Patent ID: 9094734
Filing Date: 2015-07-28
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. A computer-implemented method comprising: identifying, by a dynamic scheduling device of a service provider network, an advertisement break in a video program schedule, wherein the advertisement break comprises a time slot in a video content carried via a first quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) channel; identifying, by the dynamic scheduling device, multiple target groups of subscriber devices, associated with a plurality of customer premises networks, to receive targeted advertisements at the advertisement break based on attributes shared by customers within each of the target groups; assigning, by the dynamic scheduling device, the attributes to each of a plurality of video client applications implemented in a plurality of pseudo-clients that simulate subscriber devices in the multiple target groups; instructing a plurality of QAM tuners to tune from the first QAM channel to a plurality of hidden QAM channels to generate and output a customer-observable video stream to each of the pseudo clients, based on emulation of a protocol associated with each of the target groups of subscriber devices; and instructing, by the dynamic scheduling device via in-band signaling, each of the pseudo clients to tune a different one of the hidden QAM channels to capture the customer-observable video stream output from the plurality of QAM tuners, to identify an error occurring with respect to an advertisement insertion event scheduled for one or more of the target groups of subscriber devices.