Method and apparatus for selecting compression for an incoming video signal in an interactive television system
First Claim
1. A method for using a look-ahead data reduction scheme in a distributed data processing system, the method comprising:
- receiving an indication to store a program at a client device, the indication being received prior to the program being received at the client device;
accessing a user profile of a user associated with the client device, the user profile including data indicating programs in the past that were selected by the user for compression;
determining whether a data storage device coupled to the client device has available storage capacity sufficient to store the program based on a data storage requirement for the program; and
in response to determining the data storage device does not have available storage capacity sufficient to store the program,selecting one of a plurality of discrete data reduction factors for compressing the program based on the available storage capacity of the data storage device, the data storage requirement for the program, and the data indicating programs in the past that were selected by the user for compression,sending a message to a provider of the program to compress the program according to the selected discrete data reduction factor prior to the program being conveyed to the client device, andreceiving the compressed program from the provider, wherein the provider has compressed the program and conveyed the compressed program to the client device in response to receiving the message.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for applying a variable compression factor to an incoming video stream in an STB. An increased amount of video may be stored within a PVR or disk on a STB by reducing the data storage requirements of incoming video based on available storage space and the type and size of the incoming video bit stream. Included are real time compression, or reduction in storage space requirements, by various data reduction methodologies including removing bits from the incoming video stream to reduce the amount of storage required to store the video stream. A background data reduction or compression technique is also provided wherein the incoming video stream is stored and data is reduced or further compressed at a later time to reduce data storage requirements.
7 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method for using a look-ahead data reduction scheme in a distributed data processing system, the method comprising:
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receiving an indication to store a program at a client device, the indication being received prior to the program being received at the client device; accessing a user profile of a user associated with the client device, the user profile including data indicating programs in the past that were selected by the user for compression; determining whether a data storage device coupled to the client device has available storage capacity sufficient to store the program based on a data storage requirement for the program; and in response to determining the data storage device does not have available storage capacity sufficient to store the program, selecting one of a plurality of discrete data reduction factors for compressing the program based on the available storage capacity of the data storage device, the data storage requirement for the program, and the data indicating programs in the past that were selected by the user for compression, sending a message to a provider of the program to compress the program according to the selected discrete data reduction factor prior to the program being conveyed to the client device, and receiving the compressed program from the provider, wherein the provider has compressed the program and conveyed the compressed program to the client device in response to receiving the message. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A client device for use in a distributed data processing system, wherein the client device is configured to:
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receive an indication to store a program at a client device, the indication being received prior to the program being received at the client device; access a user profile of a user associated with the client device, the user profile including data indicating programs in the past that were selected by the user for compression; determine whether a data storage device coupled to the client device has available storage capacity sufficient to store the program based on a data storage requirement for the program; and in response to determining the data storage device does not have available storage capacity sufficient to store the program, select one of a plurality of discrete data reduction factors for compressing the program based on the available storage capacity of the data storage device, the data storage requirement for the program, and the data indicating programs in the past that were selected by the user for compression, send a message to a provider of the program to compress the program according to the selected discrete data reduction factor prior to the program being conveyed to the client device, and receive the compressed program from the provider, wherein the provider has compressed the program and conveyed the compressed program to the client device in response to receiving the message. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A system comprising:
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a head-end configured to convey content to client devices for viewing; a plurality of client devices coupled to receive the content; wherein a client device of the client devices is configured to; receive an indication to store a content item at a client device, the indication being received prior to the content item being received at the client device; access a user profile of a user associated with the client device, the user profile including data indicating content items in the past that were selected by the user for compression; determine whether a data storage device coupled to the client device has available storage capacity sufficient to store the content item based on a data storage requirement for the the content item; and in response to determining the data storage device does not have available storage capacity sufficient to store the content item, select one of a plurality of discrete data reduction factors for compressing the content item based on the available storage capacity of the data storage device, the data storage requirement for the content item, and the data indicating content items in the past that were selected by the user for compression, send a message to the head-end to compress the content item according to the selected discrete data reduction factor prior to the content item being conveyed to the client device, and receive the compressed content item from the head-end, wherein the head-end has compressed the content item and conveyed the compressed content item to the client device in response to receiving the message. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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Specification