Method and system for broadcast transmission of media objects

• US 6,477,707 B1
• Filed: 03/24/1998
• Issued: 11/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hanger Solutions, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: The Fantastic Co. AG
• Inventors: Troelsen, Erik, King, Martin Cranston, Gulfi, Enrico
• Primary Examiner(s): Faile, Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): SALCE, JASON P
• Application Number:
  US09/046,901
• Time in Patent Office: 1,687 Days
• Field of Search: 725/90, 725/91, 725/93, 725/97, 725/98, 725/114, 725/116, 725/118, 725/138, 725/144, 725/148, 725/145, 725/32, 725/58, 725/103, 725/117, 725/143, 725/146, 725/147, 345/723
• US Class Current: 725/97
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/21 Server components or server architectures
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23 Processing of content or additional data; Elementary server operations; Server middleware

Abstract

A distributed broadcast system for receiving, processing, scheduling and broadcasting a wide variety of media objects is disclosed. The system comprises: a media object tracking system, a channel editing segment, a broadcast facility, and a plurality of end-user PCs. The media object tracking system receives media objects from a plurality of distinct sources and tracks their distribution, modification, and use. Associated with the media-object tracking system are a plurality of editing stations, where received media objects may be processed to create broadcast-ready material. The channel editing segment preferably comprises a plurality of channel editing centers (CECs) and one or more channel management centers (CMCs) which aggregate broadcast-ready media objects and schedule them for broadcast. Each scheduled media object is encoded in accordance with subscription information associated with the service to which the media object belongs. The encoded media object is multiplexed onto a time-division-multiplex channel of a broadcast bit stream. The broadcast facility transmits the encoded bit stream via a broadcast channel. Appropriately equipped end-user PCs receive the transmission and provide the end-user with access to those portions of the broadcast which the end-user is authorized to receive.

Claims

1. A system for broadcast transmission of media objects, comprising:

(1) a channel management center, comprising;

(a) a first scheduler, comprising;

(i) a first processor;

(ii) a first memory storing a first plurality of media objects, and

(iii) a second memory storing first attribute data representative of broadcast attributes of the first plurality of media objects;

(b) a first media-object retrieval manager having access to the stored first plurality of media objects and first broadcast-attribute data and adapted to coordinate loading of objects from the first plurality of media objects onto multiplex channels in accordance with the first broadcast-attribute data;

(c) a first subscription database storing subscription information defining at least one broadcast service; and

(d) means for modifying the one or more first media objects in accordance with the subscription information stored in the subscription database; and

(2) a channel editing center, comprising;

(a) a second scheduler, comprising;

(i) a second processor;

(ii) a third memory storing a second plurality of media objects, and

(iii) a fourth memory storing second attribute data representative of broadcast attributes of the second plurality of media objects;

(b) a second media-object retrieval manager having access to the stored second plurality of media objects and second broadcast-attribute data and adapted to coordinate loading of objects from the second plurality of media objects onto multiplex channels in accordance with the second broadcast-attribute data;

(c) a second subscription database storing subscription information defining at least a second broadcast service;

(d) means for modifying objects from the second plurality of media objects in accordance with the subscription information stored in the second subscription database; and

(e) a multiplexer having a first input, a second input, and an output, wherein the first input of the multiplexer is adapted to receive a bitstream representative of objects from the first plurality of media objects and the second input of the multiplexer is adapted to receive a bitstream representative of objects from the second plurality of media objects, and the output of the multiplexer is transmitted to a broadcast facility.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the play-out of the channel management center has a finite bandwidth, and wherein the broadcast scheduling for at least some of the finite bandwidth is performed by the first scheduler.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the channel management center is located remote from the channel editing center.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the channel editing center can be operated from a remote location.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the data attribute database is located remote from the media object storage.

6. The system of claims 1, wherein the channel management center can be operated from a remote location.

7. The system of claim 2, therein the first scheduler further comprises a graphical user interface for graphically scheduling the broadcast of media objects.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the graphical user interface permits a user to specify the time at which a media object is to be broadcast.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the graphical user interface permits a user to specify the bandwidth via which the media object is to be broadcast.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a media object tracking system, comprising;

(a) an input desk for receiving media objects having different formats and assigning to each received media object one or more data attributes representative of the media object;

(b) a tracking database comprising a plurality of records, each record storing the data attributes associated with a media object and further storing distribution, use, and modification information pertaining to the media object;

(c) a media-object tracking tool adapted to track modification of media objects, and further adapted to update the tracking database in accordance with collected tracking information.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the media-object tracking tool tracks modification of media objects by way of a tracking information collected from one of the first and second channel centers which is indicative of a modification of media objects.

12. A system for broadcast transmission of media objects, comprising:

(1) a channel management center, comprising;

(a) a first scheduler, comprising;

(i) a first processor;

(ii) a first memory storing a first plurality of media objects, and

(iii) a second memory-storing first attribute data representative of broadcast attributes of the first plurality of media objects;

(b) a first media-object retrieval manager having access to the stored first plurality of media objects and first broadcast-attribute data and adapted to coordinate loading of objects from the first plurality of media objects onto multiplex channels in accordance with the first broadcast-attribute data;

(c) a first subscription database storing subscription information defining at least one broadcast service; and

(d) means for modifying the one or more first media objects in accordance with the subscription information stored in the subscription database; and

(2) a media object tracking system, comprising;

(a) an input desk for receiving media objects having different formats and assigning to each received media object one or more data attributes representative of the media object;

(b) a tracking database comprising a plurality of records, each record storing the data attributes associated with a media object and further storing distribution, use, and modification information pertaining to the media object;

(c) a media-object tracking tool adapted to track the distribution, use and modification of media objects, and further adapted to update the tracking database in accordance with collected tracking information.

13. The system of claim 12, further comprising a channel editing station, the channel editing station being connected to both the input desk and the tracking database.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein one of the first and second channel centers is a channel management center and wherein the media-object tracking tool tracks modification of media objects by way of a tracking information collected from the channel management center which is indicative of a modification of media objects.

15. A system for broadcast transmission of media objects, comprising:

(1) a channel management center, comprising;

(a) a first scheduler, comprising;

(i) a first processor;

(ii) a first memory storing a first plurality of media objects, and

(iii) a second memory storing first broadcast-attribute data representative of broadcast attributes of the first plurality of media objects;

(b) a first media-object retrieval manager having access to the stored first plurality of media objects and the first broadcast-attribute data;

(c) a first file transfer manager coupled to the first media-object retrieval manager and the first scheduler, and adapted to receive one or more of the first plurality of media objects from the first scheduler in accordance with instructions issued by the first media-object retrieval manager;

(d) a first subscription database storing subscription information defining at least one broadcast service; and

(e) a first subscription control manager coupled to the first file transfer manager and the first subscription database and adapted to receive at least one of the first plurality of media objects from the first file transfer manager and to modify the received first media object in accordance with the subscription information stored in the first subscription database, the first subscription control manager having a first output and being adapted to provide the received media object as part of a bit stream in a predetermined digital format to the first output;

(2) a channel editing center, comprising;

(a) a second scheduler, comprising;

(i) a second processor;

(ii) a third memory storing a second plurality of media objects, and

(iii) a fourth memory storing second broadcast-attribute data representative of broadcast attributes of the second plurality of media objects;

(b) a second media-object retrieval manager having access to the stored second plurality of media objects and the second broadcast-attribute data; and

(c) a second file transfer manager coupled to the second media-object retrieval manager and the second scheduler, and adapted to receive at least one of the second plurality of media objects and its associated broadcast-attribute data from the second scheduler in accordance with instructions issued by the second media-object retrieval manager, the second file transfer manager having a second output and being adapted to provide the received media object and associated broadcast-attribute data to the second output,

wherein the second output of the second file transfer manager is coupled to an input of the first scheduler, and wherein the first scheduler is adapted to receive the media object and store it in the first memory and to receive the associated broadcast-attribute data and to store it in the second memory.

16. A system for broadcasting media objects, comprising:

(1) a channel management center, comprising;

(a) a first scheduler, comprising;

(i) a first processor;

(ii) a first memory storing a first plurality of media objects, and

(iii) a second memory storing first broadcast-attribute data representative of broadcast attributes of the first plurality of media objects;

(b) a first media-object retrieval manager having access to the stored first plurality of media objects and first broadcast-attribute data;

(c) a first file transfer manager coupled to the media-object retrieval manager and the first scheduler and adapted to receive one or more of the first media objects from the first scheduler in accordance with instructions issued by the first media-object retrieval manager;

(d) a first subscription database storing subscription information defining at least one broadcast service;

(e) a first subscription control manager coupled to the first file transfer manager and the first subscription database and adapted to receive at least one of the first media objects from the first file transfer manager and to modify the received first media object in accordance with the subscription information stored in the first subscription database; and

(f) a multiplexer having a first input, a second input, and a first output, wherein the first input of the multiplexer is coupled to an output of the first subscription control manager, and the first output of the multiplexer is transmitted to a broadcast facility;

(2) a channel editing center, comprising;

(a) a second scheduler, comprising;

(i) a second processor;

(ii) a third memory storing a second plurality of media objects, and

(iii) a fourth memory storing second broadcast-attribute data representative of broadcast attributes of the second plurality of media objects;

(b) a second media-object retrieval manager having access to the stored second plurality of media objects and the second broadcast-attribute data;

(c) a second file transfer manager coupled to the second media-object retrieval manager and the second scheduler and adapted to receive objects from the plurality of second media objects from the second scheduler in accordance with instructions issued by the second media-object retrieval manager;

(d) a second subscription database storing subscription information defining at least a second broadcast service; and

(e) a second subscription control manager coupled to the second file transfer manager and the second subscription database and adapted to receive the one or more second media objects from the second file-transfer manager and to modify the received media objects in accordance with the subscription information stored in the second subscription database;

wherein the second subscription control manager has an output is coupled to the second input of the multiplexer.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the second subscription control manager is coupled to the second input of the multiplexer via a third subscription control manager.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the first and second subscription control managers are adapted to packetise the received media object and wherein the bit stream provided by the subscription control managers comprises digital data from a plurality of the resulting packets.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein each of the first and second subscription control managers is adapted to packetise at least two media objects, and is further adapted to interleave the resulting packets so that the first packet of the first media object is transmitted at practically the same time as the first packet of the second media object, and the last packet of the first media object is transmitted at practically the same time as the last packet of the second media object.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the play-out of the channel management center has a finite bandwidth, and wherein the broadcast scheduling for at least some of the finite bandwidth is performed by the second scheduler.

21. The system of claim 16, wherein the channel management center is located remote from the channel editing center.

22. The system of claim 16, wherein the channel editing center can be operated from a remote location.

23. The system of claim 16, wherein the first scheduler further comprises a graphical user interface for graphically scheduling the broadcast of media objects.

24. A system for broadcasting media objects, comprising:

(1) a channel management center, comprising;

(a) a first scheduler, comprising;

(i) a first processor;

(ii) a first memory storing a first plurality of media objects, and

(iii) a second memory storing first broadcast-attribute data representative of broadcast attributes of the first plurality of media objects;

(b) a first media-object retrieval manager having access to the stored first plurality of media objects and first broadcast-attribute data;

(c) a first file transfer manager coupled to the media-object retrieval manager and the first scheduler and adapted to receive one or more of the first media objects from the first scheduler in accordance with instructions issued by the first media-object retrieval manager;

(d) a first subscription database storing subscription information defining at least one broadcast service;

(e) a first subscription control manager coupled to the first file transfer manager and the first subscription database and adapted to receive at least one of the first media objects from the first file transfer manager and to modify the received first media object in accordance with the subscription information stored in the first subscription database; and

(f) a multiplexer having a first input, a second input, and a first output, wherein the first input of the multiplexer is coupled to an output of the first subscription control manager, and the first output of the multiplexer is transmitted to a broadcast facility; and

(2) a media object tracking system comprising;

(a) an input desk for receiving media objects having different formats and assigning to each received media object one or more data attributes representative of the media object;

(b) a tracking database comprising a plurality of records, each record storing the data attributes associated with a media object and further storing distribution, use, and modification information pertaining to the media object; and

(c) a media-object tracking tool adapted to track the distribution, use and modification of media objects and further adapted to update the tracking database in accordance with collected tracking information.

25. The system of claim 24, further comprising a channel editing station, the channel editing station being connected to both the input desk and the tracking database.

26. A system for broadcast transmission of media objects which are scheduled at each of first and second channel centers, the first and second centers being remotely positioned relative to one another and in communication with each other, comprising;

at each of the first and second channel centers;

(a) a database of broadcast-attribute data representative of broadcast attributes of a plurality of media objects;

(b) a scheduler configured to schedule the broadcast transmission of the plurality of media objects using the broadcast-attribute data;

(c) a media-object retrieval manager adapted to coordinate loading of objects from the plurality of media objects onto multiplex channels in accordance with the broadcast-attribute data;

(d) a file transfer manager adapted to receive one or more of the media objects in accordance with instructions issued by the media object retrieval manager; and

(e) a multiplexer having a first input, a second input, and an output, wherein the first input of the multiplexer is adapted to receive a bitstream representative of media objects from the file transfer manager of the first channel center and the second input of the multiplexer is adapted to receive a bitstream representative of media objects from the file transfer manager of the second channel center, and the output of the multiplexer multiplexes the bitstreams on its first and second inputs for transmission to a broadcast facility.

27. The system of claim 26, further comprising, at each of the first and second channel centers, a subscription database storing subscription information defining at least one broadcast service, and means for modifying the one or more media objects in accordance with the subscription information stored in the subscription database.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the means for modifying are adapted to packetise the one or more media objects.

29. The system of claim 27, wherein the means for modifying each of the first and second channel centers is adapted to packetise at least two media objects, and is further adapted to interleave the resulting packets so that the first packet of the first media object is transmitted at practically the same time as the first packet of the second media object, and the last packet of the first media object is transmitted by the multiplexer to the broadcast facility at practically the same time as the last packet of the second media object.

30. The system of claim 26, wherein the database of broadcast-attribute data stores the bandwidth required to transmit a given media object among the plurality of media objects, the size of the given media object, and the name of the given media object.

31. The system of claim 26, wherein the play-out of each of the first and second channel centers has a finite bandwidth to use, and wherein the scheduler of each of the first and second channel centers schedules at least some of the finite bandwidth.

32. The system of claim 26, wherein each of the first and second channel centers can be operated from a remote location.

33. The system of claim 26, wherein at least one of the first and second schedulers further comprises a graphical user interface for graphically scheduling the broadcast of media objects.

34. the system of claim 33 wherein the graphical user interface permits a user to specify the bandwidth via which the media object is to be broadcast.

35. The system of claim 33, wherein the graphical user interface permits a user to specify the bandwidth via which the media object is to be broadcast.

36. The system of claim 26, wherein the multiplexer outputs the bitstreams in a predetermined digital format.

37. The system of claim 26, further comprising:

a media object tracking system, comprising;

(a) an input desk for receiving media objects having different formats and assigning to each received media object one or more data attributes representative of the media object;

(b) a tracking database comprising a plurality of records, each record storing the data attributes associated with a media object and further storing distribution, use, and modification information pertaining to the media object;

(c) a media-object tracking tool adapted to track modification of media objects at least one of the first and second channel centers, and further adapted to update the tracking database in accordance with collected tracking information.

38. The system of claim 37, wherein the media object tracking tool tracks modification of media objects by way of a tracking information collected from one of the first and second channel centers which is indicative of a modification of media objects.

39. The system of claim 38 wherein each of the channel centers further comprise a database of the Broadcast Attribute data.