Patent ID: 8661155
Filing Date: 2014-02-25
Classification: H04L,H04W

Abstract:
1. A method in a mobile terminal of changing access delivery of a multimedia stream from unicast delivery to broadcast/multicast delivery in a hybrid unicast-broadcast delivery network, comprising: receiving the multimedia stream by unicast delivery over a unicast bearer; receiving multimedia content timing information that indicates, in advance, when one or more interstices in the content of the multimedia stream will occur, and that also indicates whether an access change during each of the one or more interstices is forbidden; selectively checking, at one or more times associated with said one or more interstices indicated by the multimedia content timing information, whether the same multimedia stream is also available by broadcast/multicast delivery over a broadcast/multicast bearer; and selectively initiating a change from unicast delivery of the multimedia stream to broadcast/multicast delivery during an interstice associated with a time at which said checking indicates availability of the multimedia stream by broadcast/multicast delivery, if the multimedia content timing information does not indicate that a change during that interstice is forbidden.