Adaptation to device-capability based on device characteristics

• US 7,814,174 B2
• Filed: 06/05/2007
• Issued: 10/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Scientific-Atlanta LLC (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Jerding, Dean F., Rodriguez, Arturo A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jean; Frantz B
• Application Number:
  US11/758,046
• Publication Number:
  US 20070233824A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,225 Days
• Field of Search: 709/219, 709/220, 715/744, 725/87, 725/109, 725/110
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2801 Broadband local area networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/401 wherein the services involve a main real-time session and one or more additional parallel real-time or time sensitive sessions, e.g. white board sharing or spawning of a subconference
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/61 for supporting one-way streaming services, e.g. Internet radio
• 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 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2347 involving video stream encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23617 by inserting additional data into a data carousel, e.g. inserting software modules into a DVB carousel arrangements for broadcast or for distribution of identical information repeatedly in broadcast distribution systems H04H20/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/241 Operating system [OS] processes, e.g. server setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25866 Management of end-user data customer care in data networks H04L41/5077
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26266 for determining content or additional data repetition rate, e.g. of a file in a DVB carousel according to its importance arrangements for broadcast or for distribution of identical information repeatedly in broadcast distribution systems H04H20/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6118 : involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6168 : involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8106 : involving special audio data, e.g. different tracks for different languages
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

The invention is a flexible and adaptive application framework and method for providing media services via an interactive media services client device coupled to a programmable media services server device. A method of the preferred embodiment of the invention includes distributing or partitioning computation, data storage, and/or data transmission between the server and client devices to flexibly adapt to and take advantage of the available computing and/or network resources.

Claims

1. A method implemented by a server coupled to a computing device, the method comprising:

determining by the server whether the computing device comprises one level of computational resources or another level, wherein determining is responsive to a computing device resource profile provided to the server by the computing device; and

transmitting data having at least one format to the computing device for execution in the computing device responsive to determining that the computing device comprises the one level of computational resources, otherwise executing the data in the server if the computing device comprises the other level.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one level of computational resources comprises processing resources.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one level of computational resources is greater than the other level of computational resources.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing device experiences less latency in accessing the data having a first format than in accessing the data having a second format.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one format comprises one of extensible markup language (XML) or hypertext markup language (HTML).

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining comprises comparing stored information corresponding to a model number or model name of the computing device with an identifier of the computing device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein determining further comprises comparing stored information corresponding to a type of the computing device with the identifier of the computing device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the identifier of the computing device comprises a Media-Access-Controller (MAC) address of the computing device.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the use of data encryption for the transmission of the data having the at least one format to the computing device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the server translates data prior to transmitting the translated data to the computing device.

11. A method implemented by a server coupled to a computing device, the method comprising:

receiving at the server information from the computing device;

determining from the information at least one characteristic of the computing device, the at least one characteristic corresponding to at least one level of computational resources or another level of computational resources in the computing device;

translating data having at least one format responsive to determining that the computing device has the at least one characteristic corresponding to the at least one level of computational resources or translating the data having another format responsive to determining that the computing device has the at least one characteristic corresponding to the another level of computational resources; and

transmitting the translated data to the computing device.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising encrypting the translated data.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the computing device is configured to output data in the at least one format to a display device.