Transferring a broadcast transmission to a remote device

• US 9,055,320 B2
• Filed: 04/03/2014
• Issued: 06/09/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hulu LLC (The Walt Disney Company)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bhogal, Kulvir S., Boss, Gregory J., Gontkof, John J., Hamilton, Rick A. II, O'Connell, Brian M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Goodarzi, Nasser
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, AN V
• Application Number:
  US14/244,277
• Publication Number:
  US 20140215533A1
• Time in Patent Office: 432 Days
• Field of Search: 725/118, 725/94, 725/153, 725/62, 725/60, 725/46, 725/38, 725/131, 725/42, 725/45, 725/25, 340/539.12, 340/539.13, 340/10.1, 455/41.2, 709/204, 715/862
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41265 having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4135 external recorder interface circuits between an apparatus for recording television signals and a television receiver H04N5/775
• 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 21/422 Input-only peripherals , i.e. input devices connected to specially adapted client devices, e.g. global positioning system [GPS] input devices also receiving signals from specially adapted client devices H04N21/4104
• 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 21/43622 Interfacing an external recording device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6156 specially adapted to the upstream path of the transmission network

Abstract

An approach is described that includes determining that a remote device has moved outside of a pre-defined area associated with a digital video recorder (DVR), and transmitting program data from the DVR to the remote device while the remote device remains outside of the pre-defined area. Another approach includes a digital video recorder (DVR) having a memory and a processor. The DVR operates to: receive an incoming transmission signal; transmit a selected program to a primary display device; determine that a remote device has moved outside of a pre-defined area; and transmit program data corresponding to the selected program to the remote device while the remote device remains outside of the pre-defined area.

Claims

1. A method implemented in a computer infrastructure having computer executable code tangibly embodied on a computer readable storage medium having programming instructions operable to:

determine that a remote device has moved outside of a pre-defined area associated with a digital video recorder (DVR), wherein the determining is performed by the DVR; and

transmit program data from the DVR to the remote device while the remote device remains outside of the pre-defined area,

wherein;

the determining that the remote device has moved outside of the pre-defined area comprises transmitting an infrared or wireless radio signal from the DVR to the remote device;

the DVR determines one of;

the remote device is within the pre-defined area when the DVR receives a return infrared or wireless radio signal from the remote device; and

the remote device is outside of the pre-defined area when the DVR does not receive a return infrared or wireless radio signal from the remote device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the program data correspond to a program that is currently selected by the DVR.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting other data to a primary display device for display on the primary display device, wherein the transmitting the program data to the remote device occurs simultaneously with the transmitting the other data to the primary display device.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that the remote device has returned to the pre-defined area; and

ceasing the transmitting the program data to the remote device based on the determining that the remote device has returned to the pre-defined area.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the pre-defined area is a pre-defined range relative to a primary display device that receives a transmission for the DVR for playing a program selected on the DVR.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the determining that the remote device has moved outside of the pre-defined area comprises transmitting an RFID signal from the DVR to an RFID tag associated with the remote device; and

the DVR determines one of;

the remote device is within the pre-defined area when the DVR receives a return signal from the RFID tag; and

the remote device is outside of the pre-defined area when the DVR does not receive a return signal from the RFID tag.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the determining that the remote device has moved outside of the pre-defined area comprises obtaining or receiving GPS data defining a GPS location of the remote device;

the DVR determines one of;

the remote device is within the pre-defined area when the GPS location of the remote device is within a boundary defining the pre-defined area; and

the remote device is outside of the pre-defined area when the GPS location of the remote device is outside the boundary defining the pre-defined area.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting the program data from the DVR to the remote device comprises one of:

transmitting the program data directly from the DVR to the remote device wirelessly;

transmitting the program data from the DVR to a LAN transmitter, and transmitting the data wirelessly from the LAN transmitter to the remote device; and

transmitting the program data from the DVR to a WAN transmitter, and transmitting the data wirelessly from the WAN transmitter to the remote device.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that another device has moved outside the pre-defined area; and

transmitting the program data from the DVR to the other device while the other device is outside the pre-defined area and the remote device is inside the pre-defined area, wherein the remote device has not left the pre-defined area while the other device has moved outside the pre-defined area and further comprising;

determining that the other device has returned to the pre-defined area; and

ceasing the transmission of the program data to the other device based on determining that the other device has returned to the pre-defined area.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the remote device leaves the pre-defined area at a first time and another remote device leaves the pre-defined area at a second time, and the method further comprises determining to transmit the program data to the remote device and the another remote device based on when the remote device and the another remote device left the pre-defined area, wherein a user of the remote device can leave the pre-defined area and continue to view the program data independent of the another remote device.

11. A method, comprising:

providing a computing infrastructure that operates to;

receive an incoming transmission signal at a digital video recorder (DVR);

transmit a selected program from the DVR to a primary display device;

determine that a remote device has moved outside of a pre-defined area associated with one of the DVR and the primary display device, wherein the determining is performed by the DVR;

transmit program data from the DVR to the remote device while the remote device remains outside of the pre-defined area; and

cease transmitting the program data to the remote device when the DVR determines that the remote device has moved back inside the pre-defined area, wherein;

the program data transmitted to the remote device corresponds to the selected program that is transmitted to the primary display device; and

the determining that the remote device has moved outside of the pre-defined area

comprises one of;

transmitting a locating signal from the DVR to the remote device and awaiting a return signal from the remote device; and

comparing GPS location data of the remote device to data defining the pre-defined area;

wherein the transmitting the program data from the DVR to the remote device comprises one of;

transmitting the program data directly from the DVR to the remote device wirelessly;

transmitting the program data from the DVR to a LAN transmitter, and transmitting the data wirelessly from the LAN transmitter to the remote device; and

transmitting the program data from the DVR to a WAN transmitter, and transmitting the data wirelessly from the WAN transmitter to the remote device.

12. A system, comprising:

a digital video recorder (DVR) comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the DVR operates to;

receive an incoming transmission signal;

transmit a selected program to a primary display device;

determine that a remote device has moved outside of a pre-defined area;

transmit program data corresponding to the selected program to the remote device;

determine that the remote device has moved into the pre-defined area; and

transmitting the program data to the primary display device,

wherein the remote device leaves the pre-defined area at a first time and another remote device leaves the pre-defined area at a second time, and the method further comprises determining to transmit the program data to the remote device and the another remote device based on when the remote device and the another remote device left the pre-defined area, wherein a user of the remote device can leave the pre-defined area and continue to view the program data independent of the another remote device.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the DVR stops transmitting the program data to the remote device when the DVR determines that the remote device has moved back inside the pre-defined area.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the DVR transmits the program data to the remote device by one of:

directly from the DVR to the remote device;

through a wireless router in a local area network (LAN) to which the DVR is connected; and

through a wide area network (WAN).

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the remote device operates to:

receive the program data from the DVR;

store the program data in a buffer; and

control viewing of the program data on the video display including at least one of;

play, pause, rewind, fast forward, stop, and delete.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein:

the DVR comprises a component that transmits a locating signal to the remote device; and

the remote device comprises component that transmits a return signal to the DVR upon receipt of the locating signal from the DVR.

17. A computer program product comprising a computer usable storage memory having readable program code embodied in the storage memory, the computer program product includes at least one component operable to:

receive an incoming transmission signal;

transmit a selected program to a primary display device;

determine that a remote device has moved outside of a pre-defined area;

transmit program data corresponding to the selected program to the remote device while the remote device remains outside of the pre-defined area;

determine that the remote device has moved into the pre-defined area and another device has moved outside the pre-defined area; and

transmit the program data to the remote device while the remote device remains inside the pre-defined area,

wherein the transmitting the program data from the DVR to the remote device comprises one of;

transmitting the program data directly from the DVR to the remote device wirelessly;

transmitting the program data from the DVR to a LAN transmitter, and transmitting the data wirelessly from the LAN transmitter to the remote device; and

transmitting the program data from the DVR to a WAN transmitter, and transmitting the data wirelessly from the WAN transmitter to the remote device.

18. A computer system for controlling a digital video recorder (DVR), the system comprising:

a CPU, a computer readable memory, and a computer readable storage medium;

first program instructions to receive an incoming transmission signal;

second program instructions to transmit a selected program to a primary display device;

third program instructions, to determine that a remote device has moved outside of a pre-defined area, wherein the determining is performed by the DVR; and

fourth program instructions to transmit program data corresponding to the selected program to the remote device while the remote device remains outside of the pre-defined area, wherein the first, second, third, and fourth program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage medium for execution by the CPU via the computer readable memory,

wherein the remote device leaves the pre-defined area at a first time and another remote device leaves the pre-defined area at a second time, and the method further comprises determining to transmit the program data to the remote device and the another remote device based on when the remote device and the another remote device left the pre-defined area, wherein a user of the remote device can leave the pre-defined area and continue to view the program data independent of the another remote device.

19. The computer system of claim 18, wherein:

the DVR stores a relationship between the another device and the remote device;

the another device is at least one of a RFID tag, a key fob, an infrared receiver and transmitter, and a local wireless radio receiver and transmitter;

the program data is streamed to the remote device for real-time viewing without storing the program data in the remote device; and

the computer program product further comprises determining that a user has left the pre-defined area based on the another device having left the pre-defined area while the remote device is within the pre-defined area.