Patent ID: 8739233

Claim:
A method for providing a switched digital video (SDV) channel to at least one service group, wherein the at least one service group includes a plurality of end user network elements, the method comprises: receiving, by at least one edge device in a distribution hub coupled to the content source, the SDV channel in a first format, the SDV channel including a plurality of broadcast streams available to the at least one service group, wherein each of the multiple end user network elements in the service group shares access to the SDV channel by joining one of the plurality of broadcast streams; delivering a version of the SDV channel in the first format, wherein the end user network elements in the service group joined to the SDV channel are capable of decoding content in the first format; identifying a join to the SDV channel by an end user network element that is incapable of decoding content in the first format; determining, based on the capabilities of the group of end user network elements in the at least one service group joined to the SDV channel, in what format to deliver the SDV channel from the at least one edge device in the distribution hub to the at least one service group coupled to the distribution hub, wherein the format is determined based on the following: determining whether a sufficient bandwidth is available to broadcast the broadcast streams in the SDV channel in both the first format and a second format to the joined end user network elements; broadcasting the broadcast streams in the SDV channel in both the first format and the second format to the joined end user network elements when a sufficient bandwidth is available to broadcast the broadcast streams in the SDV channel in both the first format and the second format, broadcasting the broadcast streams in the SDV channel in the second format from the at least one edge device to the joined end user network elements when there is insufficient bandwidth available to broadcast the broadcast streams in the SDV channel in both the first format and the second formats; and delivering the SDV channel from the at least one edge device in the distribution hub to at least one service group coupled to the distribution hub.