Apparatus, system and method for resolving bandwidth constriction

• US 10,187,496 B2
• Filed: 12/14/2010
• Issued: 01/22/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Garg, Amit, Brown, Tom
• Primary Examiner(s): Abu Roumi, Mahran Y
• Application Number:
  US12/967,714
• Publication Number:
  US 20120151042A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,961 Days
• Field of Search: 725 95, 709224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/14 Multichannel or multilink protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2402 Monitoring of the downstream path of the transmission network, e.g. bandwidth available traffic monitoring in data switching networks H04L43/00; monitoring data switching networks utilization H04L43/0876
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/631 Multimode Transmission, e.g. transmitting basic layers and enhancement layers of the content over different transmission paths or transmitting with different error corrections, different keys or with different transmission protocols

Abstract

An apparatus, system and method are disclosed for resolving bandwidth constriction using multiple bandwidths and/or multiple content delivery paths. The apparatus, system and method may include recording requested video content and/or delivering the recorded video content to resolve bandwidth constriction using alternate bandwidths or delivery paths.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a server and from a requesting device, a request for content to be delivered to a first device;

responsive to a determination that there is insufficient bandwidth for multicast delivery to the first device, transmitting, by the server and to the requesting device, a request for alternate delivery of the content;

responsive to a response from the requesting device indicating an acceptance of the alternate delivery, sending, by the server, a message indicating a request for a second device to store the content in non-volatile memory of the second device; and

responsive to a determination that there is sufficient bandwidth for unicast delivery from the second device to the first device, causing, by the server, the content stored by the second device to be delivered via the unicast delivery from the second device to the first device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the multicast delivery is via a data switched packet network delivery path.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the multicast delivery is via a switched digital video (SDV) content delivery path.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the unicast delivery is via a data switched network delivery path.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second device comprises a network digital recorder.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the determination that there is insufficient bandwidth for multicast delivery comprises a determination that there is insufficient bandwidth for switched digital video (SDV) delivery, and wherein causing the content stored by the second device to be delivered comprises causing the content stored by the second device to be delivered from the second device via video-on-demand (VOD) delivery.

7. A method, comprising:

responsive to a determination, by a server, of an existence of a bandwidth constriction in a first content delivery path that hinders multicast delivery of content to a first device, sending, by the server, a message indicating a request for a second device to store the content; and

responsive to a determination that sufficient bandwidth exists for delivery, via unicast delivery, of the content that was obtained by the second device, delivering, by the second device to the first device via the unicast delivery, the content that was obtained by the second device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the second device comprises a network digital recorder.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the unicast delivery is via a packet switched data network delivery path.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the multicast delivery is via a switched digital video (SDV) content delivery path.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein one of the multicast delivery and the unicast delivery is via a wired path, and the other of the multicast delivery and the unicast delivery is via a wireless path.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the delivering via the unicast delivery comprises delivering the content via video-on-demand (VOD) delivery.

13. The method of claim 7, wherein the request identifies the content and the first device.

14. A method, comprising:

responsive to a request for content, determining, by a server, that there is insufficient bandwidth for multicast delivery of the content;

sending, by the server, a message indicating the content and a receiving device responsive to determining that there is insufficient bandwidth for multicast delivery of the content;

causing, by the server, the content to be delivered to a second device; and

causing, by the server, the content to be delivered, via unicast delivery, from the second device to the receiving device identified by the request at a time after the causing the content to be delivered to the second device.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the determining that there is insufficient bandwidth for the multicast delivery comprises determining that there is insufficient bandwidth for switched digital video (SDV) delivery, and wherein the causing the content to be delivered comprises causing the content to be delivered from the second device via video-on-demand (VOD) delivery.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein one of the multicast delivery and the unicast delivery is via a wired path, and the other of the multicast delivery and the unicast delivery is via a wireless path.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising receiving a response to a message indicating the unicast delivery, wherein the causing the content to be delivered is performed responsive to the response.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the determining that there is insufficient bandwidth for the multicast delivery comprises determining whether there is sufficient bandwidth for the multicast delivery, and wherein the method further comprises determining whether there is sufficient bandwidth for the unicast delivery.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising monitoring bandwidth of the unicast delivery to determine when there is sufficient bandwidth for unicast delivery, wherein the causing the content to be delivered from the second device via the unicast delivery is performed responsive to determining that there is sufficient bandwidth for unicast delivery.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the second device comprises a network digital recorder.