RUNDFUNKDATENVERTEILSYSTEM MIT ASYMMETRISCHEN AUF- UND ABWÄRTSVERBINDUNGSBANDBREITEN

摘要

The broadcast data distribution system distributes directory and indexing information for the selection of viewing choices in broadcast and multicast networks with asymmetric uplink/downlink bandwidths. Examples of such systems include Digital Broadcast Satellite (DBS) and Cable Television (CATV) systems. More particularly, a preferred embodiment of the invention co-locates shared directory resources at directory servers which can provide the benefit of technology improvement through storage multiplexing to directory clients, which are assumed to have smaller, more heterogeneous and slowly-evolving memory and processing resources. The directory information stored at the directory clients is a subset of the information maintained at the directory servers selected on the basis of subscriber interest. This system automatically constructs both a target profile for each target object (program) that is broadcast, as well as a "target profile interest summary" for each subscriber, which target profile interest summary describes the subscriber's interest level in various types of target objects. The system then evaluates the target profiles against the subscriber's target profile interest summaries to generate a subscriber-customized rank ordered listing of target objects most likely to be of interest to each subscriber, so that the subscriber can select from among these potentially relevant target objects, which were automatically selected by this system from the plethora of target objects available on the data distribution system.