System and method for multicasting multimedia content
US6351467B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 27, 1998 |
| Grant date | Feb 26, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 27, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L67/02
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A multicast network system utilizes a high speed link, such as a satellite link, to multicast multimedia information from the Internet to a plurality of receivers, such as personal computers. Information from selected web sites is organized into “channels” and provided to a multicast network for multicast transmission to the receivers. Updated channel information is also periodically provided. The receivers store the received channel such that a user can access the web page content in the channel at hard disk speed. Preferably, a conditional access system ensures that only authorized receivers receive the channels. The present invention also preferably includes a lower speed two-way connection to the Internet (such as dial up modem) which is used to report usage information and/or subscription information back to the web sites. The present invention also provides “seamless” or automatic access to this connection to allow the user to retrieve any information that has not been received and stored. The receiver also manages use of memory space and other applications that may be active on the receiver to ensure that the receipt and processing of the multicast in…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.