Patent ID: 8856843

Claim:
A method comprising: encoding local channel signals comprising audio and video data in an Internet protocol format at a local headend to form encoded signals; aggregating the encoded signals via an Ethernet switch to generate an MPEG type multiplexed signal; at the local headend, generating a multicast signal including the local channel signals based on the MPEG type multiplexed signal, said multicast signal comprising a multicast address; generating local channel guide data at the local headend comprising tuning data for the local channel, said tuning data comprising the multicast address; generating at least one control command at the local headend, wherein the at least one control command comprises tuning data for the local channel; communicating the at least one control command from the local headend to a switch module; receiving external channels from an outdoor unit at the switch module, said switch module comprising a multiplexer; multiplexing at least one external channel of the external channels, the multicast signal and the control command by the multiplexer to form a multiplexed signal; communicating the multiplexed signal to a plurality of user receiving devices; and storing tuning data for the local channel with program guide data for the external channels in the plurality of user receiving devices in response to the at least one control command.