Internet protocol television

• US 20060277316A1
• Filed: 05/12/2006
• Published: 12/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: NeuLion Incorporated (Endeavor Group Holdings Inc.)
• Original Assignee: NeuLion Incorporated (Endeavor Group Holdings Inc.)
• Inventors: Shu, Wei, Her, Michael, Wang, Yunchuan
• Application Number:
  US11/433,142
• Publication Number:
  US 20060277316A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23805 Controlling the feeding rate to the network, e.g. by controlling the video pump
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2381 Adapting the multiplex stream to a specific network, e.g. an Internet Protocol [IP] network transmission of MPEG streams over ATM H04L12/5601
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2402 Monitoring of the downstream path of the transmission network, e.g. bandwidth available traffic monitoring in data switching networks H04L43/00; monitoring data switching networks utilization H04L43/0876
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25816 involving client authentication restricting access to computer systems by authenticating users using a predetermined code G06F21/33; cryptographic authentication protocols H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08; authentication in wireless network security H04W12/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44004 involving video buffer management, e.g. video decoder buffer or video display buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6408 Unicasting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6437 Real-time Transport Protocol [RTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6587 Control parameters, e.g. trick play commands, viewpoint selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

An on-demand video delivery system, comprising: a program center having a content server for receiving and storing media signals representing humanly perceptible video programs and for converting the media signals into coded media data suitable for streaming over the Internet; and a plurality of delivery servers, each connected to the content server and the Internet for establishing an unicast link over the Internet with a respective one of a plurality of set top boxes (STBs) to deliver, upon request made from an STB for a video program, the requested video program by streaming over the Internet using Internet Protocol (IP), wherein each of the STBs includes: a buffer for receiving and temporarily storing a requested video program streamed from a delivery server over the Internet; a decoder for converting the coded media data to humanly perceptible video, and a processor for coordinating presentation of the humanly perceptible video to play on a television while the buffer receives packets of downstream coded media data from the respective delivery server.

Claims

1. An on-demand video delivery system, comprising:

a program center having a content server for receiving and storing media signals representing humanly perceptible video programs and for converting the media signals into coded media data suitable for streaming over the Internet; and

a plurality of delivery servers, each connected to the content server and the Internet for establishing an unicast link over the Internet with a respective one of a plurality of set top boxes (STBs) to deliver, upon request made from an STB for a video program, the requested video program by streaming over the Internet using Internet Protocol (IP),

wherein each of the STBs includes;

a buffer for receiving and temporarily storing a requested video program streamed from a delivery server over the Internet;

a decoder for converting the coded media data to humanly perceptible video, and a processor for coordinating presentation of the humanly perceptible video to play on a television while the buffer receives packets of downstream coded media data from the respective delivery server.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the coded media data is in a compressed form.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the coded media data is MPEG4 compliant.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the packets of coded media data is in H.264 Streaming Format.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the delivery servers includes a streaming controller employing one of a RTSP, Real System, or MPEG4 streaming protocol to stream the coded media data to a STB.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the presentation of the humanly perceptible video to play on a television is in one of interlaced, NTSC, or PAL format.

7. The system of claim 1, further including a program manager server configured to present on the Internet browsable pages including a subscriber welcome home page to the plurality of STBs.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein each of the STBs is configured to connect to the Internet with a browser and each STB has its browser preset to the subscriber welcome home page.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the Internet browsable pages include a page with video program titles selectable by subscribers at the STBs.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the video program titles selectable by subscribers include broadcast television programs and movie titles.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the broadcast television programs selectable by subscribers are presented as a playlist and the playlist is updated contemporaneously when broadcast programs are changed by the broadcaster.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the browsable pages include a bookmark page selectable by a subscriber to return to programs previously selected and partially viewed by the subscriber.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the STBs is configured to receive and process video program viewing control commands including play, stop, pause, and forward and backward.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein upon receipt of a STOP command at an STB, information about the title and frame of the stopped video program is stored in a database at the program delivery center, and the information is retrieved upon the next selection of the same video program from the same STB to play back the video program from the point of stoppage.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the STBs includes a network interface for connecting to a wireless access point (WAP).

16. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the STBs is identified by its MAC address.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the content server includes an encoder for encoding television signals into H.264AVI signals and converting the H.264AVI signals to HSF signals suitable for transport via IP streaming;

and

the decoder in each of the STBs decodes the H.264AVI signals and converts the decoded signals to media signals suitable for display on a television.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the content server is configured to monitor the rate of receipt of streaming packets at a respective STB, and adjusts the size of the packets to be streamed based on the rate.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the STBs further includes a DVR for storing video programs received from the program delivery center.

20. The system of claim 1, further including a database server having a database for storing subscriber information of each subscriber corresponding to each STB, including subscriber ID, password, preferences.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the subscriber information further includes subscription package selected by the subscriber, and the subscription package is one of a basic fee plus fee per selection, or a no-limit-viewing package at a higher basic fee.

22. A set top box device, comprising:

a network interface for connecting to the Internet via an access point;

a web browser for accessing webpages via at least one preset URL;

a buffer for buffering streamed packets of coded media data representing portions of a video program;

a processor and software modules for decoding the coded media data, and

converting the decoded media data to humanly perceptible audio and video; and

a driver for formatting the humanly perceptible video in a format playable on a television, wherein the processor is configured to cause the video program to be played over the television and at the same time downstream portions of the video program are being received at the buffer.

23. The device according to claim 22, wherein the streamed packets are received using one of RTSP, Real System, MPEG4 protocols.

24. The device according to claim 22, wherein the access point is a wireless access point to facilitate wireless access to a remote program center via the Internet at the STB.

25. The device according to claim 22, wherein the coded media data is MPEG4 compliant.

26. The device according to claim 22, wherein the format playable on a television is one of interlaced, NTSC, or PAL.

27. The device according to claim 22, wherein the packets of streamed data are configured as serialized objects with byte sequences identified by markers.

28. The device according to claim 22, wherein the software modules include a plugin to receive remote control commands including play, stop, pause, and forward and backward, and the processor is configured to cause the video program to function according to the received commands.

29. The device according to claim 22, further including a plugin that presents a virtual keyboard on the television.

30. The device according to claim 22, wherein the processor is configured to acknowledge receipt of the packetized media data at a rate proportional to the rate of receipt of the packetized media data.

31. A method of on-demand video delivery, comprising:

storing media signals representing humanly perceptible video programs at a program center;

converting the media signals into coded media data suitable for streaming over the Internet;

establishing at a delivery server an unicast link over the Internet with a set top box (STB) requesting a video program, and streaming the requested video program over the Internet using Internet Protocol (IP); and

receiving the requested video program streamed over the Internet at the requesting STB, converting the coded media data to humanly perceptible video, and presenting the humanly perceptible video to play on a television while maintaining communications with the delivery server over the unicast link including receiving packets of downstream coded media data from the respective delivery server.