VIDEO AND MULTIMEDIA DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

• US 20110184744A1
• Filed: 04/01/2011
• Published: 07/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: III Holdings 2, LLC
• Original Assignee: V.V.S. Virtual Video Systems (Canada) Inc.
• Inventors: Vadavia, Rajesh, Castravelli, Claudio
• Granted Patent: US 8,275,746 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/1.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1014 based on the content of a request
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1029 using data related to the state of servers by a load balancer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• 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: H04L 67/5682 Policies or rules for updating, deleting or replacing the stored data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2181 comprising remotely distributed storage units, e.g. when movies are replicated over a plurality of video servers distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS], H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2225 Local VOD servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

Digital media content-on-demand hosting/delivery system for using an n-tier, multi dimension dynamic data technology to distribute digital content and manage information and comprising separate delivery and end-user systems with separate but compatible software, the hosting/delivery system being sub-divided into distributed hosting clusters serving small groups of users, ensuring local balance and overcoming diversity of connection/streaming speeds of end users.

Claims

1. A method of digital content distribution comprising the steps of

providing a central content warehouse with digital content;

receiving selections of the digital content from a user;

continuously updating user information associated with the user;

calculating time required for downloading the selected content for smooth play based on available internet speed;

identifying pre-content based on the calculated time and the continuously updated user information; and

playing the identified pre-content until a pre-selected percentage of the identified pre-content is played.

2. The method in accordance with claim 1 further comprising the steps of

requesting the selected content from a streaming module;

testing rights associated with the content and the user information for validity; and

streaming the selected content if the rights are valid.

3. The method in accordance with claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

receiving content profiles;

receiving diverse content from content providers based on the content profiles;

encoding the diverse content into a common digital format;

effecting receipt of revenue for the diverse content;

effecting payment of at least part of the revenue to the content providers;

providing at least a part of the diverse content to the distributed data warehouses based on a cluster of users associated with the distributed data warehouses and the content profiles; and

adjusting the cluster of users based on changes in the content profiles.