Methods and apparatus for selecting digital interface technology for programming and data delivery

• US 20070204300A1
• Filed: 02/27/2006
• Published: 08/30/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Inventors: Markley, Jeffrey P., Hasek, Charles A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,718,100 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/81 combined with telephone network over which the broadcast is continuously available
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2225 Local VOD servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2402 Monitoring of the downstream path of the transmission network, e.g. bandwidth available traffic monitoring in data switching networks H04L43/00; monitoring data switching networks utilization H04L43/0876
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25833 involving client hardware characteristics, e.g. manufacturer, processing or storage capabilities allocation of resources considering hardware capabilities in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/5044; allocation of resources considering software capabilities in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/5055
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2668 Creating a channel for a dedicated end-user group, e.g. insertion of targeted commercials based on end-user profiles information retrieval from the Internet by querying with filtering and personalisation G06F16/9535; arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast H04H20/10; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/063
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4424 Monitoring of the internal components or processes of the client device, e.g. CPU or memory load, processing speed, timer, counter or percentage of the hard disk space used error monitoring in general G06F11/30; arrangements for monitoring conditions of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/32; diagnosis, testing or measuring for television receivers H04N17/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44245 Monitoring the upstream path of the transmission network, e.g. its availability, bandwidth
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6118 involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for selecting digital (network) interface technology for programming and data delivery over, e.g., a content-based network. In one embodiment, the network comprises an HFC cable or satellite network that includes a server process interfacing with a plurality of customer premises equipment (CPE), and/or associated client devices, each having different capabilities profiles. The server determines the one or more capabilities possessed by the CPE, and evaluates one or more program or content choices for possible delivery to that CPE based on its profile. The server generates a list of programs or content based on this evaluation, and transmits this list to the CPE, which displays the list for viewing by a user. The user is therefore offered a list of available content that is compatible with their specific configuration. A business and operational rules engine is also optionally employed to control the operation of the foregoing processes to accomplish particular business or operational goals.

Claims

1. A system for distributing video programming on-demand, comprising:

a plurality of video signal processing devices, each said device having a plurality of network interface capabilities, and configured to generate a capabilities profile relating at least in part to said network interface capabilities, and receive video programming signals;

a video-on-demand server configured to receive said capabilities profile from individual ones of said devices and identify on-demand video programming that is compatible with individual ones of said capabilities profiles; and

a network connecting said video signal processing devices to said video on-demand server, said network being capable of transmitting said capabilities profiles between said video signal processing devices and said video on-demand server, and transmitting information relating to said identified compatible on-demand video programming to said devices over a network interface compatible with said network interface capabilities identified in said profile.

2. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said identification of on-demand programming by video-on-demand server comprises evaluating:

(i) data decoding capabilities; and

(ii) conditional access capabilities.

3. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said identification of on-demand programming by video-on-demand server comprises evaluating said plurality of network interface capabilities for sufficient bandwidth for delivery of said video programming.

4. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein at least some of said video processing devices further comprise a digital processor and software running thereon, said software comprising a operating system and an application component, said application component being adapted to request a capabilities profile from said device, and said operating system configured to poll at least one hardware or software module.

5. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said network comprises a hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) cable television network, and at least a portion of said plurality of devices has heterogeneous network interface capabilities.

6. A method of operating client equipment in communication with a content-based network, said equipment comprising a plurality of supported network interface options and at least one application, the method comprising:

running said at least one application;

providing at least one hardware or software interface capable of communication with said network interface options;

discovering said network interface options; and

reporting said network interface options to a process.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said act discovering comprises the act of polling a hardware or software registry of said client equipment to identify said network interface options.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said act of reporting to a process comprises transmitting a session setup protocol message to a session resource manager (SRM) process located remote from said client equipment on said content-based network.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said network interface options are selected from a group consisting of:

(i) one of a plurality of RF tuners, (ii) an Ethernet interface, and (iii) a wireless interface.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein said discovering said network interface options comprises making a call made using a predefined application programming interface (API).

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said network comprises a multi-channel distribution network of the hybrid fiber coax (HFC) type, and said client equipment comprises a digital set-top box comprising a cable modem (CM).

12. The method of claim 6, wherein said act of discovering comprises reading a capabilities registry of said client equipment, said registry comprising entries relating to a plurality of heterogeneous network interfaces.

13. The method of claim 6, wherein said client equipment is in data communication with said network via a set-top box, and said act of reporting comprises transmitting said discovered network interface options over said network via said set-top box.

14. The method of claim 6, wherein said client equipment is in data communication with said network, and said act of reporting comprises:

selecting, using said at least one application, one of said plurality of network interface options for delivery of content; and

transmitting said selected network interface options over said network.

15. The method of claim 6, wherein said act of reporting to a process comprises transmitting a message to a software process configured to control at least in part the switching of program streams within a broadcast switched architecture (BSA) network.

16. A method for operating a video processing device for use in a content-based network, comprising:

polling a set of components of said video processing device for network interface capabilities;

receiving one or more network interface capabilities in response to said polling; and

generating information describing the network interface capabilities supported.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising transmitting a session-based protocol message to a session resource manager (SRM) located on said content-based network remote from said video processing device.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein said session-based protocol comprises:

a descriptor parameter describing a particular resource descriptor;

a descriptor length parameter; and

a data field.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein said data interface capabilities comprise at least:

(i) in-band RF tuners;

(ii) a cable modem; and

(iii) a high-speed serialized bus connection.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving a list of programs available for video-on-demand viewing, said list selected based at least in part on said act of generating information;

displaying said list of programs to a user;

receiving a selection from said user;

transmitting said selection;

receiving video programming;

accessing said video programming based at least in part on one of said supported network interface capabilities; and

displaying said video programming.

21. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

receiving a list of programs available for video-on-demand viewing, said list selected based at least in part on said act of generating information;

displaying said list of programs to a user;

receiving a selection from said user;

transmitting said selection;

receiving video programming;

accessing said video programming based at least in part on one of said supported network interface capabilities; and

displaying said video programming.

22. The method of claim 16, further comprising transmitting a message to a software process configured to control at least in part the delivery of program streams to a node within a broadcast switched architecture (BSA) network.

23. Apparatus for receiving digital information from a network, said digital information being encoded, said apparatus comprising a microprocessor for running software modules, said apparatus further comprising:

a plurality of network interface components, each comprising a substantially distinct communication channel;

an application for determining a network interface profile; and

an operating system for communicating with said plurality of network interface components in order to generate information for said network interface profile.

24. The apparatus as set forth in claim 23, wherein said plurality of network interface components comprises a plurality of substantially hardware-based interfaces and an associated registry.

25. The apparatus as set forth in claim 23, wherein said application is further configured to generate and transmit a network interface capability message using a session-based protocol.

26. The apparatus as set forth in claim 23, where said network interface capabilities are selected from the group consisting of:

(i) RF tuners, and (ii) packetized network protocol interfaces.

27. The apparatus as set forth in claim 23, further comprising a radio frequency (RF) interface for at least receiving modulated digital RF signals.

28. The apparatus as set forth in claim 27, wherein said application is rendered using an object oriented programming language.

29. The apparatus as set forth in claim 23, wherein said apparatus comprises a set-top box adapted for use in cable television network.

30. The apparatus as set forth in claim 23, wherein said apparatus is at least in data communication with a DOCSIS cable modem adapted for use in cable television network.

31. Network server apparatus, comprising:

a processor;

a storage device in data communication with said processor; and

a computer program configured to run on said processor, said program being adapted to;

receive network interface profile information from at least one network client device;

determine at least one content element delivery option compatible with said profile information; and

generate information for transmission to said at least one client device relating to said at least one content element delivery option.

32. The sever apparatus of claim 31, wherein said network comprises a content-based cable network, and said server comprises a server process associated with a video-on-demand function of said network.

33. The sever apparatus of claim 31, wherein said computer program is further adapted to:

identify when two or more of said at least one client devices have at least one common network interface capability; and

invoke a bandwidth-conserving content delivery mechanism to at least said two or more devices.

34. The server apparatus of claim 33, wherein said bandwidth-conserving content delivery mechanism comprises a multicast transmission using a packetized network protocol.

35. A method of configuring programming deliverable over a network that is available for on-demand viewing by at least one CPE, the method comprising:

receiving from said at least one CPE first information relating to at least one network interface over which said programming is to be delivered;

receiving from said at least one CPE second information relating to at least one of;

(i) the decoding capabilities, or (ii) the conditional access (CA) capabilities, of said at least one CPE;

selecting at least one of a plurality of variants of said programming based at least in part on said second information; and

transmitting said selected variant of said programming over said at least one network interface based at least in part on said first information.

36. A method of doing business over a cable television network, comprising:

receiving first information relating to the network interface capabilities of a plurality of CPE operatively communicating with said network;

receiving second information relating to the respective subscription level of subscribers associated with said plurality of CPE; and

selecting, based at least in part on said first and second information, one of a plurality of network interfaces for delivery of content to each of said plurality of CPE.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein said act of selecting comprises allocating high bandwidth ones of said interfaces to subscribers having a subscription level at or above a prescribed level.

38. In a broadcast switched content delivery network having a node and a switching mechanism controlling delivery of programs to said node, a method of operating said network comprising:

providing a plurality of programs to said switching mechanism;

obtaining first information relating to the network interface capabilities of particular client devices serviced by said node;

obtaining second information relating to program requests from said plurality of client devices; and

based at least in part on said first and second information, selectively switching at least one of said programs for delivery to said node using at least said switching mechanism.

39. The method of claim 38, further comprising obtaining third information relating to at least one of the decoding or conditional access capabilities of said client devices;

and

wherein said act of selectively switching is further based at least in part on said third information.