Systems for unifying heterogeneous multimedia tuners
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method, comprising:
- identifying multiple tuners for accessing multimedia channels, wherein at least one of the tuners is capable of uniquely accessing one or more of the multimedia channels;
creating a unified lineup of the multimedia channels;
dynamically assigning the tuners to fulfill access requests for viewing and/or recording multimedia content of the multimedia channels in the unified lineup according to one or more policies;
creating a list of viewing tuners selected from the multiple tuners, wherein the listed viewing tuners are prioritized according to the one or more policies;
creating a list of recording tuners selected from the multiple tuners, wherein the listed recording tuners are prioritized according to the one or more policies;
in response to access requests for viewing and/or recording the multimedia content, dynamically assigning tuners from the list of viewing tuners and from the list of recording tuners according to the one or more policies and swapping an assigned tuner as needed to fulfill the one or more policies; and
wherein the list of viewing tuners;
relates each channel in the unified lineup to the viewing tuners that are capable of accessing the channel,prioritizes the viewing tuners according to the access quality that each viewing tuner is capable of providing, andprioritizes the viewing tuners according to the number of multimedia channels in the unified lineup that each viewing tuner is capable of accessing.
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Abstract
A system for unifying heterogeneous multimedia tuners. The system produces a unified channel lineup and coordinates multiple diverse tuners to perform multimedia tasks associated with the unified lineup. In one implementation, tuner allocation policy allows behind-the-scenes tuner assignment and on-the-fly tuner swapping so that the user experience is seamless, access quality is continuously optimized, and tuners with the most bandwidth are kept available.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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identifying multiple tuners for accessing multimedia channels, wherein at least one of the tuners is capable of uniquely accessing one or more of the multimedia channels; creating a unified lineup of the multimedia channels; dynamically assigning the tuners to fulfill access requests for viewing and/or recording multimedia content of the multimedia channels in the unified lineup according to one or more policies; creating a list of viewing tuners selected from the multiple tuners, wherein the listed viewing tuners are prioritized according to the one or more policies; creating a list of recording tuners selected from the multiple tuners, wherein the listed recording tuners are prioritized according to the one or more policies; in response to access requests for viewing and/or recording the multimedia content, dynamically assigning tuners from the list of viewing tuners and from the list of recording tuners according to the one or more policies and swapping an assigned tuner as needed to fulfill the one or more policies; and wherein the list of viewing tuners; relates each channel in the unified lineup to the viewing tuners that are capable of accessing the channel, prioritizes the viewing tuners according to the access quality that each viewing tuner is capable of providing, and prioritizes the viewing tuners according to the number of multimedia channels in the unified lineup that each viewing tuner is capable of accessing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method, comprising:
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identifying multiple tuners for accessing multimedia channels, wherein at least one of the tuners is capable of uniquely accessing one or more of the multimedia channels; creating a unified lineup of the multimedia channels; dynamically assigning the tuners to fulfill access requests for viewing and/or recording multimedia content of the multimedia channels in the unified lineup according to one or more policies; creating a list of viewing tuners selected from the multiple tuners, wherein the listed viewing tuners are prioritized according to the one or more policies; creating a list of recording tuners selected from the multiple tuners, wherein the listed recording tuners are prioritized according to the one or more policies; in response to access requests for viewing and/or recording the multimedia content, dynamically assigning tuners from the list of viewing tuners and from the list of recording tuners according to the one or more policies and swapping an assigned tuner as needed to fulfill the one or more policies; and wherein the list of recording tuners; relates each channel in the unified lineup to the recording tuners that are capable of accessing the channel, prioritizes the recording tuners according to the access quality that each recording tuner is capable of providing, and prioritizes the recording tuners according to the number of multimedia channels in the unified lineup that each recording tuner is capable of accessing.
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16. A tuner integration engine, comprising:
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a lineup integrator to unify heterogeneous channel lineups associated with multiple tuners into a unified channel lineup; a tuner prioritizer to sort the multiple tuners according to one or more abilities; and a tuner assignment engine to assign one of the tuners to a multimedia task according to a policy; wherein the tuner prioritizer further includes; a lineup comparator to prioritize tuners according to the number of channels that each tuner can access; a channel-to-tuner correlator to associate each prioritized tuner with the channels the tuner is capable of accessing; and a signal quality detector to prioritize tuners according to an access quality provided by each tuner. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A system, comprising:
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means for identifying heterogeneous tuners for accessing multimedia channels, wherein at least one of the tuners is capable of uniquely accessing one or more of the multimedia channels; means for creating a unified lineup of channels accessed by the heterogeneous tuners; means for dynamically assigning the tuners for viewing and/or recording the multimedia channels, according to the one or more policies; means for creating a list of viewing tuners selected from the multiple tuners, wherein the listed viewing tuners are prioritized according to the one or more policies; means for creating a list of recording tuners selected from the multiple tuners, wherein the listed recording tuners are prioritized according to the one or more policies; means for dynamically assigning tuners from the list of viewing tuners and from the list of recording tuners according to the one or more policies and swapping an assigned tuner as needed to fulfill the one or more policies, in response to access requests for viewing and/or recording the multimedia content; means for relating each channel in the unified lineup to the viewing tuners that are capable of accessing the channel, means for prioritizing the viewing tuners according to the broadcast quality that each viewing tuner is capable of delivering, and means for prioritizing the viewing tuners according to the number of multimedia channels in the unified lineup that each viewing tuner is capable of accessing. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
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25. A system, comprising:
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means for identifying heterogeneous tuners for accessing multimedia channels, wherein at least one of the tuners is capable of uniquely accessing one or more of the multimedia channels; means for creating a unified lineup of channels accessed by the heterogeneous tuners; means for dynamically assigning the tuners for viewing and/or recording the multimedia channels, according to the one or more policies; means for creating a list of viewing tuners selected from the multiple tuners, wherein the listed viewing tuners are prioritized according to the one or more policies; means for creating a list of recording tuners selected from the multiple tuners, wherein the listed recording tuners are prioritized according to the one or more policies; and means for dynamically assigning tuners from the list of viewing tuners and from the list of recording tuners according to the one or more policies and swapping an assigned tuner as needed to fulfill the one or more policies, in response to access requests for viewing and/or recording the multimedia content; means for relating each channel in the unified lineup to the recording tuners that are capable of accessing the channel, means for prioritizing the recording tuners according to the broadcast quality that each recording tuner is capable of delivering, and means for prioritizing the recording tuners according to the number of multimedia channels in the unified lineup that each recording tuner is capable of accessing.
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Specification