Emergency alert data delivery apparatus and methods
First Claim
1. In an Internet Protocol (IP) television network comprising at least one server and a plurality of client devices in direct or indirect communication with said server, a method of providing said alert data to one or more of said client devices, said method comprising:
- receiving alert data from one or more alert sources, said alert data being specific to a geographic region;
formatting said alert data in a format suitable for transport over said network;
determining, based at least in part on a unique identification associated with each of said plurality of client devices, a subset of said plurality of client devices associated with said geographic region;
providing said alert data to said subset of client devices over said network; and
causing said subset of client devices to display at least a first portion of said alert data on a display device associated therewith by causing said display device to open a new window for display thereof.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus and methods for efficiently and flexibly providing emergency alert data (e.g., EAS messages) to subscribers of a content-based network, such as for example Internet protocol television (IPTV) subscribers. In one exemplary embodiment, the apparatus includes a server performing real-time receipt and encapsulation of the EAS data (which may comprise audio, video, and/or text), transport of the EAS data to client devices over the network, and use of one or more applications running on the client devices to decode and display/present the EAS data in a manner which effectively guarantees that it will be perceived by the viewer. In one variant, instant messaging (IM) infrastructure is used to authenticate clients and receive and display at least portion of the EAS data via a separate transport process. Server and client-side apparatus adapted for EAS data receipt, decoding and display are also disclosed.
-
Citations
29 Claims
-
1. In an Internet Protocol (IP) television network comprising at least one server and a plurality of client devices in direct or indirect communication with said server, a method of providing said alert data to one or more of said client devices, said method comprising:
-
receiving alert data from one or more alert sources, said alert data being specific to a geographic region; formatting said alert data in a format suitable for transport over said network; determining, based at least in part on a unique identification associated with each of said plurality of client devices, a subset of said plurality of client devices associated with said geographic region; providing said alert data to said subset of client devices over said network; and causing said subset of client devices to display at least a first portion of said alert data on a display device associated therewith by causing said display device to open a new window for display thereof. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
-
-
7. A network server apparatus for selectively providing emergency alert data to a plurality of client devices over a packet-switched network, said apparatus comprising:
-
a receiver configured to receive said emergency alert data transmitted over said network, said emergency alert data comprising at least a video portion and at least one of an audio or text portion; and a processor adapted to run at least one computer program thereon, said computer program configured to; format said alert data in a format suitable for transport over said network; transmit said alert data to individual ones of said plurality of client devices; and cause display of at least a portion of said alert data on display devices associated with respective ones of said client devices; wherein said display devices are configured to receive and display multimedia streams from at least one multimedia server; and wherein said display of said alert data comprises causing said display devices to display said video portion of said emergency alert data as an overlay of a current one of said multimedia streams being displayed thereon and causing said audio portion to be presented in place of the audio of at least one of said multimedia streams. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. A method of providing alert data to one or more of a plurality of client devices in an Internet Protocol (IP) television network comprising at least one server in communication with said plurality of client devices, said method comprising:
-
receiving alert data specific to a geographic region from one or more alert sources; formatting said alert data in a format suitable for transport over said network; using at least a unique identification associated with each of said plurality of client devices to determine a subset of said plurality of client devices associated with said geographic region; providing said alert data to said subset of client devices over said network; and causing at least a first portion of said alert data to be overlaid on a current video stream being displayed on display devices associated respective ones of said subset of client devices. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
-
-
15. A method of distributing both media content and emergency alert information over a packet-switched network, said method comprising:
-
receiving emergency alert information, said alert information comprising at least video portion; generating alert data relating to said alert information, said alert data comprising at least one alert video stream; transmitting said alert data to said one or more client devices over said network; and directing said one or more client devices open a new window for display of at least a first portion of said alert data on display devices associated therewith. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
-
-
23. A method of providing emergency alert system (EAS) services to a non-EAS enabled device in an Internet Protocol (IP) content delivery network via at least one multimedia server, said non-EAS enabled device configured to receive and display multimedia streams from said at least one multimedia server, said method comprising:
-
receiving from one or more alert sources EAS data in a first format, said EAS data comprising at least a video portion and at least one of an audio or text portion; converting said EAS data from said first format to a second format, said second format being suitable for transport over said network; providing said EAS data to said non-EAS enabled device, said non-EAS enabled device comprising at least an IP video decoder; and causing said IP video decoder of said non-EAS enabled device to decode and display at least a first portion of said EAS data; wherein said display of said EAS data comprises causing said display device to display said video portion of said EAS data as an overlay of a current one of said multimedia streams being displayed thereon and causing said audio portion to be presented in place of the audio of at least one of said multimedia streams. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
-
Specification