Method and processor engine architecture for the delivery of audio and video content over a broadband network

• US 6,925,651 B2
• Filed: 12/18/2000
• Issued: 08/02/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Promptu Systems Corporation
• Original Assignee: Agiletv Corporation (Promptu Systems Corporation)
• Inventors: Foster, Mark J., Calderone, Theodore
• Primary Examiner(s): Kelley, Chris
• Assistant Examiner(s): CZEKAJ, DAVID J
• Application Number:
  US09/740,684
• Publication Number:
  US 20020078462A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,688 Days
• Field of Search: 725/86, 725 90- 91, 725 98-100, 725/105, 725/110, 725114-117
• US Class Current: 725/105
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2225 Local VOD servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23106 involving caching operations prefetching while addressing of a memory level in which the access to the desired data or data block requires associative addressing means within memory systems or architectures G06F12/0862; caching at an intermediate stage in a data network H04L67/568
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2343 involving reformatting operations of video signals for distribution or compliance with end-user requests or end-user device requirements video transcoding H04N19/40; media packet handling at the source H04L65/762
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23805 Controlling the feeding rate to the network, e.g. by controlling the video pump
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2402 Monitoring of the downstream path of the transmission network, e.g. bandwidth available traffic monitoring in data switching networks H04L43/00; monitoring data switching networks utilization H04L43/0876
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6118 involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6168 involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6581 Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17336 Handling of requests in head-ends

Abstract

A method and processor architecture that implements the delivery of compressed digital video and audio content over a broadband network is disclosed.

Claims

1. A method of delivering video content through a residential broadband network, comprising:

receiving a request for video content from a remote client;

establishing an application session on a first processor, and within the first processor,

accessing a video content source to retrieve the requested video content;

compressing the retrieved video content to create a spatially compressed frame of video content,

signaling to a second processor of the existence of the spatially compressed frame of video content,

and within the second processor;

temporally, compressing the spatially compressed frame of video content to create at least one temporally compressed frame of video content;

merging the spatially compressed frame at video content with the temporally compressed frame of video content to create a data stream of compressed video content;

outputting the data stream of compressed video content to the remote client;

wherein the first processor and the second processor each belong to at least one processing node within an N^M array of processing nodes, where N refers to the number of processing nodes within processing node row or column and is at least four and M least two, wherein each of the processing nodes are orthogonally coupled and support bi-directional communications between orthogonal processing nodes, and wherein each processing node comprises M*(N-1) communication ports that are coupled with the communication ports of the orthogonal processing nodes.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of,

communicating a combination of a unique channel and Program Identifier that carries the data stream of compressed video content to the remote client.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the spatially compressed frame of video content comprises an MPEG2 I-frame.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein

the at least one temporally compressed frame of video content comprises an MPEG2 B-frame.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein

the at least one temporally compressed frame of video content comprises an MPEG2 P-frame.

6. The method of claim 2 wherein

the data stream of compressed video content comprises an MPEG2 Transport Stream Group of Pictures.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein

the application session on the first processor comprises an Internet application session.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein

the Internet application session comprises a Internet Browser application session.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of accessing a video content source to retrieve the requested video content further comprises,

accessing a switched network to retrieve the requested video content.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein

the switched network comprises the Internet.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of accessing a video content source to retrieve the requested video content further comprises,

accessing a video-on-demand server to retrieve the requested video content.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein

the broadband network comprises a cable-television residential broadband network.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of signaling to the second processor of the existence of the spatially compressed frame of video content comprises,

outputting from the first processor, the spatially compressed frame of video content, to the second processor.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of signaling to the second processor of the existence of the spatially compressed frame of video content comprises,

depositing from the first processor to a memory location the spatially compressed frame of video content, and;

setting an update flag associated with the memory location.

15. A processing engine for the delivery of video content through a broadband network, comprising:

a first processor, that is under program control to, access and retrieve video content requested by a remote client through the broadband network, and spatially compress the retrieved video content to form a spatially compressed frame of the video content;

coupled to

a second processor, that is under program control to, temporally compress the spatially compressed frame of the video content to form a plurality of temporally compressed frames representing the video content, and merge the spatially compressed frame of the video content and the plurality of the temporally compressed frames of the video content to render a stream of compressed frames representing the video content and to output the stream to the remote client;

wherein the first processor and the second processor each belong to at least one processing node within an N^M array of processing nodes, where N refers to the number of processing nodes within a processing node row or column and is at least four and M refers to the number of orthogonal dimensions of the array of processing nodes and is at least two, wherein each of the processing nodes are orthogonally coupled and support bi-directional communications between orthogonal processing nodes, and wherein each processing node comprises M*(N-1) communication ports that are coupled with the communication ports of the orthogonal processing nodes.

16. The processing engine in claim 15 wherein,

bi-directional communication between processing nodes comprises traversal of the physical transport layers of the processing nodes.

17. The processing engine of claim 16 wherein,

the physical transport layer consists of a physical media selected from the group consisting of;

fiber-optics, a databus, twisted pair, or microwave wave guide.

18. The processing engine of claim 15 wherein

each processing node comprises at least a bi-directionally coupled pair of processing units.

19. The processing engine of claim 18 wherein

each processing unit comprises a bi-directionally coupled dual-CPU within the same package.

20. The processing engine of claim 18 further comprising,

a communications processing unit that is bi-directionally coupled to the processing units.

21. The processing engine of claim 15 wherein,

at least a portion of the processing nodes are each under program control to, exclusively access and retrieve through a switched network video content requested by a plurality of remote clients, and spatially compress the retrieved video content to form the spatially compressed frame of the video content.

22. The processing engine of claim 21 wherein,

at least one processing node performs a load balancing function to equally distribute the plurality of remote clients requests across the portion of processing nodes.

23. The processing engine of claim 15 wherein,

at least a portion of the processing nodes exclusively temporally compress the spatially compressed frames of the video content requested by the plurality of remote clients to form the plurality of temporally compressed frames representing the video content, and merge the spatially compressed frame of the video content and the plurality of the temporally compressed frames of the video content to render the stream of compressed frames representing the video content.

24. A processing engine architecture for use with the delivery of audio or video content over a broadband network, comprising:

an N^M array of processing nodes, where N is the number of processing nodes along M dimensions of the array of processing nodes;

each processing node further comprising;

M*(N-1) communication ports that are bi-directionally coupled to the communication ports of orthogonally situated processing nodes.

25. The processing engine architecture in claim 24 wherein,

at least a portion of the processing nodes further have at least an additional communication port that is connectable to an external switched network.

26. The processing engine architecture in claim 24 wherein,

processing nodes are bi-directionally coupled using at least one physical media selected from the group consisting of, microwave wave guides, fiber, a databus.

27. The processing engine architecture in claim 24 wherein,

communication between the processing nodes comprises traversal of the physical transport layer of the processing nodes.

28. The processing engine architecture in claim 24 wherein,

at least a portion of the processing nodes comprise a pair of bi-directionally coupled processing units.

29. The processing engine architecture in claim 28 wherein, the bi-directionally coupled processing units comprise dual-CPU within the same physical package.