DVR with enhanced functionality

• US 20010033736A1
• Filed: 04/18/2001
• Published: 10/25/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DIRECTV, LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Yap, Andrian, Davis, Robert, Ficco, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 8,312,490 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/46
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/455 said record carriers being in one device and being used as primary and secondary/backup media, e.g. HDD-DVD combo device, or as source and target media, e.g. PC and portable player
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6505 storing speech in digital form
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4112 having fewer capabilities than the client, e.g. thin client having less processing power or no tuning capabilities
• 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 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4314 for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4335 Housekeeping operations, e.g. prioritizing content for deletion because of storage space restrictions storage management, e.g. defragmentation G06F3/0604; unloading stored programs G06F9/445; storage management in file systems G06F16/10; buffering arrangements in a network node or in an end terminal in packet networks H04L49/90
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44222 Analytics of user selections, e.g. selection of programs or purchase activity monitoring of user selections in data processing systems G06F11/34; arrangements for monitoring the user's behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/443 OS processes, e.g. booting an STB, implementing a Java virtual machine in an STB or power management in an STB
• 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 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4583 Automatically resolving scheduling conflicts, e.g. when a recording by reservation has been programmed for two programs in the same time slot
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 : End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 : End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 : for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 : for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47217 : for controlling playback functions for recorded or on-demand content, e.g. using progress bars, mode or play-point indicators or bookmarks specific graphical features in visual interfaces H04N21/4312
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 : End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/488 : Data services, e.g. news ticker systems specially adapted for using meteorological information in broadcast systems H04H60/71
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 : for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/4448 : for frame-grabbing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/50 : Tuning indicators; Automatic tuning control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 : Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 : between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 : on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 : on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/783 : Adaptations for reproducing at a rate different from the recording rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 : on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/907 : using static stores, e.g. storage tubes or semiconductor memories H04N5/91 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 : by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17345 : Control of the passage of the selected programme

Abstract

A personal video on-demand system and method which permits a user to receive available content using a single tuner and perform one of a plurality of operations on the available content. These operations include recording two or more signals, where one or both may be simultaneously viewed, recording one or more signals and playing back one or more signals, playing back two or more signals, watching one or more signals while recording one or more other signals, viewing two or more signals live, or viewing at least one signal live, while viewing one or more signals in a playback mode. These operations also include selecting an even based on actor, actress, director, etc.,.alerting a user to an attempt to record a duplicate program, displaying a status of a program from the available content the user is watching, playing paused programming or converting paused programming to recorded programming during a channel change, allowing a user to record an entire program after viewing the program for a period of time, permitting a user to capture a snippet of the available content, permitting a user to rewind recording in an increment for playback of a portion of the available content, enabling a user to jump back from a live broadcast to a last paused video segment.

Claims

1. A method of processing available content, comprising:

receiving the available content using a single tuner; and

performing at least one of a plurality of operations on the available content received from the single tuner.

2. The method of

claim 1

, wherein said performing step includes selecting at least one recorded event from the available content, based on actor, actress, director, program title, key word, key phrase, tag information, synopsis, release date, critical review, related program, sequel, thumbnail, preview, or snippet.

3. The method of

claim 2

, wherein said selecting is initiated via remote control.

4. The method of

claim 2

, wherein said selecting is achieved by a user browsing through information related to the available content stored on at least one storage medium.

5. The method of

claim 1

, wherein said performing step includes alerting a user to an attempt to record a program from the available content that has already been recorded on at least one storage medium.

6. The method of

claim 1

, wherein said performing step includes tracking a list of recorded programs on the at least one storage medium for duplicates when a record operation is initiated.

7. The method of

claim 6

, wherein said performing step includes outputting a notification to a user if a duplicate exists.

8. The method of

claim 7

, wherein a duplicate exists if tag information matches.

9. The method of

claim 6

, wherein said performing step includes displaying characteristics of the selected program to record with a best match in the at least one storage medium for comparison by the user.

10. The method of

claim 6

, wherein said performing step includes prompting the user with a notification and the option to view the possible match to confirm that the user is about to record a duplicate.

11. The method of

claim 6

, wherein said performing step includes sending a notification after the match, asking the user if any or all portions of the duplicate episode should be erased.

12. The method of

claim 6

, wherein said performing step includes activating an automatic preference to erase any recording of a program that is identified as a duplicate.

13. The method of

claim 1

, wherein said performing step includes displaying a status of a program from the available content the user is watching.

14. The method of

claim 13

, wherein the status may include a current delay, a status indicator, available record time, medium capacity, out-of-space alert, or attributes.

15. The method of

claim 14

, wherein the current delay allows the user to see how far the recording is behind a live feed when pausing the live signal.

16. The method of

claim 14

, wherein the status indicator indicates whether the content a user is watching is live or recorded.

17. The method of

claim 14

, wherein available record time indicates an amount of time available for recording.

18. The method of

claim 1

, wherein said performing step includes clearing paused programming from the available content or converting paused programming to recorded programming during a channel change.

19. The method of

claim 18

, wherein said performing step includes prompting a user near an end of a pause time window whether permanent recording is desired.

20. The method of

claim 19

, wherein paused programming and permanent programming is stored in different portions of at least one storage medium.

21. The method of

claim 20

, wherein a portion of the at least one storage medium reserved for paused programming is variable.

22. The method of

claim 1

, wherein said performing step includes allowing a user to record an entire program from the available content after viewing the program for a period of time.

23. The method of

claim 1

, wherein said performing step includes permitting a user to capture a snippet of digital audio/video from the available content.

24. The method of

claim 23

, wherein the snippet is saved to an external device.

25. The method of

claim 24

, wherein the external device is a computer, high-density disk, or CDR.

26. The method of

claim 23

, wherein the digital audio/video from the available content is decoded.

27. The method of

claim 23

, wherein the digital audio/video from the available content is encoded.

28. The method of

claim 23

, wherein the digital audio/video is analog data.

29. The method of

claim 28

, wherein the external device is a VCR or other analog mass storage device.

30. The method of

claim 1

, wherein said performing step includes permitting a user to rewind recording in an increment for playback of a portion of the available content.

31. The method of

claim 30

, wherein the increment corresponds to a duration a remote control button is depressed.

32. The method of

claim 30

, wherein a loop may be established so that the instant replay is played repeatedly until stopped by a user.

33. The method of

claim 30

, wherein a loop may be established so that the instant replay is played repeatedly until a certain number of loops have been completed.

34. The method of

claim 1

, wherein said performing step includes enabling a user to jump back from a live broadcast to a last paused video segment.

35. The method of

claim 34

, wherein the jump back is triggered by a remote control.

36. The method of

claim 34

, wherein after resuming a live broadcast from a paused program, the jump back is back to a last paused point.

37. The method of

claim 36

, wherein after the jump back, the paused program is played back from the last pause point.

38. The method of

claim 1

, further comprising:

creating a personalized database from the available content.

39. The method of

claim 38

, said creating step including:

receiving an electronic program guide with available content;

receiving preferences indicating potentially desired content;

scanning the electronic program guide for the potentially desired content;

recording the potentially desired content located by said scanning;

aggregating a library of potentially desired content by iterating said scanning and recording steps;

creating a database, which catalogs the potentially desired content;

selecting content from the database and

permitting on-demand viewing of the selected content from the library of potentially desired content by a user.

40. The method of

claim 39

, further comprising:

determining a schedule of the potentially desired content; and

resolving conflicts in the schedule;

said recording step recording the potentially desired content according to the resolved schedule.

41. The method of

claim 39

, further comprising:

permitting a user to edit the library of potentially desired content.

42. The method of

claim 39

, further comprising:

permitting a user to organize the library of potentially desired content.

43. The method of

claim 39

, further comprising:

permitting a user to add at least one comment to at least one portion of the library of potentially desired content.

44. The method of

claim 39

, further comprising:

waiting until the potentially desired content is about to be broadcast, said recording step synchronizing the recording according to said waiting step.

45. The method of

claim 39

, said inputting including inputting criteria indicating one or more potentially desired content.

46. The method of

claim 39

, said inputting including determining potentially desired content selections based on previously selected content.

47. The method of

claim 39

, wherein said recording step is performed on at least one storage medium.

48. The method of

claim 47

, wherein the at least one storage medium is reconfigurable.

49. The method of

claim 47

, further comprising synchronizing access of the at least one storage medium to avoid periods of inaccessibility.

50. The method of

claim 47

further comprising, providing a synch pulse to confirm availability of the at least one storage medium.

51. The method of

claim 47

, wherein the at least one storage medium is expandable.

52. The method of

claim 47

, wherein at least one storage medium is automatically loaded.

53. The method of

claim 47

, wherein the potentially desired content includes a first content and a second content, said method further comprising:

simultaneously recording the first content and the second content.

54. The method of

claim 47

, wherein the potentially desired content includes a first content, a second content and a third content, said method further comprising:

determining whether the recording of the first content has been completed;

simultaneously recording the second and the third content.

55. The method of

claim 47

, wherein the potentially desired content includes a first content and a second content, said method further comprising:

performing on demand play back of the first and/or second content simultaneous with the recording of the first and/or second content; and

performing on demand play back of the second and/or third content simultaneous with the recording of the second and/or third content.

56. An apparatus for processing available content, comprising:

a single tuner for receiving the available content; and

a control unit for performing at least one of a plurality of operations on the available content received from the a single tuner.

57. The apparatus of

claim 56

, wherein said control unit permits selection of at least one recorded event from the available content, based on actor, actress, director, program title, key word, key phrase, tag information, synopsis, release date, critical review, related program, sequel, thumbnail, preview, or snippet.

58. The apparatus of

claim 57

, wherein said selection is initiated via remote control.

59. The apparatus of

claim 57

, wherein said selection is achieved by a user browsing through information related to the available content stored on at least one storage medium.

60. The method of

claim 57

, wherein said control unit alerts a user to an attempt to record a program from the available content that has already been recorded on at least one storage medium.

61. The apparatus of

claim 56

, wherein said control unit tracks a list of recorded programs on the at least one storage medium for duplicates when a record operation is initiated.

62. The apparatus of

claim 61

, wherein said control unit outputs a notification to a user if a duplicate exists.

63. The apparatus of

claim 62

, wherein a duplicate exists if tag information matches.

64. The apparatus of

claim 61

, wherein said control unit displays characteristics of the selected program to record with a best match in the at least one storage medium for comparison by the user.

65. The apparatus of

claim 61

, wherein said control unit prompts the user with a notification and the option to view the possible match to confirm that the user is about to record a duplicate.

66. The apparatus of

claim 61

, wherein said control unit sends a notification after the match, asking the user if any or all portions of the duplicate episode should be erased.

67. The apparatus of

claim 61

, wherein said control unit activates an automatic preference to erase any recording of a program that is identified as a duplicate.

68. The apparatus of

claim 56

, wherein said control unit displays a status of a program from the available content the user is watching.

69. The apparatus of

claim 68

, wherein the status may include a current delay, a status indicator, available record time, medium capacity, out-of-space alert, or attributes.

70. The apparatus of

claim 69

, wherein the current delay allows the user to see how far the recording is behind a live feed when pausing the live signal.

71. The apparatus of

claim 69

, wherein the status indicator indicates whether the content a user is watching is live or recorded.

72. The apparatus of

claim 69

, wherein available record time indicates an amount of time available for recording.

73. The apparatus of

claim 56

, wherein said control unit clears paused programming from the available content or converts paused programming to recorded programming during a channel change.

74. The apparatus of

claim 73

, wherein said control unit prompts a user near an end of a pause time window whether permanent recording is desired.

75. The apparatus of

claim 74

, wherein paused programming and permanent programming is stored in different portions of at least one storage medium.

76. The apparatus of

claim 75

, wherein a portion of the at least one storage medium reserved for paused programming is variable.

77. The apparatus of

claim 56

, wherein said control unit allows a user to record an entire program from the available content after viewing the program for a period of time.

78. The apparatus of

claim 56

, wherein said control unit permits a user to capture a snippet of digital audio/video from the available content.

79. The apparatus of

claim 78

, wherein the snippet is saved to an external device.

80. The apparatus of

claim 79

, wherein the external device is a computer, high-density disk, or CDR.

81. The apparatus of

claim 78

, wherein the digital audio/video from the available content is decoded.

82. The apparatus of

claim 78

, wherein the digital audio/video from the available content is encoded.

83. The apparatus of

claim 78

, wherein the digital audio/video is analog data.

84. The apparatus of

claim 83

, wherein the external device is a VCR or other analog mass storage device.

85. The apparatus of

claim 56

, wherein said control unit permits a user to rewind recording in an increment for playback of a portion of the available content.

86. The apparatus of

claim 85

, wherein the increment corresponds to a duration a remote control button is depressed.

87. The apparatus of

claim 85

, wherein a loop may be established so that the instant replay is played repeatedly until stopped by a user.

88. The apparatus of

claim 85

, wherein a loop may be established so that the instant replay is played repeatedly until a certain number of loops have been completed.

89. The apparatus of

claim 56

, wherein said control unit enables a user to jump back from a live broadcast to a last paused video segment.

90. The apparatus of

claim 89

, wherein the jump back is triggered by a remote control. The back to pause function jumps back to the paused time location.

91. The apparatus of

claim 89

, wherein after resuming a live broadcast from a paused program, the jump back is back to a last paused point.

92. The apparatus of

claim 91

, wherein after the jump back, the paused program is played back from the last pause point.

93. The apparatus of

claim 56

, wherein said control unit creates a personalized database from the available content.

94. The apparatus of

claim 93

, further comprising:

a receiving device operatively connected to a content feed;

at least one storage medium operatively connected to said receiving device;

said receiving device receiving an electronic program guide, said electronic program guide indicating a plurality of available content to be broadcast to said receiving device via the content feed;

said control unit operatively connected to said at least one storage medium;

said control unit determining potentially desired content by scanning the electronic program guide for content matching user preferences;

said control unit controlling said at least one storage medium to record the potentially desired content to create an on-demand video library;

said control unit creating a database which catalogs the potentially desired content;

a user input device operatively connected to said control unit, said user input device permitting a user to interact with the database and enter play-back commands,

said control unit playing back one or more of the recorded content from said at least one storage medium on demand from the user in response to the play-back commands from said user input device.

95. The apparatus of

claim 94

, further comprising:

a display device operatively connected to said at least one storage medium, said display device receiving the played-back content from said at least one storage medium and displaying the played-back content.

96. The apparatus of

claim 94

,

said receiving device and said control unit being provided in a unit,

said at least one storage medium external to the unit and operatively connected to the unit.

97. The apparatus of

claim 94

, wherein said at least one storage medium is expandable so as to accommodate a larger video library.

98. The apparatus of

claim 94

, said at least one storage medium including a plurality of modular storage devices operatively connectable to said receiving device.

99. The apparatus of

claim 94

, wherein the content feed supplies content in an encrypted form and said at least one storage medium stores the desired content in the encrypted form, the apparatus further comprising:

a decryption unit operatively connected to said at least one storage medium, said decryption unit decrypting the desired content supplied from said storage device.

100. The apparatus of

claim 94

, wherein the content feed supplies content in an encrypted form and said at least one storage medium stores the desired content in the encrypted form, the apparatus further comprising:

a switching device operatively connected to said receiving device, said at least one storage medium and said control unit;

a decryption unit operatively connected to said switching device and to said at least one storage medium, said decryption unit decrypting the desired programs supplied from said at least one storage medium;

wherein said control device controls said switching device to route the encrypted content to either said at least one storage medium or to said decryption unit.

101. The apparatus of

claim 100

, said electronic program guide including a port that receives program guide information.

102. The apparatus of

claim 94

, wherein the at least one storage medium is reconfigurable.

103. The apparatus of

claim 94

, wherein said control unit synchronizes access of the at least one storage medium to avoid periods of inaccessibility.

104. The apparatus of

claim 94

, said system, providing a synch pulse to confirm availability of the at least one storage medium.

105. The apparatus of

claim 94

, wherein the at least one storage medium is expandable.

106. The apparatus of

claim 94

, wherein the at least one storage medium is automatically loaded.

107. The apparatus of

claim 94

, wherein the potentially desired content includes a first content and a second content, and said system simultaneously records the first content and the second content.

108. The apparatus of

claim 94

, wherein the potentially desired content includes a first content, a second content and a third content, and said system determines whether the recording of the first content has been completed, and simultaneously records the second and the third content.

109. The apparatus of

claim 94

, wherein the potentially desired content includes a first content and a second content, and said system performs on demand play back of the first and/or second content simultaneous with the recording of the first and/or second content;

and performs on demand play back of the second and/or third content simultaneous with the recording of the second and/or third content.