Digital recording and playback

• US 8,873,929 B1
• Filed: 01/08/2003
• Issued: 10/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DIRECTV, LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Wood, Anthony, Shanson, Spencer, Self, Matthew, Woodward, Donald Jr., Shannon, Douglas, Nudelman, Mark, Townsend, Karl, Kessler, Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): Vaughn, Jr., William C
• Assistant Examiner(s): ADAMS, EILEEN M
• Application Number:
  US10/339,012
• Time in Patent Office: 4,311 Days
• Field of Search: 386/52, 386/46, 386/109
• US Class Current: 386/238
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/91314 the copy protection signal being a pulse signal inserted in blanking intervals of the video signal, e.g. pseudo-AGC pulses, pseudo-sync pulses
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/91321 the copy protection signal being a copy protection control signal, e.g. a record inhibit signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• 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 21/4335 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 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/783 Adaptations for reproducing at a rate different from the recording rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/7921 for more than one processing mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8063 using time division multiplex of the PCM audio and PCM video signals

Abstract

Apparatus and corresponding methods for storing video information. The apparatus includes a means for receiving video information, a means for converting the received video information into digital video information, and a means for storing the digital video information. Converting the received video information into digital video information can include converting it into an MPEG-compatible digital format. The apparatus can include an MPEG-compatible digital encoder, which can include separate audio and video MPEG encoders. The digital video information can be stored on an electromagnetically writable disk drive with an optimized MPEG file system (OMFS) configured to receive the digital video information and store the digital video information on the disk drive, where the OMFS is configured to divide the received digital video information into one or more packets, each packet having the same number of bytes as a sector on a disk in the disk drive. The OMFS can first accumulate one of the packets of digital video information in a cache memory. The OMFS, upon filling the cache memory with a completed packet of digital video information, then stores the completed packet on a single one of the sectors of the disk drive.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving a first media stream and a second media stream;

designating the first media stream as a primary media stream;

after designating the first media stream as the primary media stream, storing the first media stream in a storage medium;

displaying the received first media stream while continuing to receive the first media stream and the second media stream and continuing to store the first media stream in a storage medium;

in response to an input, displaying the second media stream instead of the first media stream while the first media stream continues to be stored;

marking a point in the first media stream at which displaying of the second media stream started; and

resuming display of the first media stream instead of the second media stream at the point marked in the first media stream, wherein resuming display of the first media stream comprises resuming display of the first media stream while the received first media stream continues to be stored.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first media stream and/or the second media stream comprise commercially broadcast media stream(s).

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first media stream and/or the second media stream comprise program(s).

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first media stream and/or the second media stream comprise any combination of video signals and audio signals.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the storage medium comprises a random access memory accessible permanent storage device, a storage disk, and/or a magnetic disk.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the displaying comprises displaying a media stream obtained from a random access memory (RAM), a memory buffer, a memory cache, a RAM accessible permanent storage device, a storage disk, and/or a magnetic disk drive.

7. An apparatus, comprising:

a receiver having multiple tuners to input at least a first media stream and a second media stream;

a storage medium coupled with the receiver to store at least the first and/or second media stream(s);

a replayer coupled with the storage medium to play back one of the first and second media streams while a media stream continues to be received;

a switch coupled with the receiver, the replayer, and a display to designate display of one of the first and second media streams; and

a marker to track a point in the first and/or second media streams at which display of the first and/or second media streams is resumable,

wherein the apparatus is configured to designate a media stream as a primary media stream, and to store the primary media stream in the storage medium after a media stream has been designated as the primary media stream, and

wherein the apparatus is further configured to generate a notification that a commercial has ended on the second media stream while the switch is configured to designate the first media stream for display.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein:

the receiver inputs the first and the second media streams;

the storage medium holds the first media stream;

the switch designates display of the first media stream; and

the replayer plays back the first media stream while the first media stream continues to be stored.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the switch designates display of the second media stream instead of the first media stream while the first media stream continues to be stored.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the marker tracks the point in the first media stream corresponding to a beginning of the display of the second media stream.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the replayer resumes display of the first media stream at the point.

12. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the first media stream and/or the second media stream comprise commercially broadcast media stream(s).

13. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the first media stream and/or the second media stream comprise program(s).

14. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the first media stream and/or the second media stream comprise any combination of video signals and audio signals.

15. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the storage medium comprises a random access memory accessible permanent storage device, a storage disk, and/or a magnetic disk drive.

16. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the replayer plays back a media stream obtained from a random access memory (RAM), a memory buffer, a memory cache, a RAM accessible permanent storage device, a storage disk, and/or a magnetic disk drive.

17. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the apparatus is further configured to generate a notification that a commercial has ended on the first media stream while the switch is configured to designate the second media stream for display.

18. A method, comprising:

receiving a first media stream and a second media stream;

designating the first media stream as a primary media stream;

after designating the first media stream as the primary media stream, storing the first media stream in a storage medium;

displaying the received first media stream while continuing to receive the first media stream and the second media stream and continuing to store the first media stream in a storage medium;

in response to an input, displaying the second media stream instead of the first media stream while the first media stream continues to be stored;

while displaying the second media stream, generating a notification that a commercial on the first media stream has ended;

marking a point in the first media stream at which displaying of the second media stream started; and

resuming display of the first media stream instead of the second media stream at the point marked in the first media stream.