In a digital network that includes a plurality of devices, which include
multiple devices that transmit transport streams, a system and method are
provided for discovering and mapping the transport streams and the
plurality of devices included in the digital network. In the preferred
embodiment, the system includes a controller that, among other things,
receives network messages from the plurality of devices and determines or
assigns transport stream identifiers in the network such that transport
stream identifier conflicts do not occur. In the preferred embodiment,
the plurality of devices are adapted to respond to a first message by
sending a network message to the controller, and the devices are adapted
to monitor their received transport stream(s) and respond to changes by
sending a second network message to the controller. The network messages
include a transport stream identifier, which is associated with a
transport stream, and a device identifier, which is associated with the
device that sent the message. The controller uses the received network
messages to generate the transport stream map.