1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wireless transmission of media data, and particularly to transmission of uncompressed high definition video data over wireless channels.
2. Description of the Related Technology
With the proliferation of high quality video, an increasing number of electronic devices, such as consumer electronic devices, utilize high definition (HD) video which can require multiple gigabit per second (Gbps) in bandwidth for transmission. As such, when transmitting such HD video between devices, conventional transmission approaches compress the HD video to a fraction of its size to lower the required transmission bandwidth. The compressed video is then decompressed for consumption. However, with each compression and subsequent decompression of the video data, some data can be lost and the picture quality can be reduced.
The High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) specification allows transfer of uncompressed HD signals between devices via a cable. While consumer electronics makers are beginning to offer HDMI-compatible equipment, there is not yet a suitable wireless (e.g., radio frequency) technology that is capable of transmitting uncompressed HD video signals. Wireless local area network (WLAN) and similar technologies can suffer interference issues when several devices which do not have the bandwidth to carry the uncompressed HD signals are connected.
Transfer of uncompressed video signals requires more use of wireless channels than that of compressed video signals because of a higher volume of data being transferred. Beyond efficient use of wireless channels, accuracy and quality of data being transferred should also be considered.
Wireless communication systems for transmitting video data can experience varying wireless channel conditions. Varying wireless channel conditions, particularly channel quality degradation, can adversely affect data transmission quality. In uncompressed video data transmission, because a large amount of data is transmitted over a wireless channel, channel quality degradation can significantly adversely affect the data transmission quality.
One conventional approach to solve this problem is to retransmit a video data packet in error. Such retransmission of a video data packet requires additional use of the wireless channel. In certain instances in which video data packets are immediately processed for playback at the receiver, the timing constraint may not permit such retransmission. Therefore, there is a need to provide a wireless receiver with a method which can effectively correct or conceal video data packets in error.