Active requesting of information for psuedo-live performance

• US 20020029291A1
• Filed: 02/05/2001
• Published: 03/07/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Crandall, E. Stephen
• Granted Patent: US 8,037,152 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/246
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/40 Arrangements for broadcast specially adapted for accumulation-type receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/13 Arrangements for device control affected by the broadcast information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/80 characterised by transmission among terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/764 at the destination reformatting of additional data in video clients H04N21/4355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/62 Establishing a time schedule for servicing the requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4333 Processing operations in response to a pause request
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4363 Adapting the video stream to a specific local network, e.g. a Bluetooth® network
• 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 7/165 Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17327 with deferred transmission or handling of upstream communications

Abstract

Mass amounts of information, such as entire libraries of songs or movies, for example, may be stored locally near end-users, and this information may be accessed and reproduced in response to commands received from a transmitting station via a network. When a radio or television station desires to transmit a song or movie, for example, the radio or television station can, rather than transmitting the entire song or movie, merely transmit a command for reproducing the song or movie. An end-user'"'"'s performance reproduction device, such as an enhanced radio or a television set, then accesses and reproduces the locally stored song or movie. Since the radio or television station need not transmit the entire performance, network traffic can be significantly reduced. The performance reproduction device may actively request information from the radio or television station when fresh or additional information is needed.

Claims

1. A method for receiving performance information over a network for generating a pseudo-live performance, the method comprising:

detecting a need for the performance information;

selecting a process for obtaining the needed performance information; and

executing the process.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting a need for the performance information comprises one or more of:

determining a time of a previous information reception event;

detecting a status of a storage device; and

accessing a profile.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the profile indicates one or more of:

a type of information desired by an end-user;

a schedule of an end-user; and

scheduled times at which information is transmitted by a performance transmitter.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting a process comprises determining whether a performance transmitter can receive an information request.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the determining whether a performance transmitter can receive an information request comprises one or more of:

transmitting a query signal to the performance transmitter;

passively receiving a signal from the performance transmitter; and

accessing a profile.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

generating an information request; and

transmitting the request to the performance transmitter via the network.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting a process comprises determining an appropriate time to receive information from a performance transmitter.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating the pseudo-live performance by mixing information corresponding to one or more portions of the needed performance information with other information.

9. The method of claim 8, the generating the pseudo-live performance comprising:

retrieving the other information;

decoding one or more commands of the other information; and

performing one or more tasks instructed by the commands.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the one or more commands includes one or more of programming commands that execute a software program, housekeeping commands that load, delete, change or overlay stored information, and performance commands that reproduce stored information from one or more specified locations of a storage device.

11. A method for transmitting performance information over a network, comprising one or more of:

transmitting the performance information in response to a request received via the network;

transmitting the performance information periodically; and

transmitting profile information that indicates one or more of;

a capability to respond to individual requests; and

a predetermined time when the performance information will be transmitted.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the performance information is transmitted by a performance reproduction device.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the performance information is transmitted by an original source of the performance information.

15. The pseudo-live performance generator of claim 14, wherein the controller detects the need for the performance information by one or more of:

determining a time of a previous information reception event;

detecting a status of a storage device; and

accessing a profile.

16. The pseudo-live performance generator of claim 15, wherein the profile indicates one or more of:

a type of information desired by an end-user;

a schedule of an end-user; and

scheduled times at which information is transmitted by a performance transmitter.

17. The pseudo-live performance generator of claim 14, wherein the controller determines whether a performance transmitter can receive an information request.

18. The pseudo-live performance generator of claim 17, wherein the controller performs one or more of:

transmitting a query signal to the performance transmitter;

passively receiving a signal from the performance transmitter; and

accessing a profile.

19. The pseudo-live performance generator of claim 17, further comprising:

a request generator that generates an information request, wherein the controller transmits the request to the performance transmitter via the network.

20. The pseudo-live performance generator of claim 14, wherein the controller determines an appropriate time to receive information from a performance transmitter.

21. The pseudo-live performance generator of claim 14, wherein the controller generates the pseudo-live performance by mixing information corresponding to one or more portions of the needed performance information with other information.

22. The pseudo-live performance generator of claim 21, wherein the controller:

retrieves the other information;

decodes one or more commands of the other information; and

performs one or more tasks instructed by the commands.

23. The pseudo-live performance generator of claim 22, wherein the one or more commands includes one or more of programming commands that execute a software program, housekeeping commands that load, delete, change or overlay stored information, and performance commands that reproduce stored information from one or more specified locations of a storage device.

14. A pseudo-live performance generator, comprising a controller that:

detects a need for performance information;

selects a process for obtaining the needed performance information; and

executes the process.

24. A pseudo-live performance transmitter, comprising:

a transmitter; and

a controller coupled to the transmitter, the controller performing one or more of;

transmitting performance information in response to a request received via the network;

transmitting performance information periodically; and

transmitting profile information that indicates one or more, of;

a capability to respond to individual requests; and

a predetermined time when the performance information will be transmitted.