System and method of detecting potential video traffic interference

• US 8,151,311 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2007
• Issued: 04/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Huffman, James, Medina, Douglas, Kaufman, Darren
• Primary Examiner(s): Kincaid, Kristine
• Assistant Examiner(s): PARRY, CHRISTOPHER L
• Application Number:
  US11/948,694
• Publication Number:
  US 20090144791A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,586 Days
• Field of Search: 725/107, 725/124, 725/125
• US Class Current: 725/107
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/12 Arrangements for observation, testing or troubleshooting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/226 Characteristics of the server or Internal components of the server
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/24 Monitoring of processes or resources, e.g. monitoring of server load, available bandwidth, upstream requests monitoring of server performance or load G06F11/34; arrangements for observation, testing or troubleshooting for broadcast or for distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2402 Monitoring of the downstream path of the transmission network, e.g. bandwidth available traffic monitoring in data switching networks H04L43/00; monitoring data switching networks utilization H04L43/0876
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/61 Network physical structure; Signal processing H04B takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6112 involving terrestrial transmission, e.g. DVB-T
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6338 directed to network

Abstract

A method of detecting potential video traffic interference at a video head-end of a video distribution network is disclosed and includes detecting, at a video head-end, a signal populating an ultra high frequency (UHF) white space frequency. The method also includes determining that a strength of the signal is equal to or greater than a threshold signal strength. Further, the method includes sending an alert from the video head-end to a network management system. The alert indicates that the UHF white space frequency is populated by a signal having a potential to interfere with video traffic delivered via the video head-end.

Claims

1. A method of detecting potential video traffic interference at a video head-end of a video distribution network, the method comprising:

detecting, at a video head-end, a signal populating an ultra high frequency (UHF) white space frequency;

determining that a strength of the signal is equal to or greater than a threshold signal strength; and

sending an alert from the video head-end to a network management system, wherein the alert indicates that the UHF white space frequency is populated by a signal having a potential to interfere with video traffic delivered via the video head-end.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising scanning a plurality of white space frequencies within a pre-defined area about the video head-end.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying the populated UHF white space frequency, wherein the alert indicates the identified frequency.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining that the populated UHF white space frequency is one of a plurality of UHF white space frequencies, each of whose population has a potential to interfere with video traffic at the video head-end.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the populated UHF white space frequency includes a frequency that is within a pre-defined range of a frequency associated with a video content channel, wherein the video head-end delivers video traffic via the video content channel.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the populated UHF white space frequency includes a frequency that is adjacent to the frequency associated with the video content channel.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the alert identifies the video content channel.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing data indicating that the UHF white space frequency is populated.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving data from the network management system, the data indicating at least one corrective measure to mitigate interference with the video traffic by the detected signal.

10. A system to detect potential video traffic interference at a video head-end of a video distribution network, the system comprising:

a detection system having processing logic and memory accessible to the processing logic, wherein the memory includes instructions executable by the processing logic to;

determine that a strength of a detected signal populating an ultra high frequency (UHF) white space frequency is equal to or greater than a threshold signal strength; and

send an alert to a network management system, wherein the alert indicates that the UHF white space frequency is populated by a signal having a potential to interfere with video traffic delivered via a video head-end of a video distribution network.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the detection system is adapted to detect the signal via a search antenna.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the memory includes a management information data store and wherein the memory includes instructions executable by the processing logic to identify the populated UHF white space frequency and to determine that the populated UHF white space frequency is one of a plurality of UHF white space frequencies stored at the management information data store, wherein population of each of the plurality of UHF white space frequencies has a potential to interfere with video traffic at the video head-end.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the memory includes instructions executable by the processing logic to store a status of the UHF white space frequency at the management information data store.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the alert is a simple network management protocol (SNW) alarm.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the threshold signal strength is equivalent to between 6 decibels isotropic (dBi) and 10 dBi.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the signal is an IEEE 802.22 wireless regional access network signal.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein the video traffic includes digital television video traffic and wherein the signal has the potential to cause video, audio, or any combination thereof associated with the digital television video traffic to pixilate, freeze, or a combination thereof.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having processor-readable instructions executable by a processor to perform a method, the method comprising:

determining that a strength of a detected signal populating an ultra high frequency (UHF) white space frequency is equal to or greater than a threshold signal strength; and

sending an alert to a video operations center, wherein the alert indicates that the UHF white space frequency is populated by a signal having a potential to interfere with video traffic delivered via a video head-end of a video distribution network.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the method further comprises detecting the signal.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the method further comprises receiving data indicating at least one corrective measure from the video operations center.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the method further comprises detecting a depopulation of a frequency of the UHF white space frequency and sending a second alert to the video operations center, wherein the second alert indicates depopulation of the frequency.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the method further comprises updating data stored at the video head-end indicating a status of at least one frequency associated with the UHF white space frequency.