US-12621070-B2 - System and method for coordinating a transition of a transmission stream

Abstract

A system includes Memory, Display and Processor. Memory stores application with executable instructions. Processor performs operations: retrieving schedule information for channels to be transmitted simultaneously by a broadcaster, the information includes start and end times for types of content to be transmitted; identifying, from the information, first time segments in which a first content type is to be transmitted and second time segments in which the first type is not to be transmitted; displaying a plot of the information with content types transmitted over time for each of the channels, the first segments corresponding to the first type are displayed as a first color and the second segments are displayed as a second color; identifying, from the second segments for each channel, transition windows comprising durations within which all of channels are scheduled to not transmit the first type; and overlaying on the plot an indicator of the windows.

Inventors

• Gregg William Riedel
• Jeff Hess
• Christopher Fulton Hundersmarck

Assignees

• VIACOM INTERNATIONAL INC.

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20240426

Claims (19)

1. 1 . A system, comprising: a memory storing an application comprising executable instructions for calculating a transition window and providing a graphical user interface (GUI), the memory further storing configuration information for the application; a display configured to display the GUI and receive user input; a processor configured to perform operations comprising: retrieving schedule information for a plurality of channels to be transmitted simultaneously by a broadcaster, the schedule information comprising start times and end times for types of content to be transmitted; identifying, from the schedule information, first segments of time in which a first type of content is to be transmitted and second segments of time in which the first type of content is not to be transmitted; displaying, on the display, a plot of the schedule information for the plurality of channels, the plot including the types of content to be transmitted over time for each of the plurality of channels, wherein the first segments corresponding to the first type of content are displayed as a first color and the second segments are displayed as a second color; identifying, from the second segments of time for each channel, one or more transition windows comprising durations within which all of the plurality of channels are scheduled to not transmit the first type of content; and overlaying on the plot an indicator of the one or more transition windows.
2. 2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the configuration information includes a lookahead window defining a duration of time within which the one or more transition windows are identified, wherein the schedule information is retrieved for the plurality of channels for the duration corresponding to the lookahead window.
3. 3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the configuration information includes a minimum transition window size comprising a minimum duration and wherein the indicator of the one or more transition windows overlaid on the plot comprise only those transition windows comprising the minimum duration.
4. 4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to perform further operations comprising: receiving, via the GUI, a selection of a multiplex from a list of multiplexes, the multiplex being associated with the plurality of channels; and displaying, via the GUI, a list of the channels.
5. 5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein the first type of content comprises commercial content such that the one or more transition windows are calculated for durations within which all of the plurality of channels are scheduled to not transmit the commercial content.
6. 6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to perform further operations comprising: receiving, via the GUI, a selection of a first indicator of a first transition window; and displaying, via the GUI, information for the first transition window including a start time, an end time, and a duration of the first transition window.
7. 7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to perform further operations comprising: receiving, via the GUI, a selection of a first channel of the plurality of channels to exclude from consideration when identifying the transition windows; and recalculating the transition windows without considering the first channel.
8. 8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the indicator of the one or more transition windows comprises, for each transition window, a bar overlaid on the plot of the schedule information having a thickness corresponding to the duration of the transition window.
9. 9 . A display comprising a graphical user interface (GUI) of an application for calculating a transition window, the display comprising: a multiplex selection field comprising a drop-down menu for selecting one of multiple multiplexes comprising a plurality of channels to be transmitted simultaneously by a broadcaster; a list of channels included in a selected multiplex; a plot of schedules over time for the list of channels; and one or more indicators of transition windows overlaid as a bar overlapping each of the channels in the plot, each transition window being selectable such that detailed information for the transition window is displayed.
10. 10 . The display of claim 9 , wherein, via the GUI, a user selects a multiplex from the drop-down menu so that the application retrieves schedule information for the plurality of channels included in the multiplex.
11. 11 . The display of claim 10 , wherein the schedule information is retrieved for a duration of time corresponding to a lookahead window included in configuration information for the application, wherein the plot of schedules over time includes the duration of the lookahead window on a time axis.
12. 12 . The display of claim 11 , wherein the one or more indicators of transition windows overlaid on the plot have a minimum width along the time axis corresponding to a minimum transition window size included in configuration information for the application.
13. 13 . The display of claim 9 , wherein the plot includes types of content to be transmitted over time for each of the plurality of channels, wherein first segments on the plot corresponding to a first type of content are displayed as a first color and second segments on the plot corresponding to a second type of content are displayed as a second color.
14. 14 . The display of claim 13 , wherein the first type of content comprises commercial content and the second type of content comprises non-commercial content.
15. 15 . The display of claim 9 , further comprising: information for a first transition window including a start time, an end time, and a duration of the first transition window when the first transition window is selected via the GUI.
16. 16 . The display of claim 9 , wherein the indicator of the one or more transition windows comprises, for each transition window, the bar overlaid on the plot of the schedule information having a thickness corresponding to the duration of the transition window.
17. 17 . The display of claim 16 , wherein the schedules include a first type of content and a second type of content to be displayed on the channels, wherein the plot includes first segments corresponding to the first type of content and second segments corresponding to the second type of content, and wherein the bar overlaid on the plot overlaps only second segments across each of the channels.
18. 18 . The display of claim 17 , wherein the bar has a width corresponding to a duration along a time axis for which only second segments are scheduled across each of the channels.
19. 19 . The display of claim 9 , wherein the bar semi-transparently overlaps the plot of schedules.

Description

BACKGROUND As would be understood by those skilled in the art, multiple channels can be transmitted simultaneously from a transmission site to a satellite for broadcasting. The transmission site may include, for example, a chain of equipment referred to as a satellite uplink that transmits an uplink signal to the satellite. Under certain conditions, a satellite uplink may be temporarily unable to transmit a high-quality uplink signal. For example, the satellite uplink may need to be powered down due for routine maintenance, inclement weather may interrupt the signal, equipment may fail, etc. Accordingly, broadcasters often implement a redundant system including a primary uplink located at a first transmission site and an alternate uplink located at a second transmission site geographically separated from the first transmission site. When the primary uplink is unable to transmit the channels (or when it is anticipated that the primary uplink will be unable to transmit in the near future), the broadcaster can switch from the primary uplink to the alternate uplink so that the alternate uplink can transmit the same channels and broadcast will not be interrupted during the time for which the primary uplink is unavailable. When the primary uplink is again able to transmit, the broadcaster can switch back to the primary uplink. This may occur periodically, e.g., multiple times per year due to routine maintenance, and/or frequently over a relatively short duration due to unforeseeable conditions. Contractual regulations forbid broadcasters from transmitting the same uplink signal simultaneously from multiple transmission sites (referred to as “dual illumination”). Accordingly, when switching from a first transmission site to a second transmission site, there is always a brief, coordinated dropout in the broadcast of the channel or channels carried in that uplink signal. This dropout can incur negative effects to the broadcaster. In one example, if a commercial is scheduled to air on one of the channels when the dropout occurs, the broadcaster may not be paid for airing the commercial. SUMMARY The present disclosure relates to a system which includes a memory storing an application comprising executable instructions for calculating a transition window and providing a graphical user interface (GUI), the memory further storing configuration information for the application. The system also includes a display configured to display the GUI and receive user input and a processor. The processor is configured to perform the following operations: retrieving schedule information for a plurality of channels to be transmitted simultaneously by a broadcaster, the schedule information comprising start times and end times for types of content to be transmitted; identifying, from the schedule information, first segments of time in which a first type of content is to be transmitted and second segments of time in which the first type of content is not to be transmitted; displaying, on the display, a plot of the schedule information for the plurality of channels, the plot including the types of content to be transmitted over time for each of the plurality of channels, wherein the first segments corresponding to the first type of content are displayed as a first color and the second segments are displayed as a second color; identifying, from the second segments of time for each channel, one or more transition windows comprising durations within which all of the plurality of channels are scheduled to not transmit the first type of content; and overlaying on the plot an indicator of the one or more transition windows. In an embodiment, the configuration information includes a lookahead window defining a duration of time within which the one or more transition windows are identified, wherein the schedule information is retrieved for the plurality of channels for the duration corresponding to the lookahead window. In an embodiment, the configuration information includes a minimum transition window size comprising a minimum duration and wherein the indicator of the one or more transition windows overlaid on the plot comprise only those transition windows comprising the minimum duration. In an embodiment, the processor is configured to perform further operations comprising: receiving, via the GUI, a selection of a multiplex from a list of multiplexes, the multiplex being associated with the plurality of channels; and displaying, via the GUI, a list of the channels. In an embodiment, the first type of content comprises commercial content such that the one or more transition windows are calculated for durations within which all of the plurality of channels are scheduled to not transmit the commercial content. In an embodiment, the processor is configured to perform further operations comprising: receiving, via the GUI, a selection of a first indicator of a first transition window; and displaying, via the GUI, information for the first transiti