System and method for the broadcast dissemination of time-ordered data with minimal commencement delays

• US 20050183127A1
• Filed: 04/13/2005
• Published: 08/18/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vulcan Patents LLC
• Original Assignee: Vulcan Patents LLC
• Inventors: Saunders, Steven E., Ngo, J. Thomas, Rubin, Owen
• Granted Patent: US 7,565,681 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/90
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/611 for multicast or broadcast systems for broadcast or conference H04L12/18; arrangements for broadcast or distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/00; arrangements for broadcast applications with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time H04H60/00; selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS], H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/752 adapting media to network capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/764 at the destination reformatting of additional data in video clients H04N21/4355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234 Processing of video elementary streams, e.g. splicing of video streams or manipulating encoded video stream scene graphs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26275 for distributing content or additional data in a staggered manner, e.g. repeating movies on different channels in a time-staggered manner in a near video on demand system
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47208 for requesting near-video-on-demand content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6375 for requesting retransmission , e.g. of data packets lost or corrupted during transmission from serverARQ protocols H04L1/18; implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP] H04L69/16
• 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

A stream of time-ordered data, such as a movie, is divided into multiple fragments of equal length, which are repetitively transmitted at different respective repetition rates. The fragments are reordered for transmission so that those which occur near the beginning of the original data stream are transmitted more frequently than those which occur later in the data stream. When a user enters a request to utilize the data, the individual fragments are stored upon receipt at the user'"'"'s premises, and reassembled into a contiguous stream. The ordering of the fragments is such that the wait time required before utilization of the data can begin is limited to a predetermined maximum, and at least one copy of every fragment becomes available by the time it is needed.

Claims

1-49. -49. (canceled)

50. A method of transmitting data, comprising:

dividing the data into a sequence of segments;

dividing the sequence of segments into multiple fragments;

repetitively transmitting in a first encoded substream of data, a first segment of fragments with a first maximum repetition period; and

repetitively transmitting in a second encoded substream of data, a second segment of fragments with a second maximum repetition period less than twice the first maximum repetition period.

51. A method as recited in claim 50, wherein the first maximum repetition period is a maximum wait period before data utilization can commence at a receiving site.

52. A method as recited in claim 50, wherein each of said fragments contains the same amount of data from said stream.

53. A method as recited in claim 50, wherein said substreams are transmitted in a time-division multiplexed manner.

54. A method as recited in claim 50, wherein said substreams are transmitted in parallel.

55. A method as recited in claim 50, wherein at least one segment contains the maximum integral number of fragments that fit within the repetition period of the segment.

56. A method as recited in claim 55, wherein the fragments in said segment are transmitted in the same sequence during each repetitive transmission of the segment.

57. A method as recited in claim 50, wherein at least one segment contains less than the maximum integral number of fragments that fit within the maximum repetition period of the segment.

58. A method as recited in claim 57, wherein the fragments in said segment are transmitted in a different order during different respective transmissions of the segment.

59. A method as recited in claim 50, further comprising transmitting at least one additional substream in which every fragment of said data stream is transmitted with the same repetition period.

60. A method as recited in claim 59, further comprising selectively deleting the fragments in a portion of at least one of said segments in one of said encoded substreams.

61. A method as recited in claim 60, wherein each deleted fragment is selected as one having a corresponding fragment present in an additional substream within a time window that is no greater than the repetition period of its segment from the occurrence of said fragment in each of the preceding and following segments in an encoded substream.

62. A method as recited in claim 61, further comprising aligning the segment from which fragments are deleted with the additional substream containing the corresponding fragments so that the first fragment to be deleted from the segment is aligned with any one of the fragments in the additional substream that corresponds to a deleted fragment.

63. A method as recited in claim 62, wherein fragments are deleted from said encoded substreams so that all of said segment substreams have the same periodicity.

64. A method as recited in claim 50, further comprising designating a last start time beyond which receipt of the complete data cannot be ensured, and transmitting no more than one copy of each fragment among said encoded substreams, beginning at the last start time, for a final transmission of the data stream.

65. A method as recited in claim 59, wherein fragments which are contained in said additional substream after a last start time are omitted from said encode substreams.

66. A method as recited in claim 60, wherein the fragments that are omitted are those which occur in the additional substream at a time no later than the time they would have occurred in the encoded substream.

67. A method as recited in claim 50, wherein the data comprises a media presentation.

68. A system for transmitting data, comprising:

a processor configured divide the data into a sequence of segments, divide the sequence of segments into multiple fragments, repetitively transmit in a first encoded substream of data, a first segment of fragments with a first maximum repetition period, and repetitively transmit in a second encoded substream of data, a second segment of fragments with a second maximum repetition period less than twice the first maximum repetition period; and

a memory coupled to the processor and configured to provide instructions to the processor.

69. A system as recited in claim 68, wherein the first maximum repetition period is a maximum wait period before data utilization can commence at a receiving site.

70. A system as recited in claim 68, wherein at least one segment contains the maximum integral number of fragments that fit within the repetition period of the segment.

71. A system as recited in claim 68, wherein the processor is further configured to transmit at least one additional substream in which every fragment of said data stream is transmitted with the same repetition period.

72. A system as recited in claim 68, wherein the processor is further configured to designate a last start time beyond which receipt of the complete data cannot be ensured, and transmit no more than one copy of each fragment among said encoded substreams, beginning at the last start time, for a final transmission of the data stream.

73. A system as recited in claim 68, wherein the data comprises a media presentation.

74. A computer program product for transmitting data, the computer program product being embodied in a computer readable medium and comprising computer instructions for:

dividing the data into a sequence of segments;

dividing the sequence of segments into multiple fragments;

repetitively transmitting in a first encoded substream of data, a first segment of fragments with a first maximum repetition period; and

repetitively transmitting in a second encoded substream of data, a second segment of fragments with a second maximum repetition period less than twice the first maximum repetition period.

75. A computer program product as recited in claim 74, wherein the first maximum repetition period is a maximum wait period before data utilization can commence at a receiving site.

76. A computer program product as recited in claim 74, wherein at least one segment contains the maximum integral number of fragments that fit within the repetition period of the segment.

77. A computer program product as recited in claim 74, further comprising transmitting at least one additional substream in which every fragment of said data stream is transmitted with the same repetition period.

78. A computer program product as recited in claim 74, further comprising designating a last start time beyond which receipt of the complete data cannot be ensured, and transmitting no more than one copy of each fragment among said encoded substreams, beginning at the last start time, for a final transmission of the data stream.

79. A computer program product as recited in claim 74, wherein the data comprises a media presentation.