Method and system for reliable broadcasting of data files and streams

• US 6,272,658 B1
• Filed: 10/27/1998
• Issued: 08/07/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: KenCast Inc.
• Original Assignee: KenCast Inc.
• Inventors: Fischer, Michael, Steele, William E., Paleologou, Sophia
• Primary Examiner(s): Moise, Emmanuel L.
• Application Number:
  US09/179,083
• Time in Patent Office: 1,015 Days
• Field of Search: 714/751, 714/752, 714/762, 714/763, 714/774, 714/776, 370/474
• US Class Current: 714/752
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18523 Satellite systems for providing broadcast service to terrestrial stations, i.e. broadcast satellite service arrangements specially adapted for satellite broadcast receiving H04H40/90; picture transmission via satellite H04N1/00103; television transmission via satellite H04N7/20

Abstract

A system and method for transmitting information between a host computer and one or more subscriber computers via a satellite is provided. One or more live streams of data representing the information are inputted in the host computer. The respective pacing factors are measured from the live data streams. The respective virtual files are created from the live data streams. The virtual files are packet-encoded to generate respective streams of encoded packets. The streams of encoded packets and pacing factors are transmitted to the subscriber computers via satellite.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting information between a host computer and one or more subscriber computers via a satellite, said method comprising the steps of:

inputting one or more live streams of data representing the information into the host computer;

measuring respective pacing factors from the live data streams;

creating respective virtual files from the live data streams;

packet-encoding the virtual files to generate respective streams of encoded packets;

transmitting the encoded packets streams and pacing factors to the subscriber computers via the satellite.

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

prior to transmission, multiplexing the packets of the encoded packet streams to form one or more pipe streams;

packet-encoding the data pipe streams; and

multiplexing the encoded pipe streams to form a multiplexed pipe stream for transmission.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein in the step of multiplexing the encoded packet streams, a second type of packets is multiplexed along with the packets of the encoded packet streams.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the second type of packets is control packets.

5. A method according to claim 3, wherein the second type of packets is authorization packets.

6. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

respectively capturing one or more data streams input to the host computer as files;

storing the files offline;

measuring respective pacing factors from the one or more data streams of the offline files;

packet encoding the offline files to generate respective files of encoded packets;

generating one or more streams of encoded packets from the encoded packet files; and

in said transmitting step, transmitting the encoded packets streams and pacing factors corresponding to the one or more captured data streams along with the encoded packets streams and pacing factors corresponding to the one or more live data streams.

7. A method according to claims 1 or 6, further comprising the steps of:

storing one or more data files offline;

packet encoding the offline data files to generate respective files of encoded packets; and

in said transmitting step, transmitting the packetencoded data files along with the encoded packets streams and pacing factors corresponding to the live data streams.

8. A system for transmitting information between a host computer and one or more subscriber computers via a satellite, said system comprising:

means for inputting one or more live streams of data representing the information into said host computer;

means for measuring respective pacing factors from the live data streams;

means for creating respective virtual files from the live data streams;

means for packet-encoding the virtual files to generate respective streams of encoded packets;

means for transmitting the encoded packets streams and pacing factors to the subscriber computers via the satellite.