Patent ID: 8181213

Claim:
An IP-based hometown TV program delivery system comprising at least one TV program provider for providing a plurality of channels of TV programs; and at least one agency at a server-end for providing a plurality of digital video contents converted from said corresponding TV programs; characterized in that said agency at a server-end distributes said plurality of digital video contents to authorized users at a client-end via a broadcasting network, wherein authorized users get permission for watching said TV programs and authorize said agency for receiving said corresponding TV programs via said broadcasting network after said authorized users have subscription of those said TV programs directly from said at least one TV program provider; wherein said broadcasting network is a P2P based network; and wherein said P2P based network comprises: at least one video head-end server for receiving said plurality of digital video contents converted from said corresponding TV programs, said video head-end server comprising a splitter to split each of said digital video contents into a plurality of video files, each of which is formed of a number of groups of pictures (GOPs), based on GOP's boundary, and said video head-end server further comprising at least one content repository for storing said video files corresponding to each of said digital video contents; at least one relay server for receiving said video files from said video head-end server and broadcasting said video files from said one relay server; at least one seed host for receiving said video files from said relay server and broadcasting said video files from said seed host; a plurality of peer hosts accessed by said authorized users for receiving said video files from said seed host and/or other neighboring peer hosts and broadcasting said video files; at least one network management server for managing data and signal communications among said seed host and said peer hosts, said network management server comprising at least one tracker for generating a seed/peer list based on a request for said video files from each of said authorized users; and at least one system management server for validating authentication and authorization of each of said authorized users while receiving an access request from each of said authorized user; wherein each peer comprises a player to process said video files for playback when said video files are received.