IDENTIFYING BROADCAST CONTENT

• US 20090148122A1
• Filed: 11/11/2005
• Published: 06/11/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Peters, Marc Andre, Van Den Boomen, Wilhelmus Henrica Gerarda Maria
• Granted Patent: US 8,225,368 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/248
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2181 comprising remotely distributed storage units, e.g. when movies are replicated over a plurality of video servers distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS], H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23109 by placing content in organized collections, e.g. EPG data repository details of retrieval of video data and associated meta data in video databases G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/278 Content descriptor database or directory service for end-user access details of content or meta data based information retrieval of video data in video databases G06F16/739
• 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 21/4332 by placing content in organized collections, e.g. local EPG data repository interfaces, Database management systems or updating for information retrieval G06F16/23; details of retrieval of video data and associated meta data in video database G06F16/739
• 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 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• 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 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73

Abstract

In a broadcast system (210) each broadcast content item is identified by a broadcast Content Reference Identifier (CRID). In a storage device (220) with a storage (240) each broadcast content item is identified by a local CRID. A processor (230) stores a CRID list that includes for CRIDs an associated validity interval including a starting date and an ending date during which interval the CRID is unique for the content item. When the processor receives (400) a broadcast CRID, it determines (410) an initial validity interval for the broadcast CRID. The initial validity interval includes a starting date and an ending date during which interval the broadcast CRID is unique for the broadcast content item. It then determines (420) whether the initial validity interval overlaps with a validity interval stored in the CRID list for an identical CRID. If there is no overlap it adds (430) the broadcast CRID to the CRID list.

Claims

1. A method of identifying content items in a system (200) including at least one storage device (220) with a storage (240) for storing content items broadcast through a broadcast system (210);

the method including;

in the broadcast system (210), identifying each broadcast content item by a corresponding broadcast Content Reference Identifier (CRID);

in the storage device (220);

identifying each content item in the storage by a corresponding local Content Reference Identifier (CRID) identifying the content item;

storing in the storage a CRID list that includes at least for a selection of local CRIDs and broadcast CRIDs an associated validity interval including a starting date and an ending date, during which interval the CRID is unique for the content item;

in response to receiving (400) a broadcast CRID;

determining (410) an initial validity interval for the broadcast CRID;

the initial validity interval including a starting date and an ending date, during which interval the broadcast CRID is unique for the associated broadcast content item;

determining (420) whether the initial validity interval overlaps with a validity interval stored in the CRID list for an identical CRID or not; and

adding (430) the broadcast CRID to the CRID list only if no overlap is determined.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, including, in response to determining an overlap, updating (440) the validity interval stored in the CRID list to having as the starting date of the validity interval an earliest date of the starting dates of the initial validity interval and the stored validity interval, and as the ending date a latest date of the ending dates of the initial validity interval and the stored validity interval.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of determining an initial validity interval for a received broadcast CRID includes using a default validity interval.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1, the step of determining an initial validity interval for a received broadcast CRID includes querying a broadcast resolution handler to translate the received broadcast CRID to at least one broadcast locator, where each locator includes one broadcasting date for the associated broadcast content item, and determining the initial validity interval in dependence on the broadcasting dates of the broadcast locators associated with the CRID.

5. A method as claimed in claim 4, wherein, if the CRID is associated with a plurality of broadcast locators, the step of determining the initial validity interval includes using as the starting date an earliest one of the broadcasting dates of the broadcast locators and as the ending date a latest one of the broadcasting dates of the broadcast locators.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system includes a plurality of said storage devices;

each of the plurality of storage devices including communication means for bidirectional communication with each other through a wide area peer-to-peer (P2P) network;

the method including in a storage device, in response to receiving a CRID of interest;

querying the P2P network for whether the received CRID is locally stored in the storage device,

receiving in each positive response a respective validity interval and content locator identifying a storage location of the associated content item in the responding storage device,

determining for each positive response whether the validity interval received in the response overlaps with a validity interval stored in the CRID list for an identical CRID or not; and

adding the received CRID to the CRID list only if no overlap is determined.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system includes a server for on-demand retrieval of content items stored in the server through a communication system;

the method including in the storage device, in response to receiving a CRID of interest;

querying the server for whether the received CRID is stored in the server,

receiving in a positive response a respective validity interval and content locator identifying a storage location of the associated content item in the server,

determining for a positive response whether the received validity interval overlaps with a validity interval stored in the CRID list for an identical CRID or not; and

adding the received CRID to the CRID list only if no overlap is determined.

8. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the device is a Personal Digital Recorder (PDR).

9. A method as claimed in claim 4, including storing in the CRID list for each stored CRID metadata associated with the content item associated with the CRID;

the querying also including receiving in a response metadata associated with the queried CRID and performing the step of adding the received CRID to the CRID list only if the received metadata is distinct from metadata stored in the CRID list for the received CRID.

10. A method as claimed in claim 1, including the step of presenting identical CRIDs in the CRID list as identifying separate content items.

11. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the storage device is operative to record broadcast content in the storage;

the method including using the CRID list to determine at least one of the following for a content item to be recorded;

whether or not the content item has already been recorded;

which broadcast locator to use.

12. A method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the storage device is operative to record broadcast content in the storage;

the method including using the CRID list to determine at least one of the following for a content item to be recorded;

whether or not the content item has already been recorded;

to choose between using a broadcast locator, a locator for the server or a locator for the P2P storage device for retrieval.

13. A system (200) for identifying content items;

the system including a broadcast system (210) and at least one storage device (220);

the broadcast system (210) including means for identifying each broadcast content item by a corresponding broadcast Content Reference Identifier (CRID);

the storage device (220) including;

a storage (240) for storing content items broadcast through the broadcast system;

means (270) for identifying each content item in the storage by a corresponding local Content Reference Identifier (CRID) identifying the content item;

a processor (230) for, under control of a program, storing in the storage a CRID list that includes at least for a selection of local CRIDs and broadcast CRIDs an associated validity interval including a starting date and an ending date during which interval the CRID is unique for the content item; and

in response to receiving (400) a broadcast CRID;

determining (410) an initial validity interval for the broadcast CRID;

the initial validity interval including a starting date and an ending date during which interval the broadcast CRID is unique for the associated broadcast content item;

determining (420) whether the initial validity interval overlaps with a validity interval stored in the CRID list for an identical CRID or not; and

adding (430) the broadcast CRID to the CRID list only if no overlap is determined.

15. A computer program product operative to control a processor (230) in a storage device (220) for use in the system (200) as claimed in claim 13, where the system (200) also includes a broadcast system (210) operative to identify each broadcast content item by a corresponding broadcast Content Reference Identifier (CRID);

the storage device (220) including;

a storage (240) for storing content items broadcast through the broadcast system (210);

means (270) for identifying each content item in the storage by a corresponding local Content Reference Identifier (CRID) identifying the content item; and

the processor (230), where

the computer program product is operative to cause the processor (230) to;

store in the storage a CRID list that includes at least for a selection of local CRIDs and broadcast CRIDs an associated validity interval including a starting date and an ending date during which interval the CRID is unique for the content item; and

in response to receiving (400) a broadcast CRID;

determine (410) an initial validity interval for the broadcast CRID;

the initial validity interval including a starting date and an ending date during which interval the broadcast CRID is unique for the associated broadcast content item;

determine (420) whether the initial validity interval overlaps with a validity interval stored in the CRID list for an identical CRID or not; and

add (430) the broadcast CRID to the CRID list only if no overlap is determined.

14. (canceled)