Transmitting notification of new video clips of interest from servers in wide area network

• US 6,490,725 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2000
• Issued: 12/03/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: PDACO LIMITED
• Original Assignee: Elonex IP Holdings Limited
• Inventors: Kikinis, Dan
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Kenneth S.
• Application Number:
  US09/741,638
• Publication Number:
  US 20010003188A1
• Time in Patent Office: 714 Days
• Field of Search: 725/87, 725/114, 709/203
• US Class Current: 725/87
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4004 Coupling between buses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/42 Centralised routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1043 Gateway controllers, e.g. media gateway control protocol [MGCP] controllers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/21 Server components or server architectures
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23 Processing of content or additional data; Elementary server operations; Server middleware
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17336 Handling of requests in head-ends

Abstract

A video jukebox service has a world-wide array of file servers interconnected by data links and having video input apparatus. Each file server has a plurality of connected clients. Video clippings input at the video input apparatus are shared with the other file servers and stored in a database at each file server. Clients are notified of availability of video clippings, and clippings are downloaded to client stations on demand. In a preferred embodiment, the file server network is a toriodal arrangement, and client communication nodes equal in number to the number of file servers are interconnected in a toroidal fashion as well. Individual client stations are connected to individual ones of the client communication nodes, with the overall network in the form of nested toroids.

Claims

1. A method of providing video entities to users, comprising the steps of:

storing data identifying a user'"'"'s interests;

receiving video entities at server, the server being one of a plurality of servers distributed across a wide area network at which the video entities are received;

transmitting to the user via a digital data link notification of receipt of a video entity corresponding to the data identifying the user'"'"'s interests; and

downloading via the digital data link the video entity corresponding to the data identifying the user'"'"'s interest to the user from the server.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of accumulating data regarding video entities downloaded to the user.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of preparing billing data for downloading of video entities.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of notifying the user of receipt of a video entity comprises forwarding an e-mail to the user.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of maintaining a database comprising information identifying topics of interests to which video entities relate.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of searching the database for video entities corresponding to the user'"'"'s interest.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of loading new video entities and distributing the new video entities to the plurality of distributed servers.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein loading new video entities comprises identifying topics of interests to which the new video entities relate.

9. A method of providing video entities to users, comprising the steps of:

receiving copies of video entities at a plurality of servers distributed across a wide area network;

maintaining a database of users'"'"' topics of interests;

identifying video entities corresponding to users'"'"' topics of interests;

transmitting to the users via digital data links notification of receipt of video entities corresponding to users'"'"' topics of interests; and

downloading to users via the digital data links video entities corresponding to users'"'"' topics of interests from plurality of distributed servers.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of accumulating data regarding video entities downloaded to users.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of preparing billing data for downloading of video entities.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of notifying users of video entities comprises forwarding e-mails to users.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of maintaining a database comprising information identifying topics of interests to which video entities relate.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of searching the database comprising information identifying topics of interests to which video entities relate for video entities corresponding to users'"'"' interests.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of loading new video entities and distributing the new video entities to the plurality of distributed servers.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein loading new video entities comprises identifying topics of interests to which the new video entities relate.

17. A system for delivering video entities, comprising:

a plurality of servers distributed over a wide area networke, each of the plurality of distributed servers operable to receive video entities distributed to all of the servers; and

at least one additional server, said at least one additional server operable to store data identifying users'"'"' topics of interests, transmit to users notification of receipt at said plurality of geographically distributed servers of video entities corresponding to users'"'"' topics of interests, and initiate downloading of video entities corresponding to users'"'"' topics of interest from the plurality of geographically distributed servers to users.

18. The system of claim 17, further comprising video input apparatus for loading new video entities and distributing new video entities to said plurality of distributed servers.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein said at least one additional server is further operable to accumulate data regarding video entities downloaded to users.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein said at least one additional server is further operable to prepare billing information for users.

21. The system of claim 17, wherein said plurality of distributed servers and said at least one additional server communicate over a wide area network.

22. The system of claim 17, wherein said at least one additional server is operable to forward e-mails to users notifying users of receipt of video entities corresponding to users interests.

23. The system of claim 17, wherein said at least one additional server comprises a plurality of servers.