Method and apparatus for providing simplified peer-to-peer recording

• US 20070124751A1
• Filed: 11/09/2004
• Published: 05/31/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: InterDigital Madison Patent Holdings (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Thomson Licensing SA (Vantiva SA)
• Inventors: Mears, Mark, Tenbarge, James, Hawkins, Bret, Le Fevre, Chad
• Granted Patent: US 7,827,578 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/6
• 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 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• 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 21/43632 involving a wired protocol, e.g. IEEE 1394 high-speed IEEE 1394 serial bus H04L12/40052
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• 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 21/632 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 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction

Abstract

A television apparatus having digital serial bus ports allows a user to select a user-designated digital video content source input such as a digital tuner of the television apparatus and digital serial bus compliant components connected to the television apparatus via the digital serial bus ports of the television apparatus, and to cause digital content from the user-designated digital content source device to be recorded onto a digital recording device connected to the television apparatus via the digital serial bus ports. The present invention allows a user to continuously record digital content onto a digital recording device (e.g. an AVHDD), whether from the TV'"'"'s digital tuner or from another digital serial bus compliant device in a peer to peer arrangement. The connection is always recording, but allows the user to select or designate a digital (i.e. MPEG2) source (i.e. the TV tuner or another digital serial bus compliant device), in addition to displaying the selected content.

Claims

1. A method for operating a television apparatus having digital serial bus ports, the method comprising:

receiving user selection of a designated video input source device connected to the television apparatus via the digital serial bus ports; and

causing a digital recording device connected to the television apparatus via the digital serial bus ports to record digital content from the designated video input source device in response to the user selection.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the digital serial bus ports comprise IEEE 1394 compliant bus ports.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

causing the digital recording device to continuously record video content from a tuning device of the television apparatus in response to user selection of the tuning device as the designated input source device.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the causing step comprises causing a peer to peer connection to be established between the designated video input source device and the digital recording device.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the receiving step comprises receiving user selection of one of a plurality of digital data devices connected to the television apparatus via the digital serial bus ports.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the causing step comprises causing the digital recording device to continuously record video content from a tuning device of the television apparatus in response to user selection of the tuning device as the designated input source device into a predefined buffer size of a storage medium of the digital recording device.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of displaying video content stored on the digital recording device on the television apparatus in response to user selection of the digital recording device as the designated video signal source device.

8. A television apparatus comprising:

means for receiving user selection of a designated video input source device connected to the television apparatus via digital serial bus ports of the television apparatus; and

means for causing a digital recording device connected to the television apparatus via the digital serial bus ports to continuously record the digital content from the designated video input source device in response to the user selection.

9. The television apparatus of claim 8, wherein the digital serial bus ports comprise IEEE 1394 compliant bus ports.

10. The television apparatus of claim 9, further comprising:

means for causing the digital recording device to continuously record video content from a tuning device of the television apparatus in response to user selection of the tuning device as the designated input source device.

11. The television apparatus of claim 9, wherein the means for causing comprises means for causing a peer to peer connection to be established between the designated video input source device and the digital recording device.

12. The television apparatus of claim 9, wherein the means for receiving comprises means for receiving user selection of one of a plurality of digital data devices connected to the television apparatus via the digital serial bus ports.

13. The television apparatus of claim 8, wherein the means for causing comprises means for causing the digital recording device to continuously record video content from a tuning device of the television apparatus in response to user selection of the tuning device as the designated input source device into a predefined buffer size of a storage medium of the digital recording device.

14. The television apparatus of claim 8, further comprising means for displaying video content stored on the digital recording device on the television apparatus in response to user selection of the digital recording device as the designated video signal source device.

15. A method for operating a television apparatus having IEEE 1394 compliant bus ports, the method comprising:

receiving user selection of a designated digital video input source device connected to the television apparatus via the IEEE compliant bus ports;

displaying digital content from the designated digital video input source device on the television apparatus in response to the user selection; and

causing an IEEE 1394 compliant recording device connected to the television apparatus via the IEEE 1394 compliant bus ports to continuously record the digital content from the designated digital video input source device in response to the user selection.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

causing the IEEE 1394 compliant recording device to continuously record video content from a digital tuning device of the television apparatus in response to user selection of the digital tuning device as the designated digital input source device.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the causing step comprises causing a peer to peer connection to be established between the designated digital video input source device and the IEEE 1394 compliant recording device.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the receiving step comprises receiving user selection of one of a plurality of digital data devices connected to the television apparatus via the IEEE 1394 compliant bus ports.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the causing step comprises causing the IEEE 1394 compliant recording device to continuously record digital video content from a digital tuning device of the television apparatus in response to user selection of the digital tuning device as the designated digital input source device into a predefined buffer size of a storage medium of the IEEE 1394 compliant recording device.

20. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of displaying video content stored on the IEEE 1394 compliant recording device on the television apparatus in response to user selection of the IEEE 1394 compliant recording device as the designated digital video signal source device.