Personalized Multicast Content Token Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for providing personalized television content are limited by the need for multiple parallel broadcast channels, which is not scalable and results in high bandwidth requirements for transmitting personalized advertisements, leading to potential delays and inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A method where user devices store personalized content tokens, allowing them to request and receive personalized content only if they have a valid token, thereby controlling the number of devices that can receive personalized content and managing bandwidth usage effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If personalized content is transmitted to all user devices simultaneously over a backchannel, then each device receives personalized content, but the limited bandwidth of the backchannel causes unacceptable delays and transmission failures
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by distributing personalized content tokens to user devices in advance, before actual content transmission is needed. These tokens contain pre-validated authorization information, enabling devices to request content without real-time authentication delays. The token distribution phase separates the computationally intensive personalization logic from the time-critical content delivery phase, resolving the bandwidth-delay contradiction.
Solution Approach 2:
Personalized content tokens serve as intermediaries between the content distribution system and user devices. Instead of directly transmitting large amounts of personalized content over the limited-bandwidth backchannel, the system uses small tokens as proxies that carry essential authorization data. This intermediary approach reduces backchannel traffic from megabytes to kilobytes, eliminating transmission delays while preserving personalization capability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple parallel broadcast channels are created to provide personalized content to different viewer groups, then each group receives customized content, but the system complexity and bandwidth requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal backchannel that serves multiple functions: distributing tokens, authenticating devices, and enabling personalized content requests. Instead of creating separate dedicated channels for each personalized content stream, a single multi-functional backchannel handles all personalized content delivery. This universal approach maintains personalization capability while dramatically reducing system complexity compared to multiple parallel channels.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses token copying as a mechanism to efficiently distribute personalized content authorization. Rather than creating and managing multiple complex content streams, the system generates one master personalized content description and creates simplified token copies for distribution. These token copies enable devices to access personalized content without requiring the original system to maintain multiple parallel broadcast channels, reducing overall system complexity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If personalized content is transmitted over a backchannel designed for control data, then personalized content delivery is enabled, but the limited bandwidth of the backchannel cannot handle large amounts of content data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential authorization information from the full personalized content and places it into separate tokens. By taking out only the critical authentication and identification data needed for content access, the system enables personalized content delivery without transmitting the entire content payload over the backchannel. The actual personalized content can be retrieved from standard broadcast channels, which have sufficient bandwidth capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary token distribution that separates the authorization phase from the content delivery phase. During the preliminary phase, small tokens containing personalization metadata are distributed over the backchannel. This preliminary action enables subsequent content requests to be processed efficiently, as the personalization logic has already been validated and cached in the device's token storage, eliminating the need for repeated backchannel transactions during content delivery.
Data Source
AI summary
A user device (15) may be arranged to control insertion of personalized content into multicast content. The user device may be arranged for sending a request to a personalized content provider system (12) and receiving personalized content in response to the request, and may further be arranged for storing a personalized content token (25). The request for personalized content may only be sent if the user device stores a personalized content token. In an embodiment, the request for personalized content may only be sent if the user device stores a personalized content token having at least one predetermined property.