DEVICE FOR RECORDING AND PLAYING CONTENTS, SERVER FOR MANAGING CONTENT LOCATION INFORMATION, INFORMATION RECORDING MEDIUM, METHOD FOR MANAGING CONTENT INFORMATION

• US 20090257729A1
• Filed: 04/13/2009
• Published: 10/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: AHN, Kyu Tae
• Granted Patent: US 9,077,859 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/239
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2747 Remote storage of video programs received via the downstream path, e.g. from the server
• 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 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8205 involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the colour video signal

Abstract

A device for recording and playing contents, a sever for managing content location information, an information recording medium, a method for managing content information, and a recording medium for the method are disclosed. The recording/playing device includes a communication interface unit configured to interface data transmission and reception with at least one external resource connected to a network and a controller configured to receive a request for a content, search for an external resource recording the requested content based on content identification information and control receiving the content from the searched external resource.

Claims

1. A recording/playing device comprising:

a communication interface unit configured to interface data transmission and reception with at least one external resource connected to a network; and

a controller configured to receive a request for a content, search for an external resource recording the requested content based on content identification information and control receiving the content from the searched external resource.

2. The recording/playing device according to claim 1, wherein the content identification information includes a transport ID, a service ID, and an event ID.

3. The recording/playing device according to claim 2, wherein if the transport ID, service ID, and event ID of the requested content are identical to a transport ID, a service ID, and an event ID of a content recorded in an external resource, the controller determines the external resource to record the requested content.

4. The recording/playing device according to claim 1, wherein the controller manages a content list including location information about the external resource.

5. The recording/playing device according to claim 4, wherein the location information includes at least one of an address, a shared folder name, a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), and a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI).

6. The recording/playing device according to claim 4, wherein the controller searches for the external resource recording the requested content by transmitting a content search request requesting a search for the requested content to the external resource indicated by the location information based on the content identification information and receiving a result of the content search request from the external resource.

7. The recording/playing device according to claim 4, wherein upon receipt of the location information from the external resource, the controller updates the content list based on the received location information.

8. The recording/playing device according to claim 4, wherein the controller includes content information in the content list, the content information including content identification information about contents recorded in the external resource indicated by the location information.

9. The recording/playing device according to claim 8, wherein the controller searches for the external resource recording the requested content in the content list by comparing the content identification information included in the content list with the content identification information about the requested content and receives the requested content from the searched external resource.

10. The recording/playing device according to claim 8, wherein the content information further includes content recording time information.

11. The recording/playing device according to claim 10, wherein the content recording time information includes recording start time information indicating a recording start time of content identified by the content identification information included in the content information and recording end time information indicating a recording end time of the identified content.

12. The recording/playing device according to claim 10, wherein the controller searches for external resources each recording a content segment of the requested content based on the content recording time information included in the content information, receives the content segments from the searched external resources, and generates the requested content by combining the received content segments.

13. The recording/playing device according to claim 12, wherein the controller receives clock information used for a coding scheme from each of the searched external resources, and generates the requested content by combining the content segments based on the clock information.

14. The recording/playing device according to claim 13, wherein the clock information is a Program Clock Reference (PCR).

15. The recording/playing device according to claim 12, wherein the controller calculates clock information used for coding schemes based on recording time information about the content segments and requests the content segments to the searched external resources by including the calculated clock information in the request.

16. The recording/playing device according to claim 10, wherein upon receipt of a past-time play time shift request as the request, the controller searches for an external resource recording a content including a portion of the requested content corresponding to the past time based on the content recording time information included in the content information and receives the content from the searched external resource.

17. The recording/playing device according to claim 16, wherein the controller receives clock information used for a coding scheme from the searched external resource and extracts the portion from the received content based on the received clock information.

18. The recording/playing device according to claim 16, wherein the controller calculates clock information used for a coding scheme based on the recording time information included in the content information and requests the portion to the searched external resource by including the calculated clock information in the request.

19. The recording/playing device of claim 8, wherein the controller requests a content list managed in the external resource indicated by the location information or content information about contents recorded in the external resource to the external resource.

20. The recording/playing device of claim 8, wherein the controller transmits content information about a content to the external resource when recording of the content starts and transmits content information about the recorded content to the external resource upon completion of the recording.

21. The recording/playing device of claim 20, wherein the controller broadcasts the content information about the content being recorded or the content information about the completely recorded content, or unicasts the content information about the content being recorded or the content information about the completely recorded content to the external resource indicated by the location information.

22. The recording/playing device of claim 4, wherein the controller transmits location information about the controller or the content list to an external resource.

23. The recording/playing device of claim 22, wherein the controller transmits the location information about the controller or the content list to the external resource every predetermined time, or upon request of the external resource.

24. The recording/playing device of claim 4, wherein the controller broadcasts a message indicating an active state or unicasts the message indicating an active state to the external resource indicated by the location information.

25. The recording/playing device of claim 1, wherein the external resource includes at least one of a recording/playing device, a digital device with a recording medium, and a content locater management server.

26. A content locater management server comprising:

a communication interface unit configured to interface data transmission and reception with at least one recording/playing device connected to a network;

a storage configured to store a content list including location information about the recording/playing device and content information being information about contents recorded at the recording/playing device; and

a controller configured to update the content list upon receipt of the location information or the content information from the recording/playing devices, and search the content list for a recording/playing device recording requested content, upon receipt of a content search request from the recording/playing device.

27. The content locater management server according to claim 26, wherein the content information includes content identification information.

28. The content locater management server according to claim 27, wherein the controller searches the content list for the recording/playing device recording the requested content based on the content identification information.

29. A recording medium comprising:

a first region configured to store location information about an external resource; and

a second region configured to store content information in conjunction with the location information, the content information being information about contents recorded by the external resource.

30. The recording medium according to claim 29, wherein the location information includes at least one of an address, a shared folder name, a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), and a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) of the external resource.

31. The recording medium according to claim 29, wherein the content information includes a transport ID, a service ID, an event ID, recording start time information indicating a recording start time of the contents, and recording end time information indicating a recording end time of the contents.

32. A method for managing content information, comprising:

transmitting a message indicating an active state, when the active state is set;

transmitting location information that provides access information, upon receipt of a request for the location information in response to the transmitted message; and

transmitting content information including content information about recorded contents, upon receipt of a request for the content information in response to the transmitted location information.

33. The method according to claim 32, wherein the content information includes a transport ID, a service ID, an event ID, recording start time information indicating a recording start time of contents, and recording end time information indicating a recording end time of the contents.

34. The method according to claim 32, wherein the location information includes at least one of an address, a shared folder name, a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), and a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) of the external resource.

35. The method according to claim 32, further comprising transmitting a cache content list including a content list received from an external resource, upon receipt of a request for the cache content list.

36. The method according to claim 35, wherein the content list includes location information and information about contents recorded at an external resource indicated by the location information.

37. The method according to claim 32, further comprising:

transmitting content information about a content, when recording of the content starts; and

transmitting content information about the recorded content, when the recording of the content is completed.

38. The method according to claim 37, wherein the content information about the content being recorded or the content information about the completely recorded content is broadcast or unicast.

39. The method according to claim 32, further comprising:

receiving a message indicating an active state;

requesting location information in response to the received message;

updating the cache content list based on the location information, upon receipt of the location information and requesting content information in response to the location information; and

updating the cache content list with the content information, upon receipt of the content information.

40. The method according to claim 32, further comprising:

searching the content information, upon receipt of a request for a content;

searching the cache content list, if the requested content is not detected in the main content list; and

transmitting a content search request requesting a search for the requested content, if the requested content is not detected in the cache content list.

41. The method according to claim 32, wherein the transmitting the message comprises broadcasting the message indicating an active state or unicasting the message indicating an active state to the external resource indicated by the location information.