AU2024227201A1

AU2024227201A1 - System and method for distributing media content

Info

Publication number: AU2024227201A1
Application number: AU2024227201A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Craig Horobin
Original assignee: Convergence Event Systems Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Convergence Event Systems Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2016-12-15
Filing date: 2024-10-09
Publication date: 2024-10-31
Also published as: AU2022275485A1; AU2017276178A1; AU2017100647A4; AU2017100647B4

Abstract

A system for content distribution comprises an encoder 140 for receiving content data from a data capture device 120, and for encoding the content data for reception by one or more user electronic devices 900. The system includes one or more transmitters 160 configured to receive encoded content data from the encoder 140 and to transmit the encoded content data to one or more user electronic devices 900 on at least one of a 2.4GHz frequency band and on a 5GHz frequency band.

Description

I SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DISTRIBUTING MEDIA CONTENT RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application is a divisional application of Australian Patent Application No. 2022275485 which in turn is a divisional of Australian Patent Application No. 2017276178, the disclosure of each of which is incorporated herein by reference. Most of the disclosure of each of Australian Patent Application No's. 2017276178 and 2022275485 is included herein. However, reference may be made to Australian Patent Application No's. 2017276178 and 2022275485 to gain further understanding of the invention as claimed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001A] The present invention relates to a system and method for providing media content to one or more viewers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] At a large event, such as a sporting event like the Formula 1 Grand Prix or the Tour de France for example, an event attendee will not be able to view the action around the whole event area due to the size of the area. Accordingly, the viewer's experience at these events is limited.

[0003] One known solution to this problem is to telecast the action on the track onto a big screen, where the video feed is captured by a video recording camera at different locations around the track. However, these big screens are not visible to all attendees at the event.

[0004] Existing systems for broadcasting video to a user device (such as a television screen or a mobile device) involve a video camera device for capturing a video feed, which is then transmitted to a remote station for encoding the information into a format suitable for broadcasting and reception by the user equipment. These existing broadcasting systems however suffer from latency issues. Therefore, while a user in the event area could tune into the broadcasted content on his/her mobile device to view the action around distant or other locations in the event area, the user's viewing of this content on his/her mobile device will not be in real-time thereby limiting the viewer's experience at the event.

[0005] Embodiments of the present invention seek to provide a system for providing media content to one or more viewers with lower latency (i.e. substantially in real time) and/or to provide media content for high-density viewing and/or to at least provide the public with a useful choice.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] In an aspect, the present invention provides a system for content distribution, the system comprising: an encoder for receiving content data from a data capture device, and for encoding the content data for reception by one or more user electronic devices, and one or more transmitters configured to receive encoded content data from the encoder and to transmit the encoded content data to one or more user electronic devices.

[0007] In an embodiment, the data capture device is a video camera, preferably a digital video camera.

[0008] In an embodiment, the data capture device is configured to interface with the encoder via a Serial Digital Interface (SDI) video interface. Preferably, the data capture device is configured to interface with the encoder via a High Definition SDI (HD-SDI) video interface. Alternatively, the data capture device is configured to interface with the encoder via a High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) video interface, via a Display Port, Digital Visual Interface (DVI), or via a Universal Serial Bus (USB).

[0009] In an embodiment, the encoder is configured to convert the content data into H.264 format. In other embodiments, the encoder is configured to convert the content data into H.265 format.

[00010] In an embodiment, the encoder is configured to transmit the content data to the transmitter(s) in a multicast configuration.

[00011] In an embodiment, the encoder is configured for transmission over a transport stream having the following settings: a video packet identifier of about 20 to 40; an audio packet identifier of about 20 to 40; a program clock reference packet identifier of about 20 to 40; and a program map table packet identifier of about 20 to 40. Preferably, the transport stream has the following settings: a video packet identifier of 33; an audio packet identifier of 36; a program clock reference packet identifier of 33; and a program map table packet identifier of 32.

[00012] In an embodiment, the encoder is configured to perform forward error correction on the content data that is received by the transmitters. The forward error correction is performed at a rate of less than about 20% of the transport stream bandwidth.

[00013] In an embodiment, the encoder is configured for transmission over an average bandwidth of between about 500 kbps and about 4 Mbps. Preferably, the average bandwidth is about 1,000 kbps 1,500 kbps. Where the system is configured to transmit to a plurality of user electronic devices, the encoder is configured for transmission over an average bandwidth of between about 512 kbps to about 3 Mbps.

[00014] In an embodiment, the or each transmitter is configured to support transmission to more than 10 user electronic devices, preferably to more than 20 user electronic devices, preferably to more than 30 user electronic devices. Preferably, the or each transmitter is configured to support transmission to up to about 40 user electronic devices.

[00015] In an embodiment, the or each transmitter is a wireless access point. Preferably, the wireless access point is configured to operate on at least one of a 2.4 GHz frequency band and on a 5GHz frequency band.

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[00016] In an embodiment, the wireless access point is configured transmit content data on a frequency band of 5GHz in accordance with wireless standard IEEE 802.11a at data rates greater than about 12.0 Mbps. Preferably, the wireless access point is configured to transmit content data in accordance with wireless standard IEEE 802.11a at one or more data rates of about 18.0 Mbps, 24.0 Mbps, 36.0 Mbps, 48.0 Mbps, and 54.0 Mbps.

[00017] In an embodiment, the wireless access point is configured transmit content data on a frequency band of 2.4GHz in accordance with wireless standard IEEE 802.11g at data rates greater than 12.0 Mbps. Preferably, the wireless access point is configured to transmit content data in accordance with wireless standard IEEE 802.11g at one or more data rates of about 18.0 Mbps, 24.0 Mbps, 36.0 Mbps, 48.0 Mbps, and 54.0 Mbps.

[00018] In an embodiment, the wireless access point is configured transmit content data on a frequency band of 2.4GHz in accordance with wireless standard IEEE 802.11b at data rates greater than 1.0 Mbps. Preferably, the wireless access point is configured to transmit content data in accordance with wireless standard IEEE 802.11b at one or more data rates of about 1.0 Mbps, 2.0 Mbps, 5.5 Mbps, and 11.0 Mbps.

[00019] In an embodiment, the wireless access point is configured transmit content data on a frequency band of at least one of 2.4GHz and 5GHz in accordance with wireless standard IEEE 802.11n at data rates greater than about 12.0 Mbps. Preferably, the wireless access point is configured to transmit content data in accordance with wireless standard IEEE 802.11n at one or more data rates of about 24.0 Mbps, 36.0 Mbps, 48.0 Mbps, and 54.0 Mbps.

[00020] In an embodiment, the wireless access point is configured transmit content data on a frequency band of 5GHz in accordance with wireless standard IEEE 802.11ac at data rates greater than 20.0 Mbps. Preferably, the wireless access point is configured to transmit content data in accordance with wireless standard IEEE 802.11a at one or more data rates of about 24.0 Mbps, 36.0 Mbps, 48.0 Mbps, and 54.0 Mbps.

[00021] In an embodiment, the or each transmitter is configured to transmit the content data to the user electronic devices in a unicast configuration.

[00022] In an embodiment, the system comprises a plurality of transmitters, wherein each transmitter defines a geographic cell within which the transmitter is configured to provide content data to user electronic devices located within the geographic cell. Preferably, when a user electronic device moves from one cell defined by a first transmitter of the plurality of transmitters to another cell defined by a second transmitter of the plurality of transmitters, the first transmitter is configured to handover the provision of content data to the user electronic device to the second transmitter, such that the reception of the content data by user electronic device is substantially uninterrupted.

[00023] In an embodiment, the system further comprises one or more servers for authenticating the user electronic device(s). The network switch may be configured to control data to and from the server(s). The one or more servers is preferably further configured to provide additional content to the user. The additional content may be advertising (such as promotional content from event sponsors) and/or event messages.

[00024] In an embodiment, the system comprises a network switch for controlling data transmission between the user electronic device(s) and the server(s).

[00025] In another aspect, the present invention provides a system for content distribution, the system comprising: a server configured to receive a request for authentication from a user electronic device to access content data, and to transmit an access token to the user electronic device upon determining that the user electronic device is authorised to access the content data; an encoder for receiving content data from a data capture device, and for encoding the content data for reception by one or more authorised user electronic devices, and one or more transmitters configured to receive encoded content data from the encoder and to transmit the encoded content data to one or more authorised user electronic devices.

[00026] Embodiments of this aspect of the invention are similar to the previous embodiments discussed above.

[00027] In yet another aspect, the present invention provides a method for content distribution, the method comprising:

receiving, by a server, a request from a user electronic device for access to content data; determining, by the server, if the user electronic device is authorised to access the content data; transmitting, by the server, an access token to the user electronic device granting access to the content data upon determining that the user electronic device is authorised to access content data; receiving, by an encoder, the content data from a data capture device; encoding, by the encoder, the content data for reception by the authorised user electronic device; transmitting, by the encoder, the encoded content data to a transmitter; receiving, by the transmitter, encoded content data from the encoder; and transmitting, by the transmitter, the encoded content data to the authorised user electronic device.

[00028] Embodiments of this aspect of the invention are similar to the previous embodiments discussed above.

[00029] A method for accessing content data on a user electronic device, the method comprising transmitting, by the user electronic device via a first transmitter, to a server a request for access to content data; receiving, by the user electronic device via the first transmitter, authorization from the server in response to the server determining that the user electronic device is authorised for access to the content data, receiving, by the user electronic device via the first transmitter, content data from an encoder for display on a graphical user interface of the user electronic device, wherein the encoder receives content data from a data capture device and encodes the content data for reception by the user electronic device

[00030] In an embodiment, the method further includes buffering, by the user electronic device, content data received from the transmitter according to a buffering time of less than about 5 seconds, preferably for less than about 2 seconds.

[00031] In an embodiment, the method includes receiving, by the user electronic device, content data from the encoder from a second transmitter when the user electronic devices moves from a first geographic area covered by the first transmitter to a second geographic area covered by the second transmitter. Preferably, the reception of the content data by the user electronic device is substantially uninterrupted as the user electronic device moves from the first geographic area to the second geographic area.

[00032] In an embodiment, the authorization received by the user electronic device from the server includes an access token that defines settings and parameters for the user electronic device to access the content data, wherein, upon being authorised by the server, the user electronic device being configured to receive the content data from the encoder via a transmitter in accordance with setting defined by the access token received by the server,

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[00033] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the examples shown in the accompanying drawings. FIGURE 1 shows a system diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 shows a flow chart of the method of distributing content according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIGURE 3 shows a system diagram according to another embodiment of the present invention; FIGURE 4 shows a timing diagram for the system according to Figure 3; and FIGURE 5 shows a system diagram according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[00034] Referring to Figure 1, the system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention for distributing content to one or more user electronic devices 900 includes a digital video camera 120, an encoder 140, and a wireless access point 160.

[00035] The digital video camera 120 is configured capture content data from the real world. As user herein, 'content data' includes one or more of audio data, image data, and video data. The digital video camera 120 interfaces with the encoder 140 via a Serial Digital Interface (SDI) video interface. However, according to other embodiments, the digital video camera 120 may interface with the encoder 140 via a High Definition SDI (HD-SDI) video interface or via a High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) video interface, via a Display Port, Digital Visual Interface (DVI), or via a Universal Serial Bus (USB).

[00036] The digital video camera 120 is a physically separate device from the encoder 140. However, in other embodiments, the digital video camera 120 and the encoder 140 are part of the same device. For example, the encoder 140 may be housed within the digital video camera 120.

[00037] The encoder 140 is configured to receive the content data captured by the digital video camera 120 and encodes the data into a format suitable for reception by the user electronic devices 900. The format used by the encoder 140 is preferably H.264 format or MPEG-4 Part 10, Advanced Video Coding (AVC). The format used by the encoder may alternatively be H.265 format or MPEG-H Part 2.

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[00038] The encoder 140 is particularly configured for transmission over a transport stream having the following settings: a video packet identifier of 33; an audio packet identifier of 36; a program clock reference packet identifier of 33; and a program map table packet identifier of 32.

[00039] The encoder 140 is further configured to perform forward error correction (FEC) on the content data that is received by the transmitters. The FEC used by the encoder 140 is Pro MPEG FEC 10. The FEC is performed at a rate of less than about 20% of the transport stream bandwidth, which would result in alatency of less than 2 seconds.

[00040] The encoder 140 is configured for transmission over an average transport stream bandwidth of between about 500 kbps and about 4 Mbps, preferably about 1 Mbps and about 1.5 Mbps. The invention allows the system to operate for high density (i.e. transmission of data to a plurality of user electronic devices) at low bitrates of about 500 kbps to about 3 Mbps, while maintaining the high definition streaming. The encoder 140 is configured to transmit the content data to the transmitter(s) in a multicast configuration.

[00041] The specific encoding techniques and settings employed by the encoder 140 result in a latency of less than about 1OOms. In contrast, the average latency for an existing conventional system can be between 1OOms and 250ms.

[00042] The wireless access point 160 is configured to receive encoded content data from the encoder 140 and to transmit the encoded content data to the user electronic devices 900. The wireless access point 160 is configured to convert the multicast transmission from the encoder 140 into a unicast configuration, which is then transmitted to the user electronic devices 900.

[00043] The wireless access point 160 is configured to support transmission of the encoded content data to up to about 40 user electronic devices. As will be described in further detail below with reference to Figure 5, the system may comprise

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more than one wireless access point, wherein each wireless access point is configured to support transmission of content data to up to about 40 user electronic devices. The wireless access point 160 is configured to operate on a 2.4GHz frequency band and/or on a 5GHz frequency band. It will be understood that the wireless access point could be operated in accordance with one or more wireless local area network standards.

[00044] Where the wireless access point 160 is configured transmit the encoded content data in accordance with wireless standard IEEE 802.11a, the wireless access point 160 is configured to transmit content data at one or more data rates of about 18.0 Mbps, 24.0 Mbps, 36.0 Mbps, 48.0 Mbps, and 54.0 Mbps.

[00045] Where the wireless access point 160 is configured transmit the encoded content data in accordance with wireless standard IEEE 802.11g, the wireless access point 160 is configured to transmit content data at one or more data rates of about 18.0 Mbps, 24.0 Mbps, 36.0 Mbps, 48.0 Mbps, and 54.0 Mbps.

[00046] Where the wireless access point 160 is configured transmit the encoded content data in accordance with wireless standard IEEE 802.11b, the wireless access point 180 is configured to transmit content data at one or more data rates of about 1.0 Mbps, 2.0 Mbps, 5.5 Mbps, and 11.0 Mbps.

[00047] Where the wireless access point 160 is configured transmit the encoded content data in accordance with wireless standard IEEE 802.11n, the wireless access point 180 is configured to transmit content data at one or more data rates of about 24.0 Mbps, 36.0 Mbps, 48.0 Mbps, and 54.0 Mbps.

[00048] Where the wireless access point 160 is configured transmit the encoded content data in accordance with wireless standard IEEE 802.11ac, the wireless access point 180 is configured to transmit content data at one or more data rates of about 24.0 Mbps, 36.0 Mbps, 48.0 Mbps, and 54.0 Mbps.

[00049] Due to the closed-circuit nature of the system 100, the wireless access point 160 does not require any filtering and application control, which further improves the latency.

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[00050] The specific settings employed by the wireless access point 160 result in a latency of less than about 200ms.

[00051] The user electronic device is configured to have a buffering time for content received from the transmitter of about 2 seconds.

[00052] Figure 2 shows the method 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention for distributing content data to one or more user electronic devices in an area, which may be an event area (such as a sporting arena for example). The method 200 involves the data capture device positioned in the area capturing a video feed (at 220), an encoder converting the video feed into a format suitable for reception by user electronic devices (at 240), and a transmitter (wireless access point) receiving the encoded video feed from the encoder (at 260) and transmitting the video feed to the user electronic devices (at 280).

[00053] It will be readily appreciated that the system 100 of Figure 1 and the method 200 of distributing content data of Figure 2 can be scaled accordingly depending on the size of the event area and the number of user electronic devices in the event area to be serviced. For example, there may be more than one data capture device positioned in the event area to capture content data from different locations in the event area in order to increase the user's visibility of the event area. In this configuration, the data capture devices capture content data and communicate the data to the encoder for encoding and subsequent transmission to the user electronic devices via the transmitter. Alternatively, there may be more than one encoder provided in the event area that communicates with a respective one or more of the plurality of data capture devices. In addition, there may be more than one wireless access point to support a higher number of user electronic devices. Where there are a plurality of wireless access points, the wireless access points are arranged and configured to provide seamless data communication and coverage as the user electronic device moves from a first cell that is serviced by one wireless access point to a second cell that is serviced by another wireless access point.

[00054] Referring to Figure 3, a system 300 according to another embodiment of the present invention is disclosed for distributing content data to a user electronic

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device. The system 300 is similar to the system 100 of Figure 1, and like reference numerals used for the system 300 of Figure 3 with the addition of 200 indicate like elements as the system 100 of Figure 1. In the embodiment shown in Figure 3 however, the system 300 further comprises a server 370 for authenticating the user electronic device(s). In this embodiment, a network switch 350 is provided, which is configured to selectively control traffic between the server 370 and the encoder 340 to the wireless access point 360. The network switch may communicate traffic to and from the server via the Internet for example. The server 370 is configured to provide additional content to the user, which may be advertising (such as promotional content from event sponsors) and/or event messages. Unlike conventional systems however, the server does not receive content data from the data capture device 320 for subsequent transmission to the user electronic devices. In this way, the latency of the overall system is significantly reduced compared to conventional systems.

[00055] It will however be appreciated that, according to other embodiments of the invention, the network switch may not be provided. According to these other embodiments, the wireless access point is provided with inbuilt routing capabilities, which allows for data communication with the server via a network (which may be the Internet for example).

[00056] Figure 4 shows a timing diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention, particularly for the system shown in Figure 3. A user of an electronic device 900 seeking to access the content provided by the system will be required to first obtain authentication from the server 370. The user electronic device connects to the wireless access point 360 and sends a request for authentication (at 410) to the wireless access point 360, which is subsequently routed by the network switch (at 420), via the Internet for example, to the server 370.

[00057] The server 370 receives the request for authentication and makes a determination as to whether the user electronic device is authorised to access the content provided by the system. The server may for example assess whether a user identification included in the request from the user electronic device corresponds to an existing identification stored in one or more computer data storage devices. The existing identifications in the data storage devices may be a list of attendees of the

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event in which the system is configured to operate for example. The server 370 sends its decision (at 430) as to whether the user electronic device 900 is authorised to access the content to the wireless access point 360, which subsequently transmits the decision (at 440) to the user electronic device 900 as to whether the user electronic device is authorised to access the content.

[00058] If the user electronic device 900 is granted access by the server 370 to the content, the user electronic device 900 is provided with an access token, which includes the settings for the user electronic device 900 to view the content data. The access token may for example define an access session by the electronic device to the content for alimited period of time. For a sporting event, the limited period of time may correspond to the duration of the sporting event for example.

[00059] The data capture device 320 transmits content data to the encoder 340 (at 450), which encodes the content data as described above. The encoded data is transmitted to the wireless access point (at 460) for subsequent transmission to the user electronic device 900 (at 470).

[00060] The server 370 may be configured to provide further content to the user electronic device 900, such as advertising material or event messages. Where the further content is desired to be transmitted to the user electronic device 900, the server 370 transmits the further content to the wireless access point 360 (at 480), which subsequently transmits the content to the user electronic device 900 (at 490).

[00061] Referring to Figure 5, a system 500 according to another embodiment of the present invention is disclosed for distributing content data to multiple user electronic devices 901, 902, 903 located in the event area. The system 500 is similar to the system 300 of Figure 3, and like reference numerals used for the system 500 of Figure 5 with the addition of 200 indicate like elements as the system 300 of Figure 3. In the embodiment shown in Figure 5 however, the system 500 includes multiple wireless access points 561, 562, 563. Each wireless access point 561, 562, 563 is positioned in the event area to increase the coverage for content data to be provided to the user electronic devices in the event area. In particular, each wireless access point 561, 562, 563 defines a cell, which is a geographic area, each a wireless access

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point is configured to provide content data to user electronic devices 901, 902, 903 located in the geographic area corresponding to its respective geographic cell. Each wireless access point is configured to provide content data to up to 40 user electronic devices in its respective cell. The wireless access points 561, 562, 563 are further positioned and configured such that if a user electronic device moves from one cell to another cell, there is a substantially seamless handover between the wireless access points for the moving user electronic device such that the user's viewing of the content data on the user electronic device is uninterrupted as the user electronic device moves between cells.

[00062] The embodiment shown in Figure 5 shows the wireless access points 561, 562, 563 in communication with a single network switch 550 and a single encoder 540. It will be readily appreciated that more than one encoder and/or network switch may be provided, which can assist in reducing the latency for the user electronic devices.

[00063] In another alternative embodiment of the present invention, the system (that is, the system for distributing content data to multiple user electronic devices located in an event area or a venue) may comprise one or more alternative or additional transmitters or transceivers that are different to the wireless access points 561, 562, 563 of the system 500 of Figure 5.

[00064] Each of these different transmitters or transceivers enables a user electronic device that is not located within the geographic areas corresponding to the wireless access points to receive content data wireless from the system.

[00065] By way of one such transmitter or transceiver, the user electronic device (that is, the user electronic device that is not located within the geographic area or areas corresponding to the wireless access points) may be enabled to switch between available networks at the event area or venue depending on network availability. For example, when the user electronic device is provided with content data (such as streaming data) at the venue over a local wireless network and moves to a part of the venue where there is no wireless or poor network connectivity, the user electronic

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device may detect this and automatically switch to a cloud service that is available via a cellular network such as either 4G or 5G cellular network.

[00066] In order to enable the detection and automatic switching, dynamic webserver connectivity may be set up and the user electronic device may be configured with a software application in such a manner that the user electronic device has direct access to both a local portal at the venue and another portal that is not available locally (for example, a web portal that is available in the cloud).

[00067] Like with the system 500 of Figure 5, there may be handover of a user electronic device between the different wireless transmitters or transceivers when the user electronic device moves within the venue such that there can be a seamless end user experience without a user missing any content available (such as streaming content).

[00068] As an example, an encoder of the system receives one or more camera and audio feeds from a digital video camera of the system (that is, directly from production), which are then distributed directly over a local wireless network and authenticated via a local portal that is operating locally at the venue. The same feeds are then also sent to a content delivery network (CDN) in the cloud and authenticated via a web portal, at least each main feed being identical on the local wireless network and the cloud network.

[00069] At the user electronic device, a software application is configured to enable the user electronic device to access to both the locally distributed feeds and the cloud distributed feeds, where locally distributed feeds may be prioritized when the user electronic device is in the range of the local wireless network.

[00070] For example, when the software application is activated, and the video and audio feeds are being distributed locally, the software application detects services associated with an IP that is over the local wireless network first and switches to cloud distribution if such local IP services are not detected. Vice versa, when the software application is activated, and the user electronic device is provided with feeds from the

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cloud, the software application may switch to locally distributed feeds when services associated with an IP that is over the local wireless network are detected.

[00071] An example of an implementation of the above described automatic network switching may be as follows:

DYNIP Dynamic Webserver Connectivity

2 example cases, with the DynIP file:

1.(Connecting to the Network Local Machine) {"status":"success","DynProt":"http","DynIP":"192.168.1.1 1","DynPort":"8080","DynPath":"aircast"I

2.(Connecting to the cloud Network) {"status":"success","DynProt":"https","DynURL":"portal.ai rcast.tech","DynPort":"443"}

This covers all cases and connectivity (both local and cloud) of the iOS and Android Apps.

Normal usage, call the below file (when active): https://portal.aircast.tech/project/content/DynIP.txt Example Dummy file: https://portal.aircast.tech/project/content/DynIP-local.t xt

Network info needed for Aircast: A. Aircast Webserver (WINDOWS) Machine DNS Hostname: aircast-web.local:58080, Legacy IP address: 10.5.0.100:58080 Test URL http://aircast-web.local:58080/

B. Aircast Encoder 1 Machine, RTP Multicast Streams IP: 235.236.237.238 Ports: 52000 to 52014 Test Stream URL with VLC player: rtp://@235.236.237.238:52000

2 options for 3rd part Networks to provide access to Aircast Apps:

Use: aircast-web.local:58080, (Direct DNS Namehost URL Call).

Use: DynIP.txt (JSON) file, loaded from (https://portal.aircast.tech:443/project/content/DynIP.tx t)

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to load the Clients Network info like: e.g. 1 {"status":"success","DynProt":"http","DynURL":"aircast web.local","DynIP":"10.5.0.100","DynPort":"58080","DynPat h":"aircast"I e.g. 2 {"status":"success","DynProt":"http","DynIP":"192.168.1 12","DynPort":"58080","DynPath":"aircast"} e.g. 3 {"status":"success","DynProt":"https","DynURL":"portal.ai rcast.tech","DynPort":"443"}

Test JSON File URL: https://portal.aircast.tech/project/content/DynIP-localAi rcast.txt

TEST access from iOS and windows Devices http://aircast-web.local:58080/ to see access to WAMP Server and http://aircast-web.local:58080/aircast/ to see access to Aircast web App

TEST access from Android a Devices http://aircast-web:58080/ to see access to WAMP Server and http://aircast-web:58080/aircast/ to see access to Aircast web App

DynIP.txt is uploaded with FTP to Aircast Cloud Server https://portal.aircast.tech/project/content/DynIP.txt

Use FileZilla at Cloud FTP location: /publichtml/webportal/project/content

[00072] As indicated above, the software application (or mobile application executed on the user electronic device) may be configured to detect both networks or portals (that is, both local machine network and cloud network) simultaneously. In the implementation, this is done by uploading a Dynamic IP FTP file on both alocal server (that is, the server at the event area or venue) and onto a remote web server, for example, firstly on the local server and secondly onto the web server. As indicated above, the application is configured to identify calls from either FTP file. The mobile application is configured such that, if the dynamic FTP file is not being received, the mobile application searches and connects to a secondary cloud service to maintain connectivity. The same applies in reverse. That is, the application is configured to switch (or switch back) to a primary or preferred local network once a strong signal of the local network is detected.

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[00073] It would be appreciated that an implementation such as the one above can advantageously reduce network saturation that can happen in high-density environments and provide seamless end user experience.

[00074] Preferred embodiments of the invention have been described above by way of non-limiting example. Further modifications and variations may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

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Claims

1. A system for content distribution, the system comprising: an encoder for receiving content data from a data capture device, and for encoding the content data for reception by one or more user electronic devices, and one or more transmitters configured to receive encoded content data from the encoder and to transmit the encoded content data to one or more user electronic devices.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the data capture device is a video camera, preferably a digital video camera.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the data capture device is configured to interface with the encoder via a Serial Digital Interface (SDI) video interface, or via a High Definition SDI (HD-SDI) video interface, or via a High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) video interface, or via a Display Port Digital Visual Interface (DVI), or via a Universal Serial Bus (USB).

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the encoder is configured to convert the content data into H.264 format or into H.265 format.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the encoder is configured to transmit the encoded content data to the transmitter(s) in a multicast configuration.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the encoder is configured for transmission over a transport stream having the following settings: a video packet identifier of about 20 to 40; an audio packet identifier of about 20 to 40; a program clock reference packet identifier of about 20 to 40; and a program map table packet identifier of about 20 to 40.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the transport stream has the following settings: a video packet identifier of 33; an audio packet identifier of 36; a program clock reference packet identifier of 33; and a program map table packet identifier of 32.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the encoder is configured to perform forward error correction on the content data that is received by the transmitters.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the forward error correction is performed at a rate of less than about 20% of a transport stream bandwidth.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the encoder is configured for transmission over an average bandwidth of between about 500 kbps and about 4 Mbps, preferably about 512 to about 3 Mbps, even more preferably about 1 Mbps to about 1.5 Mbps.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the or each transmitter is configured to support transmission to more than 10 user electronic devices, preferably to more than 20 user electronic devices, even more preferably to more than 30 user electronic devices.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the or each transmitter is configured to support transmission to up to about 40 user electronic devices.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the or each transmitter is a wireless access point configured to operate on at least one of a 2.4 GHz frequency band and on a 5GHz frequency band.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the wireless access point is configured to transmit the encoded content data on a frequency band of 5GHz in accordance with wireless standard IEEE 802.11a at data rates greater than about 12.0 Mbps, preferably at one or more data rates of about 18.0 Mbps, 24.0 Mbps, 36.0 Mbps, 48.0 Mbps, and 54.0 Mbps.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the wireless access point is configured to transmit the encoded content data on a frequency band of 2.4GHz in accordance with wireless standard IEEE 802.11g at data rates greater than 12.0 Mbps, preferably at one or more data rates of about 18.0 Mbps, 24.0 Mbps, 36.0 Mbps, 48.0 Mbps, and 54.0 Mbps.

C. I

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the wireless access point is configured to transmit the encoded content data on a frequency band of 2.4GHz in accordance with wireless standard IEEE 802.11b at data rates greater than 1.0 Mbps, preferably at one or more data rates of about 1.0 Mbps, 2.0 Mbps, 5.5 Mbps, and 11.0 Mbps.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the wireless access point is configured to transmit the encoded content data on a frequency band of at least one of 2.4GHz and 5GHz in accordance with wireless standard IEEE 802.11n at data rates greater than about 12.0 Mbps, preferably at one or more data rates of about 24.0 Mbps, 36.0 Mbps, 48.0 Mbps, and 54.0 Mbps.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein the wireless access point is configured to transmit the encoded content data on a frequency band of 5GHz in accordance with wireless standard IEEE 802.11ac at data rates greater than 20.0 Mbps, preferably at one or more data rates of about 24.0 Mbps, 36.0 Mbps, 48.0 Mbps, and 54.0 Mbps.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the or each transmitter is configured to transmit the encoded content data to the user electronic devices in a unicast configuration.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein the network switch is part of the encoder.

22. The system of claim 1, wherein the system further comprises one or more servers for authenticating the user electronic device(s) to access the content data and/or to provide additional content to the user.

23. The system of claim 22, further comprising a network switch configured to control data transmission between the user electronic device and the server.

24. The system of claim 1, wherein the system includes a plurality of transmitters, wherein each transmitter defines a geographic cell within which the transmitter is configured to provide content data to user electronic devices located within the geographic cell, and when a user electronic device moves from one cell defined by a first transmitter of the plurality of transmitters to another cell defined by a second transmitter of the plurality of transmitters, the first transmitter is configured to handover the provision of content data to the user electronic device to the second transmitter, such that the reception of the content data by user electronic device is substantially uninterrupted.

25. A system for content distribution, the system comprising: a server configured to receive a request for authentication from a user electronic device to access content data, and to transmit an access token to the user electronic device upon determining that the user electronic device is authorised to access the content data; an encoder for receiving content data from a data capture device, and for encoding the content data for reception by one or more authorised user electronic devices, and one or more transmitters configured to receive encoded content data from the encoder and to transmit the encoded content data to one or more authorised user electronic devices.

26. A method for content distribution, the method comprising: receiving, by a server, a request from a user electronic device for access to content data; determining, by the server, if the user electronic device is authorised to access the content data; transmitting, by the server, an access token to the user electronic device granting access to the content data upon determining that the user electronic device is authorised to access content data; receiving, by an encoder, the content data from a data capture device; encoding, by the encoder, the content data for reception by the authorised user electronic device; transmitting, by the encoder, the encoded content data to a transmitter; receiving, by the transmitter, encoded content data from the encoder; and transmitting, by the transmitter, the encoded content data to the authorised user electronic device.

27. A method for accessing content data on a user electronic device, the method comprising: transmitting, by the user electronic device via a first transmitter, to a server a request for access to content data; receiving, by the user electronic device via the first transmitter, authorization from the server in response to the server determining that the user electronic device is authorised for access to the content data, receiving, by the user electronic device via the first transmitter, content data from an encoder for display on a graphical user interface of the user electronic device, wherein the encoder receives content data from a data capture device and encodes the content data for reception by the user electronic device.

28. The method of claim 27, further including buffering, by the user electronic device, content data received from the transmitter according to a buffering time of less than about 5 seconds, preferably for less than about 2 seconds.

29. The method of claim 27, further including receiving, by the user electronic device, content data from the encoder from a second transmitter when the user electronic devices moves from a first geographic area covered by the first transmitter to a second geographic area covered by the second transmitter, wherein reception of the content data by the user electronic device is substantially uninterrupted as the user electronic device moves from the first geographic area to the second geographic area.

30. The method of claim 27, wherein the authorization received by the user electronic device from the server includes an access token that defines settings and parameters for the user electronic device to access the content data, wherein, upon being authorised by the server, the user electronic device being configured to receive the content data from the encoder via a transmitter in accordance with setting defined by the access token received by the server.