A system for integrating video content and data provision includes an upstream signal path to process upstream data traffic received from a first transmission network for transmission to a second transmission network, and a downstream signal path to process downstream data traffic and downstream video traffic for transmission from the second transmission network to the first transmission network. The upstream signal path includes an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and an upstream demodulator, and the downstream signal path includes an Ethernet processor, a digital-signal-processor (DSP) and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC).

A software-defined media platform having one or more media processing units that may be dynamically instantiated, interconnected and configured according to changes in demand, resource availability, and other parameters affecting system performance relative to demand. In one example media processing method, a source media stream may be received via multicast or unicast. The source media stream may be processed into one or more levels of work product segments having different media characteristics by a plurality of transcoding processing units, as needed. One or more levels of work product segments, or the source media stream, may be packaged (e.g., including resegmenting) into final work product segments having select media characteristics, which may be uploaded to a cloud storage unit for delivery to end users.

Methods and apparatus for providing delivery of content to client devices of a network via both multicast and unicast mechanisms. In one embodiment, a system for use in a managed content delivery network is described to bridge multicast to unicast, so that the total network bandwidth consumption is significantly lower than a corresponding unicast-only delivery solution, yet which still provides improved quality of service and user viewing experience as compared to a multicast-only delivery solution. In addition, various exemplary aspects of the present disclosure are readily adapted for real-time multicast to unicast streaming of audio and data to, among other things, minimize network bandwidth usage, while maintaining the guaranteed delivery of unicast streams with little or no modification to the existing client device logic.

In one embodiment, a method for filtering streaming media content includes receiving at a filtering device one or more packets of a source data stream. The one or more packets are may be received from a content source remote from the filtering device. The source data stream may include one or more of an audio component and a video component. The method further includes determining whether to perform a filtering action on the one or more packets of the source data stream based at least in part on one or more user settings. The method further includes communicating to a media-playing device a filtered data stream generated at least in part by performing the filtering action on the one or more packets of the source data stream.

Methods and apparatus for providing delivery of content to client devices of a network via both multicast and unicast mechanisms. In one embodiment, a system for use in a managed content delivery network is described to bridge multicast to unicast, so that the total network bandwidth consumption is significantly lower than a corresponding unicast-only delivery solution, yet which still provides improved quality of service and user viewing experience as compared to a multicast-only delivery solution. In addition, various exemplary aspects of the present disclosure are readily adapted for real-time multicast to unicast streaming of audio and data to, among other things, minimize network bandwidth usage, while maintaining the guaranteed delivery of unicast streams with little or no modification to the existing client device logic.

A method and system for comparing video and audio information at first and second spaced-apart locations on a content distribution network. Network probes are located on the network and extract a respective first and second plurality of video frames and audio segments. Two fingerprints sequences are determined from each one of the frames and segments, then the sequences are matched and time-aligned. A beginning of a matched segment is determined and the individual fingerprints within each of the fingerprint sequences are compared from the beginning of the matched segment. Fingerprints that are determined to be different during the comparison process indicate a change in video or audio content between the two probes.

Provided is a signal processing device including a control information acquiring unit configured to acquire image control information regarding control of an image, an image receiver configured to selectively receive one or more images transmitted using multicast based on the image control information, one or more image processing units configured to perform an image process on an image received by the image receiver based on the image control information, and an image sender configured to transmit an image subjected to the image process by the image processing unit based on the image control information, the image being transmitted using multicast.

A software-defined media platform having one or more media processing units that may be dynamically instantiated, interconnected and configured according to changes in demand, resource availability, and other parameters affecting system performance relative to demand. In one example media processing method, a source media stream may be received via multicast or unicast. The source media stream may be processed into one or more levels of work product segments having different media characteristics by a plurality of transcoding processing units, as needed. One or more levels of work product segments, or the source media stream, may be packaged (e.g., including resegmenting) into final work product segments having select media characteristics, which may be uploaded to a cloud storage unit for delivery to end users.

Systems and methods for real-time transmission of data streams are disclosed. A controller receives data representing selected stream parameters from a browser residing on a computing device. The controller transmits the received data to a video transmitting device. A transcoder receives a first data stream generated according to the selected stream parameters from the video transmitting device. The transcoder generates a second data stream from the first data stream, the second data stream formatted for browser display; and then transmits the second data stream to the browser. A user may remotely control the video transmitting device using the browser. A user may view data streams from multiple video transmitting devices using the browser.

This invention relates to an encoding/transmitting apparatus that is used to transmit moving-picture data from a transmitting side to a receiving side through a transmission path and to subject the moving-picture data to streaming in the receiving side. The apparatus has an external-output request determining unit (16) that monitors the state of a network. If the network assumes an undesirable state, the unit (16) causes a multiplex output unit (15) to stop multiplexing data. When the network assumes a good state, the unit (15) starts multiplexing the data again. A video encoding unit (11) and an audio encoding unit (12) keep encoding data, whether the multiplex output unit (15) is multiplexing data or not. When the area occupied by encoded data in an encoded-video-data storage unit (13) and the area occupied by encoded data in an encoded-audio-data storage unit (14) exceed a predetermined value, the units (11) and (12) stop encoding data, and wait until the area occupied by encoded data sufficiently decreases.