Accsoon, a leader in the development of stable, long-range WiFi-based video transmission systems, announces the company has been awarded a US patent for its unique Dual-Band wireless video transmission technology.
The Accsoon Dual-Band system was first introduced with the CineEye 2 Pro model in 2020. Then in 2021 the CineEye 2S Pro was released. Both were recognized for reliable wireless transmission and long 1000+ ft range. The subsequent CineView SE, HE and Quad models continued to develop and optimize the technology. The upcoming CineView 2 SDI has refined the system again to offer even greater range and performance.
“Transmission systems equipped with Accsoon Dual-Band are recognised as having better range and superior interference rejection than rivals in numerous independent reviews. These systems are the only ones to officially use the patented Dual-Band technology and it is not licensed to any competitors,” according to the company’s announcement.
The just announced CineView 2 SDI is the latest Accsoon transmission system to use the patented Dual-Band technology.
The WiFi Solution
Accsoon's CineEye & CineView models are based on the same WiFi technology found in consumer and professional devices worldwide. It was chosen for its combination of cost and performance. Using WiFi also opened the door to professional wireless monitoring on smartphones and tablets using iOS and Android apps.
Some WiFi systems suffer from excessive latency and are vulnerable to interference. No matter how well a conventional WiFi connection is implemented, in a complex wireless environment it will always be subject to interference - and this is where the Accsoon Dual-Band patented technology is different.
There are two common frequencies WiFi operates in: 2.4GHz and 5GHz. The 2.4GHz frequency has a longer wavelength, giving it better reflection and penetration on surfaces and walls, but with a lower data rate. The 5GHz band has much more bandwidth due to the use of a much shorter wavelength, but these higher radio frequencies have a shorter range and are easier to obstruct. Domestic and office WiFi routers commonly use a ‘combine’ or ‘merge’ feature to optimize performance. When near the router a device automatically adopts the 5GHz connection, while at greater distances the connection might be better over 2.4GHz. The device will judge and switch to 2.4GHz for a better internet connection automatically. These techniques do improve wireless performance but still do not solve the problem of interference.
Accsoon's CineEye and CineView transmission systems use Wi-Fi technology.
The Accsoon Dual-Band solution
In 2019, Accsoon’s engineers set out to solve this conundrum. Their solution: why not send a simultaneous connection on both bands at the same time?
Essentially, the Accsoon Dual-Band system takes the same video frame and sends it on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies at the same time. The receiver is also set to receive both at the same time. “Because of the physics of radio waves, it is hard for any single interference source to influence two connections on different frequencies distributed quite far apart. By sending the same information on two bands simultaneously, the chances of both being over-crowded and subject to excessive interference becomes very low,” the release explains.
Because identical video data packets are sent at the same time, even if one or both of them become partially corrupted it is designed to still be compared and re-combined, keeping the correct slices and dumping the corrupted ones, ultimately restoring the original intended image. These technologies are the heart of Accsoon's Dual-Band Transmission.
To make this all work requires four antennas - for the same reasons that advanced domestic and office MIMO routers now also have multiple antennas. MU-MIMO (Multiple User - Multiple Input Multiple Output) greatly improves the quality and channel capacity of the wireless connection. To leverage the benefits of MIMO a device will need at least two antennas for one band wireless connection, so to use MIMO on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz connections mandates the use of four antennas.
“Of course, this explanation of Accsoon’s Dual-Band technology is an oversimplification and the actual implementation is much more complex,” the release explains. “There are numerous issues: How to maintain synchronisation of the data? What kinds of model should be used for the reconstruction of a corrupted slice? And how do you optimize for multiple receivers? It took the Accsoon team two years of hard work to solve all these issues and bring the system to life in the CineEye 2 Pro in 2020. They continue to work on refining and improving performance with each subsequent release.”
Recently the term ‘Dual-Band’ has been applied to many wireless video systems. Some companies may label a product as dual-band when they are referring to systems that automatically switch between two frequencies (Dual-Band Seamless Handover), but do not receive both simultaneously and re-combine in the way the Accsoon system does. To be Accsoon’s Dual Band system the transmitter and receiver must have the four antennas. The patented Accsoon Dual-Band technology is not licensed to any competitors.
Accsoon's spending on R&D has given birth to the Dual-Band technology, as well as the SeeMo line of iOS adapters, and now the new SeeMo 4K.
“The award of this US patent for Dual-Band technology is a validation of the Accsoon team’s hard work and drive, but Accsoon would also like to take the opportunity to say a big thank you to its customers, distributors and resellers for their continued support and encouragement,” the announcement concludes.
For more information visit www.accsoon.com
