Content providing apparatus and content providing method

• US 20040052371A1
• Filed: 10/20/2003
• Published: 03/18/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/15/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Watanabe, Koichiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,240,121 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 380/233
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/262 Content or additional data distribution scheduling, e.g. sending additional data at off-peak times, updating software modules, calculating the carousel transmission frequency, delaying a video stream transmission, generating play-lists scheduling strategies for dispatcher in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/4881; arrangements for scheduling broadcast services or broadcast-related services H04H60/06; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10; establishing a time schedule or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/62
• 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 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6405 Multicasting data broadcast and multicast in packet switching networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6408 Unicasting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

The present invention is applied to distribution of music and videos via the Internet. Single stream content is divided into a plurality of parts A to D in a time-series manner, and a first part A is transmitted via stream distribution, and remaining parts B to D are transmitted via buffering distribution such that decoding of a receiver'"'"'s side can be started upon end of decoding an immediately preceding part.

Claims

1. (Amended) A content providing apparatus for transmitting predetermined stream content to a client, characterized in that:

among a plurality of parts formed by time-series division of single stream content,

only a first part is transmitted via stream distribution; and

remaining parts are transmitted via buffering distribution such that decoding of a receiver'"'"'s side can be started upon end of decoding an immediately preceding part.

2. The content providing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said stream distribution is a distribution via unicast.

3. The content providing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said buffering distribution is a distribution via multicast.

4. (Amended) A content providing apparatus for receiving stream content transmitted by a predetermined server to provide a user with the received stream content, characterized in that:

said stream content is divided into a plurality of parts in time-series manner to be transmitted by said server; and

said content providing apparatus receives only a first one of said parts via stream reception to be provided to the user, and

buffer-receives a rest of said parts in a manner decodable upon completion of decoding an immediately preceding part.

5. (Amended) A content providing method of transmitting predetermined stream content to a client, characterized by comprising:

among a plurality of parts formed by time-series division of single stream content,

transmitting only a first part via stream distribution, and

transmitting remaining parts via buffering distribution such that decoding of a receiver'"'"'s side can be started upon end of decoding an immediately preceding part.

6. (Amended) A content providing method of receiving stream content transmitted by a predetermined server to provide a user with the received stream content, characterized in that:

said stream content is divided into a plurality of parts in time-series manner to be transmitted by said server; and

said content providing method comprises;

receiving only a first one of said parts via stream reception to be provided to the user; and

buffer-receiving a rest of said parts in a manner decodable upon completion of decoding an immediately preceding part.