Method and apparatus for content distribution via non-homogeneous access networks
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- identifying an access network from a plurality of access networks, the plurality of access networks supporting a plurality of different formats and communicatively connected to the computing device via a distribution network;
transcoding, by a computing device, data to be transmitted to a first format supported by the access network that is different from a second format supported by another of the plurality of access networks, resulting in transcoded data;
encapsulating, by the computing device, the transcoded data within at least one packet that is in a third format supported by the distribution network different from the first format; and
cause transmission of the at least one packet to the distribution network.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for streaming content to an access network in an interactive information distribution system. The method encapsulates the content in accordance to an Internet Protocol (IP). The content is then transcoded into a format supported by the access network, and streamed over a distribution network to a remote server or to a subscriber terminal that is coupled to the access network. The apparatus is embodied as stream caching server for streaming the content encapsulated within the packet to access networks via a stream distribution network in response to a request for content. A packet processor is coupled to the stream server for processing the encapsulated content within the IP packets into a format native to the access network.
28 Citations
32 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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identifying an access network from a plurality of access networks, the plurality of access networks supporting a plurality of different formats and communicatively connected to the computing device via a distribution network; transcoding, by a computing device, data to be transmitted to a first format supported by the access network that is different from a second format supported by another of the plurality of access networks, resulting in transcoded data; encapsulating, by the computing device, the transcoded data within at least one packet that is in a third format supported by the distribution network different from the first format; and cause transmission of the at least one packet to the distribution network. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 32)
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16. A system, comprising:
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at least one server communicatively connected to a plurality of access networks that support a plurality of different formats via a distribution network, the at least one server configured to at least provide data from a packet processor toward at least one of the plurality of access networks via the distribution network; and the packet processor configured to at least; identify the access network from the plurality of access networks; transcode data to be transmitted to a first format supported by the access network that is different from a second format supported by another of the plurality of access networks, resulting in transcoded data; encapsulate the transcoded data within at least one packet that is in a third format supported by the distribution network different from the first format supported by the access network; and cause the at least one server to provide the at least one packet to the access network via the distribution network. - View Dependent Claims (17, 23)
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18. A system, comprising:
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at least one server communicatively connected to a plurality of access networks that support a plurality of different formats via a distribution network, the at least one server configured to at least provide data from a packet processor toward at least one of the plurality of access networks via the distribution network; and a packet processor configured to at least; transcode internet protocol (IP) data to a format supported by an access network, resulting in transcoded data; encapsulate the transcoded data in at least one IP packet; size the at least one IP packet according to at least one modulated channel; and cause the at least one server to provide the at least one IP packet to the access network via the distribution network. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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28. A method, comprising:
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transcoding, by a computing device, data into transcoded data packets in a first format supported by an access network; encapsulating the transcoded data packets into encapsulated data that is in a second format supported by a distribution network different from the first format; and distributing, to the distribution network, the encapsulated data in the second format. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31)
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Specification