Virtual Broadcaster Network Content Mall Architecture
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current content distribution models over the Internet face challenges such as high bandwidth costs, inability to guarantee quality of service (QoS), limited scalability, and lack of control for content owners, especially for high-definition video content, due to the 'best effort' communication design and infrastructure limitations.
Innovation Solution
A 'content mall' system is introduced, where a communications service provider hosts content providers' content within their network, allowing for guaranteed QoS, targeted advertising, and revenue sharing, without requiring content providers to lease Internet bandwidth, enabling content owners to maintain control and distribute content directly to subscribers through branded storefronts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If content is distributed via centralized servers over the Internet, then content availability is improved, but bandwidth costs and network congestion increase exponentially
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the centralized content distribution into multiple geographically distributed servers operated by different ISPs. Each server serves a specific region, reducing the bandwidth load on any single network connection and eliminating the exponential cost growth associated with centralized distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a single-dimension centralized model to a multi-dimensional distributed architecture where content is replicated across multiple servers in different geographic locations. This dimensional expansion allows simultaneous access from multiple directions, reducing network congestion and bandwidth costs.
2Device complexity
If content is delivered over the Internet using best effort communication, then infrastructure complexity is reduced, but quality of service guarantees are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer of protocol translation and quality of service management at each distributed server. This intermediary converts best-effort Internet traffic into guaranteed QoS streams locally, maintaining simplicity in the core infrastructure while enabling reliability guarantees at the edge through the intermediary components.
3Productivity
If content providers use CDN services for distribution, then delivery efficiency is improved, but control over content is relinquished to the CDN provider
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the control authority by allowing each content provider to operate their own distributed servers within their chosen ISP's network. This segmentation enables content providers to maintain full control over their content while still achieving efficient delivery through the distributed architecture, eliminating the control-loss trade-off of centralized CDNs.
4Manufacturing precision
If bandwidth capacity is increased to support HDTV and video on demand, then content quality is improved, but transport costs increase exponentially
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by placing content servers within local ISP networks close to end users. This localization enables high-bandwidth HDTV and VOD delivery with guaranteed QoS without requiring expensive long-haul transport capacity, as the bulk of data transfer occurs over local network infrastructure with abundant capacity.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for operating a virtual broadcast network may include using, by a virtual broadcaster, a network server remotely located from the virtual broadcaster and managed by a communications service provider to host a virtual broadcast network. A selection, via a control panel, of at least one broadcast content feed from a plurality of different content service providers may be performed. The selected broadcast content feeds may be broadcast to users who access the virtual broadcast network.