Media-on-demand flexible and adaptive architecture

• US 6,804,708 B1
• Filed: 10/20/2000
• Issued: 10/12/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Scientific-Atlanta Incorporated (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Jerding, Dean F., Rodriguez, Arturo A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jean, Frantz B.
• Application Number:
  US09/693,789
• Time in Patent Office: 1,453 Days
• Field of Search: 725/110, 709/220, 709/219, 709/229, 345/744
• US Class Current: 709/220
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2801 Broadband local area networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/401 wherein the services involve a main real-time session and one or more additional parallel real-time or time sensitive sessions, e.g. white board sharing or spawning of a subconference
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2347 involving video stream encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23617 by inserting additional data into a data carousel, e.g. inserting software modules into a DVB carousel arrangements for broadcast or for distribution of identical information repeatedly in broadcast distribution systems H04H20/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/241 Operating system [OS] processes, e.g. server setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25866 Management of end-user data customer care in data networks H04L41/5077
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26266 for determining content or additional data repetition rate, e.g. of a file in a DVB carousel according to its importance arrangements for broadcast or for distribution of identical information repeatedly in broadcast distribution systems H04H20/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6118 involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6168 involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8106 involving special audio data, e.g. different tracks for different languages
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

The invention is a flexible and adaptive application framework and method for providing media services via an interactive media services client device coupled to a programmable media services server device. A method of the preferred embodiment of the invention includes distributing or partitioning computation, data storage, and/or data transmission between the server and client devices to flexibly adapt to and take advantage of the available computing and/or network resources.

Claims

1. A method implemented by a server coupled to a television set-top terminal via a bi-directional communication network, the method comprising the steps of:

determining that a first television set-top terminal (“

STT”

) has a first characteristic corresponding to a first level of computational resources;

transmitting data having a first format to the first STT responsive to determining that the first STT has the first characteristic, wherein the data having the first format is translated by the first STT to data having a second format that is substantially different from the first format, and wherein the STT is configured to output the data having the second format via a television signal;

determining that a second STT has a second characteristic corresponding to a second level of computational resources that is different from the first level of computational resources; and

transmitting data having the second format to the second STT responsive to determining that the second STT has the second characteristic, the second STT being configured to output the data having the second format via a television signal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second levels of computational resources comprises processing resources.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein less computational resources within the server are required to transmit the data having the first format to the first STT than to transmit the data having the second format to the second STT.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first level of computational resources is greater than the second level of computational resources.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first STT experiences less latency in accessing the data having the first format than the latency experienced by the second STT accessing the data having the second format.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first format comprises XML and the second format comprises HTML.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second characteristics correspond to respective STT models.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second characteristics correspond to respective STT identification numbers.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second characteristics correspond to respective MAC addresses.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the data having the first format and the data having the second format are encrypted.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the data having the first format and the data having the second format are encrypted and transmitted over same types of communication channels.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein each of said same types of communication channels is a radio-frequency channel with a specified center frequency.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein data carried in each of said same types of communication channels is modulated via quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM).

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the data having the first format is transmitted over a communication channel with a first specified center frequency and the data having the second format is transmitted over a communication channel with a second specified center frequency.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second STTs are determined to respectively have the first and second characteristics responsive to respective STT resource profiles provided to the server by the first and second STTs.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the server translates data having the first format into the data having the second format prior to the step of transmitting the data having the second format to the second STT.

17. A method implemented by a server via a broadcast television network, comprising:

determining that a first television set-top terminal (“

STT”

) has a first characteristic corresponding to a first level of computational resources responsive to a first user activating a first application in the first STT;

transmitting a first software module that executes the first application to the first STT responsive to determining that the first STT has the first characteristic, wherein the first software module is encrypted prior to being transmitted to the first STT;

determining that a second STT has a second characteristic corresponding to a second level of computational resources responsive to a second user activating a second application in the second STT, wherein the second application is configured to perform substantially identical functionality as the first application;

transmitting a second software module that is different from the first software module to the second STT responsive to determining that the second STT has the second characteristic, wherein the second software module is encrypted prior to being transmitted to the second STT;

transmitting data having a first format to the first STT, wherein the data having the first format is provided as input data to the first application; and

transmitting data having a second format that is substantially different from the first format to the second STT, wherein the data having the second format is provided as input data to the second application.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein each of the first and second levels of computational resources comprises processing resources.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the first level of computational resources is greater than the second level of computational resources.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the first and second characteristics correspond to respective STT models.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein the first and second characteristics correspond to respective STT identification numbers.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein the first and second characteristics correspond to respective MAC addresses.

23. The method of claim 17, wherein the first software module and the second software module are transmitted over same types of communication channels.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein each of said same types of communication channels is a radio-frequency channel with a specified center frequency.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein data carried in each of said same types of communication channels is modulated with quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM).

26. The method of claim 17, wherein the first and second STTs are determined to respectively have the first and second characteristics responsive to respective STT resource profiles provided to the server by the first and second STTs.

27. The method of claim 17, further comprising encrypting the data having a first format and the data having the second format.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the first STT outputs the input data transmitted in the first format via a television signal, and the second STT outputs the input data transmitted in the second format via a television signal.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the input data to the first application and the input data to the second application are cyclically transmitted via a broadcast file system.

30. A method comprising the steps of:

determining whether a television set-top terminal (“

STT”

) has a first characteristic corresponding to a first level of computational resources or a second characteristic corresponding to a second level of computational resources that is different from the first level of computational resources;

translating data from a first format to a second format at the STT responsive to determining that the STT has the first characteristic, wherein the second format is substantially different from the first format;

translating the data from the first format to the second format at a server that is coupled to the STT via a bi-directional communication network responsive to determining that the STT has the second characteristic; and

outputting the data by the STT via a television signal.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein each of the first and second levels of computational resources comprises processing resources.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein the first level of computational resources is greater than the second level of computational resources.

33. The method of claim 30, wherein the first and second characteristics correspond to respective STT models.

34. The method of claim 30, wherein the first and second characteristics correspond to respective STT identification numbers.

35. The method of claim 30, wherein the first and second characteristics correspond to respective MAC addresses.

36. A server coupled to a television set-top terminal (“

STT”

) via a bi-directional communication network, the server comprising;

memory having program code stored therein; and

at least one processor that is programmed by the program code to enable the server to;

determine that a first STT has a first characteristic corresponding to a first level of computational resources;

transmit data having a first format to the first STT responsive to determining that the first STT has the first characteristic, wherein the data having the first format is translated by the first STT to data having a second format that is substantially different from the first format, and wherein the STT is configured to output the data having the second format via a television signal;

determine that a second STT has a second characteristic corresponding to a second level of computational resources that is different from the first level of computational resources; and

transmit data having the second format to the second STT responsive to determining that the second STT has the second characteristic, the second STT being configured to output the data having the second format via a television signal.

37. The server of claim 36, wherein each of the first and second levels of computational resources comprises processing resources.

38. The server of claim 36, wherein less computational resources within the server are required to transmit the data having the first format to the first STT than to transmit the data having the second format to the second STT.

39. The server of claim 36, wherein the first level of computational resources is greater than the second level of computational resources.

40. The server of claim 36, wherein the first STT experiences less latency in accessing the data having the first format than the latency experienced by the second STT accessing the data having the second format.