System and method for digital content retrieval

• US 20070009235A1
• Filed: 07/07/2006
• Published: 01/11/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TiVo Solutions Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: TiVo Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Walters, Eric, Lang, Richard
• Granted Patent: US 8,139,924 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/278
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25833 involving client hardware characteristics, e.g. manufacturer, processing or storage capabilities allocation of resources considering hardware capabilities in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/5044; allocation of resources considering software capabilities in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/5055
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26216 involving the channel capacity, e.g. network bandwidth admission control, resource allocation in open networks H04L12/5692; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10; establishing a schedule or organising the servicing of application requests taking into account QoS H04L67/61
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26616 for merging a unicast channel into a multicast channel, e.g. in a VOD application, when a client served by unicast channel catches up a multicast channel to save bandwidth data multicast over packet-switching network H04L12/18
• 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 21/4325 by playing back content from the storage medium reproduction of recorded television signals H04N5/76; reproduction of recorded television signals H04N9/79
• 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 21/632 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 21/6581 Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• 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 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/783 Adaptations for reproducing at a rate different from the recording rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/91 Television signal processing therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

Flexibility with respect to access and enjoyment of time shifted content in a content distribution network is provided, especially with regard to content not present on a DVR. A DVR accesses a network storage device over a network for particular portions of content not available on the DVR and the network storage device provides those missing portions. The user may then rewind and playback not only already locally stored content but also that content provided by the storage device. Content can be provided through faster-than-real-time transmissions such that the content is made available to the DVR prior to it being needed for rewind functionality or playback.

Claims

1. A system for content retrieval comprising:

a content source configured to transmit content over a content network;

a server coupled to the content network and configured to receive the content transmitted over the content network, the server being further coupled to a data network;

a digital video recorder coupled to the content network and the data network, the digital video recorder configured to receive and store a first portion of the content transmitted over the content network, the digital video recorder further configured to request from the server a second portion of the content transmitted over the content network, the transmission of the second portion of the content by the server to the digital video recorder occurring over the data network.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein transmission of the second portion of the content from the server to the digital video recorder over the data network is a faster-than-real-time transmission.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the digital video recorder provides the server with client configuration information associated with the digital video recorder, the client configuration information reflecting at least one capability of the digital video recorder.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the digital video recorder provides the server with client status information associated with the digital video recorder, the client status information indicating the amount of memory available at the digital video recorder for storage of the second portion of the content requested from the server by the digital video recorder.

5. A method for retrieval of content from a network storage device, comprising:

rewinding content stored at a digital video recorder in response to a user initiated command;

identifying that the digital video recorder is approaching the beginning of the content stored at the digital video recorder as a result of rewinding the content stored at the digital video recorder;

requesting additional content from a network storage device, the request occurring over a data network;

receiving additional content at the digital video recorder from the network storage device in response to the request for additional content, the additional content having been transmitted from the network storage device to the digital video recorder over the data network;

storing the additional content from the network storage device at the digital video recorder; and

rewinding the additional content received from the network storage device once the digital video recorder arrives at the beginning of the content initially stored at the digital video recorder.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein identifying that the digital video recorder is approaching the beginning of the content stored at the digital video recorder comprises surpassing a threshold indicator associated with the content stored at the digital video recorder.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the additional content is received over the data network in a faster-than-real-time transmission such that a total transmission time of the additional content is less than the real-time playback of the additional content.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the network storage device is a server configured to store content from one or more content sources.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the network storage device is an other digital video recorder, the other digital video recorder comprising a memory storing the additional content requested by the digital video recorder.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the server inserts one or more advertisements into the additional content transmitted to the digital video recorder.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the server collects information about the digital video recorder requesting the additional content.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the collected information is subsequently associated with an account of a user of the digital video recorder.

13. The method of claim 5, wherein the request for additional content comprises a start-time and an end-time of the additional content being requested from the network storage device.

14. The method of claim 5, wherein the request for additional content comprises client configuration information associated with the digital video recorder, the client configuration information reflecting at least one capability of the digital video recorder.

15. The method of claim 5, wherein the request for additional content comprises client status information associated with the digital video recorder, the client status information indicating the amount of memory available at the digital video recorder for storage of the requested additional content.

16. A method for retrieval of content from a network storage device, comprising:

identifying a portion of content presently available in a memory of a digital video recorder;

identifying a portion of content missing from the memory of the digital video recorder;

sending a request across a data network to a network storage device for the missing portion of content; and

receiving a faster-than-real-time transmission of the missing portion of content from the network storage device, the transmission occurring over the data network.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

pre-pending the missing portion of content received from the network storage device with the portion of content presently available in the memory of the digital video recorder; and

,

storing the pre-pended content in the memory of the digital video recorder.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the portion of content presently available in the memory of the digital video recorder is of a first temporal range and the portion of content missing from the memory of the digital video recorder is of a second temporal range.

19. A digital video recorder, comprising:

an input port configured to receive a first portion of content from a content source;

a storage device configured to store the first portion of content received from the content source;

a controller device configured to manage access to at least the stored first portion of content received from the content source;

a catch-up engine configured to request a second portion of content from a server storing one or more portions of the content; and

a data network interface configured to receive the second portion of content from the server.

20. The digital video recorder of claim 19, wherein the second portion of content received from the server is stored in the storage device.

21. The digital video recorder of claim 20, wherein the second portion of content received from the server is pre-pended with the stored first portion of content by the controller device.

22. The digital video recorder of claim 19, wherein the catch-up engine is further configured to provide information associated with the configuration of the digital video recorder to the server.

23. The digital video recorder of claim 19, wherein the catch-up engine is further configured to provide information associated with the status of the digital video recorder to the server.

24. The digital video recorder of claim 19, further comprising an analog-to-digital converter configured to convert the first portion of content received from the content source from an analog format to a digital format.

25. The digital video recorder of claim 19, further comprising a compression engine to compress the first portion of content received from the content source prior to its storage in the storage device.

26. The digital video record of claim 24, wherein the input port and the analog-to-digital converter are integrated.

27. A networked storage device, comprising:

an input port configured to receive content from a content source;

memory configured to store content received from the content source;

a controller device configured to manage access to the content stored in the storage device;

an output port configured to transmit over a data network one or more portions of the content stored in the storage device to a digital video recorder requesting the one or more portions of content stored in the storage device.

28. The networked storage device of claim 27, wherein the one or more portions of content are transmitted in faster-than-real time.

29. The networked storage device of claim 27, wherein a processor is configured to process configuration information reflecting at least one capability of the digital video recorder.

30. The network storage device of claim 27, wherein a processor is configured to process client status information associated with the digital video recorder, the client status information indicating the amount of memory available at the digital video recorder for storage of the requested one or more portions of the content.

31. The networked storage device of claim 27, further comprising a network optimization engine configured to allocate bandwidth between the networked storage device and the digital video recorder requesting the one or more portions of the content stored by the storage device.

32. The networked storage device of claim 31, wherein the network optimization engine is further configured to cause the one or portions of content transmitted to the digital video recorder to be transmitted at one or more encoded bit rates.

33. The networked storage device of claim 31, wherein the network optimization engine is further configured to cause the one or more portions of content transmitted to the digital video recorder to be transmitted in one or more encoding formats.