Systems and methods for providing a similar offline viewing experience of online web-site content

• US 8,001,471 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2006
• Issued: 08/16/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Board of Regents of the University of Texas System (University of Texas System), Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Maven Networks, Inc. (theMaven, Inc.)
• Inventors: Shaver, Robert, Clogston, William
• Primary Examiner(s): Lo; Weilun
• Assistant Examiner(s): BECKER, SHASHI KAMALA
• Application Number:
  US11/478,066
• Publication Number:
  US 20070204057A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,874 Days
• Field of Search: 715/854, 715/716, 715/784, 715/719, 715/720, 715/722, 715/748
• US Class Current: 715/716
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9574 of access to content, e.g. by caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2402 Monitoring of the downstream path of the transmission network, e.g. bandwidth available traffic monitoring in data switching networks H04L43/00; monitoring data switching networks utilization H04L43/0876
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2405 Monitoring of the internal components or processes of the server, e.g. server load allocation of resources in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/50; performance measurement of computer activity G06F11/34
• 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 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• 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 21/43622 Interfacing an external recording device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• 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 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

The present invention provides a comprehensive development platform and client-side technology for intelligent and cost-effective delivery of video, audio and broadband content over a network, such as the Internet, to desktop, mobile computing, and network connected devices. In one embodiment of the present invention, an intelligent delivery system (IDS) delivers offline content on a client that provides a user experience similar to corresponding content accessed via a network, such as content experienced by a user visiting a web-site on the Internet. Through a background delivery process, the IDS transparently provides offline content automatically to the client. A user may display online content via a browser the first time visiting a content provider, such as a web-site, and from thereafter, the IDS automatically provides a second application to display offline content downloaded from the content provider. The user interface provided by the offline content stored on the client has a substantially similar appearance and behavior to the user interface presented by the online content. Using the second application locally on the client, the user displays and experiences offline content substantially similar to and corresponding to portions of the online content communicated via the Internet. For example, the user may display in the second application a high-definition video from storage of the client in a user interface that is substantially similar to the user interface of the web-site for streaming video.

Claims

1. A method comprising the steps of:

(a) displaying, by a client computer, a first user interface having at least a portion communicated via a network;

(b) displaying, by the first user interface, a first set of one or more user interface elements having an appearance and a behavior;

(c) displaying, by the client computer, a portion of video media communicated via the network;

(d) while displaying the portion of video media, automatically downloading, by the client computer to storage of the client computer, the remainder of the video media and a second user interface;

(e) detecting, by the client computer, that the client computer is no longer connected to the network;

(f) displaying, by the client computer, the second user interface, the second user interface having a second set of one or more user interface elements matching the appearance and behavior of the first set of one or more user interface elements of the first user interface with the exception of one or more optional user interface elements that do not match the appearance and behavior of the first set of one or more user interface elements of the first user interface; and

(g) displaying, by the client computer via the second user interface, the remainder of the video media in a higher definition of video quality from the storage of the client computer.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising displaying, by a browser, the first user interface, the browser in communication via the network with a server.

3. The method of claim 1, comprising displaying, by an application on the client computer, the second user interface, the application obtaining the remainder of the video media for the second user interface from the storage of the client computer instead of via the network.

4. The method of claim 3, comprising, displaying by the application, for the second user interface at least one user interface element communicated via the network.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising displaying the second user interface instead of the first user interface in response to a request by a user via an element of the first user interface.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising automatically downloading the video media as a background process transparent to the user.

7. The method of claim 1, comprising downloading the video media to the storage of the client computer as a background process transparent to the user while the first user interface displays the video media on the client computer communicated via the network.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the remainder of the video media stored in the storage of the client computer comprises a desired video characteristic not provided by the video media communicated via the network.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the desired video characteristic comprises one or more of the following:

a resolution, an aspect ratio, a size, a quality, a bit per pixel, a compression, a frame rate, and a bit rate.

10. A client computer comprising:

a storage;

a display;

a first user interface having at least a portion communicated via a network, the first user interface displaying a first set of one or more user interface elements and displaying on the display a portion of video media communicated via the network, the first set of one or more user interface elements having an appearance and a behavior,

while displaying the portion of the video media on the display, a download manager automatically downloading to the storage a remainder of the video media from a content source and a second user interface, the second user interface having a second set of one or more user interface elements corresponding to and matching the appearance and behavior of the first set of one or more user interface elements of the first user interface with the exception of one or more optional user interface elements that do not match the appearance and behavior of the first set of one or more user interface elements of the first user interface; and

a processor invoking the second user interface to display on the display the remainder of the video media from the storage in a higher definition of video quality.

11. The client computer of claim 10, comprising a browser displaying the first user interface, the browser in communication via the network with a server.

12. The client computer of claim 10, comprising an application displaying the second user interface, the application obtaining content for the second user interface from the storage of the client computer instead of via the network.

13. The client computer of claim 12, wherein the application displays for the second user interface at least one user interface element communicated via the network.

14. The client computer of claim 10, wherein the second user interface is displayed instead of the first user interface in response to a request by a user via an element of the first user interface.

15. The client computer of claim 10, comprising automatically downloading the content as a background process transparent to the user.

16. The client computer of claim 10, wherein the download manager downloads the remainder of the video media to the storage of the client computer as a background process transparent to the user while the first user interface displays the portion of the video media on the client computer communicated via the network.

17. The client computer of claim 10, wherein the first user interface comprises an element selectable, by the user to display the video media in a higher definition of video quality, and in response to a selection of the element, the first user interface invokes the second user interface to display the video media from the storage on the client computer, the video media from the storage providing the higher definition of video quality.

18. The client computer of claim 10, wherein the video media stored in the storage of the client computer comprises a desired video characteristic not provided by the video media communicated via the network.

19. The client computer of claim 18, wherein the desired video characteristic comprises one or more of the following:

a resolution, an aspect ratio, a size, a quality, a bit per pixel, a compression, a frame rate, and a bit rate.