System and method for efficiently storing and processing multimedia content

• US 7,046,805 B2
• Filed: 06/08/2001
• Issued: 05/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: ARRIS Enterprises LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.), Vulcan Ventures Inc. (Vulcan, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Digeo Incorporated (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Perlman, Stephen G., Fitzhardinge, Jeremy
• Primary Examiner(s): Barron, Gilberto
• Assistant Examiner(s): PERUNGAVOOR, VENKATANARAY
• Application Number:
  US09/877,990
• Publication Number:
  US 20020136406A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,803 Days
• Field of Search: 725/31, 725/54, 725/67, 725/68
• US Class Current: 380/212
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/91364 the video signal being scrambled
• 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 21/42661 for reading from or writing on a magnetic storage medium, e.g. hard disk drive
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/434 Disassembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. demultiplexing audio and video streams, extraction of additional data from a video stream; Remultiplexing of multiplex streams; Extraction or processing of SI; Disassembling of packetised elementary stream demultiplexing of data packets for data networks, e.g. RTP/UDP H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4405 involving video stream decryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8455 involving pointers to the content, e.g. pointers to the I-frames of the video stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/783 Adaptations for reproducing at a rate different from the recording rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/913 for scrambling ; for copy protection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/9205 the additional signal being at least another television signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8063 using time division multiplex of the PCM audio and PCM video signals

Abstract

A method is described comprising: receiving a broadcast signal containing a plurality of encrypted multimedia channels; storing the encrypted multimedia channels in a first hard drive partition; and decrypting one or more of the encrypted multimedia channels to generate one or more decrypted multimedia channels; and storing the decrypted multimedia channels to a second hard drive partition.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a broadcast signal containing a plurality of encrypted multimedia channels;

storing said encrypted multimedia channels in a first hard drive partition;

decrypting one or more of said encrypted multimedia channels stored in the first hard drive partition to generate one or more decrypted multimedia channels; and

storing said decrypted multimedia channels to a second hard drive partition prior to rendering said decrypted multimedia channels on a display.

2. The method as in claim 1 wherein said first hard drive partition is optimized for writing data.

3. The method as in claim 2 wherein for N multimedia channels, writing to said first hard drive partition comprises:

writing a first amount of multimedia data equivalent to a block from each of said 1 through N multimedia channels to each of a first N consecutive blocks in said first hard drive partition, respectively.

4. The method as in claim 3 wherein writing to said first hard drive partition further comprises:

writing a second amount of multimedia data equivalent to a block from each of said 1 through N multimedia channels to each of a second N consecutive blocks in said first hard drive partition, respectively, said second N consecutive blocks being the next N consecutive blocks following said first N consecutive blocks.

5. The method as in claim 4 further comprising:

selecting a non-consecutive block if one of said first or second N consecutive blocks are unavailable.

6. The method as in claim 5 wherein said non-consecutive block is selected because jumping to said non-consecutive block will require relatively less seek time when compared with all other non-consecutive blocks.

7. The method as in claim 1 wherein said second hard drive partition is optimized for reading data.

8. The method as in claim 1 further comprising:

reading and decoding one or more of said multimedia channels from said second hard drive partition responsive to a user request to view said one or more multimedia channels.

9. The method as in claim 8 wherein decoding comprises MPEG2 decoding.

10. The method as in claim 1 further comprising:

demultiplexing said multimedia channels prior to storing said decrypted multimedia channels to said second hard drive partition.

11. A method for reducing seek time while concurrently writing N multimedia channels to a mass storage device comprising:

writing a first amount of encrypted multimedia data equivalent to a block from each of said 1 through N multimedia channels to each of a first N consecutive blocks on a first hard drive partition on said mass storage device, respectively;

decrypting the multimedia data stored in the first hard drive partition to generate decrypted multimedia data; and

writing the decrypted multimedia data equivalent to a block from each of said 1 through N multimedia channels to each of a second N consecutive blocks in a second hard drive partition on said mass storage device prior to rendering said decrypted multimedia data on a display.

12. The method as in claim 11 further comprising:

selecting a non-consecutive block if one of said first or second N consecutive blocks are unavailable.

13. The method as in claim 12 wherein said non-consecutive block is selected because jumping to said non-consecutive block will require relatively less seek time when compared with all other non-consecutive blocks.

14. The method as in claim 11 further comprising:

pre-allocating metadata identifying each of said N multimedia channels stored on said mass storage device before writing said first amount of multimedia data for each of said 1 through N multimedia channels.

15. The method as in claim 14 wherein pre-allocating metadata comprises:

estimating an amount of storage space which programs from each of said multimedia channels will consume; and

pre-allocating an amount of metadata sufficient to identify said amount of storage space.

16. The method as in claim 14 wherein said metadata comprises an 1-node and one or more indirect blocks.

17. An article of manufacture having program code stored thereon which, when executed by a machine, cause said machine to perform the operations of:

receiving a broadcast signal containing a plurality of encrypted multimedia channels;

storing said encrypted multimedia channels in a first hard drive partition;

decrypting one or more of said encrypted multimedia channels stored in the first hard drive partition to generate one or more decrypted multimedia channels; and

storing said decrypted multimedia channels to a second hard drive partition prior to rendering said decrypted multimedia channels on a display.

18. The article of manufacture as in claim 17 wherein said first hard drive partition is optimized for writing data.

19. The article of manufacture as in claim 18 wherein for N multimedia channels, writing to said first hard drive partition comprises:

wilting a first amount of multimedia data equivalent to a block from each of said 1 through N multimedia channels to each of a first N consecutive blocks in said first hard drive partition, respectively.

20. The article of manufacture as in claim 19 wherein writing to said first hard drive partition further comprises:

writing a second amount of multimedia data equivalent to a block from each of said 1 through N multimedia channels to each of a second N consecutive blocks in said first hard drive partition, respectively, said second N consecutive blocks being the next N consecutive blocks following said first N consecutive blocks.

21. The article of manufacture as in claim 20 including program code to cause said machine to perform the additional operation of:

selecting a non-consecutive block if one of said first or second N consecutive blocks are unavailable.

22. The article of manufacture as in claim 21 wherein said non-consecutive block is selected because jumping to said non-consecutive block will require relatively less seek time when compared with all other non-consecutive blocks.

23. The article of manufacture as in claim 17 wherein said second hard drive partition is optimized for reading data.

24. The article of manufacture as in claim 17 including program code to cause said machine to perform the additional operation of:

reading and decoding one or more of said multimedia channels from said second hard drive partition responsive to a user request to view said one or more multimedia channels.

25. The article of manufacture as in claim 24 wherein decoding comprises MPEG2 decoding.

26. The article of manufacture as in claim 17 including program code to cause said machine to perform the additional operations of:

demultiplexing said multimedia channels prior to storing said decrypted multimedia channels to said second hard drive partition.

27. The method as in claim 17 wherein said first hard drive partition is on a first hard drive and said second hard drive partition is on a second hard drive.