A METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR GROUPING IDENTIFICATORS OF PROGRAM IN MULTI-DIFFUSION GRU POS
The present invention relates to the transmission of video and other digital data over a network. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system for grouping program identifiers (PIDs) into groups of users. ulti-diffusion for the delivery of Internet Protocol ("IP") in such form as to provide a service if no interruption to the client
Background of the invention This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of the technique that may be related to various aspects of the present invention, which are described and / or claimed below. It is believed that this description will be useful. to provide the reader with background information to provide a better understanding of the different aspects of the present invention In accordance with this, it should be understood that the description should be read under this vision, and not as admissions of the prior art. As you know Many people, satellite TV systems, such as DirecTV have been much diffused in recent years In fact, since the introduction of DirecTV in 1994, more than twelve million American households have become suscpptores of satellite TV La most of these suscpptores live in houses where it is
relatively easy to install and connect a satellite disk. For example, the satellite disk can be installed on the roof of a house. However, many subscribers live temporarily in multi-residence units (MDU) such as hotels or high-rise apartment buildings. Unfortunately, there are several challenges involved in providing satellite TV services to individual residence units within an MDU. Providing and connecting a satellite disk per residence can be impractical and / or extremely expensive. For example, in a high building with a thousand apartments, it may be impractical to mount a thousand satellite disks on the roof of the building. Some conventional systems avoid these problems by converting the digital satellite television signal into an analog signal that can be transmitted through a single coaxial cable to a plurality of residences. However, these systems offer limited channels, have a reduced quality compared to all digital systems, and can not provide the satellite TV experience to which users are accustomed. Therefore, an improved system and / or method for providing satellite TV to a multi-residence unit is desirable.
Brief Description of the Invention Certain aspects that are matched in scope with the invention originally claimed are set forth below. It should be understood that these aspects are presented only to provide the reader with a brief summary of certain forms of the invention that can be adopted and
These aspects are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Certainly, the invention may cover a variety of aspects that are not stated below. The modalities described relate to a system and to a method for grouping program identifiers. In multi-diffusion groups More specifically, a method is provided that comprises reci bi ru n solitude for satellite services from a requesting device (22), wherein the request includes at least one program identifier, creating a second group of program identifiers, compare the requested program identifier with a first group of previously requested program identifiers stored in a device (14) that provides the satellite service, and move the program identifier of the first group of program identifiers to the second group of program identifiers when the program identifier The requested one matches one of the program identifiers in the first group of program identifiers, where a second broadcast of the second set of program identifiers is adapted to be shared by the requesting device (22) and another device.
Brief Description of the Drawings The advantages of the invention will be evident after reading the following detailed description and by referring to the drawings in which Figure 1 is a block diagram of satellite television.
exemplary on an IP system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention FIG. 2 is another embodiment of exemplary satellite television on an IP system illustrated in FIG. 1 FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary satellite satellite gateway of FIG. the present invention, and Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary technique for grouping program identifiers into multi-diffusion groups in accordance with the embodiments of the present invention.
Detailed Description of the Invention One or more specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below In an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, not all features of a current implementation are described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development from such current implementation, as well as in any engineering or design project, many specific decisions about implementation can be made to achieve the specific objectives of the developer, such as compatibility with the restrictions related to the system and the business, which In addition, it should be appreciated that such a development effort can be complex and time-consuming, however, it will be a routine that is related to design, manufacturing so that those skilled in the art can have
benefits of this description With reference to Figure 1, a block diagram of an exemplary satellite television on an IP system according to a modality is illustrated and is usually indicated with the reference number 10. As illustrated, in In one embodiment, system 10 may include one or more disks 12a to 12m satehtales, a main end unit, such as a satellite gateway 14, an IP distribution network 20, and one or more transcoders (STB) 22a through 22n. persons skilled in the art, however, will appreciate that the embodiment of the system 10 illustrated in Figure 1 is only a potential embodiment of the system. As such, in alternative embodiments, the illustrated components of the system 10 may be re-arranged or omitted. and additional components can be added to the system 10 For example, with minor modifications, the system 10 can be configured to distribute non-satellite video or Internet services. audio Satellite 12a-12m disks can be configured to receive video, audio or other data related to television, which are transmitted from satellites orbiting the Earth. As will be described later, in a modality of satellite disks 12a-12m are configured to receive DirecTV programming on a KU band from 107 to 1275 Gigahertz ("GHz") However, in alternative modes, the 12a-12m disks may be configured to receive other types of direct transmission satellites ("DBS") or a TV-only reception signal ("TVRO"), such as Disco Network signals, ExpressVu signals, StarChoice signals and the like In other systems
with non-satellite base, the satellite disks 12a-12m can be omitted from the system 10 In one embodiment, a low noise block converter ("LNC") within the satellite disks 12a-12m receives the incoming signal from the satellite that orbit the Earth and convert these incoming signals into a frequency in the L-band between 950 and 2150 Megahertz ("MHz") As will be described later in detail with respect to Figure 2, each of the satellites 12a-12m can be configured to receiving one or more incoming satellite TV signals at a particular frequency (referred to as a transponder) and with a particular polarization and converting these satellite signals into L-band signals, each of which may contain a plurality of audio or video signals. The satellite disks 12a-12m may be configured to transmit the L-band signals to a main end unit or gateway server, such as the satellite gateway 14. non-satellite, alternative modes, the main end unit can be a cable television receiver, a high-definition television receiver or another video distribution system. The satellite gateway 14 includes a satellite synchronization module 16, demodulation and demultiplexing and an IP envelope module 18 The module 16 may comprise a plurality of tuners, demodulators and demultiplexers for converting the modulated and multiplexed L-band signals transmitted from the satellites 12a-12m into a plurality of single transport streams. program ("SPTS"), each of which carries a service (for example,
television channel video, television channel audio, program guides and so on) In one embodiment, the module 16 is configured to produce a single program transport stream for all the services received by the satellite disks 12a-12m However , in an alternative embodiment, the module 16 can produce transport streams for a single sub-group of the services received by the satellite disks 12a-12m The synchronization, demodulation and satellite demultiplexing module 16 can transmit the SPTS to the module IP wrapper 18 In one embodiment, the IP wrapper module 18 re-packages the data within the SPTS into a plurality of Internet Protocol ("IP") packets suitable for transmission over the IP distribution network 20 For example, the IP envelope module 18 can convert the DirecTV protocol packets within the SPTS into IP packets In addition, the IP envelope module 18 can be configured to receive server requests from the STBs 22a-22n and for multi-broadcast (ie, transmit to one or more of the STBs 22a-22n over an IP address) the IP SPTS to the STBs 22a-22n that requested the particular service In a alternative mode, the IP wrapper module 18 can also be configured to multi-defuse the IP protocol SPTS for unsolicited services by one of the STBs 22a-22n. It should be noted that the modules 16 and 18 are only an exemplary embodiment of satellite gateway 14 In alternative modes, such as those described with respect to Figures 2 and 3, the functions of modules 16 and 18 can be redistributed or consolidated among a variety of
appropriate components or modules. The IP distribution network 20 may include one or more routers, switches, modems, dividers or bridges. For example, in one embodiment, the satellite gateway 14 can be coupled with a master distribution structure ("MDF") that couples with an intermediate distribution structure ("IDF") that couples with a coaxial to the Ethernet bridge, which it is coupled with a router that couples with one or more STB 22a-22n. In another embodiment, the IP distribution network 20 may be an MDF that is coupled with a Digital Subscriber Online Access Multiplexer ("DSLAM"), which is coupled with a DSL modem that is coupled with a router. In another embodiment, the IP distribution network may include a wireless network, such as an 802.11 or WiMax network. In this type of mode, the STBs 22a-22n may include a wireless receiver configured to receive the multi-broadcast IP packets. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the modalities described above are only exemplary. As such in the alternative embodiments, a large number of appropriate forms of the IP distribution networks can be employed in the system 10. The IP distribution network 20 can be coupled with one or more STBs 22a-22n. The STBs 22a-22n can be any type of video, audio and / or other data receiver with the ability to receive IP packets, such as IP SPTS, over the IP distribution network 20. It should be appreciated that the term transcoder ("STB"), as used herein, may encompass not only devices that sit on televisions. Rather, the STBs 22a-22n can be any device or
apparatus, either internal or external to the television, screen or computer, which may be configured to operate as described herein, including, without limitation, video components, computers, cordless telephones, or other forms of video recorders In certain embodiments, the STBs 22aa-22n may be known as an integrated receiver decoder ("IRD") In one embodiment, the STBs 22a-22n may be a DirecTV receiver configured to receive services, such as video and / or audio, through a Ethernet port (among other inputs) In alternative modes however, the STB 22a-22n can be designed and / or configured to receive a multi-broadcast transmission over coaxial cable, twisted pairs, copper wires or through the air by a wireless standard, such as the IEEE 80211 standard. As described above, the system 10 can receive video, audio and / or other data transmitted by satellite in space and process / convert this data for distribution over the IP distribution network 20 Accordingly, Figure 2 is another embodiment of exemplary satellite television on the IP system 10 in accordance with a modality. Figure 2 illustrates three satellite disks 12a-12c, which are exemplary. of the satellite disks 12a-12c can be configured to receive signals from one or more satellites in orbit. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that satellites and signals that are transmitted from satellites are often referred to as orbital slots where The satellites reside For example, the disk 12a such is configured to receive signals from a
DirecTV satellite arranged in a 101-degree orbital slot In the same way, the satellite 12b receives signals from a satellite set at 119 degrees, and the satellite 12c receives signals from a satellite arranged in the 110-degree orbital slot. appreciate that in alternative embodiments, the satellite disks 12a-12c can receive signals from a plurality of other satellites arranged in a variety of orbital slots, such as in the 95 degree orbital slot. In addition, the satellite disks 12a-12c can also be configured for receive polarized satellite signals For example, in Figure 2, the satellite disk 12a is configured to receive signals that are polarized to the left (illustrated in the Figure as "101 L") and polarized to the right (illustrated as "101R") ) As described above with respect to Figure 1, the satellite disks 12a-12c can receive satellite signals in the KU band to convert these signals into L-band signals that are transmitted to the satellite gateway 14 However, in some embodiments, the L-band signals produced by the satellite disks 12a-12c can be mixed into fewer signals or split into more signals before reaching the gateway 14 of For example, as illustrated in Figure 2, the L-band signals from the satellite disks 12b and 12c can be mixed with a switch 24 in a single L-band signal containing the L-band signals from the satellite at 110 degrees. and the satellite at 119 degrees. As illustrated, the system 10 may also include a plurality of divisors 1 2, 26a, 26b, 26c, and 26d to divide the L-band signals
transmitted from the satehtal disks 12a-12c into two L-band signals, each of which includes half of the services of the pre-divided L-band signal In alternative embodiments, the dividers 1 2, 26a-26b may be omitted or integrated in satellite gateways 14a and 14b The newly divided L-band signals can be transmitted from the dividers 26a-26d 1 2, to the satellite gateways 14a, 14b The system mode 10 illustrated in Figure 2 includes two of the gateways However, in alternative embodiments, the system 10 may include any appropriate number of satellite gateways 14 For example, in one embodiment, the system may include three satellite gateways 14 The satellite gateways 14a and 14b may also sub-dividing the L-band signals and then tuning the one or more services in the L-band signal to produce one or more SPTS that can be repacked within the IP and multi-packets. spread over the IP distribution network 20 In addition, one or more satellite gateways 14a, 14b can also be coupled with a public switched telephone network ("PSTN") 28 Because the satellite gateways 14a, b are coupled to the PSTN 28, the STBs 22a, 22n may have the ability to communicate with a satellite service provider through the IP distribution network 20 and the satellite gateways 14a, b This feature with advantage, may eliminate the need to have each STB 22a-22n individually coupled directly with the PSTN 28 The IP distribution network 20 can also be coupled with an Internet service provider ("ISP") In one embodiment, the network 20 of
IP distribution can be employed to provide the Internet services, such as high-speed data access, to the STBs 22a-22n and / or any other appropriate device (not shown) that is coupled with the IP distribution network 20 As described above, the satellite gateways 14a, b can be configured to receive the plurality of L-band signals, to produce a plurality of SPTS, and to multi-broadcast the requested SPTS over an IP distribution network 20 With reference now to the Figure 3 shows a block diagram of an exemplary satellite gateway 14 As illustrated, the satellite gateway 14a, b includes a power source 40, two front ends 41a, and 41b and a rear end 52 The power source 40 can be any of a number of industrial standard AC or DC power sources that can be configured to allow the front ends 41a, b and the end 52 back perform the functions described above The satellite gateway 14a, b can also include two front ends 41a, b In one embodiment, each of the front ends 41a, b can be configured to receive two L-band signal inputs from the dividers 1 2 26a-26d which were described above with respect to Figure 2 For example, the forward end 41a can receive two L-band signals from the divider 1 2 26a and the forward end 41b can receive two L-band signals from the divider 1 226b In one embodiment, each of the L-band inputs within the 41a, b front end includes eight or fewer services The front 41a, b ends may also sub-divide the
L-band inputs with the use of the 1: 4 band dividers L 42a, 42b, 42c and 42d. Once subdivided, the L-band signals can pass to four banks 44a, 44b, 44c and 44d of the double tuner links. Each of the double tuner links within the banks 44a-44d can be configured to in-tune the two services within the L-band signals received by the dual-tuner links i ndividuals to produce the S PTS. Each of the double tuner links can then transmit the SPTS to one of the low-voltage differential signaling activators 48a, 48b, 48c and 48d ("LVDS"). The LVDS actuators 48a-48d can be configured to amplify the transport signals for transmission to the rear end 52. In alternative embodiments, different forms of differential activators and / or amplifiers may be employed in place of activators 48a-48d LVDS. Other embodiments employ the serialization of all transport signals and routes to be routed to the rear end 52. As illustrated, the forward ends 41 a, b may also include microprocessors 46a and 46b. In one embodiment, microprocessors 46a, b can control and / or retransmit commands for banks 44a-44d of dual tuner links and band dividers L 1: 4 42a-42d. The microprocessors 46a, b may comprise ST1 0 microprocessors manufactured by ST Microelectronics. The microprocessors 46a, b can be coupled with the receiver modules 50a, 50b LVDS and transmitters. The 50a, b receiver / transm isor LVDS modules also facilitate the communication between microprocessors
46a, b and the components at the rear end 52, as will be described later With reference again to the rear end 52, the rear end 52 includes the receivers 54a, 54b, 54c and 54d LVDS which are configured to receive the current signals from transport transmitted by activators 48a-48d LVDS Rear end 52 includes LVDS receiver / transmitter modules 56a and 56b which are configured to communicate with modules 50a, b LVDS receiver / transmitter As illustrated, LVDS receivers 54a-54d and 56a, b LVDS receivers / transmitters are configured to communicate with the transport processors 58a and 58b In one embodiment, the transport processors 58a, b are configured to receive the SPTSs produced by the dual tuner links at the front ends 41a, b For example, in one embodiment, transport processors 58a, b can be configured to produce 16 SPTS Transport processors 58a, b can be configured to re-em pack the SPTS into IP packets that can be multi-broadcast over the IP distribution network 20 For example, the transport processors 58a, b can re-pack the DirecTV protocol packets into OP protocol packets and then multi-broadcast these packets IP at an IP address to one or more STBs 22a-22n Transport processors 58a, b may also be coupled with a busbar 62, such as a 32-bit peripheral component interconnect ("PCI") busbar, 66 MHz Through the bus 62 the transport processors 58a b can communicate
with the network processor 70, an Ethernet interface 84 and / or with an expansion slot 66. The network processor 70 can be configured to receive service requests from the STBs 22a-22n and to drive the processors 58a, b transport for multi-broadcasting the requested services In one embodiment, the network processor is an IXP425 network processor produced by I ntel Although not illustrated, the network processor 70 may also be configured to transmit status data from a front panel of the network. gateway 14a, b satellite or to support the debugging or monitoring of the satellite gateway 14a, b through the debugging ports As illustrated, the 58a processors, b transport can also be coupled with the Ethernet 68 through the busbar 62 In one mode the 68 Ethernet interface is a gigabit Ethernet interface that provides a copper or fiber optic wire interface to the network IP distribution 20 In addition, the busbar 62 can be coupled with the expansion slot, such as an expansion slot PC I to allow the current upgrade or expansion of the satellite gateway 14a, b The processors 58a, b transport can also be coupled with a busbar 64 ampitpona In a modality, the busbar 64 anfitpona is a data bus of 1 6 bits that connects the transport processors 58a, b with a modem 72, which can config This method can be used to communicate with the PSTN 28, as described above. In alternative embodiments, the modem 72 can also be coupled to the busbar 62. As described above, the satellite relays 14 will be may
configure to receive services, such as television video, audio and other data to multi-broadcast these services through the STBs 22a-22n through the IP distribution network 20 In a modality, it passes reads 1 4 of multi-purpose satellite services by grouping the related services into a single multi-purpose device For example, when one of the STB 22a-22n solves the video and audio for an ABC television broadcast, one of the gateways 14 of Satellite may group the program identifier for the video portion of the ABC transmission together with a program identifier for the audio portion of the ABC transmission within the multi-d ifusion g roup that the satellite gateway 14 may multi- broadcast to a particular IP address When another of the STBs 22a-22n wants to see the same ABC transmission with the same audio, the satellite gateway 14 can direct the STB 22a-22n to access the IP address associated with the group. The previously described multi-diffusion technique works well to create multi-diffusion groups when the program identifiers have static relationships. However, other techniques, as described below, can be advantageous when the program identifier relationships It becomes more complex. For example, the ABC transmission described above can be solved by one of the STBs 22a-22n requesting only the transmission ABC, as well as one of the STBs 22a-22n requesting the NBC transmission divided from screen with the ABC transmission, as well as another STB 22a-22n requesting a split C BS transmission of the screen with the ABC transmission In such a situation, the creation of a multi-broadcast group containing only the ABC transmission, another group of mu lti-diffusion
which contains the NBC transmission and the ABC transmission and another multi-broadcast group containing the ABC transmission and the CBS transmission may be an inefficient use of the bandwidth In accordance with this, Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary technique 80 for grouping program identifiers into ultimate diffusion groups in accordance with a modality. As illustrated in block 82, technique 80 can begin by setting an SPTSNum counter equal to zero and emptying a group of program identifiers. of the system (PID) referred to as the PIDgroup of the system The PIDgroup of the system can be an array of PIDgroups currently multi-broadcast or previously multi-broadcast by the satellite gateway 14 Next, the satellite gateway can create a PIDgroup collision, as is indicated in block 83 In one embodiment, satellite gateway 14 can create a PID collision group for each transponder to be received by the pass 14 satellite However, in alternative modes, different criteria can be used to create PID collision group After creating the PID collision group, the satellite gateway 14 can receive a request from one of the STB 22a-22n (see Figure 1). ) that contains the PIDs for one or more services, as indicated in block 84. Once the satellite gateway 14 has received the PID request, it can group the requested PIDs into a PIDgroup for the requesting STB, which is referred to as the PIDgroup of the client, as indicated in block 86 After grouping the requested PIDs, the satellite gateway 14
can determine if the number of SPTS is greater than zero, as indicated in block 88 When the number of SPTS is equal to zero (ie not greater than zero), technique 80 will advance to block 102, as described below However, when the number of SPTS is greater than zero, the satellite gateway 14 will determine whether the PIDgroup of the client intersects with the PIDgroup of the system (i.e., if any of the PID within the PIDgroup of the client is any of the PIDgroup within. of the PID array of the system), as indicated in block 90 When the PID client group does not intersect with the PID system group, technique 80 will advance to block 102, as described later. However, when the client group PID intersects with the PID system group, satellite gateway 14 will determine whether the client group PID intersects more than one PID system group in more of a PID, as indicated in block 92 When the client group PID intersects with only one PID, the satellite gateway 14 can add the PID within the PID client group that was not yet in the PID group of the intersecting system within the PIDgroup of the intersecting system, as indicated in block 94 In alternative embodiments, block 92 may be omitted from technique 80, and satellite gateway 14 may advance to block 98 regardless of the number of intersections With return to block 96, a Once the intersecting PID has been added to the PIDgroup of the intersecting system, the satellite gateway 14 can respond to the requesting STB 22a-22n with the IP address of the group multi-diffusion containing the PIDinterruptible system group (which now includes the additional PID of the client group PID) In addition,
even though the PID collision group is empty, the satellite gateway 14 can also respond with a multi-diffusion for the PID collision group for the transponder associated with the PID customer group, so that the STB 22a-22n can monitor the multi-diffusion collision in the case of a subsequent collision involving one of the PIDs in the PIDinterrupted system group After responding, the technique may jump back to block 84 when another of the STBs 22a-22n requests a service With reference again to block 92, when the client group PID intersects the PID system group in more than one PID, the satellite gateway 14 can move the intersecting PID from the client group PID and the intersecting system group PID for each intersecting system group PID, as indicated in block 98 Next, satellite gateway 14 can add the intersecting PIDs to the PID collision group, as indicated in block 100 after create the PID collision group, the satellite gateway 14 can add the client group PID within the array of the PID system group, as indicated in block 102 and increment the SPTSNum counter, as indicated in block 104 after carrying out In these tasks, the satellite gateway 14 can respond to the requesting STB 22a-22n with a multi-broadcast group containing the PIDs from the PID array of the system in an SPTSNum of location minus one location (ie the PID group of the previous client minus the PIDs in the PID collision group) and a multi-diffusion group containing the PIDs of the PID collision group, as described above, even when the PID collision group is empty (ie
say, the SPTSNum is equal to zero), the satellite gateway 14 responds with a multi-diffusion group for the PID collision group, so that the transponder associated with the PID client group so that the STB can monitor the multi-diffusion of collision in the case of a subsequent collision involving one of the PIDs in the PID customer group. Finally, as illustrated, the technique 80 may jump back to block 84 when another of the STBs 22a-22n makes a request for services. While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, the specific embodiments have been shown as examples in the drawings and are described in detail here. However, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular forms described. Rather, the invention encompasses all modifications, equivalents and alternatives that fall within the scope and spirit of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.