ADAPTIVE MOBILE MULTICASTING FOR WIRELESS NETWORKS

• US 20120155358A1
• Filed: 12/17/2010
• Published: 06/21/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Hao, Jack Jianxiu, Kheradpir, Shaygan, Gallagher, John F., Rozensztejn, Diego S., Yao, Xuefeng
• Granted Patent: US 8,817,684 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/312
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/189 in combination with wireless systems selective distribution or broadcast in wireless communication networks H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/611 for multicast or broadcast systems for broadcast or conference H04L12/18; arrangements for broadcast or distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/00; arrangements for broadcast applications with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time H04H60/00; selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS], H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/613 for the control of the source by the destination control signals issued by the client directed to the server or network components specially adapted for selective content distribution H04N21/637
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/752 adapting media to network capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6131 involving transmission via a mobile phone network wireless downlink channel access H04W74/006
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6405 Multicasting data broadcast and multicast in packet switching networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6581 Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services

Abstract

Video streams may be adaptively switched between multicast and unicast transmission over a wireless interface of a wireless network. A device may track a quantity of videos that are being streamed over the wireless network. The device may determine, based on the tracked quantity of videos, whether to dedicate a radio channel, of at least one cell in the wireless network, to streaming a first of the videos. The device may transmit, in response to a request, from a mobile device, for the first video, an identification of the dedicated radio channel so that the mobile device can receive the first video as a streaming video over the dedicated radio channel.

Claims

1. A method implemented by one or more computing devices, the method comprising:

tracking, by one or more computing devices, a quantity of videos that are being streamed, over a wireless interface, of a wireless network and to mobile devices, at any particular time;

determining, by the one or more computing devices, based on the tracked quantity of videos, whether to dedicate a radio channel, of at least one cell in the wireless network, to streaming a first of the videos; and

transmitting, by the one or more computing devices and in response to a request, from a mobile device, for the first video, an identification of the dedicated radio channel so that the mobile device can receive the first video as a streaming video over the dedicated radio channel.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

directing, in response to the determination, a base station corresponding to the at least one cell in the wireless network to dedicate the radio channel to stream the first video.

3. The method of claim 1, where determining whether to dedicate the radio channel includes determining to dedicate the radio channel of all cells in the wireless network.

4. The method of claim 1, where the wireless network includes a Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard wireless network.

5. The method of claim 1, where the videos being streamed include television broadcasts.

6. The method of claim 1, where determining whether to dedicate a radio channel to streaming the first video includes comparing a total quantity of requests for the first video to a quantity of cells in the wireless network.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

allowing a plurality of mobile devices to simultaneously connect to the dedicated radio channel to simultaneously receive the first video.

8. The method of claim 1, where the identification of the dedicated radio channel is made via a multicast uniform resource locator (URL) transmitted to the mobile device.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting a unicast uniform resource locator (URL) to the mobile device.

10. The method of claim 1, where the request from the mobile device is received from a virtual set-top box (STB) application of the mobile device.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing a plurality of versions of the first video, where each of the plurality of versions of the first video corresponds to a different quality of the first video, and where the determination to dedicate the radio channel to the first video includes dedicating a separate radio channel to each of the plurality of versions of the first video.

12. A system comprising:

one or more processors; and

a memory to store instructions that cause the one or more processors to;

store a quantity of videos that are being streamed, over a wireless interface, of a wireless network and to mobile devices, at any particular time;

determine, based on the stored quantity of videos, whether to dedicate a radio channel, of at least one cell in the wireless network, to multicast stream one or more of the videos that are being streamed;

store, for each of the videos that are determined to be multicast streamed, a multicast link;

transmit, in response to a request from a mobile device for one of the multicast streamed videos, the corresponding multicast link, where the multicast link is used by the mobile device to initiate streaming of the corresponding video from the dedicated radio channel.

13. The system of claim 12, where the memory additionally stores instructions that cause the one or more processors to:

direct, in response to the determination, a base station corresponding to the at least one cell in the wireless network to dedicate the radio channel to stream the first video.

14. The system of claim 12, where the instructions that cause the one or more processors to determine whether to dedicate the radio channel further includes instructions that cause the one or more processors to determine to dedicate the radio channel of all cells in the wireless network.

15. The system of claim 12, where instructions that cause the one or more processors to determine whether to dedicate a radio channel to multicast stream the one or more of the videos further includes instructions that cause the one or more processors to compare a total quantity of requests for the one or more of the videos to a quantity of cells in the wireless network.

16. The system of claim 12, where the memory additionally stores instructions that cause the one or more processors to:

store a plurality of versions of at least one of the videos, where each of the plurality of versions of the at least one of the videos corresponds to a different quality of the at least one of the videos, and where the determination to dedicate the radio channel includes dedicating a separate radio channel to each of the plurality of versions of the at least one of the videos.

17. A method comprising:

transmitting, by a mobile device, a request to receive a video stream over a wireless network;

receiving, by the mobile device, one or more links to the video stream, the one or more links including;

a unicast link to a resource that provides the video stream to the mobile device via a unicast transmission of the video stream over an air interface of the wireless network, or

a multicast link to a resource that provides the video stream to the mobile device via a multicast transmission of the video stream over the air interface of the wireless network;

streaming, by the mobile device, the video stream using the multicast link when the multicast link was received, where streaming using the multicast link includes connecting to a channel in the wireless network that is dedicated to the video stream and that supports multiple simultaneous connections by additional mobile devices; and

streaming, by the mobile device, the video stream using the unicast link when the multicast link was not received.

18. The method of claim 17, where the multicast transmission of the video stream over the air interface is provided by dedicating a radio channel for the video stream, where a plurality of mobile devices may simultaneously connect to the radio channel.

19. The method of claim 18, where the unicast transmission of the video stream over the air interface provided by transmitting the video stream to a single mobile device over a corresponding a radio channel.

20. The method of claim 17, where the wireless network includes a Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard wireless network.

21. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

detecting a cell change of the mobile device in the wireless network, and, in response to the detected cell change, streaming the video stream using the multicast link when the new cell supports multicast streaming.

22. A mobile device comprising:

one or more processors; and

a memory to store instructions that cause the one or more processors to;

transmit a request to receive a video stream over a wireless network;

receive one or more links to the video stream, the one or more links including

a unicast link to a resource that provides the video stream to the mobile device via a unicast transmission of the video stream over an air interface of the wireless network, or

a multicast link to a resource that provides the video stream to the mobile device via a multicast transmission of the video stream over the air interface of the wireless network;

stream the video stream using the multicast link when the multicast link was received, where streaming using the multicast link includes connecting to a channel in the wireless network that is dedicated to the video stream and that supports multiple simultaneous connections by additional mobile devices; and

streaming the video stream using the unicast link when the multicast link was not received.