Personal versatile recorder: enhanced features, and methods for its use

• US 20010051037A1
• Filed: 03/19/2001
• Published: 12/13/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: B & H Manufacturing Company Incorporated (B & H Manufacturing)
• Original Assignee: General Instrument Corporation (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rosso, Charles, DePietro, Mark, Safadi, Reem, Du Breuil, Tom
• Application Number:
  US09/810,667
• Publication Number:
  US 20010051037A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/292
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/40 using video transcoding, i.e. partial or full decoding of a coded input stream followed by re-encoding of the decoded output stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25866 Management of end-user data customer care in data networks H04L41/5077
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4135 external recorder interface circuits between an apparatus for recording television signals and a television receiver H04N5/775
• 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 21/42203 sound input device, e.g. microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4263 involving specific tuning arrangements, e.g. two tuners
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• 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 21/4402 involving reformatting operations of video signals for household redistribution, storage or real-time display details of conversion of video standards at pixel level H04N7/01; video transcoding H04N19/40; adapting incoming signals to the display format of the display terminal G09G5/005; media handling at the source in data packet switching networks H04L65/764
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44209 Monitoring of downstream path of the transmission network originating from a server, e.g. bandwidth variations of a wireless network arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896
• 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 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• 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 21/47 End-user applications
• 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 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4786 e-mailing message switching systems, e.g. electronic mail systems H04L51/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6118 involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8586 by using a URL processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94; information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; URL in broadcast information H04H20/93; Web-based protocols H04L67/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 : Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 : Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/77 : between a recording apparatus and a television camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 : between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/7755 : the recorder being connected to, or coupled with, the antenna of the television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 : on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 : on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 : on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/913 : for scrambling ; for copy protection

Abstract

Described are methods and apparatus to enhance the use and recording features of the personal versatile recorder. A method and apparatus for accurately recording selected events despite the ambiguity of start and end times is described. The recording is done by a personal versatile recorder that is connected to, or integrated in, a cable television set-top terminal, satellite, off-air or other wireless receiver. Also described is a method and apparatus for handling pay-per-view events, as well as wirelessly accessing and recording of various content on other connected peripherals. The personal versatile recorder includes a central processing unit and a hard drive for mass data storage. Preferably, the personal versatile recorder and associated set-top device have dual tuners for receiving and recording one or more transport streams from the cable system as well as analog or digital audiovisual programming.

Claims

1. A personal versatile recording apparatus comprising:

means for programming said personal versatile recording apparatus to record a selected event; and

means for recording said selected event,

wherein said selected event is recorded in its entirety despite the occurence of a schedule change or an overrun of the selected event.

2. The personal versatile recording apparatus of

claim 1

, wherein:

said means for programming said personal versatile recording apparatus is a user interface.

3. The personal versatile recording apparatus of

claim 1

, wherein:

said personal versatile recording apparatus includes means for registering with an electronic programming guide server so that said personal versatile recording apparatus is notified by said electronic programming guide server when said selected event has ended.

4. The personal versatile recording apparatus of

claim 3

, wherein:

upon completion of said selected event, said electronic programming guide server sends at least one multicast message to said personal versatile recording apparatus to notify said personal versatile recording apparatus that said selected event has ended.

5. The personal versatile recording apparatus of

claim 3

, wherein:

upon completion of said selected event, said electronic programming guide server broadcasts the end time for said selected event regardless of the time said personal versatile recording apparatus has been instructed to record said selected event.

6. The personal versatile recording apparatus of

claim 1

, wherein:

data produced by an electronic programming guide server is used by said personal versatile recording apparatus to determine the starting time and the ending time for recording said selected event, said data being updated in near-real-time.

7. The personal versatile recording apparatus of

claim 6

, wherein:

the recording of said selected event beginning at a first time that is immediately before said starting time and ending at a second time that is immediately after said ending time.

8. The personal versatile recording apparatus of

claim 7

, wherein:

said first time and said second time being determined in near-real-time by said updated data produced by said electronic programming guide server.

9. The personal versatile recording apparatus of

claim 7

, wherein:

the portion of said selected event that has been recorded before said first time and after said second time is deleted from the recording.

10. The personal versatile recording apparatus of

claim 1

, wherein:

a tag having an event start indication and an event end indication is included within an information stream corresponding to said selected event.

11. The personal versatile recording apparatus of

claim 10

, wherein:

said tag requiring manual oversight at the source of said information stream.

12. The personal versatile recording apparatus of

claim 10

, wherein:

said tag is within a descriptor placed within a program map table.

13. The personal versatile recording apparatus of

claim 10

, wherein:

said tag is a separate message.

52. The method of

claim 5

1, further comprising:

re-encrypting the re-compressed, transcoded data bit stream prior to said storing step.

14. A personal versatile recording apparatus comprising:

a personal recording apparatus programmed to record a selected event and for recording said selected event; and

an interface for recording said selected event from another peripheral device.

15. The personal versatile recording apparatus of

claim 14

, wherein:

said wireless home network includes at least one wireless headphone.

16. The personal versatile recording apparatus of

claim 14

, wherein:

said another peripheral device comprises one of an FM tuner, a CD player, a DVD player, and an MP3 player.

17. A personal versatile recording apparatus comprising:

a personal recording apparatus programmed to record a selected event and for recording said selected event,

said personal recording apparatus being incorporated into a wireless home network.

18. A personal versatile recording apparatus comprising:

means for programming said personal versatile recording apparatus to record a selected event; and

means for recording said selected event, said selected event is music, said music conforming to a listener profile.

19. The personal versatile recording apparatus of

claim 18

, wherein:

said music is recorded onto a compact disk.

20. A personal versatile recording apparatus comprising:

device for programming said personal versatile recording apparatus to record a selected event;

device for recording said selected event, said selected event being music, wherein

said personal versatile recording apparatus tags, for recording, said music that is in progress to record said music at a later time.

21. A personal versatile recording apparatus comprising:

means for demodulating an event to produce an encrypted, compressed data bit stream;

means for decrypting the encrypted, compressed data bit stream to produce a compressed data bit stream;

means for decoding the compressed data bit stream to produce an analog audiovisual signal;

means for re-encoding the analog audiovisual signal to produce a re-compressed data bit stream.

means for transcoding the re-compressed data bit stream to produce a re-compressed, transcoded data bit stream;

means for storing the re-compressed, transcoded data bit stream onto said storage medium to produce a stored data bit stream;

means for reading the stored data bit stream from said storage medium to produce a read data bit stream;

means for decoding the read data bit stream; and

means for registering said decoded event.

22. The personal versatile recording apparatus of

claim 21

, further comprising:

means for performing contents rights management.

23. The personal versatile recording apparatus of

claim 21

, further comprising:

means for permitting the viewing of said event without charge during a preview time period.

24. The personal versatile recording apparatus of

claim 21

, further comprising:

means for reporting the event back to a billing controller.

25. A method for recording an event using a personal versatile recording apparatus, the method comprising:

selecting said event to record;

programming said personal versatile recording apparatus to record said selected event; and

recording said selected event to produce a recorded event,

wherein said recorded event is recorded in its entirety despite the occurence of a schedule change or overrun of the selected event.

26. The method of

claim 25

, wherein:

said apparatus for programming said personal versatile recording apparatus is a user interface.

27. The method of

claim 25

, further comprising:

registering with an electronic programming guide server so that said personal versatile recording apparatus is notified by said electronic programming guide server when said selected event has ended.

28. The method of

claim 27

, wherein:

upon completion of said selected event, said electronic programming guide server sends at least one multicast message to said personal versatile recording apparatus to notify said personal versatile recording apparatus that said selected event has ended.

29. The method of

claim 27

, wherein:

upon completion of said selected event, said electronic programming guide server broadcasts the end time for said selected event regardless of the time said personal versatile recording apparatus has been instructed to record the event.

30. The method of

claim 25

, further comprising:

using data produced by an electronic programming guide server to determine the appropriate start and end times for recording said selected event, said data being updated in near-real-time.

31. The method of

claim 30

, wherein:

said recording begins at a first time that is immediately before the starting time of said selected event and ends at a second time that is immediately after completion time of said selected event.

32. The method of

claim 31

, wherein:

said data being said first time and said second time.

33. The method of

claim 32

, wherein:

deleting from said recorded event, portions of said recorded event recorded before said first time and after said second time.

34. The method of

claim 25

, further comprising:

placing a tag, having an event start indication and an event end indication, within an information stream corresponding to said selected event.

35. The method of

claim 34

, wherein:

said step of placing said tag requires manual oversight at the source of said information stream.

36. The method of

claim 34

, wherein:

said tag being in a descriptor placed within a program map table.

37. The method of

claim 34

, wherein:

said tag being a separate message.

38. A method for recording an event using a personal versatile recording apparatus, the method comprising:

selecting said event to record;

programming said personal versatile recording apparatus to record said selected event, said personal versatile recording apparatus including an interface for recording from another peripheral device; and

recording said selected event to produce a recorded event.

39. The method of

claim 38

, wherein:

said another peripheral device comprises one of an FM tuner, a CD player, a DVD player, and an MP3 player.

40. A method for recording an event using a personal versatile recording apparatus, the method comprising:

selecting said event to record;

programming said personal versatile recording apparatus to record said selected event, said personal versatile recording apparatus being incorporated into a wireless home network; and

recording said selected event to produce a recorded event.

41. The method of

claim 40

, wherein:

said wireless home network includes at least one wireless headphone.

42. A method for recording an event using a personal versatile recording apparatus, the method comprising:

selecting said event to record;

programming said personal versatile recording apparatus to record said selected event; and

recording said selected event to produce a recorded event, said selected event being content conforming to a listener profile.

43. The method of

claim 42

, wherein:

said content being recorded onto a compact disk.

44. A method for recording an event using a personal versatile recording apparatus, the method comprising:

selecting said event to record;

programming said personal versatile recording apparatus to record said selected event, said personal versatile recording apparatus tags, for recording, said music that is in progress to record said music at a later time; and

recording said selected event to produce a recorded event.

45. A method for registering an event using a personal versatile recording apparatus having a storage medium thereon, the method comprising:

demodulating said event to produce a demodulated event;

decrypting said demodulated event to produce a decrypted event;

decoding said decrypted event to produce a decoded event;

converting said decoded event into an analog signal;

encoding said digital stream to produce an encoded digital stream;

transcoding said encoded digital stream to produce a transcoded event;

storing said transcoded event onto said storage medium to produce a stored event;

reading said stored event from said storage medium to produce a read event;

decoding said read event to produce a decoded event; and

registering said decoded event.

46. The method of

claim 45

, wherein:

said transcoded event is re-encrypted after said transcoding step.

47. The method of

claim 46

, wherein:

said read event is decrypted before said decoding step.

48. The method of

claim 45

, wherein:

said decoded event is displayed for viewing.

49. The method of

claim 45

, further comprising:

assessing a fee when said event is read from said storage medium for viewing.

50. The method of

claim 45

, further comprising:

assessing a partial charge when said transcoded event is stored; and

assessing an additional partial charge when said read event is viewed,

wherein the sum total of said partial charge and said additional partial charge equals a fee.

51. A method for registering an event using a personal versatile recording apparatus having a storage medium thereon, the method comprising:

demodulating said event to produce an encrypted, compressed data bit stream,

decrypting the encrypted, compressed data bit stream to produce a compressed data bit stream;

decoding the compressed data bit stream to produce an analog audiovisual signal;

re-encoding the analog audiovisual signal to produce a re-compressed data bit stream.

transcoding the re-compressed data bit stream to produce a re-compressed, transcoded data bit stream;

storing the re-compressed, transcoded data bit stream onto said storage medium to produce a stored data bit stream;

reading the stored data bit stream from said storage medium to produce a read data bit stream;

decoding the read data bit stream; and

registering said event.

53. The method of

claim 51

, wherein:

said re-encrypting step is performed using software.

54. The method of

claim 51

, wherein:

said re-encrypting step is performed using hardware.

55. The method of

claim 51

, wherein:

said re-encrypting step is performed using the same encryption scheme used to encrypt the encrypted, compressed data bit stream.

56. The method of

claim 51

, wherein:

said re-encrypting step is performed using an encryption scheme different from the encryption scheme used to encrypt the encrypted, compressed data bit stream.

57. A method for registering an event using a personal versatile recording apparatus having a storage medium thereon, the method comprising:

demodulating said event to produce an encrypted, compressed data bit stream,

decrypting the encrypted, compressed data bit stream to produce a compressed data bit stream;

storing the compressed data bit stream onto said storage medium to produce a stored data bit stream;

reading the stored data bit stream from said storage medium to produce a read data bit stream;

decoding the read data bit stream; and

registering said event.

58. A method for registering an event using a personal versatile recording apparatus having a storage medium thereon, the method comprising:

demodulating said event to produce a demodulated event;

storing said demodulated event onto said storage medium to produce a stored event;

reading said stored event from said storage medium to produce a read event;

decrypting said read event to produce a decrypted event; and

registering said decrypted event.

59. The method of

claim 58

, further comprising:

assessing a fee when said decrypted event is viewed.

60. The method of

claim 58

, further comprising:

assessing a partial charge when said demodulated event is stored; and

assessing an additional partial charge when said decrypted event is viewed,

wherein the sum total of said partial charge and said additional partial charge equals a fee.