System for remotely controlling client recording and storage behavior

• US 9,414,127 B2
• Filed: 07/14/2015
• Issued: 08/09/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: TiVo Solutions Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: TiVo Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Westbrook, Paul, Look, Howard, Young, James, Lacy, Stephen, Davison, Timothy, Barton, James M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lonsberry, Hunter B
• Application Number:
  US14/799,497
• Publication Number:
  US 20160014472A1
• Time in Patent Office: 392 Days
• Field of Search: 725/116
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2181 comprising remotely distributed storage units, e.g. when movies are replicated over a plurality of video servers distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS], H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2407 Monitoring of transmitted content, e.g. distribution time, number of downloads arrangements for monitoring programmes for broadcast or for distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/14
• 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 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• 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 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4516 involving client characteristics, e.g. Set-Top-Box type, software version or amount of memory available
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• 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 21/466 Learning process for intelligent management, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies services using the results of monitoring in broadcast systems H04H60/61
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4667 Processing of monitored end-user data, e.g. trend analysis based on the log file of viewer selections
• 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 21/4755 for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6543 for forcing some client operations, e.g. recording remote booting in general G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8586 by using a URL processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94; information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; URL in broadcast information H04H20/93; Web-based protocols H04L67/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/91 : Television signal processing therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/025 : Systems for the transmission of digital non-picture data, e.g. of text during the active part of a television frame transmission of digital non-picture data during the vertical blanking interval only H04N7/088
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/162 : Authorising the user terminal, e.g. by paying; Registering the use of a subscription channel, e.g. billing

Abstract

A system for remotely controlling client recording and storage behavior schedules the recording, storing, and deleting of multimedia content on a client system storage device. The viewer may request that certain content be captured. Capture requests also allow the service to determine content to be recorded by the client system in the same manner that a viewer requests that certain content are recorded but are more powerful than what a viewer can request. Recording requests for a capture request can preempt viewer requests or be entered at the same or lower priority as a viewer request. Capture requests can adjust all aspects of a recording request and affect the capture request itself. Client system operational functionality are also manipulated by the service using capture requests.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

sending over one or more networks, by a server, to specific client media devices of a plurality of client media devices, messages configured to cause the specific client media devices to record specific items of media content from a variety of sources, the specific client media devices having been configured to also record additional items of media content from the variety of sources, the additional items having been explicitly selected for recording by local users of the specific client media devices, the specific client media devices further having been configured to autonomously schedule recordings of the specific items and the additional items;

receiving, at the server, data from the specific client media devices indicating when the specific items of media content are watched at the specific client media devices;

wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the server redistributing the specific items of media content to the plurality of client devices.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the specific client media devices is a digital video recorder.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the variety of sources include at least one cable, satellite, or broadcast sources and at least one source that transmits items of media content across a network.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the messages are capture requests that specify the specific items to capture.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the messages specify specific storage spaces in which the specific client media devices are to store the specific items of media content.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the server sending instructions to one or more of the specific client media devices to delete a particular item of media content.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending messages to the specific client media devices that instruct the specific client media devices to allocate storage spaces at the specific client media devices for control of the server.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the server selecting, from the plurality of client media devices, which of the specific client media devices are to record which of the specific items of media content, based on data describing at least capabilities of the specific client media devices.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the server selecting, from the plurality of client media devices, which of the specific client media devices are to record which of the specific items of media content, based on data describing at least content already at the specific client media devices.

11. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media, storing instructions that, when executed by one or more computing devices, cause performance of:

sending over one or more networks, by a server, to specific client media devices of a plurality of client media devices, messages configured to cause the specific client media devices to record specific items of media content from a variety of sources, the specific client media devices having been configured to also record additional items of media content from the variety of sources, the additional items having been explicitly selected for recording by local users of the specific client media devices, the specific client media devices further having been configured to autonomously schedule recordings of the specific items and the additional items;

receiving, at the server, data from the specific client media devices indicating when the specific items of media content are watched at the specific client media devices.

12. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 11, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more computing devices, further cause the server redistributing the specific items of media content to the plurality of client devices.

13. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 11, wherein each of the specific client media devices is a digital video recorder.

14. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 11, wherein the variety of sources include at least one cable, satellite, or broadcast source and at least one source that transmits items of media content across a network.

15. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 11, wherein the messages are capture requests that specify the specific items to capture.

16. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 11, wherein the messages specify specific storage spaces in which the specific client media devices are to store the specific items of media content.

17. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 11, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more computing devices, further cause the server sending instructions to one or more of the specific client media devices to delete a particular item of media content.

18. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 11, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more computing devices, further cause sending messages to the specific client media devices that instruct the specific client media devices to allocate storage spaces at the specific client media devices for control of the server.

19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 11, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more computing devices, further cause the server selecting, from the plurality of client media devices, which of the specific client media devices are to record which of the specific items of media content, based on data describing at least capabilities of the specific client media devices.

20. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 11, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more computing devices, further cause the server selecting, from the plurality of client media devices, which of the specific client media devices are to record which of the specific items of media content, based on data describing at least content already at the specific client media devices.

21. A system, comprising:

a subsystem, implemented at least partially by hardware, configured to send over one or more networks, by a server, to specific client media devices of a plurality of client media devices, messages configured to cause the specific client media devices to record specific items of media content from a variety of sources, the specific client media devices having been configured to also record additional items of media content from the variety of sources, the additional items having been explicitly selected for recording by local users of the specific client media devices, the specific client media devices further having been configured to autonomously schedule recordings of the specific items and the additional items;

a subsystem, implemented at least partially by hardware, configured to receive, at the server, data from the specific client media devices indicating when the specific items of media content are watched at the specific client media devices.

22. The system of claim 21, a subsystem, implemented at least partially by hardware, configured to redistribute the specific items of media content to the plurality of client devices.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein each of the specific client media devices is a digital video recorder.

24. The system of claim 21, wherein the variety of sources include at least one cable, satellite, or broadcast source and at least one source that transmits items of media content across a network.

25. The system of claim 21, wherein the messages are capture requests that specify the specific items to capture.

26. The system of claim 21, wherein the messages specify specific storage spaces in which the specific client media devices are to store the specific items of media content.

27. The system of claim 21, further comprising a subsystem, implemented at least partially by hardware, configured to send instructions to one or more of the specific client media devices to delete a particular item of media content.

28. The system of claim 21, further comprising a subsystem, implemented at least partially by hardware, configured to send messages to the specific client media devices that instruct the specific client media devices to allocate storage spaces at the specific client media devices for control of the server.

29. The system of claim 21, further comprising a subsystem, implemented at least partially by hardware, configured to select, from the plurality of client media devices, which of the specific client media devices are to record which of the specific items of media content, based on data describing at least capabilities of the specific client media devices.

30. The system of claim 21, further comprising a subsystem, implemented at least partially by hardware, configured to select, from the plurality of client media devices, which of the specific client media devices are to record which of the specific items of media content, based on data describing at least content already at the specific client media devices.