Method and system for remotely transcoding content

• US 10,225,606 B2
• Filed: 07/25/2018
• Issued: 03/05/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DIRECTV, LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Syed, Khader B., Koehnlein, Michael J., Casavant, Scott D., Lee, Sean S., Joseph, Kuriacose, Guzman, Jorge H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Chenea
• Application Number:
  US16/045,068
• Publication Number:
  US 20180332346A1
• Time in Patent Office: 223 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2343 involving reformatting operations of video signals for distribution or compliance with end-user requests or end-user device requirements video transcoding H04N19/40; media packet handling at the source H04L65/762
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234309 by transcoding between formats or standards, e.g. from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 or from Quicktime to Realvideo conversion of standards in analog television systems H04N7/01
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/254 Management at additional data server, e.g. shopping server, rights management server arrangements for maintenance or administration in data networks H04L41/00; network services using third party service providers H04L67/53
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4126 The peripheral being portable, e.g. PDAs or mobile phones
• 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 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/436 Interfacing a local distribution network, e.g. communicating with another STB or one or more peripheral devices inside the home
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440218 by transcoding between formats or standards, e.g. from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 conversion of standards in analogue television systems H04N7/01
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4627 Rights management associated to the content security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6143 involving transmission via a satellite

Abstract

A system and method for remotely transcoding content includes a cloud location storing content titles, communicating at least one of the content titles to a user device to form communicated content titles. The user device is in communication with the cloud location through a network. The user device generates a selection signal for selecting a first content title from communicated content titles to form a selection. The user device negotiates settings by intercommunicating between the user device and the cloud location in response to form the selection. The user device communicates the selection to the cloud location. The cloud location has a transcoder device transcoding content corresponding to the selection to form transcoded content in response to the optimal settings. The cloud location communicates the transcoded content to the user device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

storing content titles in a cloud location;

communicating at least some of the content titles to a user device to form communicated content titles;

selecting a first content title from the communicated content titles at the user device to form a selection;

in response to selecting, negotiating settings by intercommunicating between the user device and the cloud location;

transcoding content corresponding to the selection at a transcoder device to form transcoded content in response to the settings; and

communicating the transcoded content to the user device from the cloud location.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein negotiating settings comprises determining a transcoding configuration and wherein transcoding content comprises transcoding content in response to the transcoding configuration.

3. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein negotiating settings comprises determining an encoding configuration and wherein transcoding content comprises transcoding content in response to the encoding configuration.

4. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein negotiating settings comprises determining a digital rights management configuration and wherein transcoding content comprises transcoding content in response to the digital rights management configuration.

5. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein negotiating settings comprises determining user device resolution and wherein transcoding content comprises transcoding content in response to the user device resolution.

6. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein transcoding content is performed in response to receiving the selection at a server associated with the transcoder device.

7. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein storing content titles comprises storing a future available content title and wherein selecting the first title comprises selecting the future available content title and, prior to negotiating, communicating a message of unavailability to the user device.

8. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein communicating the transcoded content comprises communicating the transcoded content to the user device from a mass storage device associated with the cloud location.

9. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising communicating a playlist comprising the content titles to the cloud location from a set top box.

10. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein communicating transcoded content comprises communicating transcoded content from a second cloud location.

11. A system comprising:

a cloud location storing content titles, communicating at least one of the content titles to a user device to form communicated content titles;

a user device in communication with the cloud location through a network, said user device generating a selection signal for selecting a first content title from the communicated content titles to form a selection, said user device negotiating settings by intercommunicating between the user device and the cloud location in response to forming the selection, said user device communicating the selection to the cloud location;

said cloud location comprising a transcoder device transcoding content corresponding to the selection to form transcoded content in response to the settings; and

said cloud location communicating the transcoded content to the user device.

12. The system as recited in claim 11 wherein the settings comprise an encoding configuration and the cloud location communicates in response to the encoding configuration.

13. The system as recited in claim 11 wherein the settings comprise a transcoding configuration and the cloud location communicates in response to the transcoding configuration.

14. The system as recited in claim 11 wherein the settings comprise a digital rights management configuration and wherein the cloud location communicates in response to the digital rights management configuration.

15. The system as recited in claim 11 wherein the settings comprise a user device resolution and wherein the cloud location communicates in response to the user device resolution.

16. The system as recited in claim 11 wherein a second cloud location transcodes the content in response to an encoding configuration.

17. The system as recited in claim 11 further comprising a mass storage device located remotely from a second cloud location for storing content corresponding to the content titles therein.

18. The system as recited in claim 17 wherein the user device communicates a request for a playlist to the cloud location and the mass storage device communicates the content to the user device through the second cloud location.

19. The system as recited in claim 18 wherein the mass storage device communicates transcoded content to the user device through the second cloud location.

20. The system as recited in claim 11 wherein the content titles comprise a future available content title, wherein the selection corresponds to the future available content title, said user device displaying a message of unavailability prior to negotiating.