Abstract: A method and apparatus for operating an enhanced detection device are described including detecting an emergency alert in a protected structure, performing a first determination if the emergency alert is to be forwarded to other enhanced detection devices within the protected structure, forwarding the emergency alert to other enhanced detection devices within the protected structure responsive to the first determination, notifying occupants of the protected structure using capabilities of the enhanced detection device, performing a second determination if the emergency alert is to be forwarded to a consumer communication device and forwarding the emergency alert to the consumer communication device. Also described are a method and apparatus for operating a consumer communication device including receiving an emergency alert and notifying a user of the consumer communication device of a time, location and nature of the emergency alert.

Abstract: The disclosed embodiments relate to an apparatus and method for decoding signals in a receiver, such as signals using low density parity check error correction. The apparatus includes a link circuit. The link circuit may include a first memory, a first and second processing block, and also include a first shift circuit for shifting data before entering one of the processing blocks and a second shift circuit for reversing the first shift after exiting the processing block. The link circuit may also include a second memory used for intermediate storage and shared by the first and second processing block. The method includes reading data from a memory, shifting the data prior to processing, processing the data, and then reverse shifting the data prior to writing it back to the memory.

Abstract: A method for providing multimedia presentations on demand in a near on demand environment. The method comprises providing beginning segments for pre-recording by subscribers. Each beginning segment corresponds to ones of a plurality of multimedia presentations and each beginning segment has a duration at least as long as a predetermined time interval. Each one of the plurality of multimedia presentations are transmitted concurrently on a plurality of channels with identical presentations transmitted on different channels with start times of each transmission having a periodic interval not exceeding the predetermined time interval.

Abstract: A television signal receiving system is operative to optimally tune to one or a plurality of television channels and provide one or plurality of optimum television channel signals to one or a plurality of television signal receivers. The television signal receivers are operative to request a particular channel of a television signal processor. The television signal processor is coupled to an antenna array. Television signals from the antenna array are processed in accordance with the principles of the subject invention to provide optimum television channel signals. The optimum television channel signals are demodulated then remodulated before being distributed to the various television signal receivers.

Abstract: The disclosed embodiments relate to a system and method for receiving multiple channels in a communications receiver. The system includes a first module further including an analog to digital converter for converting an input signal to a first and second digital signal and a first processor for processing the first digital signal, and a second module further including a second processor to process the second digital signal. The method involves receiving an analog signal, converting the analog signal to a first and second digital signal, passing the first digital signal through a first interface, processing the first digital signal to a produce a first plurality of output signals, passing the second digital signal through a second interface, and processing the second digital signal to produce a second plurality of output signals.

Abstract: The disclosed embodiments relate to a method and apparatus for determining the frequency offset in a receiver. The apparatus includes a link circuit. The link circuit includes a frequency translator for translating the input signal, a detector for measuring the magnitude of the translated signal, and a controller for determining a maximum value of magnitude of a plurality of magnitudes measured by the detector as a result of controlling the frequency translator. The method includes receiving an input signal, mixing the signal with a plurality of frequencies, processing the plurality of second signals to generate a plurality of magnitudes and a plurality of associated frequency values, and determining a maximum magnitude from the plurality of magnitudes.

Abstract: The disclosed embodiments relate to an apparatus and method for decoding signals in a receiver, such as signals using low density parity check error correction. The apparatus includes a link circuit. The link circuit may include a first memory, a first and second processing block, and also include a first shift circuit for shifting data before entering one of the processing blocks and a second shift circuit for reversing the first shift after exiting the processing block. The link circuit may also include a second memory used for intermediate storage and shared by the first and second processing block. The method includes reading data from a memory, shifting the data prior to processing, processing the data, and then reverse shifting the data prior to writing it back to the memory.

Abstract: A satellite receiver comprises a front-end, demodulator and an LDPC decoder. The front-end receives a DVB-S2 LDPC coded signal and provides a down-converted signal to the demodulator. The latter demodulates the down-converted signal and provides a demodulated signal to the LDPC decoder. The LDPC decoder has a partially parallel architecture and partitions the bit node messages into N/360 groups and the check node messages into q groups, where q=M/360. Each group is processed by 360 bit node processors or 360 check node processors, respectively. Illustratively, the LDPC decoder includes a memory that is partitioned such that messages associated with bit node groups are consecutively addressed. Alternatively, the LDPC decoder includes a memory that is partitioned such that messages associated with check node groups are consecutively addressed.

Abstract: A trellis decoder system uses a feed-forward trellis demapping configuration to prevent error propagation. In a system for processing encoded binary data symbols representable as a symbol constellation, a decoder includes a delay for delaying received encoded symbol data. The decoder also includes a re-encoder for re-coding decoded symbol representative data and a processor for deriving decoded symbol data. The processor derives decoded symbol data using the delayed encoded symbol data and re-encoded data representative of a difference between successive symbols computed using an error propagation-free, feed-forward configuration.

Abstract: A wireless communications system comprises a first splitter separating at least two signals, a wireless circuit for processing a first signal as a wireless signal and a combiner connected to the wireless circuit and the splitter, combining the two signals and transmitting the signals into a service area. The wireless communications system further comprises a second splitter separating the wireless signal from a second signal, and a transmitter for broadcasting the wireless signal.

Abstract: A digital and analog television signal digitization and processing device that performs the digitization and processing functions using a common reference frequency source that is used to generate multiple subclock signals, wherein the reference frequency source is independent of any synchronizing characteristic of the input signal. For dual channel analog signal processing, the common frequency source is not locked to either channel/input signal. Digital signal processing is accomplished based on the same common reference frequency source. Advantageously, the present invention allows all of the analog-to-digital converters and decoder circuitry/logic necessary for simultaneously digitizing and processing several analog and digital television signals to be integrated on a single integrated circuit as well as eliminating duplicate frequency generation circuits.

Abstract: In a receiver for processing a vestigial sideband modulated signal containing terrestrial broadcast high definition television information and a pilot component, and for which multipath interference can lead to significant attenuation within narrow bands of the received signal spectrum containing the pilot tone of an Advanced Television Systems Committee high definition television broadcast signal, it has been found desirable to amplify the input signal in order to achieve synchronization of the receiver's phase-locked loop to the received pilot tone. Once this initial acquisition has been established, the amplification applied to the received signal can be reduced to a level appropriate for remaining blocks in the demodulation chain without upsetting the pilot tone synchronization. Thus, according to the present invention, the gain applied to the received ATSC VSB signal is set higher during pilot tone acquisition than it is during the remaining stages of demodulation.

Abstract: A television signal receiving system is operative to optimally tune to one or a plurality of television channels and provide one or plurality of optimum television channel signals to one or a plurality of television signal receivers. The television signal receivers are operative to request a particular channel of a television signal processor. The television signal processor is coupled to an antenna array. Television signals from the antenna array are processed in accordance with the principles of the subject invention to provide optimum television channel signals. The optimum television channel signals are demodulated then remodulated before being distributed to the various television signal receivers.

Abstract: A wireless communications system comprises a first splitter separating at least two signals, a wireless circuit for processing a first signal as a wireless signal and a combiner connected to the wireless circuit and the splitter, combining the two signals and transmitting the signals into a service area. The wireless communications system further comprises a second splitter separating the wireless signal from a second signal, and a transmitter for broadcasting the wireless signal.

Abstract: A receiver for processing a VSB modulated signal containing terrestrial broadcast high definition television information and a pilot component includes a carrier recovery network (22; FIG. 3) that produces a demodulated baseband signal. The carrier recovery network additionally responds to a locally generated control signal (Ph. Offset; 360) representing an unwanted phase offset of the pilot signal due to multipath distortion, for example. The control signal is used to compensate for the pilot phase offset before the demodulated signal is equalized. The control signal is produced by correlating received sync values with both a reference sync value (362) and a Hilbert transform of the reference sync value (363). The output of the carrier recovery network signal is phase compensated twice.

Abstract: A method for providing multimedia presentations on demand in a near on demand environment. The method comprises providing beginning segments for pre-recording by subscribers. Each beginning segment corresponds to ones of a plurality of multimedia presentations and each beginning segment has a duration at least as long as a predetermined time interval. Each one of the plurality of multimedia presentations are transmitted concurrently on a plurality of channels with identical presentations transmitted on different channels with start times of each transmission having a periodic interval not exceeding the predetermined time interval.

Abstract: A method and a system for providing multimedia on demand in a near multimedia on demand environment. Beginning segments for each of a set of multimedia presentations which are broadcast at a periodic interval are pre-recorded onto subscriber multimedia systems. Each of the beginning segments are at least as long as the periodic interval. Responsive to a user request for performance of a selected one of the multimedia presentations, playback of a corresponding beginning segment is commenced, recording of a corresponding multimedia presentation for which broadcast has already begun is commenced, and playback is switched from the beginning segment to the recording of the broadcast presentation when the playback content of the beginning segment correlates with content in the recording of the broadcast presentation.

Abstract: A wireless telephone system comprising a base unit coupleable to one or more external telephone lines and having a base transceiver, and at least one wireless handset. The wireless handset has a handset transceiver for establishing a digital link with the base unit via the base transceiver over a wireless channel, wherein the handset and base unit communicate via the digital link by fixed-size audio packets comprising a plurality of audio data samples and a plurality of error correction bits. Qualities of the digital link are monitored to determine whether a change in error rate occurs. In response to the determination, a packet structure of subsequent audio packets is changed from a first packet structure to a second packet structure to change the relative number of bits devoted to audio data samples and to error correction bits.

Abstract: In a receiver for processing a VSB modulated signal containing terrestrial broadcast high definition television information including data packets, the received signal is converted to a digital signal (19), demodulated (22) and equalized by an adaptive channel equalizer (34). An equalized signal is processed by decoding networks including a Reed-Solomon FEC error detecting and correcting network (44). The equalizer filter coefficient step size is dynamically adjusted during the adaption process as a function of the packet error rate. A local microcontroller (60) monitors the packet error rate at the Reed-Solomon error detector and instructs the equalizer to adjust the coefficient step size in a direction to reduce the packet error rate.

Abstract: A receiver system automatically adaptively tunes to broadcast signals that are variable in the number of channels that are transmitted, their signal coding type and their modulation format. A system receives a digital bitstream representing video information encoded in one of a plurality of different formats, and transmitted on one of a plurality of transmission channels. In the system, a method for acquiring data transmitted on a transmission channel involves selecting a transmission channel from the plurality of channels and selecting a modulation format. The method also involves tuning to receive the modulation format and determining whether valid data is being received on the selected transmission channel. The method steps are repeated until valid data is received. The method may also involve selecting a coding type, and tuning to receive the coding type.