Patent ID: 8677439
Filing Date: 2014-03-18
Classification: H04L,H04N

Abstract:
1. A method for reducing channel switching delay of an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), comprising: planning, by an IPTV system, a multicast association mode to make each multicast group have a group of multicast groups associated with each multicast group itself; determining, by the IPTV system, multicast groups associated with a multicast group which a terminal requests to access according to the multicast association mode after receiving a message of requesting to access the multicast group from the terminal, and making the terminal synchronously join in the multicast group which the terminal requests to access and the multicast groups associated with the multicast group which the terminal requests to access; providing, by the IPTV system, the terminal with multicast streams of the multicast group the terminal requests to access to be used as normal multicast streams, and providing the terminal with no multicast streams of the multicast groups associated with the multicast group the terminal requests to access, or providing the terminal with multicast streams of the multicast groups associated with the multicast group the terminal requests to access to be used as a part of the normal multicast streams; and determining, by the IPTV system, whether the terminal has joined in the multicast group of a channel to which the terminal requests to switch when the terminal requests to switch channel, if yes, providing the terminal with multicast streams of the multicast group of the channel to which the terminal requests to switch to be used as normal multicast streams.