Patent ID: 8374085

Claim:
A method for managing a data stream encoded according to a digital transmission protocol and configured for broadcasting to a consumer network device within a broadband communications network, the method comprising: receiving a message encapsulated within a transport layer data packet, the transport layer data packet having a destination port number field associated therewith, the destination port number field having a destination port number value therein associated with a predetermined parameter of the digital transmission protocol; based on the destination port number value, establishing an application layer communication socket, the application layer communication socket usable to receive further messages associated with the predetermined parameter of the digital transmission protocol; and based on the message, processing the data stream, wherein the destination port number value is within a predetermined private port range, wherein the predetermined private port range is determined by a prefix of the destination port number value, wherein the prefix comprises a first three bits of the destination port value, when the predetermined parameter comprises a MPEG program identifier (“PID”) value.