System and method for automatically determining service groups in a subscriber network

• US 7,246,366 B1
• Filed: 06/13/2000
• Issued: 07/17/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Synamedia Limited
• Original Assignee: Scientific-Atlanta Incorporated (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Addington, Timothy H., Beebe, Randolph R., O'Carroll, Gerald F. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shang; Annan Q.
• Application Number:
  US09/592,405
• Time in Patent Office: 2,590 Days
• Field of Search: 725/2, 725 38- 40, 725 44- 49, 725/68, 725/85, 725/100, 725/111, 725/120, 725/131, 725/139, 725/151, 725 89- 93, 725/97, 725112-117, 725/50, 725/132, 725/138, 725/144, 348/732, 4551861- 2, 455/161.2, 455/168.1, 455/6.2, 455/410, 4554561-4566
• US Class Current: 725/93
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2365 Multiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/258 Client or end-user data management, e.g. managing client capabilities, user preferences or demographics, processing of multiple end-users preferences to derive collaborative data arrangements for services using the result on the distributing side of broadcast systems H04H60/66; profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2665 Gathering content from different sources, e.g. Internet and satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/40 Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/434 Disassembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. demultiplexing audio and video streams, extraction of additional data from a video stream; Remultiplexing of multiplex streams; Extraction or processing of SI; Disassembling of packetised elementary stream demultiplexing of data packets for data networks, e.g. RTP/UDP H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4347 Demultiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4432 Powering on the client, e.g. bootstrap loading using setup parameters being stored locally or received from the server resetting in general G06F1/14; program loading or initiating in general G06F9/445; bootstrapping in general G06F9/4401; secure boots of computer platforms G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6118 involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6143 involving transmission via a satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A decoder checks a table within its received input signal and tunes to at least one of the listed frequencies to determine its associated service group within a subscriber television system. The associated service group associates the decoder with the modulators, transport streams, and other components providing services and programming to that particular decoder. The decoder transmits its associated service group to the subscriber television system headend. The subscriber television system then knows the services and programming available on that particular decoder. The decoder can periodically verify its associated service group and, if the service group is changed, notify the headend. By establishing decoders for auditing the system, the definition of the service groups can be established or updated when components or configurations are introduced or changed.

Claims

1. A method, at a decoder in a subscriber television system, for determining a service group associated with the decoder, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) retrieving a service group table from a signal on the transmission medium, wherein the service group table includes a plurality of service group identifications, a plurality of transport stream identifications, and tuning information associated with at least one transport stream identification;

(b) retrieving at least a portion of the tuning information from the service group table, the tuning information including at least one frequency, wherein the at least one frequency is associated with the at least one transport stream identification;

(c) tuning to a frequency retrieved from the tuning information;

(d) determining if a valid signal is present at the tuned frequency;

(e) in response to determining that a valid signal is detected at the tuned frequency, determining the transport stream identification associated with the tuned frequency and, from the determined transport stream identification, determining an associated service group from the service group table as the service group for the decoder;

(f) comparing the determined service group for the decoder with a previously stored service group; and

(g) in response to a determination that the determined service group for the decoder is different than the previously stored service group, uploading the determined service group for the decoder to a system controller at a headend.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising in response to determining that a valid signal is not detected at the tuned frequency, repeating steps (c)-(e) for the remaining frequencies in the service group table until a valid signal is detected.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the determined service group on the decoder.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether a valid signal is present on the tuned frequency comprises determining whether the tuned frequency includes an MPEG transport stream.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the decoder is a home communications terminal, a television, or a computer.

6. A method for determining a service group association of at least one decoder, comprising the steps of:

creating, at a headend, a service group table for a subscriber television system, wherein the service group table includes a plurality of service group identifications, a plurality of transport stream identifications, and tuning information associated with at least one transport stream identification;

causing to be transmitted, from the headend, the service group table via the transmission medium to the at least one decoder;

receiving a message, at the headend, from the least one decoder, the message including the service group associated with the at least one decoder; and

recording, at the headend, the relationship of the at least one decoder to the associated service group.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the service group table is in a Moving Picture Experts Group table format.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the at least one decoder includes at least one of the following:

a home communications terminal, a television, and a computer.

9. A system controller for causing to be stored and updated a database of a service group association for each of a plurality of decoders of a subscriber television system, the system controller comprising:

means for causing to be stored, in the database, the service group association for each of the plurality of decoders;

means for causing the creation of a service group table for the subscriber television system, wherein the service group table includes a plurality of service group identifications, a plurality of transport stream identifications, and tuning information associated with at least one transport stream identification for determining a service group to which a decoder in the plurality of decoders belongs;

means for causing a headend to transmit the service group table to at least one of the plurality of decoders via a transmission medium;

means for receiving a message from the at least one of the plurality of decoders, the message including the service group associated with at least one of the plurality of decoders; and

means for causing the updating of the database responsive to the service group associated with the at least one of the plurality of decoders being different from a stored service group association for the at least one of the plurality of decoders and for causing to be stored the updated database.

10. The system controller of claim 9, wherein the plurality of decoders includes at least one of the following:

home communications terminals, televisions, and computers.

11. A system controller for determining service group associations of a plurality of modulators in a subscriber television system, the system controller comprising:

means for storing and updating a database of tuning frequencies, related transport stream identities, and associated service group identities for each of the plurality of modulators;

means for causing the creation of a modulator tuning table for the subscriber television system, the modulator tuning table including the tuning frequencies related to each of the plurality of modulators;

means for causing to be transmitted, from the headend, the modulator tuning table via the transmission medium to at least one of a set of audit designated decoders;

means for receiving a message from at least one of the set of audit designated decoders, the message including the related transport stream identities determined by the at least one of the set of audit designated decoders based on tuning the frequencies related to each of the plurality of modulators, locating a valid transport stream related to the tuned frequency, and retrieving a related transport stream identification from the transport stream; and

means for causing the updating of the database, responsive to the related transport stream identities being associated with the at least one of the set of audit designated decoders.

12. The system controller of claim 11, wherein at least one of the set of audit designated decoders is further configured to operate as a general purpose decoder.

13. The system controller of claim 11, wherein at least one of the audit designated decoders are configured as at least one of the following:

a home communications terminal, a television, and a computer.

14. A method of using at least one of a set of audit designated decoders at specific locations within a subscriber television system to define a service group, comprising the steps of:

establishing, at a headend, a modulator tuning table listing a plurality of available subscriber television system frequencies associated with a plurality of modulators;

transmitting the modulator tuning table from the headend to at least one of the set of audit designated decoders;

retrieving the modulator tuning table at the at least one of the set of audit designated decoders;

tuning, at the at least one of the set of audit designated decoders, to each frequency listed in the modulator tuning table and, if a valid signal is detected at a tuned frequency, retrieving an associated Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG) transport stream identity for the tuned frequency;

transmitting to the headend, by the at least one of the set of audit designated decoders, the retrieved associated transport stream identity for the tuned frequency associated with the at least one of the set of audit designated decoders; and

defining, as the service group, a subset of modulators associated with the transport stream identity of the tuned frequency with a valid signal of the at least one of the set of audit designated decoders and associated with the specific location of the at least one of the set of audit designated decoders.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein at least one of the set of audit designated decoders includes at least one of the following:

a home communications terminal, a television, and a computer.

16. The method of claim 14, further including the step of defining all the service groups of the subscriber television system based on the subset of modulators associated with the transport stream identities of the tuned frequencies with a valid signal and associated specific location of each of the set of audit designated decoders.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein at least one of the set of audit designated decoders is configured to operate as a general purpose decoder.