Method and apparatus for storing content

• US 7,272,300 B2
• Filed: 02/01/2005
• Issued: 09/18/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Rovi Technologies Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Sankaranarayan, Mukund, Gates, Matthijs A., Srinivasan, Jai, Chakrabarti, Alok
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, HUY THANH
• Application Number:
  US11/048,401
• Publication Number:
  US 20050141886A1
• Time in Patent Office: 959 Days
• Field of Search: 386/46, 386/52, 386/68, 386/83, 386/95, 386/125, 386/126, 360/5
• US Class Current: 386/248
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/455 said record carriers being in one device and being used as primary and secondary/backup media, e.g. HDD-DVD combo device, or as source and target media, e.g. PC and portable player
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/036 Insert-editing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/28 by using information signals recorded by the same method as the main recording G11B27/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/27 Arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/73 using meta-information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording

Abstract

A system receives a broadcast program and temporarily stores the program data. A request is received to permanently record the broadcast program. This request is received after a portion of the broadcast program has been received and temporarily stored. The broadcast program is then permanently recorded, including the temporarily stored program data. A metafile identifies portions of the broadcast program and is accessible by a reader to continuously retrieve the stored portions of the broadcast program.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

storing a portion of a broadcast program as time shifted data;

retrieving and displaying the time shifted data;

receiving a request to record the broadcast program as recorded data after a portion of the time shifted data has been stored; and

recording the broadcast program,

wherein recording the broadcast program includes modifying a metafile to indicate that the time shifted data associated with the broadcast program is recorded data, wherein the metafile references media files that make up at least a portion of the broadcast program, and wherein two or more metafiles can be associated with different portions of the broadcast program, and wherein at least some metafiles can overlap with other metafiles by referencing overlapping content from referenced media files.

2. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein recording the broadcast program includes recording the portion of the broadcast program associated with the time shifted data.

3. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein recording the broadcast program includes converting the time shifted data associated with the broadcast program to recorded data.

4. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein recording the broadcast program includes creating a metafile associated with the recorded data.

5. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein storing a portion of the broadcast program as time shifted data includes creating a metafile associated with the time shifted data.

6. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising recording a remainder of the broadcast program as recorded data.

7. One or more computer-readable memories containing a computer program that is executable by a processor to perform the method recited in claim 1.

8. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising maintaining a metadata file that includes a reference to at least one file that stores the time shifted data, the metadata file further including a reference to a file that stores the recorded broadcast program.

9. A method as recited in claim 8 further comprising modifying the reference to the at least one file that stores the time shifted data when the receiving a request is made.

10. A method as recited in claim 9 wherein the reference is modified to indicate the at least one file that stores the time shifted data now includes recorded data.