Providing Video Content to a Subscriber While Minimizing Transmission Channel Capacity

Abstract

A method for providing video content to a subscriber while minimizing transmission channel capacity that includes acquiring information corresponding to factors contributing to a perceived picture quality at a display device in communication with a set-top box, compressing video content based on the acquired information, and transmitting over a local loop the compressed video content at a bit rate based on the acquired information, the bit rate corresponding to the perceived picture quality of the video content capable of being provided by an ensemble comprised of the display device, the set-top box, and the local loop.

1 . A method for providing video content to a subscriber while minimizing transmission channel capacity, comprising the steps of:
 acquiring information corresponding to factors contributing to a perceived picture quality at a display device in communication with a set-top box;   compressing video content based on the acquired information; and   transmitting over a local loop the compressed video content at a bit rate based on the acquired information, the bit rate corresponding to the perceived picture quality of the video content capable of being provided by an ensemble comprised of the display device, the set-top box, and the local loop.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the factors include inherent characteristics of the video content, wherein the inherent characteristics include a native scan format of the video content prior to compression. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the factors include compression characteristics, the compression characteristics including one or more of spatial resolution, picture rate, amount of compression, and whether the video content is compressed based on an interlaced or progressive scan format. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the factors include characteristics of the display device, the characteristics of the display device including one or more of picture rendering capabilities, physical dimensions of a screen corresponding to the display device, shape of the screen, and type of the display device. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the picture rendering capabilities include one or more of native display resolution, output picture rate, aspect ratio of the screen, and whether pictures are displayed in interlace or progressive picture format. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the type of the display device comprises one or more of cathode ray tube (CRT), plasma, liquid crystal diode (LCD), liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS), nanotube, rear projection, front projection, and optical processing. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the factors include set-top box characteristics, the set-top box characteristics including one or more of a decoding specification capability, and set-top box resources. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the decoding specification capability includes an indication of whether the set-top box can decode the video content coded according to a first video coding specification or a second video coding specification, and wherein the set-top box resources include one or more of amount of memory, amount of memory bus bandwidth, required memory speed, amount of processing throughput, and processing speed. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the factors include local loop characteristics, the local loop characteristics including an indication of maximum bit rate for real-time transmission. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the compressing and the corresponding bit rate are based on characteristics of the display device and the set-top box. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the compressing and the corresponding bit rate are based on characteristics of the display device, the set-top box, and inherent characteristics of the video content. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the compressing and the corresponding bit rate are based on characteristics of the display device and the local loop. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the compressing and the corresponding bit rate are based on characteristics of the display device, the set-top box, and the local loop. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the compressing and the corresponding bit rate are based on characteristics of the display device, the set-top box, inherent characteristics of the video content, and the local loop. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the compressing and the corresponding bit rate are based on characteristics of the display device, inherent characteristics of the video content, and the local loop. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the compressing and the corresponding bit rate are based on characteristics of the set-top box and the local loop. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the compressing and the corresponding bit rate are based on characteristics of the set-top box, inherent characteristics of the video content, and the local loop. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the compressing and the corresponding bit rate are based on inherent characteristics of the video content and the local loop. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein acquiring the information comprises one of acquiring information from a local database and acquiring information from the set-top box. 
     
     
         20 . A system for providing video content to a subscriber while minimizing transmission channel capacity, comprising:
 a server communicatively coupled to a set-top box over a local loop, the server configured to:   acquire information corresponding to factors contributing to a perceived picture quality at a display device in communication with the set-top box;   compress video content based on the acquired information; and   transmit over a local loop the compressed video content at a bit rate based on the acquired information, the bit rate corresponding to the perceived picture quality of the video content capable of being provided by an ensemble comprised of the set-top box, a display device in communication with the set-top box, and the local loop, wherein the compression and the corresponding bit rate are based on the acquired information including one or more of characteristics of the display device, the set-top box, inherent characteristics of the video content, and the local loop.