Real-time consumption of a live video stream transmitted from a mobile device

• US 8,862,762 B1
• Filed: 10/01/2010
• Issued: 10/14/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Skype Ireland Technologies Holdings Limited (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Skype S.Ã R.L. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Smirnov, Andrey, Motrenko, Alex, Chernyshev, Artem
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan, Wing F
• Assistant Examiner(s): WOO, ANDREW M
• Application Number:
  US12/896,728
• Time in Patent Office: 1,474 Days
• Field of Search: 709/230, 709/231
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/10 Multimedia information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/65 Network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/214 Specialised server platform, e.g. server located in an airplane, hotel, hospital arrangements specially adapted for local area broadcast systems H04H20/61
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2187 Live feed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6131 involving transmission via a mobile phone network wireless downlink channel access H04W74/006

Abstract

Techniques are provided for transmitting a live video stream from a mobile device for live viewing by one or more consuming devices. An intermediate server receives the live video stream from the mobile device, identifies a plurality of consuming devices, and sends a real-time notification to those consuming devices to inform the users of those devices that a live video stream is available for immediate viewing. Also, any necessary processing (e.g., transcoding) is performed on the live video stream before the live video stream is sent to one or more consuming devices. The “producing” mobile device is not required to identify (or have any data about) any of the consuming devices in order for the live video stream to be transmitted to those devices. The consuming device can be on a mobile network, any Web network, or any PC connected to the Internet.

Claims

1. A machine-implemented method comprising:

receiving a live video stream in real-time while the live video stream is being captured from a device that captured the live video stream; and

in response to receiving the live video stream and in real-time while receiving the live video stream;

creating a record that indicates that a new stream is created and is associated with a device that captured the live video stream, and storing the record in a database;

identifying a plurality of other devices based on the other devices being associated with users that subscribe to content from at least one of the device that captured the live video stream, or a producing user associated with the device that captured the live video stream;

sending, to the plurality of other devices, notification data that indicates data about the live video stream;

sending the live video stream to at least a subset of the plurality of other devices;

receiving response data from a particular device in the subset; and

in response to receiving the response data, sending the response data to the device that captured the live video stream, the response data being at least one of identification data that identifies a user of the particular device or audio data initiated by the user of the particular device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the device is a mobile device that creates the live video stream based on video data generated by a video capturing component of the mobile device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the subset of the other devices includes a first device and a second device that is different than the first device;

the first device is accessible via a first network that requires a first communication protocol;

the second device is accessible via a second network that requires a second communication protocol that is different than the first communication protocol.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the subset of the other devices includes a first device and a second device that is different than the first device;

the first device is one of a mobile device, a laptop or desktop computer, or a television;

the second device is another one of the mobile device, the laptop or desktop computer, or the television.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein:

the live video stream is encoded in a particular format;

the method further comprising, prior to sending the live video stream to the subset of the plurality of other devices, transcoding data from the live video stream into a plurality of formats, each of which is different than the particular format, wherein the plurality of formats include a first format and a second format; and

sending the live video stream to the subset of other devices includes;

sending, to a first device of the subset of other devices, a first version of the live video stream, wherein the first version of the live video stream is encoded in the first format, and

sending, to a second device of the subset of other devices, a second version of the live video stream, wherein the second version of the live video stream is encoded in the second format.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying a plurality of other devices comprises:

identifying a set of criteria associated with each device of multiple devices that includes the plurality of other devices and additional devices; and

comparing the set of criteria associated with said each device of the multiple devices with data about the video stream to identify the plurality of devices.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of other devices are identified based on data that is received from the plurality of other devices, wherein no data from the device identifies any of the plurality of other devices.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising, prior to sending the live video stream to the subset of the plurality of other devices:

receiving, from each device of the subset, confirmation data that indicates that the user of said each device desires to receive the live video stream;

wherein sending the live video stream comprises sending the live video stream to only those devices of the plurality of devices from which the confirmation data is received.

9. A system comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more machine-readable storage devices storing computer-executable instructions that are executable by the one or more processors to cause the system to perform operations including;

receiving a live video stream in real-time during capture of at least a portion of the live video stream;

creating a record that indicates that a new stream is created and is associated with a device that captured the live video stream, and storing the record in a database;

identifying, while receiving at least a portion of the live video stream, one or more devices configured to consume the live video stream;

sending a notification of the live video stream for receipt by the one or more devices, the notification providing options for a user to view the live video stream in real-time, to ignore the live video stream, or to view the live video stream at a later time;

in response to receiving a reply to the notification, transmitting at least a portion of the live video stream for receipt by the one or more devices;

receiving response data from a particular device of the one or more devices; and

in response to receiving the response data, sending the response data to the device that captured the live video stream, the response data being at least one of identification data that identifies a user of the particular device or audio data initiated by the user of the particular device.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the device that captured the live video stream is a mobile device that creates the live video stream based on video data generated by a video capturing component of the mobile device.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the live video stream is encoded in a particular format, and wherein the operations further include:

transcoding the at least a portion of the live video stream into a different format to generate a transcoded version of the at least a portion of the live video stream; and

sending the transcoded version of the at least a portion of the live video stream to at least one of the one or more devices.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein said identifying comprises:

identifying a set of criteria associated with each device of multiple devices that includes the one or more devices and at least one additional device; and

comparing the set of criteria associated with said each device of the multiple devices with data about the video stream to identify the one or more devices.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein said identifying comprises determining that the one or more devices have subscribed to receive live video streams from a user associated with the device that captured the live video stream.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the reply to the notification comprises confirmation data that indicates that one or more users of the one or more devices provided input requesting to receive the live video stream.

15. A device configured to perform operations comprising:

receiving a live video stream in real-time during capture of at least a portion of the live video stream;

creating a record that indicates that a new stream is created and is associated with a device that captured the live video stream, and storing the record in a database;

identifying, while receiving at least a portion of the live video stream, one or more devices that subscribe to at least one of a user that produces the live video stream or a device that produces the live video stream;

sending a notification of the live video stream for receipt by the one or more devices;

in response to receiving a reply to the notification, transmitting at least a portion of the live video stream for receipt by the one or more devices;

receiving response data from a particular device of the one or more devices; and

in response to receiving the response data, sending the response data to the device that captured the live video stream, the response data being at least one of identification data that identifies a user of the particular device or audio data initiated by the user of the particular device.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the device that captured the live video stream is a mobile device that creates the live video stream based on video data generated by a video capturing component of the mobile device.

17. The device of claim 15, wherein the live video stream is encoded in a particular format, and wherein the operations further include:

transcoding the at least a portion of the live video stream into a different format to generate a transcoded version of the at least a portion of the live video stream; and

sending the transcoded version of the at least a portion of the live video stream to at least one of the one or more devices.

18. The device of claim 15, wherein said identifying comprises:

identifying a set of criteria associated with each device of multiple devices that includes the one or more devices and at least one additional device; and

comparing the set of criteria associated with said each device of the multiple devices with data about the video stream to identify the one or more devices.

19. The device of claim 15, wherein said identifying comprises determining that the one or more devices have subscribed to receive live video streams from a user associated with the device that captured the live video stream.

20. The device of claim 15, wherein the reply to the notification comprises confirmation data that indicates that one or more users of the one or more devices provided input requesting to receive the live video stream.