Method and apparatus for secure transfer and playback of multimedia content

• US 7,895,633 B2
• Filed: 11/21/2005
• Issued: 02/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TiVo Solutions Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: TiVo Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Barton, James, Van Hoff, Arthur
• Primary Examiner(s): Miller; John W
• Assistant Examiner(s): Schnurr; John
• Application Number:
  US11/285,416
• Publication Number:
  US 20060127037A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,919 Days
• Field of Search: 725/86, 725/32, 725/74, 725/78, 725/100, 725/109, 725/110
• US Class Current: 725/109
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/32 on separate auxiliary tracks of the same or an auxiliary record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2112 using still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/91335 the copy protection signal being a watermark
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/91364 the video signal being scrambled
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/21 Server components or server architectures
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2343 involving reformatting operations of video signals for distribution or compliance with end-user requests or end-user device requirements video transcoding H04N19/40; media packet handling at the source H04L65/762
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2393 involving handling client requests scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25816 involving client authentication restricting access to computer systems by authenticating users using a predetermined code G06F21/33; cryptographic authentication protocols H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08; authentication in wireless network security H04W12/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4112 having fewer capabilities than the client, e.g. thin client having less processing power or no tuning capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4122 additional display device, e.g. video projector digital output for controlling a plurality of local displays G06F3/1423
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4135 external recorder interface circuits between an apparatus for recording television signals and a television receiver H04N5/775
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4143 embedded in a Personal Computer [PC]
• 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 21/4227 Providing Remote input by a user located remotely from the client device, e.g. at work
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4314 for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 : Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• 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 21/43615 : Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43622 : Interfacing an external recording device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4367 : Establishing a secure communication between the client and a peripheral device or smart card
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440236 : by media transcoding, e.g. video is transformed into a slideshow of still pictures, audio is converted into text
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4405 : involving video stream decryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4408 : involving video stream encryption, e.g. re-encrypting a decrypted video stream for redistribution in a home network
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44204 : Monitoring of content usage, e.g. the number of times a movie has been viewed, copied or the amount which has been watched monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; protecting generic digital content where the protection is independent of the precise nature of the content G06F21/10; arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services in broadcast systems H04H60/31
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/454 : Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• 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 21/4722 : for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 : Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47815 : Electronic shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12
• 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 21/482 : End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6175 : involving transmission via Internet broadcast-related systems characterised by the transmission system being the Internet H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/632 : using a connection between clients on a wide area network, e.g. setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet for retrieving video segments from the hard-disk of other client devices broadcast-related systems characterised by transmission among terminal devices H04H60/80; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6543 : for forcing some client operations, e.g. recording remote booting in general G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 : involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/858 : Linking data to content, e.g. by linking an URL to a video object, by creating a hotspot
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 : Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 : Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 : between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/7755 : the recorder being connected to, or coupled with, the antenna of the television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 : on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 : on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/913 : for scrambling ; for copy protection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/95 : Time-base error compensation H04N5/932 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/088 : the inserted signal being digital
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 : with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17309 : Transmission or handling of upstream communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 : involving data reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8205 : involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the colour video signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/83 : the recorded chrominance signal occupying a frequency band under the frequency band of the recorded brightness signal

Abstract

A method and apparatus for secure transfer and playback of multimedia content enables the secure transfer of multimedia content from a digital video recorder (DVR) to a personal computer (PC) and further to a handheld device. A DVR determines which devices on a Local Area Network (LAN) are authorized to share and/or retrieve content from the DVR. The DVR receives a connection request from a PC on the LAN, authorizes the connection request and establishes a secure connection between the DVR and the PC. Once the secure connection is established, the DVR receives a request for multimedia content from the PC, prepares the multimedia content for transfer and transfers the multimedia content to the PC.

Claims

1. A method for providing secure transfer and playback of multimedia content, comprising:

receiving, at a Digital Video Recorder (DVR), an indication that one or more particular multimedia devices are authorized for sharing multimedia content with the DVR;

identifying, at the DVR, a personal computer (PC) in a local area network (LAN) as an authorized sharing PC based at least in part on the indication that one or more particular multimedia devices are authorized for sharing multimedia content with the DVR;

establishing a secure connection between the DVR and the authorized sharing PC;

receiving, at the DVR, a request for multimedia content from the authorized sharing PC, the multimedia content having been recorded by the DVR, the request for multimedia content having been sent from the authorized sharing PC in response to the authorized sharing PC receiving a message from a service provider, the message instructing the authorized sharing PC to send the request for the multimedia content;

retrieving, at the DVR, the requested multimedia content recorded by the DVR from at least one storage device connected to the DVR, wherein the requested multimedia content is stored in a first format;

converting, at the DVR, the first format of the multimedia content recorded by the DVR into a second format of the multimedia content, wherein the first format is a different format than the second format and the second format is a computer-readable format; and

sending the second format of the multimedia content from the DVR to the authorized sharing PC.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein establishing a secure connection further comprises:

receiving, at the DVR, a first connection request from the authorized sharing PC; and

determining, at the DVR, that the authorized sharing PC is authorized to establish the connection, wherein determining that the authorized sharing PC is authorized includes receiving a unique identifier from the authorized sharing PC.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a message at the DVR that any PC utilizing a media application program that specifies a unique identifier is authorized to establish the connection.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the message from the service provider is sent to the authorized sharing PC after the service provider determines that the requested multimedia content is stored on the at least one storage device connected to the DVR.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

retrieving, at the DVR, the requested multimedia content from the service provider; and

storing the requested multimedia content on the at least one storage device.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, at the DVR, advertising content from the service provider; and

sending the advertising content from the DVR to the PC.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

receiving, at the PC, the advertising content;

displaying the advertising content to a user; and

sending a message from the PC to the service provider indicating that the advertising content has been displayed to the user.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the message from the service provider is sent to the authorized sharing PC after the service provider receives a remote request to transfer multimedia content;

and wherein the remote request to transfer multimedia content is sent from a portable device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the second format of the multimedia content is any Motion Pictures Expert Group (MPEG) format.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the converting step further comprises:

attaching additional data to the second format of the multimedia content, wherein the additional data includes information pertaining to the multimedia content.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first format and the second format of the multimedia content is any Motion Pictures Expert Group (MPEG) format.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the additional data includes user license information for the multimedia content.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the additional data includes origin information for the multimedia content.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the converting step further comprises:

attaching a watermark to the second format of the multimedia content.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of encrypting the second format of the multimedia content at the DVR.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, at the DVR, multimedia content from a content server; and

storing the multimedia content on the at least one storage device.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising the DVR recording the multimedia content from video broadcast signals.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the DVR sending, to the service provider, data indicating a plurality of multimedia contents stored or scheduled to be stored in the at least one storage device, the plurality of multimedia contents including the requested multimedia content;

wherein the message from the service provider is sent by the service provider in response to the service provider receiving input, from a device other than the PC or the DVR, selecting the requested multimedia content from the plurality of multimedia contents.

19. A method for providing secure transfer and playback of multimedia content, comprising:

receiving, at a personal computer (PC), an indication that one or more particular multimedia devices are authorized for sharing multimedia content with the PC;

identifying, at the PC, a particular Digital Video Recorder (DVR) as an authorized sharing DVR based at least in part on the indication that one or more particular multimedia devices are authorized for sharing multimedia content with the PC;

establishing a secure connection between the PC and the authorized sharing DVR;

receiving, at the PC, a message from a service provider, the message instructing the PC to request specific multimedia content from the authorized sharing DVR;

in response to receiving the message from the service provider, the PC requesting the specific multimedia content from the authorized sharing DVR, the multimedia content having been recorded by the DVR;

receiving, at the PC, the requested specific multimedia content from the authorized sharing DVR, wherein the DVR converts the requested specific multimedia content recorded by the DVR from a first format to a digital data stream; and

storing the digital data stream on at least one storage device communicatively connected to the PC.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

processing the digital data stream for playback on a personal computing device.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the digital data stream is in any MPEG format.

22. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

receiving user input identifying the particular DVR as an authorized DVR.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the user input identifying the particular DVR as an authorized DVR is a unique identifier associated with the particular DVR.

24. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

formatting the received multimedia content for playback by a portable device; and

transferring the formatted multimedia content to a portable device.

25. The method of claim 19, wherein the message from the service provider is sent after the service provider determines that the specific multimedia content is stored on at least one storage device connected to the DVR.

27. The method of claim 19, wherein the message from the service provider is sent by the service provider in response to the service provider receiving input, from a device other than the PC or the DVR, selecting the specific multimedia content from a plurality of multimedia content that is stored or scheduled to be stored at the DVR.

26. A method for providing secure transfer and playback of multimedia content, comprising:

receiving, at a Digital Video Recorder (DVR), an indication that one or more particular multimedia devices are authorized for sharing multimedia content with the DVR;

identifying, at the DVR, a personal computer (PC) in a local area network (LAN) as an authorized sharing PC based at least in part on the indication that one or more particular multimedia devices are authorized for sharing multimedia content with the DVR;

establishing a secure connection between the DVR and the authorized sharing PC;

receiving, at the DVR, a request for multimedia content from the authorized sharing PC, the request for multimedia content having been sent from the authorized sharing PC in response to the authorized sharing PC receiving a message from a service provider, the message instructing the authorized sharing PC to send the request for the multimedia content;

retrieving, at the DVR, the requested multimedia content from at least one storage device at the DVR, wherein the requested multimedia content is stored in a first format;

sending a digital data stream in the first format of the multimedia content from the DVR to the authorized sharing PC;

receiving, at the PC, the digital data stream in the first format of the multimedia content; and

converting, at the PC, the digital data stream in the first format of the multimedia content into a second format of the multimedia content, wherein the first format is a different format than the second format and the second format is a computer-readable format.

28. A system for providing secure transfer and playback of multimedia content comprising:

a digital video recorder (DVR);

a personal computer (PC);

a service provider;

a computer network coupled to the service provider, PC and DVR;

the service provider communicating with the DVR that one or more particular multimedia devices are authorized for sharing multimedia content with the DVR, the PC among the one or more particular multimedia devices authorized for sharing multimedia content with the DVR;

the service provider communicating with the DVR to obtain a listing of multimedia content stored on the DVR;

the service provider providing the listing of multimedia content to a user of the service provider;

the service provider instructing the PC to request that the DVR transfer specific multimedia content to the PC over the computer network, the specific multimedia content having been selected by a user according to the listing of multimedia content provided by the service provider, the specific multimedia content having been recorded by the DVR; and

the DVR converting a first format of the multimedia content recorded by the DVR into a second format of the multimedia content, wherein the first format is a different format than the second format and the second format is a computer-readable format.

29. The system of claim 28 wherein the service provider communicates with the DVR to obtain a recording schedule of the DVR;

and

wherein the DVR is instructed by the service provider to record multimedia programs that are selected by the user.

30. The system of claim 28, wherein input by the user that selects the specific multimedia content to transfer to the PC is received from a device other than the PC or the DVR.

31. The system of claim 28, wherein the service provider instructs the DVR to transfer the specific multimedia content by instructing the PC to request the DVR to transfer the specific multimedia content.

32. An apparatus for providing secure transfer and playback of multimedia content, comprising:

receiving logic that receives an indication that one or more particular multimedia devices are authorized for sharing multimedia content with the apparatus;

authorized sharing personal computer (PC) identifier logic that identifies a personal computer (PC) in a local area network (LAN) as an authorized sharing PC based at least in part on the indication that one or more particular multimedia devices are authorized for sharing multimedia content with the apparatus;

secure connector logic that establishes a secure connection between the apparatus and the authorized sharing PC;

multimedia content request receiver logic that receives a request for multimedia content from the authorized sharing PC, the multimedia content having been recorded by the apparatus, the request for multimedia content having been sent from the authorized sharing PC in response to the authorized sharing PC receiving a message from a service provider, the message instructing the authorized sharing PC to send the request for the multimedia content;

multimedia content request retriever logic that retrieves the requested multimedia content recorded by the apparatus from at least one storage device connected to the apparatus wherein the requested multimedia content is stored in a first format;

format converter logic that converts the first format of the multimedia content recorded by the apparatus into a second format of the multimedia content, wherein the first format is a different format than the second format and the second format is a computer-readable format; and

multimedia content transmitter logic that sends the second format of the multimedia content from the apparatus to the authorized sharing PC.

33. The apparatus of claim 32 wherein establishing a secure connection further comprises:

connection request receiver logic that receives a first connection request from the authorized sharing PC; and

authorized sharing PC identifier logic that determines that the authorized sharing PC is authorized to establish the connection, wherein determining that the authorized sharing PC is authorized includes receiving a unique identifier from the authorized sharing PC.

34. The apparatus of claim 32, further comprising:

message receiver logic that receives a message that any PC utilizing a media application program that specifies a unique identifier is authorized to establish the connection.

35. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the message from the service provider is sent to the authorized sharing PC after the service provider determines that the requested multimedia content is stored on the at least one storage device connected to the apparatus.

36. The apparatus of claim 32, further comprising:

multimedia content retriever logic that retrieves the requested multimedia content from the service provider; and

multimedia content storage logic that stores the requested multimedia content on the at least one storage device.

37. The apparatus of claim 32, further comprising:

advertising content receiver logic that receives advertising content from the service provider; and

advertising content transmitter logic that sends the advertising content from the apparatus to the PC.

38. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the message from the service provider is sent to the authorized sharing PC after the service provider receives a remote request to transfer multimedia content;

and wherein the remote request to transfer multimedia content is sent from a portable device.

39. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the second format of the multimedia content is any Motion Pictures Expert Group (MPEG) format.

40. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the converting module logic comprises:

multimedia content data attachment logic that attaches additional data to the second format of the multimedia content, wherein the additional data includes information pertaining to the multimedia content.

41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the first and second format of the multimedia content is any Motion Pictures Expert Group (MPEG) format.

42. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the additional data includes user license information for the multimedia content.

43. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the additional data includes origin information for the multimedia content.

44. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the converting module logic further comprises:

multimedia content watermark attachment logic that attaches a watermark to the second format of the multimedia content.

45. The apparatus of claim 32, further comprising:

multimedia content encryption logic that encrypts the second format of the multimedia content at the apparatus.

46. The apparatus of claim 32, further comprising:

multimedia content receiver logic that receives multimedia content from a content server; and

multimedia content storage logic that stores the multimedia content on the at least one storage device.

47. The apparatus of claim 32, further comprising logic that records the multimedia content from video broadcast signals.

48. The apparatus of claim 32, further comprising:

logic for sending, to the service provider, data indicating a plurality of multimedia contents stored or scheduled to be stored in the at least one storage device, the plurality of multimedia contents including the requested multimedia content;

wherein the message from the service provider is sent by the service provider in response to the service provider receiving input, from a device other than the PC or the DVR, selecting the requested multimedia content from the plurality of multimedia contents.

49. An apparatus for providing secure transfer and playback of multimedia content, comprising:

receiving subsystem logic that receives an indication that one or more particular multimedia devices are authorized for sharing multimedia content with the apparatus;

authorized sharing Digital Video Recorder (DVR) identifier logic that identifies, at the apparatus, a particular Digital Video Recorder (DVR as an authorized sharing DVR based at least in part on the indication that one or more particular multimedia devices are authorized for sharing multimedia content with the apparatus;

secure connector logic that establishes a secure connection between the apparatus and the authorized sharing DVR;

logic that receives, at the PC, a message from a service provider, the message instructing the PC to request specific multimedia content from the authorized sharing DVR;

multimedia content request transmitter logic that, in response to receiving the message from the service provider, requests specific multimedia content from the authorized sharing DVR, the specific multimedia content having been recorded by the DVR;

multimedia content receiver logic that receives the requested specific multimedia content from the authorized sharing DVR, wherein the DVR converts the requested specific multimedia content from a first format to a digital data stream; and

multimedia content storage logic that stores the digital data stream on at least one storage device communicatively connected to the apparatus.

50. The apparatus of claim 49, further comprising:

digital data stream playback processor logic that processes the digital data stream for playback on a personal computing device.

51. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the digital data stream is in any MPEG format.

52. The apparatus of claim 49, further comprising:

user input receiver logic that receives user input identifying the particular DVR as an authorized DVR.

53. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein the user input identifying the particular DVR as an authorized DVR is a unique identifier associated with the particular DVR.

54. The apparatus of claim 49, further comprising:

multimedia content portable device format converter logic that formats the received multimedia content for playback by a portable device; and

multimedia content portable device transmitter logic that transfers the formatted multimedia content to a portable device.

55. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the message from the service provider is sent after the service provider determines that the requested multimedia content is stored on at least one storage device connected to the DVR.

56. The apparatus of claim 49, further comprising:

multimedia content portable device receiver logic that receives multimedia content from a portable device; and

multimedia content storage logic that stores the multimedia content on the at least one storage device connected to the apparatus.

57. The apparatus of claim 49, further comprising:

advertising content receiver logic that receives advertising content from a DVR;

advertising content display logic that displays the advertising content to a user; and

message transmitter logic that sends a message from the apparatus to a service provider indicating that the advertising content has been displayed to the user.

58. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the message from the service provider is sent by the service provider in response to the service provider receiving input, from a device other than the PC or the DVR, selecting the specific multimedia content from a plurality of multimedia content that is stored or scheduled to be stored at the DVR.

59. A system for providing secure transfer and playback of multimedia content, comprising:

a digital video recorder (DVR);

a personal computer (PC);

logic for receiving, at the DVR, an indication that one or more particular multimedia devices are authorized for sharing multimedia content with the DVR;

logic for identifying, at the DVR, the PC, in a local area network (LAN) as an authorized sharing PC based at least in part on the indication that one or more particular multimedia devices are authorized for sharing multimedia content with the DVR;

logic for establishing a secure connection between the DVR and the authorized sharing PC;

logic for receiving, at the DVR, a request for multimedia content from the authorized sharing PC, the request for multimedia content having been sent from the authorized sharing PC in response to the authorized sharing PC receiving a message from a service provider, the message instructing the authorized sharing PC to send the request for the multimedia content;

logic for retrieving, at the DVR, the requested multimedia content from at least one storage device connected to the DVR, wherein the requested multimedia content is stored in a first format;

logic for sending a digital data stream in the first format of the multimedia content from the DVR to the authorized sharing PC;

logic for receiving, at the PC, the digital data stream in the first format of the multimedia content; and

logic for converting, at the PC, the digital data stream in the first format of the multimedia content into a second format of the multimedia content, wherein the first format is a different format than the second format and the second format is a computer-readable format.