METHOD AND SYSTEM OF RETRIEVING LOST CONTENT SEGMENTS OF PRIOR BROADCASTED PROGRAMMING AT A USER DEVICE FROM A SERVICE PROVIDER

• US 20090113491A1
• Filed: 10/31/2007
• Published: 04/30/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Greer, Dana J., Kuether, David J.
• Application Number:
  US11/931,450
• Publication Number:
  US 20090113491A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/67
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2385 Channel allocation H04N21/266 takes precedence; Bandwidth allocation H04N21/24 takes precedence ; allocation of channels according to the instantaneous demands of the users in time-division multiplex systems H04J3/1682; admission control, resource allocation in open networks H04L12/5692; arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896; negotiating bandwidth in wireless networks H04W28/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• 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 21/6143 involving transmission via a satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6375 for requesting retransmission , e.g. of data packets lost or corrupted during transmission from serverARQ protocols H04L1/18; implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP] H04L69/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A method and system includes a user device storing content in a memory, determining a lost content segment exists, generating a request for the lost content segment; communicating the request for the lost content to a service provider, receiving the lost segment and storing the lost content segment in the memory. The system may also include a service provider storing the content therein. The service provider communicates the lost content segment to the user device through a network in response to the request.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

storing content in a memory of the user device;

determining a lost content segment exists;

generating a request for the lost content segment at the user device;

communicating the request for the lost content to a service provider;

receiving the lost content segment at the user device from the service provider; and

storing the lost content segment in the memory of the user device.

2. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the memory of the user device comprises a digital video recorder.

3. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein determining a lost content exists, comprises determining the lost content exists from program associated data, the presence of a searching for satellite signal, a partial recording tag or missing time stamp.

4. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein determining a lost content segment exists, comprises determining the lost content segment exists during storing content in the memory.

5. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising communicating content to a user device through a satellite network and storing the content at the service provider.

6. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising communicating content to a user device through a wired terrestrial network.

7. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising communicating content to a user device through a wireless terrestrial network.

8. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein communicating the request comprises communicating the request through a broadband network.

9. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein communicating the request comprises communicating the request through a public switched telephone network.

10. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising prior to receiving, communicating the lost segment from the service provider to the user device.

11. A method as recited in claim 10 wherein communicating the lost segment comprises communicating the lost content segment through a satellite.

12. A method as recited in claim 10 wherein communicating the lost segment comprises communicating the lost content segment through a broadband network.

13. A method as recited in claim 10 wherein communicating the lost segment comprises communicating the lost content segment through a terrestrial wireless network.

14. A method as recited in claim 10 further comprising communicating content to a user device through a satellite network and wherein communicating the lost segment comprises communicating the lost content segment through a broadband network.

15. A system comprising:

a user device storing content in a memory, determining a lost content segment exists, generating a request for the lost content segment, communicating the request for the lost content to a service provider, receiving the lost segment and storing the lost content segment in the memory.

16. A system as recited in claim 15 further comprising a service provider storing the content therein, said service provider communicating the lost content segment to the user device through in response to the response to the request for the lost content.

17. A system as recited in claim 16 wherein the user device communicates the request through a first network and the service provider communicates the lost content through the first network.

18. A system as recited in claim 17 wherein the first network comprises a broadband network

19. A system as recited in claim 16 wherein the user device communicates the request through a first network and the service provider communicates the lost content through a second network different than the first network.

20. A system as recited in claim 19 wherein the first network comprises a broadband network and the second network comprises a satellite network.

21. A system as recited in claim 15 further comprising a satellite network communicating the content to the user device.

22. A system comprising

a service provider comprising

a capture system receiving a broadcast transport stream corresponding to content, tagging the broadcasted content stream and storing the content in a storage system to form previously broadcasted stored content;

and

a program retrieval system for retrieving the previously broadcasted stored content.

23. A system as recited in claim 22 further comprising a user device in communication with the service provider, said user device determining a lost content segment an requesting the lost content segment from the service device.

24. A system as recited in claim 22 wherein said service provider communicates the lost content segment from the storage system to the user device.

25. A system as recited in claim 22 wherein the storage system comprises short term storage and a long term storage module and a file management system for moving files from the short term storage module to the long term storage module.