Method and Apparatus for Content Distribution Via Non-Homogeneous Access Networks

• US 20070106814A1
• Filed: 12/29/2006
• Published: 05/10/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast IP Holdings I LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Comcast IP Holdings I LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Goode, Christopher, Son, Yong
• Granted Patent: US 9,172,735 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/232
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2801 Broadband local area networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/5692 Selection among different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/552 by ensuring the integrity of packets received through redundant connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/557 Error correction, e.g. fault recovery or fault tolerance
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/65 Network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23106 involving caching operations prefetching while addressing of a memory level in which the access to the desired data or data block requires associative addressing means within memory systems or architectures G06F12/0862; caching at an intermediate stage in a data network H04L67/568
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234309 by transcoding between formats or standards, e.g. from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 or from Quicktime to Realvideo conversion of standards in analog television systems H04N7/01
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234381 by altering the temporal resolution, e.g. decreasing the frame rate by frame skipping
• 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 21/25875 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 21/2743 Video hosting of uploaded data from client
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4753 for user identification, e.g. by entering a PIN or password cryptographic authentication protocols H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6437 : Real-time Transport Protocol [RTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8355 : involving usage data, e.g. number of copies or viewings allowed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8455 : involving pointers to the content, e.g. pointers to the I-frames of the video stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17336 : Handling of requests in head-ends

Abstract

A method and apparatus for streaming content to an access network in an interactive information distribution system. The method encapsulates the content in accordance to an Internet Protocol (IP). The content is then transcoded into a format supported by the access network, and streamed over a distribution network to a remote server or to a subscriber terminal that is coupled to the access network. The apparatus is embodied as stream caching server for streaming the content encapsulated within the packet to access networks via a stream distribution network in response to a request for content. A packet processor is coupled to the stream server for processing the encapsulated content within the IP packets into a format native to the access network.

Claims

1. A method for managing data transmission from a first network toward a second network via an access network element, comprising:

determining a necessary quality of service (QoS) level associated with data to be transmitted via the access network element;

adapting the data to be transmitted such that the necessary QoS of the data to be transmitted is maintained and a total bandwidth demand on the access network element does not exceed an available bandwidth of the access network element.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the steps of determining and adapting are repeatedly performed.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of adapting comprises transcoding at least some of the data to produce corresponding reduced quality data.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the transcoding of data is performed at a head end in an information processing system prior to transmitting the transcoded data toward a client device via the access network element.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the transcoding comprises converting data from a first format to a second format.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein a client player associated with the second format is transmitted toward the client when needed.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the client player comprises an applet adapted to be executed at a client device.

8. The method of claim 3, wherein the transcoding comprises a data bitrate reduction.

9. The method of claim 3, wherein the transcoding is determined according to a statistical multiplexing process.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of adapting the data to be transmitted is performed according to metadata associated with the data.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the metadata included service provider parameters associated with the data.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein:

data of a first type is provided by a server optimized to deliver data of the first type; and

data of a first type is provided by a server optimized to deliver data of the second type.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

segmenting data to be provided according to data type;

storing data of a first type on the server optimized to deliver data of the first type; and

storing data of a second type on the server optimized to deliver data of the second type;

wherein data type information is included within metadata.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein data of the first type comprises streaming data and data of the second type comprises non-streaming data.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the server optimized to deliver data of the first type comprises a stream caching server and the server optimized to deliver data of the second type comprises an http proxy server.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the data delivered from the server optimized to deliver data of the first type is synchronized with the data delivered from the server optimized to deliver data of the second type.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the streaming data has a format according to one of a QuickTime format, an MPEG 2 format, an MPEG 4 format and an MPEG7 format.

18. A system, comprising:

a server, for providing data to be transmitted toward an access network element;

a packet processor, for transcoding the data to a format appropriate to an access network;

an infrastructure system manager, for adapting the data to be transmitted such that a necessary quality of service (QoS) of the data to be transmitted is maintained and a total bandwidth demand on the access network element does not exceed an available bandwidth of the access network element.

19. The system of claim 19, further comprising:

a plurality of data link converters for transmitting the data via respective carrier networks toward respective client devices, each of the carrier networks having associated with it a bandwidth constraint, the packet processor adapting the data to be transmitted according to the carrier network bandwidth constrains.

20. Apparatus for managing data transmission from a first network toward a second network via an access network element, comprising:

means for determining a necessary quality of service (QoS) level associated with data to be transmitted via the access network element; and

means for adapting the data to be transmitted such that the necessary QoS of the data to be transmitted is maintained and a total bandwidth demand on the access network element does not exceed an available bandwidth of the access network element.

21. In a transport network for communicating data between a data server and an access network, a method comprising:

transmitting data from the server to an access network element according to a necessary quality of service (QoS) level associated with the data to be transmitted and a QoS level associated with the access network; and

causing the data to be adapted such that the necessary QoS of the data is maintained and a total bandwidth demand on the access network element does not exceed an available bandwidth of the access network element.