Hybrid video-on-demand based on a near-video-on-demand system

Claim 3

A method of providing video-on-demand as claimed in claim 1, wherein the beginning portion of the video program is of a duration equal to or greater than the delay of the request from a start of the in-progress transmission of the video program.

Claim 4

A method of providing video-on-demand as claimed in claim 1 wherein the beginning portion of the video program is of a duration less than or equal to the staggered time interval.

Claim 5

A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said storing is done in a recirculating manner; and wherein the splicing step further comprises reading the in-progress transmission stored in the buffer in a recirculating manner.

Claim 6

A method of providing video-on-demand as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the steps of: protracting a lead-in portion of the video program repeatedly transmitted at the staggered time interval; and at the head end: assigning the video program to one or more viewboxes requesting the video program within the protracted lead-in; and at a receiver end: selecting the video program with the protracted lead-in for output by the viewbox, responsive to said step of assigning the video program.

Claim 7

A method of providing video-on-demand as claimed in claim 1 wherein said storing commences at a point advanced from the start of the in-progress transmission of the video program by an amount equal to the duration of the beginning portion of the video program.

Claim 8

A method of providing video-on-demand as claimed in claim 1 further comprising the step of displaying the video program associated with the request on a display, responsive to the viewbox selecting the beginning portion of the video program for output.

Claim 11

A method as claimed in claim 8 wherein the duration of the beginning portion of the video program is equal to or greater than the delay of the request from the in-progress transmission of the video program and less than or equal to the staggered time interval.

Claim 12

A method as claimed in claim 8 wherein said storing is done in a recirculating manner; and wherein the splicing step further comprises reading the immediately previous commenced transmission of the video program stored in the buffer in a recirculating manner.

Claim 13

A method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising the steps of: protracting a lead-in of the video program repeatedly transmitted at the staggered time interval; and at a receiver end: selecting the video program which includes the protracted lead-in for output by the viewbox when the request occurs within the lead-in.

Claim 14

A video-on-demand system of the type wherein a video program is repeatedly transmitted at a staggered time interval from a video-on-demand-server to the viewbox via a transmission line communicatively coupled therebetween, the system comprising: at a head end: means for assigning and routing a beginning portion of the video program which includes a protracted lead-in from the video-on-demand-server to one or more viewboxes associated with one or more requests for the video program occurring within the lead-in; and at a receiver end: means for selecting an in-progress one of the repeated transmissions of the video program and storing it in a buffer associated with the viewbox, responsive to the request for the video program; means for selecting the beginning portion of the video program assigned and routed by the video-on-demand-server for output by the viewbox; and means for contiguously splicing the in-progress transmission stored in the buffer to a conclusion of the beginning portion of the video program, for output by the viewbox.

Claim 15

A video-on-demand system of the type wherein a video program is repeatedly transmitted at a staggered time interval from a video-on-demand-server to the viewbox via a transmission line communicatively coupled therebetween, the system comprising: at a head end: means for assigning and routing a beginning portion of the video program which includes a protracted lead-in from the video-on-demand-server to one or more viewboxes associated with one or more requests for the video program occurring within the lead-in; and at a receiver end: means for selecting an in-progress one of the repeated transmissions of the video program and storing it in a buffer associated with the viewbox, responsive to the request for the video program; means for selecting the beginning portion of the video program assigned and routed by the video-on-demand-server for output by the viewbox; and means for contiguously splicing the in-progress transmission stored in the buffer to a conclusion of the beginning portion of the video program, for output by the viewbox.

Claim 16

A video-on-demand system of a type wherein a video program is repeatedly transmitted at a staggered time interval from a video-on-demand-server to a viewbox via a transmission line communicatively coupled therebetween, the system comprising: at a head end: the video-on-demand-server being adapted for assigning and routing a beginning portion of the video program which includes a protracted lead-in from the video-on-demand-server to one or more viewboxes, in response to one or more requests for the video program occurring within the protracted lead-in; and at a receiver end: the viewbox having an input coupled to the transmission line and an output, the viewbox further including a tuning circuit having a first output, a second output, an input and a control point wherein the first output is switchably coupled to the output of the viewbox, the input being coupled to the input of the viewbox; a remotely controlled switching device having a first output, a second output, and an input coupled to the input of the viewbox; the second output of the remotely controlled switching device being coupled to the control point of the tuning circuit for switchably and adjustably selecting both the beginning portion of the video program routed from the video-on-demand-server and an in-progress transmission of the video program associated with the request; wherein the beginning portion of the video program routed from the video-on-demand-server is switchably coupled to the first output of the tuning circuit and the selected in-progress transmission of the video program is switchably coupled to the second output of the tuning circuit; and a buffer for storing the selected in-progress transmission of the video program; the buffer including a first input, a second input, and an output wherein the output of the buffer is switchably coupled to the output of the viewbox, the second input of the buffer is coupled to the second output of the tuning circuit, and the first input of the buffer is coupled to the first output of the switching device, and wherein the remotely controlled switching device is further adapted for contiguously splicing the in-progress transmission stored in the buffer to a conclusion of the beginning portion of the video program associated with the request.

Claim 17

A video-on-demand system of a type wherein a video program is repeatedly transmitted at a staggered time interval from a video-on-demand-server to a viewbox via a transmission line communicatively coupled therebetween, the system comprising: at a head end: the video-on-demand-server being adapted for assigning and routing a beginning portion of the video program which includes a protracted lead-in from the video-on-demand-server to one or more viewboxes, in response to one or more requests for the video program occurring within the protracted lead-in; and at a receiver end: the viewbox having an input coupled to the transmission line and an output, the viewbox further including a tuning circuit having a first output, a second output, an input and a control point wherein the first output is switchably coupled to the output of the viewbox, the input being coupled to the input of the viewbox; a remotely controlled switching device having a first output, a second output, and an input coupled to the input of the viewbox; the second output of the remotely controlled switching device being coupled to the control point of the tuning circuit for switchably and adjustably selecting both the beginning portion of the video program routed from the video-on-demand-server and an in-progress transmission of the video program associated with the request; wherein the beginning portion of the video program routed from the video-on-demand-server is switchably coupled to the first output of the tuning circuit and the selected in-progress transmission of the video program is switchably coupled to the second output of the tuning circuit; and a buffer for storing the selected in-progress transmission of the video program; the buffer including a first input, a second input, and an output wherein the output of the buffer is switchably coupled to the output of the viewbox, the second input of the buffer is coupled to the second output of the tuning circuit, and the first input of the buffer is coupled to the first output of the switching device, and wherein the remotely controlled switching device is further adapted for contiguously splicing the in-progress transmission stored in the buffer to a conclusion of the beginning portion of the video program associated with the request.

Claim 18

A video-on-demand system as claimed in claim 13 wherein the remotely controlled switching device comprises a microcontroller.

Claim 19

A video-on-demand system as claimed in claim 13 wherein the beginning portion of the video program is of a duration equal to or greater than the delay of the request from a start of the in-progress transmission of the video program.

Claim 20

A video-on-demand system as claimed in claim 13 wherein the beginning portion of the video program associated with the program request is of a duration less than or equal to the staggered time interval.

Claim 21

A video-on-demand system as claimed in claim 13 wherein the remotely controlled switching device is further adapted for recirculatingly storing to and reading from the buffer.

Claim 22

A video-on-demand system as claimed in claim 13, further comprising: means for protracting a lead-in portion of the video program repeatedly transmitted at the staggered time interval; and at a receiver end: means for selecting the video program which includes the protracted lead-in for output by the viewbox when the request occurs within the lead-in.

Claim 23

A video-on-demand system as claimed in claim 13 wherein the remotely controlled switching device is further adapted for commencing storing the in-progress transmission of the video program in the buffer at a point advanced by an amount equal to the duration of the beginning portion of the video program.

Claim 24

A viewbox apparatus for use with a video-on-demand system of a type wherein a video program is repeatedly transmitted at a staggered time interval from a video-on-demand-server, comprising: means for selecting an in-progress transmission of the video program and storing it in a buffer responsive to the request for the video program; means for receiving from the video-on-demand server a beginning portion of video program having a protracted lead-in portion for transparent grouping of one or more requests occurring within the lead-in, for output by the viewbox; and means for contiguously splicing the in-progress transmission stored in the buffer to the conclusion of the beginning portion of the video program, for output by the viewbox.

Claim 25

A viewbox apparatus for use with a video-on-demand system of a type wherein a video program is repeatedly transmitted at a staggered time interval from a video-on-demand-server, comprising: means for selecting an in-progress transmission of the video program and storing it in a buffer responsive to the request for the video program; means for receiving from the video-on-demand server a beginning portion of video program having a protracted lead-in portion for transparent grouping of one or more requests occurring within the lead-in, for output by the viewbox; and means for contiguously splicing the in-progress transmission stored in the buffer to the conclusion of the beginning portion of the video program, for output by the viewbox.

Claim 26

A viewbox apparatus having an output and an input, the input adapted for coupling to a receiver end of a video-on-demand system of a type wherein a video-on-demand-server coupled to a head end repeatedly transmits a video program at a staggered time interval, in response to a request for the video program, the viewbox comprising: a tuning circuit having a first output, a second output, an input and a control point wherein the first output is switchably coupled to the output of the viewbox, the input being coupled to the input of the viewbox; a remotely controlled switching device having a first output, a second output, and an input coupled to the input of the viewbox; the second output of the remotely controlled switching device being coupled to the control point of the tuning circuit for switchably and adjustably selecting both the beginning portion of the video program having a protracted lead-in for transparent grouping of one or more requests occurring within the lead-in and an in-progress transmission of the video program associated with the request; wherein the selected beginning portion of the video program is switchably coupled to the first output of the tuning circuit and the selected in-progress transmission of the video program is switchably coupled to the second output of the tuning circuit; and a buffer for storing the selected in-progress transmission of the video program; the buffer including a first input, a second input, and an output wherein the output of the buffer is switchably coupled to the output of the viewbox, the second input of the buffer being coupled to the second output of the tuning circuit, and the first input of the buffer being coupled to the first output of the switching device; wherein the remotely controlled switching device is further adapted for contiguously splicing the selected in-progress transmission stored in the buffer to a conclusion of the beginning portion of the video program.

Claim 27

A viewbox apparatus having an output and an input, the input adapted for coupling to a receiver end of a video-on-demand system of a type wherein a video-on-demand-server coupled to a head end repeatedly transmits a video program at a staggered time interval, in response to a request for the video program, the viewbox comprising: a tuning circuit having a first output, a second output, an input and a control point wherein the first output is switchably coupled to the output of the viewbox, the input being coupled to the input of the viewbox; a remotely controlled switching device having a first output, a second output, and an input coupled to the input of the viewbox; the second output of the remotely controlled switching device being coupled to the control point of the tuning circuit for switchably and adjustably selecting both the beginning portion of the video program having a protracted lead-in for transparent grouping of one or more requests occurring within the lead-in and an in-progress transmission of the video program associated with the request; wherein the selected beginning portion of the video program is switchably coupled to the first output of the tuning circuit and the selected in-progress transmission of the video program is switchably coupled to the second output of the tuning circuit; and a buffer for storing the selected in-progress transmission of the video program; the buffer including a first input, a second input, and an output wherein the output of the buffer is switchably coupled to the output of the viewbox, the second input of the buffer being coupled to the second output of the tuning circuit, and the first input of the buffer being coupled to the first output of the switching device; wherein the remotely controlled switching device is further adapted for contiguously splicing the selected in-progress transmission stored in the buffer to a conclusion of the beginning portion of the video program.

Claim 28

A viewbox as claimed in claim 21 wherein the remotely controlled switching device comprises a microcontroller.

Claim 29

A viewbox as claimed in claim 21 wherein the beginning portion of the video program is equal to or greater than a duration of the delay of the request from a start of the in-progress transmission of the video program and less than or equal to the staggered time interval.

Claim 30

A viewbox as claimed in claim 21 wherein the remotely controlled switching device is further adapted for recirculatingly storing to and reading from the buffer.

Claim 31

A viewbox as claimed in claim 21 wherein the viewbox comprises a display for viewing the video program.

Claim 32

A viewbox as claimed in claim 21, further comprising: means for protracting a lead-in portion of the video program repeatedly transmitted at the staggered time interval; and at a receiver end: means for selecting the video program which includes the lead-in for output by the viewbox when the request occurs within the lead-in associated with the video program.