Pre-storing a portion of a program to allow user control of playback

• US 8,806,549 B1
• Filed: 10/12/2000
• Issued: 08/12/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Starz Entertainment, LLC (Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Starz Entertainment, LLC (Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation)
• Inventors: Sie, John J., Basawapatna, Ganesh, Sabraw, Martin F., Deprez, Gregory R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kumar, Pankaj
• Assistant Examiner(s): BROWN, RUEBEN M
• Application Number:
  US09/687,151
• Time in Patent Office: 5,052 Days
• Field of Search: 725/89, 725/134, 725/142, 725/8, 725/101, 725/102, 725 88- 90
• US Class Current: 725/101
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26275 for distributing content or additional data in a staggered manner, e.g. repeating movies on different channels in a time-staggered manner in a near video on demand system
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4263 involving specific tuning arrangements, e.g. two tuners
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4333 Processing operations in response to a pause request
• 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 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47208 for requesting near-video-on-demand content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6543 for forcing some client operations, e.g. recording remote booting in general G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17336 Handling of requests in head-ends

Abstract

The invention relates to delivering a program to an individual business or residence. In one embodiment, a process for receiving a program by a user location that is sent from a content distributor is described. In one step, a first portion of the program is received and stored at the user location. A user request for the program is detected after storage of the first portion. A second portion of the program is received in response to the detecting the user request.

Claims

1. A method for receiving a program by a user location that is sent from a content distributor, the method comprising:

receiving the program at the user location as a first linearly scheduled near video on demand (NVOD) program, which is multicasted and can be viewed on a first channel;

processing a first portion of the program at the user location, wherein the first portion is at least one eighth of the program and the first portion includes a beginning of the program;

storing the first portion of the program at the user location;

detecting a user request for the program after storage of the first portion;

receiving one or more second portions of the program in response to the detecting the user request, wherein the one or more second portions is received on one or more other channels, each different from the first channel, and the one or more second portions extending from an end of the first portion to an end of the program; and

storing the one or more second portions of the program at the user location subsequent to detecting the user request, wherein;

the first portion of the program is part of a linearly scheduled NVOD schedule on a plurality of channels,

the plurality of channels including the first channel and the one or more other channels, and

each of the one or more second portions is received as a singlecast media, further wherein the singlecast media is a digital channel transmitted exclusively to the user location.

2. The method for receiving a program by the user location that is sent from the content distributor as recited in claim 1, further comprising playing the first portion.

3. The method for receiving a program by the user location that is sent from the content distributor as recited in claim 2, wherein the playing the first portion takes a first time that is equal to or greater than a second time associated with receiving at least one of the one or more second portions.

4. The method for receiving a program by the user location that is sent from the content distributor as recited in claim 1, wherein the detecting the user request comprises:

receiving a wireless request from a remote control; and

processing the wireless request to determine a desired program.

5. The method for receiving a program by the user location that is sent from the content distributor as recited in claim 1, wherein the user location comprises a set top box.

6. The method for receiving a program by the user location that is sent from the content distributor as recited in claim 1, wherein the storing the first portion comprises storing the first portion on a mass storage device associated with a set top box that is proximate to the user location.

7. The method for receiving a program by the user location that is sent from the content distributor as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

determining a subset of programs from a linear schedule of programs;

dividing each of the subset of programs into a respective first portion and one or more respective second portions; and

transmitting a plurality of respective first portions to the user location.

8. The method for receiving a program by the user location that is sent from the content distributor as recited in claim 1, wherein the first portion is at least one fourth of the program.

9. The method for receiving a program by the user location that is sent from the content distributor as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more second portions comprises a plurality of portions, and wherein the one or more other channels comprise a plurality of channels.

10. The method for receiving a program by the user location that is sent from the content distributor as recited in claim 1, further comprising a step of playing the first portion before the one or more second portions.

11. The method for receiving a program by the user location that is sent from the content distributor as recited in claim 1, wherein:

the first-listed receiving step comprises a step of downloading the first portion from the first channel; and

the second-listed receiving step comprises a step of downloading the one or more second portions from the one or more other channels.

12. A method for transmitting a content program to a user location, the method comprising:

determining a linear schedule of content programs wherein each content program comprises a first segment and one or more second segments, the one or more second segments extending from an end of the first segment to an end of the content program;

storing a second set of second segments remotely from the user location;

transmitting the linear schedule of content programs in a format that is viewable in real-time, wherein;

the linear schedule of content programs comprises a first set of first segments, and

each of the first set of first segments is at least fifteen minutes in playback length;

storing the first set of first segments at the user location before a request by a user for one of the content programs; and

transmitting one or more second segments of the second set to the user location after the request by the user for one of the content programs, wherein the first segment of the requested one of the content programs extends from a beginning to an intermediate point of the requested one of the content programs, and wherein the one or more second segments extend from the intermediate point to an end of the one of the content programs,

wherein the first segment of the requested one of the content programs is transmitted on a first channel and the one or more second segments of the requested one of the content programs is transmitted on one or more other channels, the first channel is different from the one or more other channels, at least one of the first channel and the one or more other channels is a near video on demand (NVOD) channel, and the first set and the second set are transmitted with different media types chosen from a group of types consisting of a multicast media or a singlecast media, further wherein the singlecast media is a digital channel transmitted exclusively to the user location.

13. The method for transmitting the content program to the user location as recited in claim 12, wherein at least one of the content programs comprises a commercial.

14. The method for transmitting the content program to the user location as recited in claim 12, further comprising playing the first segment.

15. The method for transmitting the content program to the user location as recited in claim 14, wherein the playing the requested first segment takes a first time that is equal to or greater than a second time associated with transmitting at least one of the one or more second segments.

16. The method for transmitting the content program to the user location as recited in claim 12, wherein the first segment is at least thirty minutes in playback length.

17. The method for transmitting the content program to the user location as recited in claim 12, wherein the first-listed transmitting step is performed with a television channel media and the second-listed transmitting step is performed with a broadband network media.

18. A method for transmitting a content program to a user location, the method comprising:

determining a linear schedule of content programs wherein each content program comprises a first segment and one or more second segments;

storing a second set of second segments remotely from the user location;

transmitting the linear schedule of content programs, wherein;

the linear schedule of content programs comprises a first set of first segments, and

each of the first set of first segments is at least fifteen minutes in playback length;

storing the first set of first segments at the user location before a request by a user for one of the content programs;

transmitting one or more second segments of the second set to the user location after the request by the user for one of the content programs, the first segment of the requested one of the content programs extending from a beginning to an intermediate point of the requested one of the content programs, and the one or more second segments extending from the intermediate point to an end of the one of the content programs, wherein the first and second sets are transmitted with different media chosen from a group consisting of a multicast media or a singlecast media, further wherein the singlecast media is a digital channel transmitted exclusively to the user location;

storing the transmitted one or more second segments at the user location; and

playing the requested content program in a contiguous fashion, wherein the playing of the requested first segment of the content program takes a first time that is equal to or greater than a second time associated with transmitting at least one of the transmitted second segment of the requested content program.

19. A method for receiving a program by a user location that is sent from a content distributor, the method comprising:

receiving the program at the user location as a linearly scheduled program, which can be viewed on a channel;

processing a first portion of the program at the user location, wherein the first portion is at least one eighth of the program;

storing the first portion of the program at the user location;

detecting a user request for the program after storage of the first portion; and

receiving one or more second portions of the program in response to the detecting the user request, the one or more second portions extending from an end of the first portion to an end of the program; and

storing the one or more second portions of the program at the user location,

wherein the first portion is received with a first media type and the one or more second portions are received with a second media type, each of the first and second media types chosen from a group of types consisting of a multicast media and a singlecast media, and the first media type being different from the second media type, further wherein the singlecast media is a digital channel transmitted exclusively to the user location.

20. The method for receiving a program by a user location that is sent from a content distributor as recited in claim 19, wherein the one or more second portions is received as a second linearly scheduled program on a second channel different from the first channel.

21. The method for receiving a program by a user location that is sent from a content distributor as recited in claim 19, wherein at least one of the first portion of the program and the second portion of the program is part of a near video on demand (NVOD) schedule.