Retrieving lost content for a scheduled program

• US 7,937,728 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2006
• Issued: 05/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Barsness, Eric Lawrence, Santosuosso, John Matthew
• Primary Examiner(s): Koenig; Andrew Y
• Assistant Examiner(s): Le; Rong
• Application Number:
  US11/567,516
• Publication Number:
  US 20080141309A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,609 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 725/58
• 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 21/4334 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 21/443 OS processes, e.g. booting an STB, implementing a Java virtual machine in an STB or power management in an STB
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/84 using optical recording H04N5/80, H04N5/89, H04N5/91 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction

Abstract

In an embodiment, content is received on a channel between a scheduled start time and a scheduled stop time. A schedule specifies a planned transmission of a scheduled program between the scheduled start time and the scheduled stop time. The received content is recorded to a saved program. A determination is made that the saved program includes interruption content that is different from lost content of the scheduled program. A request for the lost content is sent to a content provider, the lost content is received from the content provider, and the interruption content is replaced in the saved program with the lost content. The request includes a begin time of the lost content relative to a beginning of the scheduled program and an amount of the lost content.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving content on a channel between a scheduled start time and a scheduled stop time, wherein a schedule specifies a planned transmission of a scheduled program between the scheduled start time and the scheduled stop time on the channel;

recording the content to a saved program;

determining that the content of the saved program comprises interruption content that is different from lost content, wherein the scheduled program comprises the lost content;

calculating a begin time of the lost content relative to a beginning of the scheduled program;

calculating the amount of the lost content, wherein the calculating the amount of the lost content further comprises calculating an amount of the interruption content, wherein the interruption content was received via a degraded signal;

adding the begin time and the amount of the lost content to the request;

sending a request for the lost content to a content provider if an amount of the lost content is greater than a first threshold amount and less than a second threshold amount;

sending the request for the lost content to the content provider if the amount of the lost content is greater than the second threshold amount and the request comprises a fee authorization;

refraining from the sending the request for the lost content to the content provider if the amount of the lost content, which is greater than zero, is not greater than the first threshold amount;

receiving the lost content from the content provider; and

replacing the interruption content in the saved program with the lost content.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the sending the request further comprises:

sending the request at a time that is between the scheduled start time and the scheduled stop time.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the sending the request further comprises:

sending the request after the scheduled stop time.

4. A non-transitory storage medium encoded with instructions, wherein the instructions when executed comprise:

receiving content on a channel between a scheduled start time and a scheduled stop time, wherein a schedule specifies a planned transmission of a scheduled program between the scheduled start time and the scheduled stop time on the channel;

recording the content to a saved program;

determining that the content of the saved program comprises interruption content that is different from lost content, wherein the scheduled program comprises the lost content;

calculating a begin time of the lost content relative to a beginning of the scheduled program;

calculating the amount of the lost content, wherein the calculating the amount of the lost content further comprises calculating a time duration of a power outage that occurred between the scheduled start time and the scheduled stop time of the scheduled program;

adding the begin time and the amount of the lost content to the request;

sending a request for the lost content to a content provider if an amount of the lost content is greater than a first threshold amount and less than a second threshold amount;

sending the request for the lost content to the content provider if the amount of the lost content is greater than the second threshold amount and the request comprises a fee authorization;

refraining from the sending the request for the lost content to the content provider if the amount of the lost content, which is greater than zero, is not greater than the first threshold amount;

receiving the lost content from the content provider; and

replacing the interruption content in the saved program with the lost content.

5. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 4, wherein the sending the request further comprises:

sending the request at a time that is between the scheduled start time and the scheduled stop time.

6. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 4, wherein the sending the request further comprises:

sending the request after the scheduled stop time.

7. A digital video recorder comprising:

a processor; and

a storage medium connected to the processor, wherein the storage medium is encoded with instructions, and wherein the instructions when executed on the processor comprise;

receiving content on a channel between a scheduled start time and a scheduled stop time, wherein a schedule specifies a planned transmission of a scheduled program between the scheduled start time and the scheduled stop time on the channel,

recording the content to a saved program,

determining that the content of the saved program comprises interruption content that is different from lost content, wherein the scheduled program comprises the lost content,

calculating a begin time of the lost content relative to a beginning of the scheduled program,

calculating the amount of the lost content, wherein the calculating the amount of the lost content further comprises calculating a time duration of a power outage that occurred at the digital video recorder between the scheduled start time and the scheduled stop time of the scheduled program,

adding the begin time and the amount of the lost content to the request,

sending a request for the lost content to a content provider if an amount of the lost content is greater than a first threshold amount and less than a second threshold amount,

sending the request for the lost content to the content provider if the amount of the lost content is greater than the second threshold amount and the request comprises a fee authorization,

refraining from the sending the request for the lost content to the content provider if the amount of the lost content, which is greater than zero, is not greater than the first threshold amount,

receiving the lost content from the content provider, and

replacing the interruption content in the saved program with the lost content.

8. The digital video recorder of claim 7, wherein the sending the request further comprises:

sending the request at a time that is between the scheduled start time and the scheduled stop time.