HYBRID CENTRAL/DISTRIBUTED VOD SYSTEM WITH TIERED CONTENT STRUCTURE

• US 20100043035A1
• Filed: 08/05/2009
• Published: 02/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Time Warner Cable Inc. (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Inventors: Lebar, Metod
• Granted Patent: US 7,926,079 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/95
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2225 Local VOD servers
• 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 21/238 Interfacing the downstream path of the transmission network, e.g. adapting the transmission rate of a video stream to network bandwidth; Processing of multiplex streams hybrid fiber coaxial [HFC] networks for downstream channel allocation for video distribution H04L12/2801; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10; real-time communication protocols in data switching networks H04L65/00; scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2408 Monitoring of the upstream path of the transmission network, e.g. client requests monitoring data switching networks utilization H04L43/0876; scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/615 Signal processing at physical level signal processing in analog two-way television systems H04N7/173
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/10 Adaptations for transmission by electrical cable H04N7/12 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A system and method for selecting a network path for delivering on-demand content in a multi-channel network. A hybrid central/distributed and tiered video on demand (VOD) service network with tiered content structure uses media servers located in both the headend station and the hub stations. The hub media server is configured as a primary source for VOD content and the central media server located in the headend is configured as a secondary source of video content. A path for delivery of content may be determined based on the availability of content and network components.

Claims

1. A system for selecting a network path for delivering on-demand content comprising:

a multi-channel network, wherein the multi-channel network comprises a content transport network, a supertrunk network, and a distribution network;

a headend comprising at least one central media server and a resource management processor;

a hub remote from the headend comprising at least one hub media server and at least one QAM, wherein the hub and the headend are connected via the content transport network and the supertrunk network; and

a video termination device, wherein the video termination device is connected to the hub via a distribution network and wherein the video termination device comprises an instruction for sending a request for a particular on-demand content to the resource management processor,

a datastore, wherein the datastore comprises a plurality of transport stream identifiers (TSIDs) associated with the video termination device, wherein a TSID identifies network resources comprising an assigned content source, an assigned port on the assigned content source, and an assigned QAM connected to the assigned port by which a video stream may be delivered to the video termination device; and

wherein the resource management processor comprises instructions for;

selecting a source from which to obtain the particular on-demand content from the plurality of assigned content sources associated with the video termination device via the plurality of TSIDs comprising the hub media server and the central media server in response to the request sent from the video termination device;

selecting the TSID associated with the video termination device that includes the selected source; and

selecting a path over which to deliver the particular on-demand content to the video termination device, and

wherein the instruction for selecting a path comprises;

if the selected source is the hub media server, then selecting the distribution network as the selected path;

if the selected source is the central media server, then selecting the content transport network, if available, and the distribution network as the selected path, wherein the content transport network transports a transport network stream comprising the particular on-demand content to the assigned QAM associated with the video termination device via the selected TSID where it is RF modulated prior to routing to the distribution network; and

if the selected source is the central media server and if the content transport network is not available, then selecting the supertrunk network and the distribution network as the selected path, wherein the supertrunk network transports a supertrunk stream comprising the particular on-demand content that is previously RF modulated by the assigned QAM associated with the video termination device via the selected TSID and that is routed to the distribution network; and

wherein the selected source delivers the particular on-demand content over the selected path to the video termination device using the network resources associated with the selected TSID.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising a data network and wherein the central media server delivers on-demand content to the hub media server via the data network.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the instruction for selecting a content source comprises determining if the particular on-demand content is available from the at least one hub media server associated with the video termination device via the selected TSID and if the particular on-demand content is not available from the at least one hub media server associated with the video termination device via the selected TSID then determining if the particular on-demand content is available from the at least one central media server associated with the video termination device via the selected TSID.

4. The system of claim 1,

wherein the system further comprises at least one additional hub remote from the headend, wherein the at least one additional hub comprises another hub media server,

wherein the at least one additional hub and the headend are connected via the content transport network and the supertrunk network,

wherein the hub and the at least one additional hub are connected via the content transport network,

wherein the plurality of assigned content sources further comprises the other hub media server, and

wherein the instruction for selecting a path further comprises if the selected content source is the other hub media server, then selecting the content transport network, wherein the content transport network transports the transport network stream comprising the particular on-demand content to the assigned QAM associated with the video termination device via the selected TSID where it is RF modulated prior to routing to the distribution network.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the content transport network is capable of distributing a MPEG format content stream.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the selected TSID is assigned a tuner frequency, wherein

the video termination device comprises a tuner and wherein the resource management processor further comprises instructions for:

receiving the request for the particular on-demand content from the video termination device;

selecting the tuner frequency at which the particular on-demand content can be received by the video termination device associated with the selected TSID; and

instructing the video termination device to tune the tuner to the tuner frequency; and

wherein the video termination device further comprises instructions for;

receiving the tuner instruction from the resource management processor; and

tuning the tuner to the tuner frequency.

5. The system of claim 70, wherein the instructions for selecting a content source comprise determining if the particular on-demand content is available from at least one hub media server associated with the video termination device via the selected TSID and if the particular on-demand content is not available from at least one hub media server associated with the video termination device via the selected TSID then determining if the particular on-demand content is available from the other hub media server located in the at least one additional hub.

7. The system of claim 72, wherein the content transport network is a fiber digital video broadcasting-asynchronous serial interface (DVB-ASI) network.

8. The system of claim 73 further comprising an interface coupled to the central media server and the fiber DVB-AS 1 network, wherein the interface comprises instructions for converting an electrical MPEG format content stream into an optical MPEG format content stream capable of being transferred over the fiber DVB-ASI network.

10. A method for selecting a network path for delivering on-demand content in a multi-channel network, wherein the multi-channel network connects a headend, a hub remote from the headend and a video termination device, wherein the multi-channel network comprises a content transport network, a supertrunk network and a distribution network, wherein the headend comprises at least one central media server and a resource management processor, wherein the hub comprises at least one hub media server and at least one QAM, the hub and the headend being connected via the content transport network and the supertrunk network, a datastore, wherein the datastore comprises a plurality of transport stream identifiers (TSIDs) associated with the video termination device, wherein a TSID identifies network resources comprising an assigned content source, an assigned port on the assigned content source, and an assigned QAM connected to the assigned port by which a video stream may be delivered to the video termination device;

and wherein the video termination device comprises an instruction for sending a request for a particular on-demand content to the resource management processor and is connected to the hub via the distribution network, the method comprising;

selecting a source from which to obtain the particular on-demand content from a plurality of assigned content sources associated with the video termination device via the plurality of TSIDs comprising the hub media server and the central media server in response to the request sent from the video termination device;

selecting the TSID associated with the video termination device that includes the selected source; and

selecting a path over which to deliver the particular on-demand content to the video termination device, wherein selecting a path comprises;

if the selected source is the hub media server, then selecting the distribution network as the selected path;

if the selected source is the central media server, then selecting the content transport network if available and the distribution network as the selected path, wherein the content transport network transports a transport network stream comprising the particular on-demand content to the assigned QAM associated with the video termination device via the selected TSID where it is RF modulated prior to routing to the distribution network; and

if the selected source is the central media server and if the content transport network is not available, then selecting the supertrunk network and the distribution network as the selected path, wherein the supertrunk network transports a supertrunk stream comprising the particular on-demand content that is previously RF modulated by the assigned QAM associated with the video termination device via the selected TSID and that is routed to the distribution network without further modulation by the QAM; and

delivering the particular on-demand content over the selected path from the selected content source to the video termination device using the network resources associated with the selected TSID.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the multi-channel network further comprises a data network and the method further comprises delivering on-demand content to the hub media server via the data network.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein selecting a content source comprises determining if the particular on-demand content is available from the at least one hub media server associated with the video termination device via the selected TSID and if the particular on-demand content is not available from the at least one hub media server associated with the video termination device via the selected TSID then determining if the particular on-demand content is available from the at least one central media server associated with the video termination device via the selected TSID.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the multi-channel network further connects the headend to at least one additional hub remote from the headend via the content transport network and the supertrunk network, wherein the at least one additional hub comprises another hub media server and wherein the hub and the one additional hub are connected via the content transport network, wherein the plurality of assigned content sources further comprise the hub media server, and

wherein selecting a path further comprises if the selected source is the other hub media server, then selecting the content transport network, wherein the content transport network transports a transport network stream comprising the particular on-demand content to the assigned QAM associated with the video termination device via the selected TSID where it is RF modulated prior to routing to the distribution network.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein selecting a content source comprises determining if the particular on-demand content is available from the at least one hub media server associated with the video termination device via the selected TSID and if the particular on-demand content is not available from the at least one hub media server associated with the video termination device via the selected TSID then determining if the particular on-demand content is available from the other hub media server.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the content transport network is capable of distributing a MPEG format content stream.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the content transport network is a fiber digital video broadcasting-synchronous serial interface PVB-AS0 network.

17. The method of claim 15, the method further comprising converting an electrical MPEG format content stream into an optical MPEG format content stream capable of being transferred over the fiber DVB-AS1 network.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein the selected TSID is assigned a tuner frequency,

wherein the video termination device comprises a tuner and wherein the method further comprises:

receiving the request for the particular on-demand content from the video termination device;

selecting the tuner frequency at which the particular on-demand content can be received by the video termination device associated with the selected TSID; and

instructing the video termination device to tune the tuner to the tuner frequency; and

wherein the video termination device further comprises instructions for;

receiving the tuner instruction from the resource management processor; and

tuning the tuner to the tuner frequency.