Unified Access Plan Management for Wireless Video Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current communication systems face challenges in managing access plans for wireless video content across multiple devices, such as TVs and mobile devices, leading to inefficiencies in content delivery and user experience.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that allow a television to detect mobile communication devices capable of receiving broadcast video content, determine access plans, present options for adjusting these plans to enable wireless access, and receive selections to adjust the plans accordingly, ensuring seamless content delivery using protocols like LTE, WiFi, and Bluetooth.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If access plans are managed separately for each device, then device-specific control is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple device access plans into a unified family sharing account system. A single access plan can be shared across multiple devices (TVs, mobile devices, tablets) within a household, eliminating the need to manage separate subscriptions for each device while maintaining individualized access control through the family sharing mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The access plan system is designed to be universal across different device types and platforms. A single access plan can provide content access rights to multiple devices including smart TVs, mobile phones, tablets, and streaming devices, allowing users to access content anywhere in the household without device-specific limitations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If wireless access to broadcast video content is enabled across multiple devices, then user flexibility is improved, but content delivery efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary content retrieval and buffering operations before actual playback. When a user requests content on any device, the set-top box proactively retrieves and buffers the content in advance, ensuring smooth playback without real-time delivery bottlenecks. This preliminary action allows flexible multi-device access while maintaining efficient content delivery through advance preparation.
Solution Approach 2:
The set-top box acts as an intermediary between the content delivery network and multiple user devices. It receives content from the network, processes and buffers it locally, then distributes to multiple devices as needed. This intermediary role enables flexible wireless access across devices while maintaining delivery efficiency by localizing the distribution point and reducing direct network-device communication overhead.
3Speed
If access plan adjustments are made in real-time, then user responsiveness is improved, but system processing load increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service mechanisms for access plan adjustments. When a user adds or removes devices from a family sharing account, the system automatically updates access rights, generates new authorization tokens, and synchronizes changes across all devices without requiring manual intervention or complex processing. This self-service approach enables real-time responsiveness while minimizing system processing load through automated routine operations.
Data Source
AI summary
A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, wirelessly receiving adjustment information from a mobile communication device, wirelessly receiving a request for video content from the mobile communication device, generating multiple versions of the video content, wirelessly transmitting a second version to the mobile communication device for presentation on the display device according to the adjustment of the access plan, and transmitting a first version to the mobile communication device for presentation on the display device and ceasing transmitting the second version responsive to a determination of an undesired condition associated with the presentation of the second version on the display device. Other embodiments are disclosed.