IPTV Server Media Content Search and Format Adaptation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current media content delivery systems face challenges in efficiently searching and retrieving media content across various storage locations, including customer premises networks and the internet, and in adapting content formats for user profiles, which can lead to incomplete or incompatible media delivery.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that involve a server and set-top box system performing multiple searches across local, remote customer premises networks, and internet databases to locate media content, with transrating and transcoding capabilities to ensure compatibility and format adjustment based on user profiles before delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple searches are performed across diverse storage locations (customer premises networks and internet databases), then the completeness of media content retrieval is improved, but the complexity of the search system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The search system is divided into multiple independent search modules, each responsible for searching specific storage locations (local storage, remote customer premises networks, internet databases). Each module operates autonomously and returns results independently, allowing the system to maintain high completeness while managing complexity through modular architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The search system is designed with multi-functional capabilities to handle diverse storage locations and content types through a unified interface. The system can search across different network environments (customer premises networks and internet databases) using the same search mechanism, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining comprehensive retrieval capability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If transrating and transcoding are performed to adapt content formats for user profiles, then the compatibility of delivered content is improved, but the processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs transrating and transcoding operations in advance before content delivery. By pre-processing content into multiple formats and storing them beforehand, the system ensures compatibility for different user profiles without incurring processing delays during actual content delivery, thus maintaining both compatibility and fast delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts content parameters (format, resolution, bitrate) based on user profile requirements. By changing these parameters adaptively during the delivery process or through intelligent format selection from pre-processed variants, the system achieves high compatibility while optimizing processing time through selective parameter adjustment rather than complete re-processing.
Data Source
AI summary
A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a server having a controller to receive a request for media content from a set top box of an Internet Protocol Television System, perform a search of one or more storage devices associated with other set top boxes for the media content based at least in part on a user profile associated with the set top box where the other set top boxes are located remotely from the set top box, receive the media content, and adjust a format of the media content prior to delivery to the set top box based at least in part on the user profile. Other embodiments are disclosed.