Manager/Remote Content Architecture

• US 20070174656A1
• Filed: 01/20/2006
• Published: 07/26/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/2006
• 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 8,739,230 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/4
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2221 being a cable television head-end CATV in broadcast systems H04H20/78
• 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 21/43615 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 21/6334 for authorisation, e.g. by transmitting a key wireless communications network key management H04W12/04; wireless communications network access security H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

Embodiments of a manager/remote content architecture are described herein. The architecture, for instance, may provide management of content received from a content provider, such as to determine which client devices are authorized to output the content. Techniques are also described which allow one of the remote client devices to act as a “limited manager” to allocate content usage by the architecture when the manager client device is not available.

Claims

1. A method comprising in a viewing system having a plurality of client devices configured to output content streamed from a content provider over a communication network:

determining by at least one said client device whether another said client device is accessible to manage consumption of the content by the plurality of client devices; and

when the other said client device is not available, assuming a role of limited manager of the viewing system by the at least one said client device to manage consumption of the content by the plurality of client devices, wherein the at least one said client device does not include functionality related to content consumption that is available from the other said client device.

2. A method as described in claim 1, further comprising when the other said client device becomes available:

assuming a remote role by the at least said one client device; and

assuming a manager role by the other said client device to manage consumption of the content by the plurality of client devices.

3. A method as described in claim 2, wherein when the at least one said client device assumes the remote role, the at least one said client device communicates with the other said client device to be allocated at least a portion of the content.

4. A method as described in claim 2, wherein when the at least one said client device assumes the remote role and the other said client device assumes the manager role, the content is received by the at least one said client device through the other said client device.

5. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the content includes television programs.

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

consumption of the content by the plurality of client devices is managed through the use of tokens;

one or more said tokens specify standard definition (SD) content that is consumable by a respective said client device that is allocated the token; and

at least one said token specifies high definition (HD) content that is consumable by a respective said client device that is allocated the token.

7. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the functionality related to content consumption that is available from the other said client device includes controlling storage of the content.

8. A method as described in claim 7, wherein the controlled storage of the content is performed through use of storage that is local on the other said client device.

9. A method as described in claim 7, wherein available bandwidth of the content streamed from the content provider to the viewing system is less than bandwidth that is consumable by the plurality of client devices in the viewing system.

15. A method as described in claim 7, wherein the recordation of the content by the manager client device is performed locally on the manager client device.

10. A method comprising:

assuming a role of limited manager by a client device in a viewing system, wherein;

each client device in the viewing system is configured to consume content streamed over a network; and

the role of limited manager causes the client device to allocate the consumption of content by each said client device; and

monitoring availability of one or more said client devices to determine when a manager client device becomes available that is configured to allocate the consumption of the content by each said client device and to cause recordation of at least a portion of the content.

11. A method as described in claim 10, wherein when the manager client device becomes available, responsibility for content allocation in the viewing system is transferred from the client device having the role of limited manager.

12. A method as described in claim 11, wherein responsibility is transferred by:

assuming a remote role by the client device having the role of limited manager; and

assuming a manager role by the manager client device.

13. A method as described in claim 12, wherein when the client device assumes the remote role and the manager client device assumes the manager role, the client device in the remote role communicates with the manager client device in the manager role for allocation at least a portion of the content.

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

consumption of the content by the client devices in the viewing system is managed through the use of tokens;

one or more said tokens specify standard definition (SD) content that is consumable by a respective said client device that is allocated the token; and

at least one said token specifies high definition (HD) content that is consumable by a respective said client device that is allocated the token.

16. One or more computer-readable media comprising computer executable instruction that, when executed, direct a client device to determine whether to enter a state to allocate content streamed over a communication network to a viewing system that is capable of consuming more content bandwidth than is available to the viewing system via the communication network, wherein the determination is based on:

functionality available on the client device;

whether another client device in the viewing system is available to manage content allocation; and

comparison of a notification from the other client device with information generated by the client device.

17. One or more computer-readable media as described in claim 16, wherein:

the information generated by the client device is a random number;

the notification includes another random number generated by the other client device; and

the comparison results in a determination of whether the client device or the other client device is responsible for allocating content consumption.

18. One or more computer-readable media as described in claim 16, wherein:

consumption of the content by the client devices in the viewing system is managed through use of tokens;

one or more said tokens specify standard definition (SD) content that is consumable by a respective said client device that is allocated the token; and

at least one said token specifies high definition (HD) content that is consumable by a respective said client device that is allocated the token.

19. One or more computer-readable media as described in claim 16, wherein when the functionality of the client device is to cause recordation of the content and the client device includes the functionality, the state is a manager state that is responsible for managing content allocation of each said client device in the viewing system and for managing recordation of the content in the viewing system.

20. One or more computer-readable media as described in claim 16, wherein:

when the functionality of the client device is to cause recordation of the content and the client device does not includes the functionality, the client device enters a limited manager state that is responsible for managing content allocation of each said client device in the viewing system; and

when at least one other said client device becomes available that includes the functionality, the client device enters a remote state and the at least one other said client device enters a manager state, wherein the manager state is responsible for managing content allocation of each said client device in the viewing system and for managing recordation of the content in the viewing system.