Media server interconnect architecture

• US 6,378,130 B1
• Filed: 10/20/1997
• Issued: 04/23/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Time Warner Entertainment Company LP (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Inventors: Adams, Michael Brian
• Primary Examiner(s): Faile, Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): Srivastava, Vivek
• Application Number:
  US08/954,672
• Time in Patent Office: 1,646 Days
• Field of Search: H04/N.710, H04/N.714, H04/N.7175, G06/F.516, 395/200.47, 345/327, 348/12, 348/13, 348/6, 348/7, 348/10, 455/5.1, 455/6.1, 455/6.2, 455/6.3, 455/3.1, 455/4.2, 709/226, 709/219, 725/95, 725/94, 725/93, 725/96, 725/91, 725/116, 725/114, 725/117
• US Class Current: 725/95
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2225 Local VOD servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2383 Channel coding or modulation of digital bit-stream, e.g. QPSK modulation arrangements for detecting or preventing errors in the information received by adapting the channel coding H04L1/0009; analogue front ends or means for connecting modulators, demodulators or transceivers to a transmission line H04L27/0002
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2393 involving handling client requests scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17336 Handling of requests in head-ends

Abstract

An improved media server interconnect to subscriber terminals is accomplished with a plurality of media servers at a headend where each media server provides one or more programs for distribution to the subscriber terminals. An array of modulators connects a requested media asset, such as a video program or WEB page, from a media server to a requesting subscriber terminal. A connection manager responds to a media asset request from the requesting subscriber terminal and selects a source server to provide the requested media asset and selects a modulator in the array to send the requested media asset from the source server to the requesting subscriber terminal. The array of modulators acts as a two stage switch between the source server and the requesting subscriber terminal. A selected modulator in said array is the switch point in the two stage switch. The connection manager controls a first stage of the switch by selecting the selected modulator to receive the requested media asset from the source server. The requesting subscriber terminal acts as a second stage of the two stage switch also under the control of the connection manager by tuning to the channel frequency of the selected modulator.

Claims

1. Apparatus for interconnecting media server to subscriber terminals in a system having a headend and a distribution network, a plurality of media servers connected at the headend, and a plurality of subscriber terminals connected to the network, a requesting subscriber terminal requesting a media asset from the media servers, said apparatus comprising:

each media server providing one or more media assets for distribution to the subscriber terminals;

a two-dimensional array of modulators modulating requested media assets provided by the media servers;

a plurality of sets of modulators in the array, a media server linked to each set of modulators, each modulator in a set modulates at the same frequency a media asset from the media server linked to the set, and each set of modulators modulates at a different frequency from other sets of modulators in the array;

a connection manager, responsive to a media asset request from the requesting subscriber terminal, selecting a media server as a source media server to provide the requested media asset and selecting a modulator from the set of modulators linked to the source media server to modulate the requested media asset for transmission to the requesting subscriber terminal through a combiner for a group of subscriber terminals containing the requesting subscriber terminal; and

said combiner combining all of the modulated media assets from each of the sets of modulators for distribution to a pre-defined group of subscriber terminals.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein each modulator in a set is linked in parallel with other modulators in the set to the media server for the set.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:

each modulator in a set is linked in series with other modulators in the set to the media server for the set;

said source media server sends the requested media asset as digital data packets;

said connection manager tags a program number to the requested media asset and notifies the selected modulator in the set of the program number; and

said selected modulator, responsive to the program number, for modulating the digital data packet of the requested media asset for transmission to the requesting subscriber terminal.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 comprises in addition:

said requesting subscriber terminal tuning to the frequency of the set of modulators linked to the source media server.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 comprises in addition:

said connection manager tags a program number to the requested media asset; and

said requesting subscriber terminal displaying a media asset tagged with the program number received on the frequency of the set of modulators linked to the source media server whereby the requested media asset is delivered to the requesting subscriber terminal.

6. An apparatus for interconnecting media servers to subscriber terminals in a system having a headend and a distribution network with a plurality of subscriber terminals connected to the network, the apparatus comprising:

a plurality of media servers at the headend, each media server providing multiple media assets in a time division multiplexed signal for distribution to the subscriber terminals;

a plurality of frequency modulators receptive of the time division multiplexed signals from the media servers and providing a subset of the media assets in the time division signals as a frequency modulated signal, wherein the plurality of frequency modulators are virtually aligned in a two-dimensional array of rows and columns of frequency modulators, and further wherein each of the plurality of media servers is associated with a particular row of the virtual array of frequency modulators by the time division multiplexed signal from each media server being supplied to each of the frequency modulators within a particular row and each of the subscriber terminals is associated with a particular column of the virtual array of frequency modulators by the frequency modulated signals from each of the frequency modulators in the particular column being sent to the requesting subscriber terminal; and

a connection manager that, in response to a media asset request from the requesting subscriber terminal, selects a source media server from the plurality of media servers to provide the requested media asset, selects a frequency modulator from the plurality of frequency modulators, and selects the requested media asset in the time division multiplexed signal provided by the selected source media server to be provided in the subset of media assets in the frequency modulated signal from the selected frequency modulator in order to send the requested media asset from the source media server to the requesting subscriber terminal.

7. An apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein each of the frequency modulators in a particular row operate at a given frequency with that given frequency being different than the given frequencies of the frequency modulators in each other row of the virtual array of frequency modulators.

8. Apparatus for interconnecting a source media server to a requesting subscriber terminal in a system having a headend and a distribution network, and plurality of subscriber terminals being connected to the network, said apparatus comprising:

a plurality N of media servers at the headend, each media server providing one or more media assets for distribution to the subscriber terminals;

a plurality N×

M of modulators selectively operating to connect a requested media asset from a source media server to a requesting subscriber terminal;

a connection manager, responsive to a media asset request from a requesting subscriber terminal, selecting a source media server from the plurality of media servers, and selecting a modulator from the plurality of modulators, to thereby send the requested media asset from the source media server to the requesting subscriber terminal;

said plurality N×

M of modulators comprising a rectangular array of modulators having the integer number N of rows and the integer number M of columns;

each of the M modulators in a row of modulators receiving the same media asset from a common one of the N media server, and each of the M modulators in a row of modulators modulating at the same frequency;

each of the N modulators in a column of modulators receiving a different media asset from different ones of the N media servers, and each of the N modulators in each column of modulators modulating a different frequency, and

a plurality M of combiners, each combiner connected to a different one of the modulators that are within a common column of modulators, each combiner combining modulated media assets from each modulator within the common column of modulators, the modulated media assets being distributed to M pre-defined sets of subscriber terminals, each pre-defined set of subscriber terminals being connected to a different one of the combiners.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein each pre-defined set of subscriber terminals is a node group of subscriber terminals.

11. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein each modulator within a given row is linked in parallel with other modulators in the given row to a media server for the given row.

9. Apparatus for interconnecting media servers to subscriber terminals in a system having a headend, a distribution network, and a plurality of subscriber terminals connected to the network, said apparatus comprising:

a plurality of media servers at the headend, each media server providing one or more media assets for distribution to the subscriber terminals;

a rectangular array of modulators connecting a requested media asset from a media server to a requesting subscriber terminal;

a connection manager, responsive to a media asset request from a requesting subscriber terminal, selecting a source media server from the plurality of media servers to provide the requested media asset, and selecting a modulator from the array of modulators to send a requested media asset from the source media server to the requesting subscriber terminal,

each modulator in a row of modulators in the rectangular array receiving a media asset from the source media server, and each modulator in a row of modulators modulating at the same frequency a media asset from the source media server;

each modulator in a column of modulators in the rectangular array modulating at a different frequency a media asset from a media server;

a combiner combining all of the modulated media assets from a column of modulators for distribution to a pre-defined set of subscriber terminals;

each modulator in a row being linked in series with other modulators in the row to a media server for the row;

said source media server sending the requested media asset as digital data packets;

said connection manager allocating a program identifier to the requested media asset and notifying a selected modulator in a row of the program identifier; and

said selected modulator, responsive to the program identifier, modulating the digital data packets of the requested media asset for transmission to the requesting subscriber terminal.