Method and apparatus for two-way internet access over a CATV network with channel tracking
US7203953B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 6, 2000 |
| Grant date | Apr 10, 2007 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 11, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N21/64322
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Internet access is provided over a digital cable television system using Internet protocol (IP) over MPEG digital video. Simultaneous Internet access and TV viewing is provided by an IP over MPEG-2 video system with channel tracking. Whenever a video channel change is detected, the viewer's Internet connection is routed from one video channel to another video channel so that the Internet connection is dynamically routed and tracks the channel changes made by the viewer. Additionally, if there is no available data carrying capacity in the video channel selected by the viewer (a “busy” condition), the Internet connection is routed to an out-of-band frequency. The Internet connection tracks the channel changes made by the viewer using a single tuner/digital MPEG decoder in the CATV settop box.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.