SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ACCESSING MEDIA CONTENT

• US 20130232520A1
• Filed: 04/08/2013
• Published: 09/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Stallings, Heath, Roberts, Brian F., Relyea, Donald H.
• Granted Patent: US 8,881,217 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25866 Management of end-user data customer care in data networks H04L41/5077
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4263 involving specific tuning arrangements, e.g. two tuners
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• 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 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

In one embodiment, a media content processing subsystem within a plurality of media content processing subsystems configured to receive transmissions of media content instances from a media content provider by way of a network sends a shared content request to the media content provider, the request being for a media content instance included in the transmissions of media content instances from the media content provider. The request is configured to cause the media content provider to identify at least one other media content processing subsystem within the plurality of media content processing subsystems that is able to provide the media content instance to the media content processing subsystem, and instruct the at least one other media content processing subsystem to transmit, to the media content processing subsystem, the media content instance received by the at least one other media content processing subsystem from the media content provider.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting, by a media content processing subsystem including at least one tuner, a request for the media content processing subsystem to use a tuner included in the at least one tuner to receive a media content instance transmitted by a media content provider over a network;

determining, by the media content processing subsystem, that the at least one tuner is busy;

sending, by the media content processing subsystem, a shared content request for the media content instance to the media content provider, the shared content request configured to cause the media content provider to

identify at least one other media content processing subsystem that is able to receive the media content instance transmitted by the media content provider and provide the media content instance to the media content processing subsystem, and

instruct the at least one other media content processing subsystem to transmit, to the media content processing subsystem, the media content instance received by the at least one other media content processing subsystem from the media content provider; and

receiving, by the media content processing subsystem without using a tuner included in the at least one tuner, the media content instance from the at least one other media content processing subsystem.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the at least one other media content processing subsystem includes a plurality of other media content processing subsystems; and

the receiving of the media content instance from the at least one other media content subsystem comprises the media content processing subsystem receiving a different portion of the media content instance from each media content processing subsystem included in the plurality of other media content processing subsystems.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the shared content request is configured to cause the media content provider to instruct the at least one other media content processing subsystem to transmit the media content instance to the media content processing subsystem by instructing each other media content processing subsystem included in the plurality of other media content processing subsystems to transmit the different portion of the media content instance to the media content processing subsystem.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, by the media content processing subsystem from the media content provider, transmission status information descriptive of the transmission of the media content instance from the at least one other media content processing subsystem to the media content processing subsystem.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising using, by the media content processing subsystem, the transmission status information to verify correct receipt of the media content instance from the at least one other media content processing subsystem.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising using, by the media content processing subsystem, the transmission status information to assemble data representative of the media content instance received from the at least one other media content processing subsystem.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the media content provider from the media content processing subsystem, the shared content request for the media content instance; and

in response to the receiving of the shared content request

identifying the at least one other media content processing subsystem as being able to receive the media content instance transmitted by the media content provider and provide the media content instance to the media content processing subsystem, and

instructing the at least one other media content processing subsystem to transmit, to the media content processing subsystem, the media content instance received by the at least one other media content processing subsystem from the media content provider.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the identifying of the at least one other media content processing subsystem as being able to receive the media content instance transmitted by the media content provider and provide the media content instance to the media content processing subsystem comprises determining that the at least one other media content processing subsystem contains a current or previous recording of the media content instance.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving, by the at least one other media content processing subsystem from the media content provider, an instruction to transmit the media content instance to the media content processing subsystem;

using, by the at least one other media content processing subsystem, at least one tuner included in the at least one other media content processing subsystem to receive the media content instance transmitted by the media content provider over the network; and

transmitting, by the at least one other media content processing subsystem to the media content processing subsystem, the received media content instance as instructed by the media content provider.

10. The method of claim 1, embodied as computer-executable instructions on at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium.

11. A method comprising:

sending, by a media content processing subsystem included in a plurality of media content processing subsystems configured to receive scheduled transmissions of media content instances from a media content provider by way of a network, a shared content request to the media content provider, the shared content request being for a media content instance included in the scheduled transmissions of media content instances from the media content provider, the shared content request configured to cause the media content provider to

identify at least one other media content processing subsystem included in the plurality of media content processing subsystems that is able to provide the media content instance to the media content processing subsystem, and

instruct the at least one other media content processing subsystem to transmit, to the media content processing subsystem, the media content instance received by the at least one other media content processing subsystem from the media content provider; and

receiving, by the media content processing subsystem, the media content instance from the at least one other media content processing subsystem.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving, by the media content provider from the media content processing subsystem, the shared content request for the media content instance; and

in response to the receiving of the shared content request

identifying, by the media content provider, the at least one other media content processing subsystem included in the plurality of media content processing subsystem as being able to provide the media content instance to the media content processing subsystem, and

instructing, by the media content provider, the at least one other media content processing subsystem to transmit, to the media content processing subsystem, the media content instance received by the at least one other media content processing subsystem from the media content provider.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the identifying of the at least one other media content processing subsystem as being able to provide the media content instance to the media content processing subsystem comprises determining that the at least one other media content processing subsystem contains a current or previous recording of the media content instance.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving, by at least one other media content processing subsystem from the media content provider, the media content instance;

receiving, by the at least one other media content processing subsystem from the media content provider, an instruction to transmit the media content instance to the media content processing subsystem; and

transmitting, by the at least one other media content processing subsystem to the media content processing subsystem, the media content instance as instructed by the media content provider.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the receiving, by the at least one other media content processing subsystem, of the media content instance from the media content provider comprises the at least one other media content processing subsystem using at least one tuner included in the at least one other media content processing subsystem to receive the media content instance transmitted by the media content provider over the network.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the receiving, by the media content processing subsystem, of the media content instance from the at least one other media content processing subsystem is performed without the media content processing subsystem using a tuner to receive the media content instance.

17. The method of claim 11, embodied as computer-executable instructions on at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium.

18. A method comprising:

receiving, by a media content provider configured to transmit media content instances to a plurality of media content processing subsystems over a network, a shared content request for a media content instance included in the media content instances from a media content processing subsystem included in the plurality of media content processing subsystems; and

in response to the receiving of the shared content request

identifying, by the media content provider, at least one other media content processing subsystem included in the plurality of media content processing subsystems as being able to provide the media content instance to the media content processing subsystem, and

instructing, by the media content provider, the at least one other media content processing subsystem to transmit, to the media content processing subsystem, the media content instance received by the at least one other media content processing subsystem from the media content provider.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

receiving, by the at least one media content processing subsystem the media content instance transmitted by the media content provider;

receiving, by the at least one media content processing subsystem from the media content provider, an instruction to transmit the media content instance to the media content processing subsystem; and

transmitting, by the at least one media content processing subsystem to the media content processing subsystem, the media content instance as instructed by the media content provider.

20. The method of claim 18, embodied as computer-executable instructions on at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium.

21. A system comprising:

a media content provider configured to transmit, over a network, a plurality of media content instances; and

a plurality of media content processing subsystems remote from the media content provider and including tuners configured to receive the media content instances transmitted by the media content provider over the network;

a media content processing subsystem included in the plurality of media content processing subsystems and that

detects a request for the media content processing subsystem to use a tuner included in the media content processing subsystem to receive a media content instance transmitted by the media content provider over the network,

determines, by the media content processing subsystem, that each tuner included in the media content processing subsystem is busy, and

sends, by the media content processing subsystem, a shared content request for the media content instance to the media content provider;

wherein the media content provider

receives the shared content request for the media content instance from the media content processing subsystem, and

in response to the receiving of the shared content request

identifies at least one other media content processing subsystem included in the plurality of media content processing subsystems as being able to provide the media content instance to the media content processing subsystem, and

instructs the at least one other media content processing subsystem to transmit, to the media content processing subsystem, the media content instance received by the at least one other media content processing subsystem from the media content provider.