SPACE SHIFTING OVER FORWARD SATELLITE COMMUNICATION CHANNELS
A method for providing content from a first node to a second node using a satellite communications system includes receiving side information at a subscriber terminal in the satellite communications system. The side information may be transmitted from a gateway to the subscriber terminal via a first communication path that includes a satellite link. The method also includes determining at the subscriber terminal that the side information is associated with first content available at the first node, and determining at the subscriber terminal that second content is available from a source other than the first node. The method also includes generating output content using the second content and the side information. The output content may be substantially the same as the first content. The method also includes providing the output content to the second node via a second communication path that does not include the satellite link.
1 . A method for providing content from a first node to a second node using a satellite communications system, the method comprising:
receiving side information at a subscriber terminal in the satellite communications system, the side information being transmitted from a gateway to the subscriber terminal via a first communication path that includes a satellite link;
determining at the subscriber terminal that the side information is associated with first content available at the first node;
determining at the subscriber terminal that second content is available from a source other than the first node;
generating output content using the second content and the side information, the output content being substantially the same as the first content; and
providing the output content to the second node via a second communication path that does not include the satellite link.
2 . The method of claim 1 wherein providing the output content from the source to the second node comprises:
obtaining at the subscriber terminal the second content from the source; and
transmitting the output content from the subscriber terminal to the second node.
3 . The method of claim 1 wherein the first content is streaming media.
4 . The method of claim 1 wherein the first content is downloadable media.
5 . The method of claim 1 wherein the output content is provided to the second node via a computer network.
6 . The method of claim 1 wherein the subscriber terminal comprises at least one of an encoder or a decoder.
7 . The method of claim 1 wherein the subscriber terminal is coupled to the source via a computer network.
8 . The method of claim 1 wherein the second content is stored at the subscriber terminal.
9 . The method of claim 1 wherein the side information comprises an identifier of the first content.
10 . The method of claim 1 wherein the second content is substantially the same as the output content.
11 . The method of claim 1 wherein the first content comprises a video feed at a first resolution, and the second content comprises the video feed at a second resolution different from the first resolution, and generating the output content includes generating the video feed at the first resolution.
12 . A subscriber terminal for providing content from a first node to a second node using a satellite communications system, comprising:
a receiving module configured to receive side information transmitted from a gateway via a first communication path that includes a satellite link;
a first determining module configured to determine that the side information is associated with first content available at the first node;
a second determining module configured to determine that second content is available from a source other than the first node;
a generating module configured to generate output content using the second content and the side information, where the output content is substantially the same as the first content; and
a providing module configured to provide the output content to the second node via a second communication path that does not include the satellite link.
13 . The subscriber terminal of claim 12 wherein the providing module comprises:
an obtaining module configured to obtain the second content from the source; and
a transmitting module configured to transmit the output content to the second node.
14 . The subscriber terminal of claim 12 wherein the output content is provided to the second node via a computer network.
15 . The subscriber terminal of claim 12 wherein the second content is stored at the subscriber terminal.
16 . The subscriber terminal of claim 12 wherein the subscriber terminal is coupled to the source via a computer network.
17 . A satellite communications system for transmitting content from a first node to a second node, comprising:
a source encoder configured to receive first content from the first node and generate side information associated with the first content;
a gateway configured to transmit the side information via a satellite link; and
a subscriber terminal configured to receive the side information via the satellite link and configured to:
determine that the side information is associated with the first content;
determine that second content is available from a source other than the first node;
generate output content using the second content and the side information, where the output content is substantially the same as the first content; and
provide the output content to the second node via a communication path that does not include the satellite link.
18 . The satellite communications system of claim 17 wherein the subscriber is coupled to the source via a computer network.
19 . The satellite communications system of claim 17 wherein the second content is stored at the subscriber terminal.
20 . The satellite communications system of claim 17 wherein the subscriber terminal is configured to provide the output content to the second node via a computer network.