Method and apparatus for storing content

• US 20050141886A1
• Filed: 02/01/2005
• Published: 06/30/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rovi Technologies Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Gates, Matthijs A., Srinivasan, Jai, Chakrabarti, Alok, Sankarayan, Mukund
• Granted Patent: US 7,272,300 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/248
• 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 27/036 Insert-editing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/28 by using information signals recorded by the same method as the main recording G11B27/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/27 Arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/73 using meta-information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording

Abstract

A system receives a broadcast program and temporarily stores the program data. A request is received to permanently record the broadcast program. This request is received after a portion of the broadcast program has been received and temporarily stored. The broadcast program is then permanently recorded, including the temporarily stored program data. A metafile identifies portions of the broadcast program and is accessible by a reader to continuously retrieve the stored portions of the broadcast program.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

storing a portion of a broadcast program as time shifted data;

retrieving and displaying the time shifted data;

receiving a request to record the broadcast program as recorded data after a portion of the time shifted data has been stored; and

recording the broadcast program.

2. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein recording the broadcast program includes recording the portion of the broadcast program associated with the time shifted data.

3. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein recording the broadcast program includes converting the time shifted data associated with the broadcast program to recorded data.

4. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein recording the broadcast program includes modifying a metafile to indicate that the time shifted data associated with the broadcast program is recorded data.

5. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein recording the broadcast program includes creating a metafile associated with the recorded data.

6. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein storing a portion of the broadcast program as time shifted data includes creating a metafile associated with the time shifted data.

7. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising recording a remainder of the broadcast program as recorded data.

8. One or more computer-readable memories containing a computer program that is executable by a processor to perform the method recited in claim 1.