| 摘要 |
The present invention improves the performance of video on demand (VOD) in a digital cable system. A statistical remultiplexer (stat mux) acquires metadata that statistically describes the bandwidth characteristics of each VOD channel. When the metadata indicates that the VOD channel will require more bandwidth than is available, the stat mux can re-encode or re-compress other streams or the VOD stream streams to meet the bandwidth limitation. The metadata is generated off-line and streamed out ahead of the VOD program content. The stat mux includes a minimal length buffer for storing VOD program content that when combined with the metadata enables a viewer to randomly access VOD program content without noticeable latency. When a VOD function request is received from the viewer, the previously supplied metadata is used to allocate bandwidth rather than waiting for a look-ahead buffer to acquire a sufficient amount of future VOD program content. |
