Comcast Cable Communications, LLC

Garey Hassler

Jeremy Pfeifer

Tedd Dawson

Jason S Burgess

Kyong Park

Greg Rutz

Systems, apparatuses, and methods are described for replacing at least a part of a local time shift buffer of a user device with a remote time shift buffer.

Remote pause buffer

A computing device (e.g., a content packager) may receive a request for content (e.g., video, audio, games, applications, data). The computing device may send a second request for the requested content to an encoder. In response to the second request, the computing device (e.g., the content packager) may receive the requested content and a content manifest associated with the requested content. The computing device may determine that encryption key data (e.g., an encryption key and/or key metadata) for the requested content is not in a cache associated with the computing device. The computing device (e.g., the content packager or a cache associated with the content packager) may send a request for the encryption key data associated with the requested content to a cache associated with a second computing device, based on the determination that the encryption key data is not in the cache associated with the computing device.

Synchronization of digital rights management data

Methods and systems for delivering content are described. A content distribution network may utilize multiple content sources and datacenters when delivering content to a requesting device. One or more service metrics associated with the content as it is being prepared for delivery at each of the datacenters may be monitored by a quality agent. The quality agent may use the one or more service metrics to select a distribution datacenter to deliver the content to the requesting device. The quality agent may instruct the remaining datacenters to disable delivery of the content to the requesting device.

Methods and systems for content delivery

Authorization and delivery of content may employ uniform resource signing packages. A uniform resource signing package may comprise access parameters for a content item, user, and/or device, and may be sent to the client as a uniform resource query parameter. The client may include the uniform resource signing package in future requests associated with the content item.

Content authorization and delivery

Methods and systems for sending data are described. A computing device may send data to one or more requesting devices via one or more communication sessions. The computing device may update a state of a token(s) based on requests received and/or data sent. The computing device may manage the one or more sessions according to the state of the token(s).

Methods and systems for session management

Systems and methods are described herein for dynamically detecting repetitive content. The content that is detected as repetitive may be cached for longer periods of time. Subsequent re-transmissions of the repetitive content to user devices may be done by retrieving the content from a cache rather than requesting the content from a transcoder and/or a packager. The repetitive content segments may be retrieved from a cache, thereby saving transcoding and other system resources. A data file may be generated to map the stored segments to their cache locations and to indicate a predicted time for future transmission of the content.

Method and system for detecting and managing similar content

Systems, methods, and devices relating to data forwarding in a content delivery network are described herein. In a method, a cache server may receive a request for a first data object from a client device. The cache server may request for and receive the first data object from an origin server. The cache server may determine one or more rules, implemented at the Internet or transport layer of the cache server, configured to cause future data object(s), associated with the first data object, to be forwarded to the client device via the Internet or transport layer, as the case may be. The one or more rules may be additionally or alternatively configured to cause the future data object(s) to be sent to an application layer of the cache server for potential storage at the cache server.

Data forwarding in a content delivery network

Methods, systems, and apparatuses for improved content delivery are described herein. During delivery of content to one or more user devices of a content distribution network (CDN), a content session may be created for each user device. During each content session, each user device may send one or more upstream communications, such as heartbeat signals and bitrate requests, to the CDN. A monitoring module of the CDN may aggregate the upstream communications into session data. The monitoring module may use the session data to determine an impairment associated with content delivery to the one or more user devices.

Methods, systems, and apparatuses for improved content delivery

Systems, apparatuses, and methods are described for a user device controlling a playback buffer to reduce latency in a service change.

Growing community of inventors

Castle Pines, CO, United States of America

Garey Hassler