2028050
`
`iinIATIMIIIIW1111111
`
`111111killigillit
`
`•.
`.
`11814111MINITIREA1
`
`
`
`• Icw
`
`LII.;„
`Mialamm
`
`p.
`
`itm
`
`tr
`
`:11
`
`UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
`United States Patent and Trademark Office
`
`April 24, 2018
`
`THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT ANNEXED IS A TRUE COPY OF THE
`EUROPEAN PATENT NUMBER 0,905,939 PUBLISHED MARCH 31, 1999.
`
`By Authority of the
`Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property
`and Director of the United StatesA9 tent and Trademark Office
`
`P. SWA
`Certifyii Officer
`
`n11101 011118.01
`
`II ,01111
`
`IFIt
`
`1.0.1t4011:818M. 11111
`
`FIRWLIMEMISIMPIIRTNIAp
`
`5 Di:ilii
`
`IbEE111
`
`II' !
`
`I rin110111Epur.Timpinitimmiiiivitleun,
`
`Comcast - Exhibit 1007, page 1
`
`

`

`EuropiJisches Patentamt
`
`European Patent Office
`
`10
`
`Office europeen des brevets
`
`(11)
`EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION
`
`(12)
`
`EP 0 905 939 A2
`
`(43) Date of publication:
`31.03.1999 Bulletin 1999/13
`
`(21) Application number: 98307676.1
`
`(22) Date of filing: 22.09.1998
`
`(51) Int CI.6: HO4L 1/00
`
`(84) Designated Contracting States:
`AT BE CH CY DE DK ES Fl FR GB GR IE IT LI LU
`MC NL PT SE
`Designated Extension States:
`AL LT LV MK RO SI
`
`(72) Inventors:
`Pauls, Richard Joseph
`Newton, New Jersey 07860 (US)
`• Recchione, Michael Charles
`Nutley, New Jersey 07110 (US)
`
`(30) Priority: 30.09.1997 US 940760
`
`(71) Applicant: LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES INC.
`Murray Hill, New Jersey 07974.0636 (US)
`
`(74) Representative:
`Buckley, Christopher Simon Thirsk et al
`Lucent Technologies (U K) Ltd,
`5 Mornington Road
`Woodford Green, Essex IG8 OTU (GB)
`
`(54) Adaptive communication data formatting
`
`The present invention is a method for improving
`(57)
`data transfer performance over communications net-
`works connecting data networks and users using adap-
`tive communications formatting. Adaptive communica-
`tions formatting includes encoding (or compressing) the
`data and applying error control schemes to reduce the
`amount of data being transmitted and to correct and/or
`conceal errors occurring during data transmission. In
`one embodiment, the present invention uses a set of
`
`transcoding techniques to encode (or compress) the da-
`ta and a set of error control schemes to correct and/or
`conceal errors occurring during data transmission. The
`particular sets of transcoding techniques and error con-
`trol schemes selected to format the data are adaptive to
`factors, such as the nature of the communications net-
`work connecting a user to an access server on the data
`network, the preferences of the user, and the data type
`of the data being transmitted to the user (or the access
`server).
`
`Printed by Jouve, 75001 PARIS (FR)
`
`EP 0 905 939 A2
`
`Comcast - Exhibit 1007, page 2
`
`

`

`1
`
`EP 0 905 939 A2
`
`2
`
`Description
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`[0001] Subscribers of wireless communications sys-
`tems aro increasing to phenomenal numbers with more
`than forty-five million subscribers in the United States
`and one-hundred and twenty million subscribers world-
`wide. As new service providers enter the wireless com-
`munication market, the level of competition for old serv-
`ice providers increases to retain existing customer base
`while attracting new subscribers. To maintain tontinued
`growth of subscriber numbers and revenue levels, serv-
`ice providers aro offering value-added services to their
`subscribers,
`[0002] The Internet explosion has provided service
`providers of wired and wireless communications sys-
`tems with a direction for developing value-added serv-
`ices. Currently, there are more than fifty million users of
`the Internet. Access to the Internet is typically via a wired
`communication network. However, wired Internet ac-
`cess requires some type of physical connection be-
`tween the users and the wired communications network.
`Thus, the mobility of users accessing the Internet via a
`wired connection is severely limited. By contrast, access
`to the Internet via a wireless communications system
`offers a great deal of mobility to users/subscribers. How-
`ever, wireless Internet access can be prohibitively ex-
`pensive to most users/subscribers. Specifically, wire-
`less communications systems, such as those based on
`the GSM and IS-95 CDMA standards, are limited in air
`interface access speeds (i.e., narrow bandwidth) and
`are subjected to an error prone transmission environ-
`ment. For example, data transmitted over an IS-95 CD-
`MA based wireless communication systems may be
`subject to a 3% or more bit error rate. Such limitations
`Increase the amount of time required for successful data
`transfers between the Internet and the user/subscriber
`which, in turn, increases the cost of a wireless telephone
`call to the user/subscriber. Accordingly, there exists a
`need to improve data transfer performance (i.e., reduce
`transmission time) over communication networks con-
`necting the Internet or other data networks to the user/
`subscriber.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`(0003] The present invention is a method for improv-
`ing data transfer performance over communications
`networks connecting data networks and users using
`adaptive communications formatting. Adaptive commu-
`nications formatting includes encoding (or compress-
`ing) the data and applying error control schemes to re-
`duce theamount of data being.transmitted and to correct
`and/or conceal errors occurring during data transmis-
`sion. In one embodiment, the present invention uses a
`set of transcoding techniques to encode (or compress)
`the data and a set of error control schemes to correct
`
`and/or conceal errors occurring during data transmis-
`sion. The particular sets of transcoding techniques and
`error control schemes selected to format the data are
`adaptive to factors, such as the nature of the communi-
`5 cations network connecting a user to an access server
`on the data network, the preferences of the user, and
`the data type of the data being transmitted to the user
`(or the access server).
`
`70 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`[0004] The features, aspects, and advantages of the
`present invention will become better understood with re-
`gard to the following description, appended claims, and
`15 accompanying drawings where:
`
`FIG. 1 depicts an architecture for a system for ac-
`cessing a data network in accordance with the
`present invention;
`FIG, 2 depicts a bitstream entering and exiting the
`access server;
`FIG. 3 depicts a functional block diagram of the ac-
`cess server in accordance with one embodiment of
`the present invention;
`FIG. 4 depicts a table for selecting transcoding tech-
`niques and error control schemes to use to format
`data; and
`FIG. 5 depicts a chart illustrating examples trans-
`coding techniques and error control schemes which
`might be used for transmission of particular data
`types over wireless connections.
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`
`as
`
`[0005] FIG. 1 illustrates an architecture for a system
`10 for accessing a data network in accordance with the
`present invention. The system 10 comprises a data net-
`work 12 (e.g., the Internet), a user 14, and a communi-
`cations network 16. The communications network 16
`40 comprises a plurality of wired and/or wireless commu-
`nications systems for providing a wired and/or wireless
`connection between the data network 12 and the user
`14. Wired communications systems include Public
`Switching Telephone Networks (PSTN), Integrated
`45 Switching Digital Networks (ISDN), T1 lines and El
`lines. Wireless communications systems include those
`based on Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA),
`Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) and Code Divi-
`sion Multiple Access (CDMA), The data network 12
`50 comprises a plurality of interconnected computers in-
`cluding at least one access server 20 and at least one
`host 22. The access server 20 being a computer asso-
`ciated with a service provider to which the user 14 sub-
`scribes for accessing the data network 12. The host 22
`being a computer having data sought by the user 14,
`The access server 20 and the host 22 may also be the
`same computer.
`[0006] The user 14 comprises a communication de-
`
`55
`
`2
`
`Comcast - Exhibit 1007, page 3
`
`

`

`3
`
`EP 0 905 939 A2
`
`4
`
`vice 24 (e.g., telephone, mobile-telephone and/or mo-
`dem) for receiving and transmitting data from and to the
`access server 20 via the communications network 16,
`and a remote computer 26 having software for process-
`ing data for transmission to the access server 20 or for
`display on an output device associated with the remote
`computer 26, such as a video display, an audio display,
`a printer, memory, etc. The user 14 gains access to the
`data network 12 through the access server 20, Specifi-
`cally, the user 14 dials a number associated with the ac-
`cess server 20. The communication network 16 con-
`nects the user 14 to the access server 20 using the di-
`aled number. Upon connecting to the access server 20,
`the user 14 can retrieve data from the host 22,
`[0007]
`In general, data (being retrieved by the user)
`may be in the form of a file or an output of a real time
`recording device, such as a video camera, microphone,
`scanner, fax, transducers or measuring devices. In all
`cases, the data will have associated information indicat-
`ing a data type for the data. For purposes of discussion,
`the present invention will be described herein as retriev-
`ing data in the form of a file from the host 22. It should
`not be construed, however, to limit the present invention
`to retrieving data in the form of a file.
`[0008] The data (or file) is retrieved via a bitstream
`from the host 22 to the access server 20 to the user 14.
`The bitstream includes the data and control information,
`The data has associated a filename with a file extension
`indicative of a data type (and/or sub-type). The control
`information includes a user indicator for identifying the
`user to whom the data is intended, error control infor-
`mation for correcting and/or concealing errors occurring
`during data transmission, and/or a data type indicator to
`identify the data type of the associated data. Data types
`include, but are not limited to, speech/voice, video/im-
`age and text. Each data type has one or more sub-types.
`Examples of speech/voice sub-types (and file exten-
`sions) include audio (.au), wave (way) and speech (.
`sp). Examples of video/image sub-types include tagged
`image format files (.tif), graphic image format files (.gif),
`Moving Picture Experts Group files (mpg and .mp2).
`Examples of text sub-types include MS Word (.doc) and
`ASCII (.txt),
`
`Adaptive Communications Fort-nailing
`
`[0009] At the access server 20, the data is formatted
`using a mixture of transcoding techniques and error con-
`trol schemes to facilitate data transmission within ac-
`ceptable quality levels, as will be described herein. FIG.
`2 illustrates a bitstream 23 entering and a bitstream 25
`exiting the access server 20. When the bitstream 23 ar-
`rives at the access server, the bitstream 23 includes the
`data and user indicator-control information for identify-
`ing the user to whom the data is intended. The data is
`formatted by the access server 20 and transmitted to
`the user 14 via the bitstream 25, which includes encod-
`ed data, error control information for controlling and/or
`
`5
`
`20
`
`concealing errors resulting from data transmission, and
`data type indicator-control information for identifying the
`data type of the associated (encoded) data, as will be
`described herein
`[0010] Transcoding techniques include encoding al-
`gorithms for encoding (or compressing) the data. En-
`coding (or compressing) the data facilitates data trans-
`mission by reducing the amount of data to be transmit-
`ted which, in turn, decreases the time required to trans-
`10 mit the data (i.e., transmission time) from the access
`server to the user over a transmission channel of limited
`bandwidth (i.e., slower access speeds). Some encoding
`algorithms, however, have associated loss that may ad-
`versely affect data quality. Algebraic Code Excited Lin-
`15 ear Prediction (ACELP), Vector Sum Excited Linear Pre-
`diction (VSELP), Enhanced Variable Rate Coder
`(EVRC), h,263 (which is a set of guidelines being con-
`sidered by the International Telecommunications Union
`for implementation into standards), pkzip (by PKWare,
`Inc.), MPEG and MPEG2 (Moving Pictures Experts
`Group), and JPEG (Joint Pictures Experts Group) are
`some examples of encoding algorithms which are well-
`known in the art. Each of the aforementioned encoding
`algorithms have associated different levels or percent-
`25 ages of compression.
`[0011] Error control schemes include techniques for
`correcting and/or concealing errors occurring during the
`transmission of data from the access server 20 to the
`user 14. Error control schemes provide means for as-
`30 curing data integrity has not be compromised beyond
`acceptable levels. Some error control schemes, howev-
`er, increase data transmission time by adding control in-
`formation to the data and/or requiring retransmissions
`of the data when data error is detected. Forward Error
`35 Correction (FEC), Cyclical Redundancy Check (CRC),
`Automatic Retransmission Query (ARQ), hybrid ARQ (i.
`e., combination of ARQ and FEC) and error conceal-
`ment (e.g., muting, extrapolation from previous good
`frames, and interpolation from previous and succeeding
`40 good frames) are some examples of error control
`schemes which are well-known in the art. Each of the
`aforementioned error control schemes have associated
`different levels of error correction and/or concealment,
`[0012] The particular transcoding techniques and er-
`ror control schemes used to format the data should be
`adaptive to factors such as the nature of the communi-
`cations network 16 connecting the user 14 to the access
`server 20, the preferences of the user 14, and the data
`type of the data, as will be discuss herein. Note that the
`50 present invention should not be limited to being adaptive
`to only the aforementioned factors, Other factors, such
`as interactivity, bit rate and transmission delay, may also
`be applicable.
`
`45
`
`55 First Factor
`
`[0013] The first factor involves the nature of the com-
`munications network 16 connecting the user 14 to the
`
`3
`
`Comcast - Exhibit 1007, page 4
`
`

`

`5
`
`EP 0 905 939 A2
`
`6
`
`access server 20. The nature of communications sys-
`tems, in general (regardless of whether the communi-
`cation system is wired or wireless), varies from one to
`another. The nature of communications system de-
`pends on sub-factors such as whether the communica-
`tions system is wired or wireless, whether the commu-
`nications system is analog or digital, the available band-
`width, the bit rate, the signal-to-noise ratio, the bit error
`rate and the transmission delay, as will be described
`herein.
`[0014] As mentioned earlier, the communications net-
`work 16 comprises a plurality of wired and/or wireless
`communication systems for providing the user 14 with
`either a wired or a wireless connection to the access
`server 20. For purposes of discussion, a wireless con-
`nection involves using at least one wireless communi-
`cation system to connect the user 14 to the access serv-
`er 20. By contrast, a wired connection involves using no
`wireless communication system to connect the user 14
`to the access server 20. Wireless connections have sev-
`eral distinct disadvantages over wired connections.
`First, the transmission times for data over wireless con-
`nections are typically greater than the transmission
`times for the same data over wired connections. The
`reasons for this are because wireless connections gen-
`erally have less available bandwidth, lower bit rates and
`longer transmission delays than wired connections.
`Therefore, it may be desirable to use a transcoding tech-
`nique that will encode (or compress) the data as much
`as possible to reduce the transmission time over wire-
`less connections (and perhaps some wired connec-
`tions). The benefits realized in facilitating data transmis-
`sion should, however, be balanced against losses as-
`sociated with compression (or encoding).
`[0015] Second, data transmitted over a wireless con-
`nection is more susceptible to data error than data trans-
`mitted over a wired connections. The reasons for this
`are because wireless connections generally have lower
`signal-to-noise ratios and higher bit error rates than
`wired connections. Therefore, it may be desirable to in-
`crease the amount of error control being applied to data
`transmissions over wireless connections. The benefits
`of increased error control (i.e., increased quality)
`should, however, be balanced against increased data
`transmission time.
`
`Second Factor
`
`[0016] The second factor involves the preferences of
`the user 14. The preferences of the user 14 should re-
`flect the hardware and software capabilities of the user
`14 and the access server 20, and a balancing between
`facilitating data transfer and acceptable data quality.
`The service provider and the subscribers should agree
`on the manner in which the data is to be formatted, e.
`agree on which transcoding techniques and error con-
`trol schemes to use. Whatever manner is used by the
`access server 20 to format the data, the user 14 should
`
`be able to un-format the formatted data. In other words,
`the access server 20 should agree to use transcoding
`techniques and error control schemes compatible with
`transcoding techniques and error control schemes
`5 available at the user 14. Failure to use compatible trans-
`coding techniques and error control schemes will result
`in the user 14 receiving a bitstream that it can not un-
`format. This agreement may be negotiated between the
`service provider and subscriber before or at the time the
`lo user connects to the access server 20. Preferences of
`the user 14 should also reflect a balancing by the user
`between facilitating data transfer and acceptable data
`quality. For example, if the user 14 requires high quality
`data, the user 14 might have to trade-off facilitating data
`transfer for increased data quality. Thus, the user 14
`might select a transcoding technique with less compres-
`sion and minimal loss (e.g., pkzip) and an error control
`scheme with greater error correction (e.g., ARQ) for for-
`matting the data at the access server.
`
`15
`
`20
`
`Third Factor
`
`[0017] The third factor is the data type of the data,
`Certain transcoding techniques and error control
`25 schemes are more effective when used to format par-
`ticular data types. Thus, the transcoding techniques and
`error control schemes selected to format the data should
`be adaptive to the data type, as will be described herein.
`Transcoding techniques include encoding algorithms for
`30 encoding or compressing particular data types: gzip and
`pkzip for text data; VCELP, ASELP and EVRC for
`speech/voice data; and h.263 for video/image data, Us-
`ing a text transcoding technique (e.g., a transcoding
`technique with gzip) to compress speech/voice data
`35 may not be as effective as using a speech transcoding
`technique (e.g., a transcoding technique with VCELP)
`to compress the same data - that is, the amount of data
`compression may not be the same.
`[0016] Error control schemes include techniques for
`40 different levels of error correction and/or concealment.
`The level or error correction and/or concealment applied
`to data should depend on the amount of error tolerable
`by the user which, in turn, depends on the data type. For
`example, errors in audio/speech and video/image data
`types may be tolerable to some extent, In such cases,
`errors in audio/speech data types may best be con-
`cealed by muting, and errors in video/image data types
`may best be concealed by interpolating from previous
`good frames. By contrast, errors in text data types may
`50 be intolerable. In this case, errors are corrected (not
`concealed) by requesting retransmissions of the data, i.
`e., ARQ.
`[0019] FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the ac-
`cess server 20 in accordance with one embodiment of
`the present invention. The access server 20 comprises
`a data selector 30, a plurality of text, speech/voice and
`video/image transcoding techniques 32-n (i.e., trans-
`coding techniques for text, speech/voice and video/im-
`
`55
`
`45
`
`4
`
`Comcast - Exhibit 1007, page 5
`
`

`

`7
`
`EP 0 905 939 A2
`
`8
`
`age data types), a plurality of text, speech/voice and vid-
`eo/image error control schemes 34-n (i.e,, error control
`schemes for text, speech/voice and video/image data
`types) and a combiner 38 for multiplexing formatted da-
`ta. The data selector 30 is a device, such as a micro-
`processor with software, for selecting a transcoding
`technique 32-n and an error control scheme 34-n for for-
`matting the data. The transcoding technique 32-n and
`error control scheme 34-n is selected using the data
`type, the identity of the user, and/or a user table 40 spec-
`ifying user preferences (i.e., transcoding techniques
`and error control schemes preferred by each user for
`each data type and/or sub-type). The data selector 30
`can determine the data type using the file extension, oth-
`er information contained within the bitstream, default da-
`ta types and/or a combination of the aforementioned.
`For example, the data selector 30 may determine data
`with .wav file extensions are speech/voice data types.
`The data selector 30 can determine the identity of the
`user using the user indicator-control information (in the
`bitstream)- Note that FIG. 3 shows an one-on-one cor-
`relation between the transcoding techniques and error
`control schemes. This should not, however, be con-
`strued to limit the present invention to embodiments with
`such a correlation. One-to-many correlation between
`transcoding techniques and error control schemes, or
`vice-versa, are also possible.
`[0020] FIG 4 Illustrates an example of a user table
`40, The transcoding techniques and error control
`schemes in the table 40 specified for each user and data
`type (and/or sub-type) should reflect the aforemen-
`tioned factors, i.e., the nature of the communications
`network connecting the user to the access server, the
`equipment and software capabilities and/or preferences
`of the user and the access server, and the data type of
`the data. For example, suppose user number 000001
`connects to the access server using a wireless connec-
`tion. The table 40 specifies for user number 000001 a
`set of transcoding techniques and error control schemes
`for each data type (and/or sub-type) that are available
`to both user number 000001 and the access server and
`will facilitate data transmission within acceptable quality
`levels over a wireless connection. By contrast, user
`number 000222 is connected to the access server 20
`via a wired connection. For users connected via a wired
`connection (e.g., user number 000222), the table 40
`specifies no formatting (i.e., no transcoding techniques
`or error control schemes) because wired connections
`(with broader bandwidths) are less prone to error than
`narrower bandwidth wireless connections.
`[0021] Note that the present invention should not be
`limited to using the table 40 depicted in FIG. 4. Other
`types of tables or collections of information, such as da-
`tabases, may also be used to specify transcoding tech-
`niques and error control schemes for formatting data in-
`tended for particular users. Other information may also
`be stored in the table, such as an indication whether the
`user is connected via a wired or wireless connection, or
`
`25
`
`30
`
`5
`
`to
`
`separate sets of transcoding techniques and error con-
`trol schemes for wired and wireless connections. Note
`that if the data selector needs to make a determination
`regarding the manner in which the user is connected to
`the access server, such a determination can be made
`using a flag indicative of the connection, a default, the
`telephone number dialed by the user to connect to the
`access server, etc.
`[0022] The access server 20 may create or obtain the
`table 40 in a variety of manners. The subscriber may
`submit a competed form to the service provider indicat-
`ing the transcoding techniques and error control
`schemes available to the user and the manner in which
`the user will connect to the access server. The service
`15 provider will use the information in the completed form
`to select transcoding techniques and error control
`schemes available to both the user and the access serv-
`er, and optimal for the manner of connection. Such se-
`lections are then added to or used to build the table 40.
`20 Alternately, the user may provide such information elec-
`tronically when accessing the access server 20 or the
`table may be constructed using default sets of transcod-
`ing techniques and error control schemes.
`[0023] After the data selector 30 selects a tran scoding
`technique and an error control scheme, the selected
`transcoding technique 32-n is used to encode (or com-
`press) the data and the selected error control scheme
`34-n is used to add error control information to the en-
`coded data, as shown by the bitstream 25 in FIG. 2. Data
`type indicator-control information is then added to the
`formatted data (i.e., encoded data with associated error
`control information) when the formatted data is being
`multiplexed by the combiner 38. The multiplexed data
`is subsequently caused to be transmitted by the access
`35 server 20 to the user 14 over the communications net-
`work 16. At the user 14, the multiplexed data is de-mul-
`tiplexed and un-formatted using the appropriate sets of
`transcoding techniques and error control schemes.
`Specifically, the user 14 looks at the data type indicator-
`40 control information to select the appropriate transcoding
`techniques and error control schemes for un-formatting
`(or reciprocating the operations of the transcoding tech-
`niques and error control schemes at the access server)
`the formatted data. The Lin-formatted data is subse-
`45 quently output to a video display, audio display, printer
`and/or computer memory associated with the remote
`computer 26.
`[0024] FIG. 5 is a chart 50 illustrating examples trans-
`coding techniques and error control schemes which
`50 might be used for transmission of particular data types
`over wireless connections. The chart 50 shows data
`sub-types and their associated bit rates, encoding algo-
`rithms and the bit rate of the data after encoding (or com-
`pression), and error control schemes. For example, data
`55 with an audio sub-type has a 256 Kbps bit rate. If a trans-
`coding technique with a VCELP encoding algorithm is
`used to encode the audio data, the bit rate can be re-
`duced to 8 Kbps. Subsequently, hybrid ARO and muting
`
`5
`
`Comcast - Exhibit 1007, page 6
`
`

`

`9
`
`EP 0 905 939 A2
`
`10
`
`(a form of error concealment) is applied to the encoded
`(or compressed) data in the error control scheme before
`being transmitted over a wireless connection.
`[0025] Although the present invention has been de-
`scribed in considerable detail with reference to certain
`embodiments, other versions are possible. Therefore,
`the spirit and scope of the present invention should not
`be limited to the description of the embodiments con-
`tained herein.
`
`10
`
`Claims
`
`1. A method for transmitting data over a communica-
`tions network, the method CHARACTERIZED BY
`the steps of:
`
`15
`
`cess server and a user.
`
`9. A method for transmitting data over a communica-
`tion network, the method CHARACTERIZED BY
`the steps of:
`
`selecting a transcoding technique and an error
`control scheme to format the data based on
`whether the communications network includes
`a wireless communications system;
`encoding the data using the selected transcod-
`ing technique if the communications network is
`a wireless communications system; and
`applying the selected error control scheme to
`the data if the communications network is a
`wireless communications System.
`
`determining a data type for the data;
`selecting a transcoding technique and an error
`control scheme to format the data based on the
`data type;
`encoding the data using the selected transcod-
`ing technique; and
`applying the selected error control scheme to
`the data.
`
`2. The method of claim 1 CHARACTERIZED BY the
`additional step of: multiplexing the data for trans-
`mission over the communications network.
`
`3. The method of claim 2, CHARACTERIZED IN THAT
`the step of multiplexing includes adding a data type
`indicator to the data.
`
`10. A method for transmitting data over a communica-
`tions network, the method CHARACTERIZED BY
`the steps of:
`
`20
`
`selecting a transcoding technique and an error
`control scheme to format the data based on us-
`er preferences;
`encoding the data using the selected transcod-
`ing technique; and
`applying the selected error control scheme to
`the data.
`
`25
`
`30
`
`4. The method of claim 1, CHARACTERIZED IN THAT 35
`the selected error control scheme adds error control
`information to the data.
`
`5. The method of claim 1, CHARACTERIZED IN THAT
`the transcoding technique and error control scheme 40
`are also selected based on nature of the communi-
`cations network.
`
`6. The method of claim 1, CHARACTERIZED IN THAT
`the transcoding technique and error control scheme 45
`are also selected based on preferences of a user.
`
`7. The method of claim 1, CHARACTERIZED IN THAT
`the transcoding techniques and error control
`schemes are selected using information specifying 50
`a set of transcoding techniques and error control
`schemes for each user.
`
`8. The method of claim 1, CHARACTERIZED IN THAT
`transcoding techniques and error control
`the
`schemes are selected using information specifying
`a set of transcoding techniques and error control
`schemes for a wireless connection between an ac-
`
`55
`
`6
`
`Comcast - Exhibit 1007, page 7
`
`

`

`10
`
`12
`
`DATA NETWORK
`
`ACCESS
`SERVER
`
`EP 0 905 939 A2
`
`FIG. 1
`
`16
`
`COMMUNICATIONS
`NETWORK
`
`WIRED/WIRELESS
`COMMUNICATION
`SYSTEM
`
`WIRED/WIRELESS
`COMMUNICATION
`SYSTEM
`
`14
`
`USER
`
`COMMUNICATION
`DEVICE
`
`J
`
`24
`
`26
`
`FIG. 2
`
`DATA
`
`USER ID
`CONTROL INFO
`
`25-N
`
`ENCODED
`DATA
`
`ERROR
`CONTROL
`INFO
`
`DATA TYPE
`CONTROL INFO
`
`/
`
`7
`
`Comcast - Exhibit 1007, page 8
`
`

`

`N 6E6 906 0 d3
`
`38J :
`
`DATA
`OUT
`
`COMBINER
`
`FIG. 3 -Tht
`3°
`
`
`32-1
`L
`
`40
`
`TABLE
`
`' 30
`\ft.
`
`DATA
`IN
`
`DATA
`SELECTOR
`
`L__
`
`32-2
`
`32 3
`
`324
`
`32-5
`Nft.
`
`32-6
`
`32-X
`
`TEXT 1
`TRANSCODER
`
`TEXT 2
`TRANSCODER
`
`SPEECH/VOICE 1
`TRANSCODER
`
`ERROR CONTROL
`TEXT 1
`
`ERROR CONTROL
`TEXT 2
`
`ERROR CONTROL
`SPEECH/VOICE 1
`
`34-1
`
`.46)
`
`34-2
`
`1.3.4;3
`
`34-4
`
`SPEECH/VOICE 2
`TRANSCODER
`
`ERROR CONTROL
`SPEECH/VOICE 2
`
`VIDEO/IMAGE 1
`TRANSCOOER
`
`ERROR CONTROL
`VIDEO/IMAGE 1
`
`34-5
`.0/
`
`34-6
`
`VIDEO/IMAGE 2
`TRANSCODER
`
`ERROR CONTROL
`VIDEO/IMAGE 2
`
`TRANSCODER
`
`ERROR CONTROL .4%
`
`34-X
`
`Comcast - Exhibit 1007, page 9
`
`

`

`40
`
`FIG. 4
`
`ZV 6E6 SO6 0 d3
`
`USER #
`
`TEXT
`
`TRANSCODER
`
`ADAPTATION
`LAYER
`
`SPEECH/VOICE
`ADAPTATION
`LAYER
`
`TRANSCODER
`
`VIDEO/IMAGE
`ADAPTATION
`LAYER
`
`TRANSCODER
`
`000001
`
`TEXT 1
`
`TEXT 1
`
`SPEECH/VOICE 2 SPEECH/VOICE 2
`
`VIDEO/IMAGE 1
`
`VIDEO/IMAGE 1
`
`DATA TYPES
`
`000100
`
`TEXT 2
`
`TEXT 2
`
`SPEECH/VOICE 1
`
`SPEECH/VOICE 1
`
`VIDEO/IMAGE I
`
`VIDEO/IMAGE 1
`
`000200
`
`TEXT 2
`
`TEXT 2
`
`SPEECH/VOICE 2 SPEECH/VOICE 2
`
`VIDEO/IMAGE 2 VIDEO/IMAGE 2
`
`000222
`
`NONE
`
`NONE
`
`NONE
`
`NONE
`
`NONE
`
`NONE
`
`000300
`
`TEXT 1
`
`TEXT 1
`
`SPEECH/VOICE 2 SPEECH/VOICE 2
`
`VIDEO/IMAGE 1
`
`VIDEO/IMAGE 1
`
`000333
`
`TEXT 1
`
`TEXT 1
`
`SPEECH/VOICE 1
`
`SPEECH/VOICE 1
`
`VIDEO/IMAGE 1
`
`VIDEO/IMAGE 1
`
`004000
`
`TEXT 2
`
`TEXT 2
`
`SPEECH/VOICE 1
`
`SPEECH/VOICE 1
`
`VIDEO/IMAGE 2 VIDEO/IMAGE 2
`
`Comcast - Exhibit 1007, page 10
`
`

`

`FIG. 5
`
`ZV 666 906 0 d3
`
`DATA TYPE
`
`SUB-TYPES (BIT RATE)
`
`TRANSCODER ENCODING ALGORITHMS
`(BIT RATE)
`
`ADAPTATION LAYERS
`
`SPEECH/VOICE
`
`AUDIO (256 Kbps)
`WAVE (64 )(bps)
`SPEECH (32 Kbps)
`
`VCELP (8Kbps)
`VSEOP (8Kbps)
`EDRU (4-8 Kbps)
`
`HYBRID ARO
`ERROR CONCEALMENT
`(MUTING)
`
`VIDEO/IMAGE
`
`TIFF
`GIFF
`MPEG (1.5Mbps)
`MPEG2 (2.0 Mbps)
`
`H.263 (8-24 Kbps)
`
`HYBRID ARO
`ERROR CONCEALMENT
`(INTERPOLATION)
`
`TEXT
`
`ASCII
`MSWORD
`
`GZIP
`PKZIP
`
`ARO
`
`Comcast - Exhibit 1007, page 11
`
`