Personal on-demand media streaming system and method

• US 20050033850A1
• Filed: 08/07/2003
• Published: 02/10/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kirkland, Dustin C.
• Granted Patent: US 7,395,339 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/228
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4367 Establishing a secure communication between the client and a peripheral device or smart card
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/835 Generation of protective data, e.g. certificates protecting software against unauthorised usage in a vending or licensing environment G06F21/10

Abstract

A system and method are provided for on-demand media streaming from a user'"'"'s own media library to a user'"'"'s receiving device that may be located in a different location from that where the media library is stored. The present invention provides an out-of-the box on-demand media server device that may be used by itself, in conjunction with a personal computer, or in conjunction with a personal home stereo system or video system. The on-demand media server includes security mechanisms that allow a user to establish a private server that only the user may communicate with and gain access to the user'"'"'s media library. In one particular embodiment, a smart card or other removable media are used as a security device to ensure that access to the media files on the user'"'"'s personal on-demand media streaming server is limited to the user. In addition, the system and method provides an on-demand conversion of the media in the user'"'"'s personal media library to an appropriate format.

Claims

1. A personal on-demand media streaming system, comprising:

a media library storage device; and

an on-demand media streaming server coupled to the media library storage device, wherein the on-demand media streaming server establishes a private communication link to a client device by authenticating both a client device and a user of the client device such that only an authorized user from an authorized client device may access the media library storage device via the on-demand media streaming server, and wherein the on-demand media streaming server, in response to a request for media content from an authorized user and an authorized client device, streams the requested media content to the authorized client device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the client device has an associated device identifier, and wherein the on-demand media streaming server permits access to media stored in the media library storage device only in response to requests from client devices whose device identifiers are registered with the on-demand media streaming server.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the device identifier is one of a MAC address of a network card associated with the client device and a Mobile Identification Number of the client device.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the device identifiers of client devices are only registrable with the on-demand media streaming server locally and requires personal information about an owner of the on-demand media streaming server to be provided during a registration process.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein sending a request from the client device to the on-demand media streaming server includes using a graphical user interface to identify at least one of a media file, a play list, a media streaming schedule, and a quality of a media stream to be provided.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the on-demand media streaming server includes a removable medium read/write device, wherein the on-demand media streaming server writes a data structure to a removable medium via the removable medium read/write device, and wherein the data structure is associated with at least one portion of a set of media in the media library storage device.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the client device includes a removable medium read device, wherein the on-demand media streaming server requests a data structure from a removable medium in the removable medium read device and grants access to the media library storage device only if the data structure from the removable medium in the removable medium read device matches a data structure stored by the on-demand media streaming server.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the removable medium is one of a smart card, a floppy disk, a USB drive, a memory stick, and a compact flash memory.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the on-demand media streaming server streams the requested media to the client device by dynamically retrieving, in response to the request from the client device, media content from the media library storage device, converting the media content to a streamable format, and streaming the converted media content to the client device.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the media library storage device is one of a compact disc player, a DVD player, a television, a cable television receiver, a satellite television receiver, a hard-disk based television recorder, and a video cassette recorder.

11. A method of streaming media from an on-demand media streaming server to an authorized client device, comprising:

establishing a private communication link to a client device by authenticating both the client device and a user of the client device such that only an authorized user from an authorized client device may access media content via the on-demand media streaming server;

receiving a request from the client device for media content; and

in response to the request for media content from the client device, streaming the requested media content to the client device.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

registering a device identifier associated with the client device in the on-demand media streaming server, wherein the on-demand media streaming server permits access to media stored in an associated media library storage device only in response to requests from client devices whose device identifiers are registered with the on-demand media streaming server.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the device identifier is one of a MAC address of a network card associated with the client device and a Mobile Identification Number of the client device.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the device identifiers of client devices are only registrable with the on-demand media streaming server locally and requires personal information about an owner of the on-demand media streaming server to be provided during a registration process.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the request includes a designation of at least one of a media file, a play list, a media streaming schedule, and a quality of a media stream to be provided.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

writing a data structure to a removable media, wherein the data structure is associated with at least one portion of a set of media in a media library storage device associated with the on-demand media streaming server.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein establishing a private communication link with the client device includes:

requesting a data structure from a removable media in a removable media reader associated with the client device;

comparing the data structure from the removable media to a data structure stored in the on-demand media streaming server; and

permitting access to media in the associated media library storage device only if the data structure from the removable media matches the data structure stored in the on-demand media streaming server.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the removable medium is one of a smart card, a floppy disk, a USB drive, a memory stick, and a compact flash memory.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein streaming the requested media content to the client device includes:

dynamically retrieving, in response to the request from the client device, media content from a media library storage device;

converting the media content to a streamable format; and

streaming the converted media content to the client device.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the media library storage device is one of a compact disc player, a DVD player, a television, a cable television receiver, a satellite television receiver, a hard-disk based television recorder, and a video cassette recorder.

21. A computer program product in a computer readable medium for streaming media from an on-demand media streaming server to an authorized client device, comprising:

first instructions for establishing a private communication link to a client device by authenticating both the client device and a user of the client device such that only an authorized user from an authorized client device may access media content via the on-demand media streaming server;

second instructions for receiving a request from the client device for media content; and

third instructions for streaming the requested media content to the client device in response to the request for media content from the client device.