Personalized time-shifted programming

• US 8,572,272 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2010
• Issued: 10/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Audible Incorporated (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Audible Incorporated (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Story, Guy A., Rajasekharan, Ajit, Mott, Timothy
• Primary Examiner(s): STRANGE, AARON N
• Application Number:
  US12/894,735
• Publication Number:
  US 20110016504A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,125 Days
• Field of Search: 386/343, 709/231, 725/87, 725/88, 725/102
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4325 by playing back content from the storage medium reproduction of recorded television signals H04N5/76; reproduction of recorded television signals H04N9/79
• 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 21/4335 Housekeeping operations, e.g. prioritizing content for deletion because of storage space restrictions storage management, e.g. defragmentation G06F3/0604; unloading stored programs G06F9/445; storage management in file systems G06F16/10; buffering arrangements in a network node or in an end terminal in packet networks H04L49/90
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording

Abstract

A method and apparatus for personalized time-shifted programming. Digital content is retrieved, for example, from a digital library. Once retrieved, the content is stored locally, for example, on a personal computer. The locally stored content is transferred, in whole or in part, to a playback device that allows a user to listen to the content of the playback device. In one embodiment, the user may designate portions of a playback time provided by the playback device to various selections. For example, with a playback device that provides two hours of content, a user may wish to listen to one half hour of news, one half hour of a series and one hour of an book. Thus, the user may partition one quarter of playback time to each of news and the series and one half of the playback time to the book. In one embodiment, the present invention provides different automatic update techniques for the playback device that may be selected by the user based on how the content is to be used For example, the news portion may be one half hour of the most recent news available from a particular source. The series may be the most recent episode in the series, whether or not the user has listened to other stored episodes. The book portion may provide one hour of the book from the most recent stopping place each time the playback device is coupled to the library retrieval device.

Claims

1. A playback device comprising:

a memory to store a segment of a digital content; and

logic circuitry, coupled to the memory, to;

maintain a head pointer identifying a logical beginning of the segment of the digital content in memory;

maintain a content counter, wherein the counter is initially set to the head pointer of the segment of the digital content, and wherein the counter advances through corresponding positions within the segment of the digital content in memory during a rendering session;

determine an unconsumed portion of the digital content to be placed within the memory based at least in part on a difference between a position of the head pointer and a position indicated by the content counter; and

replace at least a consumed portion of the segment of the digital content with the determined unconsumed portion of the digital content.

2. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the consumed portion of the segment of the digital content is identified based at least in part on the difference between a position of the head pointer and a position of the content counter, and wherein the unconsumed portion of the digital content and the consumed portion of the segment of the digital content are of equal length.

3. The playback device of claim 1 further comprising an interface coupled to the memory, the interface to receive the unconsumed portion of the digital content from a remote source.

4. A method comprising:

storing a segment of a digital content;

maintaining a head pointer for the segment of the digital content that identifies a logical beginning of the segment of the digital content;

maintaining a content counter, wherein said maintaining comprises;

setting the content counter to the head pointer of the segment of the digital content to be rendered during a rendering session; and

advancing the content counter through positions within the segment of the digital content during the rendering session;

determining an unconsumed portion of the digital content based at least in part on a difference between a position of the head pointer and a position of the content counter; and

replacing at least a consumed portion of the segment of the digital content with the determined unconsumed portion of the digital content.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising:

maintaining a tail pointer for the segment of the digital content that identifies a logical ending of the segment of the digital content.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein maintaining the content counter further comprises:

setting the head pointer to a position identified by the content counter at an end of the rendering session.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein determining the unconsumed portion of the digital content comprises determining an unconsumed portion of the digital content of a substantially equal length to the consumed portion of the segment of the digital content, and wherein the consumed portion of the digital content is determined based at least in part on a difference between a position of the head pointer and a position of the content counter.

8. A method comprising:

storing a segment of a digital content;

maintaining a content counter for the segment of the digital content, wherein the content counter indicates a current location of consumption for the segment of the digital content;

updating the content counters based on the consumption of the segment of the digital content;

determining an unconsumed portion of the digital content based at least in part on a difference between a beginning of the segment of the digital content and a location indicated by the content counter; and

replacing at least a consumed portion of the segment of the digital content with the determined unconsumed portion of the digital content.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein determining the unconsumed portion of the digital content comprises determining an unconsumed portion of the digital content of a substantially equal length to the consumed portion of the segment of the digital content.

10. A playback device comprising:

a memory configured to store a segment of a digital content;

logic circuitry coupled to the memory, the logic circuitry configured to;

set a head pointer identifying a logical beginning and a tail pointer identifying a logical ending of the segment of the digital content;

provide a content counter, wherein the content counter is initially set to the head pointer of the segment of the digital content and, wherein the content counter advances through corresponding positions within the segment of the digital content in memory during a consumption session;

determine an unconsumed portion of the digital content based at least in part on a difference between a position of the head pointer and a position of the content counter; and

replace at least a consumed portion of the segment of the digital content with the determined unconsumed portion of the digital content.

11. The playback device of claim 10 further comprising logic circuitry to update the head pointer to a position identified by the content counter at an end of the consumption session.

12. The playback device of claim 10, wherein the consumption session comprises rendering the digital content.

13. The playback device of claim 10, wherein the consumed portion of the segment of the digital content is indicated based at least in part by the difference between the position of the head pointer and the position of the content counter.

14. The playback device of claim 10, wherein the logic replaces the consumed portion of the segment of the digital content according to preferences of a user of the playback device.

15. The playback device of claim 10, wherein the consumption session ends when the playback device is turned off.

16. The playback device of claim 10, wherein the consumption session ends when rendering of the segment of the digital content is stopped.

17. The playback device of claim 10further comprising logic to render the segment of the digital content.

18. The playback device of claim 10 further comprising logic circuitry to periodically update the head pointer to a position identified by the content counter during the consumption session.

19. The playback device of claim 18 further comprising logic circuitry that refers to the updated head pointer during a subsequent consumption session such that further consumption of the segment of the digital content begins at a point in the segment of the digital content designated by the updated head pointer.

20. A method for storing and playing electronic content on a playback device comprising:

storing of segment of a digital content in memory;

setting a head pointer identifying a logical beginning and a tail pointer identifying a logical ending of the segment of the digital content;

providing a content counter, wherein the content counter is initially set to the head pointer of the segment of the digital selection and, wherein the content counter advances through corresponding positions within the segment of the digital content in memory during a consumption session,

determining an unconsumed portion of the digital content based at least in part on a difference between a position of the head pointer and a position of the content counter; and

replacing at least a consumed portion of the segment of the digital content with the determined unconsumed portion of the digital content.

21. The method of claim 20 further comprising updating the head pointer to a position identified by the content counter at an end of the consumption session.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the end of the consumption session occurs when the playback device is turned off.

23. The method of claim 20 wherein the consumption session comprises rendering the segment of the digital content.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the end of the consumption session occurs when the rendering of the segment of the digital content is stopped.

25. The method of claim 20, wherein the consumed portion of the segment of the digital content is indicated based at least in part by the difference between position of the head pointer and the position of the content counter.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the consumed portion of the segment of the digital content is replaced at least in part according to the preferences of a user of the playback device.

27. The method of claim 20 further comprising periodically updating the head pointer to a position identified by the content counter during the consumption session.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising referring to the updated head pointer during a subsequent consumption session such that further consumption of the segment of the digital content begins at a point in the segment of the digital content designated by the updated head pointer.