Method and system for broadcasting multimedia data

• US 20060085553A1
• Filed: 10/05/2005
• Published: 04/20/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: VectorMAX Corporation
• Original Assignee: VectorMAX Corporation
• Inventors: Rachwalski, Jon, Witt, Daniel
• Granted Patent: US 8,230,097 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/233
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/40 of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data retrieval of still image data G06F16/50; retrieval of audio data G06F16/60; retrieval of video data G06F16/70
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 7/30 Compression speech analysis-synthesis for redundancy reduction G10L19/00; for image communication H04N; Expansion; Suppression of unnecessary data, e.g. redundancy reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0083 Formatting with frames or packets; Protocol or part of protocol for error control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1877 Measures taken prior to transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2001/0093 Point-to-multipoint
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/806 Broadcast or multicast traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0807 using tickets, e.g. Kerberos cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using tickets or tokens H04L9/3213
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/166 at the transport layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/61 for supporting one-way streaming services, e.g. Internet radio
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/611 for multicast or broadcast systems for broadcast or conference H04L12/18; arrangements for broadcast or distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/00; arrangements for broadcast applications with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time H04H60/00; selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS], H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/065 Encryption by serially and continuously modifying data stream elements, e.g. stream cipher systems, RC4, SEAL or A5/3
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/107 between spatial and temporal predictive coding, e.g. picture refresh
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/119 Adaptive subdivision aspects, e.g. subdivision of a picture into rectangular or non-rectangular coding blocks
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/136 : Incoming video signal characteristics or properties
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/162 : User input
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/172 : the region being a picture, frame or field
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/176 : the region being a block, e.g. a macroblock
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/40 : using video transcoding, i.e. partial or full decoding of a coded input stream followed by re-encoding of the decoded output stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/46 : Embedding additional information in the video signal during the compression process H04N19/517, H04N19/68, H04N19/70 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/51 : Motion estimation or motion compensation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/57 : Motion estimation characterised by a search window with variable size or shape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/583 : Motion compensation with overlapping blocks
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2181 : comprising remotely distributed storage units, e.g. when movies are replicated over a plurality of video servers distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS], H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2187 : Live feed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/222 : Secondary servers, e.g. proxy server, cable television Head-end provisioning of proxy services in data packet switching networks H04L67/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2347 : involving video stream encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25866 : Management of end-user data customer care in data networks H04L41/5077
• 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 21/26613 : for generating or managing keys in general key distribution for secret or secure communication involving central third party, e.g. key distribution center [KDC] or trusted third party [TTP] H04L9/083; network support of key management H04L63/06; key management for network security in communication control or processing H04W12/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4405 : involving video stream decryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47205 : for manipulating displayed content, e.g. interacting with MPEG-4 objects, editing locally
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 : communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 : involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/63345 : by transmitting keys key distribution for secret or secure communication H04L9/08; network support of key management H04L63/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6405 : Multicasting data broadcast and multicast in packet switching networks H04L12/18
• 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 7/15 : Conference systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/1675 : Providing digital key or authorisation information for generation or regeneration of the scrambling sequence pseudo-random number generators in general G06F7/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A broadcast system provides support for clients to receive transmissions over a unicast or a multicast channel from a broadcast server. A server administrator configures each of a first server and client systems connected to the server to receive data in one of a multicast or unicast transmission mode. An empirical test determines whether an intervening network can support the configured mode and if not, transmission is performed using a fall back mode. The first server is able to provide access to data streams from other servers to the client systems connected thereto. Upon requesting a data stream from another server, the first server receives the data stream, replicates the data stream, transmits the data stream to the requesting client system and stores the replicated data stream for immediate access by any requesting client server connected thereto.

Claims

1. A method for determining a transport mode comprising the activities of:

transmitting a multicast stream by a server to a media player application;

checking for features of a multicast streaming format by the media player application upon receiving the multicast stream;

enabling a unicast transmission if the media player application does not receive the transmitted multicast stream or does not detect features of a multicast streaming format;

enabling multicast streaming upon detecting features of a multicast streaming format by the media player application.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the activities of:

configuring, by an administrator, the server to support at least one of unicast and multicast transmission modes; and

configuring, by an administrator, the media player application to support at least one of unicast and multicast transmission modes.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the activity of determining elements of an intervening network connecting the server and media player application are multicast enabled upon detecting features of the multicast streaming format by the media player application.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the activity enabling the unicast transmission further includes the activity of recording a failure of the multicast stream.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the activity of checking includes at least one of checking for an XML header, a 4 byte hearer and features of a transport layer protocol.

6. A system for broadcasting an encoded data stream in one of a multicast and unicast transmission mode, said system comprising:

a plurality of client systems;

a first server; and

an intervening network connecting said first server to each of said plurality of client systems, said first server providing a multicast data stream to at least one of said plurality of clients via said intervening network, said broadcasting of the encoded data stream being in a multicast transmission mode upon receipt of content within the multicast data stream and detection of features of a streaming format by said at least one of said plurality of clients and said broadcasting of the encoded data stream being in a unicast transmission mode upon failure of said at least one of said plurality of client systems to receive content within the multicast data stream and detect features of a streaming format.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the broadcast mode of the encoded data stream between the first server and a respective one of said plurality of client systems is determined based upon whether the respective client system received the multicast data stream and detected the of features of a streaming format

8. The system of claim 6, wherein said first server is able to transmit in both the multicast transmission mode and the unicast transmission mode simultaneously to different ones of said plurality of client systems.

9. The system for increasing availability of data streams, said system comprising:

a plurality of client systems;

a primary server connected directly to each of said plurality of client systems; and

a plurality of peer servers each connected to said primary server, each of said plurality of peer servers storing data streams accessible by said first server upon receipt of a request from at least one of said plurality of client systems,

said primary server including;

a replication processor for replicating an accessed data stream;

a transmitter for providing the accessed data stream directly to the at least one of said plurality of servers; and

a storage medium for storing said replicated data stream and providing said replicated data stream to any of said plurality of clients upon request.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising a plurality of groups of client systems, each group of client systems being directly connected to a respective one of said plurality of peer servers, each of said plurality of peer servers acting as a primary server for group of clients systems connected directly thereto.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein said primary server provides a requested data stream a requesting one of said plurality of client systems in one of a multicast transmission mode and a unicast transmission mode upon receipt of a request signal from said at least one client.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the requested data stream is replicated and transmitted to the requesting client simultaneously by the primary server.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the accessed data stream is one of a live data stream and a Video on Demand data stream.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the storage medium stores the replicated Video on Demand data stream.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein said storage medium prioritizes stored data streams based upon frequency of requests and removes lower priority data streams to provide additional storage for higher priority data streams.

16. A method of replicating an encoded data stream comprising the activities of:

receiving, at a first server, a request for a data stream from at least one client system connected thereto;

searching a network of peer servers for the requested data stream;

receiving the requested data stream from a peer server within the network;

replicating the requested data stream;

transmitting the requested data stream to the at least one client;

storing the replicated data stream in a storage medium of the first server for direct access by a client system requesting the replicated data stream.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said activities of replicating and transmitting are performed simultaneously.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the data stream is one of a live data stream and a Video on Demand data stream.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the live data stream is replicated at a peer server and provided to first server via a proxied stream.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising the activity of

prioritizing stored replicated data streams based upon frequency of requests received for each data stream;

and

removing lower priority data streams to provide additional storage for higher priority data streams.