Video delivery workflow

• US 7,606,925 B2
• Filed: 09/02/2003
• Issued: 10/20/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Sheldon, Andrew K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chankong, Dohm
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hussain, Tauqir
• Application Number:
  US10/653,567
• Publication Number:
  US 20050050218A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,240 Days
• Field of Search: 705 51- 59, 725 39- 59, 725 91- 97, 726 26- 33, 709/231
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/62 Establishing a time schedule for servicing the requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2743 Video hosting of uploaded data from client
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• 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 21/6582 Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38
• 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 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

Each transmission received from a video asset owner includes information regarding a video asset that is available for real time distribution during a future time period to third parties. Following a selection from among the video assets, the corresponding video asset owners receive transmissions requesting the selected video assets and one or more initial templates. The video asset owners transmit final templates that conform to the initial templates and contain information descriptive of the video assets. Each final template, and the corresponding video asset, is transmitted to predetermined network resource, such as a headend, at a predetermined time corresponding to the future time period of availability. The predetermined network resource can then distribute video assets to viewers that were requested from the corresponding video storefront by viewers.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, from one or more content providers, one or more Internet transmissions each comprising information regarding a multimedia content program available for real time distribution during a future time period to third parties, wherein the one or more Internet transmissions are received by a computer having a memory and a processor, and wherein the future time period corresponds to a license period established by the one or more content providers;

receiving input selecting at least one said multimedia content program;

transmitting to a computer operated by one or more of the content providers by way of an Internet protocol;

a request for the selected at least one said multimedia content program; and

one or more initial Web-based templates which require the one or more of the content providers to return a video storefront that is compatible with a carousel which will be used for delivering the selected at least one said multimedia content program to the third parties, wherein each Web-based template is a storefront Web page, and wherein each initial Web-based template comprises at least one advertising space;

entering or selecting required metadata for each one or more initial Web-based templates;

querying whether required metadata have been included in each of the one or more initial Web-based templates, wherein the querying comprises querying whether at least one advertisement has been selected for each advertising space and querying whether each advertisement for each time slot for each of the one or more initial Web-based templates has been designated as either headend scheduled or network-wide scheduled;

preventing transmission of each of the one or more initial Web-based templates when all required metadata has not been entered or selected for a corresponding initial Web-based template;

receiving from the computer operated by the one or more content providers by way of an Internet protocol, in one or more transmissions, one or more final Web-based templates each conforming to a corresponding said initial Web-based template and comprising information descriptive of the selected at least one said multimedia content program;

issuing a query to determine if a video asset intrinsic matches a corresponding multimedia content program thereby ensuring that the overall end to end system of supplying a requested multimedia content program is likely to function as represented to an end viewer; and

transmitting each said final Web-based template to a predetermined network resource at a predetermined time corresponding to the time period of availability, and transmitting to a carousel at a headend a multimedia content program corresponding to each said final Web-based template for real time distribution to third parties during the future time period, wherein each final Web-based template is a storefront Web page.

2. A method as described in claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a request from one said third party for a real time distribution of one said multimedia content program;

initiating the real time distribution of the one said multimedia content program to said third party from the corresponding said network resource; and

prepopulating one or more required metadata in initial Web-based templates before transmitting the initial Web-based templates to one or more of the content providers by way of an Internet protocol, wherein the one or more required metadata are previously stored in a multimedia content metadata database.

3. A method as described in claim 1, wherein each said multimedia content program is either a pay per view or a video on demand, and wherein the method further comprises providing an element within each initial Web-based template through which a content provider reduces a number of required metadata needed to be entered prior to entering or selecting required metadata for each one or more initial Web-based templates.

4. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the information regarding the multimedia content program is selected from the group consisting of:

a title of the multimedia content program;

the future time period;

a genre;

the name of the content provider;

a studio corresponding to the multimedia content program;

a preview of a storefront corresponding to the multimedia content program;

the run time for the multimedia content program;

the type of the multimedia content program;

a value for the box office revenue generated by the multimedia content program during its theatrical release;

a rating value; and

a combination of the foregoing.

5. A method as described in claim 1, wherein each said multimedia content program comprises:

a preview of a multimedia presentation; and

the multimedia presentation.

6. A method as described in claim 1, wherein each said final template comprises a title, a textual description, and an image associated with the multimedia content program corresponding thereto, and wherein the method further comprises:

polling one or more catalogs of video delivery servers to determine whether a video asset is available for distribution, the polling being performed after transmitting each final Web-based template; and

scheduling a video asset for deployment to a carousel at a headend.

7. A method as described in claim 1, wherein each said final template comprises one or more markup language pages.

8. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the transmitting each said final Web-based template to the predetermined network resource further comprises an interactive scheduling routine for the predetermined network resource that corresponds to the time period of availability of the multimedia content program, wherein each advertising space is of a predetermined size.

9. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the predetermined network resource is selected from the group consisting of:

a carousel, a headend, a plurality of headends, a server, a production server, a staging and preview server, and a combination of the foregoing.

10. A method as described in claim 1, wherein each said third party is selected from the group consisting of:

a client device;

a set top box for receiving a communication service; and

a personal computer.

11. A computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a computer, perform the method of claim 1.

12. A method comprising:

sending, to a computer of a network operator, one or more Internet transmissions each comprising information regarding a multimedia content program available for real time distribution during a future time period to third parties, wherein the future time period corresponds to a license period established by the one or more content providers;

in response to the sending, receiving from the network operator by way of an Internet protocol;

a request for one or more said multimedia content programs; and

one or more initial Web-based templates which require including a video storefront that is compatible with a carousel which will be used by the network operator for delivering the one or more said multimedia content programs to the third parties, wherein each Web-based template is a storefront Web page, and

wherein each initial Web-based template comprises at least one advertising space;

associating information descriptive of one said requested multimedia content program with one said initial Web-based template to form a final Web-based template for each said requested multimedia content program;

querying whether required metadata have been included in each of the one or more initial Web-based templates, wherein the querying comprises querying whether at least one advertisement has been selected for each advertising space and querying whether each advertisement for each time slot for each of the one or more initial Web-based templates has been designated as either headend scheduled or network-wide scheduled;

preventing transmission of each of the one or more initial Web-based templates when all required metadata has not been entered or selected for a corresponding initial Web-based template;

issuing a query to determine if a video asset intrinsic matches of each final Web-based template matches a corresponding multimedia content program thereby ensuring that the overall end to end system of supplying a requested multimedia content program is likely to function as represented to an end viewer; and

transmitting, to the network operator, each said final Web-based template, and transmitting to a carousel at a headend a multimedia content program corresponding to each said final Web-based template for real time distribution by the network operator during the future time period to third parties, wherein each final Web-based template is a storefront Web page.

13. The method as described in claim 12, wherein the sending, the receiving, the associating, and the transmitting are performed by interactive operation of an Internet browser application, and wherein the method further comprises prepopulating one or more required metadata in the initial Web-based templates before receiving from the network operator by way of an Internet protocol the initial Web-based templates, wherein the one or more required metadata are previously stored in a multimedia content metadata database.

14. A method as described in claim 12, wherein each said multimedia content program is a video on demand, and wherein the method further comprises providing an element within each initial Web-based template through which a content provider reduces a number of required metadata needed to be entered prior to entering or selecting required metadata for each one or more initial Web-based templates.

15. A method as described in claim 12, wherein the information regarding the multimedia content program is selected from the group consisting of:

a title of the multimedia content program;

the future time period;

a genre;

the name of the content provider;

a studio corresponding to the multimedia content program;

a preview availability for the multimedia content program;

the run time for the multimedia content program;

the type of the multimedia content program;

a value for the box office revenue generated by the multimedia content program during its theatrical release;

a rating value; and

a combination of the foregoing.

16. A method as described in claim 12, wherein each said final Web-based template comprises one or more markup language pages, and wherein the method further comprises:

polling one or more catalogs of video delivery servers to determine whether a video asset is available for distribution, the polling being performed after transmitting each final Web-based template; and

scheduling a video asset for deployment to a carousel at a headend.

17. A method as described in claim 12, wherein the information descriptive of one said requested multimedia content program that is associated with one said initial Web-based template to form the final Web-based template comprises a title, a textual description, and an image associated with the multimedia content program corresponding to the final Web-based template.

18. A method as described in claim 12, wherein each said third party is selected from the group consisting of:

a client device, a set top box for receiving a communication service and a personal computer; and

wherein each initial Web-based template comprises at least one advertising space where each advertising space is of a predetermined size, and wherein querying whether required metadata have been included in each of the one or more initial Web-based templates additionally comprises querying whether at least one advertisement has been selected for each advertising space.

19. A computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a computer, perform the method of claim 12.