WIRELESS LINK QUALITY MONITORING IN NETWORK-ENABLED TVs

Abstract

A networked TV gathers information pertaining to the quality of a wireless link over which the TV receives streamed multimedia content, and presents an indication of the quality to a user, selectively blocks content from display if the quality falls below a threshold, and/or reports poor link quality to a network server for diagnostic action by technical personnel.

1 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A networked processor configured for executing logic comprising:
 gathering information pertaining to quality of a link over which the processor receives streamed multimedia content;   determining if link quality associated with the link violates a threshold at least in part by testing current link signal strength against a minimum threshold, and/or comparing packet loss per second against a threshold maximum packet loss per second, and/or comparing streaming delay against a threshold maximum delay period; and   responsive to a determination that the link quality violates the threshold, presenting a prompt on a display for a user to select an instruction; and   responsive to a user selection of the instruction on the display, reporting poor link quality to a network server accessed by technical personnel such that the server can respond to link quality conditions.   
     
     
         22 . Device made by a manufacturer and configured for receiving audio video (A/V) signals from an audio video signal provider different from the manufacturer, the device comprising:
 processor; and   network interface configured for communicating with the processor to send A/V data received over a network link thereto, wherein   responsive to a determination that at least one quality index related to the network link exceeds a threshold, the processor is configured to send, to a network server, a report of link quality.   
     
     
         23 . The device of  claim 22 , wherein at least a portion of the link is wireless, the network interface is a wireless transceiver, and the processor is configured to present on a display a link quality indication that indicates at least one of wireless signal strength, data rate, packet loss, supported streaming video quality, and streaming delay. 
     
     
         24 . The device of  claim 22 , wherein the processor is also configured to cause link status information to be presented on a display. 
     
     
         25 . The device of  claim 22 , wherein the processor is configured to determine if link quality violates a threshold and if so present a prompt on the system for the user to select an action. 
     
     
         26 . The device of  claim 22 , wherein the processor is configured to determine if link quality violates a threshold and in response to a determination that link quality violates the threshold, send link quality indicia to a server associated with the manufacturer. 
     
     
         27 . The device of  claim 22 , wherein the processor is configured to determine if link quality violates a threshold at least in part by testing current link signal strength against a minimum threshold. 
     
     
         28 . The device of  claim 22 , wherein the processor is configured to determine if link quality violates a threshold at least in part by comparing data rate against a threshold minimum data rate. 
     
     
         29 . The device of  claim 22 , wherein the processor is configured to determine if link quality violates a threshold at least in part by comparing packet loss per second against a threshold maximum packet loss per second. 
     
     
         30 . The device of  claim 22 , wherein the processor is configured to determine if link quality violates a threshold at least in part by comparing streaming delay against a threshold maximum delay period. 
     
     
         31 . The device of  claim 22 , wherein the processor is configured to receive a video having a resolution consistent with a determination that link quality violates a threshold. 
     
     
         32 . The device of  claim 22 , wherein the processor is configured to cancel a streaming video download request responsive to a determination that link quality violates a threshold. 
     
     
         33 . The device of  claim 22 , wherein the processor is configured to prompt a user if the user desires to cancel a streaming video download request responsive to a determination that link quality violates a threshold. 
     
     
         34 . Method for receiving audio video (A/V) signals from an audio video signal provider different from the manufacturer, the system comprising:
 receiving A/V data over a network link;   determining whether at least one quality index related to the network link falls below a threshold; and   responsive to a determination that at least one quality index related to the network link falls below a threshold, sending, to a network server, a report of link quality.   
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 34 , comprising presenting on a display a link quality indication that indicates at least one of wireless signal strength, data rate, packet loss, supported video streaming quality, and streaming delay. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 34 , comprising causing link status information to be presented on a display. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 34 , comprising determining if link quality violates a threshold and if so presenting a prompt on the system for the user to select an action. 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 34 , comprising determining if link quality violates a threshold and in response to a determination that link quality violates the threshold, sending link quality indicia to a server associated with the manufacturer. 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 34 , comprising determining if link quality violates a threshold at least in part by testing current link signal strength against a minimum threshold. 
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 34 , comprising determining if link quality violates a threshold at least in part by comparing data rate against a threshold minimum data rate. 
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 34 , comprising determining if link quality violates a threshold at least in part by comparing packet loss per second against a threshold maximum packet loss per second. 
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 34 , comprising determining if link quality violates a threshold at least in part by comparing streaming delay against a threshold maximum delay period. 
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 34 , comprising reducing a resolution of video responsive to a determination that link quality violates a threshold. 
     
     
         44 . The method of  claim 34 , comprising blocking video from presentation responsive to a determination that link quality violates a threshold. 
     
     
         45 . The method of  claim 34 , comprising prompting a user if the user desires to block video from presentation responsive to a determination that link quality violates a threshold. 
     
     
         46 . Server computer, comprising:
 at least one processor accessing at least one computer readable storage medium bearing instructions which when executed by the processor cause the processor to undertake a method comprising:   receiving at least on link quality report from a system to which video is being streamed from a server;   responsive to the link quality report, adjusting streaming video bandwidth, and/or sending a message to the system that streamlining video to the system is not possible or of a lower resolution.