WO2015195500A1

WO2015195500A1 - Smart channel tuning for headend system

Info

Publication number: WO2015195500A1
Application number: PCT/US2015/035725
Authority: WO
Inventors: Benjamin Thomas Vondersaar
Original assignee: Thomson Licensing
Priority date: 2014-06-17
Filing date: 2015-06-15
Publication date: 2015-12-23

Abstract

A method and apparatus for generating a user configurable custom channel are described including receiving a satellite signal including video streams and program information, scanning the program information to identify programming of a particular type during a period of time, scheduling tuning of programming of the particular type and generating the user configurable custom channel of the tuned programs.

Description

SMART CHANNEL TUNING FOR HEADEND SYSTEM

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to headend video distribution systems, and, in particular to use of multiple tuners in a receiving device to create a user configurable custom channel for programs of a specific type, such as sports programs.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In multicast and broadcast applications, data are transmitted from a server to multiple receivers over wired and/or wireless networks. A multicast system as used herein is a system in which a server transmits the same data to multiple receivers simultaneously, where the receivers form a subset of all the receivers up to and including all of the receivers. A broadcast system is a system in which a server transmits the same data to all of the receivers simultaneously. That is, a multicast system by definition can include a broadcast system.

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art, which may be related to the present embodiments that are described below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light.

In a broadcast cable signal distribution system, the receiving system includes a modulator card or board that receives the demodulated MPEG-2 transport stream for further distribution. The card includes a QAM modulator that receives MPEG-2 transport packets from an Ethernet port and then QAM modulates the MPEG-2 transport packets on one of a plurality of carrier frequencies. Each input stream results in one output QAM modulated channel (such as cable channel 50-1). The user may further change a video program displayed on the television by changing channels on the television.

The receiving system is also typically installed with a limited number of tuning resources (e.g., tuners).

The COM 1000 video distribution headend is manually tuned to specific

DirecTV™ channels. Manual tuning may be accomplished using a remote control device. DirecTV schedules live sports programming across a large number of channels that are only active while the live broadcast is playing and are often difficult to locate. If a hotel wants to offer a package such as Sunday Ticket™ or League Pass™, it is very difficult to manually tune those live sports programs at the times necessary.

DirecTV™ constructs SportsMix™ channels on set-top boxes which aggregate multiple live sports streams on one channel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a mechanism to create virtual sports channels on a headend video distribution system by automatically tuning to a particular type of programming, such as sports programming, based on preferences. It can manage one or more channels and schedule tuning after scanning and sorting available programs of a specific type based on the user's preconfigured preferences. While the present invention is described in terms of sports programming, other types of programming may be used to create a user configurable channel. Such an example, might be police or cop shows, which might include, Blue Bloods, Rizzoli and Isles, Castle, Law and Order, NCIS , NCIS-LA etc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is best understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The drawings include the following figures briefly described below:

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a content distribution system in accordance with the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of another embodiment of a content distribution system in accordance with the present disclosure. Fig. 3 is an exemplary screen shot of a smart tuning settings screen shot used to create a program guide including a user configurable virtual sports channel in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary embodiment of the generation of a user configurable custom channel in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart of an exemplary embodiment of the operation of a user interface to identify and select a particular (specific) program type for use in generating the user configurable custom channel in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

It should be understood that the drawing(s) are for purposes of illustrating the concepts of the disclosure and is not necessarily the only possible configuration for illustrating the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present description illustrates the principles of the present disclosure. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the disclosure and are included within its scope.

All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for educational purposes to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the disclosure and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions.

Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the disclosure, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in the future, i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function, regardless of structure.

Thus, for example, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the block diagrams presented herein represent conceptual views of illustrative circuitry embodying the principles of the disclosure. Similarly, it will be appreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams, state transition diagrams, pseudocode, and the like represent various processes which may be substantially represented in computer readable media and so executed by a computer or processor, whether or not such computer or processor is explicitly shown.

The functions of the various elements shown in the figures may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing software in association with appropriate software. When provided by a processor, the functions may be provided by a single dedicated processor, by a single shared processor, or by a plurality of individual processors, some of which may be shared. Moreover, explicit use of the term "processor" or "controller" should not be construed to refer exclusively to hardware capable of executing software, and may implicitly include, without limitation, digital signal processor (DSP) hardware, read only memory (ROM) for storing software, random access memory (RAM), and nonvolatile storage.

Other hardware, conventional and/or custom, may also be included. Similarly, any switches shown in the figures are conceptual only. Their function may be carried out through the operation of program logic, through dedicated logic, through the interaction of program control and dedicated logic, or even manually, the particular technique being selectable by the implementer as more specifically understood from the context.

In the claims hereof, any element expressed as a means for performing a specified function is intended to encompass any way of performing that function including, for example, a) a combination of circuit elements that performs that function or b) software in any form, including, therefore, firmware, microcode or the like, combined with appropriate circuitry for executing that software to perform the function. The disclosure as defined by such claims resides in the fact that the functionalities provided by the various recited means are combined and brought together in the manner which the claims call for. It is thus regarded that any means that can provide those functionalities are equivalent to those shown herein.

Referring now to the figures wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements, in Fig. 1 a preferred embodiment of a content distribution system according to principles of the disclosure is shown at 10. A satellite signal 20 provided by a service provider through a satellite dish is input to a multichannel receiver 30. The satellite signal 20 contains a plurality of program streams (e.g., audio, video, data) organized or grouped into sets of channels or transponders. Multichannel receiver 30 tunes and demodulates one or more channels or transponders of the satellite signal 20 and produces an MPEG-2 transport stream 40 having packets, preferably user datagram protocol (UDP) packets, containing data, audio, and video programming to be distributed to the environment. In a preferred embodiment, receiver 30 includes tuning and demodulation circuits to receive a plurality of channels or transponders simultaneously. It is important to note that other versions may be possible, including systems capable of receiving more or fewer channels or transponders.

The MPEG-2 transport stream 40 is preferably transported by an Ethernet link 50 to a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) modulator 60 which modulates the MPEG- 2 transport stream 50 to produce one or more QAM channels. While preferred embodiments of the invention utilize QAM modulators and MPEG-2 transport streams, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other kinds of modulators are equally usable and many different types of transport protocols are also usable. Therefore, VSB modulators, QPSK modulators, OFDM modulators, and their equivalents are all covered by the current invention. Moreover, IP signaling transport streams, DVB transport streams, MPEG-4 transport streams, ARIB transport streams, and their equivalents are alsoincluded by way of reference herein.

Preferably, the QAM modulator 60 modulates the MPEG-2 transport stream 40 onto one of twelve carrier frequencies. Each input stream 40 results in an output QAM modulated channel which is output over a coax cable 70 and split into more than one signal using splitter 80. The signals from splitter 80 are provided to TVs 90. A PC 100 is provided interfaced to the receiver 30 to control the data programming necessary to accomplish these results and to provide other functionality to perform the functions of content distribution system 10. The PC includes among other modules a scheduler or scheduling mechanism.

The system in Fig. 1 describes a multichannel distribution control system operating with the outputs for the modulators controlled to provide specific streams and with the TV device remaining tuned to a fixed channel. However, additional operational flexibility may be possible if the television channel programming is also addressable. Turning to Fig. 2, another embodiment of a content distribution system according to principles of the disclosure is shown at 15. Content distribution system 15 illustrates a system for delivering content to a plurality of video display devices that also incorporates addressable QAM signal receiving equipment that may be present in, for example, a multi-room facility. Content distribution system 15 includes elements identified by the same reference numbers as shown as shown in Fig. 1. Except as described below, these elements operate in a manner similar to same elements described in Fig. 1 and will not be further described here.

Client boxes 85 receive a signal (e.g., a QAM signal) distributed from QAM modulator 60 through splitter 80. Client boxes 85 may be set top or set back converter boxes that are often used with some (older) television sets that may not be capable of receiving QAM signals directly. Client boxes 85 include a QAM tuner input circuit, a signal conversion circuit, a user remote control circuit, a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) output interface, an audio/video output interface, and a channel 3/4 output interface. Client boxes 85 receive the input signal, convert the input signal to a signal format that is compatible with a television or other type of display device (e.g., TV 90), and provide the converted signal to TVs 90.

In addition, the client boxes 85 are addressable over the communication network through splitter 80. As a result, the channel that is tuned by each client box 85 may be controlled by signals sent from QAM modulator 60. Each client box 85 has a unique

Receiver Identifier (RID) that is used for remote addressability. For example, if a particular client box 85 has a RID of 12345678 then a tuning message signal may be sent using the following exemplary code format for controlling the QAM modulator 60:

http://192.168.3.132/cgi- bin/webcmd? screen=Command401 &Mes sageType=5&rid= 12345678 & majorNum= 18&minorNum=2&text=&tftpIp= 192.168.1.254

The code above includes an application identifier at the beginning. The section Command401 identifies the type of device and Message Type identifies the type of command message sent to the device. "MessageType=5" means tune to a channel. The rid is the receiver identification for the device, as described above. The remainder of the code identifies the actual information associated with the command. In an example of a tuning sequence, the client box 85 with rid = 12345678 receives the message and is tuned to a QAM channel 18-2. QAM channel 18-2 includes programming for channel 284 received by a tuner in mulitchannel receiver 30. The programming is provided at output port 34 on QAM modulator 60, which is mapped to RF channel 18, slot 2). As a result, the client box tunes to 18-2 while the multichannel receiver 30 tunes to 284 and QAM modulator outputs the program on QAM 18-2.

If a change in the viewed program on the television 90 connected to a client box 85 is desired, the channel tuned by QAM receiver 30 may be changed, for instance from 284 to 206 manually, by means of a remote control device and/or by using a touch panel. The program from the new channel output will remain streaming out on port 34 from QAM modulator 60, leaving the client box 85 tuned to the same channel. As a result, tuners may be tied to QAM output channels and control messages may be sent to client boxes 85. The programming displayed on televisions 90 may be changed either by switching the client boxes 85 to a different QAM channel or by changing the satellite service playing out to a QAM channel that may be married to one or more of the client boxes 85. It is important to note that the code structure shown above may also be used to send a software update to the client boxes 85. This may be accomplished by using PC 100 to receive network messages.

The content distribution system 10 in Fig. 1 focuses primarily on conventional RF signal transmission and uses non-addressable physical QAM tuning and channels to deliver media content. However, certain configurations of the signal distribution systems, such as may be found in multi-room facilities, may benefit from the additional flexibility offered by the addressability features described in content distribution system 15. This additional flexibility may be used in conjunction with, or instead of, the system described in Fig. 1.

It is important that although the content distribution system 15 described is described using addressable QAM receiver devices (e.g. client boxes 85), similar principles may be applied to content distribution systems using a delivery medium other than a QAM signal. For example, content distribution system 15 may easily be adapted for operation using IP content delivery. The outputs from QAM modulator 60 would be IP streams (e.g., multicast IP streams) and the client box 85 would receive the IP streams and convert the IP streams for delivery to a TV 90. In this configuration the IP streams, rather than the channels, are controlled through either a modulator (e.g., QAM modulator 60) or a client box (e.g., client box 85) allowing further program stream mapping flexibility.

In a further preferred embodiment, an external control device, such as PC 100 described in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2, can send commands to multichannel receiver 30. Multichannel receiver 30 then sends commands to QAM modulator 60. Alternatively, the PC 100 can directly send commands to QAM modulator 60 to dynamically change which MPEG-2 transport streams being received by QAM modulator 60 are duplicated and also dynamically change the desired destination QAM carrier and sub-channels. Touch panel device (not shown) may be included as part of PC 100 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. The touch panel device may also be separately connected to a content distribution system (e.g., system 10 in FIG. 1 or system 15 in FIG. 2) through a wired or wireless communication interface. The touch panel device may also be a stand-alone device (e.g., a tablet or touch display monitor). The touch panel device may further include an input circuit for receiving commands and a controller for processing the commands as well as display signals. That is the touch panel device may be used in addition to or instead of a conventional remote control device.

In a headend system, a satellite signal is converted to video output over a Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) carrier signal. The tuner controller receives satellite signal containing video streams and program information. In DirecTV's™ current implementation (COM 1000), the system will tune to a particular channel number on command, convert the signal to an internet protocol encapsulated stream sent to a modulator. The modulator device then sends the video stream out over a QAM carrier signal. The management interface can display current tuning information, including channel name, and bitrate. Program information for channels can be read or aggregated into a guide.

The present invention includes a novel automatic tuning system for a designated group of tuners and video streams sent over QAM carrier channels. The control mechanism scans all available program information received on the input signal feed. The system searches, for example, for all sports programming available over an upcoming period of time.

The search identifies keywords:

-Live or Prerecorded

-Sport: Football, Basketball, Baseball, Soccer, etc.

-League: NFL, NBA, NCAA, D-League, etc.

-Teams: Colts, Indianapolis, Pacers, Indiana, Purdue, etc.

-blackout restriction information

When live sports programming is detected, all relevant keywords, time, and other relevant information are stored. A scheduling mechanism then creates a tuning schedule for designated tuners. When the appropriate time occurs according to the scheduler, the controller changes the input channel for the tuner to the designated live sports program. The video stream output to and from the QAM modulator has no change in settings. That is, the user does not have to manually change and route which IP streams to QAM carriers, which was a requirement of a conventional system. The video program changes through the initial tuner changing. The IP video stream routing between the COM and the QAM modulator does not change, and the mapping of the stream to a QAM carrier channel inside the QAM does not change either.

The scheduler can have configurable settings when sorting programs. Priority rankings can be determined for multiple programs available at a time. Previously mentioned keywords in the program information can affect rankings. The user can specify and rank specific keywords for top priority, particularly team names and leagues.

The number of tuners and QAM carriers controlled may be one or more. In the event of multiple available programs, the top ranked is assigned to the first available channel. Programs are assigned to tuners until no more tuners or programs are available.

Additionally, scheduling can be affected real time by the programs currently running. If the scheduler detects that a sports program runs beyond its time slot, tuning away may be delayed. It could detect that the stream is still present, or that the bitrate or another conditional variable, which determines the sports program is still playing. This prevents tuning away from a live match in the event of an overtime.

Fig. 3 is an exemplary screen shot of a smart tuning settings screen shot used to create a program guide including a user configurable virtual sports channel in accordance with the principles of the present invention. A guide may be generated displaying the scheduler's current setting. Any time the scheduling is altered, the guide is re-generated.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary embodiment of the generation of a user configurable custom channel in accordance with the principles of the present invention. At 405 a tuner (controller, tuner controller) receives a satellite signal. The satellite signal includes contains video streams (which also include audio) and program information. At 410, the tuner (controller, tuner controller) scans (inspects or otherwise reviews) the program information in order to identify programming of a particular type specified by a user during a particular period of time. At 415 the tuner (controller, tuner controller) schedules tuning of the identified programming of the particular type identified and selected by the user. At 420 a user configurable custom channel is generated based on the scheduled tuned identified programming of the particular type identified and selected by the user. As used herein the tuner (controller, tuner controller) converts the received satellite signal to an internet protocol encapsulated video stream, which is sent (forwarded) to a QAM modulator. The modulator transmits the internet protocol encapsulated video stream out over a QAM carrier signal.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart of an exemplary embodiment of the operation of a user interface to identify and select a particular (specific) program type for use in generating the user configurable custom channel in accordance with the principles of the present invention. At 505 the tuner (controller, tuner controller) receives a request from a user to generate a user configurable custom channel. At 510 a screen (display) is rendered with active tuners and program types. At 515 the tuner accepts (receives) the user's selection of program type. The tuner (controller, tuner controller) also accepts input from the user specifying a priority among the programming of the specific (particular) type identified by and selected by the user. Based on the user specified priority, tuners of a multi-tuner device are assigned in priority order. It is to be understood that the present invention may be implemented in various forms of hardware, software, firmware, special purpose processors, or a combination thereof. Special purpose processors may include application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), reduced instruction set computers (RISCs) and/or field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). Preferably, the present invention is implemented as a combination of hardware and software. Moreover, the software is preferably implemented as an application program tangibly embodied on a program storage device. The application program may be uploaded to, and executed by, a machine comprising any suitable architecture. Preferably, the machine is implemented on a computer platform having hardware such as one or more central processing units (CPU), a random access memory (RAM), and input/output (I/O) interface(s). The computer platform also includes an operating system and microinstruction code. The various processes and functions described herein may either be part of the microinstruction code or part of the application program (or a combination thereof), which is executed via the operating system. In addition, various other peripheral devices may be connected to the computer platform such as an additional data storage device and a printing device.

It should be understood that the elements shown in the figures may be implemented in various forms of hardware, software or combinations thereof. Preferably, these elements are implemented in a combination of hardware and software on one or more appropriately programmed general-purpose devices, which may include a processor, memory and input/output interfaces. Herein, the phrase "coupled" is defined to mean directly connected to or indirectly connected with through one or more intermediate components. Such intermediate components may include both hardware and software based components.

It is to be further understood that, because some of the constituent system components and method steps depicted in the accompanying figures are preferably implemented in software, the actual connections between the system components (or the process steps) may differ depending upon the manner in which the present invention is programmed. Given the teachings herein, one of ordinary skill in the related art will be able to contemplate these and similar implementations or configurations of the present invention.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A method for generating a user configurable custom channel, said method comprising:

receiving a satellite signal including video streams and program information;

scanning said program information to identify programming of a particular type during a period of time;

scheduling tuning of programming of said particular type; and generating said user configurable custom channel of the tuned programs.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

converting the received satellite signal to an internet protocol encapsulated video stream;

forwarding said internet protocol encapsulated video stream to a QAM modulator; and

transmitting said internet protocol encapsulated video stream out over a QAM carrier signal.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said particular type of programming is live sports programming.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein a scheduling mechanism within said tuner has configurable settings for sorting programming of said particular type.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein said video stream output to and from said QAM modulator has no change in settings.

6. The method according to claim 2, wherein a number of tuners and QAM carrier signals is more than one.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a request to generate said user configurable custom channel; rendering a display including active tuners and program types;

receiving a selection of said particular programming type; receiving a priority among available programs of said particular programming type; and assigning tuners of a multi-tuner device to receive scheduled programming of said particular type based on said priority.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein keywords can be used to specify priority.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein keywords in said program information affect priority among said programs of said particular type.

10. The method according to claim 7, wherein said programs of said particular type are assigned to tuners based on said priority until no additional tuners are available.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein scheduling is affected real-time by programs currently being rendered.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein scheduling is delayed if a program currently being rendered runs overtime.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein a scheduling mechanism generates a program guide for said user configurable channel.

14. A tuner for generating a user configurable custom channel, comprising:

a multi-channel receiver, receiving a satellite signal including video streams and program information;

said multi-channel receiver, scanning said program information to identify programming of a particular type during a period of time;

a scheduling mechanism in a processor in an external control device, scheduling tuning of programming of said particular type, said processor in said external control device in communication with said multi-channel receiver of said tuner; and

said scheduling mechanism in said processor, generating said user configurable custom channel of the tuned programs.

15. The tuner according to claim 14, further comprising:

said multi-channel receiver, converting the received satellite signal to an internet protocol encapsulated video stream;

said multi-channel receiver, forwarding said internet protocol encapsulated video stream to a QAM modulator; and said QAM modulator, transmitting said internet protocol encapsulated video stream out over a QAM carrier signal.

16. The tuner according to claim 15, wherein a number of tuners and QAM carrier signals is more than one.

17. The tuner according to claim 14, further comprising:

said processor, receiving a request to generate said user configurable custom channel;

said processor, rendering a display including active tuners and program types;

said processor, receiving a selection of said particular programming type; said processor, receiving a priority among available programs of said particular programming type; and

said processor, assigning tuners of a multi-tuner device to receive scheduled programming of said particular type based on said priority.

18. The tuner according to claim 17, wherein said programs of said particular type are assigned to tuners based on said priority until no additional tuners are available.

19. The tuner according to claim 14, wherein a scheduling mechanism generates a program guide for said user configurable channel.