Methods and systems for providing video on demand

• US 8,832,758 B2
• Filed: 03/17/2003
• Issued: 09/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qwest Communications International Incorporated (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Qwest Communications International Incorporated (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Casey, Steven M, Cook, Charles I, Phillips, Bruce A, Campbell, Kurt A, Brodigan, Donald L
• Primary Examiner(s): HUYNH, AN SON PHI
• Application Number:
  US10/391,518
• Publication Number:
  US 20040187160A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,194 Days
• Field of Search: 725/86, 725/87, 725 94- 96, 725/115, 725/145
• US Class Current: 725/94
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2225 Local VOD servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23406 involving management of server-side video buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2385 Channel allocation H04N21/266 takes precedence; Bandwidth allocation H04N21/24 takes precedence ; allocation of channels according to the instantaneous demands of the users in time-division multiplex systems H04J3/1682; admission control, resource allocation in open networks H04L12/5692; arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896; negotiating bandwidth in wireless networks H04W28/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2387 Stream processing in response to a playback request from an end-user, e.g. for trick-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17336 Handling of requests in head-ends

Abstract

Methods and systems provide a selected video segment to customer premises equipment. A request is received from the customer premises equipment for transmission of the selected video segment. A copy of the selected video segment is transferred to one of a plurality of buffers. One of the plurality of buffers is mapped through a routing network to a port interfaced with the customer premises equipment. The selected video segment is transmitted from the one of the plurality of buffers through the routing network and port to the customer premises equipment.

Claims

1. A method for providing a selected video segment to customer premises equipment, the method comprising:

indexing, by an index framer at a head end, objectionable scenes of the selected video segment to permit the objectionable scenes to be bypassed during transmission as part of a parental control feature, the indexing comprising indexing frames of the selected video segment based on a combination of time-based and scene-based indexing;

receiving a request for transmission of the selected video segment from the customer premises equipment, the customer premises equipment comprising a television set top box;

transferring, through a television distribution network, a copy of the selected video segment from a central library to a remote local library proximate to the customer premises equipment in response to receiving the request for transmission, the central library being located at the head end and the remote local library being located at a node terminal;

transferring the copy of the selected video segment from the remote local library to one of a plurality of buffers;

subindexing, at the node terminal, the indexed frames of the selected video segment into indexed subframes for functions including freeze-frame control;

mapping the one of the plurality of buffers through a routing network to a port interfaced with the customer premises equipment;

transmitting the selected video segment from the one of the plurality of buffers through the routing network and the port to the customer premises equipment;

providing, via the television set top box, playback controls to control playback speed of the selected video segment, the playback controls comprising a fast-forward control and a freeze frame control;

in response to selection of the fast-forward control, implementing a fast-forward function to increase playback speed of the selected video segment by increasing transmission speed from the one of the plurality of buffers; and

in response to selection of the freeze frame control, continuously transmitting a specific frame with zero playback speed until a contrary transmission instruction is received.

2. The method recited in claim 1 wherein transmitting the selected video segment is performed substantially contemporaneously with receiving the request for transmission of the selected video segment.

3. The method recited in claim 1 wherein transmitting the selected video segment is performed at a time specified by the request.

4. The method recited in claim 1 further comprising transmitting indexing information for the selected video segment to the central video library.

5. The method recited in claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a transmission instruction from the customer premises equipment; and

modifying transmission of the selected video segment from the one of the plurality of buffers to the customer premises equipment in accordance with the transmission instruction.

6. The method recited in claim 5 wherein:

the selected video segment comprises an interactive video segment; and

modifying transmission of the selected video segment comprises selecting one of a plurality of possible contents for transmission in accordance with the transmission instruction.

7. The method recited in claim 5, wherein modifying transmission of the selected video segment comprises selecting one of the indexed subframes for transmission.

8. The method recited in claim 1 further comprising deleting the copy of the selected video segment from the one of the plurality of buffers.

9. The method recited in claim 1 further comprising maintaining the copy of the selected video segment in the remote local library local to the plurality of buffers.

10. The method recited in claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a second request for transmission of the selected video segment from a second customer premises equipment; and

transferring a second copy of the selected video segment to a second of the plurality of buffers;

mapping the second of the plurality of buffers through the routing network to a port interfaced with the second customer premises; and

transmitting the selected video segment from the second of the plurality of buffers through the routing network and second port to the second customer premises equipment.

11. The method recited in claim 10 wherein transmitting the selected video segment from the second of the plurality of buffers is time-shifted with respect to transmitting the selected video segment from the one of the plurality of buffers.

12. The method recited in claim 1 wherein the selected video segment comprises a selected video program.

13. The method recited in claim 12 further comprising combining the selected video program with a second video program, wherein transferring the copy of the selected video program to the one of the plurality of buffers comprises transferring combination of the selected video program and the second video program to the one of the plurality of buffers.

14. A system for providing a selected video segment to customer premises equipment, the system comprising:

a local content-transfer server interfaced with a head end having a central video library that houses a copy of the selected video segment, wherein the local content-transfer server is located at a node terminal remote from the central video library and the head end, wherein the local content-transfer server;

receives, from the head end through a television distribution network, the copy of the selected video segment and an index of objectionable scenes to permit the objectionable scenes to be bypassed during transmission as part of a parental control feature, wherein the index is created by an index framer at the head end that indexes the objectionable scenes based on a combination of time-based and scene-based indexing;

stores the cony of the selected video segment and the index in a local video library;

subindexes, with an index module at the node terminal, the indexed frames of the selected video segment into indexed subframes for functions including freeze-frame control;

generates multiple streams of content using the copy of the selected video segment received from the head end; and

controls transmission of the multiple streams of content in accordance with transmission instructions received from the customer premises equipment, the customer premises equipment comprising a television set top box;

a routing network interfaced with the local content-transfer server that implements a mapping of the multiple streams of content; and

a plurality of ports that transmit the mapped streams of content over a transmission medium, wherein one of the plurality of ports is interfaced with the customer premises equipment with the transmission medium;

wherein the local content-transfer server further;

provides, via the television set top box, playback controls to control playback speed of the selected video segment, the playback controls comprising a fast-forward control and a freeze frame control;

in response to selection of the fast-forward control, implements a fast-forward function to increase playback speed of one of the streams of content by increasing transmission speed of the one of the streams of content; and

in response to selection of the freeze frame control, continuously transmits a specific frame with zero playback speed until a contrary transmission instruction is received.

15. The system recited in claim 14 wherein the transmission instructions comprise a request from the customer premises equipment for transmission of the selected video segment.

16. The system recited in claim 14 wherein the transmission instructions comprise a request to modify transmission of the selected video segment.

17. The system recited in claim 14 wherein the routing network comprises a plurality of routing networks, wherein each of the plurality of routing networks is interfaced with one of a plurality of local content-transfer servers.

18. The system recited in claim 14 wherein the local content-transfer server comprises:

the local video library that stores the copy of the selected video segment; and

a plurality of buffers that exchange content with the routing network;

wherein the index module loads frames of the selected video segment from the local video library into the buffers.

19. The system recited in claim 18 wherein the index module loads frames into different buffers on a time-shifted basis.

20. A system for providing video programming, the system comprising:

a head end comprising a central video library that houses a plurality of video segments, wherein the head end further comprises an index framer in communication with the central video library that encodes each of the plurality of video segments into indexed frames, including indexing objectionable scenes of the video content to permit the objectionable scenes to be bypassed during transmission as part of a parental control feature, based on a combination of time-based and scene-based indexing;

a plurality of remote node terminals, each of which is remote from the head end and the central video library and exchanges content with a plurality of customer premises equipment, the plurality of customer premises equipment comprising at least one television set top box, wherein each remote node terminal comprises a content transfer server;

wherein each content-transfer server comprises a local video library and a plurality of ports; and

a television distribution network that interfaces the head end with the plurality of remote node terminals,

wherein each of the plurality of local content transfer servers;

receives, from the head end, a copy of a selected video segment and index of objectionable scenes;

stores the copy of the selected video segment and the index in a local video library;

subindexes, with an index module, indexed frames of the selected video segment with an index module into indexed subframes for functions including freeze-frame control;

generates multiple streams of content using the copy of the selected video segment;

controls transmission of the multiple streams of content in accordance with transmission instructions received from the customer premises equipment;

creates a mapping of the multiple streams of content to the plurality of ports;

provides, via the television set top box, playback controls to control playback speed of the selected video segment, the playback controls comprising a fast-forward control and a freeze frame control;

in response to selection of the fast-forward control, implements a fast-forward function to increase playback speed of the selected video segment by increasing transmission speed of the selected video segment; and

in response to selection of the freeze frame control, continuously transmits a specific frame with zero playback speed until a contrary transmission instruction is received.

21. The system recited in claim 20 wherein:

the plurality of ports transmit the multiple streams of content over transmission media to the customer premises equipment.

22. The system recited in claim 21 wherein the at least one of the plurality of remote node terminals further comprises a routing network that implements the mapping of the multiple streams of content from the content-transfer server to the plurality of ports.

23. The system recited in claim 22 wherein the at least one of the plurality of remote node terminals further comprises:

a plurality of buffers that exchange content with the routing network;

wherein the index module of the at least one of the plurality of remote node terminals loads frames of the at least one of the plurality of video segments from the local video library into the buffers.