Management of Streaming Content

• US 20070162392A1
• Filed: 01/12/2006
• Published: 07/12/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Wagner, Mark, McEnroe, Elizabeth, Taylor, Thomas, Potrebic, Peter
• Granted Patent: US 7,634,652 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/51
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management

Abstract

Embodiments of streaming content management are described herein. For example, techniques may be employed to manage streams received by client devices such that the client devices may receive content and share functionality.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving content from a client device;

obtaining content from a content provider that matches the content received from the client device; and

upon receipt of a request for the content from the client device, streaming the content received from the content provider to the client device.

2. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the client device initially receives the content directly in a unicast from the content provider over a communication network.

3. A method as described in claim 1, wherein a multicast join message causes the content provider to stream the content to perform the obtaining.

4. A method as described in claim 1, wherein upon receipt of the streaming content at the remote client device, the remote client device unjoins a multicast broadcast from the content provider.

5. A method as described in claim 1, further comprising rendering the streaming content received at the client device and not rendering the content that is received directly from the content provider at the client device.

6. A method as described in claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an input at the client device to retrieve another stream of content; and

forming a unicast join message by the client device for communication to the content provider to receive content via a unicast directly from the content provider.

7. A method as described in claim 1, further comprising storing the obtained content.

8. A method as described in claim 7, further comprising performing a time-shifting function in the streaming of the content to the client device.

9. A method as described in claim 8, wherein the time-shifting function is a pause, skip-back, fast forward, jump ahead or a rewind.

10. A method as described in claim 1, wherein:

the receiving, the obtaining and the streaming are performed by a manager client device; and

the manager client device allocates content consumption in a viewing system that includes at least the manager client device and the remote client device.

11. A method comprising:

during receipt of streaming content at a remote client device from a manager client device, receiving an input to retrieve another stream of content; and

receiving the other stream of content directly from a content provider at the remote client device, wherein the content provider provided the streaming content to the manager client device.

12. A method as described in claim 11, wherein the other stream of content is received directly from the content provider at the remote client device via a unicast.

13. A method as described in claim 11, further comprising streaming the other stream of content from the remote client device to the manager client device for storage by the manager client device.

14. A method as described in claim 13, further comprising:

upon receipt of content by the manager client device from the remote client device, forming a multicast join message by the manager client device for communication to the content provider;

storing the content received by the manager client device from the content provider; and

streaming the content received by the manager client device from the content provider to the remote client device

15. A method as described in claim 14, wherein the multicast join message causes the content provider to stream the content to both the manager client device and the remote client device simultaneously.

16. A method as described in claim 14, further comprising performing a time-shifting function in the streaming of the content from the manager client device to the remote client device.

17. One or more computer-readable media comprising computer executable instruction that, when executed, direct a remote client device to:

form a message for communication to a content provider to receive a stream of content directly from the content provider;

upon receipt of the stream of content from the content provider, stream the content to a manager client device; and

upon receipt of the stream of content from the content provider via the manager client device, form a request for communication to the manager client device to perform a time-shift operation in the streaming of the content from the manager client device to the remote client device.

18. One or more computer-readable media as described in claim 17, wherein the time-shift operation a pause, skip-back, fast forward, jump ahead or a rewind.

19. One or more computer-readable media as described in claim 17, wherein the content is a television program.

20. One or more computer-readable media as described in claim 17, wherein the receipt of the stream of content at the manager client device from the remote client device causes the manager client device to form a message to cause the content provider to stream the content to the manager client device and the remote client device simultaneously in a multicast.