Dynamic distribution of media content assets for a content delivery network

• US 9,769,504 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2010
• Issued: 09/19/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Mao, Weidong
• Primary Examiner(s): BAROT, BHARAT
• Application Number:
  US12/751,148
• Publication Number:
  US 20100250772A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,729 Days
• Field of Search: 709202-203, 709217-219, 709231-232
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5681 Pre-fetching or pre-delivering data based on network characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5682 Policies or rules for updating, deleting or replacing the stored data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/21815 comprising local storage units
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/222 Secondary servers, e.g. proxy server, cable television Head-end provisioning of proxy services in data packet switching networks H04L67/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23103 using load balancing strategies, e.g. by placing or distributing content on different disks, different memories or different servers storage management G06F3/0604; allocation of resources considering the load in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/505; techniques for rebalancing the load in a distributed system G06F9/5083; access to distributed or replicated servers, e.g. load balancing, in data networks H04L67/1001
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23106 involving caching operations prefetching while addressing of a memory level in which the access to the desired data or data block requires associative addressing means within memory systems or architectures G06F12/0862; caching at an intermediate stage in a data network H04L67/568
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2312 Data placement on disk arrays data placement in general G06F3/0604
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23614 Multiplexing of additional data and video streams arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information H04H20/28
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2387 Stream processing in response to a playback request from an end-user, e.g. for trick-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25841 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; arrangements for identifying locations of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/51; location of the user terminal in data switching networks H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• 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

Abstract

Systems, apparatuses, methods, and software for using a network to efficiently distributing media content assets from a virtually unlimited content library and/or other storage to a plurality of client devices, as well as bi-directional local content sharing between head ends, and dynamic distribution and generation of media content assets within the network.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

responsive to receiving a first request from a device for a first trick play version of a media content asset, determining that the first trick play version of the media content asset is stored at a first cache in a network;

causing transmission of the first trick play version of the media content asset to the device via the first cache;

responsive to receiving a second request from the device for a second trick play version of the media content asset, determining that the second trick play version of the media content asset is stored at a second cache in the network;

causing transmission of the second trick play version of the media content asset to the device via the second cache; and

causing, based on a request quantity metric corresponding to the second trick play version of the media content asset, storage at the first cache of the second trick play version of the media content asset.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein causing transmission of the first trick play version of the media content asset to the device comprises causing transmission of the first trick play version of the media content asset to the device from the first cache, the method further comprising:

responsive to a request quantity metric corresponding to the first trick play version of the media content asset, deleting the first trick play version of the media content asset from the first cache.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising responsive to a request quantity metric corresponding to the first trick play version of the media content asset, moving the first trick play version of the media content asset from the first cache to a third cache in the network.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first cache comprises a streaming server configured to stream media content to client devices served by the first cache.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating a second media content asset from the media content asset by adding advertising content to the media content asset to generate the second media content asset.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the media content asset comprises a real-time asset, the method further comprising causing storage at the first cache of the real-time asset.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the first trick play version of the media content asset is stored at the first cache comprises searching for the first trick play version of the media content asset using metadata describing the media content asset.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the first trick play version of the media content asset comprises a first fast forwarded version of the media content asset at a first speed; and

the second trick play version of the media content asset comprises a second fast forwarded version of the media content asset at a second speed, wherein the second speed is higher than the first speed.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first cache and the second cache comprise different levels of a cache hierarchy.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein a location of the first cache is closer to the device than a location of the second cache.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the request quantity metric comprises:

a frequency of requests of the second trick play version of the media content asset, or

an amount of requests of the second trick play version of the media content asset.

12. A method comprising:

responsive to receiving, from a device, a first request for a first trick play version of content, determining that the first trick play version of the content is stored at one or more first devices associated with a location in a network, wherein the first trick play version of the content corresponds to a first speed;

causing transmission of the first trick play version of the content to the device via the one or more first devices;

responsive to receiving a second request from the device for a second trick play version of the content, determining that the second trick play version of the content is stored at one or more second devices associated with a plurality of locations in the network, wherein the second trick play version of the content corresponds to a second speed;

determining, based on a server load indication, a device of the one or more second devices; and

causing transmission of the second trick play version of the content to the device via the device of the one or more second devices.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

responsive to determining a number of times that the first trick play version of the content was requested over a period of time, deleting the first trick play version of the content from the one or more first devices.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

responsive to determining a number of times that the first trick play version of the content was requested over a period of time, moving the first trick play version of the content from the one or more first devices to the one or more second devices.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the one or more first devices comprise one or more streaming servers configured to stream media content to a plurality of client devices.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the second trick play version of the content comprises a higher speed version of the content than the first trick play version of the content.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

determining second content that is associated with the content;

generating third content using at least a portion of the second content; and

transmitting the third content to the one or more first devices.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein the first trick play version of the content that is stored at the one or more first devices and the second trick play version of the content that is stored at the one or more second devices comprise trick play versions of the content that are stored at different cache levels in a cache hierarchy.

19. A method comprising:

responsive to a first request from a device to access a first speed trick play version of a media content asset, determining that the first speed trick play version of the media content asset is stored at one or more first devices at a first location in a network;

causing transmission of the first speed trick play version of the media content asset to the device via the one or more first devices;

responsive to a second request from the device to access a second speed trick play version of the media content asset, determining that the second speed trick play version of the media content asset is unavailable at the one or more first devices or any other devices in the network;

causing the second speed trick play version of the media content asset to be generated;

causing transmission of the second speed trick play version of the media content asset to the device; and

causing, based on an expected usage of the second speed trick play version of the media content asset, storage at the one or more first devices of the second speed trick play version of the media content asset.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising maintaining an updated record of network locations of media content assets stored in the network.