Manager/remote content architecture

• US 8,739,230 B2
• Filed: 01/20/2006
• Issued: 05/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: McEnroe, Elizabeth Rose, Taylor, Thomas H., Wagner, Mark, Potrebic, Peter J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Alata, Yassin
• Application Number:
  US11/275,656
• Publication Number:
  US 20070174656A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,049 Days
• Field of Search: 725/74, 725/80, 725/82, 709208-211
• US Class Current: 725/80
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2221 being a cable television head-end CATV in broadcast systems H04H20/78
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6334 for authorisation, e.g. by transmitting a key wireless communications network key management H04W12/04; wireless communications network access security H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

Embodiments of a manager/remote content architecture are described herein. The architecture, for instance, may provide management of content received from a content provider, such as to determine which client devices are authorized to output the content. Techniques are also described which allow one of the remote client devices to act as a “limited manager” to allocate content usage by the architecture when the manager client device is not available.

Claims

1. A viewing system having a plurality of client devices to output content streamed from a content provider over a communication network comprising:

a first client device in the viewing system to determine whether a second client device in the viewing system is accessible as a manager client device to provide a set of manager functions to manage consumption of the content by the first client device;

when the second client device is not accessible, the first client device to assume a role of a limited manager client device for the viewing system until a third client device that is different from the first client device and the second client device and that is capable of performing the set of manager functions is determined to be available, the first client device to provide a subset of manager functions to manage consumption of the content by the plurality of client devices, wherein the limited manager client device utilizes tokens among the plurality of client devices to arbitrate bandwidth allocated by the content provider for the viewing system by allocating a portion of the bandwidth for an authorized client device to output the content, in which the viewing system includes different manager functionality at different times based at least in part on the first and second client devices such that the viewing system does not include functionality of storing the content when managed by the first client device but does include the functionality of storing the content when managed by the second client device,

wherein the consumption of the content by the plurality of client devices is managed with the tokens based at least in part upon receiving requests for content from one or more client devices of the plurality of client devices.

2. The system as described in claim 1, when the second client device becomes available:

the first client device assuming a remote role, wherein the remote role comprises receiving enablement from the manager client device to output the content; and

the second client device assuming a manager role to manage consumption of the content by the plurality of client devices.

3. The system as described in claim 2, wherein when the first client device assumes the remote role, the first client device communicates with the second client device to be allocated at least a portion of the content, wherein the content comprises audio/video content.

4. The system as described in claim 2, wherein when the first client device assumes the remote role and the second client device assumes the manager role, the content is received by the first client device through the second client device.

5. The system as described in claim 1, wherein:

a SD token specifies standard definition (SD) content that is consumed by one of the requesting client devices that is allocated the SD token, wherein the SD token is allocated to the one of the requesting client devices and the SD token is maintained by a token module in a computer readable media of the one of the requesting client devices; and

a HD token specifies high definition (HD) content that is consumed by a same or a different one of the requesting client devices that is allocated the HD token, wherein the HD token is allocated to the same or the different one of the requesting client devices and the HD token is maintained by the token module in a computer readable media of the same or the different one of the requesting client devices.

6. The system as described in claim 1, wherein the functionality of storing the content is performed through use of a storage that is local on the second client device.

7. The system as described in claim 1, wherein an available bandwidth of the content allocated by the content provider to the viewing system is less than a bandwidth consumed by the plurality of client devices in the viewing system.

8. A method implemented on a client device by a processor configured to execute instructions that, when executed by the processor, direct the client device to perform acts comprising:

determining that a manager client device to provide a set of manager functions for a viewing system is not accessible;

assuming a role of limited manager of the viewing system with a plurality of client devices to provide a subset of manager functions in response to determining that the manger client device is not accessible, wherein;

one or more client devices in the viewing system consumes data streamed over a communication network from a content provider; and

the client device allocates a consumption of data streams allocated by the content provider to a subset of the plurality of client devices in response to receiving requests for the data streams from the subset of client devices, wherein the content provider allocates and manages the consumption of the data streams for the viewing system and the client device utilizing tokens associated with the plurality of client devices to arbitrate the data streams by allocating a data stream for an authorized client device to output the data stream, the content provider allocating and managing the consumption of the data streams in response to the receiving of the requests for the data streams from the subset of client devices;

monitoring availability of the one or more client devices to determine when the manager client device becomes available to allocate the consumption of the data streams to the plurality of client devices and to record at least a portion of the data streams; and

monitoring the availability of the one or more client devices to determine whether the one or more client devices are capable of performing the set of manager functions based at least in part on whether the one or more client devices have satisfied one or more predetermined conditions.

9. A method as described in claim 8, wherein when the manager client device becomes available, responsibility for data stream allocation in the viewing system is transferred from the client device having the role of limited manager to the manager client device.

10. A method as described in claim 9, wherein responsibility is transferred by:

assuming a remote role by the client device having the role of limited manager; and

assuming a manager role by the manager client device.

11. A method as described in claim 10, wherein when the client device assumes the remote role and the manager client device assumes the manager role, the client device in the remote role communicates with the manager client device in the manager role for allocation of at least a portion of the data streams.

12. A method as described in claim 8, wherein:

a SD token specifies a standard definition (SD) data stream that is consumed by one of the subset of client devices that is allocated the SD token, wherein the SD token is allocated to the one of the subset of client devices and the SD token maintained by a token module in a computer readable media of the one of the subset of client devices; and

a HD token specifies a high definition (HD) data stream that is consumed by a same or a different one of the subset of client devices that is allocated the HD token, wherein the HD token is maintained by the token module in a computer readable media of the same or the different one of the subset of client devices.

13. A method as described in claim 8, wherein the recordation of at least a portion of the data streams by the manager client device is performed locally on the manager client device.

17. The method as described in claim 8, wherein the data stream recordation functionality is performed through use of a storage that is local on the manager client device.

18. The method as described in claim 8, wherein an available bandwidth allocated by the content provider to the viewing system is less than a bandwidth consumed by the plurality of client devices in the viewing system.

14. One or more memory devices comprising computer executable instruction that, when executed, direct a client device to perform acts comprising:

determining whether a manager client device is accessible in a viewing system comprising a plurality of client devices;

in response to determining that the manager client device is not accessible, determining whether the client device has a manager functionality, wherein the manager functionality comprises a functionality to record an audio/video content and to provide recorded audio/video content to other client devices in the viewing system;

in response to determining that the client device does not have the manager functionality;

assuming a limited manager functionality, wherein the limited manager functionality comprises a functionality to allocate use of bandwidth for carrying the audio/video content to the plurality of client devices in the viewing system, in which the viewing system does not have the functionality to record the audio/video content when managed by the limited manager client device but does include the functionality to record the audio/video content when managed by the manager client device; and

identifying a different client device of the plurality of client devices that is determined to have the manager functionality and that can perform the functionality until the manager client device is determined to be available;

managing consumption of the audio/video content by providing tokens to a subset of the plurality of client devices in the viewing system in response to receiving requests from that subset of the client devices, wherein the tokens include a high definition (HD) token that authorizes one of the requesting client devices to receive a data stream of HD audio/video content and a standard definition (SD) token that authorizes one of the requesting client devices to receive a data stream of SD audio/video content;

maintaining a token listing which lists which of the tokens have been provided to which respective client devices in the viewing system; and

arbitrating use of bandwidth allocated by a headend service to the viewing system by the providing of the tokens, wherein the client device utilizes the tokens among the plurality of client devices to allocate the HD audio/video content and the SD audio/video content associated with one or more portions of the bandwidth allocated by the headend service for respective authorized client devices and the plurality of client devices in the viewing system as a whole consume more bandwidth then the headend service in a television-based content distribution system allocates to the viewing system.

15. The one or more memory devices as described in claim 14, wherein the acts further comprise:

monitoring the viewing system to determine when the manager client device becomes available, wherein the monitoring comprises exchanging messages with the other client devices in the viewing system, the messages indicating availability and functional capabilities of a client device sending the message;

when the manager client device becomes available, assuming a role of remote client device, wherein the role of remote client device comprises receiving tokens from the manager client device.

16. The one or more memory devices as described in claim 14, wherein the functionality to record is performed through use of a storage that is local on the manager client device.