Method and apparatus for secure transfer and playback of multimedia content

• US 20060127037A1
• Filed: 11/21/2005
• Published: 06/15/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TiVo Solutions Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: TiVo Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Barton, James, Van Hoff, Arthur
• Granted Patent: US 7,895,633 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/233
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/32 on separate auxiliary tracks of the same or an auxiliary record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2112 using still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/91335 the copy protection signal being a watermark
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/91364 the video signal being scrambled
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/21 Server components or server architectures
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2343 involving reformatting operations of video signals for distribution or compliance with end-user requests or end-user device requirements video transcoding H04N19/40; media packet handling at the source H04L65/762
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2393 involving handling client requests scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25816 involving client authentication restricting access to computer systems by authenticating users using a predetermined code G06F21/33; cryptographic authentication protocols H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08; authentication in wireless network security H04W12/06
• 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 21/4122 additional display device, e.g. video projector digital output for controlling a plurality of local displays G06F3/1423
• 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 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4143 embedded in a Personal Computer [PC]
• 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 21/4227 Providing Remote input by a user located remotely from the client device, e.g. at work
• 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 21/4331 : 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 21/43615 : 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 21/43622 : Interfacing an external recording device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4367 : Establishing a secure communication between the client and a peripheral device or smart card
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440236 : by media transcoding, e.g. video is transformed into a slideshow of still pictures, audio is converted into text
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4405 : involving video stream decryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4408 : involving video stream encryption, e.g. re-encrypting a decrypted video stream for redistribution in a home network
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44204 : Monitoring of content usage, e.g. the number of times a movie has been viewed, copied or the amount which has been watched monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; protecting generic digital content where the protection is independent of the precise nature of the content G06F21/10; arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services in broadcast systems H04H60/31
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/454 : Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• 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 21/4722 : for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 : Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47815 : Electronic shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 : communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 : End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6175 : involving transmission via Internet broadcast-related systems characterised by the transmission system being the Internet H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/632 : using a connection between clients on a wide area network, e.g. setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet for retrieving video segments from the hard-disk of other client devices broadcast-related systems characterised by transmission among terminal devices H04H60/80; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6543 : for forcing some client operations, e.g. recording remote booting in general G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 : involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/858 : Linking data to content, e.g. by linking an URL to a video object, by creating a hotspot
• 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 5/775 : 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 5/85 : on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/913 : for scrambling ; for copy protection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/95 : Time-base error compensation H04N5/932 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/088 : the inserted signal being digital
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 : with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17309 : Transmission or handling of upstream communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 : involving data reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8205 : involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the colour video signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/83 : the recorded chrominance signal occupying a frequency band under the frequency band of the recorded brightness signal

Abstract

A method and apparatus for secure transfer and playback of multimedia content enables the secure transfer of multimedia content from a digital video recorder (DVR) to a personal computer (PC) and further to a handheld device. A DVR determines which devices on a Local Area Network (LAN) are authorized to share and/or retrieve content from the DVR. The DVR receives a connection request from a PC on the LAN, authorizes the connection request and establishes a secure connection between the DVR and the PC. Once the secure connection is established, the DVR receives a request for multimedia content from the PC, prepares the multimedia content for transfer and transfers the multimedia content to the PC.

Claims

1. A method for providing secure transfer and playback of multimedia content, comprising:

identifying, at a Digital Video Recorder (DVR), a personal computer (PC) in a local area network (LAN) as an authorized sharing PC;

establishing a secure connection between the DVR and the authorized sharing PC;

receiving, at the DVR, a request for multimedia content from the authorized sharing PC;

retrieving, at the DVR, the requested multimedia content from a storage device on the DVR, wherein the requested multimedia content is stored in a first format;

converting, at the DVR, the first format of the multimedia content into a second format of the multimedia content, wherein the second format is a computer-readable format; and

sending the second format of the multimedia content from the DVR to the authorized sharing PC.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein establishing a secure connection further comprises:

receiving, at the DVR, a first connection request from the authorized sharing PC; and

determining, at the DVR, that the authorized sharing PC is authorized to establish the connection, wherein determining that the authorized sharing PC is authorized includes receiving a unique identifier from the authorized sharing PC.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a message at the DVR that any PC utilizing a media application program that specifies a unique identifier is authorized to establish the connection.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the request for multimedia content is sent from the authorized sharing PC in response to the authorized sharing PC receiving a message from a service provider.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the message from the service provider is sent to the authorized sharing PC after the service provider determines that the requested multimedia content is stored on the storage device of the DVR.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

retrieving, at the DVR, the requested multimedia content from a service provider; and

storing the requested multimedia content on the storage device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the request for multimedia content is sent from the authorized sharing PC in response to the authorized sharing PC receiving a message from a service provider.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, at the DVR, advertising content from a service provider; and

sending the advertising content from the DVR to the PC.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving, at the PC, the advertising content;

displaying the advertising content to a user; and

sending a message from the PC to the service provider indicating that the advertising content has been displayed to the user.

10. The method of claim 4, wherein the message from the service provider is sent to the authorized sharing PC after the service provider receives a remote request to transfer multimedia content;

and wherein the remote request to transfer multimedia content is sent from a portable device.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the second format of the multimedia content is any Motion Pictures Expert Group (MPEG) format.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the converting step further comprises:

attaching additional data to the second format of the multimedia content, wherein the additional data includes information pertaining to the multimedia content.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first format and the second format of the multimedia content is any Motion Pictures Expert Group (MPEG) format.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the additional data includes user license information for the multimedia content.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the additional data includes origin information for the multimedia content.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the converting step further comprises:

attaching a watermark to the second format of the multimedia content.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of encrypting the second format of the multimedia content at the DVR.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, at the DVR, multimedia content from a content server; and

storing the multimedia content on the storage device.

19. A method for providing secure transfer and playback of multimedia content, comprising:

identifying, at a personal computer (PC), a particular Digital Video Recorder (DVR) as an authorized sharing DVR;

establishing a secure connection between the PC and the authorized sharing DVR;

requesting specific multimedia content from the authorized sharing DVR;

receiving, at the PC, the requested specific multimedia content from the authorized sharing DVR, wherein the multimedia content is in the form of a digital data stream; and

storing the digital data stream on a storage device communicatively connected to the PC.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

processing the digital data stream for playback on a personal computing device.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the digital data stream is in any MPEG format.

22. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

receiving user input identifying the particular DVR as an authorized DVR.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the user input identifying the particular DVR as an authorized DVR is a unique identifier associated with the particular DVR.

24. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

formatting the received multimedia content for playback by a portable device; and

transferring the formatted multimedia content to a portable device.

25. The method of claim 19, wherein the requesting step further comprises:

requesting specific multimedia content from the authorized sharing DVR in response to receiving a message from a service provider requesting the transfer of the specific multimedia content from the authorized sharing DVR.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the message from the service provider is sent after the service provider determines that the specific multimedia content is stored on a storage device of the DVR.

27. A method for providing secure transfer and playback of multimedia content, comprising:

identifying, at a Digital Video Recorder (DVR), a personal computer (PC) in a local area network (LAN) as an authorized sharing PC;

establishing a secure connection between the DVR and the authorized sharing PC;

receiving, at the DVR, a request for multimedia content from the authorized sharing PC;

retrieving, at the DVR, the requested multimedia content from a storage device on the DVR, wherein the requested multimedia content is stored in a first format;

sending the first format of the multimedia content from the DVR to the authorized sharing PC;

receiving, at the PC, the first format of the multimedia content; and

converting, at the PC, the first format of the multimedia content into a second format of the multimedia content, wherein the second format is a computer-readable format.

28. A method for providing secure transfer and playback of multimedia content, comprising:

identifying, at a Digital Video Recorder (DVR), a personal computer (PC) in a local area network (LAN) as an authorized sharing PC;

establishing a secure connection between the DVR and the authorized sharing PC;

receiving, at the authorized sharing PC, a request for multimedia content from the DVR

retrieving, at the authorized sharing PC, the requested multimedia content from a storage device on the authorized sharing PC;

sending the requested multimedia content from the authorized sharing PC to the DVR.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

receiving, at the authorized sharing PC, multimedia content from a portable device; and

storing, at the authorized sharing PC, the multimedia content on the storage device of the authorized sharing PC.

30. A system for providing secure transfer and playback of multimedia content comprising:

a digital video recorder (DVR);

a personal computer (PC);

a service provider;

a computer network coupled to the service provider, PC and DVR;

wherein the service provider communicates with the DVR to obtain a listing of multimedia content stored on the DVR;

wherein the service provider provides the listing of multimedia content to a user of the service provider; and

wherein the DVR is instructed by the service provider to transfer specific multimedia content to the PC that is selected by a user according to the listing of multimedia content provided by the service provider;

31. The system of claim 30 wherein the service provider communicates with the DVR to obtain a recording schedule of the DVR;

and wherein the DVR is instructed by the service provider to record multimedia programs that are selected by the user.

32. The system of claim 30 wherein the PC is instructed by the service provider to retrieve specific multimedia content from the DVR over the computer network.

33. An apparatus for providing secure transfer and playback of multimedia content, comprising:

a module for identifying, at a Digital Video Recorder (DVR), a personal computer (PC) in a local area network (LAN) as an authorized sharing PC;

a module for establishing a secure connection between the DVR and the authorized sharing PC;

a module for receiving, at the DVR, a request for multimedia content from the authorized sharing PC;

a module for retrieving, at the DVR, the requested multimedia content from a storage device on the DVR, wherein the requested multimedia content is stored in a first format;

a module for converting, at the DVR, the first format of the multimedia content into a second format of the multimedia content, wherein the second format is a computer-readable format; and

a module for sending the second format of the multimedia content from the DVR to the authorized sharing PC.

34. The apparatus of claim 33 wherein establishing a secure connection further comprises:

a module for receiving, at the DVR, a first connection request from the authorized sharing PC; and

a module for determining, at the DVR, that the authorized sharing PC is authorized to establish the connection, wherein determining that the authorized sharing PC is authorized includes receiving a unique identifier from the authorized sharing PC.

35. The apparatus of claim 33, further comprising:

a module for receiving a message at the DVR that any PC utilizing a media application program that specifies a unique identifier is authorized to establish the connection.

36. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the request for multimedia content is sent from the authorized sharing PC in response to the authorized sharing PC receiving a message from a service provider.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the message from the service provider is sent to the authorized sharing PC after the service provider determines that the requested multimedia content is stored on the storage device of the DVR.

38. The apparatus of claim 33, further comprising:

a module for retrieving, at the DVR, the requested multimedia content from a service provider; and

a module for storing the requested multimedia content on the storage device.

39. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the request for multimedia content is sent from the authorized sharing PC in response to the authorized sharing PC receiving a message from a service provider.

40. The apparatus of claim 33, further comprising:

a module for receiving, at the DVR, advertising content from a service provider; and

a module for sending the advertising content from the DVR to the PC.

41. The apparatus of claim 40, further comprising:

a module for receiving, at the PC, the advertising content from the DVR;

a module for displaying the advertising content to a user; and

a module sending a message from the PC to the service provider indicating that the advertising content has been displayed to the user.

42. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the message from the service provider is sent to the authorized sharing PC after the service provider receives a remote request to transfer multimedia content;

and wherein the remote request to transfer multimedia content is sent from a portable device.

43. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the second format of the multimedia content is any Motion Pictures Expert Group (MPEG) format.

44. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the converting module further comprises:

a module for attaching additional data to the second format of the multimedia content, wherein the additional data includes information pertaining to the multimedia content.

45. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein the first and second format of the multimedia content is any Motion Pictures Expert Group (MPEG) format.

46. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein the additional data includes user license information for the multimedia content.

47. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein the additional data includes origin information for the multimedia content.

48. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the converting module further comprises:

a module for attaching a watermark to the second format of the multimedia content.

49. The apparatus of claim 33, further comprising:

a module for encrypting the second format of the multimedia content at the DVR.

50. The apparatus of claim 33, further comprising:

a module for receiving, at the DVR, multimedia content from a content server; and

a module for storing the multimedia content on the storage device.

51. An apparatus for providing secure transfer and playback of multimedia content, comprising:

a module for identifying, at a personal computer (PC), a particular Digital Video Recorder (DVR) as an authorized sharing DVR;

a module for establishing a secure connection between the PC and the authorized sharing DVR;

a module for requesting specific multimedia content from the authorized sharing DVR;

a module for receiving, at the PC, the requested specific multimedia content from the authorized sharing DVR, wherein the multimedia content is in the form of a digital data stream; and

a module for storing the digital data stream on a storage device communicatively connected to the PC.

52. The apparatus of claim 51, further comprising:

a module for processing the digital data stream for playback on a personal computing device.

53. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the digital data stream is in any MPEG format.

54. The apparatus of claim 51, further comprising:

a module for receiving user input identifying the particular DVR as an authorized DVR.

55. The apparatus of claim 54, wherein the user input identifying the particular DVR as an authorized DVR is a unique identifier associated with the particular DVR.

56. The apparatus of claim 51, further comprising:

a module for formatting the received multimedia content for playback by a portable device; and

a module for transferring the formatted multimedia content to a portable device.

57. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the requesting module further comprises:

a module for requesting specific multimedia content from the authorized sharing DVR in response to receiving a message from a service provider requesting the transfer of the specific multimedia content from the authorized sharing DVR.

58. The apparatus of claim 57, wherein the message from the service provider is sent after the service provider determines that the requested multimedia content is stored on a storage device of the DVR.

59. The apparatus of claim 51, further comprising:

a module for receiving, at the authorized sharing PC, multimedia content from a portable device; and

a module for storing, at the authorized sharing PC, the multimedia content on the storage device of the authorized sharing PC.

60. An apparatus for providing secure transfer and playback of multimedia content, comprising:

a module for identifying, at a Digital Video Recorder (DVR), a personal computer (PC) in a local area network (LAN) as an authorized sharing PC;

a module for establishing a secure connection between the DVR and the authorized sharing PC;

a module for receiving, at the DVR, a request for multimedia content from the authorized sharing PC;

a module for retrieving, at the DVR, the requested multimedia content from a storage device on the DVR, wherein the requested multimedia content is stored in a first format;

a module for sending the first format of the multimedia content from the DVR to the authorized sharing PC;

a module for receiving, at the PC, the first format of the multimedia content; and

a module for converting, at the PC, the first format of the multimedia content into a second format of the multimedia content, wherein the second format is a computer-readable format.