Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090086808 | Equalization And Decision-Directed Loops With Trellis Demodulation In High Definition TV - Improved decision feedback equalizer and decision directed timing recovery systems and methods suitable for use in connection with a dual mode QAM/VSB receiver system are disclosed. A trellis decoder operates in conjunction with a decision feedback equalizer circuit on trellis coded 8-VSB modulated signals. The trellis decoder includes a 4-state traceback memory circuit outputting a maximum likelihood decision as well as a number of intermediate decisions based upon the maximum likelihood sequence path. Any number of decisions, along the sequence, may be provided as an input signal to timing recovery system loops, with the particular decision along the sequence chosen on the basis of its delay through the trellis decoder. Variable delay circuitry is coupled to the other input of the timing recovery system loops in order to ensure that both input signals bear the same timestamp. Final decisions are output from the trellis decoder to a DFE in order to enhance the DFE's ability to operate in low SNR environments. A decision sequence estimation error signal is also generated and used to drive the tap updates of both the DFE and an FFE portion of the equalizer. | 04-02-2009 |
20090122925 | Viterbi slicer for turbo codes - A method for synchronizing receivers that receive turbo encoded signals to a received signal. Turbo encoding may enable signals to be decoded at a much lower signal to noise ratio than previously practical. A traditional method of synchronizing a receiver to an incoming signal is to use a slicer to determine a received symbol and then to compare the determined symbol to the incoming waveform, in order to adjust the phase of the slicer with respect to the incoming signal. At signal low levels, at which turbo encoded signals may be decoded, this slicing method may be prone to errors that may disrupt the synchronization of the receiver to the incoming signal. By replacing the slicer by a Viterbi decoder with zero traceback (i.e., one which does not consider future values of the signal only past values) a prediction as to what the incoming signal is can be made. Because the Viterbi decoder can consider past signal values it can predict the present symbol being received with higher reliability than by using a slicer, which considers only the present value of the incoming signal. | 05-14-2009 |
20090190656 | Television Functionality on a Chip - A television on a chip (TVOC) system that provides a cost effective approach for providing television functionality on a single integrated circuit chip is disclosed. A TVOC includes the functionality necessary to receive and display television signals in a variety of input and output formats. A TVOC can be used in set-top boxes for cable and satellite television, or directly within a television. All functionality provided can be provided on a single integrated circuit. TVOC includes a data transport module, an IF demodulator, a digital audio engine, an analog audio engine, a digital video engine, and an analog video engine. The TVOC also includes three sets of interfaces including output interfaces, control interfaces and ancillary interfaces. Further features and embodiments provide enhanced functionality and increased efficiencies. | 07-30-2009 |
20120147974 | Television Functionality on a Chip - A television on a chip (TVOC) system that provides a cost effective approach for providing television functionality on a single integrated circuit chip is disclosed. A TVOC includes the functionality necessary to receive and display television signals in a variety of input and output formats. A TVOC can be used in set-top boxes for cable and satellite television, or directly within a television. All functionality provided can be provided on a single integrated circuit. TVOC includes a data transport module, an IF demodulator, a digital audio engine, an analog audio engine, a digital video engine, and an analog video engine. The TVOC also includes three sets of interfaces including output interfaces, control interfaces and ancillary interfaces. Further features and embodiments provide enhanced functionality and increased efficiencies. | 06-14-2012 |
20120196551 | COMMUNICATION RECEIVER ENHANCEMENTS USING MULTI-SIGNAL CAPTURE - A method and apparatus is disclosed to determine communications receiver parameters from multiple channels of a received communications signal and to configure and/or adjust communications receiver parameters to acquire one or more channels from among the multiple channels of the received communications signal. A communications receiver observes a multi-channel communication signal as it passes through a communication channel. The communications receiver determines one or more communications receiver parameters from the multiple channels of the received communications signal. The communications receiver configures and/or adjusts communications receiver parameters to acquire the one or more channels from among the multiple channels of the received communications signal. | 08-02-2012 |
20120235841 | DIGITAL CORRECTION TECHNIQUES FOR DATA CONVERTERS - A method and apparatus is disclosed to compensate for impairments within a data converter such that its output is a more accurate representation of its input. The data converter includes a main data converter, a reference data converter, and a correction module. The main data converter may be characterized as having the impairments. As a result, the output of the main data converter is not the most accurate representation of its input. The reference data converter is designed such that the impairments are not present. The correction module estimates the impairments present within the main data converter using its output and the reference data converter to generate corrections coefficients. The correction module adjusts the output of the main data converter using the corrections coefficients to improve the performance of the data converter. | 09-20-2012 |
20130297991 | FEC (forward error correction) decoder with dynamic parameters - FEC (Forward Error Correction) decoder with dynamic parameters. A novel means by which FEC parameters may be encoded into, and subsequently extracted from, a signal stream to allow for adaptive changing of any 1 or more operational parameters that govern communications across a communication channel. FEC parameters are encoded directly into a data frame such that the data frame is treated identical to all other data frames within the signal stream. When the data frame actually includes FEC parameters, it is characterized as a CP (Control Packet) type. For example, when decoding an MPEG stream, an MPEG block that includes FEC parameters, that MPEG block is characterized as a CP MPEG block. The means by which FEC parameters are encoded and extracted from the signal stream allows for much easier adaptive modification of the manner by which signal are encoded, modulated, and processed within a communication system. | 11-07-2013 |
20150263772 | Communication Receiver Enhancements Using Multi-Signal Capture - A method and apparatus is disclosed to determine communications receiver parameters from multiple channels of a received communications signal and to configure and/or adjust communications receiver parameters to acquire one or more channels from among the multiple channels of the received communications signal. A communications receiver observes a multi-channel communication signal as it passes through a communication channel. The communications receiver determines one or more communications receiver parameters from the multiple channels of the received communications signal. The communications receiver configures and/or adjusts communications receiver parameters to acquire the one or more channels from among the multiple channels of the received communications signal. | 09-17-2015 |