Method and apparatus for content distribution via non-homogeneous access networks

• US 20020026645A1
• Filed: 01/29/2001
• Published: 02/28/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast IP Holdings I LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: DIVA Systems Corporation
• Inventors: Goode, Christopher W.B., Son, Yong Ho
• Granted Patent: US 7,159,235 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/117
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2801 Broadband local area networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/5692 Selection among different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/552 by ensuring the integrity of packets received through redundant connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/557 Error correction, e.g. fault recovery or fault tolerance
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/65 Network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23106 involving caching operations prefetching while addressing of a memory level in which the access to the desired data or data block requires associative addressing means within memory systems or architectures G06F12/0862; caching at an intermediate stage in a data network H04L67/568
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234309 by transcoding between formats or standards, e.g. from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 or from Quicktime to Realvideo conversion of standards in analog television systems H04N7/01
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234381 by altering the temporal resolution, e.g. decreasing the frame rate by frame skipping
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2381 Adapting the multiplex stream to a specific network, e.g. an Internet Protocol [IP] network transmission of MPEG streams over ATM H04L12/5601
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25875 involving end-user authentication restricting access to computer systems by authenticating users using a predetermined code G06F21/33; arrangements for secret or secure communication including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08; authentication in wireless network security H04W12/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2743 Video hosting of uploaded data from client
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4753 for user identification, e.g. by entering a PIN or password cryptographic authentication protocols H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6437 : Real-time Transport Protocol [RTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8355 : involving usage data, e.g. number of copies or viewings allowed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8455 : involving pointers to the content, e.g. pointers to the I-frames of the video stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17336 : Handling of requests in head-ends

Abstract

A method and apparatus for streaming content to an access network in an interactive information distribution system. The method initially encapsulates the content in accordance to an Internet Protocol (IP). In one embodiment, the content is configured as a plurality of a MPEG-2 packets contained in a payload of a Realtime Transport Protocol (RTP) packet that is contained in an IP packet. The content is then transcoded into a format supported by the access network, and streamed over a distribution network to a remote server or to a subscriber terminal that is coupled to the access network. The apparatus is embodied as at least one stream caching server for streaming said content as an Internet Protocol (IP) packet to at least one access network via a stream distribution network in response to a request for content, where the content is encapsulated within the IP packet. A packet processor is coupled to the at least one stream server for processing the encapsulated content within the IP packets into at least one packet in a format native to the at least one access network.

Claims

1. A method of streaming content to at least one access network comprising:

encapsulating said content in an Internet Protocol (IP) packet;

processing said content into a format native to an access network from which a user request originated; and

streaming said IP packet containing said content to said at least one access network via a distribution network.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said encapsulating step comprises:

preprocessing said content into at least one packet having a format and size optimized for storage and retrieval at a local streaming server;

encapsulating said at least one packet of content in a payload portion of a real time transport protocol (RTP) packet; and

encapsulating said RTP packet in a payload portion of said IP packet.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising formatting said content to support playback at a quality of service (QoS) corresponding to said at least one access network.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of storing said encapsulated content in said IP packet on a storage medium coupled to said local streaming server.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising the step of retrieving said content from said local streaming server in response to a user request from said at least one access network.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising the step of retrieving said content from a remote stream server that is remotely located from said local stream server in an instance where said content is unavailable from said local stream server.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising the step of storing said retrieved content from said remote stream server on said storage medium coupled to said local stream server in an instance where a predefined user request threshold has been exceeded.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein said streaming step comprises streaming said content in real time.

9. The method of claim 2 wherein said preprocessing step further comprises transcoding said content into at least one packet format selected from the group of packet formats comprising MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, AVI, MJPEG, QUICKTIME®

, MP3, REAL NETWORKS®

, REAL VIDEO®

, REAL AUDIO®

, and MICROSOF®

media player, wherein said transcoding occurs prior to storage on a local stream server.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein said preprocessing step further comprises storing said content in said at least one of said packet formats from said group at said local stream server.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein said processing step further comprises:

retrieving said IP packet having said encapsulated content from a local storage device;

transcoding said content into at least one packet format selected from the group of packet formats comprising MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, AVI, MJPEG, QUICKTIME®

, MP3, REAL NETWORKS®

, REAL VIDEO®

, REAL AUDIO®

, and MICROSOFT®

media player, wherein said transcoding occurs after storage.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein said transcoding step comprises:

separating said IP packet into a header portion and a payload portion encapsulating said at least one packet of content;

converting said at least one packet of content into a format supported by said access network; and

said header portion and said converted at least on packet of content into said IP packet.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein said at least one access network is selected from the group comprising a wide area network, a local area network, a cable network, a carrier network, a satellite network, a terrestrial network, wireless network, and an internet network.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising extracting said content from said IP packet downstream of said distribution network.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting said content from said at least one access network to subscriber equipment of a requester for said content.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein said at least one access network comprises a plurality of non-homogeneous access networks.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said at least one access network comprises a plurality of non-homogeneous access networks.

19. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein each said IP packet further comprises said content encapsulated in a payload portion of a Realtime Transport Protocol (RTP) packet and said RTP packet encapsulated in a payload portion of said IP packet.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said content is stored as said IP packets on at least one storage medium respectively coupled to said at least one stream caching server.

21. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said at least one stream caching server comprises a local stream caching server coupled to at least one remote stream caching server via said stream distribution network.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein said at least one remote stream caching server streams said content to an access network in response to said request for content in an instance said requested content is unavailable from said local caching server.

23. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said content is formatted to support playback at a quality of service (QoS) corresponding to said at least one access network.

24. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said packet processor transcodes said content into at least one packet selected from the group of packet formats comprising MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, AVI, MJPEG, QUICKTIME®

, MP3, REAL NETWORKS®

, REAL VIDEO®

, REAL AUDIO®

, and MICROSOFT®

media player.

25. The apparatus of claim 24 wherein said transcoded content is stored as said at least one of said packet formats from said group prior to storing said IP packets.

26. The apparatus of claim 24 wherein said content is transcoded as said at least one of said packet formats from said group prior to streaming said IP packets.

27. The data structure of claim 17 wherein a number of content packets in each RTP payload is configured as a read block for transcoding of said content packets into a format supported by said access network.

28. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said at least one access network further comprises a data link converter for transferring said content to subscriber equipment of a requester for said content.

29. The apparatus of claim 28 wherein said data link converter extracts said content native to said at least one access network from said IP packet.

30. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein said at least one access network is a network selected from the group comprising a local area network, wide area network, cable network, satellite network, digital subscriber line, wireless network, and a terrestrial network.

31. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said interactive information distribution system further comprises at least one random access data server coupled to said at least one stream server via said distribution network.

32. The apparatus of claim 31 wherein said at least one random access data server is a server selected from the group comprising an HTTP proxy server for static web pages, an HTTP proxy server for dynamic web pages, a chat server, and an electronic program guide server, an e-mail server.

33. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said at least stream caching server is a server selected from the group comprising a video-on-demand server, a pay-per-view server, and a digital broadcast server.

17. An apparatus providing scalable streaming of content to at least one access network in an interactive information distribution system, said apparatus comprising:

at least one stream caching server for streaming said content as an Internet Protocol (IP) packet to said at least one access network via a stream distribution network in response to a request for content, said content being encapsulated within said IP packet; and

a packet processor coupled to said at least one stream server for processing said encapsulated content within said IP packets into at least one packet in a format native to said at least one access network.

34. A data structure for use in scalable streaming of content to an access network in an interactive information distribution system, said data structure comprising:

Internet Protocol (IP) header;

an IP payload comprising a Realtime Transport Protocol (RTP) packet and a plurality of stream check bits, where said RTP packet comprises a RTP payload containing said content configured as a plurality of MPEG packets.