Methods and systems for using in-stream data within an on demand content delivery path

• US 20060218601A1
• Filed: 03/09/2005
• Published: 09/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Comcast Cable Holdings LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Michel, Walter F.
• Granted Patent: US 7,860,013 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/87
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23424 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for inserting or substituting an advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23892 involving embedding information at multiplex stream level, e.g. embedding a watermark at packet level
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/858 Linking data to content, e.g. by linking an URL to a video object, by creating a hotspot
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

An on demand content delivery platform for delivering on demand digital assets includes a network transport composed of network elements. A content delivery path extends from an application server, through the network transport, to a client. During content delivery, at a network element, data is inserted into the content delivery path to produce a content stream containing inserted in-stream data. In one implementation, the content is conditioned in accordance with instructions present in the in-stream data. In another implementation, the in-stream data represents session information and is utilized for stateless recovery of session information.

Claims

1. A method for on demand content delivery in an on demand platform for the delivery of on demand digital assets, the on demand platform including a network transport composed of network elements, wherein a content delivery path extends from an application server, through the network transport, to a client, and wherein at least one of the network elements is a conditioning device, the method comprising:

delivering content using the content delivery path;

during content delivery, at a network element, inserting data into the content delivery path to produce a content stream containing inserted in-stream data; and

processing the content at a conditioning device to condition the content as the content passes through the content delivery path, the content being conditioned in accordance with instructions present in the in-stream data, whereby the in-stream data is actively used in the network to direct content conditioning as the content traverses the network transport.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the in-stream data includes diagnostic information and wherein the method further comprises:

during content delivery, at a network element, extracting the diagnostic information from the content delivery path; and

performing diagnostic analysis as the content passes through the content delivery path.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the in-stream data includes state information relating to a state of a session resource pool associated with the content delivery path, and wherein the method further comprises:

processing the content at a conditioning device to perform state information recovery as the content passes through the content delivery path.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the in-stream data is inserted into the content delivery path at an originating application server.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the in-stream data is inserted into the content delivery path at an intervening application server.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the in-stream data is inserted into the content delivery path at an intervening network element.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

extracting the in-stream data at a network element in the transport network.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein processing the content includes encrypting the content.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein processing the content includes replacing a portion of the content with replacement content.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein processing the content includes conducting a validation procedure.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein processing the content includes conducting flow control procedures.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the in-stream data includes source device identification information.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the in-stream data includes signed identification information.

14. A system for on demand content delivery in an on demand platform for the delivery of on demand digital assets, the system comprising:

a network transport composed of network elements, wherein a content delivery path extends from an application server, through the network transport, to a client;

at least one of the network elements being configured to, during content delivery, receive data and insert the data into the content delivery path to produce a content stream containing inserted in-stream data; and

at least one of the network elements being configured as a conditioning device to, process the content to condition the content as the content passes through the content delivery path, the content being conditioned in accordance with instructions present in the in-stream data, whereby the in-stream data is actively used in the network to direct content conditioning as the content traverses the network transport.

15. A method for on demand content delivery in an on demand platform for the delivery of on demand digital assets, the on demand platform including a network transport composed of network elements, wherein a content delivery path extends from an application server, through the network transport, to a client, the method comprising:

delivering content using the content delivery path;

during content delivery, at a network element, inserting data into the content delivery path to produce a content stream containing inserted in-stream data wherein the in-stream data includes state information relating to a state of a session resource pool associated with the content delivery path;

extracting the in-stream data at a network element in the transport network;

processing the extracted data to perform state information recovery as the content passes through the content delivery path.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the in-stream data is inserted into the content delivery path at an originating application server.