Method and system for providing access to content data for previously broadcasted content

• US 9,973,823 B1
• Filed: 01/16/2013
• Issued: 05/15/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/16/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DIRECTV, LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Chaudhry, Kapil, Nidichenametla, Sri Hari Swaroop, Chung, Jin H., Grigoryan, Fred
• Primary Examiner(s): Pierorazio, Michael B
• Application Number:
  US13/743,230
• Time in Patent Office: 1,945 Days
• Field of Search: 725 46, 725 53, 725 55, 725 61
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26283 for associating distribution time parameters to content, e.g. to generate electronic program guide data
• 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 21/4623 Processing of entitlement messages, e.g. ECM [Entitlement Control Message] or EMM [Entitlement Management Message] arrangements for conditional access to broadcast information or to broadcast-related services H04H60/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• 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

Abstract

A system and method for accessing past program guide data includes a program guide repository storing past program guide data and a controller receiving a request for past program guide data and communicating the past program guide data to a user device located separated from the controller.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

displaying a first content at a display associated with a first user device, said first user device comprising a user device interface;

forming a selection to form a link in response to the selection from the user device interface;

generating a link for the first content being presently viewed at the first user device;

communicating the link to a second user device using an email, a website or a text message;

accessing the link from the second user device;

selecting the link from the second user device;

storing past program guide data for a first content broadcasted in the past in a program guide repository;

in response to selecting the link, generating a request for guide data from the program guide repository;

determining past program guide data for the first content from the program guide repository;

determining a future broadcast data for a second content associated with or equivalent to the first content in response to the past program guide data;

communicating future broadcast data to the second user device; and

tuning the second user device in response to the future broadcast data.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising selecting the future broadcast data and storing the first content in the second user device.

3. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising selecting the future broadcast data, generating a request to record content in a third user device separate from the first user device and the second user device, communicating a conditional access packet to the second user device and storing the first content in the second user device in response to the conditional access packet.

4. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein storing past program guide data for content broadcasted in the past in the program guide repository comprises storing past program guide data for content broadcasted in the past in the program guide repository of a head end.

5. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein receiving the request for program guide data comprises generating the request for program guide data from a set top box.

6. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein receiving the request for program guide data comprises generating the request for program guide data from a mobile device.

7. A system comprising:

a first user device displaying a first content at a display associated with a first user device, said first user device comprising a first user interface, forming a selection to form a link in response to the selection from the first user interface;

generating a link for the first content being presently viewed in response to actions at the first user interface of the first user device and communicating the link in an email, a website or a text to a second user device;

said second user device directly accessing the link and directly selecting the link in response to actions at a second user interface of the second user device;

a program guide repository storing past program guide data; and

a controller receiving a request for guide data for a first content based on selecting the link;

said controller determining past guide data for the first content from the repository and determining future guide data using the past guide data for second content associated with or equivalent to the first content, said controller communicating the future guide data to the second user device; and

said second user device tuning to the second content in response to future broadcast data.

8. The system as recited in claim 7 wherein the second user device comprises a mobile user device.

9. The system as recited in claim 7 wherein the program guide repository is disposed in a head end.

10. The system as recited in claim 7 wherein the controller communicates related data to the first user device.

11. The system as recited in claim 7 wherein the second user device generates a recording request based on the future guide data.

12. The system as recited claim 11 wherein a head end communicates a conditional access packet corresponding to the recording request to a third user device different than the first user device and the second user device, said third user device recording the content in response to the conditional access packet.