Back to results
US 7,926,079 B2Granted
Hybrid central/distributed VOD system with tiered content structure
AssigneeTime Warner Cable, a division of Time Warner Entertainment Company, L.P.
InventorMetod Lebar
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system and method for selecting a network path for delivering on-demand content in a multi-channel network. A hybrid central/distributed and tiered video on demand (VOD) service network with tiered content structure uses media servers located in both the headend station and the hub stations. The hub media server is configured as a primary source for VOD content and the central media server located in the headend is configured as a secondary source of video content. A path for delivery of content may be determined based on the availability of content and network components.
Claims18
A system for selecting a network path for delivering on-demand content comprising:
- a first location comprising a first media server and a resource management processor;
- a second location remote from the first location comprising a second media server, wherein the first and second locations are connected via a first network segment and a second network segment;
- wherein the second media server in the second location is sized to support expected peak demand for on-demand content, wherein the first media server in the first location and first network segment are sized for providing on-demand content from the first location to the second location to support an incremental demand level for on-demand content, and wherein the incremental demand level is less than the expected peak demand;
- and
- a video termination device, wherein the video termination device is connected to the second location via a distribution network and wherein the video termination device comprises an instruction for sending a request for a particular on-demand content to the resource management processor;
- and
- wherein the resource management processor comprises instructions for:
- selecting a source from which to obtain the particular on-demand content from the first media server and the second media server in response to the request sent from the video termination device;
- selecting a path over which to deliver the particular on-demand content to the video termination device;
- and
- wherein the instruction for selecting a path comprises:
- if the selected source is the second media server, then selecting the distribution network as the selected path;
- if the selected source is the first media server, then selecting the first network segment, if available, and the distribution network as the selected path;
- and
- if the selected source is the first media server and if the first path is not available, then selecting the second network segment and the distribution network as the selected path;
- and
- wherein the selected source delivers the particular on-demand content over the selected path to the video termination device.
14 more elements
A method for selecting a network path for delivering on-demand content comprising:
- a video termination device sending a request for a particular on-demand content to a first location via a second location, wherein the first location comprises a first media server and a resource management processor, wherein the video termination device is connected to a second location via a distribution network, wherein the second location is remote from the first location and comprises a second media server, wherein the first and second locations are connected via a first network segment and a second network segment, wherein the second media server in the second location is sized to support expected peak demand for on-demand content, wherein the first media server in the first location and first network segment are sized for providing on-demand content from the first location to the second location to support an incremental demand level for on-demand content, and wherein the incremental demand level is less than the expected peak demand;
- the resource management processor selecting a source from which to obtain the particular on-demand content from the first media server located at the first location and the second media server located in the second location in response to the request sent from the video termination device;
- the resource management processor selecting a path over which to deliver the particular on-demand content to the video termination device, wherein selecting a path comprises:
- if the selected source is the second media server, then selecting the distribution network as the selected path;
- if the selected source is the first media server, then selecting the first network segment, if available, and the distribution network as the selected path;
- and
- if the selected source is the first media server and if the first path is not available, then selecting the second network segment and the distribution network as the selected path;
- and
- the selected source delivering the particular on-demand content over the selected path to the video termination device.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.