Method and system for providing instantaneous media-on-demand services by transmitting contents in pieces from client machines

• US 7,191,215 B2
• Filed: 03/09/2005
• Issued: 03/13/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NBC Universal Media LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Marquee Holdings Incorporated (AMC Entertainment Holdings Incorporated)
• Inventors: Ganesan, Prasanna, Rossmann, Alain, Miranz, Tony, Matloub, Shahriyar, Sze, Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Harrell; Robert B.
• Application Number:
  US11/077,411
• Publication Number:
  US 20060206565A1
• Time in Patent Office: 734 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 725/87, 725/89, 725/98
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/632 using a connection between clients on a wide area network, e.g. setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet for retrieving video segments from the hard-disk of other client devices broadcast-related systems characterised by transmission among terminal devices H04H60/80; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17336 Handling of requests in head-ends

Abstract

Various techniques for providing instantaneous media services are disclosed. Some of the techniques provide an instantaneous media-on-demand system, process and method for the same. Such a system offers a dynamic library with a significant number of titles from which a user may select and offers play back a desired title fairly instantly. To facilitate instant playback, a file pertaining to a title is fragmented into a header and segments. The header is seeded in all boxes in service and none, one or more segments are distributed to the network of boxes. When the title is ordered, the header is instantly played back while the segments, if not locally available, are streamed in respectively from the boxes having the segments to enable continuous playback of the ordered title.

Claims

1. A method of providing instantaneous media-on-demand services over a network, the method comprising:

receiving a request from a subscriber ordering box that locally stores a plurality of residing objects, each pertaining to a beginning portion of one of titles being offered in a library so that a corresponding one of the residing objects is played back as soon as an order for a title is placed with the subscriber ordering box; and

identifying two or more boxes to provide distributed objects pertaining to the title to the subscriber ordering box, each of the boxes configured to be able to order one of the titles,

wherein the subscriber ordering box proceeds with a playback of the corresponding one of the residing objects pertaining to the title while downloading the distributed objects from the one or more boxes, and data blocks in the corresponding one of the residing objects are consecutive while data blocks in each of the distributed objects are non-consecutive.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a file pertaining to the title comprises the residing object and the distributed objects, the residing object being a header, and each of the distributed objects being respective decimated portions of the remainder of the file.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the distributed objects are concurrently fetched into the subscriber ordering box from the one or more boxes.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein data from the distributed objects being concurrently fetched from the one or more boxes is multiplexed with data from the residing object, if any, to recover the remaining portion of the file and continue playback of the title.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the length of the residing object is determined so that the playback of the residing object lasts long enough to ensure continuous playback of the entire title and to overcome any possible instabilities.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

verifying whether the order is authorized upon receiving the request; and

determining, in accordance with a scheme, the one or more boxes designated to supply the distributed objects to the subscriber ordering box, after the order is authorized.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the scheme is based on one or more of geographic location, time zone, and working status of the one or more boxes such that selections of the one of more boxes ensure respective downloading of at least some of the distributed objects from the one of more boxes to the subscriber ordering box.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing authentication information to facilitate secured communications between the subscriber ordering box and the one or more boxes.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the authentication information further includes security information to decipher the residing object and the distributed objects respectively.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying a set of backup boxes, each backup box designated to support at least one of the one or more boxes should the one of the one or more boxes insufficiently supply one of the distributed objects.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein none of the distributed objects are provided by the server to fulfill the playback order.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the library in a box includes a substantial number of titles available for selection and immediate playback by a user, each box storing less than a complete file for each of the titles at any time.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

converting a release into a sequence of data chunks representing a header and a plurality of segments for one or more titles; and

spreading the data chunks to all boxes synchronously or asynchronously by causing some of the boxes to propagate parts of the data chunks to other boxes recursively.

14. A method for providing instantaneous media-on-demand services over a network, the method comprising:

enabling a selection from a library of titles in a box associated with a user that locally stores a plurality of residing objects, each pertaining to a beginning portion of one of the titles being offered in the library so that a corresponding one of the residing objects is played back as soon as an order for a title is placed with the box;

generating a request when one of the titles is ordered, the request including title information pertaining to the ordered title;

transmitting the request over a network to a server configured to formulate a response, the response including source information identifying one or more boxes to provide respectively one or more distributed objects pertaining to the ordered title, wherein each of the boxes is configured to be able to order one of the titles by a user thereof;

initiating a playback of one of the residing objects in the box pertaining to the ordered title;

receiving the one or more distributed objects from the one or more boxes as one or more streams of data; and

initiating a playback of the one or more distributed objects together with any other residing objects pertaining to the ordered title, if there are such other residing objects, as soon as the playback of the one of the residing objects is finished.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the library in the box includes a substantial number of titles available for selection and instant playback, each of the boxes storing less than a complete file for each of the titles.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

receiving an instruction regarding a release to update the library;

managing to receive, in accordance with the instruction, from one or more boxes in service a plurality of data chunks pertaining to the release; and

recovering from the data chunks a release package representing a portion of the release, wherein the release package includes at least a header for each title in the release.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

propagating at least some of the received data chunks to a set of other boxes.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the titles available in the release package are added to the library and made available for selection.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

determining locally whether a user is authenticated to proceed with the ordered title before generating the request;

or

determining remotely whether a user has been permitted to proceed with the playback of the ordered title.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

deciphering the residing object and the distributed objects, respectively.

21. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

initiating respective requests to the one or more boxes in accordance with the source information from the server; and

receiving concurrently the distributed objects from the one or more boxes should each of the one or more boxes respond to the requests.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the receiving concurrently of the distributed objects comprises:

examining a downloading speed for each of the distributed objects; and

switching to a backup box if one of the distributed objects cannot arrive at a desired speed.

23. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

receiving concurrently the distributed objects from the one or more boxes should each of the one or more boxes be available.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the receiving concurrently of the distributed objects comprises:

examining a downloading speed for each of the distributed objects; and

switching to a backup box if one of the distributed objects cannot arrive at a desired speed.

25. The method of claim 14, wherein none of the distributed objects are provided by the server for playback.

26. A system for providing instantaneous media-on-demand services over a network, the system comprising:

a plurality of boxes, respectively coupled to a network, each box associated with a user and providing a library of titles, each box including a storage space to locally cache a plurality of headers and a plurality of segments to reside therein so that a corresponding one of the headers is played back as soon as an order for a title is placed with one of the boxes, each box configured to be able to order one of the titles and provide a request including title selection information; and

a server coupled to the network and configured to provide a response to a request from a subscriber ordering box being one of the boxes, the response including source information identifying a set of the boxes designated to provide respective distributed segments pertaining to the title to the subscriber ordering box,

wherein, in responding to the response, the subscriber ordering box initiates a playback of one of the headers pertaining to the selected title while downloading the respective distributed segments from the set of the boxes.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the response includes identifiers identifying a set of backup boxes, each backup box backing up at least one of the boxes designated to provide the respective distributed segments pertaining to the title to the subscriber ordering box.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the response further includes authentication information to facilitate secured respective communications between the subscriber ordering box and the set of the boxes.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the source information further includes security information to decipher all data pertaining to the ordered title.

30. The system of claim 26, wherein the server is configured not to provide a complete file or any of the distributed segments pertaining to the selected title in response to the selection.

31. The system of claim 26, wherein the set of the boxes in the source information are selected based on one or more of respective geographic location, time zone, and working status of the set of the boxes such that selections of the set of the boxes ensure respective downloading of the distributed segments from the set of the boxes to the subscriber ordering box.

32. The system of claim 26, wherein the server is configured to allocate a set of seeding boxes to receive a sequence of data chunks representing a release to update the library in each of the boxes, and wherein, while being seeded with some of the data chunks, each of the seeding boxes is configured to propagate at least some of a copy of received data chunks to one to more of the boxes that each are configured to continuously propagate at least some of a copy of received data chunks to other boxes until each of the boxes has received a portion of the data chunks.

33. A software product embodied in a tangible computer readable storage medium and executing in a computing device for providing instantaneous media-on-demand services over a network, the software product comprising:

program code for receiving a request from a subscriber ordering box that locally stores a plurality of residing objects, each pertaining to a beginning portion of one of titles being offered in a library so that a corresponding one of the residing objects is played back as soon as an order for a title is placed with the subscriber ordering box; and

program code for identifying one or more boxes to provide distributed objects pertaining to the title to the subscriber ordering box, each of the boxes configured to order one of the titles,

wherein the subscriber ordering box proceeds with a playback of the corresponding one of the residing objects pertaining to the title while downloading the distributed objects from the one or more boxes, and data blocks in the corresponding one of the residing objects are consecutive while data blocks in each of the distributed objects are non-consecutive.

34. The software product of claim 33, further comprising:

program code for verifying whether the order is authorized upon receiving the request; and

program code for determining, in accordance with a scheme, the one or more boxes designated to supply the distributed objects to the subscriber ordering box, after the order is authorized.

35. The software product of claim 34, further comprising program code for identifying a set of backup boxes, each backup box designated to support one of the one or more boxes should the one of the one or more boxes insufficiently supply one of the distributed objects.

36. A software product embodied in a tangible computer readable storage medium and executing in a computing device for providing instantaneous media-on-demand services over a network, the software product comprising:

program code for enabling a selection in a library of titles in a box associated with a user, the box locally storing a plurality of residing objects, each pertaining to a beginning portion of one of the titles so that a corresponding one of the residing objects is played back as soon as an order for a title is placed with the box;

program code for generating a request when one of the titles is ordered, the request including title information pertaining to the ordered title;

program code for transmitting the request over a network to a server configured to formulate a response, the response including source information identifying one or more boxes to provide one or more distributed objects pertaining to the ordered title, wherein each of the boxes is configured to be able to order one of the titles by a user thereof;

program code for initiating a playback of one of the residing objects pertaining to the ordered title;

program code for receiving the one or more distributed objects from the one or more boxes as one or more streams of data; and

program code for initiating a playback of the one or more distributed objects together with any residing objects pertaining to the ordered title, if there are such other residing objects, as soon as the playback of the one of the residing objects is finished.

37. The software product of claim 36, further comprising:

program code for determining locally whether a user is authenticated to proceed with the ordered title before generating the request;

or

program code for determining remotely whether a user has been permitted to proceed with the playback of the ordered title.

38. The software product of claim 37, further comprising:

program code for deciphering the residing object and the distributed objects, respectively.

39. The software product of claim 36, further comprising:

program code for initiating respective requests to the one or more boxes in accordance with the source information from the server;

program code for receiving concurrently the distributed objects from the one or more boxes should each of the one or more boxes respond to the requests.

40. The software product of claim 36, wherein the library in the box includes a substantial number of titles available for selection and instant playback, each of the boxes storing less than a complete file for each of the titles.