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Video-on-demand content delivery method for providing video-on-demand services to TV service subscribers

  • US 9,338,511 B2
  • Filed: 05/07/2015
  • Issued: 05/10/2016
  • Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2004
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A method for video-on-demand content delivery for providing video-on-demand services to a plurality of TV service subscribers via a closed system, the method comprising:

  • (a) receiving, at a video-on-demand application server of a video-on-demand content delivery system from a Web-based content management system, video content in a video format used by the video-on-demand content delivery system, wherein the video-on-demand application server comprises one or more computers and computer-readable memory operatively connected to the one or more computers of the video-on-demand application server;

    (b) receiving, at the video-on-demand application server from the Web-based content management server, video-on-demand application-readable metadata usable in a video-on-demand content menu and associated with the received video content;

    wherein the received video content was uploaded to the Web-based content management system by a content provider device associated with a video content provider via an open online network in a digital video format, along with the associated metadata including title information, category information, and subcategory information designated by the video content provider, to specify a respective hierarchical location of a respective title of the video content within a video-on-demand content menu using the respective hierarchically-arranged category information and subcategory information associated with the respective title;

    (c) storing, at a video server comprising one or more computers and computer-readable memory operatively connected to the one or more computers of the video server, the received video content, wherein the video server is associated with the video-on-demand application server and is configured to supply the video content, upon request, for transmission to a tuner operatively connected to TV equipment of a TV service subscriber;

    (d) providing, by the video-on-demand application server, a respective tuner operatively connected to respective TV equipment of a respective TV service subscriber with access to the video-on-demand content menu for navigating through titles, including the respective title of the received video content, by category information and subcategory information in order to locate a particular one of the titles whose associated video content is desired for viewing on the respective TV equipment, wherein the video-on-demand content menu lists the titles using a same hierarchical structure of category information and subcategory information as was designated by the video content provider in the uploaded metadata for the video content;

    (e) retrieving, by the video-on-demand application server, selected video content from the video server in response to (i) the respective TV service subscriber selecting, via a TV control unit in communication with the respective tuner, a respective title associated with the selected video content from the hierarchically-arranged category information and subcategory information of the video-on-demand content menu, and (ii) the respective tuner transmitting an electronic request for the selected title; and

    (f) transmitting, from the video server to the respective tuner, the selected video content for display on the respective TV equipment.

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