Systems and methods for creating logical media streams for media storage and playback

• US 9,191,610 B2
• Filed: 11/26/2008
• Issued: 11/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dish Network Technologies India Private Limited
• Original Assignee: Sling Media Pvt Ltd. (Dish Network Corporation)
• Inventors: Kulkarni, Anant Madhava
• Primary Examiner(s): Dang, Hung
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wendmagegn, Girumsew
• Application Number:
  US12/323,907
• Publication Number:
  US 20100129057A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,547 Days
• Field of Search: 386/241, 707/102
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/322 used signal is digitally coded
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8205 involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the colour video signal

Abstract

Systems and methods are described for storing a media stream on a storage medium, wherein the media stream is based upon at least one source file. An index file for the media stream is created, and the at least one source file is processed to create at least one media file that is stored on the storage medium. The index file is updated to reference at least a portion of the at least one media file, and the index file is stored on the storage medium. Such techniques may be useful, for example, in encoding information onto a disk drive, flash drive or other portable media compatible with a placeshifting audio/video player or the like.

Claims

1. A method for storing a media stream on a storage medium, wherein the media stream is based upon a plurality of source files, the method comprising:

creating, by a processor, an index file for the media stream, wherein the index file indicates a playback order for the media stream;

processing, by the processor, a metadata file associated with each of the plurality of source files to identify at least one data block within each of the plurality of source files and to identify a type of content associated within each of the at least on data blocks;

processing, by the processor, each of plurality of source files to create a plurality of media files based upon the identified blocks of data, each of the plurality of media files comprising a plurality of portions having a unique content;

storing, by the processor, the plurality of media files on the storage medium;

updating, by the processor, the index file to reference at least one of the plurality of portions of each of the plurality of media files in each of the plurality of source files, wherein the processor automatically modifies the playback order of the media stream to skip at least one of the plurality of portions in one of the plurality of media files based upon the identified type of content of the at least one portion of the media file; and

storing, by the processor, the index file on the storage medium,

wherein at least one of the plurality of source files is a commercial and the updating further comprises updating the index file to insert the commercial into the playback order.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the storage medium comprises an associated file system, and wherein the processing comprises dividing the at least one source file into a plurality of media files each having a size that is less than a maximum file size associated with the associated file system.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the associated file system is a FAT32 file system.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the processing comprises dividing the at least one source file into a plurality of media files.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein each of the media files are smaller than a maximum file size associated with the storage medium.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the at least one source file is larger than the maximum file size associated with the storage medium.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the processing further comprises transcoding the at least one source file to create the at least one media file in a different format than the at least one source file.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the processing further comprises decoding digital rights management restrictions on the at least one source file.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the processing further comprises encoding digital rights management restrictions on the at least one media file.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the updating comprises referencing the portion of the at least one media file, wherein the referenced portion is less than the entirety of the at least one media file.

11. A method for playing a media stream stored on a storage medium for a viewer, the method comprising:

obtaining a metadata file describing the media stream from the storage media, wherein the media steam includes a plurality of media files from each of a plurality of different source files and an order of presentation of the media files is non-sequential, the metadata file describing a type of content associated with each of the plurality of media files;

processing the order of presentation to skip at least a portion of one of the plurality of media files based upon the type of content associated with the portion of the one of the plurality of media files and further processing the order of presentation to insert at least one media file, wherein the at least one media file inserted into the order of presentation includes a commercial;

processing each of the plurality of different source files referenced by the metadata file from the storage media to obtain the plurality of media files from each of the plurality of different source files, wherein the each of the media files contains at least a portion of the media stream; and

rendering at least a portion of each media file to thereby present the media stream for the viewer based upon the processed order of presentation.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising repeating the processing and rendering steps for a plurality of media files referenced by the metadata and stored on the storage medium.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the at least a portion of the at least one media file comprises an advertisement referenced by the metadata file.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein the metadata file comprises references to a plurality of blocks, each block corresponding to a portion of the at least one media file stored on the storage media.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the rendering comprises sequentially rendering each of the plurality of blocks referenced in the metadata file.

16. The method of claim 11 wherein the metadata file comprises a reference to at least one media file that is remotely located over a digital network.

17. A system for presenting a media stream stored on a storage medium to a viewer on a display, the system comprising:

a first interface to the storage medium;

a second interface to the display; and

a processor configured to obtain a metadata file from the storage medium, wherein the metadata file includes data for a media steam including a plurality media files from each of a plurality of different source files, the metadata file indicating a type of content associated with each of the plurality of media files, the processor further configured to create a non-sequential order of presentation of the media files, the non-sequential order of presentation skips at least a portion of one of the plurality of media files based upon the type of content associated with the portion of the one of the plurality of media files and inserts at least one commercial into the non-sequential order of presentation, to process each of the plurality of different source files to retrieve the plurality of media files from each of the plurality of different source files identified by the metadata file from the storage medium, and to render each of the plurality of media files according to the order or presentation to thereby present the media stream to the viewer on the display.

18. The system of claim 17 further comprising a third interface to a digital network.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein at least a portion of the media stream is retrieved from a location on the digital network that is identified in the metadata file.

20. The system of claim 18 wherein the processor is further configured to process references in the metadata file to a plurality of blocks, each block corresponding to a portion of the plurality of media files stored on the storage media.