Methods for delivering and receiving interactive multimedia

• US 20100250655A1
• Filed: 03/22/2010
• Published: 09/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Thomson Licensing (Vantiva SA)
• Original Assignee: Thomson Licensing (Vantiva SA)
• Inventors: Xu, Jun, Li, Jun, Du, Lin, Shangguan, Si Nan
• Granted Patent: US 9,124,774 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• 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 21/262 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 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4758 for providing answers, e.g. voting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6543 for forcing some client operations, e.g. recording remote booting in general G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17327 with deferred transmission or handling of upstream communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17336 Handling of requests in head-ends

Abstract

A method used in a service providing device for delivering interactive multimedia content to a plurality of client devices, comprising: receiving a request for the interactive multimedia content, from at least one of the plurality of client devices; disabling the plurality of client devices from sending the request to the service providing device, according to a predetermined condition; and delivering the interactive multimedia content to the plurality of client devices.

Claims

1. A method used in a service providing device for delivering interactive multimedia content to a plurality of client devices, comprising:

receiving a request for a given multimedia content, from at least one of the plurality of client devices;

disabling the plurality of client devices from sending further requests for said given multimedia content to the service providing device, according to a predetermined condition; and

delivering the multimedia content to the plurality of client devices in response to said condition.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of disabling comprises informing the plurality of client devices according to the predetermined condition, to disable sending further requests for said given multimedia content to the service providing device, even if the further requests are made at the plurality of client devices.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition consists in receiving a predetermined number of requests for a given interactive multimedia content.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition consists in reaching the end of a predetermined time interval following receiving the first request for the given interactive multimedia content.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the interactive multimedia content comprises information relating to a video program transmitted from the service providing device to the plurality of client devices.

6. A method for receiving interactive multimedia content, used in a client device of a communication network, comprising:

receiving a request for a given multimedia content to be sent to a service providing device of the communication network, from an input device of the client device;

disabling sending a request message corresponding to the user request to the service providing device according to a predetermined condition; and

displaying the interactive multimedia content received from the service providing device.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the step of disabling comprises disabling sending the request for said given multimedia content to the service providing device, even if the request are input at the client device.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the predetermined condition comprises receiving a disabling command from the service providing device.

9. The method according to claim 6, further comprising receiving a interactive multimedia content list from the service providing device before the step of receiving the request.

10. The method according to claim 6, wherein the predetermined condition consists in reaching the end of a predetermined time interval from receiving the interactive multimedia content list.

11. The method according to claim 6, wherein the interactive multimedia content comprises information relating to a video program transmitted from the service providing device to the plurality of client devices.