Managed cooperative downloading of digital cinema content
First Claim
1. A method of distributing a motion picture to a plurality of theaters where the motion picture will be presented to audiences, and wherein each theater has a cooperative-download client, the method comprising, in order:
- distributing chunks of the motion picture to just a subset of the theaters, wherein each theater to which a chunk is distributed becomes a seed theater for that chunk; and
after distributing the chunks to the subset of theaters, directing the plurality of theaters to share the chunks among each other via a communication network, so that all of the theaters ultimately receive all of the chunks of the motion picture,wherein directing the plurality of theaters to share the chunks among each other so that all of the theaters receive all of the chunks of the motion picture comprises a media controller sending to each theater a control signal directing the cooperative-download client at the theater to turn on cooperative-download broadcasting, so that the cooperative-download clients at the other theaters can then learn what pieces of the chunks are available to obtain from other theaters'"'"' cooperative-download clients.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for distributing a digital motion picture to multiple theaters in a region via terrestrial wireless communication. The motion picture is divided into chunks, and the chunks are transmitted to particular initial seed theaters in the region. To facilitate the initial seeding, downlink bandwidth on various wireless links is dynamically increased. Once the initial seeding is complete, the downlink bandwidth is decreased and is preferably equalized substantially with uplink bandwidth. The theaters in the region are then directed to begin peer-to-peer sharing of the chunks with each other, possibly through use of BitTorrent or other cooperative downloading process from the initial seed theaters. Ultimately, all of the theaters in the region thereby obtain all of the chunks of the motion picture and can conveniently present the motion picture to audiences.
51 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of distributing a motion picture to a plurality of theaters where the motion picture will be presented to audiences, and wherein each theater has a cooperative-download client, the method comprising, in order:
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distributing chunks of the motion picture to just a subset of the theaters, wherein each theater to which a chunk is distributed becomes a seed theater for that chunk; and after distributing the chunks to the subset of theaters, directing the plurality of theaters to share the chunks among each other via a communication network, so that all of the theaters ultimately receive all of the chunks of the motion picture, wherein directing the plurality of theaters to share the chunks among each other so that all of the theaters receive all of the chunks of the motion picture comprises a media controller sending to each theater a control signal directing the cooperative-download client at the theater to turn on cooperative-download broadcasting, so that the cooperative-download clients at the other theaters can then learn what pieces of the chunks are available to obtain from other theaters'"'"' cooperative-download clients. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of distributing a motion picture to a plurality of theaters where the motion picture will be presented to audiences, and wherein each theater has a cooperative-download client, the method comprising, in order:
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distributing chunks of the motion picture to just a subset of the theaters, wherein each theater to which a chunk is distributed becomes a seed theater for that chunk; and after distributing the chunks to the subset of theaters, directing the plurality of theaters to share the chunks among each other via a communication network, so that all of the theaters ultimately receive all of the chunks of the motion picture, wherein distributing chunks of the motion picture to the subset of theaters comprises, in order (i) increasing downlink bandwidth on one or more wireless links through which the chunks will be transmitted to the subset of theaters, (ii) transmitting the chunks to the subset of theaters through the one or more wireless links, and (iii) undoing the increase in downlink bandwidth on the one or more wireless links, and wherein directing the plurality of theaters to share the chunks among each other so that all of the theaters receive all of the chunks of the motion picture comprises a media controller sending to each theater a control signal directing the cooperative-download client at the theater to turn on cooperative-download broadcasting, so that the cooperative-download clients at the other theaters can then learn what pieces of the chunks are available to obtain from other theaters'"'"' cooperative-download clients. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A media controller arranged to orchestrate distribution of a motion picture to a plurality of theaters, wherein each theater has a cooperative-download client, the media controller comprising:
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data storage; and program logic stored in the data storage and executable by the media controller to carry out functions including; (i) transmitting or directing transmission of chunks of the motion picture via one or more wireless networks to particular seed theaters defining a subset of the plurality of theaters, (ii) sending to a media agent respectively at each theater one or more torrent files for the motion picture, and (iii) after transmission of the chunks to the seed theaters, sending one or more management commands to the media agents at the theaters, directing the media agents to begin cooperative-download swarming with each other so as to share the chunks of the motion picture with each other so that each of the media agents will ultimately receive all of the chunks of the motion picture. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification