Patent ID: 8285891

Claim:
A host device, which interfaces with a point of deployment (POD), the host device comprising: an IP physical interface unit configured to receive an Ethernet frame including an internet protocol (IP) packet which contains first moving picture experts group (MPEG) transport stream (TS) packets through an IP network which is external to the host device; a broadband interface unit configured to receive a cable broadcast signal delivering second MPEG TS packets through a cable; a routing engine configured to route the IP packet based on destination information included in the Ethernet frame; a decapsulator configured to extract the first MPEG TS packet from the IP packet; a multiplexer, which is located at the host device, configured to multiplex the first MPEG TS packets extracted from the IP packet and second MPEG TS packets delivered in the cable broadcast signal and send the multiplexed first and second MPEG TS packets to the POD; and an interface unit configured to include a first port and a second port, wherein at least one of the first port and the second port are used to identify an operational mode of the POD.