Method and apparatus for distributed upload of content
First Claim
1. A method for distributed delayed streaming of content comprising:
- A) providing a network accessible memory for storing content representing a first program;
B) receiving into the network accessible memory portions of the first program from a plurality of viewers having access to the first program from another source;
C) assembling the portions received from the plurality of viewers into an aggregate version of the first program; and
D) upon receiving a request from one of the plurality of viewers, transmitting the aggregate version of the first program to the requesting viewer, wherein the transmitted aggregate version of the first program is larger than a portion of the first program from the requesting viewer.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for distributed uploading of content utilizes one or more viewer systems, coupled over a network to a remote content source, to download content to the viewer system(s) at a first time and to retransmit at least a portion of the received content to a remote storage system along with authorization/identification indicia identifying the viewer system. In one embodiment, fractional portions of the same content program from multiple different viewer systems are aggregated at the remote storage system for subsequent download streaming to a requesting of the viewer system for viewing thereby at a second time, which is time-shifted from the initial transmission from the content source.
3 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method for distributed delayed streaming of content comprising:
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A) providing a network accessible memory for storing content representing a first program; B) receiving into the network accessible memory portions of the first program from a plurality of viewers having access to the first program from another source; C) assembling the portions received from the plurality of viewers into an aggregate version of the first program; and D) upon receiving a request from one of the plurality of viewers, transmitting the aggregate version of the first program to the requesting viewer, wherein the transmitted aggregate version of the first program is larger than a portion of the first program from the requesting viewer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A system for distributed delayed streaming of content comprising:
A) an aggregation server comprising; A1) a network accessible memory for storing data representing a first program; A2) a network interface for asynchronously receiving, into the network accessible memory, portions of the first program from a plurality of viewers having access to the first program from a source; A3) an aggregation engine for assembling the portions of the first program received from the plurality of viewers into an aggregate version of the first program; and A4) a streaming interface for transmitting the aggregate version of the first program to one of the plurality of viewers upon request, wherein the transmitted aggregate version of the first program is larger than a portion of the first program from the one of the plurality of requesting viewers. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 19)
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15. A method for distributed delayed streaming of content comprising:
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A) providing a network accessible memory for storing content representing a first program received from a source; B) receiving into the network accessible memory authorization indicia identifying a plurality of viewers having access to the first program from the source; and C) upon receiving a request from one of the plurality of viewers, verifying the authorization indicia to determine if the requesting viewer has authorized access to an aggregate version of the first program; and D) transmitting the aggregate version of the first program to the requesting viewer upon verification of authorization, wherein the transmitted aggregate version of the first program is larger than a portion of the content program from the requesting viewer. - View Dependent Claims (16, 18)
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17. An apparatus for distributed delayed streaming of content comprising:
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A) a network accessible memory for storing content representing a first program received from a source; B) a network interface for receiving into the network accessible memory authorization indicia identifying a plurality of viewers having access to the first program from the source; C) a verification engine for determining, upon receiving a request from one of the plurality of viewers, if the requesting viewer has authorized access to the first program; and D) a streaming interface for transmitting an aggregate version of the first program to the requesting viewer upon verification of authorization, wherein the transmitted aggregate version of the first program is larger than a portion of the first program from the requesting viewer.
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Specification