Systems and methods for dynamically switching between unicast and multicast delivery of media content in a wireless network

• US 8,819,264 B2
• Filed: 07/18/2011
• Issued: 08/26/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Rodrigues, Ruchir
• Primary Examiner(s): Lazaro, David
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHAW, ROBERT A
• Application Number:
  US13/185,449
• Publication Number:
  US 20130024582A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,135 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1886 with traffic restrictions for efficiency improvement, e.g. involving subnets or subdomains
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/5601 Transfer mode dependent, e.g. ATM
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5641 Unicast/point-to-point
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5642 Multicast/broadcast/point-multipoint, e.g. VOD
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0215 based on user or device properties, e.g. MTC-capable devices services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC] H04W4/70; wireless resource selection or allocation plan definition based on terminal or device properties H04W72/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/30 Resource management for broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/40 for selective distribution or broadcast

Abstract

Systems and methods for dynamically switching between unicast and multicast delivery of media content are disclosed. An exemplary method includes a user device 1) accessing, over a wireless network, a unicast stream carrying data representative of a media content program, 2) detecting, during the accessing of the unicast stream, an instruction to switch to a multicast stream carrying data representative of the media content program, and 3) switching, in response to the instruction, from the accessing of the unicast stream to accessing the multicast stream by way of the wireless network. Corresponding systems and methods are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

accessing, by a user device over a wireless network, a unicast stream carrying data representative of a media content program;

detecting, by the user device during the accessing of the unicast stream, an instruction to switch to a multicast stream carrying data representative of the media content program;

switching, by the user device in response to the instruction, from the accessing of the unicast stream to accessing the multicast stream by way of the wireless network; and

presenting, by the user device, the media content program for experiencing by a user of the user device, wherein the presenting of the media content program is seamless across the switching from the accessing of the unicast stream to the accessing of the multicast stream,

wherein the instruction indicates a number of frames to buffer to ensure that the presenting of the media content program is seamless; and

buffering, by the user device, in response to the instruction, the number of frames of the media content program indicated in the instruction.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting comprises detecting the instruction within the unicast stream.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the switching from the accessing of the unicast stream to the accessing of the multicast stream is transparent to a user of the user device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the switching from the accessing of the unicast stream to the accessing the multicast stream comprises:

transmitting, by the user device, a request for access information for the multicast stream to a media content provider subsystem over the wireless network, the request including access information for the unicast stream as a parameter;

receiving, by the user device from the media content provider subsystem over the wireless network, the access information for the multicast stream; and

using, by the user device, the access information for the multicast stream to access the multicast stream.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the wireless network comprises a mobile phone network; and

the user device comprises a mobile device associated with an end user of a media distribution service accessible by the mobile device over the mobile phone network.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting, by the user device during the accessing of the multicast stream, an additional instruction to switch to a new unicast stream carrying data representative of the media content program; and

switching, by the user device in response to the additional instruction, from the accessing of the multicast stream to accessing the new unicast stream by way of the wireless network.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the additional instruction is detected within the multicast stream.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the switching from the accessing of the multicast stream to the accessing of the new unicast stream is transparent to a user of the user device.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the switching from the accessing of the multicast stream to the accessing the new unicast stream comprises:

transmitting, by the user device, a request for access information for the new unicast stream to a media content provider subsystem over the wireless network, the request including access information for the multicast stream as a parameter;

receiving, by the user device from the media content provider subsystem over the wireless network, the access information for the new unicast stream; and

using, by the user device, the access information for the new unicast stream to access the new unicast stream.

10. The method of claim 1, embodied as computer-executable instructions on at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium.

11. A method comprising:

detecting, by a media content provider subsystem during unicast streaming of a media content program over a wireless network, that concurrent demand for the media content program satisfies a predefined maximum demand threshold; and

switching, by the media content provider subsystem in response to the detecting that the concurrent demand for the media content program satisfies the predefined maximum demand threshold, from the unicast streaming of the media content program to multicast streaming of the media content program over the wireless network,

wherein the switching comprises providing, to one or more user devices over the wireless network, an instruction to switch from accessing one or more unicast streams carrying the media content program to accessing a multicast stream carrying the media content program, and

wherein the instruction indicates a number of frames of the media content program to be buffered by each of the one or more user devices to ensure a seamless presentation of the media content program across the switching.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the providing comprises:

inserting the instruction in each of the one or more of the unicast streams; and

transmitting the one or more of the unicast streams containing the instruction to the one or more user devices.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the switching comprises transmitting, by the media content provider subsystem over the wireless network, the multicast stream carrying the media content program.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the transmitting of the multicast stream comprises broadcasting a broadcast stream within at least one cell of the wireless network.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

detecting, by the media content provider subsystem during the multicast streaming of the media content program, that the concurrent demand for the media content program has subsided below a predefined minimum demand threshold; and

switching, by the media content provider subsystem in response to the detecting that the concurrent demand for the media content program has subsided below a predefined minimum demand threshold, from the multicast streaming of the media content program back to the unicast streaming of the media content program over the wireless network.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the switching from the multicast streaming of the media content program to the unicast streaming of the media content program comprises providing, to the one or more user devices over the wireless network, an instruction to switch from accessing the multicast stream to accessing one or more new unicast streams over the wireless network.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the providing comprises:

inserting the instruction in the multicast stream; and

transmitting the multicast stream containing the instruction over the wireless network.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving, by the media content provider subsystem over the wireless network in response to the providing of the instruction to the one or more user devices, one or more requests from the one or more user devices to access the one or more new unicast streams; and

transmitting, by the media content provider subsystem over the wireless network in response to the one or more requests, the one or more new unicast streams carrying the media content program to the one or more user devices.

19. The method of claim 11, embodied as computer-executable instructions on at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium.

20. A method comprising:

detecting, by a media content delivery system, a change in concurrent demand for access to a media content program over a wireless network; and

dynamically switching, by the media content delivery system, between unicast delivery and multicast delivery of the media content program over the wireless network in response to the detecting of the change in the concurrent demand for access to the media content program;

wherein the dynamically switching comprises using an in-stream instruction to instruct one or more user devices accessing the media content program to switch between accessing the media content program by way of the unicast delivery of the media content program and accessing the media content program by way of the multicast delivery of the media content program, and

wherein the in-stream instruction indicates a number of frames of the media content program to be buffered by each of the one or more user devices to ensure that the dynamically switching is seamless.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein:

the change in the concurrent demand comprises an increase in the concurrent demand that satisfies a predefined maximum demand threshold; and

the dynamically switching comprises switching from unicast delivery to multicast delivery of the media content program over the wireless network.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein:

the change in the concurrent demand comprises a decrease in that concurrent demand that satisfies a predefined minimum demand threshold; and

the dynamically switching comprises switching from multicast delivery to unicast delivery of the media content program over the wireless network.

23. A system comprising:

at least one processor; and

a media delivery management facility configured to direct the at least one processor to detect a change in concurrent demand for access to a media content program over a wireless network, and

dynamically switch between unicast delivery and multicast delivery of the media content program over the wireless network in response to the detecting of the change in the concurrent demand for access to the media content program;

wherein the dynamic switch includes using an in-stream instruction to instruct one or more user devices accessing the media content program to switch between accessing the media content program by way of the unicast delivery of the media content program and accessing the media content program by way of the multicast delivery of the media content program, and

wherein the in-stream instruction indicates a number of frames of the media content program to be buffered by each of the one or more user devices to ensure that the dynamic switch is seamless.