Seamlessly switching among unicast, multicast, and broadcast mobile media content

• US 10,031,969 B2
• Filed: 11/25/2014
• Issued: 07/24/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DIRECTV, LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Quickplay Media Inc (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Maharajh, Kavi, MacNeil, Bart, Walker, Torin
• Primary Examiner(s): LY, ANH VU H
• Application Number:
  US14/553,813
• Publication Number:
  US 20150078247A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,337 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/437 Administration of user profiles, e.g. generation, initialisation, adaptation, distribution
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/48 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/487 using geographical or spatial information, e.g. location
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/7867 using information manually generated, e.g. tags, keywords, comments, title and artist information, manually generated time, location and usage information, user ratings
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/1011 to devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0244 Optimization
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/26 Arrangements for switching distribution systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/91 Mobile communication networks for accessing the Internet H04H60/85
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1485 Tariff-related aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/308 Route determination based on user's profile, e.g. premium users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1059 End-user terminal functionalities specially adapted for real-time communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/611 for multicast or broadcast systems for broadcast or conference H04L12/18; arrangements for broadcast or distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/00; arrangements for broadcast applications with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time H04H60/00; selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS], H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/752 adapting media to network capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/756 : adapting media to device capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 : at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/765 : intermediate
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 : Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 : in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/30 : Profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 : User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/41 : Billing record details, i.e. parameters, identifiers, structure of call data record [CDR]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/44 : Augmented, consolidated or itemized billing statement or bill presentation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/53 : using mediation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/61 : based on the service used
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23424 : involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for inserting or substituting an advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2387 : Stream processing in response to a playback request from an end-user, e.g. for trick-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/262 : Content or additional data distribution scheduling, e.g. sending additional data at off-peak times, updating software modules, calculating the carousel transmission frequency, delaying a video stream transmission, generating play-lists scheduling strategies for dispatcher in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/4881; arrangements for scheduling broadcast services or broadcast-related services H04H60/06; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10; establishing a time schedule or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/62
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 : embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6112 : involving terrestrial transmission, e.g. DVB-T
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 : involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6131 : involving transmission via a mobile phone network wireless downlink channel access H04W74/006
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6408 : Unicasting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6587 : Control parameters, e.g. trick play commands, viewpoint selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 : involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/025 : using location based information parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 : Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 : Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 : Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 : Accounting or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 : adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

In embodiments, the present invention provides a method and system for switching between broadcast and unicast content on a mobile device. The method and system involves making unicast content available to the mobile device, making broadcast content available to the mobile device; and providing an application on the mobile device which allows for switching between the unicast and broadcast content.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

providing, by a processing system comprising a processor, access to network-delivered broadcast content to a mobile device;

determining, by the processing system, unicast content that comprises different content than the network-delivered broadcast content based, at least in part, on an attribute of the network-delivered broadcast content, resulting in determined unicast content;

obtaining, by the processing system, first metadata associated with the network-delivered broadcast content;

obtaining, by the processing system, second metadata associated with the unicast content; and

providing, by the processing system, access to the determined unicast content to the mobile device, wherein an application on the mobile device enables switching at the mobile device between the determined unicast content and the network-delivered broadcast content according to the first metadata and the second metadata.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the determining the unicast content is performed in response to personalization.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the personalization is determined based on a user profile that indicates encoding for delivery to the mobile device.

4. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the personalization is associated with social networking to facilitate unicast content discovery.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein the social networking facilitates sharing of the unicast content with a target user device.

6. The method as recited in claim 5, further comprising recoding the unicast content into a format acceptable to the target user device when shared with the target user device.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the unicast content is determined in association with one of e-commerce, reporting, platform administration, advertising, security, billing, third party integration, architecture of the mobile device, gaming, mobile media business models, distribution, automated content tagging, automated content tagging with web content, automated content tagging with ingestion, automated content tagging with hosting, automated content tagging with content delivery, automated content tagging with combining data and metadata in a single file, automated content tagging with storage, a user interface, notifications, automated content tagging with content storage, automated content tagging with location information of the mobile device, or a combination thereof.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the attribute of the network-delivered broadcast content is associated with a quality of the network-delivered broadcast content, a reliability of a source of the network-delivered broadcast content, or a combination thereof.

16. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the unicast content includes multi-cast content.

9. A method comprising:

providing, by a processing system comprising a processor, access to broadcast content to a mobile device;

facilitating, by the processing system, a search of content to select unicast content, resulting in selected unicast content, wherein the selected unicast content comprises different content than the broadcast content, and wherein the search is according to the broadcast content accessed by the mobile device;

obtaining, by the processing system, first metadata associated with the broadcast content;

obtaining, by the processing system, second metadata associated with the unicast content; and

providing, by the processing system, access to the selected unicast content to the mobile device, wherein an application on the mobile device enables switching at the mobile device between the selected unicast content and the broadcast content according to the first metadata and the second metadata.

10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the providing access to the broadcast content includes providing a notification regarding one of the broadcast content and an associated unicast content of the selected unicast content or a combination thereof.

11. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein first metadata and second metadata include one of description of the broadcast content, description of the unicast content, technical requirements of the broadcast content, or technical requirements of the unicast content, and wherein the first metadata and the second metadata are used for one of encoding, transcoding, hosting or delivery of the broadcast content and the unicast content.

12. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein the notification includes an advertisement.

13. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein the notification includes a link to the associated unicast content.

14. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein the notification includes information regarding charges to be incurred.

15. The method as recited m claim 11, wherein the notification includes information regarding charges incurred.

17. A system comprising:

a processing system including a processor; and

a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, comprising;

providing access to network-delivered broadcast content to a mobile device;

obtaining first metadata associated with the network-delivered broadcast content;

obtaining second metadata associated with network-delivered unicast content; and

providing access to the network-delivered unicast content, comprising different content than the network-delivered broadcast content, to the mobile device, wherein an application on the mobile device enables discovering unicast content based on a search according to the network-delivered broadcast content, resulting in discovered unicast content, and enables switching at the mobile device between the discovered unicast content and the network-delivered broadcast content according to the first metadata and the second metadata.

18. The system as recited in claim 17, wherein the providing access to the network-delivered broadcast content includes providing a notification to the mobile device regarding one of the network-delivered broadcast content and associated unicast content of the network-delivered unicast content.

19. The system as recited in claim 18, wherein the notification is provided using a user interface.

20. The system as recited in claim 18, wherein the notification includes a link to the associated unicast content.