SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR REMOTELY CONTROLLING A MEDIA SERVER VIA A NETWORK

• US 20110150432A1
• Filed: 12/23/2009
• Published: 06/23/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sling Media LLC (Dish Network Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sling Media Incorporated (Dish Network Corporation)
• Inventors: Cagney, Myles, Paul, John, Hennessy, Peter Mark
• Granted Patent: US 9,178,923 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/297
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/613 for the control of the source by the destination control signals issued by the client directed to the server or network components specially adapted for selective content distribution H04N21/637
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355

Abstract

Systems and methods are described for remotely controlling a personal or digital video recorder (PVR/DVR), a set top box (STB), a placeshifting device, or any other media server. A communications session is established between a server host and the media server in response to a connection request received from the client. Information about the content processed at the media server is received via the session and provided to the client. In response to subsequent instructions received from the client, the media server can be controlled, or other actions can be taken, by providing directions to the media server from the host via the communications session. Additional or alternate features may be provided as desired.

Claims

1. A method executable by a host communicating via a network with a client and a media server configured to process media content, the method comprising:

receiving a first message from the client at the host via the network;

in response to the first message, establishing a session between the host and the media server via the network;

receiving information about the media content processed at the media server at the host from the media server via the session;

providing the information about the media content processed at the media server from the host to the client via the network;

receiving an instruction from the client at the host to control the media server; and

directing the media server to execute the instruction via the session.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the media server comprises a digital video recorder, and wherein the instruction directs the digital video recorder to record a program.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the media server comprises a digital video recorder and wherein the instruction directs the digital video recorder to delete a program from the digital video recorder.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing program guide information from the host to the client via the network, wherein the program guide information describes programming content available to the media server.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the media server comprises a digital video recorder, and wherein the instruction to change the media content comprises an instruction to record a program identified in the program guide information sing a digital video recorder.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the establishing comprises transmitting a request to a message server having a pre-determined connection established via the network with the media server, and wherein the pre-determined connection is established in response to a message provided by the media server.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the session is a real-time communications session.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the providing comprises forming a web page with the information and transmitting the web page to an application executing on the client.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the web page is formed to accommodate a media player application.

10. The method of claim 8 further comprising directing the media server to provide at least some of the media content stored on the media server to the media player application.

11. A system that communicates via a network with a client and a media server configured to process media content, the system comprising:

a message server configured to communicate with the media server via the network using a pre-existing connection; and

a guide server configured to receive a request for a connection to the media server from the client via the network, to direct the message server to contact the media server via the pre-existing connection in response to the request, to establish a session via the network with the media server, to receive information about the media content via the session, to provide the information about the media content to the client, to receive an instruction from the client to control the media server, and, in response to the instruction received from the client, to direct the media server via the session to execute the instruction.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the session is a real-time communications session.

13. The system of claim 11 wherein the guide server comprises a web server configured to provide the information about the media content stored at the media server in a web-compatible format.

14. The system of claim 11 further comprising a first database comprising program guide information, wherein the guide server is configured to receive the program guide information from the first database and to provide the program guide information to the client via the network, and wherein the instruction comprises an instruction to record a program identified in the program guide information that is provided to the client.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the guide server is further configured to receive an instruction from the client to search for a particular program, to search for the particular program in both the information about the media content stored at the media server and the program guide information, and to provide a combined search result to the client.

16. The system of claim 14 wherein the media server is a placeshifting device, wherein the content stored at the media server comprises programs recorded by a user, and wherein the instruction is an instruction to record one of the programs recorded by the user that is provided in response to an input provided to the client by the user.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the media server is further configured to authenticate the user prior to establishing the session with the media server.

18. A method executable by a host communicating via a network with a client and with a media recorder having stored media content, the method comprising:

receiving a first message from the client at the host via the network, wherein the first message identifies the media recorder;

in response to the first message, transmitting a second message to a message server having a pre-existing connection with the identified media recorder via the network;

in response to a third message received from the media recorder, creating a session between the media recorder and the host via the network;

providing program guide information from the host to the client via the network;

receiving an instruction to record a program identified in the program guide information from the client at the host; and

in response to receiving the instruction at the host, directing the media recorder via the session to record the identified program.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the session is a real-time communications session, and wherein the method comprises receiving a list of currently-planned recordings from the media recorder via the real-time communications session.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising identifying a conflict between the instruction received from the client and the list of currently-planned recordings and, if the conflict exists, receiving a second instruction from the client that resolves the conflict and directing the media recorder via the real-time communications session to resolve the conflict in accordance with the second instruction.