Digital domain content processing and distribution apparatus and methods
First Claim
1. A spectrum generation apparatus configured to distribute a plurality of digital content from a plurality of content sources to a plurality of users of a service group, said spectrum generation apparatus comprising:
- one or more network interfaces adapted to receive said plurality of digital content fromsaid plurality of content sources via one or more Time Domain Multiplexed (TDM) data streams, said plurality of digital content being characterized by a proportion of one or more narrowcast programs to other content;
a downstream interface in communication with said plurality of users of said service group via one or more frequency resources;
one or more demultiplexers configured to demultiplex said one or more TDM data streams; and
programmable inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) apparatus configured to multiplex said demultiplexed one or more TDM data streams into a Frequency Domain Multiplexed (FDM) data stream for transmission to said plurality of users of said service group via said one or morefrequency resources, said programmable IFFT apparatus further configured to assign individual ones of said plurality of digital content to two or more of said frequency resources as a function of time, and thereby provide time and frequency diversity; and
wherein said programmable apparatus is further configured to dynamically adjust said proportion of one or more narrowcast programs to other content responsive to a change in anumber of said plurality of users of said service group.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and apparatus for distributing content using a spectrum generation device. In one embodiment, digital content is received via a time-multiplexed network transport (such as Gigabit Ethernet), and converted to frequency channels suitable for transmission over a content distribution (e.g., Hybrid Fiber Coaxial (HFC)) network. In one variant, the conversion is performed using digital domain processing performed by a full spectrum generation device. Additionally, methods and apparatus for selectively adding, removing, and/or changing digital content from the full spectrum device are also disclosed. Various aspects of the present invention enable physical (infrastructure) consolidation, and software-implemented remote management of content distribution.
235 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A spectrum generation apparatus configured to distribute a plurality of digital content from a plurality of content sources to a plurality of users of a service group, said spectrum generation apparatus comprising:
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one or more network interfaces adapted to receive said plurality of digital content from said plurality of content sources via one or more Time Domain Multiplexed (TDM) data streams, said plurality of digital content being characterized by a proportion of one or more narrowcast programs to other content; a downstream interface in communication with said plurality of users of said service group via one or more frequency resources; one or more demultiplexers configured to demultiplex said one or more TDM data streams; and programmable inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) apparatus configured to multiplex said demultiplexed one or more TDM data streams into a Frequency Domain Multiplexed (FDM) data stream for transmission to said plurality of users of said service group via said one or more frequency resources, said programmable IFFT apparatus further configured to assign individual ones of said plurality of digital content to two or more of said frequency resources as a function of time, and thereby provide time and frequency diversity; and wherein said programmable apparatus is further configured to dynamically adjust said proportion of one or more narrowcast programs to other content responsive to a change in a number of said plurality of users of said service group. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of providing content to a plurality of users of a content distribution network, comprising:
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receiving digital content from one or more content sources via one or more data streams comprising a first multiplexing scheme, said digital content being received at an entity disposed substantially at said edge of said network, said digital content comprising a plurality of packetized program streams multiplexed into a single packet stream, and said entity comprising a demultiplexer function configured to demultiplex said single packet stream to recover said plurality of packetized program streams; converting said received digital content using an inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT), from said first multiplexing scheme, into a data stream suitable for transmission to said plurality of users, said data stream comprising a radio frequency spectrum for supporting one or more subscriber services, where each one of said one or more subscriber services corresponds to a packetized program stream and is allocated to one frequency carrier of one or more frequency carriers as a function of time; and transmitting said data stream to said plurality of users over the one or more frequency carriers, the allocation as a function of time providing time and frequency diversity. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of providing a plurality of heterogeneous types of content products to various ones of a plurality of users of a content distribution network, said method comprising:
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receiving said heterogeneous types of content products from one or more content sources, said heterogeneous types of content products comprising targeted narrowcast content directed to said various ones of said plurality of users; allocating said heterogeneous types of content products to one or more frequency resources and as a function of time, such that each one of said one or more frequency resources are allocated a packet stream associated with one program stream and a proportion of said targeted narrowcast content to other heterogeneous types of content products is dynamically adjusted responsive to a trigger condition; performing inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) processing on said received heterogeneous types of content products to effect said allocating, said IFFT processing comprising converting said received heterogeneous types of content products into time domain content comprising a multiplexed data stream for transmission to said plurality of users; encrypting said time domain content; converting said encrypted time domain content to an analog form; and
transmitting said converted content to said plurality of users over said allocated one or more frequency resources, said transmitted converted content having both time and frequency diversity. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A content processing apparatus, said content processing apparatus configured to distribute a plurality of heterogeneous types of content from a plurality of content sources to a plurality of users, said content processing apparatus comprising:
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a non-transitory computer-readable medium; one or more network interfaces adapted to receive said plurality of heterogeneous types of content from said plurality of content sources; at least one downstream interface configured to allocate said plurality of heterogeneous types of content to one or more frequency carriers in data communication with said plurality of users, said allocation comprising a range of pristine bandwidth configured to enable insertion of content by a downstream device, said allocation being conducted as a function of time so that the allocated content possesses both time and frequency diversity; and a processor in data communication with said non-transitory computer-readable medium, said one or more network interfaces, and said at least one downstream interface, said processor configured to execute one or more processes stored on said non-transitory computer-readable medium, said one or more processes comprising a plurality of instructions configured to, when executed, cause said apparatus to; perform an inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) process on said received plurality of heterogeneous types of content to effect said allocation, said process configured to convert said received plurality of heterogeneous types of content into a plurality of time domain content comprising a multiplexed data stream suitable for transmission to said plurality of subscribers; encrypt said plurality of time domain content; convert said encrypted plurality of time domain content to an analog form of said plurality of time domain content; and transmit said an analog form of said plurality of time domain content to said plurality of users over said allocated one or more frequency carriers. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification