Patent Publication Number: US-9894390-B2

Title: Altering orientation of data streams

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The instant application is a divisional application of, and claims priority to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/341,143 filed Dec. 22, 2008. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/341,143 is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     In a few short years wireless devices have evolved from merely communication platforms to powerful computer systems that include new and interesting features. Consumers routinely switch to the wireless device or network that has the “coolest” features and the network operators increasingly try to stay ahead of their competitors in terms of what features are unique to their service or devices. Accordingly, additional features are desirable. 
     SUMMARY 
     In embodiments of the present disclosure, a method is provided that includes, but is not limited to receiving a data stream over a data channel, the data stream including video content and information, the information added by a network operator, the information including at least pricing information; identifying the information in the data stream and displaying the video content and displaying at least the pricing information, the pricing information displayed on top of the video content. In addition to the foregoing, other method aspects are described in the following detailed description, claims, and text that form the present disclosure. 
     In embodiments of the present disclosure, a method is provided that includes, but is not limited to encoding real time network use information into one or more frames; adding the one or more frames of real time network use information to one or more frames of video thereby generating a data stream, the real time network use information configured to be displayed on top of the video when the video is displayed, the data stream encoded in one or more packets conforming to a real-time transport protocol; and sending the data stream to a device. In addition to the foregoing, other mobile device aspects are described in the following detailed description, claims, and text that form the present disclosure. 
     In embodiments of the present disclosure, a method is provided that includes, but is not limited to receiving a request for a data channel from a device, the request including a price; determining, based on the price, to service the request for the data channel; establishing the data channel with the device; and charging an account associated with the device an amount, the amount based on the price. In addition to the foregoing, other computer readable storage medium aspects are described in the following detailed description, claims, and text that form the present disclosure. 
     It can be appreciated by one of skill in the art that one or more various aspects of the disclosure may include but are not limited to circuitry and/or programming for effecting the herein-referenced aspects of the present disclosure; the circuitry and/or programming can be virtually any combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware configured to effect the herein-referenced aspects depending upon the design choices of the system designer. 
     The foregoing is a summary and thus contains, by necessity, simplifications, generalizations and omissions of detail. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  depicts an example computer system wherein aspects of the present disclosure can be implemented. 
         FIG. 2  depicts an example device. 
         FIG. 3  depicts an example operating environment wherein aspects of the present disclosure can be implemented. 
         FIG. 4  depicts an example operating environment wherein aspects of the present disclosure can be implemented. 
         FIG. 5  depicts operational procedure for practicing aspects of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 6  depicts an alternative embodiment of the operational procedure of  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 7  depicts operational procedure for practicing aspects of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 8  depicts an alternative embodiment of the operational procedure of  FIG. 7 . 
         FIG. 9  depicts operational procedure for practicing aspects of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 10  depicts an alternative embodiment of the operational procedure of  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 11  depicts an alternative embodiment of the operational procedure of  FIG. 10 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Embodiments may execute on one or more computers.  FIG. 1  and the following discussion is intended to provide a brief general description of a suitable computing environment in which the disclosure may be implemented. One skilled in the art can appreciate that the computer system of  FIG. 1  can be used in the operational environments depicted by  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 . 
     The term circuitry used through the disclosure can include hardware components such as hardware interrupt controllers, hard drives, network adaptors, graphics processors, hardware based video/audio codecs, and the firmware/software used to operate the hardware for example. In the same or other embodiments the term circuitry can include microprocessors configured to perform function(s) by firmware or by switches that have been set. In the same or other example embodiments the term circuitry can include one or more logical processors, e.g., one or more cores of a multi-core processor. The logical processor(s) in this example can be configured by software instructions embodying logic operable to perform function(s) that are loaded from memory, e.g., RAM, ROM, firmware, etc. In example embodiments where circuitry includes a combination of hardware and software an implementer may write source code embodying logic that is subsequently compiled into machine readable code that can be processed by the logical processor(s). Since one skilled in the art can appreciate that the state of the art has evolved to a point where there is little difference between hardware, software, or a combination of hardware/software, the selection of hardware versus software to effectuate specific functions is a design choice. That is, one of skill in the art can appreciate that a software process can be transformed into an equivalent hardware structure, and a hardware structure can itself be transformed into an equivalent software process. Thus, the selection of a hardware implementation versus a software implementation is one of design choice and left to the implementer. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , an exemplary computing system is depicted. The computing system can include a conventional computer  20  or the like and can include a processing unit  21 , a system memory  22 , and a system bus  23  that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit  21 . The system bus  23  may be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. The system memory includes read only memory (ROM)  24  and random access memory (RAM)  25 . A basic input/output system  26  (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the computer  20 , such as during start up, is stored in ROM  24 . The computer  20  may further include a hard disk drive  27  for reading from and writing to a hard disk, not shown, a magnetic disk drive  28  for reading from or writing to a removable magnetic disk  29 , and an optical disk drive  30  for reading from or writing to a removable optical disk  31  such as a CD ROM or other optical media. In some example embodiments computer executable instructions embodying aspects of the present disclosure may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, e.g., magnetic disk  29 , ROM  24 , RAM  25 , removable storage, e.g., FLASH RAM (not shown), optical disk  31 , and/or a cache of processing unit  21 . The hard disk drive  27 , magnetic disk drive  28 , and optical disk drive  30  are connected to the system bus  23  by a hard disk drive interface  32 , a magnetic disk drive interface  33 , and an optical drive interface  34 , respectively. The drives and their associated computer readable media provide non volatile storage of computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for the computer  20 . Although the exemplary environment described herein employs a hard disk, a removable magnetic disk  29  and a removable optical disk  31 , it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of computer readable media which can store data that is accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital video disks, Bernoulli cartridges, random access memories (RAMs), read only memories (ROMs) and the like may also be used in the exemplary operating environment. 
     A number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk, magnetic disk  29 , optical disk  31 , ROM  24  or RAM  25 , including an operating system  35 , one or more application programs  36 , other program modules  37  and program data  38 . A user may enter commands and information into the computer  20  through input devices such as a keyboard  40  and pointing device  42 . Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite disk, scanner or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit  21  through a serial port interface  46  that is coupled to the system bus, but may be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, game port or universal serial bus (USB). A display  47  or other type of display device can also be connected to the system bus  23  via an interface, such as a video adapter  48 . In addition to the display  47 , computers typically include other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers and printers. The exemplary system of  FIG. 1  also includes a host adapter  55 , Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) bus  56 , and an external storage device  62  connected to the SCSI bus  56 . 
     The computer  20  may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer  49 . The remote computer  49  may be another computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device or other common network node, and typically can include many or all of the elements described above relative to the computer  20 , although only a memory storage device  50  has been illustrated in  FIG. 1 . The logical connections depicted in  FIG. 1  can include a local area network (LAN)  51  and a wide area network (WAN)  52 . Such networking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise wide computer networks, intranets and the Internet. 
     When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer  20  can be connected to the LAN  51  through a network interface or adapter  53 . When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer  20  can typically include a modem  54  or other means for establishing communications over the wide area network  52 , such as the Internet. The modem  54 , which may be internal or external, can be connected to the system bus  23  via the serial port interface  46 . In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer  20 , or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storage device. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , it generally illustrates an example device  200  that can be used in embodiments of the present disclosure. Generally, device  200  can be, but is not limited to, a laptop/desktop computer, a mobile phone, e.g., cell phone, personal digital assistant, smartphone, etc. Device  200  can include the same or similar components as computer  20  of  FIG. 1 . For example, device  200  can include components such as storage  202 , e.g., persistent storage such as a flash memory, random access memory  204 , one or more logical processors  206 , a network adaptor  208 , e.g., an interface and/or a wireless adaptor that can send and receive radio signals conforming to a protocol such as the advanced mobile phone system protocol, a code division multiple access protocol, a time division multiple access protocol, 802.11, etc. In mobile phone embodiments the device  200  can include a SIM card  214  having an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), which is a unique identifier of a subscriber. 
     As shown by the figure, an operating system  210  can be stored in memory  202  and executed by the processor  206 . Generally, the operating system  210  can act as a platform for other applications. For example, the operating system  210  could include a kernel mode and a user mode. The kernel mode can include instructions that, when executed by processor  206 , configure the processor  206  to effectuate one or more services such as a file system, a scheduler, a memory manager, security system, and the like. The operating system  210  can expose interfaces to some or all of these services to applications installed in the operating system  210  such as SIS client  216  and codec  218  which are described in more detail below. Additionally, the device  200  can include a user interface  212  that can comprise a keyboard, a mouse, a touchpad, a touch screen, etc., and a display  220 , e.g., a liquid crystal display. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , it illustrates an example operating environment that can be used. Generally, the figure depicts device  200  within range of three wireless signals, shown by the circles surrounding the base transceiver stations (BTS)  302 - 306 . In an embodiment the BTSs are part of wireless communication networks such as GSM, CDMA, and/or WAN based networks. As shown by the figure, in an embodiment each BTS can be maintained by a different network operator  308 ,  310 , and  312 . Generally, the network operators can have a radio spectrum to operate and the equipment needed to effectuate wireless services. Continuing with the description of  FIG. 3 , one or more network operators  308 - 312  can have an arbitrator  314 , which is described in more detail in the following paragraphs. Briefly, the arbitrator  314  and network operators  308 - 312  can be effectuated by circuitry. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , it illustrates an exemplary block diagram view of a multimedia network architecture that can be used in aspects of the present disclosure. Briefly, each block can include circuitry to effectuate the herein described operations. The depicted architecture includes a core network  400 , a GPRS network  430 , and an IP multimedia network  440 . The core network  400  can include at least one Base Transceiver Station (BTS)  402  and a Base Station Controller (BSC)  404 . The BTS  402  is physical equipment, such as a radio tower, that enables a radio interface to communicate with the device  200 . Each BTS may serve more than one device. The BSC  404  manages radio resources, including the BTS. The BSC may be connected to several BTSs. The BSC and BTS components, in combination, are generally referred to as a base station (BSS) or radio access network (RAN)  406 . 
     The core network  400  also includes a Mobile Switching Center (MSC)  408 , a Gateway Mobile Switching Center (GMSC)  410 , a Home Location Register (HLR)  412 , Visitor Location Register (VLR)  414 , an Authentication Center (AuC)  418 , and an Equipment Identity Register (EIR)  416 . The MSC  408  performs a switching function for the network. The MSC  408  also performs other functions, such as registration, authentication, location updating, handovers, and call routing. The GMSC  410  provides a gateway between the core network and other networks, such as an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) or Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTNs)  420 . Thus, the GMSC  410  provides interworking functionality with external networks. 
     The HLR  412  is a database that contains administrative information regarding each subscriber registered in a corresponding network. The HLR  412  also contains the current location of each device. The VLR  414  is a database that contains selected administrative information from the HLR  412 . The VLR contains information necessary for call control and provision of subscribed services for each device currently located in a geographical area controlled by the VLR. The HLR  412  and the VLR  414 , together with the MSC  408 , provide call routing and roaming capabilities. The AuC  418  provides the parameters needed for authentication and encryption functions. Such parameters allow verification of a subscriber&#39;s identity. The EIR  422  stores security-sensitive information about the mobile equipment. 
     A Short Message Service Center (SMSC)  424  allows one-to-one Short Message Service (SMS) messages to be sent to/from the device  200 . A Push Proxy Gateway (PPG)  426  is used to “push” (i.e., send without a synchronous request) content to the device  200 . The PPG  426  acts as a proxy between wired and wireless networks to facilitate pushing of data to the device  200 . A Short Message Peer to Peer (SMPP) protocol router  428  is provided to convert SMS-based SMPP messages to cell broadcast messages. SMPP is a protocol for exchanging SMS messages between SMS peer entities such as short message service centers. The SMPP protocol is often used to allow third parties, e.g., content suppliers such as news organizations, to submit bulk messages. 
     To gain access to services, such as speech, data, and short message service (SMS), the device  200  first registers with the network to indicate its current location by performing a location update and IMSI attach procedure. The device  200  sends a location update including its current location information to the MSC/VLR, via the BTS  402  and the BSC  404 . The location information is then sent to the device&#39;s HLR. The HLR is updated with the location information received from the MSC/VLR. The location update also is performed when the device moves to a new location area. Typically, the location update is periodically performed to update the database as location updating events occur. 
     The GPRS network  430  is logically implemented on the core network architecture by introducing two packet-switching network nodes, a serving GPRS support node (SGSN)  632 , a cell broadcast and a Gateway GPRS support node (GGSN)  434 . The SGSN  432  is at the same hierarchical level as the MSC  408  in the core network. The SGSN controls the connection between the GPRS network and the device  200 . The SGSN also keeps track of individual device&#39;s locations and security functions and access controls. 
     The GGSN  436  provides a gateway between the GPRS network and a public packet network (PDN) or other IP networks  438 . That is, the GGSN provides interworking functionality with external networks, and sets up a logical link to the device  200  through the SGSN. When packet-switched data leaves the GPRS network, it is transferred to an external TCP-IP network  438 , such as an X.25 network or the Internet. In order to access GPRS services, the device  200  first attaches itself to the GPRS network by performing an attach procedure. The device  200  then activates a packet data protocol (PDP) context, thus activating a packet communication session between the device, the SGSN, and the GGSN. 
     The IP multimedia network  440  was introduced with 3GPP Release 5, and includes an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS)  442  to provide rich multimedia services to end users. A representative set of the network entities within the IMS  442  are a call/session control function, a media gateway control function, a media gateway (MGW)  448 , and a master subscriber database, called a home subscriber server (HSS)  450 . The HSS  450  may be common to the core network  400 , the GPRS network  430  as well as the IP multimedia network  462 . Generally, a media server  466  (MS) can store media such as streaming media, ring tones, or other content that can be accessed by devices. Also shown is a streaming information service  464  that can interface with the media server  466 , GGSN  436 , HSS,  450 , etc., in order to add content to video streams that are sent to the devices. 
     The HSS  450  contains a subscriber profile and keeps track of which core network node is currently handling the subscriber. It also supports subscriber authentication and authorization functions (AAA). In networks with more than one HSS  450 , a subscriber location function provides information on the HSS  450  that contains the profile of a given subscriber. 
     The following are a series of flowcharts depicting implementations of processes. For ease of understanding, the flowcharts are organized such that the initial flowcharts present implementations via an overall “big picture” viewpoint. Those having skill in the art will appreciate that the style of presentation utilized herein (e.g., beginning with a presentation of a flowchart(s) presenting an overall view and thereafter providing additions to and/or further details in subsequent flowcharts). 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5  it depicts example operations  500 ,  502 ,  504 ,  506 , and  508 . Operation  500  begins the operational procedure and operation  502  illustrates receiving a data stream over a data channel, the data stream including video content and information, the information added by a network operator, the information including at least pricing information. A data stream can be received by a network adaptor  208  of a device  200  of  FIG. 2 . For example, the BST  402  of  FIG. 4  can be assigned a plurality of channels, e.g., frequencies that can be allocated to devices, e.g., smartphones, laptops including wireless access cards, etc., so that they may send/receive telephone calls, send/receive data, etc. In an embodiment a data channel can be established and packets indicative of the data stream can be received over the data channel. The data stream can include video content and information added by a network operator. 
     In one example embodiment the video content can be streamed from, for example, an external IP network  438  or from a media server  466 . That is, device  200  could receive content hosted by a website and/or on-demand content from the network operator. In a specific example, the video content can be hosted by a website and the device  200  may request the content. IP packets indicative of the video content can be received by, for example, the GGSN  436 ; forwarded to the MGW  448 ; and forwarded to the application server streaming information service  464 . 
     The SIS  464  can add information to the video stream such as, for example, pricing information, e.g., information that identifies the price of the video, the price of the bandwidth used to transfer the video, etc. Generally, bandwidth is the capacity of the network to transfer data over a connection and is usually measured in bits/s or multiples, e.g., KB or MB. In this example the SIS  464  can receive information identifying the size of the streaming video and determine how much bandwidth is being consumed by the transfer operation. The information can then be encoded into the video content; the stream can be placed in one or more packets; and the packets can be routed back to the GGSM  436 , and eventually to the device  200 . In another example the SIS  464  can receive the video stream and calculate the amount of bandwidth that has been consumed in real time; the information can then be encoded into the video content; the stream can be placed in one or more packets; and the packets can be routed back to the GGSM  436 , and eventually to the device  200 . In this example the device  200  can receive real-time pricing information for the video that is being streamed through the mobile network. 
     Continuing with the description of  FIG. 5 , operation  504  shows identifying the information in the data stream. The processor  206  can execute instructions and identify that the inband portion of the data stream includes video content and information. In an example the device  200  can identify the information in the data stream using a video codec  218 . This information can then be sent to the streaming information service client application (SIS client)  216 . For example, the codec  218  could parse each frame of the video content and determine whether the content is video or added information. If the frame is information, e.g., XML content, then the codec  218  can then send the information to the streaming information service client application  216 . In another embodiment the processor  206  can execute instructions of the SIS client  216  and identify that a portion of the data stream includes information. Instead of routing the entire data stream through the codec  218 , the SIS client  216  can send the portion of the data stream that includes the video content to the codec  218 . 
     Referring now to operation  506 , it depicts displaying the video content and displaying at least the pricing information, the pricing information displayed on top of the video content. For example, codec  218  can output a bitmap and/or graphics commands that can be executed by the processor  206 , and the processor  206  can render the video content on display  220 . In this example the processor  206  can execute the SIS client  216  and can be configured to render the information on the display  220  on top of the video content. In an embodiment the information could include price information that can be rendered on top of the video content while the video is playing, i.e., it could be continuously displayed, it could be displayed when user input is received, it could be displayed intermittently, etc. The price information could identify a price associated with the amount of bandwidth used to stream the video, a price associated with an amount of minutes used to stream the video, a price associated with the on-demand content, a price associated with roaming, etc. In another example, the information received from the network operator can be combined with information stored on the device  200  and the combination can be displayed or information derived from both the received and stored data can be displayed. For example, the total monthly amount of bandwidth consumed by the device  200  could be stored in memory  202  and the SIS client application  216  could generate instructions to display the total amount and increment the amount with the information obtained from the video content. In another example the number of minutes used in the billing period can be stored on the device  200  and the remainder can be updated based on the information received from the network operator and the remaining amount can be displayed. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 6 , it depicts an alternative embodiment of the operational procedure of  FIG. 5  including additional operations  608 - 616 . Operations  608 - 616  are indicated in dashed lines which indicates that the operations are considered optional. Now, turning to operation  608  it depicts sending a signal identifying a quality of service level selection to the network operator; and receiving the data stream, the data stream having the selected quality of service level. In an embodiment including operation  608 , a user interface  212 , e.g., a display having a touch interface, can receive a selection of a quality of service (QOS) level and the device  200  can send the signal to the BTS  402 . In this embodiment, a device  200  may request video content and a prompt can be displayed asking for a user to select a quality of service level for the data channel and/or the video content. That is, QOS level can be associated with the content, the channel, or both the content and the channel. For example, one quality of service level may allow for data transfer rates of 2 mb whereas another level may have a transfer rate capped at 1 mb. Another option may include receiving a streaming video that is 2 mb in size compared to receiving a copy that is 5 mb worth of data. In the instance where the QOS level is related to the bandwidth, the signal can be sent to the BSC  404  and the BSC  404  can be configured to provide a data channel with the selected QOS level. In the instance where the QOS level is related to the video content, the MS  466  can include data with different levels of detail and the MS  466  can be configured to select the video having the desired size. 
     Continuing with the description of  FIG. 6 , operation  610  shows sending a request for the data channel, the request including a bid for bandwidth; and receiving a signal indicating that the bid was accepted. In an embodiment that includes operation  610 , the device  200  can send a request for a data channel and a bid, that is, a price that the user is willing to pay for bandwidth. For example, and referring to  FIG. 3 , in an embodiment the device  200  can be within range of BTS maintained by various network operators. In the instance that a user of the device  200  wants to receive data, e.g., content stored on a server, a website, etc., the user could place a bid that indicates how much he/she is willing to pay to access the data and the device  200  could send a request on broadcast control channels of the BTS in the area. The request can be routed to an arbiter  314  and the arbiter  314  can determine whether the request can be honored based on the bid. For example, the arbiter  314  can access information that identifies the current network load and a table of information that maps current network load to different prices. If the price offered by the user is greater than the price in the table for the current network load then the bid can be accepted. 
     In an embodiment where each network operator includes an arbiter  314 , each arbiter can determine whether the network operator can provide the data channel at the requested bid by comparing current network load to a network load table which indicates pricing for different network statuses. If more than one network operator can service the request a reverse auction can be executed and the operator that submits the lowest price can service the request. In this embodiment, and referring to  FIG. 4 , the winning arbiter  314  can send a message to the mobile switching center  408  directing it to allocate a data channel to the device  200  and a data channel can be allocated to the device  200 . In this example the device  200  can receive a signal indicating that the bid was accepted and the data channel can be established. Additionally routing and accounting information can be sent to the VLR  414  of the winning network operator. 
     Continuing with the description of  FIG. 6 , operation  612  illustrates receiving a selection of at least a portion of information displayed; and sending a signal indicative of the selection to the network operator, the signal encoded in a real-time transport protocol control message. For example, in an embodiment the information displayed on top of the video content can be selectable, e.g., an advertisement could be displayed on a portion of the display and can be selected by using user interface  212 . In this example if a user selects a portion of the displayed content, e.g., by using user interface  212 , a signal indicative of the selection can be sent back to the network operator. In this example the signal can be sent on a control channel for the video stream. For example, in an embodiment the real-time transport protocol (RTP) can be used to deliver the video content and information to the device  200 . The RTP has a related protocol called RTP control protocol (RTCP) that can be used to send out-of-band control information back to the network operator. In this example embodiment information indicative of the selection can be encoded in one or more RTCP packets. In the same or other embodiments the selection can be sent along with information that includes information such as bytes sent, packets sent, lost packets, jitter, feedback, and round trip delay. An application may use this information to increase the quality of service, perhaps by limiting flow or using a different codec. 
     Continuing with the description of  FIG. 6 , operation  614  shows sending, via a real-time transport protocol control message, global positioning coordinates of the device. For example, in an embodiment that includes operation  614 , global positioning coordinates of the device  200  can be encoded in at least one RTCP packets and sent to the network operator. The GPS coordinates of the device  200  can be used to refine the information that is sent to the device  200 . For example, certain advertisements, locations of interest, traffic, etc., can be selected by the streaming information service  464  based on the location of the device  200  and sent to the device via the data channel. For example, advertisements can be stored in a MS  466  and can be associated with a, location, a user profile, and/or the streaming video. The SIS  464  can then use the information to select an advertisement based on the location of the device  200 . 
     Continuing with the description of  FIG. 6 , operation  616  shows an embodiment where the information includes data that identifies information selected in accordance with a device profile. For example, a user profile can be stored by the network operator that indicates information that the user of device  200  is interested in. In this example the SIS  464  can obtain the profile and select information to send to the device  200  based on the profile. For example, a user may indicate that they are interested in the stock market. The SIS  464  could obtain stock market ticker information and encoded it into the data stream. Profile information can be stored in, for example the HSS  450  and the information can be stored in, for example, a media server  466 . The SIS  464  can have access to information obtained from various sources, e.g., sports information, headline news, location information of friends, RSS feeds from websites, etc. When video is streamed to the device  200  the SIS  464  can be configured to identify what information is of interest to the user based on the profile associated with the device  200 , e.g., based on the international subscriber identifier associated with the device  200 , and select certain information based on the profile. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 7 , it shows an operational procedure including operations  700 ,  702 ,  704 , and  706 . As shown by the figure, operation  700  begins the operational procedure and operation  702  depicts encoding real time network use information into one or more frames. In an example information that identifies real time network use information can be encoded into one or more video frames by, a SIS  464 . That is, the SIS  464  can encode information into video frames such that the SIS  464  information is contained in the inband portion of a video signal streamed to the device  200 . The real time network use information can, for example, indicate quality of service, bandwidth consumed while a video is being streamed, bandwidth consumed per month, price per byte or megabyte of bandwidth, monthly remaining bandwidth, data transfer rate, etc. In an embodiments this information can be gathered by the SIS  464  from various sources in the network such as, for example, HSS  450 , MSC  408 , MS  466 , BTS  402 , GGSN  436 , etc. 
     Continuing with the description of  FIG. 7 , operation  704  shows adding the one or more frames of real time network use information to one or more frames of video thereby generating a data stream, the real time network use information configured to be displayed on top of the video when the video is displayed, the data stream encoded in one or more packets conforming to a real-time transport protocol. The SIS  464  can be configured to add the frames of real time network use information to frames of video and the combination can be considered a data stream that can be sent to the device  200 . In this example the data stream can be encoded into one or more packets of information conforming to the RTP. As stated above, the RTP provides a standardized packet format for delivering audio/video content over the internet via a point to point connection. In an embodiment including operation  704 , the real time network use information can be encoded into a format that can be consumed by the device  200  and direct a video player of the device to render the real time network use information over top of the video content. The real time information can be displayed in such a way that is non-intrusive, e.g., it could be located in the corner of the screen, can be displayed in a scrolling ticker, or can be rendered when the user interface  212  is manipulated. 
     Continuing with the description of  FIG. 7 , operation  706  shows sending the data stream to a device. Once the real time information is added to the video the resulting data stream can be sent to a device  200 . For example, the data stream can be propagated to the device  200  by a BTS  402  and other network operator components. In this example embodiment the device  200  could receive the data stream and render the video and real time network use information. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 8 , it illustrates an alternative embodiment of the operational procedure of  FIG. 7  including the additional operations  808 - 818 . Referring to operation  808 , it shows receiving the one or more frames of video from a website. Similar to that described above, the video can be streamed from for example, a website accessible via an external IP network  438 . That is, device  200  could receive content hosted by a website. IP packets indicative of video content can be received by, for example, the GGSN  436 , forwarded to the MGW  448 , and to the streaming information service  464 . The SIS  464  can in this example add information to the video stream such as, for example, real time network use information. In an embodiment the real time network use information can include price information for the video. The price information can be associated with the amount of bandwidth that is needed to stream the video. In this example the SIS  464  can receive information indicating how large the video content is and determine how much bandwidth is needed to transfer the data and insert this determined information into the video content. The information can be encoded into the video content; the stream can be placed in one or more packets; and the packets can be routed back to the GGSM  436 , and eventually to the device  200 . 
     Continuing with the description of  FIG. 8 , it illustrates  810  which shows receiving data identifying the orientation of the device; and altering the orientation of the data stream based on the orientation of the device. In an example embodiment that includes operation  810  the orientation of the video stream can be altered at the network level to conform to the orientation of the device  200 . For example, the device  200  can include an accelerometer that can be used to determine how the device is oriented  200 . Information indicative of the orientation can be sent to the network operator via one or more packets, e.g., RTCP packets. The orientation information contained in the packets can be propagated to the SIS  464  and the SIS  464  can change the orientation of the video that is being streamed by changing the way that the frames of video are encoded into packets. In this way the orientation of the streaming video can be determined at the network. 
     Continuing with the description of  FIG. 8 , it illustrates  812  which shows encoding user profile information into one or more frames; and adding the one or more frames of user profile information to the data stream. For example, a user profile can be stored by the network operator that indicates information that the user of device  200  is interested in. In this example the SIS  464  can obtain the profile and select information to sent to the device  200  based on the profile. For example, a user may indicate that they are interested in the stock market. The SIS  464  could obtain stock market ticker information and encoded it into the data stream. 
     Referring now to operation  814 , it depicts adding the one or more frames of an advertisement to the data stream; and encoding an advertisement into one or more frames. In an embodiment an advertisement along with an embedded url can be encoded into one or more video frames. For example, the SIS  464  can generate an xml document that includes an image and an associated url. The SIS  464  can then add the advertisement frames to the video frames and send the combination to the device  200 . The url can be part of the content or displayed on top of the content for example. The advertisement can be selected and information indicative of the selection can be sent to the network operator. 
     Referring now to operation  816 , it depicts encoding a message conforming to the simple mail message protocol into one or more frames; and adding the one or more frames of message conforming to the simple mail message protocol to the data stream. According to an embodiment that includes operation  816 , the SIS  464  can be configured to receive information that identifies that the network has received a simple mail message addressed to the device  200 . For example, the SMSC  424  can pass the message to the SGSN  432  and the SGSN  432  can determine that the device  200  has an open data channel and is receiving streaming video. In this example, the SGSN  432  can send the message to the MGW  448  and it can be passed to the SIS  464 . The SIS  464  can parse the message and encode the metadata, e.g., the time that the message was received, the identity of the sender, etc., and/or the payload of the message, e.g., the text, into one or more frames. These frames can then be added to the streaming video and sent to device  200 . Similar to that described above, the SMS information can then be rendered on top of the streaming video by the user interface  212  of the device  200 . 
     Continuing with the description of  FIG. 8 , operation  820  shows submitting a bid to an arbiter in response to receiving a request for a data channel from the device, the bid including a price per block of datum transferred to the device; and receiving a signal identifying that the bid was accepted and allocating the data channel to the device. Continuing with the description of  FIG. 8 , in an embodiment the network operator can receive a signal from a device  200  via the BSC  404  for example. The signal can be a request for bandwidth to access a multimedia object stored in a MS  466 , access a website, send a SMS, receive a streaming video, etc. In this embodiment the request can be submitted to the arbiter  314 . The arbiter  314  can gather network status information such as current network usage, time of day, network usage during the past 10 minutes, etc., and determine whether the price per block of datum transferred offered by the device  200  can be accepted. In the event that the bid can be accepted, a confirmation signal can be sent to the device  200  and the BSC  404  can allocate a data channel to the device  200 . As the device  200  uses the bandwidth, e.g., by watching a streaming video, a user account associated with the device  200  in the HLR  412  can be charged per block of datum transferred. 
     In the same, or other embodiments the arbiter  314  can engage in a reverse auction with arbiters from one or more network operators. For example, after a determination is made that the bid can be accepted. The arbiter  314  can communicate with arbiters from other network operators. Each network operator arbiter can each exchange information that identifies the lowest price they can offer and the arbiter that can offer the lowest price can be configured to service the request. In this example if the network operator that maintains the account of the device  200  is not the arbiter  314  that wins the bid, it can exchange information with the winning network operator so that the winning network operator can identify the device  200  within the wireless network. The winning network operator can then send a signal to the device  200  indicating that it will be servicing the request and identify the price per datum that will be used in the transaction. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 9 , it illustrates an operational procedure for practicing aspects of the present disclosure including operations  900 - 908 . As shown by the figure, operation  900  begins the operational procedure and operation  902  shows receiving a request for a data channel from a device, the request including a price. For example, in an embodiment the network operator can receive a signal from a device  200  via the BSC  404  for example. The signal can be a request for a data channel so that the device  200  can access data indicative of, for example, MMS messages stored in a MS  466 , a website, a SMS, or streaming video. 
     Continuing with the description of  FIG. 9 , operation  904  shows determining, based on the price, to service the request for the data channel. In this embodiment the request can include information indicative of a price and can be submitted to the arbiter  314 . The arbiter  314  can gather network status information such as current network usage, time of day, network usage during the past 10 minutes, etc., and determine whether the data channel can be allocated based on the network conditions and the price. 
     Continuing with the description of  FIG. 9 , operation  906  depicts establishing the data channel with the device. In the event that the price can be accepted, a confirmation signal can be sent to the device  200  and the BSC  404  can allocate the data channel to the device  200 . 
     Continuing with the description of  FIG. 9 , operation  908  depicts charging an account associated with the device an amount, the amount based on the price. For example, an account associated with the device  200  can be charged an amount of money based on the price. In a specific example, the price could be a maximum amount of money that a user is willing to pay. In this specific example the maximum price can be used by the arbiter  314  in a reverse auction with arbiters from one or more other network operators. For example, after a determination is made that the bid can be accepted. The arbiter  314  can communicate with arbiters from other network operators. Each network operator arbiter can each exchange information that identifies the lowest price they can offer and the arbiter that can offer the lowest price can be configured to service the request. In this example if the network operator that maintains the account of the device  200  is not the arbiter  314  that wins the bid, it can exchange information with the winning network operator so that the winning network operator can identify the device  200  within the wireless network. The winning network operator can then send a signal to the device  200  indicating that it will be servicing the request and identify the price per datum that will be used in the transaction. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 10 , it depicts an alternative embodiment of the operational procedure of  FIG. 9  including the additional operations  1010 - 1016 . Referring now to operation  1010 , it illustrates an embodiment where the price is based on a price per block of datum transferred to the device. For example, in this embodiment the price can be based on a price per an amount of data transferred. That is, the price can be for the number of bytes transferred to the device. The price in the request could be, for example, 10 cents per megabyte of data. The network operator can receive the price and the arbiter  314  can determine whether the price can be accepted based on the current network conditions. If the arbiter  314  determines that the price can be accepted, the data channel can be established with the device  200 . 
     Continuing with the description of  FIG. 10 , operation  1012  shows an embodiment where the price is for a multimedia object. In an embodiment the price can be for a multimedia object such as a ring tone, multimedia message, digital song, etc. In this example embodiment the price could be based on the quality of the multimedia object, e.g., higher quality objects can be made more expensive than other objects, or the price could be based on the current network conditions. For example if a network operator is experiencing high network usage the price may not be accepted and instead the network operator could store the request in a table and when the price can be accepted, e.g., when the network is operating at a lower capacity, the multimedia object can be sent to the device  200 . In this example a message can be sent to the device  200  indicating that the price was not accepted and the user can either increase the price or the network will service the request when network conditions improve. 
     Continuing with the description of  FIG. 10 , operation  1014  shows sending streaming video to the device. A data stream can be sent to a network adaptor  208  of a device  200 . For example, the BST  402  of  FIG. 4  can assign a data channel to the device  200  based on the acceptance of the price and the data channel can be established between the BTS  402  and the device  200 . In this example packets indicative of the streaming video can be sent over the data channel. In one example embodiment the video can be streaming from, for example, an external IP network  438  or from a media server  466 . That is, device  200  could receive content hosted by a website and/or on demand videos from a network operator. 
     As shown by  FIG. 10 , in an example embodiment the operational procedure  900  can also include operation  1016  which illustrates selecting high resolution streaming video to send to the device; and encoding, based on the selection of the high resolution streaming video, an advertisement into the high resolution streaming video. In an embodiment that includes operation  1016 , the MS  466  can have access to video content that has different resolutions, e.g., more or less data. The MS  466  can be configured to receive a request from device  200  for a high quality version of the streaming video. In response to the request, the MS  466  can be configured to select an advertisement to insert into the streaming video instead of charging an account associated with the device  200  an extra amount. For example, an advertisement along with an embedded url can be encoded into one or more video frames. For example, the SIS  464  can generate an xml document that includes an image and an associated url. The SIS  464  can then add the advertisement frames to the video frames and send the combination to the device  200 . In this embodiment the high resolution version of the streaming video may have a higher cost than the lower resolution version. Instead of charging an account for the higher resolution, the MS  466  can be configured to add an advertisement to the streaming video. That is, the operator of the device  200  can receive high resolution streaming video without having to pay an additional amount if they are willing to receive advertisements. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 11 , it illustrates an alternative embodiment of the operational procedure of  FIG. 10  including the additional operations  1118 - 1122 . Referring now to operation  1118 , it depicts encoding real time network use information into the streaming video. In an example information that identifies real time network use information can be encoded into one or more video frames by, a SIS  464 . That is, the SIS  464  can encode real time network use information into video frames such that the SIS  464  information is contained in the inband portion of the video signal streamed to the device  200 . The real time network use information can, for example, indicate quality of service, bandwidth consumed while the video is being streamed, bandwidth consumed per month, price per byte or megabyte of bandwidth, monthly remaining bandwidth, data transfer rate, etc. In embodiments this information can be gathered by the SIS  464  from various sources in the network such as, for example, HSS  450 , MS  466 , BTS  402 , GGSN  436 . 
     Referring now to operation  1120 , it depicts encoding SMS messages into the streaming video. According to an embodiment that includes operation  1116 , the SIS  464  can be configured to receive information that identifies that the network has received a simple mail message addressed to the device  200 . For example, the SMSC  424  can pass the message to the SGSN  432  and the SGSN  432  can determine that the device  200  has an open data channel and is receiving streaming video. In this example, the SGSN  432  can send the message to the MGW  448  and it can be passed to the SIS  464 . The SIS  464  can parse the contents of the message and encode the metadata, e.g., the time that the message was received, the identity of the sender, etc., and/or the payload of the message, e.g., the text, into one or more frames. These frames can then be added to the streaming video and sent to the device  200 . Similar to that described above, the SMS information can then be rendered on top of the streaming video by the user interface  212  of the device  200 . 
     Referring now to operation  1122 , it depicts encoding an advertisement into the streaming video. In an embodiment an advertisement along with an embedded url can be encoded into one or more video frames. For example, the SIS  464  can generate an xml document that includes an image and an associated url. The SIS  464  can then add the advertisement frames to the video frames and send the combination to the device  200 . 
     Those having skill in the art will recognize that the state of the art has progressed to the point where there is little distinction left between hardware and software implementations of aspects of systems; the use of hardware or software is generally (but not always, in that in certain contexts the choice between hardware and software can become significant) a design choice representing cost vs. efficiency tradeoffs. Those having skill in the art will appreciate that there are various vehicles by which processes and/or systems and/or other technologies described herein can be effected (e.g., hardware, software, and/or firmware), and that the preferred vehicle will vary with the context in which the processes and/or systems and/or other technologies are deployed. 
     The foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments of the devices and/or processes via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples. Insofar as such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples contain one or more functions and/or operations, it will be understood by those within the art that each function and/or operation within such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples can be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, or virtually any combination thereof.