Regulating the quality of a broadcast

• US 20020144266A1
• Filed: 03/29/2001
• Published: 10/03/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zhigu Holdings Limited
• Original Assignee: WebTV Networks Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Goldman, Phillip Y., Wasserman, Steven C., Carpenter, J. Wiltse
• Granted Patent: US 7,395,544 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/31 Arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/66 for using the result on distributors' side
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2385 Channel allocation H04N21/266 takes precedence; Bandwidth allocation H04N21/24 takes precedence ; allocation of channels according to the instantaneous demands of the users in time-division multiplex systems H04J3/1682; admission control, resource allocation in open networks H04L12/5692; arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896; negotiating bandwidth in wireless networks H04W28/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6582 Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17354 in an intermediate station common to a plurality of user terminals

Abstract

Systems and methods for utilizing a back channel as a feedback system to regulate the quality of broadcast. A signal source transmits a signal corresponding to the broadcast to one or more home entertainment systems. The displaying, recording or utilization of the broadcast is tracked at the individual home entertainment systems. The tracked information is transmitted in either real time or on a deferred basis from home entertainment systems as feedback across a back channel. The quality of the broadcast is regulated and/or optimized as a result of the feedback. As such, the broadcast can be dynamically restructured by modifying the bandwidth of the broadcast, by changing the modulation of the broadcast, by changing the encoding scheme of the broadcast, by varying parameters of the encoding scheme of the broadcast, by redistributing satellite channels to take full advantage of transponders available in a satellite television system, etc. The feedback also informs the operators and broadcasters as to when a disruption can be made on the broadcast so that the effect of the disruption is minimized.

Claims

1. In a system where a broadcast is provided across a medium having a fixed bandwidth to individual home entertainment systems, a method for optimizing the use of the available bandwidth by dynamically restructuring the broadcasting of channels of the medium based on feedback from at least some of the home entertainment systems, the method comprising the steps for:

generating user behavior information at a first home entertainment system that indicates that the first home entertainment system is tuned to a channel broadcast across the medium;

combining the user behavior information from the first home entertainment system with user behavior information from other home entertainment systems that corresponds to the channel; and

dynamically restructuring a broadcast of the channel based on the combined user behavior information so as to optimize the use of the available bandwidth.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the combined user behavior information is anonymous such that the identities of the first home entertainment system and the other home entertainment systems are not disclosed.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said step for dynamically restructuring a broadcast is performed automatically.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said step for dynamically restructuring comprises at least one of:

modifying bandwidth of the broadcast;

changing modulation of the broadcast;

changing an encoding scheme of the broadcast;

varying parameters of the encoding scheme of the broadcast;

interrupting the broadcast by allocating no bandwidth to the channel so as to entirely shut off the channel;

redistributing the channel from a first transponder of a satellite television system to a second transponder of the satellite television system; and

reserving a guaranteed amount of bandwidth for the broadcast.

5. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the step for transmitting the user behavior information as feedback across a back channel from the first home entertainment system to a signal source, wherein the user behavior information is transmitted in one of real time and a deferred basis with respect to the broadcast of the channel.

6. A method as recited in claim 5, wherein a statistical analysis is performed at the signal source to determine when a statistically significant number of home entertainment systems have transmitted user behavior information.

7. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the step for transmitting the user behavior information as feedback across a back channel from the first home entertainment system to a clearinghouse system, wherein the user information is transmitted in at least one of (i) real time with respect to the broadcast of the channel and (ii) on a deferred basis with respect to the broadcast of the channel.

8. A method as recited in claim 7, wherein the clearinghouse system performs said step for combining.

9. A method as recited in claim 8, wherein a statistical analysis is performed at the clearinghouse system to determine when a statistically significant number of home entertainment systems have transmitted user behavior information.

10. A method as recited in claim 9, wherein the clearinghouse system processes the combined user behavior information and forwards the results to the signal source.

11. A method as recited in claim 10, wherein the processing performed at the clearinghouse system comprises associating the combined user behavior information with data from a data source.

12. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein the data source comprises an electronic programming guide that provides data as to at least one of a program and an advertisement.

13. A method as recited in claim 10, wherein the processing performed at the clearinghouse system comprises generating a profile of at least one of the home entertainment systems and the users.

14. A method as recited in claim 13, wherein the profile includes the programs of the broadcast to which the home entertainment systems are more frequently tuned compared to other programs of the broadcast.

15. A method as recited in claim 14, further comprising allocating increased bandwidth to the programs more frequently tuned.

16. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein the bandwidth is increased at an instant in time prior to the airing of the programs more frequently tuned.

17. A method as recited in claim 14, further comprising allocating increased bandwidth to channels of the broadcast to which the home entertainment systems are more frequently tuned.

19. A method as recited in claim 18, wherein the first communication link and the other communication links are each back channels.

20. A method as recited in claim 19, further comprising the act of statistically determining at the clearinghouse system the reliability of the combined user behavior information, wherein said act of automatically restructuring a broadcast is based on the statistical determination performed at the clearinghouse system.

21. A method as recited in claim 20, wherein the statistical determination performed at the clearinghouse system comprises determining when a statistically significant amount of user behavior information has been received to cause the broadcast to be automatically restructured.

22. A method as recited in claim 19, wherein said act of automatically restructuring a broadcast comprises at least one of:

modifying bandwidth of the broadcast;

changing modulation of the broadcast;

changing an encoding scheme of the broadcast;

varying parameters of the encoding scheme of the broadcast;

interrupting the broadcast by allocating no bandwidth to the channel so as to entirely shut off the channel;

redistributing the channel from a first transponder of a satellite television system to a second transponder of the satellite television system; and

reserving a guaranteed amount of bandwidth for the broadcast.

23. A method as recited in claim 19, wherein said act of automatically restructuring a broadcast comprises allocating varying amounts of bandwidth of an MPEG data stream to the channel.

25. A method as recited in claim 24, wherein the user behavior information is received in real time across the first communication link with respect to a program broadcast on the channel.

26. A method as recited in claim 24, wherein the user behavior information is received on a deferred basis across the first communication link with respect to a program broadcast on the channel.

28. A computer program product as recited in claim 27, wherein said first communication link and said other communication links are each back channels.

29. A computer program product as recited in claim 28, wherein the user behavior information is received in real time with respect to a program broadcast on the channel.

30. A computer program product as recited in claim 28, wherein the user behavior information is received on a deferred basis with respect to a program broadcast on the channel.

18. In a system where a broadcast is provided across a medium having a fixed bandwidth and is received by one or more individual home entertainment systems, a method for restructuring the broadcast based on feedback transmitted from the one or more home entertainment systems across one or more potentially unreliable back channels to a clearinghouse system, the method comprising the acts of:

receiving at the clearinghouse system user behavior information across a first communication link from a first home entertainment system, wherein the user behavior information indicates that the first home entertainment system tuned to a channel broadcast across the medium;

receiving at the clearinghouse system other user behavior information across other communication links from other home entertainment systems, wherein the other user behavior information indicates that the other home entertainment systems tuned to the channel broadcast across the medium;

combining at the clearinghouse system the user behavior information from the first home entertainment system with the other user behavior information from the other home entertainment systems; and

automatically restructuring a broadcast of the channel based on the combined user behavior information.

24. In a system where a broadcast is provided from a signal source across a medium having a fixed bandwidth and is received by one or more individual home entertainment systems, a method for optimizing the bandwidth by restructuring the broadcasting of one or more channels within the broadcast based on feedback transmitted from the one or more home entertainment systems to the signal source across one or more back channels, the method comprising the acts of:

transmitting a broadcast from a signal source to one or more home entertainment systems;

receiving at the signal source user behavior information across a first back channel from a first home entertainment system, wherein the user behavior information indicates that the first home entertainment system tuned to a channel of the broadcast, and wherein the first home entertainment system is one of the one or more home entertainment systems;

receiving at the signal source other user behavior information across other back channels from other home entertainment systems, wherein the other user behavior information indicates that the other home entertainment systems tuned to the channel of the video service, and wherein the other home entertainment systems are of the one or more home entertainment systems;

combining the user behavior information from the first home entertainment system with the other user behavior information from the other home entertainment systems; and

automatically restructuring a broadcast of the channel based on the combined user behavior information.

27. A computer program product for implementing a method for restructuring a broadcast based on feedback, wherein the broadcast originates from a signal source and is receivable by one or more of a plurality of home entertainment systems, the computer program product comprising:

a computer readable medium carrying computer program code means utilized to implement the method, wherein the computer program code means comprises executable code for implementing the acts of;

receiving at a clearinghouse system user behavior information across a first communication link from a first home entertainment system, wherein the user behavior information indicates that the first home entertainment system tuned to a channel of the broadcast;

receiving at the clearinghouse system other user behavior information across other communication links from other home entertainment systems, wherein the other user behavior information indicates that the other home entertainment systems tuned to the channel of the broadcast;

combining the user behavior information from the first home entertainment system with the other user behavior information from the other home entertainment systems; and

automatically restructuring a broadcast of the channel based on the combined user behavior information.

31. In a system that provides a broadcast across a medium having a fixed bandwidth to individual home entertainment system, a method for improving the broadcast based at least in part by feedback received from one or more of the home entertainment systems, the method comprising the acts of:

receiving a broadcast at a local signal source, wherein the broadcast is sent from a central signal source;

transmitting the broadcast to one or ore home entertainment systems;

receiving at the local signal source user behavior information format least one of the one or more home entertainment systems, wherein the user behavior information is received across a back channel; and

transmitting a dynamically restructured broadcast to the one or more home entertainment systems, wherein the restructured broadcast is based at least in part by the user behavior information received.

32. A method as recited in claim 31, wherein the broadcast is dynamically restructured at the local signal source.

33. A method as recited in claim 32, wherein the dynamic restructuring of the broadcast comprises at least one of:

modifying bandwidth of the broadcast;

changing modulation of the broadcast;

changing an encoding scheme of the broadcast;

varying parameters of the encoding scheme of the broadcast;

redistributing a channel from a first transponder of a satellite television system to a second transponder of the satellite television system; and

reserving a guaranteed amount of bandwidth for the broadcast.

34. A method as recited in claim 31, further comprising the acts of:

transmitting the user behavior information to one of the central signal source and a clearinghouse system;

wherein said act of transmitting the user behavior information is performed before said act of transmitting a dynamically restructured broadcast; and

receiving the dynamically restructured broadcast.

35. A method as recited in claim 34, wherein the broadcast was dynamically restructured by at least one of:

a modification in bandwidth allocation;

a change in the modulation of the broadcast;

a change in an encoding scheme of the broadcast;

a modification in a parameter of the encoding scheme of the broadcast;

a redistribution of a channel from a first transponder of a satellite television system to a second transponder of the satellite television system; and

a reservation of a guaranteed amount of bandwidth for the broadcast