Patent ID: 9560396
Date: 2017-01-31
CPC Classifications: H04H,H04L,H04N

Claim:
1. A method of allocating bandwidth comprising: receiving, at a splicer, a content distribution stream; inserting, by the splicer, a stream of addressable content into the content distribution stream, the addressable content being stored on a server; detecting, at an edge device, a trigger from the content distribution stream, the trigger comprising data indicating at least the start of an addressable break in the content distribution stream; allocating, by the edge device, a portion of available bandwidth to the stream based on the data of the trigger for a duration; streaming the addressable content stream to a receiver during the addressable break; switching the receiver from the broadcast stream to the addressable content stream for the duration of the addressable break; and de-allocating the portion of bandwidth at the end of the addressable break, wherein the edge device allocates the bandwidth at a first time prior to the start-time of the addressable break, and de-allocates the portion of bandwidth at a second time after the end-time of the addressable break.