Analyzing internet protocol television data to support peer-assisted video-on-demand content delivery

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10812871-B2
Application number	US-201715462468-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 17, 2017
Priority date	Nov 23, 2009
Publication date	Oct 20, 2020
Grant date	Oct 20, 2020

Abstract

A video-on-demand (VOD) server in an Internet protocol television (IPTV) network with a network of set-top boxes includes IPTV operational data and an analysis module that selects a content item. The VOD server divides the content item into sequential chunks, divides the chunks into stripes, pre-populates set-top boxes in a peering network with at least one stripe from each chunk, receives a request for the content item, and directs each set-top box to sequentially stream its stripes. A method includes selecting a content item based upon IPTV operational data, dividing the content item into sequential chunks, dividing the chunks into stripes, pre-populating set-top boxes in a peering network with at least one stripe from each chunk, receiving a request for the content item, and directing each set-top box to sequentially stream its stripes.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A device comprising:
a processing system including a processor; and
a memory storing executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, perform operations comprising:
dividing a selected content item into a plurality of stripes, wherein a first stripe of the plurality of stripes includes a first portion of a media content information that is included in a second stripe of the plurality of stripes, and wherein the first stripe includes a second portion of the media content information that is not included in the second stripe;
determining, by the device and for a peering network comprising a plurality of client media processors, an available storage capacity of each of the plurality of client media processors from network operational data;
determining, for the peering network, a number of the plurality of client media processors to be populated with the plurality of stripes, wherein the determining of the number results in a determined number, wherein the determined number is based on power state data for the plurality of client media processors, and wherein the power state data indicates how many of the plurality of client media processors are expected to be powered off and accordingly unavailable to provide the selected content item when a client media processor requests the selected content item; and
populating each of the determined number of the plurality of client media processors with a different one of the plurality of stripes,

wherein the network operational data comprises a frequency of content requests per each content item for a plurality of content items, wherein the selected content item is selected based upon the frequency of content requests, wherein the selected content item is a most frequently requested content item from among the plurality of content items, and wherein the selected content item is selected in accordance with the available storage capacity.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise selecting a content item to become the selected content item.

3. The device of claim 1 , wherein the determined number of the plurality of client media processors is less than a number of the plurality of client media processors of the peering network.

4. The device of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise directing each of the determined number of the plurality of client media processors to stream a respective stripe of the plurality of stripes to the client media processor that requests the selected content item.

5. The device of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise evaluating the power state data to determine a safety factor with which to over-populate the peering network, and wherein the safety factor with which to over-populate the peering network ensures availability of the selected content item to the client media processor that requests the selected content item.

6. The device of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise determining a time window in which to populate each of the determined number of the plurality of client media processors with the different one of the plurality of stripes, and wherein network operational data comprises a frequency of content requests per time of day, and wherein the time window is determined based upon the frequency of content requests per time of day.

7. The device of claim 1 , wherein the dividing the selected content item into the plurality of stripes comprises:
dividing the selected content item into a plurality of sequential portions;
dividing a first one of the plurality of sequential portions into a first plurality of stripes; and
dividing a second one of the plurality of sequential portions into a second plurality of stripes.

8. The device of claim 7 , wherein the populating each of the determined number of the plurality of client media processors with the different one of the plurality of stripes comprises:
populating a first one of the determined number of the plurality of client media processors with a first one of the first plurality of stripes of the first one of the plurality of sequential portions;
populating the first one of the determined number of the plurality of client media processors with a first one of the second plurality of stripes of the second one of the plurality of sequential portions;
populating a second one of the determined number of the plurality of client media processors with a second one of the first plurality of stripes of the first one of the plurality of sequential portions; and
populating the second one of the determined number of the plurality of client media processors with a second one of the second plurality of stripes of the second one of the plurality of sequential portions.

9. The device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of stripes includes a third stripe, and wherein each stripe of the plurality of stripes includes the first portion of the media content information.

10. The device of claim 1 , wherein the first stripe and the second stripe are associated with a first chunk, wherein the plurality of stripes includes a third stripe and a fourth stripe associated with a second chunk, wherein the first chunk and the second chunk are sequential playable subunits of the selected content item, wherein the populating of each of the determined number of the plurality of client media processors with the different one of the plurality of stripes comprises populating a first client media processor of the plurality of client media processors with the first stripe and the third stripe, and wherein the populating of each of the determined number of the plurality of client media processors with the different one of the plurality of stripes comprises populating a second client media processor of the plurality of client media processors with the second stripe and the fourth stripe.

11. A method comprising:
dividing, by a processing system including a processor, a selected content item into a plurality of stripes, wherein the plurality of stripes comprises a first stripe and a second stripe, wherein the first stripe includes a first portion of a media content information that is included in the second stripe, and wherein the first stripe includes a second portion of the media content information that is not included in the second stripe;
determining by the processing system, for a peering network comprising a plurality of client media processors, an available storage capacity of each of the plurality of client media processors from network operational data;
determining by the processing system, for the peering network, a number of the plurality of client media processors to be populated with the plurality of stripes, wherein the determining of the number results in a determined number, wherein the determined number is based on power state data for the plurality of client media processors, and wherein the power state data indicates how many of the plurality of client media processors are expected to be powered off and accordingly unavailable to provide the selected content item when a client media processor requests the selected content item;
populating, by the processing system, a first one of the determined number of the plurality of client media processors with the first stripe; and
populating, by the processing system, a second one of the determined number of the plurality of client media processors with the second stripe,
wherein the network operational data comprises a frequency of content requests per each content item for a plurality of content items, wherein the selected content item is selected based upon the frequency of content requests, wherein the selected content item is a most frequently req

Assignees

• At & T Ip I Lp

Inventors

• Chen Yih-Farn
• Jana Rittwik
• Stern Daniel L
• Sun Hailong
• Wei Bin
• Yang Ping-Fai

Classifications

• H04N21/2181 Primary

  comprising remotely distributed storage units, e.g. when movies are replicated over a plurality of video servers (distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS], H04L67/1097) · CPC title

• H04L65/612

  for unicast · CPC title

• H04N21/2225

  Local VOD servers · CPC title

• H04N21/235

  Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors · CPC title

• H04N21/4334

  Recording operations (recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27) · CPC title