Centralized Emergency Alert Encoding for Broadcast Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing emergency alert systems require dedicated encoders at each broadcast transmission site for over-the-air (OTA) communication, which is inefficient and costly, especially with the adoption of ATSC 3.0, which broadcasts television signals in an internet protocol (IP) format.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a central content controller (CCC) that receives audiovisual content and determines the existence of emergency alerts, encoding content into different stream types for transmission to regional controllers (RCs) associated with specific market areas, eliminating the need for dedicated encoders at each RC by processing and routing alerts at a central location.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If dedicated encoders are installed at each broadcast transmission site for OTA communication, then emergency alerts can be encoded and transmitted reliably, but system complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the encoder functionality from multiple distributed broadcast sites into a single centralized encoder located at the alert management system. This consolidation eliminates the need for dedicated encoders at each RC site while maintaining reliable alert transmission, directly resolving the contradiction between reliability and system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a centralized alert management system as an intermediary between alert authorities and broadcast transmission sites. This intermediary handles all encoding operations centrally and distributes encoded alerts to multiple RCs, reducing system complexity while ensuring reliable delivery through centralized control.
2Ease of operation
If dedicated encoders are installed at each broadcast transmission site, then alerts can be encoded locally for OTA broadcast, but operational costs and resource requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple encoder functions into a single centralized encoder at the alert management system. This eliminates the need for numerous distributed encoders at each RC site, directly reducing the quantity of encoding equipment while maintaining local broadcast capability through centralized encoding and distribution.
3Reliability
If alerts are transmitted to all RCs regardless of geographic relevance, then all receivers receive the alert, but transmission efficiency and resource utilization decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by tailoring alert distribution to specific geographic regions. The alert management system determines which RCs are geographically relevant to each alert and transmits alerts only to those specific RCs, rather than broadcasting to all RCs uniformly. This maintains reliable delivery to affected areas while improving transmission efficiency by avoiding unnecessary transmissions.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of communicating an emergency alert includes receiving, by a central content controller (CCC), audiovisual (AV) content from a plurality of sources, determining existence of one or more emergency alerts, encoding the content to form a first stream type and transmitting the first stream type to regional controllers (RCs) associated with a respective market area (MA) if no alerts exist, determining, if an alert exist, a market area for the alert, encode the content and the alert to form a second stream type, transmit the second stream type to a RC associated with a MA for which the alert is applicable and encode the content to form the first stream and transmit the first stream type to RCs associated with a MA without an alert, and broadcast, as AV signals, the received stream types by the RC.