Providing remote access to segments of a transmitted program

• US 8,117,283 B2
• Filed: 02/04/2008
• Issued: 02/14/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dish Technologies LLC (Dish Network Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Echostar Technologies LLC (Echostar Corporation)
• Inventors: Beals, William Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Chea, Philip
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shepperd, Eric W
• Application Number:
  US12/025,579
• Publication Number:
  US 20090198794A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,471 Days
• Field of Search: 709/218, 709/201, 709/203, 709/217, 709/219, 709/228
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5681 Pre-fetching or pre-delivering data based on network characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5682 Policies or rules for updating, deleting or replacing the stored data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/60 Scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests, e.g. requests for application data transmissions using the analysis and optimisation of the required network resources admission control or resource allocation H04L47/70
• 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 21/234 Processing of video elementary streams, e.g. splicing of video streams or manipulating encoded video stream scene graphs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25816 involving client authentication restricting access to computer systems by authenticating users using a predetermined code G06F21/33; cryptographic authentication protocols H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08; authentication in wireless network security H04W12/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2743 Video hosting of uploaded data from client
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2747 Remote storage of video programs received via the downstream path, e.g. from the server
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47217 for controlling playback functions for recorded or on-demand content, e.g. using progress bars, mode or play-point indicators or bookmarks specific graphical features in visual interfaces H04N21/4312
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/658 Transmission by the client directed to the server
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6587 Control parameters, e.g. trick play commands, viewpoint selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments

Abstract

A method for providing remote access to segments of a transmitted program is presented. The program is recorded, and then stored at a communication server. Information specifying a segment of the stored program is transferred from a communication device to the communication server. Also, a request for access to the specified segment of the stored program is transferred from another communication device to the communication server. In response to the request, the specified segment of the program is transferred from the communication server to the requesting communication device.

Claims

1. A method for providing remote access to segments of a transmitted program, the method comprising:

recording a first program;

storing the first program at a communication server;

receiving first information specifying a first segment of the first program from a first communication device at the communication server in response to user input issued to the first communication device;

in response to receiving the first information at the communication server, transferring first access information from the communication server to the first communication device, wherein the first access information comprises information for accessing the first segment on the communication server;

wherein the first access information is transferred from the first communication device to a second communication device;

receiving a first request for access to the first segment from the second communication device at the communication server, wherein the first request is based on the first access information transferred from the first communication device to the second communication device;

in response to receiving the first request at the communication server, transferring the first segment from the communication server to the second communication device;

receiving second information specifying a first segment of a second program from the first communication device at the communication server in response to user input issued to the first communication device;

in response to receiving the second information at the communication server, transferring a reply from the communication server to the first communication device indicating that the second program is not stored at the communication server to thereby direct the first communication device to transfer the first segment of the second program from the first communication device to the communication server;

in response to receiving the first segment of the second program at the communication server, storing the first segment of the second program at the communication server;

in response to receiving the first segment of the second program at the communication server, transferring second access information from the communication server to the first communication device, wherein the second access information comprises information for accessing the first segment of the second program on the communication server;

receiving a second request for access to the first segment of the second program from the second communication device at the communication server, wherein the second request is based on second access information previously transferred from the first communication device to the second communication device; and

in response to receiving the second request at the communication server, transferring the first segment of the second program from the communication server to the second communication device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving third information specifying a second segment of the first program from a third communication device at the communication server in response to user input issued to the third communication device;

in response to receiving the third information at the communication server, transferring third access information from the communication server to the third communication device, wherein the third access information comprises information for accessing the second segment on the communication server;

wherein the third access information is transferred from the third communication device to a fourth communication device;

receiving a third request for access to the second segment from the fourth communication device at the communication server, wherein the third request is based on the third access information transferred from the third communication device to the fourth communication device; and

in response to receiving the third request at the communication server, transferring the second segment from the communication server to the fourth communication device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein recording the first program comprises recording the first program at the communication server from one of a plurality of broadcast programming channels provided by a broadcast programming provider.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first request comprises an identification of the first segment, and an identification of the second communication device.

5. A communication server, comprising:

a memory configured to store a first program;

a communication interface configured to receive first information identifying a first segment of the first program from a source of the first information, to transmit first access information for accessing the first segment to the source of the first information, to receive a first request for access to the first segment of the first program from a source of the first request, wherein the first request comprises the first access information received at the source of the first request from the source of the first information, and to transmit the first segment of the first program to the source of the first request; and

a processor configured to generate the first access information in response to receiving the first information, and to process the first request in order to transmit the first segment of the first program from the memory over the communication interface to the source of the first request,

wherein;

the communication interface is configured to receive second information identifying a first segment of a second program not stored in the memory, to transfer a reply to a source of the second information indicating the second program is not stored at the communication server, to receive the first segment of the second program after transferring the reply, to transfer the first segment of the second program to the memory, to transfer second access information for accessing the first segment of the second program to the source of the second information, to receive a second request for access to the first segment of the second program from a source of the second request, wherein the second request comprises the second access information received at the source of the second request from the source of the second information, and to transmit the first segment of the second program to the source of the second request; and

the processor is configured to generate the reply in response to receiving the second information, to generate the second access information in response to receiving the first segment of the second program, and to process the second request in order to transmit the first segment of the second program from the memory over the communication interface to the source of the second request.

6. The communication server of claim 5, wherein:

the communication interface is configured to receive third information identifying a second segment of first program from a source of the third information, to transmit third access information for accessing the second segment to the source of the third information, to receive a third request for access to the second segment of first program from a source of the third request, wherein the third request comprises the third access information received at the source of the third request from the source of the third information, and to transmit the second segment of the first program to the source of the third request; and

the processor is configured to generate the third access information in response to receiving the third information, and to process the third request in order to transmit the second segment of the first program from the memory over the communication interface to the source of third request.

7. The communication server of claim 5, wherein the communication interface is configured to receive the first program and transfer the first program to the memory.

8. The communication server of claim 5, further comprising a recording unit configured to record the first program from a content provider and transfer the first program to the memory.

9. The communication server of claim 5, wherein the processor is configured to store the first program in the memory based on at least one of a number of requests for segments of the first program attaining a first level, a number of segments identified in the first program attaining a second level, and a length of the segments identified in the first program attaining a third level.

10. The communication server of claim 5, wherein the processor is configured to delete from the memory portions of the first program not included in any segment identified in the first program after an amount of time during which the first program has resided in the memory.

11. The communication server of claim 5, wherein the first information comprises an identification of the first program, a starting point of the first segment of the first program, and an ending point of the first segment of the first program.

12. The communication server of claim 5, wherein:

the first request comprises an identification of the first segment of the first program, and an identification of the source of the first request.

13. The communication server of claim 5, wherein the communication interface comprises an Internet Protocol interface.

14. A communication device, comprising:

a receiving unit configured to receive a first program;

a user interface configured to receive a first indication of a starting point of a first segment of the first program, and a second indication of an ending point of the first segment of the first program;

a communication interface; and

a processor configured to process the first indication and the second indication to generate first information specifying the first segment of the first program, to transfer the first information over the communication interface to a communication server, to receive from the communication server access information comprising instructions based on the first information for retrieving the first segment of the first program from the communication server, and to transmit the access information over the communication interface to a second communication device, wherein the access information allows the second communication device to retrieve the first segment of the first program from the communication server by transmitting the access information to the communication server,

wherein;

the receiving unit is configured to receive a second program;

the user interface is configured to receive a third indication of a starting point of a segment of the second program, and a fourth indication of an ending point of the segment of the second program; and

the processor is configured to process the third indication and the fourth indication to generate second information specifying the segment of the second program, to transfer the second information over the communication interface to the communication server in response to generating the second information, to receive a reply from the communication server over the communication interface indicating that the second program is not stored at the communication server, to locate the segment of the second program based on the third indication and the fourth information in response to the reply, to transfer the segment of the second program over the communication interface to the communication server in response to locating the segment of the second program, to receive second access information comprising instructions based on the second information for retrieving the segment of the second program from the communication server, and to transmit the second access information over the communication interface to the second communication device.

15. The communication device of claim 14, further comprising:

a tuner for selecting a programming signal from a plurality of programming signals transmitted from a content provider, wherein the selected programming signal comprises the first program.

16. The communication device of claim 14, wherein the communication interface is configured to receive the first program and transfer the first program to the receiving unit.

17. The communication device of claim 14, wherein:

the user interface is configured to receive a fifth indication of a starting point of a second segment of the first program, and a sixth indication of an ending point of the second segment of the first program; and

the processor is configured to process the fifth indication and the sixth indication to generate third information specifying the second segment of the first program, and to transfer the third information over the communication interface to the communication server in response to generating the third information, to receive third access information comprising instructions based on the third information for retrieving the second segment of the first program, and to transmit the third access information over the communication interface to a third communication device.

18. The communication device of claim 17, wherein the second segment of the first program overlaps the first segment of the first program.

19. The communication device of claim 14, wherein the processor is configured to include an identification of the first program in the first information.

20. The communication device of claim 14, wherein the communication interface comprises an Internet Protocol interface.