Interactive video distribution systems – User-requested video program system – Video-on-demand
Reexamination Certificate
1997-12-09
2001-10-16
Grant, Chris (Department: 2611)
Interactive video distribution systems
User-requested video program system
Video-on-demand
C725S116000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06305020
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND ART
The invention relates to cable television systems, and more particularly to such systems capable of providing interactive services provided over a cable television network.
Bandwidth problems have long restricted the ability of cable television systems to provide information services to subscribers. Although a coaxial cable system may permit a cable system operator to provide, for example, 50 television channels, each 6 MHZ wide, with a total bandwidth of 300 MHZ, this total bandwidth is insufficient to permit an arrangement wherein each subscriber may have, in addition to these 50 channels, an interactive information service that functions independently of interactive information services to all other subscribers and provides full color video, motion typical of movies or television, and sound.
The reason for the insufficiency in bandwidth is apparent on a consideration of the demands on the system. Typically a subscriber on a cable system obtains information services over a communication path that starts at the head end, proceeds over one of typically a number of trunks, and then over one of a number of feeders, and then over one of a number of taps. Each feeder may have, for example, fifty or more subscribers, and each trunk might serve a hundred or more feeders. The result is that 5000 subscribers per trunk is not atypical. Thus merely to provide a private one-way information service, and nothing else, to each of these 5000 subscribers would require the trunk to carry 5000 different signals, each using about 6 MHZ of bandwidth, and would alone require a trunk bandwidth of 30 GHz, which is nearly two orders of magnitude greater than provided by a typical coaxial cable system.
The use of fiber optic trunks can assist in providing additional bandwidth. but to the extent that coaxial cable secondary trunks and feeders are used in a hybrid fiber-cable system, bandwidth limitations may continue to pose problems. While video compression schemes may assist in bringing the bandwidth requirements within more practical limits, each subscriber would then need to be provided with his own decompression unit.
Another problem lies in how to handle the switching and computing demands on the head end to provide separate and private information service to potentially hundreds of thousands of subscribers simultaneously.
One approach to the above problem involves placing a digital computer in the home of each subscriber to provide interactive service, where the computer operates over a traditional network of computers. However, with the above approach, a large capital investment is needed to provide each subscriber with a computer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a system manager for use with an interactive cable system. The cable system has (i) an information service network for delivering information services to subscriber televisions, (ii) a plurality of home interface controllers, each home interface controller associated with a subscriber television and having a data transceiver operative over a data communications link to the headend, (iii) a plurality of subscriber selection devices, each such device associated with a home interface controller and in communication with the data transceiver thereof, for permitting subscriber interaction, and (iv) a plurality of interactive controllers, disposed at the headend, each interactive controller in assignable television communication over the network with a subscriber television and in data communication with a subscriber selection device.
The system manager has a call set-up server to receive and handle an initial data exchange with a calling home interface controller; and a first service allocation server to pass communication and control associated with the calling home interface controller to one of a plurality of first application processors, each first application processor being one of the interactive controllers, to provide a first information service; wherein the call set-up server and the first service allocation server operate as independent processes.
In a further embodiment, the system manager also has a second service allocation server to pass communication and control associated with a home interface controller seeking a second information service to an available one of a plurality of second application processors. Each second application processor is one of the interactive controllers, and provides the second information service. The second service allocation server operates as an independent process. The first service allocation server maintains a list of available first application processors and the second service allocation server maintains a list of available second application processors.
In a further embodiment, (1) an interactive controller in assigned television communication with the calling home interface controller causes display on the subscriber television associated with the calling home interface controller of a page having at least one hyperlink to an additional page and (2) selection of such a hyperlink by the selection device associated with the calling home interface controller causes a transfer (which may be direct or indirect) between one of the first and second service allocation servers to the other of them so as to cause a change in the information service provided to such subscriber television. In this embodiment, the page and the additional page are created in HTML format, although any hyperlink arrangement may be employed. The effect is that a subscriber may use an Internet browser type of display to choose among various information services, not just Internet service.
In an alternative embodiment of the invention, there is provided a cable system having (i) an information service network, for delivering information services to subscriber televisions, (ii) a plurality of home interface controllers, each home interface controller associated with a subscriber television and having a data transceiver operative over a data communications link to the headend, (iii) a plurality of subscriber selection devices, each such device associated with a home interface controller and in communication with the data transceiver thereof, for permitting subscriber interaction, and (iv) a plurality of interactive controllers, disposed at the headend, each interactive controller in assignable television communication over the network with a subscriber television and in data communication with a subscriber selection device. The subscriber selection device may communicate over the data link each time a cursor movement or other selection activity is effectuated; alternatively, the data link can cause periodic transmission of cursor coordinates when a critical selection activity has occurred, such as pressing a “select” button.
The system manager has a first service allocation server to pass communication and control associated with a calling home interface controller to one of a plurality of first application processors, where each application processor is one of the interactive controllers, to provide a first information service. The system manager also has a second service allocation server to pass communication and control associated with a home interface controller seeking a second information service to an available one of a plurality of second application processors, each second application processor being one of the interactive controllers, to provide the second information service; where each of the first and second service allocation servers operates as an independent process. The system manager also is such that (1) the interactive controller in assigned television communication with the calling home interface controller causes to display on the subscriber television associated with the calling home interface controller a page having at least one hyperlink to an additional page and (2) the selection of such a hyperlink by the selection device associated with the calling home interface controller causes a transfer (indirect or direct hand-off) between o
Hoarty W. L.
Nilo Bruce D.
Soske Joshua W.
Bromberg & Sunstein LLP
Grant Chris
ICTV Inc.
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