Apparatus and method for multiple rich media formats video broadcasting
First Claim
1. A modular, storage-less, real-time scalable video/audio streaming and switching system comprising a media format matrix, said media format matrix comprising:
- a. at least one star topology packet switching fabric module, for managing network streaming inside said media format matrix;
b. one or more controller modules connected with said at least one switching fabric module and with an external management unit, for configuring and controlling said media format matrix; and
at least one of a group consisting of;
c. one or more encoding modules connected with said switching fabric module, for receiving uncompressed video or audio and converting it into a predefined compressed format;
d. one or more decoding modules connected with said switching fabric module, for receiving compressed video or audio and converting it into a predefined uncompressed format;
e. one or more compressed stream interface modules connected with said switching fabric module, for transmitting compressed data between said switching fabric and an external media interface;
f. one or more transcoding modules connected with said switching fabric module, for receiving compressed streams from said switching fabric, transcoding them into different compressed formats and sending said different compressed stream back to said switching fabric;
g. one or more NIC modules connected with said switching fabric module, for connecting between said media format matrix and one or more distribution networks; and
h. one or more pre-processing modules connected with said switching fabric module, for processing uncompressed streams.
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Abstract
Apparatus and method for concurrently converting multiple video and audio formats and sources into different formats. The main elements of the system are: a. A Media Format Matrix (MFM) module, having multiple input and output channels. b. A Communicator module, having various network interfaces. c. A Storage module. The implementation of the system is based on standard networking protocols, used to transfer the data between the internal MFM, Communicator and storage elements. The system platform is built around an internal switched network infrastructure. The management architecture provides a scalable infrastructure for controlling and monitoring single or multiple internal and external system modules, and in addition single, multiple or clusters of systems.
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Citations
34 Claims
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1. A modular, storage-less, real-time scalable video/audio streaming and switching system comprising
a media format matrix, said media format matrix comprising: -
a. at least one star topology packet switching fabric module, for managing network streaming inside said media format matrix;
b. one or more controller modules connected with said at least one switching fabric module and with an external management unit, for configuring and controlling said media format matrix; and
at least one of a group consisting of;
c. one or more encoding modules connected with said switching fabric module, for receiving uncompressed video or audio and converting it into a predefined compressed format;
d. one or more decoding modules connected with said switching fabric module, for receiving compressed video or audio and converting it into a predefined uncompressed format;
e. one or more compressed stream interface modules connected with said switching fabric module, for transmitting compressed data between said switching fabric and an external media interface;
f. one or more transcoding modules connected with said switching fabric module, for receiving compressed streams from said switching fabric, transcoding them into different compressed formats and sending said different compressed stream back to said switching fabric;
g. one or more NIC modules connected with said switching fabric module, for connecting between said media format matrix and one or more distribution networks; and
h. one or more pre-processing modules connected with said switching fabric module, for processing uncompressed streams. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of encoding video/audio data streams, comprising the steps of:
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providing a streaming and switching system comprising a media format matrix, said media format matrix comprising;
a. at least one star topology switching fabric module, for managing network streaming inside said media format matrix;
b. one or more encoding modules connected with said switching fabric module, for receiving uncompressed video or audio and converting it into a predefined compressed format;
c. one or more compressed stream interface modules connected with said switching fabric module, for transmitting compressed data between said switching fabric and an external media interface;
d. one or more NIC modules connected with said switching fabric module, for connecting between said media format matrix and one or more distribution networks; and
e. one or more controller modules connected with said switching fabric module and with an external management unit, for configuring and controlling said media format matrix;
inputting an uncompressed data stream into the system;
converting said data stream into a desired compressed format and/or bit rate; and
transmitting said compressed data towards one of said switching fabric modules. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method of decoding video/audio data streams, comprising the steps of:
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providing a streaming and switching system comprising a media format matrix, said media format matrix comprising;
a. at least one star topology switching fabric module, for managing network streaming inside said media format matrix;
b. one or more decoding modules connected with said switching fabric module, for receiving compressed video or audio and converting it into a predefined uncompressed format;
c. one or more interface means connected with said switching fabric module, for transmitting compressed data between said switching fabric and an external media interface; and
d. one or more controller modules connected with said switching fabric module and with an external management unit, for configuring and controlling said media format matrix;
inputting a compressed data stream into the system and transmitting it to one of said switching fabric modules;
directing said compressed stream from said switching fabric module to one or more of said decoding modules; and
decoding said stream to one or more uncompressed format. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28)
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29. A method of transcoding video/audio data streams, comprising the steps of:
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providing a streaming and switching system comprising a media format matrix, said media format matrix comprising;
a. at least one star topology switching fabric module, for managing network streaming inside said media format matrix;
b. one or more interface means connected with said switching fabric module, for transmitting compressed data between said switching fabric and an external network;
c. one or more transcoding modules connected with said switching fabric module, for receiving compressed streams from said switching fabric, transcoding them into different compressed formats and sending said differently compressed stream back to said switching fabric; and
d. one or more controller modules connected with said switching fabric module and with an external management unit, for configuring and controlling said media format matrix;
inputting a compressed data stream to the system;
transmitting said compressed stream to one of said switching fabric modules;
directing said compressed stream to one or more said transcoding modules;
transcoding said compressed stream to a desired format or bit-rate or resolution; and
transmitting said transcoded stream to one said switching fabric modules. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification