Optimal movie distribution on video servers in an n-level interactive TV system
First Claim
1. A method for distributing and storing movies within a movie on demand or near movie on demand system having i levels of interconnectivity between and including at least one head end and at least one hub serving a plurality of end-users, said method comprising the steps of:
- inputting a storage cost of a movie at each level of said system;
inputting a connection cost of each level to an end-user;
inputting a selection probability of each of said movies;
determining an optimal distribution of said movies within said system as a function of said storage cost, said connection cost, and said selection probability; and
distributing said movies to various servers in said system in accordance with said determined optimal distribution, wherein said determining step further comprises the step of determining a minimal total storage and connection costs for each possible distribution of said movies in said system, wherein said step of determining said minimal total storage and connection costs for each possible distribution of said movies in said system comprises the step of calculating ##EQU23## wherein mi is a number of said movies at each server on an ith level, wherein ##EQU24## wherein n is a number of levels numbered starting from 1 at a root and going to n, Ni is a number of nodes on level i, mi is a number of movies stored at each node on the ith level, l is an average length of a movie, r is an encoding rate, and di is a cost of storage for level i.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Movies are distributed and stored within a movie on demand or near movie on demand system having a number of levels of interconnectivity between and including at least one headend and at least one hub serving a plurality of end users. Distribution is determined as a function of the storage cost of a movie at each level of the system, a connection cost of each level to an end user, and a selection probability of each of the movies. Distribution of the movies between the various servers in the cable system is performed in accordance with the calculated optimal distribution.
88 Citations
13 Claims
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1. A method for distributing and storing movies within a movie on demand or near movie on demand system having i levels of interconnectivity between and including at least one head end and at least one hub serving a plurality of end-users, said method comprising the steps of:
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inputting a storage cost of a movie at each level of said system; inputting a connection cost of each level to an end-user; inputting a selection probability of each of said movies; determining an optimal distribution of said movies within said system as a function of said storage cost, said connection cost, and said selection probability; and distributing said movies to various servers in said system in accordance with said determined optimal distribution, wherein said determining step further comprises the step of determining a minimal total storage and connection costs for each possible distribution of said movies in said system, wherein said step of determining said minimal total storage and connection costs for each possible distribution of said movies in said system comprises the step of calculating ##EQU23## wherein mi is a number of said movies at each server on an ith level, wherein ##EQU24## wherein n is a number of levels numbered starting from 1 at a root and going to n, Ni is a number of nodes on level i, mi is a number of movies stored at each node on the ith level, l is an average length of a movie, r is an encoding rate, and di is a cost of storage for level i. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A data processing system operable for distributing and storing movies within a movie on demand or near movie on demand system having i levels of interconnectivity between and including at least one head end and at least one hub serving a plurality of end-users, said system comprising:
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circuitry for receiving a storage cost of a movie at each level of said system; circuitry for receiving a connection cost of each level to an end-user; circuitry for receiving a selection probability of each of said movies; circuitry for determining an optimal distribution of said movies within said system as a function of said storage cost, said connection cost, and said selection probability; and circuitry for distributing said movies to various servers in said system in accordance with said determined optimal distribution, wherein said determining circuitry further comprises circuitry for determining a minimal total storage and connection costs for each possible distribution of said movies in said system, wherein said circuitry for determining said minimal total storage and connection costs for each possible distribution of said movies in said system comprises circuitry for calculating ##EQU25## wherein mi is a number of said movies at each server on an ith level, wherein ##EQU26## wherein n is a number of levels numbered starting from 1 at a root and going to n, Ni is a number of nodes on level i, mi is a number of movies stored at each node on the ith level, l is an average length of a movie, r is an encoding rate, and di is a cost of storage for level i. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7)
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8. A computer program product stored on a storage media and operable for distributing and storing movies within a movie on demand or near movie on demand system having i levels of interconnectivity between and including at least one head end and at least one hub serving a plurality of end-users, said computer program product comprising:
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a plurality of binary values for receiving a storage cost of a movie at each level of said computer program product; a plurality of binary values for receiving a connection cost of each level to an end-user; a plurality of binary values for receiving a selection probability of each of said movies; a plurality of binary values for determining an optimal distribution of said movies within said system as a function of said storage cost, said connection cost, and said selection probability; and a plurality of binary values for distributing said movies to various servers in said system in accordance with said determined optimal distribution, wherein said determining circuitry further comprises a plurality of binary values for determining a minimal total storage and connection costs for each possible distribution of said movies in said system, wherein said plurality of binary values for determining said minimal total storage and connection costs for each possible distribution of said movies in said system comprises a plurality of binary values for calculating ##EQU27## wherein mi is a number of said movies at each server on an ith level, wherein ##EQU28## wherein n is a number of levels numbered starting from 1 at a root and going to n, Ni is a number of nodes on level i, mi is a number of movies stored at each node on the ith level, l is an average length of a movie, r is an encoding rate, and di is a cost of storage for level i. - View Dependent Claims (9)
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10. A system comprising:
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at least one head end server; at least one hub server operable for serving a plurality of end-users; i levels of interconnected computer servers between and including said at least one head end server and said at least one hub server, wherein said at least one head end server is at level 1, and wherein said hub server is at level i, wherein i is greater than or equal to 2; circuitry for storing a plurality of movies; circuitry for receiving a storage cost of a particular one of said plurality of movies at each of said i levels of said system; circuitry for receiving a connection cost of each of said i levels to an end-user; circuitry for receiving a selection probability of each of said plurality of movies; circuitry for determining an optimal distribution of said plurality of movies within said i levels of interconnected servers as a function of said storage cost, said connection cost, and said selection probability; and circuitry for distributing said plurality of movies to various servers in said i levels of interconnected servers in accordance with said determined optimal distribution, wherein said determining circuitry further comprises circuitry for determining a minimal total storage and connection costs for each possible distribution of said plurality of movies in said i levels of interconnected servers, wherein said circuitry for determining said minimal total storage and connection costs for each possible distribution of said plurality of movies in said i levels of interconnected servers comprises circuitry for calculating ##EQU29## wherein mi is a number of s aid movies at each server on an ith level, wherein ##EQU30## wherein n is a number of levels numbered starting from 1 at a root and going to n, Ni is a number of nodes on level i, mi is a number of movies stored at each node on the ith level, l is an average length of a movie, r is an encoding rate, and di is a cost of storage for level i. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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12. A method for distributing and storing movies within a movie on demand or near movie on demand system having i levels of interconnectivity between and including at least one head end and at least one hub serving a plurality of end-users, said method comprising the steps of:
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inputting a storage cost of a movie at each level of said system; inputting a connection cost of each level to an end-user; inputting a selection probability of each of said movies; inputting an average length of each said movie; determining an optimal distribution of said movies within said system as a function of said storage cost, said connection cost, said selection probability, and said average length; distributing said movies to various servers in said system in accordance with said determined optimal distribution; and inputting an encoding rate, wherein said determining step also factors in said encoding rate, wherein storage cost equals ##EQU31## wherein n is a number of levels numbered starting from 1 at a root and going to n, an end-user level, wherein Ni is a number of nodes of level i, and mi is a number of movies stored at each node on the ith level, wherein an average length of a movie is l, r is the encoding rate, and di is a cost of storage for level i.
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13. A method for distributing and storing movies within a movie on demand or near movie on demand system having i levels of interconnectivity between and including at least one head end and at least one hub serving a plurality of end-users, said method comprising the steps of:
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inputting a storage cost of a movie at each level of said system; inputting a connection cost of each level to an end-user; inputting a selection probability of each of said movies; inputting an average length of each said movie; determining an optimal distribution of said movies within said system as a function of said storage cost, said connection cost, said selection probability, and said average length; and distributing said movies to various servers in said system in accordance with said determined optimal distribution, wherein the connection costs equals ##EQU32## where Nn is a number of nodes in a user level and cn is a number of active connections per node, wherein a probability of selecting a movie stored on an ith level is Pi with a cost of that connection being si.
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Specification