Multimedia content delivery method and system

• US 7,680,894 B2
• Filed: 01/08/2007
• Issued: 03/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/09/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc. (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Thomson Licensing (Vantiva SA)
• Inventors: Suh, Kyoungwon, Boudani, Ali, Soule, Augustin, Houeix, Pierre, Neumann, Christoph, Champel, Mary-Luc, Chaintreau, Augustin, Diot, Christophe
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung; Zarni
• Application Number:
  US12/087,387
• Publication Number:
  US 20090083394A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,163 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/207, 709217-219, 709/231
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1859 adapted to provide push services, e.g. data channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1881 with schedule organisation, e.g. priority, sequence management

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for the distribution of multimedia content, comprising:

• • a first step comprising a download in “push” mode of a multimedia content, in a partial way, from a content server to a client device, and
  • a second step comprising a download of the missing elements of said multimedia content in “pull” mode via a “peer to peer” mechanism from a second client device,
    and in that the multimedia content can be reconstituted with n+p blocks, n and p being non-null natural integers, n blocks being downloaded during said first step and p blocks being downloaded during the second step, the multimedia content being exploitable only after reception of n+p blocks.

Claims

1. Method for distributing multimedia content, comprising:

a first step comprising a download in “

push”

mode of a multimedia content, in a partial way, from a content server to a first client device, and

a second step comprising a download of the missing elements of said multimedia content in “

pull”

mode via a “

peer to peer”

mechanism from a second client device (EC2),

and in that the multimedia content can be reconstituted with n+p blocks, n and p being non-null natural integers, n blocks being downloaded during said first step and p blocks being downloaded during the second step, the multimedia content being exploitable only after reception of n+p blocks.

2. Method for distributing multimedia content according to claim 1, wherein the first and second client devices are located under the same DSLAM.

3. Method for distributing multimedia content according to claim 1, wherein the first and second client devices are located under neighbouring DSLAMs.

4. Method for distributing multimedia content according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second client devices is a set-top box with a hard disk or a personal computer.

5. Method for distributing multimedia content according to claim 1, wherein certain blocks are systematically loaded onto several client devices, for example blocks enabling viewing of the start of a film or films of a degraded quality, so that a user can begin viewing while waiting for the loading by a “

Peer to Peer”

mechanism to happen.

6. System for the distribution of multimedia content comprising at least a multimedia server, a communication network, a DSLAM and at least two client devices for the implementation of the method according to claim 1.

7. Digital device, comprising:

means for receiving by download in “

push”

mode a multimedia content, in a partial way, from a content server, and

means for receiving by download, the missing elements of said multimedia content in “

pull”

mode via a “

peer to peer”

mechanism from a second client device,

and in that the multimedia content can be reconstituted with n+p blocks, n and p being non-null natural integers, n blocks being downloaded in “

push”

mode and p blocks being downloaded in “

pull”

mode, by a “

peer to peer”

mechanism, the multimedia content being usable only after the reception of n+p blocks.