EP0673160A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Look-ahead scheduling to support video-on-demand applications
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1995-03-13
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2015-03-13
Abstract
Abstract A system and method of supporting pause-resume in a video-on-demand service of a type which can accommodate multiple viewers sharing a common data stream is described. When a video server receives a performance request from one of the viewers for showing a particular video, it identifies and reserves a look-ahead stream. The look-ahead stream is another video stream which is scheduled to become available after a predetermined time period. When the video is commenced, a common data stream for the video is concurrently transmitted from the video server to reception equipment at the viewers' locations. Transmission of the common data stream causes the particular video to be performed on the viewers' reception equipment. When the video server receives a pause request and then a subsequent resume request from one of the viewers, it transmits the video via the look ahead stream instead of the common data stream.
Inventors
- 👤 Joel Leonard Wolf
- 👤 Philip Shi-Lung Yu
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 06:37
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N7/00; H04N7/16; H04N7/173; H04N7/17309; H04N7/17336
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim
147 words
A method of supporting pause-resume for a video-on-demand system of a type which can accommodate multiple viewers sharing a common data stream, comprising the steps of: receiving a performance request from one of the viewers for showing a particular video; in response to the performance request, identifying and reserving a look-ahead stream, the look ahead stream being another video stream which is scheduled to become available after a predetermined time period; concurrently transmitting the common data stream from a video server to reception equipment at the multiple viewers' locations, transmission of the data stream causing the particular video to be performed on the reception equipment; receiving at the video server, a pause request and a subsequent resume request from one of the viewers; and, in response to the resume request, transmitting the particular video by way of the look ahead stream instead of the common data stream.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of Claim 1 wherein a different look ahead stream is identified after a period of time as elapsed without the viewer initiating a pause request.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 1 or 2 wherein in response to the performance request the one of the viewers is assigned a reserved stream which is released when the look ahead stream is identified.
Claim 4
Independent Claim
32 words
The method of one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the one of the viewers is allocated sufficient buffer space to buffer the common video stream for a predetermined period of time.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
39 words
The method of one of claims 1 to 4 comprising the further step of buffering video data streams in response to pause requests from the viewers, whereby a number of viewers supportable by a given stream capacity is increased.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
162 words
A system for supporting pause-resume for a video-on-demand system of a type which can accommodate multiple viewers sharing a common data stream, comprising: receiving means for receiving a performance request from one of the viewers for showing a particular video; identifying means, coupled to the receiving means and responsive to receipt of the performance request, for identifying and allocating a look-ahead stream, the look ahead stream being another video stream which is scheduled to become available after a predetermined time period; transmission means for concurrently transmitting the common data stream from a video server to reception equipment at the multiple viewers locations, transmission of the data stream causing the particular video to be performed on the reception equipment; pause/resume means for receiving a pause request and a subsequent resume request from one of the viewers; and, substitution means, for in response to the resume request, transmitting the particular video by way of the look ahead stream instead of the common data stream.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
27 words
The system of Claim 6 wherein a different look ahead stream is identified after a period of time as elapsed without the viewer initiating a pause request.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
25 words
The system of claim 6 or 7 wherein the viewer is assigned a reserved stream which is released when the look ahead stream is identified.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
94 words
The system of one of claims 6 to 8 wherein the substitution means does not transmit the particular video by way of the look ahead stream unless the resume request is received in greater than a predetermined period of time from the pause request, and further comprising: buffer means for, in response to the pause request, buffering the common video stream for the predetermined period of time, and buffer access means, for serving the one of the viewers from the buffer means if the resume request is received within the predetermined period of time.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
124 words
A method of supporting pause-resume for a video-on-demand service of a type which can accommodate multiple viewers sharing a common data stream, comprising the steps of: receiving a performance request from one of the viewers for showing a particular video; concurrently transmitting the common data stream from a video server to reception equipment at the multiple viewers' locations, transmission of the data stream causing the particular video to be performed on the reception equipment; receiving at the video server, a pause request and a subsequent resume request from one of the viewers; in response to the resume request, performing the particular video for the one of the viewers by commencing transmission of an alternative stream carrying the particular other than the common data stream.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 10 wherein the particular video is commenced at a point from which the one of the viewers made the pause request.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 10 or 11 comprising the further step of: buffering video data streams in response to pause requests from the viewers, whereby a number of viewers supportable by a given stream capacity is increased.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
54 words
The method of one of claims 10 to 12 comprising the further steps of: in response to the performance request, identifying and allocating a look-ahead stream, the look ahead stream being another video stream which is scheduled to become available after a predetermined time period; and, using the look-ahead stream as the alternative stream.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
24 words
The method of one of claims 10 to 13 wherein the alternative is a reserved stream allocated from reserve capacity of the video server.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
64 words
The method of one of claims 10 to 14 comprising the further steps of: assigning buffer space to buffer the common video stream for a predetermined period of time, and when the one of the viewers resumes before the predetermined period of time, serving the one of the viewers the particular video from the buffer space instead of by way of the alternative stream.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US5357276A
Cited
EP0605116A2
Cited
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