Patent ID: 8179848

Claim:
For use in an infrastructure-based wireless network including a video server node and a plurality of receiver nodes, a computer-implemented method comprising: a) determining a wireless channel condition between the video server node and each of the plurality of receiver nodes; b) assigning each of the plurality of receiver nodes into one of a first group and a second group using the measured wireless channel conditions, wherein receiver nodes assigned to the first group have, on average, a better determined wireless channel condition than that of receiver nodes assigned to the second group; c) selecting at least some of the receiver nodes of the first group of nodes as relay nodes; d) transmitting, wirelessly, with the video server node, video information from the video server node for reception by each of the receiver nodes assigned to the first group; e) transmitting, by each of the selected relay nodes, at least a part of the video information for reception by at least some of the receiver nodes of the second group such that the relay nodes collectively transmit the at least a part of the video information to all of the receiver nodes, of the second group; f) receiving, by receiver nodes assigned to the first group, the video information; g) decoding, by receiver nodes assigned to the first group, the received video information; h) rendering, by receiver nodes assigned to the first group, the decoded video information; i) receiving, by receiver nodes assigned to the second group, the at least a part of the video information; j) decoding, by receiver nodes assigned to the second group, at least the received at least a part of the video information to generate decoded information; k) rendering, by receiver nodes assigned to the second group, the decoded information; l) receiving in addition to the at least a part of the video information, by receiver nodes assigned to the second group, at least one of (A) copies of the at least a part of the video information from relay nodes not associated with the receiver node, and (B) the video information transmitted wirelessly by the source node; and m) combining (1) the received at least a part of the video information and (2) the received at least one of (A) copies of the at least a part of the video information from relay nodes not associated with the receiver node and (B) the video information transmitted wirelessly by the source node, to generate combined video information, wherein the act of decoding, by receiver nodes assigned to the second group, at least the received part of the video information decodes the combined video information to generate the decoded information.