Method and system of allocating data for subsequent retrieval
First Claim
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1. A method of supporting on-demand playback of a program comprising:
- segmenting at least a portion of the program into a sequence of data chunks that must be played serially in an order specified by the sequence to properly playback the program;
storing the data chunks on at least two storage mediums associated with devices connected to a network of a playback device used to playback the program;
serially instigating playback of each of the data chunks on the playback device by instructing delivery of the data chunks to the playback device, wherein at least a portion of the data chunks scheduled earlier in the sequence are delivered to the playback device to begin playback prior to at least a portion of the data chunks scheduled later in the sequence being delivered to the playback device; and
limiting usage of a certain amount of a greater amount of storage available on the devices to storing the data chunks based on contractual commitments specified in contracts of customers associated with the devices.
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Abstract
A method and system of allocating data for subsequent retrieval. The method and system optionally including allocating data to a plurality of devices for storage, associating the data with the device providing the storage thereof, and providing retrieval information to facilitate retrieval of the data as function of the devices associated with the storage thereof. The method and system may further include features for controlling information associated with the allocated and/or features for associated one or more pieces of metadata to control access to allocated data once retrieved.
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Citations
40 Claims
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1. A method of supporting on-demand playback of a program comprising:
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segmenting at least a portion of the program into a sequence of data chunks that must be played serially in an order specified by the sequence to properly playback the program; storing the data chunks on at least two storage mediums associated with devices connected to a network of a playback device used to playback the program; serially instigating playback of each of the data chunks on the playback device by instructing delivery of the data chunks to the playback device, wherein at least a portion of the data chunks scheduled earlier in the sequence are delivered to the playback device to begin playback prior to at least a portion of the data chunks scheduled later in the sequence being delivered to the playback device; and limiting usage of a certain amount of a greater amount of storage available on the devices to storing the data chunks based on contractual commitments specified in contracts of customers associated with the devices. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of supporting on-demand playback of television programs comprising:
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segmenting one or more of television program into a plurality of data chunks; identifying settop boxes (STBs) having an allotted amount of space for storing the data chunks, the allotted amount of space for each STB being determined from contractual commitments made by associated subscribers; identifying a current amount of space available on each STB for storing the data chunks, the current amount of space including space already being used to store data chunks and excluding space already being used by the subscriber; identifying a first group of STBs where the current amount of space is at least equal to or greater than the allotted amount of space, thereby identifying STBs having free space available for storing additional data chunks; identifying a second group of STBs where the current amount of space is less than the allotted amount of space, thereby identifying STBs not having free space available for storing additional data chunks; storing at least a portion of the plurality of data chunks on the STBs within the first group according to available free space; transmitting a message to each STB in the second group, the message requesting the associated subscriber to increase the current amount of space available for storing the data chunks to at least equal the allotted amount of space; and upon receiving a request from a requesting one of the STBs to instigate playback of a requested one of the segmented television programs, coordinating transmission to the requesting one of the STBs of the plurality the data chunks from each of the STBs being used to store one or more of the data chunks of the requested television program. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method of supporting playback of media comprising:
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identifying media available from a source for playback by subscribers, each subscriber having a contractual agreement with the source to pay a fee for playback of the media; associating a device used to support playback of the media with each of the subscribers, the device having two-way electronic communication capabilities and a memory for storing data; based on information specified within the contractual agreement, identifying subscribers that agreed to allocate at least a portion of the memory on the associated device to store data for the source; storing copies of at least a portion of the media available from the source on the memories of the devices of the subscribers that agreed to allocate at least a portion of the memories to store data for the source; issuing one or more credits to each of the subscribers associated with the devices storing media for the source, each credit having an equivalent monetary value that may be used to reduce the fee charged for playback of the media; in response to receiving a request, coordinating transmission of media specified in the request to a requesting one of the devices for playback, the transmission of media including transmission of at least a portion of the media from one or more of the devices storing media for the source; charging the subscriber issuing the request the fee associated with playback of the requested media; and in the event the charged subscriber elects to redeem one or more credits, reducing the fee charged to the subscriber for playback of the media by an amount of the one or more redeemed credits. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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Specification