WO2011061752A1

WO2011061752A1 - Integrated audio-dth system

Info

Publication number: WO2011061752A1
Application number: PCT/IN2010/000239
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ashutosh Joshi; Anil Gundecha
Original assignee: Dhoot Pradeepkumar Nandlal
Priority date: 2009-11-23
Filing date: 2010-04-13
Publication date: 2011-05-26

Abstract

A system adapted to stream and to provide control for reproducing audio and video signals synchronously, said system comprising, receiving means adapted to receive encrypted audio-video signals on discrete channels; decryption means adapted to selectively decrypt said encrypted signal transmitted on a selected channel, said decryption means remotely located from said receiving means; audio playing means adapted to play audio and further adapted to pass on said decrypted signals to a reproducing means for reproducing said decrypted signals; switching means adapted for switching channels whose signals are required to be reproduced; second switching means adapted for switching ON & OFF said audio playing means and said decryption means in a single switching operation; and a housing for housing said decryption means, said audio playing means, said first switching means and said second switching means.

Description

INTEGRATED AUDIO-DTH SYSTEM

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of telecommunications.

Particularly, the present invention relates to the field of Direct To Home (DTH) communications.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION & PRIOR ART

From the time television was invented in 1925 by John Logie Baird, it fascinated the mankind with its capability to entertain human beings with virtually 'living' objects moving on its display screen. Television was continuously evolving after its invention from the first bulky electromechanical model to the recent Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) television and Plasma television along with the development in the fields of electronics and telecommunications. The television has now become a common communication receiver in homes, businesses and institutions, particularly as a source of entertainment and news. Since the 1970s, the availability of video cassettes, laser discs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs, have resulted in the television being frequently used for viewing recorded as well as broadcast material.

Terrestrial television is a term which refers to modes of television broadcasting which do not involve satellite transmission or underground cables. In case of terrestrial transmission, the transmitter is located on the ground. The range of transmission is very short for terrestrial transmission. Use of repeaters can extend the range. LF, MF, HF, VHF and UHF are the most common frequencies used for terrestrial communications.

Cable TV is very similar to terrestrial television, with the exception that the signal cable goes all the way to the provider where as the signals transmitted for the terrestrial television travel through the air. The main advantage of cable TV is the improved quality of picture. Constraints like weather fluctuations, presence of hills and 'line of sight' requirements have no effect on the picture quality. Drawbacks of cable TV include subscription costs as well as inflexibility in channel availability. Very few cable providers offer any basic cable service free of charge. Also users are limited to obtain whatever is provided from their cable operator and also, the signal quality is dependent on the cable operator.

In order to overcome the drawbacks of cable operations, a new technology called Direct to Home (DTH) is introduced. Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) is a term used to refer to satellite television broadcasts intended for home reception, also referred as Direct To Home (DTH) signals. The expression Direct To Home or DTH was initially meant to distinguish the transmissions directly intended for home viewers from cable television distribution services.

Figure 1 illustrates a conventional DTH system which is represented generally by a reference numeral 100. In the conventional DTH system 100, the DTH services are rendered by the service provider to a home television 102 through a Set Top Box (STB) 104. A Set Top Box (STB) or Set Top Unit (STU) is a device that connects to a television and an external source of signal, turning the signal into a content which is then displayed on the television screen. The signal from the external source is captured by an antenna 114. The STB is connected to the television 102 through an Audio Video (AV) cable. An external Audio Player Means 106 is connected to the television 102 through another AV cable. The Audio Player means may include a plurality of speakers, with woofers, amplifiers and the like surround sound system for an enhanced and/or customized sound output options from the Television. A customer controls the television 102 by a remote control 108, the STB by another remote control 110 and the Audio player 106 by yet another remote control 112. The drawbacks of such a system are summarized below:

1. Customer controls the Audio player, the STB and the television with different remote controls which is annoying.

2. Space requirement for placing a separate STB and Audio player is more.

3. The volume level control is separate for the Audio Player, the STB and the television.

4. Servicing of the Audio player and the STB in case of failure is very difficult as the Audio player and the STB are provided by different companies.

5. Power consumption is more as two devices (the Audio player and the STB) are operating at the same time.

Therefore there is a need for a system which:

• is a compact and combined product;

• is convenient and simple to control; • uses a shared power supply;

• saves effort and time by simplifying the buying process;

• is easy to operate;

• consumes less space;

• has cost benefit;

• has no additional AV requirement;

• is easy to be serviced;

• has superior video and audio quality;

• has un-interrupted signal reception capability;

• has no limitation for the number of channels;

• enables viewer to pay only for what he watches;

• has value added features;

• supports multi language audio feed;

• has wide coverage; and

• has a single remote operation.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a compact and combined product with DTH system.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a combination product with DTH system which is convenient and simple to control.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a combination product with DTH system which uses a shared power supply. It is still another object of the present invention to provide a combination product with DTH system that saves effort and time by simplifying the buying process.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an easy to operate combination product with DTH system.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a combination product with DTH system that consumes less space.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a combination product with DTH system that has cost benefit;

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a combination product with DTH system that has no additional AV requirement;

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an easy to be serviced combination product with DTH system.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a combination product with DTH system that has superior video and audio quality.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a combination product with DTH system that has un-interrupted signal reception capability.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a combination product with DTH system that has no limitation for the number of channels. It is still another object of the present invention to provide a combination product with DTH system that enables viewer to pay only for what he watches.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a combination product with DTH system that has value added features.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a combination product with DTH system that supports multi language audio feed.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a combination product with DTH system that has wide coverage.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a combination product with DTH system that has a single remote operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described in relation to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 illustrates a conventional DTH system;

Figure 2 illustrates an integrated Audio player -DTH system in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 3 illustrates a signal format transmitted from the Remote Control Unit (RCU) to the Audio player Module microcontroller in accordance with the present invention; and

Figure 4 illustrates a signal format transmitted from the Audio player Module microcontroller to the DTH Module microcontroller in accordance with the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The drawings and the description thereto are merely illustrative and only exemplify the invention and in no way limit the scope thereof.

The present invention envisages an integrated Audio player-DTH system which combines the functionalities of a DTH system and an Audio player into a single unit which can be controlled by a single remote controller.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the integrated Audio-DTH system functions as a compact and economic system which gives high quality audio and video output using lesser amount of power, space and effort and is easy to be operated, serviced and controlled. Also, the system requires no additional AV cables and offers uninterrupted signal reception capabilities.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the system offers no limitations to the number of channels offered to customers and the customers need to pay only for the channels they watch. The system offers a variety of value added features including Near Video On Demand (NVOD), Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) with weekly programme schedule on each channel, multi language audio feed, reminder facility, radio facility and X-Active features.

According to this invention, there is provided a system adapted to stream and to provide control for reproducing audio and video signals synchronously, said system comprising: - receiving means adapted to receive encrypted audio-video signals on discrete channels;

- decryption means adapted to selectively decrypt said encrypted signal transmitted on a selected channel, said decryption means remotely located from said receiving means;

- audio playing means adapted to play audio and further adapted to pass on said decrypted signals to a reproducing means for reproducing said decrypted signals;

- switching means adapted for switching channels whose signals are required to be reproduced;

- second switching means adapted for switching ON & OFF said audio playing means and said decryption means in a single switching operation; and

- a housing for housing said decryption means, said audio playing means, said first switching means and said second switching means.

Typically, said audio playing means includes an amplifier means.

Typically, said housing includes:

- first microcontroller means for controlling said audio playing means; and

- second microcontroller means for controlling said decryption means. Typically, said first microcontroller means and said second microcontroller means are connected in a master-slave configuration respectively.

Typically, said second microcontroller means communicates with said first microcontroller means using the I2C protocol.

Typically, said first microcontroller means communicates with said second microcontroller means using the communication including but not limited to I2C, Blue tooth, I2S etc.

Typically, said system includes a controlling means for controlling the properties of the signal selected from a group of properties which includes volume, bass, treble, equalizer, brightness, contrast, intensity, luminance, audio streaming characteristics, and the like audio-visual signal related properties.

Alternatively, there is provided a system adapted to stream and to provide control for reproducing audio and video signals synchronously, said system comprising:

- receiving means adapted to receive encrypted audio-video signals on discrete channels;

- decryption means adapted to selectively decrypt said encrypted signal transmitted on a selected channel, said decryption means remotely located from said receiving means; - audio playing means adapted to play audio and further adapted to pass on said decrypted signals to a reproducing means for reproducing said decrypted signals;

- a housing for housing said decryption means, said audio playing means,

Figure 2 illustrates the integrated Audio player-DTH system in accordance with the present invention. The system is represented generally by a reference numeral 200. The television is represented by 204 with an antenna 202 and is connected to the integrated Audio player -DTH Module 206. The integrated Audio player -DTH Module 206 has, an Audio player Module 210 and a DTH Module 212. The operation of the system is explained in detail as given below.

The customer operates the Remote Control Unit (RCU) 208 to provide his control signals by pressing keys provided on the RCU 208. The RCU 208 operation is based on Nippon Electrical Company (NEC) protocol . The audio player module micon decides whether the customer input control signal is for the Audio player Module 210 or the DTH Module 212. RCU 208 uses the NEC protocol to communicate with a microcontroller employed in the Audio player Module 210. The NEC protocol uses pulse distance encoding of the signal bits. Each pulse is 560μ8 long (with about 21 cycles). A logical " 1 " takes 2.25ms to transmit, while a logical "0" takes only half of that, being 1.125ms. The NEC protocol uses 8 bit address and 8 bit command and the address and the command are transmitted twice for reliability. Figure 3 illustrates the signal format transmitted from the Remote Control Unit (RCU) 208 to the Audio player Module 210. Initially, a synchronization pulse is sent to settle the sensitivity of receiving module, which is followed by an 8 bit custom code and an 8 bit data code. Data code contains instruction for the Audio player Module 210 to execute the necessary action requested by the customer. The information is sent twice, once in normal way and next, in inverted way. This redundancy helps to secure the transmission from errors. The signal is sent from RCU 208 to the Audio player Module 210 in infrared form and it is received by the Audio player Module 210 by an IR sensor.

Figure 4 illustrates the signal format transmitted to the DTH Module 212 microcontroller through an I C bus from the Audio player Module 210 microcontroller, if the customer input control signal is for the DTH Module 212. Thus RCU 208 communicates directly only with the Audio player Module 210.

The Audio player Module 210 microcontroller (first microcontroller) acts as a master and the DTH Module 212 microcontroller (second microcontroller) acts as its slave. I²G (Inter-Integrated Circuit) is a multi-master serial computer bus that is used to attach low-speed peripherals to a motherboard, an embedded system or a cell phone. The I C bus physically consists of two active wires and a ground connection. The active wires, called SDA and SCL, are both bi-directional. SDA is the Serial Data line, and SCL is the Serial Clock line. Every device hooked up to the bus has its own unique address. Thus, the Audio player Module 210 microcontroller and the DTH Module 212 microcontroller are associated with unique addresses. Typically, the Audio player Module 210 microcontroller issues a 'START' condition. This acts as an attention signal to the DTH Module 212 microcontroller. The DTH Module 212 microcontroller on receiving the 'START' signal listens to the bus for incoming data. Then, the Audio player Module 210 microcontroller sends the 'ADDRESS' (slave address) of the DTH Module 212 microcontroller along with an indication whether the access given is for a read or a write operation. Having received the address, the DTH Module 212 microcontroller compares it with its own address. If it matches, the DTH Module 212 microcontroller produces a response called the 'ACKNOWLEDGE (ACK)' signal which acts as an acknowledgement. Once the Audio player Module 210 microcontroller receives the acknowledgement, it starts transmitting the data received from the RCU 208. When transmission is complete, the Audio player Module 210 microcontroller issues a 'STOP' (to stop all the actions) condition. This is to signal that the bus has been released and the transmission of the data is complete.

Each data set has two bytes. Out of the two bytes, one byte is the key code and the other byte is a header for the DTH Module 212 microcontroller. On the basis of the header, the DTH Module 212 microcontroller recognizes the Hex code for performing a corresponding functionality. The audio and video programmes obtained by the DTH Module 212 are interfaced with the Audio player Module 210.

DTH Module 212 works based on the Conditional Access System (CAS) or the pay TV system. A Conditional Access System (CAS) is a system by which transmitted electronic signals of digital media are accessible only by subscribed clients. A CAS has two goals:

• Enable access to legitimate subscribers to view the contents of

programmes.

• Prevent unauthorized viewers from accessing the contents of

programmes.

Conditional Access Systems work by scrambling the video signal using a set of secret keys. These secret keys are protected using encryption.

The product in accordance with this invention can be adapted to include/collate with/integrate with other devices such as a DVD/video player, a television or a viewing mechanism or a display unit or the like.

TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS

The technical advancements of the integrated Audio player -DTH system in accordance with the present invention include realization of a Audio player - DTH system which:

• is a compact and combined product;

• is convenient and simple to control;

• uses a shared power supply; • saves effort and time by simplifying the buying process;

• is easy to operate;

• consumes less space;

• has cost benefit;

• has no additional AV requirement;

• is easy to be serviced;

• has superior video and audio quality;

• has un-interrupted signal reception capability;

• has no limitation for the number of channels;

• enables viewer to pay only for what he watches;

• has value added features;

• supports multi language audio feed;

• has wide coverage; and

• has a single remote operation.

While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the particular features of this invention, it will be appreciated that various modifications can be made, and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiments without departing from the principles of the invention. These and other modifications in the nature of the invention or the preferred embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the invention and not as a limitation.

Claims

Claims:

1. A system adapted to stream and to provide control for reproducing audio and video signals synchronously, said system comprising:

2. A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein, said audio playing means includes an amplifier means.

3. A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein, said housing includes: - first microcontroller means for controlling said audio playing means; and

- second microcontroller means for controlling said decryption means.

4. A system as claimed in claim 3 wherein, said first microcontroller means and said second microcontroller means are connected in a master-slave configuration respectively.

5. A system as claimed in claim 3 wherein, said first microcontroller means communicates with said second microcontroller means using the communication selected from a group of communication protocols consisting of I2C ,Blue tooth, 12 S and the like standard communication protocol.

6. A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein, said system includes a controlling means for controlling the properties of the signal selected from a group of properties which includes volume, bass, treble, equalizer, brightness, contrast, intensity, luminance, audio streaming characteristics, and the like audio-visual signal related properties.

7. A system adapted to stream and to provide control for reproducing audio and video signals synchronously, said system comprising:

- receiving means adapted to receive encrypted audio-video signals on discrete channels; - decryption means adapted to selectively decrypt said encrypted signal transmitted on a selected channel, said decryption means remotely located from said receiving means;

- a housing for housing said decryption means, said audio playing means, ;

8. A system as claimed in claim 7 wherein, said audio playing means includes an amplifier means.

9. A system as claimed in claim 7 wherein, said housing includes:

- first microcontroller means for controlling said audio playing means; and

- second microcontroller means for controlling said decryption means.

10. A system as claimed in claim 9 wherein, said first microcontroller means and said second microcontroller means are connected in a master-slave configuration respectively.

1 l .A system as claimed in claim 9 wherein, said first microcontroller means communicates with said second microcontroller means using the communication selected from a group of communication protocols consisting of I2C ,Blue tooth, I2S and the like standard communication protocol.

12. A system as claimed in claim 7 wherein, said system includes a controlling means for controlling the properties of the signal selected from a group of properties which includes volume, bass, treble, equalizer, brightness, contrast, intensity, luminance, audio streaming characteristics, and the like audio-visual signal related properties.