Patent ID: 7889765

Claim:
Modulator apparatus configured for use in a broadcast switched digital network, said network having a distribution network in communication therewith and being configured to carry a plurality of program streams, said apparatus comprising: a processor; a storage device in data communication with said processor; a network interface configured to receive a plurality of variable rate program streams from said distribution network; and a computer program operative to run on said modulator apparatus, said computer program being configured to: receive said plurality of variable rate program streams; insert secondary content along with said obtained variable rate streams, said insertion comprising either: insertion of at least time-sensitive secondary content, it is determined that a temporal requirement associated therewith can be accommodated; and insertion of non-time sensitive secondary content comprising at least one of an application program file, an image data file, or an audio data file if the temporal requirement cannot be met; and transmit said variable bit rate streams and said secondary content to a plurality of client devices downstream of said modulator apparatus; wherein an amount of secondary content for insertion is based at least in part on a calculation of a difference between rates of said variable rate program streams and a maximum rate for said network.