Delivery of digital content

• US 20090070842A1
• Filed: 08/20/2008
• Published: 03/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Corson, Greg
• Granted Patent: US 8,966,557 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/116
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/262 Content or additional data distribution scheduling, e.g. sending additional data at off-peak times, updating software modules, calculating the carousel transmission frequency, delaying a video stream transmission, generating play-lists scheduling strategies for dispatcher in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/4881; arrangements for scheduling broadcast services or broadcast-related services H04H60/06; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10; establishing a time schedule or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/62
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26208 the scheduling operation being performed under constraints
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26216 involving the channel capacity, e.g. network bandwidth admission control, resource allocation in open networks H04L12/5692; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10; establishing a schedule or organising the servicing of application requests taking into account QoS H04L67/61
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26241 involving the time of distribution, e.g. the best time of the day for inserting an advertisement or airing a children program
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26266 for determining content or additional data repetition rate, e.g. of a file in a DVB carousel according to its importance arrangements for broadcast or for distribution of identical information repeatedly in broadcast distribution systems H04H20/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26275 for distributing content or additional data in a staggered manner, e.g. repeating movies on different channels in a time-staggered manner in a near video on demand system
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47208 for requesting near-video-on-demand content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal

Abstract

A system and method for providing multimedia content through a cable, satellite television or other content server system is disclosed. A server facility which provides multimedia content divides formatted multimedia content into data chunks (e.g., collections of data corresponding to one minute lengths) prior to transmission to a user/subscriber receptor unit, and sends the divided data chunks according to a schedule which permits instantaneous starting and viewing of the multimedia content, such as movies, upon user/subscriber request. The user/subscriber receptor unit includes a cable box, video game device, or the like having a digital video recording capability and at least a memory capacity or disk space sufficient to store a complete unit of media content, such as full-length feature film. The invention does not require intensive interaction between the server facility and the receptor unit, but rather, only requires sending of content signals in the form of an interleaved media stream from the server facility to the receptor unit. Further, the invention requires the use of no more than six times the bandwidth of the original signal for operation.

Claims

1. A method of delivering digital content from a server to a plurality of user/subscriber devices configured to receive, store, and playback digital content, the method comprising:

dividing digital content into a plurality of data chunks;

repeatedly transmitting the plurality of data chunks from the server to the plurality of user/subscriber devices through a plurality of channels according to a transmission schedule, wherein the transmission schedule provides for the repeating transmission of each of the plurality of data chunks at a frequency equal to a time index of the data chunk in the digital content; and

removing transmission of a particular data chunk from the transmission schedule when the server determines that all user/subscriber devices connected to the server have received the particular data chunk.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one data chunk is transmitted non-sequentially.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one transmitted data chunk is stored at the plurality of user/subscriber devices prior to consumption of the at least one transmitted data chunk by a user/subscriber device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one divided data chunk is stored at the plurality of user/subscriber devices prior to transmission of the remainder of the plurality of divided data chunks according to the transmission schedule.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a transmitted data chunk is consumed simultaneously with the storage of another transmitted data chunk on the plurality of user/subscriber devices for subsequent consumption.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein less than a maximum number of available transmission channels are used per transmission of divided data chunks.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one transmission channel is dedicated to data chucks common to a plurality of digital contents.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein a number q of digital content starts per transmission is provided and wherein 1<

q≦

M and M is a maximum number of channels per transmission.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

accepting subsequently added user/subscriber devices to the transmission schedule for the divided digital content; and

transmitting the data chunks to the subsequently added user/subscriber devices simultaneously with those being transmitted to the initial user/subscriber devices following a request for the digital content.

10. A method of delivering digital content from a server to a plurality of user/subscriber devices configured to receive, store, and playback digital content, the method comprising:

dividing the digital content into a plurality of data chunks;

repeatedly transmitting the plurality of data chunks from the server to the plurality of user/subscriber devices through a plurality of channels according to a transmission schedule, wherein the transmission schedule provides for the repeating transmission of each of the plurality of data chunks at a frequency equal to a time index of the data chunk in the digital content; and

removing transmission of a particular data chunk from the transmission schedule when the server determines that all user/subscriber devices connected to the server have received the particular data chunk, wherein one or more of the plurality of data chunks are transmitted in advance from the server to the user/subscriber devices prior to the repeating transmission of the data chunks whereby the plurality of data chunks transmitted in advance and prior to the repeating transmission may be stored in the user/subscriber devices prior to commencing the repeated transmission, which excludes from the transmission schedule those data chunks sent in advance and prior to the repeated transmission.