Bandwidth allocation for a television program delivery system
First Claim
1. A method of allocating bandwidth to a plurality of programs, each of said programs corresponding to one of a plurality of categories, said method comprising the steps of:
- prioritizing each of said programs by assigning to each of said programs one of a plurality of priority levels, said plurality of priority levels including a high priority level and progressively lower priority levels;
dividing said bandwidth so that each program category receives a segment of said bandwidth;
allocating a portion of said segments of bandwidth to high priority level programs in each category; and
continuing said allocating step with progressively lower priority levels programs until at least one of the following conditions occurs;
all of said programs are allocated, andall of said bandwidth is allocated,wherein each priority level includes a different set of programs from a variety of categories, and wherein the high priority level includes a first finite number of programs from each of the plurality of categories and a lower priority level includes a second finite number of different programs from each of the plurality of categories.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
This invention is a method of allocating bandwidth for a television program delivery system. This method selects specific programs from a plurality of programs, allocates the selected programs to a segment of bandwidth, and continues to allocate the programs until all the programs are allocated or all of the available bandwidth is allocated. The programs may be selected based on a variety of different factors or combination of factors. The selected programs may also be prioritized so that higher priority programs are distributed before lower priority programs in case there is not enough bandwidth to transmit all of the programs. This invention allows a television program delivery system to prioritize a large number of television programs and distribute these programs based on their priority levels. The invention also permits a television program delivery system to dynamically allocate bandwidth over time or based on marketing information, such as consumer demand.
-
Citations
90 Claims
-
1. A method of allocating bandwidth to a plurality of programs, each of said programs corresponding to one of a plurality of categories, said method comprising the steps of:
-
prioritizing each of said programs by assigning to each of said programs one of a plurality of priority levels, said plurality of priority levels including a high priority level and progressively lower priority levels; dividing said bandwidth so that each program category receives a segment of said bandwidth; allocating a portion of said segments of bandwidth to high priority level programs in each category; and continuing said allocating step with progressively lower priority levels programs until at least one of the following conditions occurs; all of said programs are allocated, and all of said bandwidth is allocated, wherein each priority level includes a different set of programs from a variety of categories, and wherein the high priority level includes a first finite number of programs from each of the plurality of categories and a lower priority level includes a second finite number of different programs from each of the plurality of categories. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 24, 25, 26, 27, 61, 62, 63, 64)
-
-
10. A method of transmitting a plurality of programs to a cable headend, each of said plurality of programs corresponding to one of a plurality of categories, said method comprising the steps of:
-
prioritizing each of said programs by assigning to each of said programs one of a plurality of priority levels, said plurality of priority levels including a high priority level and progressively lower priority levels; forming a plurality of signals, each of said signals comprising programs corresponding to a single priority level; appending a header to each of said signals, wherein said header identifies said priority level for a corresponding signal, thereby enabling recognition by said cable headend; dividing bandwidth so that each program category receives a segment of said bandwidth; allocating a portion of said segments of bandwidth to signals comprising high priority level programs in each category; continuing said allocating step with signals comprising progressively lower priority level programs until at least one of the following conditions occurs; all of the signals are allocated; and all of said bandwidth is allocated; and transmitting each of said headers and said corresponding signals to said cable headend, wherein each priority level includes a different set of programs from a variety of categories, and wherein the first priority level includes a first finite number of programs from each of the plurality of categories and the second priority level includes a second finite number of remaining programs from each of the plurality of categories. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 28, 29, 30, 65, 66, 67)
-
-
16. A method of transmitting programs to a plurality of transponders, said method comprising the steps of:
-
prioritizing each of said programs by assigning to each of said programs one of a plurality of priority levels, said plurality of priority levels including a high priority level and progressively lower priority levels; forming a plurality of signals, each of said signals comprising programs corresponding to a single priority level; allocating a portion of bandwidth to signals comprising high priority level programs; continuing said allocating step with signals comprising progressively lower priority level programs until at least one of the following conditions occurs; all of the signals are allocated; and all of said bandwidth is allocated; and transmitting said plurality of signals to said plurality of transponders so that none of said transponders receives more than one of said signals. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 31, 32, 68, 69, 70)
-
-
33. A computer assisted packaging system for allocating bandwidth to a plurality of programs, each of the programs corresponding to one of a plurality of categories, comprising:
-
a central processing unit for selecting the programs and also for dividing the bandwidth so that each of the program categories receives a segment of the bandwidth; a delivery control processor unit connected to said central processing unit; and a multiplexer connected to said delivery control processor unit for allocating a portion of said segments of bandwidth to the selected programs in at least one of the categories, wherein said central processing unit dynamically changes the bandwidth by varying a number of the selected programs within at least one of the selected categories. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76)
-
-
48. A system for allocating bandwidth to a plurality of programs, each of said programs corresponding to one of a plurality of categories, comprising:
-
an operations center comprising a computer assisted packaging system; said computer assisted packaging system comprising; a central processing unit for selecting programs received from television programming sources and also for dividing said bandwidth so that each of the program categories receives a segment of the bandwidth; a delivery control processor unit connected to said central processing unit; and a multiplexer connected to said delivery control processor unit for allocating a portion of said segments of bandwidth to the selected programs, wherein said central processing unit dynamically changes bandwidth by varying a number of selected programs within at least one of the selected categories. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82)
-
-
83. A method of transmitting programs to a plurality of transponders, said method comprising the steps of:
-
prioritizing each of said programs by assigning to each of said programs one of a plurality of priority levels, said plurality of priority levels including a high priority level and progressively lower priority levels; forming a plurality of signals, each of said signals comprising programs corresponding to a single priority level; allocating a portion of bandwidth to signals comprising high priority level programs; dynamically changing bandwidth allocation for at least one of said signals; continuing said allocating step with signals comprising progressively lower priority level programs until at least one of the following conditions occurs; all of the signals are allocated; and all of said bandwidth is allocated; and transmitting said plurality of signals to said plurality of transponders so that none of said transponders receives more than one of said signals. - View Dependent Claims (84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90)
-
Specification