Digital Video Recording Device and Method

• US 20090144769A1
• Filed: 11/03/2005
• Published: 06/04/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Thomson Licensing (Vantiva SA)
• Original Assignee: Thomson Licensing (Vantiva SA)
• Inventors: Kendall, Scott Allan, Liebhold, Valerie Sacrez
• Application Number:
  US12/084,311
• Publication Number:
  US 20090144769A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/39
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4325 by playing back content from the storage medium reproduction of recorded television signals H04N5/76; reproduction of recorded television signals H04N9/79
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44209 Monitoring of downstream path of the transmission network originating from a server, e.g. bandwidth variations of a wireless network arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording

Abstract

A multi-media content playback method comprising: detecting a user request to play-back stored multi-media content for a selected program; determining whether a loss of signal (LOS) condition is associated with the stored multi-media content; and if a LOS condition is determined to be associated, alerting the user, prior to play-back of the stored multi-media content, that at least a portion of the multi-media content for the selected program is missing.

Claims

1. A recording device, comprising:

a receiver for receiving a signal representative of a program transmitted during a particular time period;

a memory for storing the received program signal;

a detector coupled to the receiver for detecting occurrence of a loss of signal condition, in which the signal is not received by the receiver during the particular time period; and

a processor, coupled to the detector, and operative to generate a signal representing a message indicative of a portion of the program being missing from a recording of the program in the memory, in response to detection of the loss of signal condition.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the detector generates an indicator representative of one of:

an amount of time missing from the recording of the program; and

relative temporal occurrence of missing content within the recording of the program, in response to the detection of the loss of signal condition.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the indicator is stored in a file separate from the recording of the program and accessible in response to a request for playback.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further operative to search an electronic program guide (EPG) for the program and the particular time period.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the signal comprises audio and video data stream content.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the processor also generates a loss of signal (LOS) display for display during the loss of signal condition.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the detector detects the loss of signal condition by monitoring one of an IRE level associated with the received signal, and a synchronizing portion of the received signal.

8. A method for recording and playing back a program, comprising:

receiving a signal representative of a program transmitted during a particular time period;

storing the received program signal;

detecting occurrence of a loss of signal condition, in which the signal is not received during the particular time period; and

providing a message indicating that a portion of the program is missing from a recording of the program, in response to detection of the loss of signal condition.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising generating an indicator representative of one of:

an amount of time missing from the recording of the program; and

relative temporal occurrence of missing content within the recording of the program, in response to the detection of the loss of signal condition.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the indicator is stored in a file separate from the recording of the program and accessible in response to a request for playback.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising searching an electronic program guide (EPG) for the program and determining the particular time period.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the signal comprises audio and video data stream content.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the detecting comprises monitoring one of:

an IRE level associated with the received signal; and

a synchronization portion of the received signal.

14. A method for playing back recorded programs, comprising:

detecting a user request to play-back a recorded program;

determining whether a loss of signal (LOS) condition is associated with the recorded program;

if a LOS condition is associated with the recorded program, generating a message indicating that a portion of the program is missing; and

displaying the message prior to playback of the recorded program.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

monitoring for the loss of signal condition during while receiving the recorded program; and

,

upon detection of the loss of signal condition, storing an indicator indicating a presence of the loss of signal condition in a memory and associating the indicator with the recorded program.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising searching the memory for the indicator identifying an loss of signal condition in response to the user request.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising suspending storage of program signals in response to the loss of signal condition.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

deleting a portion of the recorded program received during the loss of signal condition.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

inserting a loss of signal display in the recorded program during a portion corresponding to the loss of signal condition.

20. The method of claim 14, further comprising searching an electronic program guide for a re-broadcast of the recorded program upon detecting the occurrence of the loss of signal condition.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising determining whether sufficient capacity exists to store the re-broadcast of the recorded program, and if so, recording the re-broadcast.