Service rate change method and apparatus

• US 7,086,077 B2
• Filed: 09/28/1999
• Issued: 08/01/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cox Communications Incorporated (Cox Enterprises Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Sedna Patent Services LLC
• Inventors: Giammaressi, Tom
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Vu
• Assistant Examiner(s): SENFI, BEHROOZ M
• Application Number:
  US09/406,353
• Publication Number:
  US 20030061619A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,499 Days
• Field of Search: 375/240.1, 375/240.02, 375/240.08, 375/240.24, 375/240.25, 375/240.26, 725/87, 725/95, 725/105, 348/425.1, 348/425.3, 348/420.1, 348/438, 348/393, 348/394, 348/395, 382/162, 382/164, 382/165, 382/236
• US Class Current: 725/95
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2385 Channel allocation H04N21/266 takes precedence; Bandwidth allocation H04N21/24 takes precedence ; allocation of channels according to the instantaneous demands of the users in time-division multiplex systems H04J3/1682; admission control, resource allocation in open networks H04L12/5692; arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896; negotiating bandwidth in wireless networks H04W28/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17354 in an intermediate station common to a plurality of user terminals

Abstract

A method and apparatus for allocating bandwidth within a bandwidth constrained interactive information distribution system. The system determined if a requested information stream may be provided to a requesting subscriber at an appropriate bandwidth level (i.e., appropriate bitrate providing full quality), a minimal bandwidth level (i.e., a reduced bitrate providing minimally acceptable quality) or not at all. Each information stream and any ancillary streams may be stored twice by the system, once at an appropriate encoded bitrate and once at a minimal encoded bitrate.

Claims

1. In an video-on-demand (VOD) distribution system comprising provider equipment and subscriber equipment, said provider equipment providing VOD content to said subscriber equipment via a forward channel, said subscriber equipment requesting said information via a back channel, provider equipment apparatus comprising:

a session manager, for receiving VOD content requests from said subscriber equipment and determining, for each received request, whether said VOD distribution system has sufficient bandwidth available to provide the requested VOD content; and

an information server, coupled to said session manager, for providing said requested VOD content using stored content encoded in a manner adapted to utilize an appropriate bandwidth in the case of appropriate bandwidth availability, and for providing said requested VOD content using stored content encoded in a manner adapted to utilize a minimal bandwidth in the case of at least minimal bandwidth availability, wherein;

said session manager, in response to a determination that less than a minimum bandwidth is available, waiting for a predetermined period of time and determining, for each received VOD content request not being fulfilled, whether said VOD distribution system has sufficient bandwidth available to provide the requested VOD content.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

said session manager, in response to a final determination that less than a minimum bandwidth is available, denying access to said VOD content to said requesting subscriber.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a digital video modulator, for modulating packetized information streams onto a carrier;

said session manager determining said VOD distribution system bandwidth with respect to a bandwidth utilization level of said digital video modulator.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a first level of bandwidth is allocated to each subscriber upon establishing a session, said first level of bandwidth being sufficient to support a navigation function.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said appropriate bandwidth level represents a bandwidth level sufficient to provide said requested VOD content to said subscriber without qualitatively degrading said requested VOD content, and said minimum bandwidth level represents a bandwidth level sufficient to provide said requested VOD content to said subscriber where said requested VOD content is qualitatively degraded.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one of a video server bandwidth, a video switch bandwidth, a transport processor bandwidth and a digital video modulator bandwidth are modeled based upon expected component loading levels.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said component loading levels are determined with respect to the type of information requested.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said information type comprises one of a video, audio, audiovisual and data type.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said information types comprise video formats having differing quality levels.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein information requests from each of a plurality of requesting subscribers are used to provide VOD content type data for modeling the component loading levels, said subscriber requests for VOD content being aggregated to control bandwidth utilization levels such that information degradation is managed in an orderly fashion.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each program to be provided to requesting subscribers is stored at each of an appropriate encoded bitrate and a minimal encoded bitrate.

3. In an video-on-demand (VOD) distribution system comprising provider equipment and subscriber equipment, said provider equipment providing VOD content to said subscriber equipment via a forward channel, said subscriber equipment requesting said information via a back channel, provider equipment apparatus comprising:

a session manager, for receiving VOD content requests from said subscriber equipment and determining, for each received request, whether said VOD distribution system has sufficient bandwidth available to provide the requested VOD content; and

an information server, coupled to said session manager, for providing said requested VOD content using stored content encoded in a manner adapted to utilize an appropriate bandwidth in the case of appropriate bandwidth availability, and for providing said requested VOD content using stored content encoded in a manner adapted to utilize a minimal bandwidth in the case of at least minimal bandwidth availability, further comprising;

a transport processor, for packetizing information provided by said information server;

said session manager determining said VOD distribution system bandwidth with respect to at least a bandwidth utilization level of said transport processor.

4. In an video-on-demand (VOD) distribution system comprising provider equipment and subscriber equipment, said provider equipment providing VOD content to said subscriber equipment via a forward channel, said subscriber equipment requesting said information via a back channel, provider equipment apparatus comprising:

a session manager, for receiving VOD content requests from said subscriber equipment and determining, for each received request, whether said VOD distribution system has sufficient bandwidth available to provide the requested VOD content; and

an information server, coupled to said session manager, for providing said requested VOD content using stored content encoded in a manner adapted to utilize an appropriate bandwidth in the case of appropriate bandwidth availability, and for providing said requested VOD content using stored content encoded in a manner adopted to utilize a minimal bandwidth in the case of at least minimal bandwidth availability, further comprising;

a plurality of data storage devices, coupled to said information server via a video switch;

said session manager determining said VOD distribution system bandwidth with respect to at least one a bandwidth utilization level of said video switch and a bandwidth utilization level of a storage devices including said requested information.