Methods and apparatus to provide content on demand in content broadcast systems

• US 7,992,175 B2
• Filed: 05/15/2006
• Issued: 08/02/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DIRECTV, LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Dulac, Stephen P., Kahn, Raynold M., Klauss, Peter M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Koenig; Andrew Y
• Assistant Examiner(s): Malangone; Carmine
• Application Number:
  US11/433,969
• Publication Number:
  US 20070266414A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,905 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 725/68
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2347 involving video stream encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2541 Rights Management protecting software against unauthorised usage in a vending or licensing environment G06F21/10; security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• 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 21/4405 involving video stream decryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4623 Processing of entitlement messages, e.g. ECM [Entitlement Control Message] or EMM [Entitlement Management Message] arrangements for conditional access to broadcast information or to broadcast-related services H04H60/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4627 Rights management associated to the content security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6143 involving transmission via a satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/631 Multimode Transmission, e.g. transmitting basic layers and enhancement layers of the content over different transmission paths or transmitting with different error corrections, different keys or with different transmission protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/835 Generation of protective data, e.g. certificates protecting software against unauthorised usage in a vending or licensing environment G06F21/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8355 involving usage data, e.g. number of copies or viewings allowed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/162 Authorising the user terminal, e.g. by paying; Registering the use of a subscription channel, e.g. billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

Methods and apparatus to provide content on demand in content broadcast systems are disclosed. An example method comprises receiving a first portion of a program via broadcast signal and receiving a second portion of the program via an Internet protocol (IP) based signal. The example method may further comprise combining the first and the second portions and at least one of store the combined first and second portions in a file or playback the combined first and second portions.

Claims

1. A method for handling a program at a user device, the method comprising:

accepting a command to view the program in the user device;

receiving, from a content delivery server and via a terrestrial Internet protocol (IP) based communication signal, a first plurality of packets representing a beginning portion of the program; and

playing back the received beginning portion of the program while receiving and recording from a broadcast headend and via a satellite broadcast signal, a second plurality of packers representing an end portion of the program;

splicing the received end portion of the program to the beginning portion of the program; and

playing back the spliced received end portion of the program after playing back the received beginning portion of the program; and

wherein the first and second plurality of data packets are decrypted before playback with at least one of a same encryption key, a same codeword or a same secret;

wherein the satellite broadcast signal is transmitted by a broadcast headend, wherein the terrestrial IP-based communication signal is transmitted by a content delivery server, and wherein the broadcast headend and the content delivery server are operated by different service providers.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the program is at least one of a video program or an audio program.

3. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein receiving the second plurality of packets via the terrestrial IP based communication signal uses at least one of a file transfer protocol (FTP) or an hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP).

4. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein a same packet format is used for the first and the second plurality of packets.

5. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first and the second plurality of packets comprise an entirety of the program.

6. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising:

storing the spliced beginning and end portions in a file.

7. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising:

sending a request to the content delivery server for a third portion of the program, in response to a non-user initiated interruption of the reception of the second plurality of packets representing the end portion of the program;

receiving a third plurality of data packets representing the third portion of the program from the content delivery server and via the terrestrial IP based communication signal in response to the request, wherein the third portion of the program comprises a portion of the end portion not received via the satellite broadcast signal due to the non-user initiated interruption of the reception of the second plurality of packers; and

splicing the third portion of the program to the received second portion of the program.

8. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the broadcast headend consists of other than the content delivery server.

9. A non-transitory article of manufacture storing computer readable instructions that, when executed, cause the computer to:

accept a command to view a program in the user device;

receive a terrestrial Internet protocol (IP) based communication signal from a content delivery server, the terrestrial IP-based communication signal representing a beginning portion of the program, wherein the terrestrial IP-based communication signal is addressed to a particular user device, and wherein the broadcast headend and the content delivery server are operated by different service providers;

play back the received beginning portion of the program while receiving and recording a satellite broadcast signal from a broadcast headend, the broadcast signal representing an end portion of a program;

splice the received end portion of the program to the beginning portion of the program; and

play back the spliced received end portion of the program after playing back the received beginning portion of the program;

wherein the first and second portions of the program are decrypted with at least one of a same encryption key, a same codeword or a same secret.

10. A non-transitory article of manufacture as defined in claim 9, wherein the beginning portion and the end portion comprise an entirety of the program.

11. A non-transitory article of manufacture as defined in claim 9, wherein the computer readable instructions, when executed, cause the computer to:

store the spliced beginning and end portions in a file.

12. A non-transitory article of manufacture as defined in claim 9, wherein the computer readable instructions, when executed, cause the computer to:

detect a non-user initiated interruption of the reception of the second plurality of packets representing the end portion of the program; and

send a request to the content delivery server for a third portion of the program in response to the detected non-user initiated interruption of the reception of the second plurality of packets; and

receive a third plurality of data packets representing the third portion of the program from the content delivery server and via the terrestrial IP based communication signal in response to the request, wherein the third portion of the program comprises a portion of the end portion not received via the satellite broadcast signal due to the non-user initiated interruption of the second plurality of packets; and

splice the third portion of the program to the received second portion of the program.

13. A non-transitory article of manufacture as defined in claim 9, wherein the broadcast headend consists of other than the content delivery server.

14. An apparatus comprising:

a means for accepting a command to view a program;

a first interface to receive a terrestrial Internet protocol (IP) based communication signal from a content delivery server, the terrestrial IP-based signal comprising a beginning portion of the program and containing an address assigned to the first interface;

a second interface to receive a satellite broadcast signal from a broadcast headend, operated by a different service provider than content delivery server, the satellite broadcast signal representing an end portion of the program;

a display module for playing back the received beginning portion of the program while receiving and recording the satellite broadcast signal from the broadcast headend and for splicing the received end portion of the program to the received beginning portion of the program;

a decryptor to decrypt the beginning portion and the end portion of the program before playing back the beginning and end portions based on at least one of a same encryption key, a same codeword, or a same secret; and

a storage device to store a file containing the spliced received beginning portion of the program and end portion of the program.

15. An apparatus as defined in claim 14, wherein an ending part of the beginning portion is spliced to a beginning part of the first portion.

16. An apparatus as defined in claim 14, wherein the first interface, the second interface and the storage device are implemented in the same housing.

17. An apparatus as defined in claim 14, wherein the storage device comprises a hard disk drive.

18. An apparatus as defined in claim 14, wherein:

the first interface detects a non-user initiated interruption of the reception of the end portion of the program;

the first interface sends a request to the content delivery server for a third portion of the program when the interruption of the reception of the end portion of the program is detected, and receives the third portion of the program from the content delivery server and via the IP based communication signal in response to the request, wherein the third portion of the program comprises a portion of the end portion nor received via the satellite broadcast signal due to the non user initiated interruption of the reception of the second plurality of packets; and

the display module splices the third portion of the program to the received second portion of the program.

19. An apparatus comprising:

a first interface to receive a satellite broadcast signal from a broadcast headend and to detect a non-user initiated interruption of the satellite broadcast signal, the satellite broadcast signal presenting a first portion of a program;

a second interface distinct from the first interface to send a request to a terrestrial content delivery server for a second portion of the program when the interruption is detected and to receive a terrestrial Internet protocol (IP) based communication signal from a content delivery server in response to the request, the terrestrial IP-based signal comprising the second portion of the program and containing an address uniquely assigned to the second interface, wherein the broadcast headend is operated by a different service provider than the content delivery server;

a decryptor to decrypt the first and second portions of the program based on at least one of a same encryption key, a same codeword, or a same secret;

a storage device to store the first and second portions in a file that represents the program; and

a housing, wherein the first interface, the second interface, the decryptor and the storage device are implemented in the housing.