Interactive television network and method including content searching

• US 9,462,303 B2
• Filed: 09/26/2014
• Issued: 10/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Durkee, James R., Gibbon, David Crawford, Shahraray, Behzad
• Primary Examiner(s): Lonsberry, Hunter B
• Application Number:
  US14/497,967
• Publication Number:
  US 20150020133A1
• Time in Patent Office: 739 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/232 Content retrieval operation locally within server, e.g. reading video streams from disk arrays storage management G06F3/0604; details of querying and searching of video data from a database G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2747 Remote storage of video programs received via the downstream path, e.g. from the server
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72

Abstract

The present invention is directed to content searching of various databases in an interactive television network; caching programming for rebroadcasting to interactive television network subscribers; and interactively offering goods and services referred to in broadcast programming to interactive television network subscribers.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

transmitting, to a terminal via an interface of a network, a first content item and a displayable option for a second content item, wherein the displayable option is associated with a pointer to a timestamp in the second content item and with a network address associated with a storage device located in the network;

receiving, from the terminal via the interface of the network, a selection indication of the displayable option;

transmitting, via the network and responsive to receiving the selection indication of the displayable option, a request for data to the storage device associated with the network address; and

responsive to the request, receiving, from the storage device associated with the network address, a portion of the second content item, wherein the portion of the second content item is associated with a location within the second content item based on the timestamp.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the displayable option comprises a bug.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the network address associated with the displayable option comprises a uniform resource locator (URL).

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second content item is different from the first content item.

5. A method comprising:

transmitting, to a terminal via an interface of a network, a pointer to a timestamp in a recording of a content item, wherein the pointer is associated with a network address of the recording of the content item stored in one or more storage devices in the network;

receiving, from the terminal, a request for playback of the recording of the content item based on the pointer;

receiving, from the one or more storage devices in the network and responsive to the request, the recording of the content item; and

transmitting, to the terminal, a portion of the recording of the content item, wherein the portion of the recording of the content item is associated with a location within the content item based on the timestamp.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

receiving, from the terminal, a request to record the content item in the one or more storage devices in the network; and

responsive to the request to record, causing storing of the recording of the content item in the one or more storage devices in the network.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein the transmitting, to the terminal, the recording of the content item comprises:

transmitting the recording of the content item to the terminal via a unicast stream.

10. The method of claim 5, wherein the transmitting, to the terminal, the portion of the recording of the content item comprises:

transmitting the portion of the recording of the content item beginning at the timestamp.

7. A method comprising:

transmitting, to a user device, a content item and a selectable graphic;

receiving, from the user device and based on the selectable graphic, a request to store the content item at one or more storage devices associated with a network remote from the user device;

responsive to the request to store, causing storing of a copy of the content item in the one or more storage devices associated with the network;

transmitting, to the user device via an interface of the network, a network address of the copy of the content item;

receiving, from the user device, a request for playback of the copy of the content item, the request for playback comprising the network address;

receiving, from the one or more storage devices associated with the network and responsive to the request for playback, the copy of the content item; and

transmitting, to the user device, the copy of the content item.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the receiving the request to store comprises:

receiving, from the user device, the request to store the content item in the one or more storage devices associated with the network responsive to an indication of a selection of the selectable graphic.