MONITORING AND CONTROLLING THE OPERATION OF DEVICES IN A DISTRIBUTED NETWORK OF BROADCAST DEVICES
First Claim
1. A system for monitoring and controlling the operation of devices in a distributed network of broadcast devices, the system comprising:
- at least one AV decoder device for decoding video and/or audio signals, the AV decoder device being operable to output state information representative of its internal state;
a controller;
a network for transmitting data signals between the controller and the at least one AV decoder device;
wherein, during a device testing phase, the controller is operable to transmit control and/or AV content data to the at least one AV decoder device causing the at least one AV decoder device to undertake an action in response to the data;
and wherein, during the device testing phase, the at least one AV decoder device is operable to undertake an action in response to the data transmitted by the controller, and to transmit state information data to the controller; and
the controller is operable to output a data result based on the state information data received from the at least one AV decoder device.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention relates to a system and method for monitoring and controlling the operation of devices in a distributed network of broadcast devices, such as Set Top Boxes (STBs). Such devices typically require periodic updates as new versions of operating software is developed. However, it is not possible to guarantee that all devices that have received an updated software version are able to operate correctly. The system initiates a test for a STB and monitors in real time the state of the STB as the software download occurs. The state of the STB is reported to a system controller and the results are output to a test engineer. Other devices in the broadcast network can be controlled by the controller and various troubleshooting or operational tests performed.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A system for monitoring and controlling the operation of devices in a distributed network of broadcast devices, the system comprising:
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at least one AV decoder device for decoding video and/or audio signals, the AV decoder device being operable to output state information representative of its internal state; a controller; a network for transmitting data signals between the controller and the at least one AV decoder device; wherein, during a device testing phase, the controller is operable to transmit control and/or AV content data to the at least one AV decoder device causing the at least one AV decoder device to undertake an action in response to the data; and wherein, during the device testing phase, the at least one AV decoder device is operable to undertake an action in response to the data transmitted by the controller, and to transmit state information data to the controller; and the controller is operable to output a data result based on the state information data received from the at least one AV decoder device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A device test tool for monitoring and controlling the operation of devices in a distributed network of broadcast devices comprising at least one AV decoder device for decoding video and/or audio signals, the AV decoder device being operable to output state information representative of its internal state;
wherein, during a device testing phase, the device test tool is operable to; transmit control and/or AV content data to the at least one AV decoder device via a network causing the at least one AV decoder device to undertake, during a device testing phase, an action in response to the data; receive from the at least one AV decoder state information data transmitted by the at least one AV decoder device during the device testing phase; output a data result based on the state information data received from the at least one AV decoder device.
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9. A method for monitoring and controlling the operation of devices in a distributed network of broadcast devices comprising at least one AV decoder device for decoding video and/or audio signals, a controller, and a network for transmitting data signals between the controller, and the at least one AV decoder device, wherein the AV decoder device is operable to output state information representative of its internal state;
the method comprising; transmitting control and/or AV content data to the at least one AV decoder device to cause the at least one AV decoder device to undertake, during a device testing phase, an action in response to the data; receiving at the controller state information data transmitted from the at least one decoder during the device testing phase; and outputting a data result based on the state information data received from the at least one AV decoder device. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A computer program product on which computer code is stored, wherein when the computer code is executed on a computer, the computer is caused to perform a method comprising:
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transmitting control and/or AV content data to the at least one AV decoder device to cause the at least one AV decoder device to undertake, during a device testing phase, an action in response to the data; receiving at the controller state information data transmitted from the at least one decoder during the device testing phase; and outputting a data result based on the state information data received from the at least one AV decoder device.
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17. A system for monitoring and controlling the operation of devices in a distributed network of broadcast devices, the system comprising:
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at least one AV decoder device for decoding video and/or audio signals, the AV decoder device being operable to output state information representative of its internal state; a controller; a network for transmitting data signals between the controller, and the at least one AV decoder device; wherein, during a device testing phase, the controller is operable to transmit control and/or AV content data to the at least one AV decoder device causing the at least one AV decoder device to undertake an action in response to the data; and wherein, during the device testing phase, the at least one AV decoder device is operable to undertake an action in response to the data transmitted by the controller, and to transmit state information data to the controller; and the controller is operable to output a data result based on the state information data received from the at least one AV decoder device; and wherein, during the device testing phase, the controller runs one or more scripts defining the nature of the control and/or AV content data, and/or the sequence in which the control and/or AV content data is to be transmitted, and the controller is operable to output an instance of the script that was run during the device testing phase with the state information.
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18. A method for monitoring and controlling the operation of devices in a distributed network of broadcast devices comprising at least one AV decoder device for decoding video and/or audio signals, a controller, and a network for transmitting data signals between the controller, and the at least one AV decoder device, wherein the AV decoder device is operable to output state information representative of its internal state, the method comprising:
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transmitting control and/or AV content data to the at least one AV decoder device to cause the at least one AV decoder device to undertake, during a device testing phase, an action in response to the data; receiving at the controller state information data transmitted from the at least one decoder during the device testing phase; outputting a data result based on the state information data received from the at least one AV decoder device; running one or more scripts at the controller, wherein the scripts define the nature of the control and/or AV content data, and/or the sequence in which the control and/or AV content data is to be transmitted; and outputting an instance of the script that was run with the state information.
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Specification