Encapsulated, streaming media automation and distribution system6792615Abstract Disclosed are systems and methods for creating and distributing programming content carried by a digital streaming media to be a plurality of remote nodes located over a large geographic area to create customized broadcast quality programming at the remote nodes. At the remote nodes, a multi-window screen display simultaneously shows different programming including national programming and local programming content. The remote nodes utilize a remote channel origination device to assemble the customized programming at the remote location that can be controlled from a central location. An encapsulated IP and IP encryption system is used to transport the digital streaming media to the appropriate remote nodes. Also disclosed is a graphical user interface ("GUI") providing a software control interface for creating and editing shows or programs that can be aired or played on a remote display device having a multi-window display. The intuitive GUI Software provides the user the ability to easily manage and assemble a series of images, animations and transitions as a single broadcast quality program to be displayed on a remote display device. Another application software system is capable of automating the production of audio narration reports. The disclosed audio concatenation engine automates the creation of audio narration using prerecorded audio segments to minimize the requirement for live, on-air personnel to record audio narration segments. Claims We claim: Description FIELD OF INVENTION
TABLE A
Minute Description
:00 At the top of each hour, the first ("A") of two linked Local
Weather segments runs.
Depending upon the time of day, this is either a 2 minute or a 90
second report,
followed by a commercial break. In the break there is one national
commercial and
one local avail (covered by a channel promo). Following the
commercial, there is
the "A" portion of a "Local Feature," which (depending upon the
time of day and
weather conditions) may consist of traffic reports, school
closings, community news
or "on the ground" call-in reports from spotters. This is an audio
only report,
augmented by graphics and radar images.
:04 At four minutes after, the first ("A") of two linked National
Weather reports runs.
This segment will include a live on screen presenter and will last
for two minutes,
covering the national map and major weather news of the day.
:06 At six minutes after, the first National Feature runs, which
depending upon the hour
is a "Business Weather" or a more general "Worldwide Travel"
forecast. The
feature includes another national commercial break and lasts, all
together, four
minutes.
:10 At ten minutes past, the "B" segment of Local Weather is run. It
covers a bit of
what is in the "A" segment but mostly provides new information and
graphics,
There is also a one minute commercial break and a feature included.
:14 Coming out of Local Weather, the "B" segment of the National
Weather Report
runs for two minutes. It is substantially different from the
preceding "A" segment
in terms of the information conveyed.
Assuming the viewer tuned in at the top of the hour, he or she has now spent 16 minutes with the channel and received a full local and national weather report, including a valuable weather feature and 3 minutes of commercials. This is the so-called "magic number" of elapsed viewing time that is desired by operators for generating reasonably accurate Nielsen ratings in metered households.
TABLE B
:16 At sixteen minutes after the hour, the first of two "Recreational
Weather" segments
is run, focusing on particular resort destinations. This segment is
followed by a
promotional spot and another commercial, possibly from a resort
destination that
ties in with the weather segment.
:18 On the 18 minute mark, a "Severe Weather" report segment will run
if there is
nationally newsworthy severe weather to cover. In addition, a
constant posting of
severe weather may occur in a panel of the split screen, which is
overwritten locally
when there is a weather event occurring in the local market.) If
there is nothing to
report, a "canned" informational feature (such as, "What is a
cloud?) will be
inserted. This segment lasts two minutes typically will last two
minutes.
:20 At the next "zero," i.e.; 20 minutes past the hour, the next Local
Weather segment is
run, this time another "A." It is delivered live, of course, so
while the content will
be similar to the previous "A," the delivery and most likely the
sequence of
graphics will not be entirely the same. Of course, this segment
includes the
commercial break and Local Feature as well.
:24 At 24 minutes after, the next "A" side of the National Weather
report runs with the
live on-screen presenter giving it some variety from the previous
airing.
:26 At 26 minutes after, another national feature runs. During the
morning and prime
time hours, this feature is a business-travel oriented
International Weather segment,
while during the more relaxed format of the daytime and weekend
hours, it is the
interactive Weather Game.
:30 At 30 minutes past, another major "tune in" point, Local Weather
segment "B"
runs, with its usual mix of reporting, local and national
commercial, and feature. It
teases back to the forthcoming "A" segment that will run at :40.
:34 At 34 minutes past, the "B" elements of the National Weather report
runs.
:36 At 36 minutes past, the primary National Feature runs, be it
Business Weather or
World Travel Report. It is likely that there can be some reuse of
these segments
through the various blocks.
:40 At 40 minutes past, the "A" segment of Local Weather is run.
:44 At 44 minutes after the hour, the "A" side of the National Weather
Report runs for
two minutes.
:46 At 46 minutes past, the second of the two "Recreational Weather"
segment is run,
followed by a promo spot and another commercial.
:48 On the 48 minute mark, another "Severe Weather" report or
alternative feature is
run for two minutes.
:50 At 50 minutes past the hour, the next final "B" Local Weather
segment of the hour
is run.
:54 At 54 minutes after, the final "B" National Weather segment runs.
:56 With four minutes remaining until the top of the hour, the final
feature runs, which
would be (depending upon the hour) another International Travel
segment (which,
again, need not necessarily be refreshed each time it runs) or the
Weather Store in-
home shopping feature.
In this embodiment, while the commentary and on-screen presentation will be aired "live" in most instances throughout the day, the meteorological and graphics elements will be recycled and aired for as long as they are still accurate. However, even as graphic elements are being reused, it will be possible to vary the look of the reports by having the presenters change or sequencing, pacing and commentary associated with each graphic. Referring now to FIG. 4A, shown is a general description of an exemplary embodiment of the Data Analysis and Graphics 100 operation of the system 50 shown in FIG. 1. Data Analysis and Graphics 100 receives data 102 to produce programming content using information from an external or internal source through Data Gathering Analysis and Modeling 104 such as news, sports, entertainment or other information. Preferably, the Data Gathering Analysis and Modeling 104 provides the interface to receive information from external sources and information services supplying information and data to prepare programming content. The particular information sources and data will depend on the particular application. Data Gathering Analysis and Modeling 104 may utilize different interfaces depending on the particular external source and the immediacy of the information. In the exemplary embodiment, for example, a news service, sports information service or a weather information service utilizes a satellite distribution network to transmit updated news sports and weather information. In addition terrestrial landlines may also be used as a backup facility. Hardware and Software Design and Development 106, 108 may be utilized to develop software and hardware applications to process the data and develop information to develop programming content. The outcome off the Hardware and Software Design and Development process 106, 108 is the integration of hardware and software elements into a marketable product as exemplified by the Product Development and Integration process 109 or other production areas for processing and production as will be further described herein. After the product is developed and integrated, 109 the actual distribution of the product requires the on site installation of hardware, software and communications systems necessary to receive data, create products and remotely manage monitoring, control and maintenance tasks which is exemplified in this case by FIG. 9 Weather Data, Analysis, Forecasts & Graphics 310. FIG. 4B shows a more detailed description of the Data Analysis and Graphics 100 operation illustrating a particular embodiment implemented for a weather information service provider. The Data Analysis and Graphics 100 operation includes Software and Hardware Design and Development processes 110, 120 that are utilized by Product Design Integration & Distribution 140 to produce weather information products. The particular Software and Hardware Design and Development processes 110, 120 may be utilized to provide computer systems and data services such as workstations to create graphical weather presentations including alerts temperature displays, radar pictures, fly-through and forecast, to mention just a few. Additional capabilities and features are described herein and still others will be apparent to those skilled in the art. As seen in FIG. 4B, data is collected from a plurality of meteorological gathering sites over a number of different geographical areas and transmitted to the system. A weather information service such as DTN/Kavouras, WSI, Accuweather, etc. may be contracted to provide data gathering 102 such as weather information. The meteorological data 102 collected may include radar, temperature, humidity, barometric pressure wind speed and direction, precipitation measurements made at the different geographic locations which are transmitted and reported back to the data communication hub of the Data Gathering and Analysis System 130. The Data Gathering and Analysis System 130 may be implemented using a network client-server architecture with a file server to collect weather information data for analysis and forecasting. The hardware may include personal computers and computer workstations such as Windows NT Unix, Linux or other comparable systems from Sun Microsystems, Silicon Graphics, or other computer vendors interconnected on a local area network such as an Ethernet network, token ring, ATM or other packet-based computer network. The Software Application Development System, 120 develops and implements software to produce value-added weather information from the collected weather data. For example, the weather information is collected and formatted in appropriate tables, graphics overlaid on weather maps or combined with appropriate graphics or analyzed to produce weather forecasts. The particular weather information analyses are wide and varied and can be developed by meteorologists and computer programmers skilled in the art of using the Hardware and Software systems 310 internal to the NOC. Weather service information providers such as DTN/Kavouras, WSI, NWS Accuweather, as previously mentioned typically provide proprietary software packages to develop weather related information, graphics, radar, etc. The details of the particular functions and implementations are further described herein and still other functions will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The Software Application Development System 120 may also be implemented using a network client-server architecture with a file server to collect weather information data for analysis and forecasting. The hardware may include personal computers and computer workstations such as Windows NT, Unix, Linux or other comparable systems from Sun Microsystems, Silicon Graphics, or other computer vendors interconnected on a local area network such as an Ethernet network, token ring, ATM or other packet-based computer network. The Product Design Integration & Distribution 140 implements the systems developed by the Hardware and Software development systems 110, 120 to produce the particular information products and program content 142 as data 102 is collected. The Product Design Integration & Distribution 140 system processes incoming data and operates to continually provide updated weather information 142 to be transmitted to the network operations center 300 to produce weather information programming. High capacity data storage devices, file servers and databases from a variety of vendors may be utilized to implement this function. A real-time Product Distribution System 150 with a satellite distribution system and a backup landline 152 may be utilized to distribute the information product to the Network Operation Center 300 for further production. As shown in FIG. 4B, a satellite distribution system is utilized to distribute the information and products in a real-time or near real-time manner. The Network Operation Center 300 includes an earth receive station to receive real-time information products from the Data Analysis and Graphics 100 operation for processing by the Weather Data Analysis Forecast and Graphics 310 ("WDA&G"), a subsystem to the NOC 300. In addition, a backup terrestrial or landline 152 may also be utilized as a redundant facility in the case of failure of the primary satellite distribution system. Other operations areas include the exchange and update of product services, maintenance, installation of new services, customer communications between the WDA&G 310 a subsystem to the NOC 300 and the information service provider 100 as needed to operate the system. Referring now to FIG. 5, shown is a general block diagram of a Commercial Transaction Processing system 200 including contract information, product information, purchase information, purchase confirmation to manage the various sales and business aspects of the system. In an exemplary embodiment capable of providing interactive and transactional capabilities, the Commercial Transaction Processing 200 is the process by which an organization or commercial partner 202 external to the system 50 is able to display, market, sell and support its products via the interactive/transactional network infrastructure. Different commercial partners 202 may market or sell products or services interactively through the streaming media capabilities of the network. After securing a negotiated mutually agreeable contract 210, the external commercial partner 202 provides and/or works in cooperation with the system operator to develop sales and marketing information such as graphics, video, pricing, options, technical specifications and shipping information for the product 220. The Commercial Transaction Processing 200 system sends the information to the NOC 300 to produce the appropriate programming product such as sales and marketing information and graphics according to the agreements with the commercial partners. For example, the NOC 300 may include Set Top Application Development Management 410 as further described in FIG. 12 to produce the appropriate programming for an interactive application. After integrating this information into the appropriate interactive TV platform such as Wink, Open TV, HTML, Java, CGI, etc, the NOC 300 integrates the interactive and/or transactional components into the distribution network to send it onto the RCONs 500 (FIG. 6) for implementation via a downstream device such as a headend. In general, commonly available online transaction processing systems manufactured and distributed by the likes of NCR, Tandem and others for use in banking, ticketing and other product purchase applications can be modified to exchange data with the Interactive Set Top Application Development & Management 410 and Channel, Traffic & Contract Management 350 systems both of which are internal to the NOC 300. The requirements to exchange data with the CT&CM 350 subsystem is based on the assumption that a processing charge will be assessed by the network on interactive purchases executed via the network infrastructure. Accordingly, the CT&CM 350 subsystem tracks and manages the financial commitments associated with the exemplary online transaction; i.e., (1) was a transaction for a particular product completed, (2) how much was the transaction, (3) what percentage and/or transaction fee is due and (4) have normal billing and payments for this transaction been executed? Regarding data I/O with the Set Top Application Development and Management 410 ("SAD&M") subsystem, the Online Commercial Transaction Processor 200 ("OCTP") system frames the product data in a structurally compatible fashion for the chosen interactive operating system; e.g., Wink, Open TV, HTML, Java, CGI, etc. The type of data imported by the SAD&M 410 subsystem from the OCTP 200 system is generally sales and marketing information such as graphics, video, pricing, options, technical specifications and shipping information. As the RCONs 500 utilizes encapsulated IP transport techniques to transmitted the different interactive/transactional programming elements, transport of these elements is done in a pretty much an overlay, VPN fashion. In other works, the distribution of interactive/transactional elements from the network SAD&M 410 subsystem to any particular head-end 450 is done so that no interim processing is required; i.e., the interactive application and data elements are transmitted from the SAD&M 410 subsystem to the head-end 450 without change. As with other elements, IP encryption ensures that the proper program elements are delivered to the appropriate network RCON 500. The only remaining consideration then is providing the proper physical interface between the network RCON responsible for delivery of the interactive/transactional elements to the predetermined headend 450 device. Consequently, the RCONs 500 further distributes programming to headend devices 450 that distribute programming to viewer set top devices. The viewers of interactive programming may select displayed items to view additional information about the product or service and may eventually conduct a transaction to purchase the desired product or service, as further described herein. A return network such as a modem dial up telephone line, wide area network, or Internet connection from the viewer's location to the appropriate transaction can be utilized to allow viewers to return information to request or complete transactions. A number of different return networks may be provided by commercially available interactive television systems. For example, during a weather program describing wintry weather conditions in the northeast, an airline or travel company may market and sell travel vacations to warm locales such as Florida or the Caribbean. During the wintry weather report, the streaming media carries a graphic advertising the travel vacation that appears in an additional on-screen window such as on of the windows shown in FIGS. 2A and 2 B. For example, the window 66 may show a graphic with instructions for viewers to request more information about the product and then eventually purchase the offered product through an electronic commercial transaction. In a particular embodiment, the product can be purchased interactively on-line if the viewer so desires. The on-line transaction is conducted via standard means enabled by interactive operating systems offered or enabled by the likes of Wink, Open TV, HTML, Java, CGI, etc. Referring now to FIG. 6, shown is the system Network Operations Center ("NOC") 300 that manages, integrates and automates various production, multiplexing and distribution functions of the system. Generally, the NOC 300 implements and utilizes a distribution network which transmits real-time program and data elements along with store and forward components in a digital streaming media via an IP based Network Distributing, Monitoring and Control System 370 to the various RCONs 500 at remote locations throughout the desired viewing areas RCON 500 preferably interfaces a plurality of remote nodes including headends 450, which receive streaming media, information products and program elements addressed for that node by way of encapsulated IP, IP encryption and IP addressing techniques whether in a serial, broadcast and/or hybrid distribution configuration. Moreover, RCONs 500 provide the network interface with the downstream headends device 450 so that the interactive application software and real-time data components of the transactional product can be transported to and from the end user's TV computational device which may reside in a set-top box, computer of even within the TV itself. In a preferred embodiment, RCON 500 receives national feed video for programming and also has the capability to assemble local programming and perform commercial insertion using a variety of program elements that may be distributed via the encapsulated IP transport or provided locally. In this embodiment, the headend device 450 is the network facility responsible for final distribution of the streaming media programming to the viewer or end user such as a TV affiliate, a cable system headend, a DTH satellite uplink facility, web server and/or home based processing unit as further described in FIGS. 13A-13E. Further details of the distribution network will be provided herein. It should be understood that any of the functions, processes and methods of the NOC 300 subsystems shown in FIG. 6 and further described in the FIGS. 9-22 below can be implemented by those skilled in the art with appropriate logic to implement the described methods and functions in application software modules as a set of computer executable software instructions. A computer workstation running the application software includes a Computer Processing Unit ("CPU") or microprocessor to implement the logic that controls the operation of the system. The microprocessor executes software that can be programmed by those of skill in the art to provide the described functionality. The software can be represent as a sequence of binary bits maintained on a computer readable medium including magnetic disks, optical disks, organic disks, and any other volatile or (e.g., Random Access memory ("RAM")) non-volatile firmware (e.g., Read Only Memory ("ROM")) storage system readable by the CPU. The memory locations where data bits are maintained also include physical locations that have particular electrical, magnetic, optical, or organic properties corresponding to the stored data bits. The software instructions are executed as data bits by the CPU with a memory system causing a transformation of the electrical signal representation, and the maintenance of data bits at memory locations in the memory system to thereby reconfigure or otherwise alter the unit's operation. As see in FIG. 6, the NOC includes a Channel, Traffic, Contract and Management 350 function that receives the input from the Commercial Transaction Processing 200 to document, implement and track the mutually agreed upon contractual arrangements. As noted before, the requirements to exchange data with the CT&CM 350 subsystem is based on the assumption that a processing charge will be assessed by the network on interactive purchases executed via the network infrastructure. According CT&CM 350 subsystem tracks and manages the financial commitments associated with the exemplary online transaction; i.e., (1) was a transaction for a particular product completed, (2) how much was the transaction, (3) what percentage and/or transaction fee is due and (4) have normal billing and payments for this transaction been executed? Account and enterprise systems from a number of suppliers such as Platinum Technologies, SAP, etc. Channel, Traffic, Contract and Management 350 largely determines and controls the desired capabilities of the system according to the negotiated contractual obligations and authorizations of the subscribers. For example, the management system 350 builds and manages program schedules according to the contractual obligations the system operator has negotiated. The system 350 generates and manages the appropriate plurality of programming schedules (FIGS. 3A and 3B) and the appropriate multi-window screen elements, as well as commercials are inserted to be shown to users at the contracted times. The Management system 350 preferably also tracks the revenues and costs of the operation and allow financial management of the system. An exemplary embodiment of the Channel, Traffic, Contract and Management 350 is described in more detail with reference to FIG. 10. The Management system 350 communicates to various other subsystems, such as the Production Automation and Network Playback 330, Network Automation and Integration 390 and Set Top Application Development and Management 410 the appropriate information and schedules to enable the production and distribution of the appropriate multi-window program elements to implement the desired distribution of customized program streams. The plurality of program schedules contains the desired programming that is implemented and distributed to viewers by the system 50 to create the customized multi-window display in different geographic areas of the country. Weather Data Forecasts and Graphics 310 receives weather information data from external third party sources as previously described with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B and creates programming content products and data such as weather forecasts and information programming content in the form of multimedia content graphics, audio, video, text, etc. Weather Data Forecasts and Graphics 310 as described in more detail with reference to FIG. 9. Generally, Production Automation & Network Playback 330 and Network Automation and Integration 390 utilize the weather products and data to produce programming content to be carried by encapsulated IP techniques to be distributed to subscribers through RCONs 500. The Production Automation and Network Playback 330 provides the facilities including programming studios and technical operations and equipment to produce and programming content for the system. Production Automation and Network Playback 330 interfaces with Channel, Traffic, Contract and Management 350 to determine and produce the appropriate programming and information content. Production Automation & Network Playback 330 is further described with reference to FIG. 11 and Network Automation & Integration 390, is described further with reference to FIG. 15. Network Distribution, Monitor & Control 370 provides the means through which streaming as well as "store & forward" program elements are (1) packaged via IP encapsulation and addressed via IP encryption for distribution to various remote channel origination nodes 500, (2) monitored and verified by way of a "quantum" monitoring system consisting of "cloned" RCONs 500 and alarm and status updates from in the field RCONs 500 and (3) controlled for purposes of pre-emption for weather alerts, restoral of RCON functionality and detailed monitoring of RCON functions. Network Distribution, Monitor & Control 370 is described further in reference to the description of FIG. 15. In this exemplary embodiment, the elements of the streaming media distribution may include IP distribution as the transport "wrapper" of the streaming media including national/common programming elements with associated stored graphic, data, schedules, commands, heuristics and executable software modules is distributed to various remote channel origination nodes. The system may also utilize IP encryption as the means of scrambling distributed program elements on both serial and point to point and/or multi-cast networks. For the purpose of the exemplary weather information distribution network, IP distribution of the "product" and programming content is configured in a fashion designed to maximize both operational flexibility and/or over all economics of implementing and operating the system. Accordingly, the distribution configuration of the respective TV, Cable, DTH and/or Internet network and/or service will dictate the means in which the network distributes its content to the downstream RCON 500 and network provider. In other words, the distribution of the weather products can be accomplished over any type of transmission system whether terrestrial, wireless, simplex and/or duplex. Moreover, IP transport of the programming products, data, control information, etc. can be accomplished over a variety of standards based telecommunications facilities, employing DVB, SONET/SDH, T3, Frame Relay as well as other transmission protocols. Regarding the IP encryption of broadcast quality, real-time as well as "store and forward" elements of the programming network, the methods employed are very much like those used in Internet based TCP/IP based networks for the routing of requests, files, e-mail, etc. In short, an Internet address in a numeric format such as "205.12.234.231" is used as a unique identifier of the RCON (500) in question. This address is not a permanent feature of the hardware but is assigned to specific hardware. Accordingly, this Internet address is not hardware specific and can also be reassigned to other hardware. In the case of the exemplary weather network, an asymmetrical configuration composed of a simplex IP transmit via DVB satellite circuit (see FIG. 7) and a duplex internet connection for monitoring and control via normal on demand, dial up connection to the Internet is utilized. IP Security (IPSec) and/or Encryption In an exemplary embodiment, IPSec is a framework of open standards for ensuring secure private communications over the Internet that is provided by an equipment manufacturer such as Cisco Systems, Inc. Based on standards developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), IPSec ensures confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity of data communications across a public network. IPSec provides a necessary component of a standards-based, flexible solution for deploying a network-wide security policy.
Feature Comment/Description Benefit
Confidentiality, IPSec provides these Data can be transmitted across a
public
Integrity and foundation network services network without fear of
observation,
Authenticity of through encryption and modification, or spoofing. This
enables
Data authentication technologies. applications such as VPNs,
extranets, and
remote users.
Integrated IPSec is available as a Security can be implemented without
Solution software-only upgrade to the costly changes to every
computer,
network infrastructure. providing great cost savings because
only
the infrastructure needs to be
changed.
Certificate Devices are automatically This feature scales to large
networks that
Support authenticated using digital require secure connections
between many
certificates. devices.
IKE This protocol is used to It enables specific secure
communications
automatically negotiate without costly manual
preconfiguration.
security associations.
Flexible Traffic can be selected for Selected traffic can be encrypted
to
Security encryption based on extended increase overall performance.
Policies access lists. Different classifications of data
can be
encrypted with different keys or
different
algorithms.
Standard IPSec is an emerging IETF IPSec allows multivendor
interoperability
Solution standard on the IETF among network devices, PCs, and
other
standards track. computing systems.
The following is a detailed example of one approach to the implementation of IP Sec that can be used to implement the present embodiment. IPSec--IPSec uses encryption technology to provide data confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity between participating peers in a private network. Cisco provides full Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP) and Authentication Header (AH) support. IKE--The Internet Key Exchange (IKE), formerly known as the Internet Security Association Key Management Protocol or ISAKMP/Oakley) provides security association management. IKE authenticates each peer in an IPSec transaction, negotiates security policy, and handles the exchange of session keys. Cisco has been leading the standardization effort for IKE by writing IETF Internet drafts and by making a freeware version of IKE available on the Internet. Certificate management--Cisco fully supports the X509.V3 certificate system for device authentication. Cisco and Verisign have developed the certificate enrollment Protocol (CeP), a protocol for communicating with certificate authorities. Several vendors, including Verisign and Entrust Technologies, will support Cisco CEP and be interoperable with Cisco devices. This certificate solution supports hierarchical certificate structures and the cross-certification necessary for a public key infrastructure (PKI) solution. The component technologies which are available and can be practiced by those skilled in the art include: Diffie-Hellman, a public-key method for key exchange--This feature is used within IKE to establish ephemeral session keys. DES--The Data Encryption Standard (DES) is used to encrypt packet data. MD5/SHA--The Message Digest 5/SHA hash algorithms are used to authenticate packet data. IPSec in Cisco IOS software supports the following standards: Current RFCs and Internet drafts for IPSec and IKE: ESP is per draft-ietf-ipsec-esp-v2-04. txt AH is per draft-ietf-ipsec-auth-header-05. txt IKE is per draft-ietf-ipsec-ISAKMP/Oakley-07. txt Entire IPSec implementation is per draft-ietf-ipsec-arch-sec-04. txt (Security Architecture four the Internet Protocol) IPSec and IKE encryption algorithms including: DES-CBC with Explicit IV 40-bit DES-CBC with Explicit IV DES-CBC with Derived IV as specified in RFC 1829 Authentication algorithms: HMAC-MD5 HMAC-SHA Keyed MD5 as specified in RFC 1828 This use of IP encryption combined with IP transmission techniques enables the distribution of broadcast quality, real-time as well as "store and forward" elements of the programming product via a wide variety of network configurations so that only a specific, downstream RCON (500) receives the material in question. Just in the same fashion in which encrypted e-mail sent via the Internet destined for a specific PC is received only by that PC. These IP techniques enables a wide variety of file types and/or protocols to be "packaged" and/or encapsulated by way of the addition of IP header information (see FIG. 8) for transmission via the chosen network configuration so that upon arrival at the appropriate RCON as specified by its IP addressing and other security matters the original file type and/or protocols can be unwrapped for distribution to the appropriate downstream processes. This is opposed to current approaches that assign a permanent ID to each integrated receiver decoder (IRD) in a point to multi-point satellite network. The current state of the art in broadcast quality network monitor and control involves the management of digital distribution of compressed video, audio and data via a statistically multiplexed satellite distribution system such as provided by the Divicom Inc. of Milipitas, Calif. as well as other suppliers. Preferably, the exemplary distribution system transmits programming as digital multimedia streaming media including MPEG-2 digital video, graphics, audio and control data using DVB digital broadcast standards and TCP/IP protocols. The exemplary system uses layers of transmission protocols implemented according to the OSI communication model to package and deliver the digital multimedia information over the satellite broadcast system. FIG. 7 diagrammatically shows the different transport packet layers. At the lowest MPEG layer 1002, all video, audio and multimedia data are processed as entirely digital data information that is multiplexed, compressed, and packaged into fixed-length MPEG packets. The multimedia information broadcast from the NOC 300 to the RCON 500 receivers are in the form of digital information segregated and assembled into packets. The exemplary system transmits only digital multimedia information. Analog video or audio data such as NTSC or conventional analog video signals and control information are not transmitted from the NOC 300 and remote locations MPEG-2 compression allows picture information to be compressed to bandwidth that can be carried by digital signals. At the DVB layer 1004, processing according to DVB standards including forward-error-correction, scrambling, randomizing, interleaving, and modulation are added to the digital MPEG packets. At the IP layer 1006, IP transport information is added to the DVB packets, including the appropriate IP address of the RCON 500 unit that is to receive the packet. The TCP/IP transmission protocol is a communication protocol commonly used to transport packetized messages over the Internet. The data packets are also encrypted or scrambled at the IP layer to provide conditional access to only authorized subscribers. Scrambling at any protocol layer protects that layer and every layer above it from unauthorized access or otherwise being received. Thus, encryption or scrambling at the IP packet layer protects the information content at the higher layer to allow only selected subscribers to receive the information content. A number of different scrambling techniques can be used. In the planned system, IP packets are encrypted using standard encryption techniques that "mix" the original data with a "key" known only to the subscribers authorized to receive messages. By knowing the appropriate key and the method used to mixing the original data with the key ("scrambling algorithm"), a subscriber can decrypt the message and recover the original data. The RCON 500 receivers are provided with the appropriate "key" to decrypt the IP packets addressed to that unit. To receive the streaming media, RCON 500 units are placed at the cable television system headends to receive the satellite broadcasts. Each RCON 500 unit will be assigned an IP address to uniquely identify each unit. In an IP network, each RCON 500 unit has its own unique IP address. An IP address is commonly represented as a series of four numbers, each less than 256, separated by periods as shown below: 192,112.36.5 128.174.5.6 The transmitted digital multimedia data and control information is packaged in TCP/IP protocol packets or IP datagrams. The satellite transmission system broadcasts streaming media with an encrypted IP address and transport protocol. A diagrammatic example of an IP datagram header is shown in FIG. 8. In operation, the RCON units receive IP packets addressed to its IP address and passes on IP packets addressed to other IP addresses. To access encrypted IP packets addressed to it, a RCON unit must have both the proper IP address to receive the encrypted packets and the appropriate key to decrypt the packet. First, only the RCON 500 unit with the appropriate IP address can capture encrypted IP packets addressed to the IP address. The IP address allows the system to broadcast multimedia information to a particular RCON 500 unit. For example, because RCON 500 units may be located over a wide geographic area, weather information will necessarily vary for receivers in different geographic areas. The system is capable of directing customized local weather programs to the appropriate RCON 500 units using the IP addressing scheme. In addition to the proper IP address to actually access the information in encrypted IP packets received by a RCON 500 unit, the RCON must also have a decryption key to decrypt packets as described above. The exemplary system uses Media4's MediaStream product or other similar commercially available products to implement and utilize IP addressing and encryption over a satellite transmission system Media4's MediaStream product scrambles or encrypts the IP packets to distribute it over a satellite transmission system to the RCON unit with the appropriate address. Thus, the encrypted Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol ("TCP/IP Encryption") allows the system to distribute customized local weather information to appropriate subscribers. Using IP addresses and encrypted digital packets, the receiving audience can be selected as desired. Each RCON 500 unit has its own unique IP address and receives only multimedia weather information addressed to the RCON 500 with that IP address. Only a receiver with the proper IP address to capture the packets and the appropriate key to decrypt the IP packet can receive the packet. This use of IP encryption combined with IP transmission techniques enables the distribution of broadcast quality, real-time as well as "store and forward" elements of the programming product via serial networks so that only a specific, downstream RCON 500 receives the desired information. Just in the same fashion in which encrypted e-mail sent via the Internet destined for a specific network device or personal computer is received only by that device. This is opposed to current approaches that assign a permanent ID to each integrated receiver decoder ("IRD") or utilize a variable indexed address list to modify addresses in a point to multi-point satellite network. The current state of the art in broadcast quality network monitor & control involves the management of digital distribution of compressed video, audio and data via a statistically multiplexed satellite distribution system. Generally, Set Top Application Development & Management 410 may allow the system, if desired, to develop the necessary software elements and graphics to implement interactive television where viewers may request information from available selections that are offer to them and provide further responses as desired. The Set Top Application Development & Management 410 may also allow the system with transactional capabilities to provide on-line transactions to be conducted by program viewers. The Set Top Application Development & Management 410 may generates the computer graphics and capabilities necessary to implement interactive/transactional television. Set Top Application Development & Management 410 is described in more detail with reference to FIG. 12. Weather Data, Analysis, Forecasts and Graphics Referring now to FIG. 9, a more detailed description of the Weather Data and Graphics 310 shown in FIG. 6 is described. The Weather Data and Graphics 310 preferably employs the use of computer system that through a satellite-demodulated data carrier signal, can provide the necessary information components to produce the desired weather programming content. The Weather Data and Graphics 310 will utilize network technologies and client-server architectures enabling computer workstations accessing file or graphics servers. In this exemplary block diagram, the server is illustrated as the central circle 310 and the clients are the various workstations networked to the server. The products prepared by the Weather Data and Graphics 310 are interfaced to Production Automation and Network Playback 330 and Network Automation and Integration 390, as shown in FIG. 6, to produce the streaming media programming content for distribution to subscribers. In the exemplary weather information system, weather data and information to allow the meteorologists within the organization to predict the weather using computer modeling data, graphical weather data as well as tabular data is provided to Weather Data and Graphics from a system such as Data and Analysis 100 of FIG. 1. In this embodiment, these weather information components are referred to as DIFAX and alphanumeric data products. DIFAX data is produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's ("NOAA") National Weather Service ("NWS") through the National Center for Environmental Prediction ("NCEP"). These data products consist of current graphical representations of the atmosphere at numerous altitude levels, as well as graphical representations of forecasts as derived from mathematical computer models. Along with short-term man-modified forecasts and longer-term climatological forecasts, the DIFAX data is the backbone of a meteorologist's forecasting arsenal. Alphanumeric (lit. numbers and letters) products which are issued by the National Weather Service, both at a national and regional level, typically consist of both tabular representations of the same computer models issued in DIFAX form, as well as various weather products issued by the National Weather Service's Offices located in strategic locations nationwide. These products may include local zone forecasts issued by these offices, along with hourly observations of weather conditions across different regions in the United States. These regional offices also issue weather statements, advisories and warnings during times of inclement weather in alphanumeric form as well to further enhance the product list issued by the National Weather Service. These products are transmitted by NOAA along their Family of Services product transmission feed which include the Domestic Data Service, the Public Product Service, as well as the traditional FAA 604 line. Many of these services are bundled on the National Weather Service's Weather Wire Service. The Weather Data/Predictive Model Output Workstation 3002 preferably manages, distributes, catalogues, and outputs these products as required by the meteorologists using the workstation 3002. The Weather Data/Predictive Model Output Workstation 3002 can be a desktop workstation or personal computer, Windows 95, Windows NT, Unix or similar operating system workstation such as that from Silicon Graphics, Sun Microsystems, Dell Computer. The software resident on workstation 3002 is preferably a custom meteorological sorting package that is currently provided by external vendors 100 of weather related products such as DTN/Kavouras, WSI, Accuweather, etc. The Watches and Warnings Workstation 3006 is designed to be a stand-alone device which monitors the products transmitted along the NWS Family of Services to automatically generate a weather graphics product which can be aired automatically in a broadcast product. By looking for a certain product codes transmitted within each alphanumeric product issued by the NWS, the Watches and Warnings Workstation 3006 is alerted to weather advisories, watches and warnings which can then be passed along into the broadcast product stream either automatically or manually by a Master Control Operator. These particular product codes are well known to those skilled in the art and need not be described here in any detail. The computer workstation 3006 can be programmed to show user-defined regional maps and graphics automatically updated to depict the latest states of noteworthy weather advisories as issued through the NWS through the local Weather Service Offices (WSO) and the Storm Prediction Center (SPC). Taking the text from the weather advisories, lower screen left to right scrolling text information such as shown in the multi-window display of FIG. 2, can also be automatically generated from this workstation for broadcast stream insertion. This scrolling text information, referred to as crawls, or static graphics provide the viewer of the broadcast product with text information issued by the NWS during these times of inclement and noteworthy weather. After being alerted by an audible tone also generated by the computer workstation 3006, the viewer of the product sees the display of the graphical representation of the weather advisory, as well as the crawl generated textual information generated from the text of the advisory. The Watches and Warnings Workstation 3006 is particularly useful for the operation and production of noteworthy weather events in a weather information of the present embodiment. Radar Display Workstation 3004 is preferably networked into the data server that distributes into this processor the radar images transmitted by the National Weather Service's NEXRAD Doppler Radar network or a Proprietary Doppler Radar System that may be provided by external vendors 100 of radar related products and services such as DTN/Kavouras, Barons, etc. The workstation 3004 then displays the radar data above a customized basemap for data display and animation of this data. With the ability to user define the amount of data cataloguing and animation speed the meteorologist then is able to track storms and their history using both the computer's archival along with the NEXRAD's products of storm analysis. The meteorologist then has the choice of which of these numerous products to display into the on-air broadcast product. One of the most unique capabilities of this workstation 3006 is the ability to display highly localized radar images 3008 using what is referred to as "street level" technology. Based on the highly accurate Global Positioning Systemdata, points can be defined to allow the meteorologist to display these radar images, in real-time, on maps showing local streets, neighborhoods, and communities with high levels of specificity and accuracy. By showing this level of local information, both the meteorologist and the viewer of such a product benefit by giving each the most useful information possible. The meteorologist then has the ability to analyze the weather situation with a local specificity never before available to a national weather network audience while the viewer has the luxury of seeing his neighborhood depicted on a local radar display, giving him the ability to determine his personal level of reaction to inclement weather. With this workstation 3008 in place, the most highly localized product possible can be provided. The National On-Air Graphics Generation, Workstation 3020 is preferably responsible for the generation of the graphics, animations and automatically updated alphanumeric displays over user-defined basemaps. This computer workstation 3020 has the ability to automatically update weather satellite and radar animation files making them available to the on-air product upon request. The most advanced technology of three-dimensional displays of weather forecasts will also be produced from this workstation in files of animated weather symbols dynamically displayed over user-defined basemaps. By changing perspective over a defined surface, local, regional, national, hemispheric, or global, the workstation 3020 has the ability to display the weather information, whether user-defined animations of current and forecast Weather information or automatically generated satellite and radar data, from dynamically changing and varying views of perspective giving the viewer the perception of flying through the computer generated scene. This fly-through technology is revolutionizing the display of weather information, and will be used in an environment never before displayed consistently in a national weather network. Then, graphics artists, using this data to formulate their graphics content for specific weather situations, program their sequences to display forecasts and weather information to the national audience, especially highlighting weather occurrences of national interest. The Local Weather Graphics Production Workstation 3040 is preferably configured to automatically produce regional and local weather information as defined by the Local Coverage Area being serviced ("LCA"). Local Coverage Area is defined by the geographic region that includes subscribers with similar geography, climate, terrestrial expectations, community interests and receives the same local programming. For the purposes of local programming delivery, a market refers to the television market defined by Nielsen called Designated Market Area ("DMA"). A DMA is made up of one or more counties in which stations, local in a central town or city, are most viewed. DMAs usually extend over smaller areas in the East, where cities are closer together than in the West. Each LCA may include subscribers from one or more markets. Displays of composited radar and regional weather satellite can be generated by this workstation 3040 to automatically allow close in depictions of weather observations, forecasting, and radar. Through the use of the satellite and radar data, along with the automatically updating graphical displays of auto-plotting alphanumeric data, the Local Coverage Area viewer will have displayed to them a local level of specificity again never before available to the viewer from a nationally based weather network. The most advanced technology of three-dimensional displays of weather forecasts will also be produced from this workstation in files of animated weather data dynamically displayed over user-defined basemaps. By changing perspective over a defined surface, local, regional, the workstation 3040 has the ability to display the weather information, whether user-defined animations of current and historic weather information of automatically generated satellite and radar data, from dynamically changing and varying views of perspective giving the viewer the perception of flying through the computer generated scene. This fly-through technology is revolutionizing the display of weather information, especially to local audiences. The Local On-Air Graphics Generation Workstation 3022 is preferably similar to the National On-Air Graphics Workstation 3020 except for the scope of the geographical area covered by this product. While the National product highlights occurrences across the nation, the Local products will preferably be set-up to display regional and local weather information as defined by the Local Coverage Area being serviced. After taking automatically generated weather graphical information generated by the workstation 3040, the graphics artist will have the flexibility of using this information to generate local graphics while also manually generating animations and specialized graphics of particular local interest. Outside of enabling the manual production of local weather information, this workstation 3022 preferably provides the facility where primary window weather information will be produced, including depictions of forecasts, both short-term and long-term, as well as special event forecasts and local weather phenomena explanations. Available to the server, this information will be available to the Local Coverage Area broadcast product. The most advanced technology of three-dimensional displays of weather forecasts will also be produced from this workstation 3022 in files of animated weather symbols dynamically displayed over user-defined basemaps. By changing perspective over a defined surface, local, regional, the Local On-Air Graphics Generation Workstation 3022 has the ability to display the weather information, whether user-defined animations of current and forecast weather information or automatically venerated satellite and radar data, from dynamically changing and varying views of perspective giving the viewer the perception of flying through the computer generated scene. This fly-through technology is revolutionizing the display of weather information, and will be used in an environment never before displayed consistently in a national weather network, especially as applied for a Local Coverage Area. The production of local graphics can be generated by a variety of platform and software configurations including complete system currently offered by vendors including Accuweather, WSI, Weather Central, etc. As weather graphics are produced by the Local On-Air Graphics Workstation 3022 and from the Local Weather Graphics Production Workstation 3040, the Local Graphics Server 3030 will function in a networked capacity. Through the client-server network established between the computers, the Local Graphics Server 3030 will house the products created by the other Local Workstations, made available either by timed retrieval of these files, or by having the other Local Workstations 3020, 3022 save information directly into the Local Graphics Server 3030. This server 3030 will then, after compiling the information necessary to provide the Local Coverage Area with their specific local weather information, be accessible to network integration and local audio production. Channel, Traffic and Contract Management Referring now to FIG. 10, shown is high-level block diagram of an exemplary Channel, Traffic and Contract Management 350 shown in FIG. 6. Channel, Traffic & Contract Management ("CTCM") 350 system generates and distributes information necessary for generating program schedules based on the available programming and the contractual agreements and arrangements made with commercial partners. The CTCM 350 system produces schedules to be sent to Production Automation 330, Network Automation and Control 390, Set Top Development 410 and Commercial Transaction Processing 470 such that these systems can produce the media streams to be delivered by Network Distribution, Monitoring and Control 370 to the appropriate remote locations at the appropriate times. The Advertising Contacts 351 and Program Contracts 3512 terminals maintain the necessary arrangements made with commercial partners and integrates this information into the CTCM 350 system database. The Channel, Traffic & Contract Management 350 system also creates various programming schedules and manages the routing of elements and information related to the process of remote channel origination. Network Day or Airing 3514 and Local Day of Airing 3518 workstations can manage and integrate and create programming schedules from the available program elements for the national network as well as for all of the network RCONs, respectively. Network Commercial Integration 3516 and Local Commercial Integration 3520 allow commercial programming from different sources to be integrated as the appropriate program element and scheduled to be deliver at the appropriate times to be displayed to viewers. Accounting and Analysis 3522, Analysis Reports 3524 and Set Top Transaction Accounting 3526 enables the operator to monitor and manage the system, including generating financial and operational reports. In the exemplary embodiment, the CTCM 350 is responsible for the creation of various program schedules to implement the desired multi-window programming in a variety of remote locations. The numerous elements in the multi-part display screen require the continuous, dynamics updating of data elements. A seen in FIG. 10, the CTCM 350 utilizes a client-server network architecture to implement a system incorporating and integrating a number of different program schedules that may be generated and maintained on a number of different computing devices. The CTCM system 350 may also utilize a GUI application capable of constructing a streaming, multi-part screen presentation via "drag and drop" techniques on a master terminal and transporting the necessary multi-part playback schedules, as well as underlying graphs to a remote computational device for playback. The GUI application 900 for creating a multi-screen display on a remote display device is more fully described in FIG. 17. Channel, Traffic and Contract Management 350 may be implemented in many ways, including an enterprise management system with application software and databases interfaced to a number of operational areas of the system such as those available a number of software systems vendors such as Columbine JDS, Enterprise, Summit, TCS/Sunup, etc. Production Automation and Network Playback Generally, the production will consist of dynamically updated graphic feeds from the WDA&G 310 as enabled by the weather service provider 100 which delivers current weather data, scripts and other products via satellite with additional corresponding data received via high-speed data transmission lines. The multi-screen image 60 will be comprised of national, regional and local weather information. The primary window 62 of the multi-part screen will switch between different weather forecast segments. The main screen 62 will have the national segments with onscreen weather reporters as shown in FIG. 2B. There will be an audio narrative during the main screen segments without an on-screen reporter. The audio will service the regional and local segments, with each geographic area receiving an individualized audio narrative of the weather graphics. The facility will receive weather data feeds from weather service providers 100 via satellite and local meteorological packages at each headend location via telephone modem and/or Internet virtual private networking ("VPN") techniques. Using, for example, DTN/Kavouras as a primary weather source 100, there will be a full-time direct data connection for attendant data from Kavouras. Referring now to FIG. 11, shown is an exemplary embodiment of the Production Automation and Network Playback 330 system for creating and generating program and content for the information distribution system. Preferably, video, audio and data in the NOC 300 will be networked through a centralized system; e.g., all NOC 300 video will be routed through the Video Production Routing Switcher 3303, available on the Network Server Data Center 3302 and controlled by the Production Automation Processor 3306. Likewise, all audio in the NOC 300 will be routed through the Audio Production Routing Switcher 3315, available on the Network Audio Server Data Center 3311 and controlled by the Audio Production Automation Processor 3312. The Network Server Data Center ("NSDC") 3302 is configured as an integrated environment; i.e., the facility uses a layered network topology, this type of topology allows devices to interface within a discreet networked environment so that any one device has the capability to inter-operate with any other device on the network. The production operations is comprised of and interoperates with the following areas and systems: Weather Command Center and Studio Control 3307 Small produ | ||||||