BANDWIDTH ALLOCATION WITH MODIFIED SEEK FUNCTION

• US 20120059946A1
• Filed: 09/03/2010
• Published: 03/08/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hulu LLC (The Walt Disney Company)
• Original Assignee: Hulu LLC (The Walt Disney Company)
• Inventors: Wang, Dong
• Granted Patent: US 8,832,293 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/125 by balancing the load, e.g. traffic engineering
• 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: H04N 21/2387 Stream processing in response to a playback request from an end-user, e.g. for trick-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26266 for determining content or additional data repetition rate, e.g. of a file in a DVB carousel according to its importance arrangements for broadcast or for distribution of identical information repeatedly in broadcast distribution systems H04H20/16
• 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 21/6405 Multicasting data broadcast and multicast in packet switching networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments

Abstract

A computer-implemented method, apparatus, system, article of manufacture, and computer readable storage medium provide the ability to stream media content to multiple users. A first stream of/for the media content is streamed from a first location in the media content to a first user. A request is received from the first user to seek to a seek location (e.g., forward or backward) in the media content. A second location in the media content compatible with the seek location is determined. The second location is based on a second stream being streamed to one or more second users. The second stream is then streamed to the first user and the second user.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for streaming media content to multiple users comprising:

streaming a first stream for the media content, from a first location in the media content, to a first user;

receiving a request from the first user to seek to a seek location in the media content;

determining a second location in the media content compatible with the seek location, wherein the second location is based on a second stream being streamed to one or more second users; and

streaming the second stream to the first user and the one or more second users.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the request is received from the first user by moving a slider on a progress timeline bar for the first media content.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the second location is based on a shot or scene of the media content.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the second location is determined by analyzing media content streams being streamed to other users.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the streaming of the second stream to the first user and the one or more second users synchronizes viewing of the media content between the first user and the one or more second users.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the streaming of the second stream to the first user and the one or more second users comprises multicasting the second stream.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the streaming of the second stream is performed in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

streaming an advertisement to the first user based on the second location.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein:

the advertisement comprises a directed advertisement that is specifically directed to the first user based on attributes of the first user.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising:

selecting the advertisement based on a time difference between the seek location and the second location in the second stream that the one or more second users are receiving.

11. An apparatus for streaming media content to multiple users in a computer system comprising:

(a) a computer having a memory;

(b) an application executing on the computer, wherein the application is configured to;

(i) stream a first stream for the media content, from a first location in the media content, to a first user;

(ii) receive a request from the first user to seek to a seek location in the media content;

(iii) determine a second location in the media content compatible with the seek location, wherein the second location is based on a second stream being streamed to one or more second users; and

(iv) stream the second stream to the first user and the one or more second users.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein:

the request is received from the first user by moving a slider on a progress timeline bar for the first media content.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein:

the second location is based on a shot or scene of the media content.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein:

second location is determined by analyzing media content streams being streamed to other users.

15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein:

the streaming of the second stream to the first user and the one or more second users synchronizes viewing of the media content between the first user and the one or more second users.

16. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein:

the streaming of the second stream to the first user and the one or more second users comprises multicasting the second stream.

17. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein:

the streaming of the second stream is performed in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network.

18. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the application is further configured to:

stream an advertisement to the first user based on the second location.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein:

the advertisement comprises a directed advertisement that is specifically directed to the first user based on attributes of the first user.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the application is further configured to:

select the advertisement based on a time difference between the seek location and the second location in the second stream that the one or more second users is receiving.

21. A computer readable storage medium encoded with computer program instructions which when accessed by a computer cause the computer to load the program instructions to a memory therein creating a special purpose data structure causing the computer to operate as a specially programmed computer, executing a method of streaming media content to multiple users, comprising:

streaming, in the specially programmed computer, a first stream for the media content, from a first location in the media content, to a first user;

receiving, in the specially programmed computer, a request from the first user to seek to a seek location in the media content;

determining, in the specially programmed computer, a second location in the media content compatible with the seek location, wherein the second location is based on a second stream being streamed to one or more second users; and

streaming, in the specially programmed computer, the second stream to the first user and the one or more second users.

22. A computer readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein:

the request is received from the first user by moving a slider on a progress timeline bar for the first media content.

23. A computer readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein:

the second location is based on a shot or scene of the media content.

24. A computer readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein:

second location is determined by analyzing media content streams being streamed to other users.

25. A computer readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein:

the streaming of the second stream to the first user and the second user synchronizes viewing of the media content between the first user and the one or more second users.

26. A computer readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein:

the streaming of the second stream to the first user and the one or more second users comprises multicasting the second stream.

27. A computer readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein:

the streaming of the second stream is performed in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network.

28. A computer readable storage medium of claim 21, further comprising:

streaming, in the specially programmed computer, an advertisement to the first user based on the second location.

29. A computer readable storage medium of claim 28, wherein:

the advertisement comprises a directed advertisement that is specifically directed to the first user based on attributes of the first user.

30. A computer readable storage medium of claim 28, further comprising:

selecting, in the specially programmed computer, the advertisement based on a time difference between the seek location and the second location in the second stream that the one or more second users are receiving.