on a television to produce an output stream of data packets for transmission on the local area network, wherein the output stream of data packets represents the television programming as a packetized video stream that has a different bit rate that is lower than a bit rate of the digital high definition television format suitable for display on the television; and

a network interface configured to transmit the output stream of data packets over the network to the remotely-located display system.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the base station is configured to receive control information from the remotely-located display system via the network interface, and wherein the base station is configured to control the program information provided by the television receiver based on the control information.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the base station is configured to receive control information from the remotely-located display system via the network interface, and wherein the base station is configured to select a different program source other than the television receiver for providing program information in the digital television format responsive to receiving the control information.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the network interface is configured to transmit the output stream of data packets over a wired connection to a wireless transmitter, and the wireless transmitter is configured to transmit the output stream of data packets to the remotely-located display system at least in part over a wireless network.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the network processing procedure formats the output stream in accordance with a type of bus arbitration that is compatible with the local area network.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the local area network comprises a packet-switched network and wherein the network processing procedure formats the output stream for transmission over the packet-switched network.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the network processing procedure depends upon a type of bus arbitration required for the network interface.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the digital high definition television format that is suitable for display on a television is a high bandwidth format, and wherein the network processing procedure comprises down converting the bit rate of the high bandwidth format.

9. A system for implementing a television system, the system comprising:

a television receiver configured to receive and decode television programming and to generate program information, and to provide the program information in a digital high definition television format that is suitable for display on a television; and

a base station coupled to the television receiver, the base station comprising a processor configured to receive, from the television receiver, and responsively process the program information in the digital high definition television format that is suitable for television to provide an output stream of data packets in which the program information is transcoded from the digital high definition television format that is suitable for viewing on a television to a packetized format that is compatible with transmission on a local area network, wherein the packetized format represents the program information as a video stream that has a lower bit rate than the high definition digital television format suitable for display on the television, the base station further comprising a network interface to transmit the output stream of data packets over the local area network to a remotely-located display device for playback of the program information on the display device.

10. The system of claim 9 further comprising a wireless transmitter configured to receive the output stream of data packets from the base station and to propagate the output stream of data packets over a wireless network to the remotely-located display device.

11. The system of claim 9 wherein the base station performs a network processing procedure on the program information received in the high definition digital television format to create the output stream of data packets in the packetized format that is compatible with transmission on the local area network.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the network processing procedure formats the output stream of data packets using a type of bus arbitration used by the network interface.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the base station is configured to receive control information from the remotely-located display system via the network interface, and wherein the base station is configured to control the program information provided by the program source based on the control information.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the base station is configured to receive control information from the remotely-located display system via the network interface, and wherein the base station is configured to select a different program source other than the television receiver for providing program information responsive to receiving the control information.

15. A method executable by a base station to provide television programming over a local area network, the method comprising:

receiving the television programming at the base station from a television receiver in a digital high definition television format that is suitable for viewing on a television, wherein the television programming is received and decoded by the television receiver prior to transmission to the base station;

processing the received television programming by the base station to transcode the television programming from the digital high definition television format that is suitable for display on a television to an output stream of data packets for transmission on a network, wherein the output stream encodes the television programming received from the television receiver in a packetized format that is compatible with the local area network and wherein the packetized format represents the television programming as a video stream that has a lower bit rate than the digital high definition television format suitable for display on the television; and

transmitting the output stream containing the television programming in the packetized format to a remotely-located display system for playback of the program information by the remotely-located display system, wherein the output stream is transmitted in the packetized format via the local area network.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the processing depends upon a type of bus arbitration required by the local area network.

17. The method of claim 15 further comprising receiving control information from the remotely-located display system via the local area network, and controlling the program information provided by the television receiver based on the control information.

18. The method of claim 15 further comprising receiving control information from the remotely-located display system via the local area network, and selecting a different program source other than the television receiver for providing program information responsive to receiving the control information.

19. The method of claim 15 wherein the processing formats the packetized format in accordance with a type of bus arbitration used by the local area network.

20. The method of claim 15 wherein the output stream in the packetized format is transmitted in accordance with a type of bus arbitration used by the local area network.