Method and apparatus for archiving media content

• US 8,037,502 B1
• Filed: 09/22/2000
• Issued: 10/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Digital Connection LLC
• Original Assignee: Digital Connection LLC
• Inventors: Kim, Joachim
• Primary Examiner(s): Kumar; Pankaj
• Assistant Examiner(s): NEWLIN, TIMOTHY R
• Application Number:
  US09/668,700
• Time in Patent Office: 4,036 Days
• Field of Search: 725/87, 725/88, 725/91, 725/92, 725/93, 725/94, 725/101, 386/109, 386/111
• US Class Current: 725/87
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2182 involving memory arrays, e.g. RAID disk arrays RAID arrays per se G06F3/0689; use of parity to protect data in RAID systems G06F11/1008
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/21825 involving removable storage units, e.g. tertiary storage such as magnetic tapes or optical disks
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23113 involving housekeeping operations for stored content, e.g. prioritizing content for deletion because of storage space restrictions storage management, e.g. defragmentation G06F3/0604; snloading stored programs G06F9/445; housekeeping operations in file systems, e.g. deletion policies G06F16/10; buffering arrangements in a network node or in an end terminal in packet networks H04L49/90
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2312 Data placement on disk arrays data placement in general G06F3/0604
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2323 using file mapping
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23406 involving management of server-side video buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17336 Handling of requests in head-ends

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for archiving media content, and more particularly to archiving television and radio broadcasts for later delivery, on-demand, via the Internet. A capture server is used to receive and gather a plurality of media sources for archiving and subsequent delivery to client users. The capture server is capable of receiving numerous digital or analog media signals from a variety of media sources, including transmission through traditional broadcast, coaxial cable, the Internet, personal and public camera systems and the like, and converting these media signals into addressable blocks of media content. Furthermore, the capture server is capable of encoding received media signals, particularly analog media signals, applying an application programming interface and preparing the media signals for implementation by the system in an identifiable form or architecture.

Claims

1. A transformer comprising:

a converter including an input for receiving media content without regard to format, said converter automatically and separately providing;

at least one media block comprising a portion of said media content and a description of said portion of media content, wherein said description does not include a storage address for said media block;

a storage managing unit coupled to said converter to receive said at least one media block and said description, said storage managing unit storing said at least one media block in a first memory said storage managing unit storing said description in a second memory;

a translator configured to relate said stored media block to said stored description,

said transformer thereby enabling random retrieval of a plurality of stored media blocks in response to receiving a single request comprising said description from a requester when said request does not includes an address retrieved ones of said plurality of stored media blocks.

2. The transformer of claim 1 wherein said converter input is coupled to at least one encoder selected from the group comprising:

MPEG, AVI, and DIVX said transformer enabling retrieval of media content blocks based on said description regardless of selected encoder.

3. The transformer of claim 1 wherein said description comprises at least one of program name, program start time, program end time, channel, duration, and key word.

4. The transformer of claim 1 wherein at least one of said portions of media content comprises a single frame of said media content and wherein said single frame is retrievable from storage based on said description.