Alcatel Lucent

Lucent Technologies Inc.

Alcatel-lucent USA Inc.

James William McGowan

Minkyu Lee

Michael Charles Recchione

Mary S Chan

Ajay Rajkumar

Thomas J Janiszewski

Mauricio Cortes

Tom Janiszewski

Senthil Kumar

Michael C Recchione

A file comprising an application and data corresponding to a status of the application at a particular time is maintained in a first memory of a user device, the first memory comprising a persistent storage. The application may be a software application, for example. In response to a request, the file is transferred to a second memory of the device, the second memory comprising a random-access memory. The file is activated, or set up, as a running application. The user device may be a cell phone, a wireless telephone, a personal digital assistant, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a workstation, a mainframe computer, etc. In one embodiment, the file is brought to a foreground of the user device.

System and method for managing network navigation

A method and apparatus for reducing rendering latency in a terminal device which receives audio data from a communication network such as, for example, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) communications networks. Received packets are advantageously decoded 'immediately' upon receipt, and the decoded data is placed directly in the rendering buffer at a location corresponding to the time appropriate for rendering, without using any intermediate buffer. Then, in accordance with the principles of the present invention and more particularly in accordance with certain illustrative embodiments thereof, packet loss concealment (PLC) routines are advantageously applied preemptively, without first determining whether or not any subsequent packets have or have not been received by any particular time.

Method and apparatus for reducing rendering latency for audio streaming applications using internet protocol communications networks

Techniques are disclosed for video mixing in a distributed computing environment. For example, a method comprises the following steps. At a first mixing device, one or more local video streams are received from one or more sources local to the first mixing device. The first mixing device generates a first partially-composited video stream, wherein the first partially-composited video stream comprises: (i) a partial set of video elements of the one or more local video streams; and (ii) information about video elements of the one or more local video streams. The first mixing device sends the first partially-composited video stream to at least a second mixing device remote from the first mixing device. The first mixing device and the second mixing device may be part of a video conferencing system.

Distributed video mixing

Methods and apparatus are provided for a virtual content channel structure in a broadband wireless network with location-based content. Broadband content is delivered to a mobile terminal in a wireless network by receiving a request for a content channel from the mobile terminal; and translating the requested content channel to a corresponding content item based on the requested content channel and a date and time associated with the request (and optionally, a location of the request), wherein a content source associated with the corresponding content item is transmitted to the mobile terminal using a communication channel associated with the user. The content source comprises, for example, the corresponding content item or an address or a link associated with the corresponding content item. The corresponding content item can include content components that are based on a location of the mobile terminal.

Methods and apparatus for a virtual content channel structure in a broadband wireless network with location-based content

A method and apparatus are provided for visualizing the latency in a conversation between a local speaker and at least one remote speaker separated from the local speaker by a communication medium. A latency estimate is obtained. A timing indication of at least the end of a conversational turn by the local speaker is obtained, and an outbound graphic is displayed, indicating the progress of at least the end-of-turn across the communication medium toward the remote speaker. The outbound graphical indication is displayed with a transit time across the medium that is derived from the latency estimate. An inbound graphic is displayed, indicating the progress across the communication medium toward the local speaker, of a start of a conversational turn by the remote speaker, which is imputed to begin when the remote speaker receives the local speaker's end-of-turn. The inbound graphical indication is displayed with a transit time across the medium that is derived from the latency estimate.

Method and apparatus of visual feedback for latency in communication media

Methods and apparatus are provided for delivering content to a mobile terminal in a wireless network. A base station in a wireless network delivers content to a mobile terminal by determining if a packet from the mobile terminal contains a request for content; and delivering the content to the mobile terminal from the base station if the content is stored locally at the base station. The base station can optionally evaluate an authorization of the mobile terminal to receive the content. During a hand-off, the current base station determines if a packet received from the mobile terminal contains a base station change message indicating that the mobile terminal is switching to a new base station; and provides content status information (such as content position) to the new base station.

Methods and apparatus for distributed multimedia content supporting user mobility

A method and apparatus for performing a active packet bundling in a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) based on a measure of voice concealability of one or more speech packets to be transmitted. Voice concealability is a property of a speech packet which indicates the likelihood that a given speech segment will meet the 'quasi-stationary' (QS) behavior assumed by conventional Packet Loss Concealment (PLC) algorithms used to compensate for transmission loss of speech packets. By ensuring that only well-concealed frames are delayed for bundling, it is more likely that the receiver will run the PLC algorithm when it is most effective (i.e., when it is likely to perform well at reconstructing the missing speech frame), rather than when it is more likely to be ineffective. This allows for a reduction in bandwidth while minimizing any potential negative impact on quality.

Method and apparatus for performing active packet bundling in a voice over IP communications system based on voice concealability

In one example embodiment of the present invention, a method of managing information at a base station in a wireless network includes determining whether first information is at least one of low priority information and high priority information. The method further includes queuing the information if the information is determined to be low priority information, and sending the information to a mobile station if the information is determined to be high priority information.

Network based mobile user proxy and agent

A method and apparatus in which a mobile network advantageously communicates data requests to neighboring data stores so that they may pre-fetch the data. In particular, in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, a protocol is advantageously established whereby a local data store in a mobile network notifies neighboring data stores of data requests, and whereby the neighboring data stores advantageously pre-fetch the data that may be required, thereby advantageously avoiding cascading cache misses. Such notifications may advantageously reduce the number of cache misses, which in turn may advantageously reduce the latency to download data as the user moves around within the mobile network and changes data sources. Specifically, in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, a protocol for communicating data requests between local storage centers in a network supporting mobile users is provided.

Method and apparatus for pre-fetching data in a mobile network environment using edge data storage

A method and apparatus for displaying images for use during a video teleconference provides improved eye contact between the participants. A video camera mounted on a display (e.g., a monitor or laptop) is co-located with a first participant in the video teleconference. An image of a second participant in the video teleconference is received, and a location of one or more facial features (e.g., the eyes) contained in the image of the second participant is determined. Then, the image of the second participant is displayed on the screen such that the eyes of the second participant are displayed in close proximity to (e.g., directly below) the video camera. In this manner, improved eye contact between the participants is advantageously provided. Alternatively, metadata representing the location of such facial features (e.g., the eyes) contained in the image of the second participant is received along with the image of the second participant.

Method and apparatus for enabling improved eye contact in video teleconferencing applications

A video codec is provided in which virtual reference data (e.g., virtual reference blocks) are advantageously employed by a video coder and decoder to significantly improve coding efficiency as compared to prior art codecs. Specifically, a 'virtual reference,' as used herein, is defined as a group of pixels (e.g., a block) that is used as reference material for encoding portions of the video signal (e.g., a motion-compensated inter-predicted block), but that does not comprise or represent any portion of the actual video sequence to be displayed. For example, it may advantageously be determined that portions of the video sequence may be efficiently represented as a motion-compensated block of pixel values which are generated by the video coder based on the blocks being predicted but not based on any actual blocks in any of the actual video frames or slices.

Method and apparatus for performing video coding and decoding with use of virtual reference data

A Multiple Bit Rate (MBR) video coding method and apparatus for performing video encodings at multiple bit rates and for performing advantageous switching therebetween. Frequent switching points and high video coding efficiency are achieved with use of a plurality of video encodings at each of a plurality of bit rates, wherein the switching points between multiple encodings at a given bit rate are shifted with respect to one another so that the frequency of available switching points is significantly improved without a corresponding loss of coding quality. In addition, one or more 'high quality' encodings may be provided at each bit rate, wherein the 'high quality' encodings employ infrequent switching points, providing a very high quality encoding at the given bit rate which may be used (or switched to) whenever possible.

Method and apparatus for performing multiple bit rate video encoding and video stream switching

One example embodiment of the present invention discloses a method of delivering content from a base station of a wireless network to a mobile station including receiving a request for content from a mobile station, accessing the requested content from content stored in association with the base station, and transmitting the requested content to the mobile station.

Wireless network and method of transmitting content from locally stored server

A method and apparatus for routing voice packets through a communications network wherein the routing priority of the packets is based on a location of a packet within a sequence of transmitted voice packets, relative to one or more identified voice packets in the transmitted sequence. In one embodiment of the invention, the routing priority of a voice packet is based on the location of the packet in a sequence of packets relative to voice activity, such as the beginning, middle or end of a talk spurt. For example, the routing priority of the first several voice packets of a talk spurt is increased to compensate for the fact that there is less network jitter protection available at the receiver for these packets. In another embodiment, the routing priority of a voice packet may depend upon its location relative to a cellular handoff from one transmitter to another.

VoIP encoded packet prioritization done per packet in an IP communications network

A method and apparatus for enhancing voice intelligibility for network communications of speech such as, for example, VoIP (Voice-Over-Internet-Protocol), in the presence of packets which arrive too late for normal playout. When a late speech packet is received by a speech decoder, that packet and, if necessary, one or more additional packets subsequent thereto, are played out over a shorter than normal duration so that the decoder can 'catch up' with the encoder. Since a voice frame is usually decoded in several sub-frames&#x2014;typically two or three&#x2014;this shortened playout may be achieved, for example, by skipping one sub-frame from each frame to be shortened.

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Whitehouse Station, NJ, United States of America

James William McGowan