Method and apparatus for transmitting packets

Abstract

There is disclosed an apparatus and methods for adjusting of bit rate transmission in a communication network by monitoring the state of the network, detecting the state of the network and transmitting a multimedia call over the network in accordance with the network state detected. In accordance with the invention the network state is monitored with the bit rate adjusted in accordance with the network state detected. This results in a multimedia call with greatly improved audio quality.

1. A method for transmitting packets over a packet switch network which includes a plurality of multimedia transceivers for sending and receiving multimedia communications, the method comprising the steps of:
 providing at least two predefined network quality states; 
 monitoring said network to detect at least one network quality state; 
 selecting one quality state from the at least two predefined network quality states in accordance with said detected network quality state; 
 creating at least one packet by placing at least one audio or video sample and at least one network protocol parameter into a package in accordance with said selected network quality state; and 
 transmitting said packet over said network, 
 wherein said network quality states are state is selected from the group consisting of: 
 not sufficient quality; 
 sufficient quality; and 
 high quality. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein said not sufficient quality state is a monitored transmission of packets via a first protocol over said network which results in packet loss. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2 , wherein said sufficient quality state is a monitored transmission of packet which includes at least two audio frames via a second protocol which includes at least one packet frame having at least one redundant frame over said network. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 3 , wherein said sufficient quality state is a monitored transmission of a packet which includes at least two audio frames via the first protocol over said network, which transmission result a packet loss. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein said high quality state is a monitored transmission of a packet which includes a single audio frame via the second protocol over said network, which transmission result a packet loss. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 5 , wherein said high quality state is a monitored transmission of a packet which includes a single audio frame, via said first protocol over said network. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of selecting said quality state further includes the step of:
 selecting a network the quality state in accordance with an available network bandwidth. 
 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7 , wherein the step of selecting comprises:
 selecting a lower quality state from said presently selected quality state if available network bandwidth is decreased. 
 
     
     
       9. A method comprising:
 matching, by a transmitter, a network state of a network to a corresponding one of a plurality of predefined network states;   selecting, by the transmitter, a bit rate for a communication, the bit rate being a one of a plurality of bit rates having been previously determined to result in at least a sufficient communication quality level at the matching predefined network state, wherein the sufficient communication quality level is higher than a non-sufficient communication quality level, and lower than a high communication quality level; and   transmitting, by the transmitter, a plurality of packets of the communication according to the selected bit rate.   
     
     
       10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:
 determining, by the transmitter, communication quality levels at one or more of the plurality of bit rates for each of the plurality of predefined network states of a network; and   categorizing, by the transmitter, each of the determined network communication quality levels as belonging to one of a plurality of predefined communication quality levels including at least the sufficient communication quality level, the non-sufficient communication quality level, and the high communication quality level.   
     
     
       11. The method of claim 9, further comprising:
 matching, by a transmitter, another network state of the network to another corresponding one of the plurality of predefined network states, the other network state occurring at a second time later than a first time of the network state;   selecting, by the transmitter, another bit rate for the communication, the other bit rate being another one of the plurality of bit rates having been previously determined to result in at least the sufficient communication quality level at the other matching predefined network state; and   transmitting, by the transmitter, another plurality of packets of the communication according to the other selected bit rate.   
     
     
       12. The method of claim 9, wherein said transmitting the plurality of packets of the communication according to the selected bit rate comprises controlling a level of compression of at least one audio and/or video sample of the communication in accordance with the selected bit rate. 
     
     
       13. The method of claim 9, wherein said transmitting the plurality of packets of communication according to the selected bit rate comprises selecting a number of audio and/or video samples to be placed into each of the plurality of packets according to the selected bit rate. 
     
     
       14. The method of claim 9, further comprising monitoring, by a monitor, the network for congestion and delay, and adjusting, by the transmitter, the selected bit rate based at least on the network's congestion and/or delay. 
     
     
       15. The method of claim 9, wherein said transmitting the plurality of packets of communication according to the selected bit rate comprises selecting a packet length for the plurality of packets according to the selected bit rate. 
     
     
       16. A system comprising:
 a network monitor to match a network state of a network to a corresponding one of a plurality of predefined network states;   a selector coupled to the network monitor to select a bit rate for a communication, the bit rate being a one of a plurality of bit rates having been previously determined to result in at least a sufficient communication quality level at the matching predefined network state, wherein the sufficient communication quality level is higher than an insufficient communication quality level, and lower than a high communication quality level; and   an audio and/or video transmitter coupled to the selector to transmit a plurality of packets of the communication according to the selected bit rate.   
     
     
       17. The system of claim 16, wherein the selector is further configured to:
 determine communication quality levels for each of the plurality of bit rates at one or more of the plurality of predefined network states of the network; and   categorize each of the determined communication quality levels according to one of a plurality of predefined communication quality levels including at least the sufficient communication quality level, the insufficient communication quality level, and the high communication quality level.   
     
     
       18. The system of claim 16, wherein the selector is further configured to:
 match a subsequent network state of the network to another corresponding one of the plurality of predefined network states; and   select another bit rate for the communication, the other bit rate being another one of the plurality of bit rates having been previously determined to result in at least the sufficient communication quality level at the other matching predefined network state; and   transmit another plurality of packets of the communication according to the selected other bit rate.   
     
     
       19. The system of claim 16, wherein the audio and/or video transmitter is configured to control a level of compression of at least one audio and/or video sample of the communication in accordance with the selected bit rate. 
     
     
       20. The system of claim 16, wherein the audio and/or video transmitter is configured to select a number of audio and/or video samples to be placed into each of the plurality of packets according to the selected bit rate. 
     
     
       21. The system of claim 16, wherein the network monitor is further configured to monitor the network for congestion and delay, and the selector is configured to adjust the selected bit rate based at least on the network's congestion and/or delay. 
     
     
       22. The system of claim 16, wherein the audio or video transmitter is configured to select a packet length for the plurality of packets according to the selected bit rate.