Digital video recorder failover

• US 10,566,028 B1
• Filed: 08/16/2016
• Issued: 02/18/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cox Communications Incorporated (Cox Enterprises Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Cox Communications Incorporated (Cox Enterprises Incorporated)
• Inventors: Nijim, Yousef Wasef, Strothmann, James Alan, Langa, Jay Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Shepard, Justin E
• Application Number:
  US15/237,682
• Time in Patent Office: 1,281 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/36 Monitoring, i.e. supervising the progress of recording or reproducing for digital recording G11B20/00 and s.gr.; for monitoring, testing or measuring of TV recorders of the type covered by H04N5/76 and subgroups, see H04N17/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/20 Servers specifically adapted for the distribution of content, e.g. VOD servers; Operations thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/21 Server components or server architectures
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/214 Specialised server platform, e.g. server located in an airplane, hotel, hospital arrangements specially adapted for local area broadcast systems H04H20/61
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/218 Source of audio or video content , e.g. local disk arrays details of retrieval in video databases G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2181 comprising remotely distributed storage units, e.g. when movies are replicated over a plurality of video servers distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS], H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2747 Remote storage of video programs received via the downstream path, e.g. from the server
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/442 Monitoring of processes or resources, e.g. detecting the failure of a recording device, monitoring the downstream bandwidth, the number of times a movie has been viewed, the storage space available from the internal hard disk arrangements for monitoring broadcast services or broadcast-related services H04H60/29; arrangements for identifying or recognising characteristics with a direct linkage to broadcast information H04H60/35; monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; monitoring in wireless networks H04W24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4425 Monitoring of client processing errors or hardware failure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time

Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure provide for systems and methods that provide automatic failure options from a primary recording and/or playback device/system to a backup recording and/or playback system, but are not so limited. A disclosed system operates to failover to one or more of a backup cDVR system and/or local DVR device/system when a primary recording and/or playback device/system is inoperable or otherwise inaccessible. A method of an embodiment operates to automatically failover to a backup DVR device/system upon detecting a failure mode associated with a primary DVR device/system, wherein the automatic failover includes synchronizing one or more content items and/or one or more content items playlists associated with the backup DVR device/system and the primary DVR device/system.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a cDVR system that includes cDVR storage to store one or more content items at one or more network locations, the cDVR system being a cloud-based digital video recorder;

a local DVR to receive record commands and playback commands from a video client to record content items and playback the content items locally, and to determine a recorded time of failure when the local DVR is inoperable for recording or playing back the content items locally; and

a server to receive a request from the video client to use the cDVR system for a recording operation or a playback operation associated with a content item when the local DVR is inoperable for recording or playing back content items, wherein the server operates further to;

determine whether the cDVR system is online and the local DVR is authorized to use the cDVR system; and

when it is determined that the cDVR system is online and the local DVR is authorized to use the cDVR system, provide a user interface to display a message that the local DVR is inoperable and query a user to select the cDVR system, and in response to receiving a selection of the cDVR system, retrieve the recorded time of failure from the local DVR and use the recorded time of failure to resume the recording operation at the cDVR system to record only a portion of the content item, wherein recording, playback, and playlist settings associated with the local DVR are automatically transferred for use with the cDVR system when the local DVR is inoperable.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the server receives requests from a set-top box (STB) UI to locate one or more content item titles stored at one or more network locations that match one or more content item titles stored at the local DVR.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the server operates to message a user that the local DVR is unavailable and to check an associated hard drive of the local DVR.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the server maintains a shared content item playlist associated with the local DVR and cDVR system.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the server operates to store a time associated with when the local DVR is inoperable for playing back content items.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the server uses failure detection information to automatically failover to a local or remote backup DVR system.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the server operates further to:

when it is determined that the cDVR system is online and the local DVR is authorized to use the cDVR system, use the recorded time of failure to resume the playback operation to playback only a portion of the content item from the recorded time of failure.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the server operates further to:

retrieve the content item from a remote DVR and store the content item in the cDVR storage at the same time when the content item is stored in the local DVR.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the server operates further to:

determine whether the content item is stored in the cDVR storage; and

when it is determined that the content item is not stored in the cDVR storage, stream the content item directly from a content source to the local DVR.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the cDVR storage is configured as a redundant array of computer readable storage devices.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the message is displayed on an electronic program guide (EPG) interface that uses guide data to generate an EPG display that includes a channel lineup, menu options for video on demand, and DVR settings.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein when the video client records and plays content from the local DVR, a first user interface is displayed, when the video client records and plays content from the cDVR system, a second user interface is displayed, and wherein the first and second interfaces are distinct user interfaces.

13. A method comprising:

using a cDVR system that includes cDVR storage to store content items at one or more network locations, the cDVR system being a cloud-based digital video recorder;

using a local DVR to receive record commands and playback commands from a video client to record content items and playback content items locally, and to determine a recorded time of failure when the local DVR is inoperable for recording or playing back the content items locally; and

using a server to receive a request to use the cDVR system for a recording operation or a playback operation associated with a content item when the local DVR is inoperable for recording or playing back content items, wherein the server operates further to;

determine whether the cDVR system is online and the local DVR is authorized to use the cDVR system; and

when it is determined that the cDVR system is online and the local DVR is authorized to use the cDVR system, provide a user interface to display a message that the local DVR is inoperable and query a user to select the cDVR system, and in response to receiving a selection of the cDVR system, retrieve the recorded time of failure from the local DVR and use the recorded time of failure to resume the recording operation at the cDVR system to record only a portion of the content item, wherein recording, playback, and playlist settings associated with the local DVR are automatically transferred for use with the cDVR system when the local DVR is inoperable.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising using the server to receive requests from a set-top box (STB) UI to request one or more content item titles stored at one or more network locations that match one or more content item titles stored at the local DVR.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising using the server to manage a shared content item playlist associated with the local DVR and cDVR system.

16. A system comprising:

a cDVR system that includes cDVR storage to store one or more content items at one or more network locations;

a video client to generate record commands to record the one or more content items and playback commands associated with the one or more content items, wherein the video client uses an EPG interface to communicate failover messages; and

a local DVR to receive commands from the video client to record the content items and playback the content items locally, and to determine a recorded time of failure when the local DVR is inoperable for recording or playing back the content items locally,

wherein the video client receives a failure mode message from the local DVR when there is a failure and conveys the failure mode message to a user and queries the user to select the cDVR system when the local DVR is inoperable;

wherein the video client operates to use the EPG interface to transmit the failure mode message and to automatically failover to the cDVR system for a playback operation in response to receiving a selection of the cDVR system when the local DVR is inoperable for playing back content items locally, the cDVR system being a backup cloud-based recording device, and

wherein the video client operates further to use the recorded time of failure to resume playback of only a portion of the content item from the cDVR storage when the local DVR is inoperable for playing back content items locally, and

wherein recording, playback, and playlist settings associated with the local DVR are automatically transferred for use with the cDVR system when the local DVR is inoperable.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the video client uses a shared content item playlist associated with the local DVR and cDVR system.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the video client stores a time associated with when the local DVR is inoperable for playing back content items.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the EPG interface provides one of a sector failure message or a hard disk failure message when the local DVR is inoperable for playing back content items.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the video client operates to display a shared playlist associated with the cDVR UI when the cDVR system is online.