Video on demand DVD system

• US 7,581,239 B1
• Filed: 07/30/2001
• Issued: 08/25/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: LSI Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Watkins, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): Kelley; Christopher
• Assistant Examiner(s): BROWN, RUEBEN M
• Application Number:
  US09/918,232
• Time in Patent Office: 2,948 Days
• Field of Search: 725/78, 725/80, 725/82, 725/83, 725/94, 725 87- 89, 725/132, 725/140, 725/152, 725/52, 725/74, 725/100
• US Class Current: 725/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2143 located in a single building, e.g. hotel, hospital or museum arrangements specially adapted for plural spots in a confined site in broadcast systems H04H20/63; adaptations for transmission by electric cable for domestic distribution in television systems H04N7/106
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2182 involving memory arrays, e.g. RAID disk arrays RAID arrays per se G06F3/0689; use of parity to protect data in RAID systems G06F11/1008
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/643 Communication protocols network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP], H04L65/65
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6587 Control parameters, e.g. trick play commands, viewpoint selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/106 for domestic distribution

Abstract

An apparatus comprising a drive server, a control server and one or more decoder devices. The drive server may be configured to present one or more DVD data streams in response to one or more input signals. The control server may be configured to present one or more compressed data streams in response to the one or more data streams and one or more request signals. The decoders may be configured to present a decoded video signal and a decoded audio signal in response to one of the compressed data streams and the request signals. The navigation software, which traditionally is processed local to the decoder, may be processed on the control server. The control server may be enabled to control the remote decoder.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a drive server configured to present one or more compressed data streams;

a control server separate from said drive server and configured to present a particular one of said one or more compressed data streams received from said drive server on a particular one of one or more busses as determined by a particular one of a plurality of request signals;

one or more remote devices connected to said busses, at least one of said remote devices being disposed in a separate room from said control server and said drive server, each of said remote devices comprising a first decoder circuit and a control circuit, said first decoder circuit being configured to decode and decompress at least one of said one or more compressed data streams received from said control server to generate at least one of a decoded video signal and a decoded audio signal;

one or more navigation software modules executable on said control server, each of said navigation software modules being configured to (i) generate one or more control signals that program a respective one of said first decoder circuits in response to one or more user options entered at said respective remote device and (ii) parse a respective one of said one or more compressed data streams; and

a supplemental decoder coupled to at least one of said remote devices through a serial interface to receive at least an additional one of said compressed data streams through said serial interface, said supplemental decoder decoding and decompressing said additional compressed data stream, said supplemental decoder comprising (i) an additional decoder circuit and (ii) a state machine configured to control a plurality of read operations and a plurality of write operations sent to said additional decoder circuit.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said one or more user options are remotely controlled by a user.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said one or more remote devices are configured to enter a diagnostic mode in response to receiving a particular one of said one or more control signals from said control server.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said one or more compressed data streams comprise one or more DVD bitstreams.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a particular one of said compressed data streams is presented to two or more of said remote devices at a particular time.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of busses comprises at least two of (i) one or more universal serial busses and (ii) one or more 1394 busses.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said one or more user options comprise a fast forward request.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said remote devices further comprises a second decoder circuit capable of decoding and decompressing in accordance with a second compression standard different than a first compression standard of said first decoder circuit.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said supplemental decoder decoding and decompressing is in accordance with a third compression standard different than said first compression standard and said second compression standard.

10. An apparatus comprising:

a drive server configured to present a plurality of DVD bitstreams;

a control server separate from said driver server and configured to present said DVD bitstreams received from said drive server on a plurality of cables in response to a plurality of first remotely generated request signals;

a plurality of remote devices connected to said cables, at least one of said remote devices being disposed in a separate room from said control server and said driver server, each of said remote devices comprising a first decoder circuit and a control circuit, said first decoder circuit being configured to decode and decompress at least one of said DVD bitstreams received from said control server to generate at least one of a decoded video signal and a decoded audio signal;

a plurality of navigation software modules each executable on said control server, each of said navigation software modules being configured to generate one or more control signals that program a respective one of said first decoder circuits in response to one or more user options entered at said respective remote device;

a plurality of decoder control circuits within said control server, each of said decoder control circuits being configured to control a respective one of said navigation software modules for programming of a respective one of said first decoder circuits within said remote devices; and

a supplemental decoder coupled to at least one of said remote devices through a serial interface to receive at least an additional one of said DVD bitstreams through said serial interface, said supplemental decoder decoding and decompressing said additional DVD bitstream, said supplemental decoder comprising (i) an additional decoder circuit and (ii) a state machine configured to control a plurality of read operations and a plurality of write operations sent to said additional decoder circuit.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said first decoder circuits are configured to generate said at least one of said decoded video signal and said decoded audio signal in response to said one or more control signals.

12. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein each of said cables comprise a serial bus.

13. The apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising:

parsing said DVD bitstreams with said navigation software modules.

14. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein at least one of said remote devices further comprises a second decoder circuit capable of decoding and decompressing in accordance with a second compression standard different than a first compression standard of said first decoder circuit.

15. A method for distributing video, comprising the steps of:

(A) presenting one or more compressed data streams with a drive server to a control server separate from said drive server;

(B) distributing said one or more compressed data streams from said control server to one or more remote devices across one or more busses in response to one or more request signals;

(C) decoding and decompressing at least one of said one or more compressed data streams with one or more first decoder circuits within said one or more remote devices;

(D) presenting at least one signal selected from a decoded video signal and a decoded audio signal in response to decoding said at least one of said one or more compressed data streams, wherein at least one of said one or more remote devices is disposed in a separate room from said control server and said driver server;

(E) executing one or more navigation software modules on said control server, each of said navigation software modules being configured to (i) generate one or more control signals that program a respective one of said first decoder circuits in response to one or more user options entered at said respective remote device and (ii) parse a respective one of said one or more compressed data streams;

(F) distributing at least an additional one of said compressed data streams from at least one of said remote device through a serial interface to a supplemental decoder, said supplemental decoder decoding and decompressing said additional compressed data stream, said supplemental decoder comprising an additional decoder circuit and a state machine; and

(G) controlling with said state machine a plurality of read operations and a plurality of write operations sent to said additional decoder circuit.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein said plurality of busses comprise at least two of (i) one or more universal serial busses or (ii) one or more 1394 busses.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein said one or more compressed data streams comprise one or more DVD bitstreams.

18. The method according to claim 15, wherein said one or more user options comprise a fast forward request.

19. The method according to claim 15, wherein step (C) comprises the sub-step of:

decoding and decompressing said at least one of said one or more compressed data streams in a second decoder circuit in at least one of said remote devices, wherein said second decoder circuit is configured to decode and decompress in accordance with a second compression standard different than a first compression standard of said first decoder circuits.