APPARATUS, SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ACCESSING MISSED MEDIA CONTENT

• US 20120230651A1
• Filed: 03/11/2011
• Published: 09/13/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dish Technologies LLC (Dish Network Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Echostar Technologies LLC (Echostar Corporation)
• Inventors: Chen, Mi
• Granted Patent: US 9,357,154 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/231
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2393 involving handling client requests scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26225 involving billing parameters, e.g. priority for subscribers of premium services
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26258 for generating a list of items to be played back in a given order, e.g. playlist, or scheduling item distribution according to such list retrieval of multimedia data based on playlists G06F16/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26283 for associating distribution time parameters to content, e.g. to generate electronic program guide data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2665 Gathering content from different sources, e.g. Internet and satellite
• 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 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/433 Content storage operation, e.g. storage operation in response to a pause request, caching operations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4583 Automatically resolving scheduling conflicts, e.g. when a recording by reservation has been programmed for two programs in the same time slot
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6581 Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309

Abstract

Systems and methods are operable to retrieve at least a portion of a missed media content event. An exemplary embodiment detects an occurrence of a failed recording of at least a portion of a media content event of interest; transmits a notification of the detected occurrence of the failed recording of the at least the portion of the media content event of interest from a media device to a replacement content device; and receives, at the media device, at least a portion of missed media content corresponding to at least the portion of the media content event of interest that failed to record.

Claims

1. A method for accessing media content, the method comprising:

detecting an occurrence of a failed recording of at least a portion of a media content event of interest;

transmitting a notification of the detected occurrence of the failed recording of the at least the portion of the media content event of interest from a media device to a replacement content device; and

receiving, at the media device, at least a portion of missed media content corresponding to at least the portion of the media content event of interest that failed to record.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the notification from the replacement content device, wherein the notification signifies that at least the portion of the missed media content is available from at least one content source; and

communicating a request from the media device to the replacement content device for at least the portion of the missed media content from the at least one content source.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising receiving access information from the replacement content device for at least one content source.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the content source is at least one of a broadcast system, a programming provider and a third party provider.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

receiving a selection on the media device of a content provider from a plurality of content providers that currently provide at least a portion of the media content event of interest;

establishing a communications link to the selected content provider; and

receiving at the media device at least a portion of missed media content from the content provider, wherein at least the portion of the missed media content corresponds to at least the portion of the media content event of interest that failed to record.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a rebroadcast notification from the replacement content device, wherein the notification indicates a time that at least the portion of the missed media content corresponding to at least the portion of the media content event of interest that failed to record will be rebroadcast; and

storing the rebroadcast of at least the portion of the missed media content.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving at least the portion of the missed media content over a video on demand connection.

8. A media device, comprising:

a digital video recorder configured to record at least a portion of a media content event of interest from a media content stream;

a processor system configured to determine an occurrence of a failed recording by the digital video recorder of at least the portion of the media content event of interest, wherein the processor system is configured to generate a missed media content request; and

a replacement content interface configured to receive from a replacement content device at least the portion of the missed media content related to at least the portion of the media content event of interest that the digital video recorder failed to record.

9. The media device of claim 8,

wherein the media device communicates the missed media content request to the replacement content device,

wherein the replacement content device is configured to determine a content source for accessing at least a portion of the missed media content;

and

wherein the media device receives a reply from the replacement content device, the reply includes communication information used to establish a communication link between the media device and the content source.

10. The media device of claim 8, wherein the replacement content interface is further configured to:

establish a communication link to a content source, wherein at least the portion of the missed media content is received from the content source over the established communication link.

11. The media device of claim 8, wherein the media device receives a reply from the replacement content device that indicates a plurality of content sources that have at least the portion of the missed media content, and wherein the processor system is further configured to select a content source from the plurality of content sources to communicate the request for at least a portion of the missed media content to.

12. The media device of claim 8, further comprising:

content retrieval logic, configured when executed on the processor system, to receive a notification from the replacement content device, wherein the notification indicates a time that at least the portion of the missed media content will be rebroadcast; and

DVR management logic, configured when executed on the processor system, to store the rebroadcast of at least the portion of the missed media content.

13. A method for providing media content from a replacement content device to at least one media device, the method comprising:

receiving a notification of a failed recording event from at least one media device, wherein the failed recording event is an occurrence of a failed recording of at least portion of a media content event at the at least one media device;

determining one or more content sources with at least a portion of available media content corresponding to the failed recording event; and

transmitting at least the portion of the missed media content to the at least one media device, wherein at least a portion of the missed media content corresponds to at least a portion of the media content event of interest that failed to record.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

calculating a quantity of media devices that transmitted a similar failed recording event notification; and

determining the content source to transmit the at least a portion of the missed media content based on the determined number of media devices that transmitted the similar failed recording event notification.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

communicating to at least one media device at least the portion of the missed media content, wherein at least the portion of the missed media content corresponds to at least the portion of the media content event of interest that failed to record.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

locating at least one third party content provider that have at least a portion of the missed media content available; and

providing communications link information to the media device, such that the communications link information allows the media device to access the located at least one third party content providers.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

determining a rain fade event that caused the failed recording event; and

communicating a request to a media broadcast facility for one or more media content events that were broadcast during the rain fade event.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein the content source is at least one of a communications link and a broadcast system.

19. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

requesting creation of a video on demand channel at a media content broadcast facility, the video on demand channel related to the failed media content event.

20. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

providing a notification to the media device, wherein the notification indicates a time that at least the portion of the missed media content will be rebroadcast.