UPSTREAM SIGNAL PROCESSING FOR CLIENT DEVICES IN A SMALL-CELL WIRELESS NETWORK

• US 20110169721A1
• Filed: 03/17/2011
• Published: 07/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation (Dolby Laboratories Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation (Dolby Laboratories Incorporated)
• Inventors: Bauer, Claus, Robinson, Charles Q., Crockett, Brett G.
• Granted Patent: US 9,300,714 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/84
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/0208 Noise filtering
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/756 adapting media to device capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/765 intermediate
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/214 Specialised server platform, e.g. server located in an airplane, hotel, hospital arrangements specially adapted for local area broadcast systems H04H20/61

Abstract

Methods, apparatuses and program logic in storage media to process media data for quality enhancement. The media data is for rendering at a wireless device. Environmental quantities are accepted from one or more sensors located remote from the wireless device but sufficiently close to be indicative of similar quantities in the device'"'"'s environment. The sensors at in or connected to a network node. At the network node, the method includes processing the media data using the environmental quantities to generate processed data, and wirelessly sending the processed output to the resource constrained device for rendering, such that the processed output is usable by the resource constrained device to render or to process and render the media data.

Claims

1. A method of processing media data including audio data and/or video data for quality enhancement processing using processing hardware, the media data for rendering by a battery operated and/or computational-power-limited wireless media rendering device in a wireless network, the method comprising:

receiving the media data at a network node;

accepting at the network node to which the media rendering device is wirelessly coupled one or more sensed environmental quantities determined from one or more sensors located in the vicinity of but not in or on the media rendering device, the environmental quantities related to the environment of the media rendering device;

data processing the media data at the network node using the environmental quantities to generate processed data; and

wirelessly sending the processed data to the media rendering device for rendering,

wherein;

for any audio data included in the media data, the one or more environmental quantities include at least one quantity indicative of an acoustic profile of noise in the environment, and the data processing includes noise compensation, and/or

for any video data included in the media data that is streamed to the media rendering device, the one or more environmental quantities include one or more parameters indicative of lighting in the environment, wherein the media rendering device includes a flat panel display device that has location dependent backlighting elements each modulated according to image dependent modulation data sent to the media rendering device with the video data, wherein the quality enhancement includes modifying the contrast and/or brightness of the video data, and the data processing at the network node includes generating the image dependent modulation data according to at least one of the one or more parameters indicative of lighting.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the network node includes a base station of the wireless network.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the processed output includes processed media data for rendering by the media rendering device.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein some media data processing occurs at the media rendering device, and wherein the processed output includes helper data for use by the media rendering device for the media data processing at the media rendering device.

5. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the media data includes one or more of:

media data streamed to the media rendering device, or

media data interactively streamed across the wireless network to the media rendering device as part of two-way communication involving the media rendering device.

6. A method as recited in claim 5,

wherein the media data includes audio data,

wherein the one or more environmental quantities include at least one quantity indicative of an acoustic profile of noise in the environment, and

wherein the quality enhancement processing includes noise compensation.

7. A method as recited in claim 5,

wherein the media data includes audio data,

wherein the one or more environmental quantities include at least one quantity indicative of an acoustic profile of noise in the environment, including a spectral estimate of the noise,

wherein the quality enhancement processing of the media data includes noise compensation, the noise compensation comprising:

generating modification parameters from the audio data using one or more loudness level parameters and the one or more parameters of the acoustic noise profile, wherein the modification parameters are generated by carrying out operations on information in a perceptual loudness domain, and

modifying the audio data based upon the modification parameters to generate processed audio data, and

wherein the one or more loudness level parameters include;

one or more of whether audio noise compensation is turned on, a reference level for the media rendering device, a desired reproduction level, and/or a noise compensation amount.

8. A method as recited in claim 7, wherein the quality enhancement processing of the media data includes one or more of automatic gain control, dynamic range compression, and/or equalization applied to the audio data.

9. A method as recited in claim 5,

wherein the media data includes media data streamed to the media rendering device,

wherein the media data includes video data,

wherein the one or more environmental quantities include one or more parameters indicative of lighting in the environment, and

wherein the quality enhancement processing includes modifying the contrast and/or brightness of the video data according to at least one of the one or more parameters indicative of lighting.

10. A method as recited in claim 5,

wherein the media data includes media data streamed to the media rendering device,

wherein the media data includes video data,

wherein the one or more environmental quantities include at least one parameter indicative of lighting in the environment, and

wherein the media rendering device includes a flat panel display device that has location dependent backlighting elements each modulated according to image dependent modulation data sent to the media rendering device with the video data,

wherein the quality enhancement processing includes modifying the contrast and/or brightness of the video data, and

wherein the data processing at the network node includes generating the image dependent modulation data according to at least one of the one or more parameters.

11. A system for carrying out at least part of quality enhancement processing of media data including at least one or of audio data and video data, the system comprising:

a network node wirelessly connected to a battery operated and/or computational-power-limited wireless media rendering device in a wireless network,

one or more sensors located in the vicinity of but not in or on the media rendering device, the sensors connected to or in the network node, the sensors determining one or more environmental quantities related to the environment of the media rendering device;

processing hardware connected to or in the network node, and in operation receiving the media data, accepting the one or more environmental quantities, data processing the media data to achieve quality enhancement using at least some of the accepted environmental quantities to generate processed output, and wirelessly sending the processed output to the media rendering device for rendering by the media rendering device,

wherein;

for any audio data included in the media data, the one or more environmental quantities include at least one quantity indicative of an acoustic profile of noise in the environment, and the data processing includes noise compensation, and/or

for any video data included in the media data that is streamed to the media rendering device, the one or more environmental quantities include one or more parameters indicative of lighting in the environment, wherein the media rendering device includes a flat panel display device that has location dependent backlighting elements each modulated according to image dependent modulation data sent to the media rendering device with the video data, wherein the quality enhancement processing includes modifying the contrast and/or brightness of the video data, and the data processing at the network node includes generating the image dependent modulation data according to at least one of the one or more parameters indicative of lighting.

12. A system as recited in claim 11, wherein the network node includes a base station of the wireless network.

13. A system as recited in claim 11, wherein the processed output includes processed media data for rendering by the media rendering device.

14. A system as recited in claim 11, wherein some media data processing occurs at the media rendering device, and wherein the processed output includes helper data for use by the media rendering device for the media data processing at the media rendering device.

15. A system as recited in claim 11, wherein the media data includes one or more of:

media data streamed to the media rendering device, or

media data interactively streamed across the wireless network to the media rendering device as part of two-way communication involving the media rendering device.

16. A system as recited in claim 15,

wherein the media data includes audio data,

wherein the one or more environmental quantities include at least one quantity indicative of an acoustic profile of noise in the environment, and

wherein the quality enhancement processing includes noise compensation.

17. A system as recited in claim 16,

wherein the media data includes audio data,

wherein the one or more environmental quantities include at least one quantity indicative of an acoustic profile of noise in the environment, including a spectral estimate of the noise,

wherein the quality enhancement processing of the media data includes noise compensation, the noise compensation comprising:

generating modification parameters from the audio data using one or more loudness level parameters and the one or more parameters of the acoustic noise profile, wherein the modification parameters are generated by carrying out operations on information in a perceptual loudness domain, and

modifying the audio data based upon the modification parameters to generate processed audio data, and

wherein the one or more loudness level parameters include;

one or more of whether audio noise compensation is turned on, a reference level for the media rendering device, a desired reproduction level, and/or a noise compensation amount.

18. A system as recited in claim 17, wherein the quality enhancement processing of the media data includes one or more of automatic gain control, dynamic range compression, and/or equalization applied to the audio data.

19. A system as recited in claim 15,

wherein the media data includes media data streamed to the media rendering device,

wherein the media data includes video data,

wherein the one or more environmental quantities include one or more parameters indicative of lighting in the environment, and

wherein the quality enhancement processing includes modifying the contrast and/or brightness of the video data according to at least one of the one or more parameters indicative of lighting.

20. A system as recited in claim 15,

wherein the media data includes media data streamed to the media rendering device,

wherein the media data includes video data,

wherein the one or more environmental quantities include at least one parameter indicative of lighting in the environment, and

wherein the media rendering device includes a flat panel display device that has location dependent backlighting elements each modulated according to image dependent modulation data sent to the media rendering device with the video data,

wherein the quality enhancement processing includes modifying the contrast and/or brightness of the video data, and

wherein the data processing at the network node includes generating the image dependent modulation data according to at least one of the one or more parameters.

21. A tangible computer-readable storage medium configured with instructions that that when executed by one or more processors of a processing system cause carrying out of a method of processing media data including audio data and/or video data for quality enhancement processing, the media data for rendering by a battery operated and/or computational-power-limited wireless media rendering device in a wireless network, the method comprising:

receiving the media data at a network node;

accepting at the network node to which the media rendering device is wirelessly coupled one or more sensed environmental quantities determined from one or more sensors located in the vicinity of but not in or on the media rendering device, the environmental quantities related to the environment of the media rendering device;

data processing the media data at the network node using the environmental quantities to generate processed data; and

wirelessly sending the processed data to the media rendering device for rendering,

wherein;

for any audio data included in the media data, the one or more environmental quantities include at least one quantity indicative of an acoustic profile of noise in the environment, and the data processing includes noise compensation, and/or

for any video data included in the media data that is streamed to the media rendering device, the one or more environmental quantities include one or more parameters indicative of lighting in the environment, wherein the media rendering device includes a flat panel display device that has location dependent backlighting elements each modulated according to image dependent modulation data sent to the media rendering device with the video data, wherein the quality enhancement includes modifying the contrast and/or brightness of the video data, and the data processing at the network node includes generating the image dependent modulation data according to at least one of the one or more parameters indicative of lighting.

22. A tangible computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 21, wherein the network node includes a base station of the wireless network.

23. A tangible computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 21, wherein the processed output includes processed media data for rendering by the media rendering device.

24. A tangible computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 21, wherein some media data processing occurs at the media rendering device, and wherein the processed output includes helper data for use by the media rendering device for the media data processing at the media rendering device.

25. A tangible computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 21, wherein the media data includes one or more of:

media data streamed to the media rendering device, or

media data interactively streamed across the wireless network to the media rendering device as part of two-way communication involving the media rendering device.

26. A tangible computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 25,

wherein the media data includes audio data,

wherein the one or more environmental quantities include at least one quantity indicative of an acoustic profile of noise in the environment, and

wherein the quality enhancement processing includes noise compensation.

27. A tangible computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 25,

wherein the media data includes audio data,

wherein the one or more environmental quantities include at least one quantity indicative of an acoustic profile of noise in the environment, including a spectral estimate of the noise,

wherein the quality enhancement processing of the media data includes noise compensation, the noise compensation comprising:

generating modification parameters from the audio data using one or more loudness level parameters and the one or more parameters of the acoustic noise profile, wherein the modification parameters are generated by carrying out operations on information in a perceptual loudness domain, and

modifying the audio data based upon the modification parameters to generate processed audio data, and

wherein the one or more loudness level parameters include;

one or more of whether audio noise compensation is turned on, a reference level for the media rendering device, a desired reproduction level, and/or a noise compensation amount.

28. A tangible computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 27, wherein the quality enhancement processing of the media data includes one or more of automatic gain control, dynamic range compression, and/or equalization applied to the audio data.

29. A tangible computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 25,

wherein the media data includes media data streamed to the media rendering device,

wherein the media data includes video data,

wherein the one or more environmental quantities include one or more parameters indicative of lighting in the environment, and

wherein the quality enhancement processing includes modifying the contrast and/or brightness of the video data according to at least one of the one or more parameters indicative of lighting.

30. A tangible computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 25,

wherein the media data includes media data streamed to the media rendering device,

wherein the media data includes video data,

wherein the one or more environmental quantities include at least one parameter indicative of lighting in the environment, and

wherein the media rendering device includes a flat panel display device that has location dependent backlighting elements each modulated according to image dependent modulation data sent to the media rendering device with the video data,

wherein the quality enhancement processing includes modifying the contrast and/or brightness of the video data, and

wherein the data processing at the network node includes generating the image dependent modulation data according to at least one of the one or more parameters.