Systems and methods for managing local storage of on-demand content

• US 20070079342A1
• Filed: 09/30/2005
• Published: 04/05/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: GuideWorks, LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Ellis, Michael, Craner, Michael, Knee, Robert
• Application Number:
  US11/240,552
• Publication Number:
  US 20070079342A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/89
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/91328 the copy protection signal being a copy management signal, e.g. a copy generation management signal [CGMS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2541 Rights Management protecting software against unauthorised usage in a vending or licensing environment G06F21/10; security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42623 involving specific decryption arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4335 Housekeeping operations, e.g. prioritizing content for deletion because of storage space restrictions storage management, e.g. defragmentation G06F3/0604; unloading stored programs G06F9/445; storage management in file systems G06F16/10; buffering arrangements in a network node or in an end terminal in packet networks H04L49/90
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44222 Analytics of user selections, e.g. selection of programs or purchase activity monitoring of user selections in data processing systems G06F11/34; arrangements for monitoring the user's behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4627 Rights management associated to the content security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6336 directed to decoder
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8355 involving usage data, e.g. number of copies or viewings allowed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/913 for scrambling ; for copy protection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/1675 Providing digital key or authorisation information for generation or regeneration of the scrambling sequence pseudo-random number generators in general G06F7/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

On-demand systems and methods are provided to manage locally-stored on-demand content. A user'"'"'s equipment controls the deletion of and/or access to on-demand content from a local storage device based on constraining criteria that may include rental conditions, dynamic factors, and keys.

Claims

1. In an on-demand system comprising an on-demand server and an on-demand client, a method for managing at least a portion of on-demand content provided by the on-demand server and stored in a storage device that is local to the on-demand client, the method comprising:

receiving an on-demand rental condition which constrains deletion of and/or access to the at least a portion of the on-demand content on the storage device in accordance with an on-demand provider'"'"'s rental policies; and

controlling deletion of and/or access to the at least a portion of the on-demand content on the storage device as a function of the on-demand rental condition.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the on-demand rental condition is received from at least one of the on-demand server and a third-party rights-management server.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the on-demand rental condition specifies at least one of:

at least one time period;

at least one usage limit; and

characteristics of other on-demand content stored on the storage device.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the on-demand rental condition is a function of a rating of an on-demand content and specifies at least one of:

a maximum number of times as a function of the rating; and

a cumulative time period as a function of the rating.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a key according to which the at least a portion of the on-demand content may be decrypted;

decrypting the at least a portion of the on-demand content as a function of the key; and

playing back the decrypted at least a portion of the on-demand content.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a dynamic factor which constrains deletion of and/or access to the at least a portion of the on-demand content stored on the storage device based on conditions of equipment on which the on-demand client is implemented; and

controlling deletion of and/or access to the at least a portion of the on-demand content as a function of the dynamic factor.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the dynamic factor specifies at least one of:

determining whether the user is watching the on-demand content;

determining whether the storage device is available; and

determining whether the at least a portion of the on-demand content meets a keep criterion.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein controlling the deletion of and/or access to the at least a portion of the on-demand content on the storage device comprises:

determining that a user of the on-demand client is not actively watching the at least a portion of the on-demand content; and

deleting the at least a portion of the on-demand content from the storage device in response to the determining.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein controlling the deletion of and/or access to the at least a portion of the on-demand content on the storage device comprises:

determining that a user of the on-demand client is not watching the at least a portion of the on-demand content and space on the storage device is needed for other system activities; and

deleting the at least a portion of the on-demand content from the storage device in response to the determining.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein controlling the deletion and/or access to the at least a portion of the on-demand content on the storage device comprises:

determining that the user of the on-demand client is not watching the at least a portion of the on-demand content, space on the storage device is needed for other system activities, and the space used by the at least a portion of the on-demand content on the storage device is less than a specified minimum keep threshold; and

deleting the at least a portion of the on-demand content from the storage device in response to the determining.

11. User equipment on which an on-demand client is implemented, the user equipment comprising a storage device configured to store at least a portion of on-demand content and processing circuitry, wherein the processing circuitry is adapted to:

direct the storage device to store at least a portion of the on-demand content;

receive an on-demand rental condition which constrains deletion of and/or access to the at least a portion of the on-demand content on the storage device in accordance with an on-demand provider'"'"'s rental policies; and

control deletion of and/or access to the at least a portion of the on-demand content on the storage device as a function of the on-demand rental condition.

12. The user equipment of claim 11 wherein the on-demand rental condition is received by the processing circuitry from at least one of an on-demand server and a third-party rights-management server.

13. The user equipment of claim 11 wherein the on-demand rental condition specifies at least one of:

at least one time period;

at least one usage limit; and

characteristics of other on-demand content on the storage device.

14. The user equipment of claim 11 wherein the on-demand rental condition is a function of the rating of the on-demand content and specifies at least one of:

a maximum number of times as a function of the rating; and

a cumulative time period as a function of the rating.

15. The user equipment of claim 11 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

receive a key according to which the at least a portion of the on-demand content may be decrypted; and

decrypt the at least a portion of the on-demand content as a function of the key; and

play back the decrypted at least a portion of the on-demand content on the storage device.

16. The user equipment of claim 11 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

receive a dynamic factor which constrains deletion of and/or access to the at least a portion of the on-demand content on the storage device based on conditions of the user equipment; and

further control deletion of and/or access to the at least a portion of the on-demand content on the storage device as a function of the dynamic factor.

17. The user equipment of claim 16 wherein the dynamic factor specifies at least one of:

determining whether the user is watching the on-demand content;

determining whether the storage device is available; and

determining whether the at least a portion of the on-demand content meets a keep criterion.

18. The user equipment of claim 16 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

determine that a user of the on-demand client is not actively watching the at least a portion of the on-demand content; and

direct, in response to the determining, the storage device to delete the at least a portion of the on-demand content.

19. The user equipment of claim 16 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

determine that a user of the on-demand client is not watching the at least a portion of the on-demand content and space on the storage device is needed for other uses of resources in the user equipment; and

in response to the determining, direct the storage device to delete the at least a portion of the on-demand content.

20. The user equipment of claim 11 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

determine that the user of the on-demand client is not watching the at least a portion of the on-demand content, space on the storage device is needed for other uses of resources in the user equipment, and the space used by the at least a portion of the on-demand content on the storage device is less than a specified minimum keep threshold; and

in response to the determining, direct the storage device to delete the at least a portion of the on-demand content.

21. The user equipment of claim 11 wherein the processing circuitry is coupled to an on-demand server via a communications path comprising at least one of a satellite path, a fiber-optic path, and a cable path.

22. The user equipment of claim 11 wherein the processing circuitry is part of at least one of a television, a set-top box, and a recording device.

23. An on-demand server adapted to operate in an on-demand system comprising an on-demand server and an on-demand client, the on-demand server comprising:

a storage device configured to store an on-demand content and an on-demand rental condition, wherein the on-demand rental condition constrains deletion of and/or access to portions of the on-demand content stored at the on-demand client in accordance with an on-demand provider'"'"'s rental policies; and

processing circuitry configured to;

receive a playback command for the on-demand content from the on-demand client, and

stream at least a portion of the on-demand content and the on-demand rental condition to the on-demand client.