Video server apparatus

• US 8,863,203 B2
• Filed: 02/04/2010
• Issued: 10/14/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Tsuji, Kiyotaka
• Primary Examiner(s): Pendleton, Brian T
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lewis, Jonathan V
• Application Number:
  US12/700,007
• Publication Number:
  US 20100235873A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,713 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 725/91
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/196 being specially adapted for the computation of encoding parameters, e.g. by averaging previously computed encoding parameters processing of motion vectors H04N19/513
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/463 by compressing encoding parameters before transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2183 Cache memory caches in web servers or browsers G06F16/9574; intermediate storage and caching in data networks H04L67/568
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23106 involving caching operations prefetching while addressing of a memory level in which the access to the desired data or data block requires associative addressing means within memory systems or architectures G06F12/0862; caching at an intermediate stage in a data network H04L67/568
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2312 Data placement on disk arrays data placement in general G06F3/0604
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17336 Handling of requests in head-ends

Abstract

A video server apparatus includes an interface unit configured to receive a video data file, memory units configured to store data files received by the interface unit, a line concentrator configured to receive the data files retrieved from the memory units and packetized, decoders configured to decode a packetized data file transmitted from the line concentrator and to output video data, a switch configured to switch signal paths between the line concentrator and the decoders, a data transmission controller configured to control data transmission by packet transmission over a standardized general-purpose local area network among the interface unit, the memory units, the line concentrator, the switch, and the decoders, and a timing controller configured to generate time slots for the memory units and causes a packetized data file to be transmitted from at least one of the memory units within a corresponding time slot to the line concentrator.

Claims

1. A video server apparatus comprising:

an interface unit configured to receive video data files;

memory units configured to store the video data files received by the interface unit;

a line concentrator configured to receive data files which are retrieved from the memory units and packetized;

decoders configured to decode a packetized data file transmitted from the line concentrator and to output video data;

a switch configured to switch signal paths between the line concentrator and the decoders;

a data transmission controller configured to control data transmission by packet transmission over a standardized general-purpose local area network among the interface unit, the memory units, the line concentrator, the switch, and the decoders; and

a timing controller configured to;

generate time slots for the memory units based on a supplied synchronizing signal and the number of the memory units in correspondence with implementation numbers of the memory units, the number of the time slots being equal to the number of memory units, the number of memory units set at a time of initial setting of the video server, and

cause a packetized data file to be transmitted from at least one of the memory units within a corresponding time slot to the line concentrator.

2. The video server apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a content processor configured to determine at least one of the memory units to store the video data file based on a content attribute of the video data file.

3. The video server apparatus of claim 1, wherein the general purpose local area network includes an Ethernet network.

4. The video server apparatus of claim 1, wherein the interface unit is configured to output a data file stored in at least one of the memory units.