Systems and method for adaptive scheduling and dynamic bandwidth resource allocation management in a digital broadband delivery system

Abstract

A technique for allocating bandwidth in a digital broadband delivery system (DBDS) using a bandwidth allocation manager to dynamically assign a content delivery mode to a plurality of digital transmission channels based on an allocation criteria received from a subscriber is disclosed herein. The bandwidth allocation manager determines a bandwidth allocation schedule for a predetermined bandwidth based on allocation criteria comprising a criteria received from a subscriber. The allocation criteria received from the subscriber may comprise a subscriber reservation request which is processed by the bandwidth allocation manager to determine the bandwidth allocation schedule.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09 / 590,521, filed Jun. 9, 2000, which claims the benefit-of provisional application Ser. No. 60 / 138,756, filed Jun. 11, 1999, and to provisional application Ser. No. 60 / 170,302, filed Dec. 13, 1999.TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] The present invention relates to digital broadband delivery systems. More particularly, the invention relates to management of bandwidth allocation in a digital broadband delivery system. BACKGROUND [0003] Over the past twenty years there has been a dramatic and continual increase in the number and types of television programming available to television viewers. Traditional delivery systems, such as broadcast television, however, are limited in that the programming provided is temporally fixed—that is a viewer must tune into a particular broadcast at the time when it is shown. Although traditional delivery models have the advantage of allowing virtually unlimited...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0016] Advantageously, the present invention enables bandwidth to be flexibly and efficiently-allocated in a digital broadband delivery system based at least in part on subscriber preferences. In addition, the present invention allows subscribers to request that bandwidth be reserved for use in the future. The present invention also allows bandwidth to be dynamically allocated on a real-time basis by adaptively invoking one or more of a multiplicity of bandwidth allocation schemes employing one or more content delivery modes.

Problems solved by technology

Traditional delivery systems, such as broadcast television, however, are limited in that the programming provided is temporally fixed—that is a viewer must tune into a particular broadcast at the time when it is shown.

Although traditional delivery models have the advantage of allowing virtually unlimited increases in audience size, these models are inconvenient because they do not allow television viewers to alter the broadcast pattern to comport to their own viewing patterns.

The problem with implementing a true VOD system is that the most intuitively simple solution in which a central service provides a separate transmission of a program to individual subscribers upon their requests, requires duplication of equipment and substantial bandwidth resources.

Despite recent advances in video compression technology, there still exists a limited amount of bandwidth that may be used to fulfill viewer demands.

A problem with such NVOD systems is that the programs being broadcast are predetermined and are shown in temporally fixed intervals.

At least one of the problems associated with these types of systems is that they normally require a storage device or large amounts of memory at the receiver to enable program downloading and uninterrupted program view.

Moreover, these systems afford little flexibility to the viewer in determining which programs are shown.

Although these methods eliminate some of the problems with traditional delivery mechanisms, they do not alleviate the problem inherent in broadband delivery systems, i.e., limited bandwidth.

Consequently, only a limited number of channels are available and only certain programs may be shown.

Although these methods allow certain pre-selected programs to be requested and viewed almost immediately, only a limited number of programs can be offered at any one time.

Because the programs offered must be determined ahead of time, viewers have no way to express which movies they prefer to see nor the capability to enact random access operations on the broadcast programming.

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