Technique for effectively providing program material in a cable television system

• US 20030056217A1
• Filed: 09/20/2001
• Published: 03/20/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Inventors: Brooks, Paul D.
• Granted Patent: US 8,713,623 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 11/02 with bandwidth reduction H04N11/04 , H04N11/24 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 11/04 using pulse code modulation H04N11/24 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2221 being a cable television head-end CATV in broadcast systems H04H20/78
• 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 21/2408 Monitoring of the upstream path of the transmission network, e.g. client requests monitoring data switching networks utilization H04L43/0876; scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/266 Channel or content management, e.g. generation and management of keys and entitlement messages in a conditional access system, merging a VOD unicast channel into a multicast channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42684 Client identification by a unique number or address, e.g. serial number, MAC address, socket ID network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming H04L61/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4383 Accessing a communication channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6405 Multicasting data broadcast and multicast in packet switching networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6581 Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/106 for domestic distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/12 Systems in which the television signal is transmitted via one channel or a plurality of parallel channels, the bandwidth of each channel being less than the bandwidth of the television signal H04N7/24 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/16 Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

In a cable television system in accordance with the invention, program materials are made available to subscribers in a neighborhood on an as needed basis. Specifically, when a subscriber at a set-top terminal selects a program channel to watch, the selection request is transmitted to a headend of the system. In response to such a request, a controller in the headend determines whether the material of the selected program channel has been made available to the neighborhood. If it has been made available, the controller identifies to the set-top terminal the carrier which is carrying the requested program material, and to which the set-top terminal tunes to obtain the requested program material. Otherwise, the controller assigns an unused carrier to carry the requested program material, and informs the set-top terminal of the identity of the newly assigned carrier. The controller also retires those carriers assigned for the program channels which are no longer watched by the subscribers in the neighborhood.

Claims

1. Apparatus for use in a cable television network for controllably providing a collection of program materials to a group of terminals, at least one terminal in the group being capable of issuing a request for selected program material, the apparatus comprising:

an interface for receiving the request;

a processing element responsive to the received request for determining whether the selected program material is included in the collection of program materials; and

if it is determined that the selected program material is not included in the collection of program materials, a control element for causing the selected program material to be added to the collection of program materials provided to the group of terminals.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the program materials in the collection are carried by a plurality of carriers, respectively, a selected carrier different than the plurality of carriers being assigned to carry the selected program material if it is determined that the selected program material is not included in the collection of program materials.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein an identity of the selected carrier is communicated to the at least one terminal.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the selected carrier is associated with a transmission channel through which the selected program material is provided.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein each program material in the collection is associated with a respective one of program channels selectable by the terminals in the group.

6. Apparatus for providing one or more program materials to a group of terminals, at least one terminal in the group requesting a selected one of the program materials, the apparatus comprising:

a processor for assigning carriers for carrying the program materials to each terminal in the group, each carrier being assigned to carry a respective one of the program materials; and

an interface for communicating to the at least one terminal information identifying one of the assigned carriers which carries the selected program material.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the assigned carriers are modulated with the respective program materials.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the program materials are multicast to each terminal in the group.

9. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein an assigned carrier carrying program material which is no longer needed by any terminal in the group is retired for reassignment.

10. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein each program material is associated with a respective one of program channels selectable by the terminals in the group.

11. A system for transmission of signals containing one or more program materials selected by a group of terminals, the system comprising:

a control unit for associating one or more carriers with the one or more program materials, respectively;

a modulator unit; and

a switching unit for routing data streams, respectively representing the program materials, to the modulator unit such that the modulator unit modulates the carriers with the data streams representing the program materials associated with the carriers, respectively, to generate the signals.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the terminals includes at least one set-top terminal.

13. The system of claim 11 further comprising an interface for receiving from the terminals requests for the one or more program materials.

14. The system of claim 11 further comprising an interface for sending, to a terminal, a control message which includes information identifying at least one carrier associated with the program material selected the terminal.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the control message is sent through a control channel.

16. The system of claim 14 wherein the control message includes information identifying the terminal.

17. The system of claim 11 wherein the data streams are in a digital format.

18. The system of claim 11 wherein each program material is associated with a respective one of program channels selectable by the terminals in the group.

19. The system of claim 11 wherein the terminals in the group each are connected to a node.

20. The system of claim 11 comprising a hybrid fiber coax (HFC) cable arrangement.

21. The system of claim 11 wherein the signals include cable television signals.

22. A method for use in a cable television network for controllably providing a collection of program materials to a group of terminals, at least one terminal in the group being capable of issuing a request for selected program material, the method comprising:

receiving the request;

in response to the received request, determining whether the selected program material is included in the collection of program materials; and

if it is determined that the selected program material is not included in the collection of program materials, causing the selected program material to be added to the collection of program materials provided to the group of terminals.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the program materials in the collection are carried by a plurality of carriers, respectively, a selected carrier different than the plurality of carriers being assigned to carry the selected program material if it is determined that the selected program material is not included in the collection of program materials.

24. The method of claim 23 further comprising communicating an identity of the selected carrier to the at least one terminal.

25. The method of claim 23 wherein the selected carrier is associated with a transmission channel through which the selected program material is provided.

26. The method of claim 22 wherein each program material in the collection is associated with a respective one of program channels selectable by the terminals in the group.

27. A method for providing one or more program materials to a group of terminals, at least one terminal in the group requesting a selected one of the program materials, the method comprising:

assigning carriers for carrying the program materials to each terminal in the group, each carrier being assigned to carry a respective one of the program materials; and

communicating to the at least one terminal information identifying one of the assigned carriers which carries the selected program material.

28. The method of claim 27 further comprising modulating the assigned carriers with the respective program materials.

29. The method of claim 27 further comprising multicasting the program materials to each terminal in the group.

30. The method of claim 27 further comprising retiring an assigned carrier for reassignment which carries program material which is no longer needed by any terminal in the group.

31. The method of claim 27 wherein each program material is associated with a respective one of program channels selectable by the terminals in the group.

32. A method for use in a system for transmission of signals containing one or more program materials selected by a group of terminals, the system including a modulator unit, the method comprising:

associating one or more carriers with the one or more program materials, respectively; and

routing data streams, respectively representing the program materials, to the modulator unit such that the modulator unit modulates the carriers with the data streams representing the program materials associated with the carriers, respectively, to generate the signals.

33. The method of claim 32 further comprising receiving from the terminals requests for the one or more program materials.

34. The method of claim 32 further comprising sending, to a terminal, a control message which includes information identifying at least one carrier associated with the program material selected the terminal.

35. The method of claim 34 wherein the control message is sent through a control channel.

36. The method of claim 34 wherein the control message includes information identifying the terminal.

37. The method of claim 32 wherein the data streams are in a digital format.

38. The method of claim 32 wherein each program material is associated with a respective one of program channels selectable by the terminals in the group.

39. The method of claim 32 wherein the signals include cable television signals.