Personal Content Server Headend Intermediary Bandwidth
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing content delivery systems, such as the Slingbox, inefficiently use network bandwidth for remote access to content, degrade media quality, and lack effective protection and control features, limiting high-definition programming and content protection.
Innovation Solution
A personal content distribution system that uses a personal content server to manage content delivery over networks, allowing dynamic selection of encoding formats and network interfaces, authenticating devices, and enabling content reservation and protection, while emulating user interfaces for consistent remote access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If content is delivered from premises device to remote location via upstream channels, then remote access is enabled, but bandwidth efficiency deteriorates due to requiring both downstream and upstream transmission
Solution Approach 1:
A personal content server is introduced as an intermediary component at the headend that mediates between the bearer network and remote clients. The server receives content from the bearer network via downstream channels and delivers it to remote locations through downstream channels of the second network, eliminating the need for upstream transmission from premises devices and thus resolving the bandwidth efficiency problem while maintaining remote access capability
2Adaptability or versatility
If digital content is converted to analog format and back to digital for remote delivery, then compatibility is improved, but media quality deteriorates due to conversion degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The personal content server dynamically changes the encoding format parameter based on the capabilities of the remote client device. The server receives encoding format information from the client and delivers content in the appropriate format directly from the bearer network without analog conversion, thus maintaining both compatibility across different devices and high media quality through direct digital transmission
3Productivity
If upstream bandwidth is shared by multiple devices, then resource utilization is improved, but data rate deteriorates due to contention
Solution Approach 1:
The personal content server acts as an intermediary that consolidates content delivery through downstream channels only. By receiving content once from the bearer network and distributing it to multiple remote clients through downstream channels of the second network, the server eliminates upstream bandwidth contention while maintaining efficient resource utilization through centralized control and caching capabilities
4Ease of manufacture
If content is delivered over existing infrastructure, then deployment cost is reduced, but content protection capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The personal content server performs preliminary authentication and authorization actions before content delivery. The server authenticates client devices and determines their entitlement to specific content, then delivers only authorized content with appropriate protection measures. This preliminary action enables content protection through centralized control while utilizing existing network infrastructure, thus maintaining both cost-effectiveness and security
Data Source
AI summary
Personal content server apparatus and associated methods that allow a user (e.g., cable or satellite network subscriber) to access content, such as a video program, from a location outside the subscriber's network. In one embodiment, a personal content server streams the content to the subscriber over a network connection from the local e.g., (subscription) network to a remote network upon authorization by a content manager process. Various access, business or operational rules are applied depending on the content and delivery mode; e.g., to live video broadcast, video-on-demand (VOD), or archived content from the subscriber's digital video recorder (DVR) or networked PVR. In another variant, reservation information (for example program or asset ID information) is cached at a headend or hub server, thereby obviating the subscriber (or the network) having to access the subscriber's premises device. In yet another variant, a “virtual” CPE experience is provided for the remote user.