Analyzing Internet Protocol Television Data to Support Peer-Assisted Video-on-Demand Content Delivery

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017195749-A1
Application number	US-201715462468-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 17, 2017
Priority date	Nov 23, 2009
Publication date	Jul 6, 2017
Grant date	—

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;
determining, for a peering network comprising a plurality of media processors, a number of the plurality of media processors to be populated with the plurality of stripes, wherein the determining results in a determined number, wherein the determined number is based on power state data for the plurality of media processors, and wherein the power state data indicates how many of the plurality of media processors are expected to be powered off and accordingly unavailable to provide the selected content item; and
populating each of the determined number of the plurality of media processors with a different one of the plurality of stripes.

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 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 and wherein the selected content item is a most frequently requested content item from among the plurality of content items.

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

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

6 . 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.

7 . The device of claim 6 , wherein the safety factor with which to over-populate the peering network ensures availability of the selected content item to a requesting media processor.

8 . 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 media processors with the different one of the plurality of stripes.

9 . The device of claim 8 , 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.

10 . 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.

11 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the populating each of the determined number of the plurality of media processors with the different one of the plurality of stripes comprises:
populating a first one of the determined number of the plurality of 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 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 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 media processors with a second one of the second plurality of stripes of the second one of the plurality of sequential portions.

12 . 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; determining by the processing system, for a peering network comprising a plurality of media processors, a number of the plurality of media processors to be populated with the plurality of stripes, wherein the determining results in a determined number, wherein the determined number is based on power state data for the plurality of media processors, and wherein the power state data indicates how many of the plurality of media processors are expected to be powered off and accordingly unavailable to provide the selected content item; populating, by the processing system, a first one of the determined number of the plurality of media processors with the first stripe; and populating, by the processing system, a second one of the determined number of the plurality of media processors with the second stripe.

13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
selecting, by the processing system, a content item to become the selected content item; wherein 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 request, and wherein the selected content item is a most frequently requested content item from among the plurality of content items.

14 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
directing, by the processing system, the first one of the determined number of the plurality of media processors to stream the first stripe to a media processor requesting the selected content item; and directing, by the processing system, the second one of the determined number of the plurality of media processors to stream the second stripe to the media processor requesting the selected content item.

15 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising evaluating, by the processing system, the power state data to determine a safety factor with which to over-populate the peering network, wherein the safety factor ensures availability of the selected content item to a requesting media processor.

16 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
determining, by the processing system, a time window in which to populate the first one of the determined number of the plurality of media processors with the first stripe and the second one of the determined number of the plurality of media processors with the second stripe; 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.

17 . A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a system including a processor, perform operations comprising:
splitting a selected content item into a plurality of stripes, wherein the plurality of stripes comprises a first stripe and a second stripe; determining for a peering network comprising a plurality of media processors a determined number of media processors, each of the determined number of media processors to be populated with one of the first or second stripes, wherein the determined number is based on power state data for the plurality of media processors, and wherein the power state data indicates how many of the plurality of media proce

Assignees

• At & T Ip I Lp

Inventors

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

Classifications

• H04N21/632

  using a connection between clients on a wide area network, e.g. setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet for retrieving video segments from the hard-disk of other client devices (broadcast-related systems characterised by transmission among terminal devices H04H60/80; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104) · 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

• H04N21/2225

  Local VOD servers · CPC title

• H04N21/2668

  Creating a channel for a dedicated end-user group, e.g. insertion of targeted commercials based on end-user profiles {(information retrieval from the Internet by querying with filtering and personalisation G06F16/9535; arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast H04H20/10; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/063)} · CPC title

• H04N21/47202

  for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand · CPC title