METHOD OF DISTRIBUTING VIDEO-ON-DEMAND OVER AN INTERNET PROTOCOL NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE

• US 20090055880A1
• Filed: 08/21/2007
• Published: 02/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sound View Innovations, LLC (Sound View Innovation Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: El-Sayed, Mohamed, Batteram, Harold
• Granted Patent: US 8,001,575 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/100
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26616 for merging a unicast channel into a multicast channel, e.g. in a VOD application, when a client served by unicast channel catches up a multicast channel to save bandwidth data multicast over packet-switching network H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47208 for requesting near-video-on-demand content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6175 involving transmission via Internet broadcast-related systems characterised by the transmission system being the Internet H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/632 using a connection between clients on a wide area network, e.g. setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet for retrieving video segments from the hard-disk of other client devices broadcast-related systems characterised by transmission among terminal devices H04H60/80; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6405 Multicasting data broadcast and multicast in packet switching networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6408 Unicasting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

The present invention provides a method of operating a set-top box that is coupled to a video display, the set-top box being configured for communication with a video content provider. One embodiment of the method may include initiating display of a first portion of video content that is pre-loaded onto the set-top box and transmitting a request to subscribe to a first multicast service in response to initiating display of the first portion of the video content. The video content provider is configured to provide a second portion of the video content using the first multicast service.

Claims

1. A method of operating a set-top box that is coupled to a video display, the set-top box being configured for communication with a video content provider, comprising:

initiating display of a first portion of video content that is pre-loaded onto the set-top box;

transmitting a request to subscribe to a first multicast service in response to initiating display of the first portion of the video content, the video content provider being configured to provide a second portion of the video content using the first multicast service.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising pre-loading the first portion of the video content prior to initiating display of the first portion of the video content.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein preloading the first portion of the video content comprises at least one of installing the first portion of the video content during initial configuration of the set-top box and receiving a multicast of the first portion of the video content during at least one period of low network occupancy.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein preloading the first portion of the video content comprises preloading video content associated with an initial portion of one or more selected movies.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the request to subscribe to the first multicast service comprises transmitting the request in response to user input initiating display of the first portion of the video content.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising:

receiving at least one second portion of the video content via the first multicast service in response to transmitting the request to subscribe to the first multicast service;

storing said at least one second portion of the video content until display of the first portion of the video content has substantially completed; and

displaying said at least one second portion of the video content in response to completion of display of the first portion of the video content.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein receiving said at least one second portion of the video content comprises receiving said at least one second portion of the video content using the first multicast service that cyclically and repeatedly transmits said at least one second portion of the video content.

8. The method of claim 7, comprising performing error correction on said at least one second portion of the video content using the repeatedly transmitted copies of said at least one second portion of the video content.

9. The method of claim 6, comprising transmitting at least one request to subscribe to at least one second multicast service in response to displaying said at least one second portion of the video content.

10. The method of claim 9, comprising:

receiving at least one third portion of the video content via said at least one second multicast service in response to transmitting the request to subscribe to said at least one second multicast service;

storing said at least one third portion of the video content until display of a previously received portion of the video content has substantially completed; and

displaying said at least one third portion of the video content in response to completion of display of the previously received portion of the video content.

11. A method of operating a video content provider that is configured for communication with a plurality of set-top boxes, comprising:

receiving, from at least one first set-top box, a request to subscribe to a first multicast service in response to said at least one first set-top box initiating display of a first portion of video content, the first portion being previously stored on said at least one first set-top box;

adding said at least one first set-top box to a first multicast group for receiving the first multicast service; and

providing a second portion of the video content to the first multicast group using the first multicast service.

12. The method of claim 11, comprising multicasting the first portion of the video content to a plurality of set-top boxes including said at least one first set-top box to preload the first portion of the video content onto the plurality of set-top boxes during at least one period of low network occupancy.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein multicasting the first portion of the video content comprises multicasting video content associated with an initial portion of one or more selected movies.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein receiving the request to subscribe to the first multicast service comprises receiving the request in response to user input to the set-top box initiating display of the first portion of the video content.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein adding said at least one first set-top box to a first multicast group comprises forming the first multicast group if no set-top boxes are currently subscribed to the first multicast group.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein providing said at least one second portion of the video content comprises providing said at least one second portion of the video content cyclically and repeatedly using the first multicast service.

17. The method of claim 11, comprising receiving, from at least one set-top box that was previously subscribed to the first multicast group, at least one request to subscribe to at least one second multicast service in response to providing said at least one second portion of the video content to the first multicast group.

18. The method of claim 17, comprising adding said at least one set-top box that was previously subscribed to the first multicast group to at least one second multicast group for receiving said at least one second multicast service.

19. The method of claim 18, comprising:

providing at least one third portion of the video content to said at least one second multicast group via said at least one second multicast service in response to receiving the request to subscribe to said at least one second multicast service.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein providing said at least one third portion of the video content to said at least one second multicast group comprises providing said at least one third portion of the video content to said at least one second multicast group concurrently with providing the second portion of the video content to the first multicast group.