Set-Top Box-Based TV Streaming and Redirecting

• US 20120072962A1
• Filed: 11/29/2011
• Published: 03/22/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Li, Jian, Li, Zhi, Park, Sun-Uk
• Granted Patent: US 8,689,274 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/110
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234309 by transcoding between formats or standards, e.g. from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 or from Quicktime to Realvideo conversion of standards in analog television systems H04N7/01
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2662 Controlling the complexity of the video stream, e.g. by scaling the resolution or bitrate of the video stream based on the client capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4227 Providing Remote input by a user located remotely from the client device, e.g. at work
• 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 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4402 involving reformatting operations of video signals for household redistribution, storage or real-time display details of conversion of video standards at pixel level H04N7/01; video transcoding H04N19/40; adapting incoming signals to the display format of the display terminal G09G5/005; media handling at the source in data packet switching networks H04L65/764
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440272 for performing aspect ratio conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4408 involving video stream encryption, e.g. re-encrypting a decrypted video stream for redistribution in a home network
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6131 involving transmission via a mobile phone network wireless downlink channel access H04W74/006
• 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 21/64322 IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/106 for domestic distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/1675 Providing digital key or authorisation information for generation or regeneration of the scrambling sequence pseudo-random number generators in general G06F7/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A method for redirecting video content includes receiving a video signal at the set-top box and decoding the video signal to produce unrendered video data. The unrendered video data is encoded and provided to the remote device via a wide area network. By encoding unrendered, rather than rendered, video data for transmission to the remote device, the need for an encoding device external to the set-top box is obviated.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving at a gateway device a video packet stream from a remote television server via an internet protocol television network;

transmitting the received video packet stream to a set-top box;

receiving at the gateway device a request for selected video content;

transmitting the received request for the selected video content to the set-top box;

receiving at the gateway device encoded video data from the set-top box and corresponding to the selected video content, wherein the video packet stream is configured for decoding by the set-top box to produce unrendered video data, and wherein the unrendered video data is configured for encoding by the set top box to produce the encoded video data; and

transmitting the received encoded video data to a display device over a wide area network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the set-top box is operable to:

render the unrendered video data to produce rendered video data; and

transmit the rendered video data to a second display device communicatively coupled to the set-top device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the rendered video data is associated with video content differing from the selected video content.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the display device is a display of a cellular phone.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the display device is a computer device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the video packet stream comprises a multicast video stream.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the video packet stream is received at the gateway device according to an internet protocol signal.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the set-top box is further operable to encrypt the unrendered video data.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the set-top box is further operable to encode an aspect ratio into the unrendered video data.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the set-top box is further operable to encode the unrendered video data to change a bit rate of the unrendered video data.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the set-top box is further operable to encode the unrendered video data to change a format of the unrendered video data according to requirements of the display device.

12. A method, comprising:

transmitting from a display device to a set-top box by way of a wide area network a request for selected video content;

receiving from the set-top box encoded video data corresponding to the selected video content, wherein the set-top box is operable to decode a video packet stream to produce unrendered video data, and wherein the set top box is operable to encode the unrendered video data to produce the encoded video data; and

presenting at the display device the received encoded video data.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the set-top box is further operable to:

receive the video packet stream from a remote television server over an internet protocol television network;

render the unrendered video data to produce rendered video data; and

transmit the rendered video data to a second display device communicatively coupled to the set-top device.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the rendered video data is associated with video content differing from the selected video content.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the set-top box is further operable to encode an aspect ratio into the unrendered video data according to requirements of the display device.

16. A method, comprising:

transmitting from a gateway device to a set-top box a video packet stream from an internet protocol television network;

transmitting from the gateway device to the set-top box a request for selected video content originating from a display device coupled to the gateway device by way of a wide area network; and

transmitting from the gateway device to the display device encoded video data corresponding to the selected video content, wherein the encoded video data originates at the set-top box and wherein the set-top box is operable to;

decode the video packet stream to produce unrendered video data; and

encode the unrendered video data to produce the encoded video data.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the set-top box is further operable to:

render the unrendered video data to produce rendered video data; and

transmit the rendered video data to a second display device communicatively coupled to the set-top device.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the set-top box is further operable to encode the unrendered video data to change at least one of an aspect ratio of the unrendered video data or a bit rate of the unrendered video data.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the display device comprises at least one of a computer device or a display of a cellular phone.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the set-top box is further operable to encode the unrendered video data to change a format of the unrendered video data according to requirements of the display device.