Multiple audio streams

• US 8,745,675 B2
• Filed: 10/01/2010
• Issued: 06/03/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NBC Universal Media LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Vudu Incorporated (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Hodzic, Edin, Ganesan, Prasanna, Goodman, Andrew M., Shankar, Sumankar
• Primary Examiner(s): Alata, Yassin
• Application Number:
  US12/896,701
• Publication Number:
  US 20110023072A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,341 Days
• Field of Search: 725 13-134, 725141-142, 725145-146, 725/153, 709/231
• US Class Current: 725/86
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23109 by placing content in organized collections, e.g. EPG data repository details of retrieval of video data and associated meta data in video databases G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/233 Processing of audio elementary streams monitoring, identification or recognition of audio in broadcast systems H04H60/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23424 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for inserting or substituting an advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2368 Multiplexing of audio and video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47208 for requesting near-video-on-demand content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6581 Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments

Abstract

A system and method for providing multiple audio streams for a video over a network such as the Internet. The system comprises a server that includes an encryption unit and a slicing unit, a plurality of boxes, and an ordering box. The server encodes multiple audio streams and a single video to be sliced into segments. The sliced segments of multiple audio streams and the single video are seeded to a number of the plurality of boxes. This may be repeated for other videos with multiple streams. When the ordering box makes a request for a single video with a single audio, then the number of boxes with segments of the requested video and multiple audio streams, filters and sends the requested video and requested single audio stream to the ordering box. Similarly, multiple closed caption streams can be handled and provided like the audio streams.

Claims

1. A method for receiving media programs over a content delivery network, the method being performed by a user device and comprising:

transmitting a request for a media program to a server over the content delivery network; and

receiving data corresponding to the media program over the content delivery network, wherein the data is encoded at different bitrates such that data encoded at a lower bitrate is of a lower quality than data encoded at a higher bitrate;

wherein receiving data corresponding to the media program comprises (i) monitoring a bandwidth of the user device in order to make a determination that there is a change in the bandwidth during data retrieval, (ii) retrieving data encoded at a lower bitrate when the bandwidth decreases below a threshold during data retrieval, and (iii) retrieving data encoded at a higher bitrate when the bandwidth increases above the threshold during data retrieval; and

wherein the data corresponding to the program file is divided into a plurality of data segments, the plurality of data segments being stored in a plurality of devices in the content delivery network, each data segment comprising non-sequential interleaved data blocks comprising the media program, each data block including a block of video and a plurality of segments of audio encoding a block of audio corresponding to the block of video encoded at different bit rates,

wherein a number of segments of the plurality of data segments is equal to the smallest integer larger than a required transmission rate divided by a minimum uploading speed for the content delivery network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the server provides source information for identifying one or more devices from the plurality of devices that is to provide the plurality of data segments.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein receiving data corresponding to the media program includes receiving the plurality of data segments from the one or more devices.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a size of the data segments is based on at least a minimum uploading speed of the content delivery network or a minimum downloading speed of the content delivery network.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising combining the plurality of data segments for play back of the media program.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving data corresponding to the media program includes receiving the data from the server.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising playing back the media program using the data corresponding to the media program.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the server authorized the user device before enabling the user device to receive data corresponding to the media program.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the data corresponding to the program file is divided into a plurality of data segments by decimated sampling.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the data corresponding to the program file is divided into a plurality of data segments by decimated sampling such that each data segment includes every Nth data block from a starting block, each data segment of the plurality of data segments starting at a different starting block.

9. A system for providing media programs over a content delivery network, the system comprising:

a server; and

a plurality of devices coupled to the network, wherein a first device of the plurality of devices is configured to;

transmit a request to the server for a media program; and

receive data corresponding to the media program, wherein the data is encoded at different bitrates such that data encoded at a lower bitrate is of a lower quality than data encoded at a higher bitrate;

wherein the first device is configured to receive data corresponding to the media program by (i) monitoring a bandwidth of the first device in order to make a determination that there is a change in the bandwidth during data retrieval, (ii) retrieving data encoded at a lower bitrate when the bandwidth decreases below a threshold during data retrieval, and (iii) retrieving data encoded at a higher bitrate when the bandwidth increases above the threshold during data retrieval;

wherein the media program is divided into a plurality of data segments, the plurality of data segments being stored in a plurality of devices in the content delivery network, each data segment comprising non-sequential interleaved data blocks comprising the media program, each data block including a block of video and a plurality of segments of audio encoding a block of audio corresponding to the block of video encoded at different bit rates; and

wherein the first device is configured to receive data corresponding to the media program by receiving the plurality of data segments from the plurality of devices;

wherein the data is divided into a plurality of data segments based on at least a minimum uploading speed of the content delivery network or a minimum downloading speed of the content delivery network,

wherein a number of segments of the plurality of data segments is equal to the smallest integer larger than a required transmission rate divided by the minimum uploading speed of the content delivery network.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the server is configured to provide source information for identifying one or more devices from the plurality of devices that is to provide the plurality of data segments to the first device.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the first device is further configured to multiplex the plurality of data segments as the plurality of data segments are received for play back of the media program.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the first device is configured to receive data corresponding to the media program by receiving the data from the server.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the first device is further configured to play back the media program using the data corresponding to the media program.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the server is configured to authorize the first device before enabling the first device to receive data corresponding to the media program.

15. A method for receiving media programs over a content delivery network, the method being performed by a user device and comprising:

transmitting a request for a media program to a server over the content delivery network; and

receiving data corresponding to the media program over the content delivery network, wherein the data is encoded at different bitrates such that data encoded at a lower bitrate is of a lower quality than data encoded at a higher bitrate;

wherein receiving data corresponding to the media program comprises (i) monitoring a bandwidth of the user device in order to make a determination that there is a change in the bandwidth during data retrieval, (ii) retrieving data encoded at a lower bitrate when the bandwidth decreases below a threshold during data retrieval, and (iii) retrieving data encoded at a higher bitrate when the bandwidth increases above the threshold during data retrieval;

wherein the data corresponding to the program file is divided into a plurality of data segments, the plurality of data segments being stored in a plurality of devices in the content delivery network, each data segment comprising non-sequential interleaved data blocks comprising the media program, each data block including a block of video and a plurality of segments of audio encoding a block of audio corresponding to the block of video encoded at different bit rates; and

wherein a number of segments of the plurality of data segments is equal to the smallest integer larger than a required transmission rate divided by a minimum uploading speed for the content delivery network.