Reducing unicast session duration with restart TV

• US 10,063,934 B2
• Filed: 11/25/2008
• Issued: 08/28/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rovi Technologies Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rovi Technologies Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Guo, Terry Qing, Neufeld, Nadav M., Lau, Edwin K., Wu, Haoyun
• Primary Examiner(s): Bruckart, Benjamin R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bantamoi, Anthony
• Application Number:
  US12/277,797
• Publication Number:
  US 20100131995A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,563 Days
• Field of Search: 725 86-104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4325 by playing back content from the storage medium reproduction of recorded television signals H04N5/76; reproduction of recorded television signals H04N9/79
• 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 21/4622 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 21/631 Multimode Transmission, e.g. transmitting basic layers and enhancement layers of the content over different transmission paths or transmitting with different error corrections, different keys or with different transmission protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6405 Multicasting data broadcast and multicast in packet switching networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6408 Unicasting

Abstract

A first portion of programming aired prior to a first time is obtained via a unicast session with a server, the first portion including previously aired programming. When the programming data being sent via the unicast session catches up to a multicast broadcast of the programming, the unicast session is terminated and a switch is made to obtaining a remaining portion of the programming from a different source other than the server. This different source can be, for example, a local storage device or a multicast broadcast of the programming.

Claims

1. A method implemented in a consumer device, the method comprising:

receiving a request at a first time for programming that has already begun to air, wherein the programming is scheduled for transmission to a plurality of users during a scheduled time interval, and wherein the first time corresponds to a point after a beginning time of the scheduled time interval;

determining the beginning time of the scheduled time interval;

obtaining by the consumer device, based on determining the beginning time, via a unicast session with a server, a first portion of the programming aired prior to the first time, the first portion including previously aired programming, wherein the previously aired programming corresponds to programming transmitted to a plurality of users starting from the beginning time of the scheduled time interval, and wherein the first portion is obtained as a first plurality of packets, each packet of the first plurality of packets having a presentation timestamp that indicates a play time of media data that is associated with a corresponding packet of the first plurality of packets;

obtaining by the consumer device, via a multicast broadcast of the programming concurrently with obtaining the first portion by the consumer device via the unicast session, at least part of a remaining portion of the programming that airs after the first time, wherein initiating said obtaining the first portion of the programming and said obtaining the remaining portion of the programming begin together at the consumer device, and wherein the multicast broadcast is obtained as a second plurality of packets, each packet of the second plurality of packets having a presentation timestamp that indicates a play time of media data that is associated with a corresponding packet of the second plurality of packets;

comparing a first presentation timestamp of a first packet of the first plurality of packets with a second presentation timestamp of a second packet of the second plurality of packets;

determining, based on the comparing, whether the first presentation timestamp of the first packet of the first plurality of packets matches the second presentation timestamp of the second packet of the second plurality of packets;

in response to determining that the first presentation timestamp of the first packet of the first plurality of packets matches the second presentation timestamp of the second packet of the second plurality of packets, determining that the unicast session has caught up to the multicast broadcast; and

stopping, the unicast session when the unicast session has caught up to the multicast broadcast, to obtain the programming data from the unicast session, and continuing to obtain via the multicast broadcast the remaining portion of the programming from a different source other than the server.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

storing at least the part of the remaining portion on a storage device of the consumer device; and

wherein the stopping comprises terminating the unicast session.

3. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein the obtaining the first portion of programming comprises obtaining the first portion of the programming at a rate faster than a playback rate of the programming.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the stopping comprises terminating the unicast session.

5. A method as recited in claim 4, further comprising obtaining, via the unicast session with the server, an additional portion of programming aired after the request for the programming is received but before the unicast session catches up to the multicast broadcast of the programming.

6. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the programming is scheduled for transmission during a plurality of scheduled time intervals, wherein the scheduled time interval is a first of the plurality of scheduled time intervals, further comprising:

selecting a second of the plurality of scheduled time intervals that precedes the first scheduled time interval;

identifying a beginning time of the second scheduled time interval; and

wherein the obtaining comprises obtaining, via the unicast session, programming transmitted to a plurality of users starting from the beginning time of the second scheduled time interval.

7. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein:

the request for the programming is a user request to playback particular programming; and

the obtaining and the stopping are performed in response to the user request.

8. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the stopping comprises sending a termination request to the server to terminate the unicast session.

9. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising playing back the first portion as the first portion is received via the unicast session, and playing back the remaining portion from the different source.

18. The method defined by claim 1, further comprising storing the first portion of the programming and the at least part of the remaining portion of the programming concurrently to memory.

10. A method implemented in a computing device, the method comprising:

sending, to a consumer device via a unicast session with the consumer device, a first portion of programming aired prior to a first time that corresponds to a request to at least one of view or record the programming, the first portion including previously aired programming and being identifiable using metadata associated with the programming that indicates the previously aired programming spans from a beginning of the programming up to the first time that corresponds to the request to at least one of view or record the programming, wherein the programming is scheduled for transmission to a plurality of users during a scheduled time interval, and wherein the first time corresponds to a point after a beginning time of the scheduled time interval, wherein the consumer device is initiated to obtain the first portion of the programming via the unicast session concurrently with obtaining a multicast broadcast of the programming via the multicast broadcast of the programming, wherein initiating said obtaining the first portion of the programming and said obtaining the multicast broadcast of the programming begin together at the consumer device, wherein the first portion is obtained as a first plurality of packets, each packet of the first plurality of packets having a presentation timestamp that indicates a play time of media data that is associated with a corresponding packet of the first plurality of packets, and the multicast broadcast is obtained as a second plurality of packets, each packet of the second plurality of packets having a presentation timestamp that indicates a play time of media data that is associated with a corresponding packet of the second plurality of packets, wherein the first portion corresponds to programming transmitted to a plurality of users starting from the beginning time of the scheduled time interval, and wherein the multicast broadcast of the programming is configured for storage to enable playback by the consumer device after the first portion of the programming is played back by the consumer device;

comparing a first presentation timestamp of a first packet of the first plurality of packets with a second presentation timestamp of a second packet of the second plurality of packets;

determining, based on the comparing, whether the first presentation timestamp of the first packet of the first plurality of packets matches the second presentation timestamp of the second packet of the second plurality of packets;

in response to determining that the first presentation timestamp of the first packet of the first plurality of packets matches the second presentation timestamp of the second packet of the second plurality of packets, determining that the unicast session has caught up to the stored multicast broadcast of the programming; and

stopping the unicast session when the unicast session has caught up to the stored multicast broadcast of the programming.

11. A method as recited in claim 10, wherein the terminating comprises terminating the unicast session in response to a termination request received from the consumer device to terminate the unicast session.

12. A method as recited in claim 10, wherein the sending comprising using excess bandwidth of the consumer device to send the first portion at a rate faster than a playback rate of the programming.

13. A method as recited in claim 10, further comprising sending, via the unicast session with the consumer device, an additional portion of programming aired after the first time but before the unicast session catches up to the multicast broadcast of the programming.

14. A method as recited in claim 10, wherein the request to view the programming comprises a request to restart a program at the consumer device, and wherein sending the first portion comprises sending the first portion in response to the request to restart the program.

19. The method defined by claim 10, wherein the first portion of the programming and the at least part of the remaining portion of the programming are stored concurrently to memory.

15. A system comprising:

control circuitry configured to;

receive a request at a first time for programming that has already begun to air, wherein the programming is scheduled for transmission to a plurality of users during a scheduled time interval, and wherein the first time corresponds to a point after a beginning time of the scheduled time interval;

establish a unicast session with a server based on the received request;

determine the beginning time of the scheduled time interval;

obtain, based on determining the beginning time, via the unicast session and in response to the request, a first portion of the programming that aired prior to a first time, the first portion including previously aired programming and being identifiable using metadata associated with the programming that indicates the previously aired programming spans from a beginning of the programming up to the first time, wherein the first portion is obtained at a rate faster than a playback rate of the programming, and wherein the first portion is obtained for playback by the consumer device, wherein the first portion corresponds to programming transmitted to a plurality of users starting from the beginning time of the scheduled time interval, and wherein the first portion is obtained as a first plurality of packets, each packet of the plurality of packets having a presentation timestamp that indicates a play time of media data that is associated with a corresponding packet of the first plurality of packets;

obtain the first portion of the programming via the unicast session, together with obtaining and recording, via a multicast broadcast of the programming, at least a first part of the multicast broadcast of the programming, at the consumer device, wherein the multicast broadcast is obtained as a second plurality of packets, each packet of the second plurality of packets having a presentation timestamp that indicates a play time of media data that is associated with a corresponding packet of the second plurality of packets;

compare a first presentation timestamp of a first packet of the first plurality of packets with a second presentation timestamp of a second packet of the second plurality of packets;

determine, based on the comparing, whether the first presentation timestamp of the first packet of the first plurality of packets matches the second presentation timestamp of the second packet of the second plurality of packets;

in response to determining that the first presentation timestamp of the first packet of the first plurality of packets matches the second presentation timestamp of the second packet of the second plurality of packets, determining that data obtained via the unicast session has caught up to the recorded multicast broadcast; and

stop, based on determining that data obtained via the unicast session has caught up to the recorded multicast broadcast, obtaining via the unicast session, the first portion of the programming, and obtaining a remaining portion of the programming from a local storage device of the consumer device on which the at least the first part of the multicast broadcast was recorded, wherein the remaining portion is obtained for playback by the consumer device.

16. The system defined by claim 15, wherein the control circuitry is configured to record a second part of the multicast broadcast on the local storage device while the first part of the multicast broadcast is being played back from the local storage device.

17. The system defined by claim 15, wherein the request for the programming corresponds to a user request, received by the consumer device, to restart a television program.

20. The system defined by claim 15, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to store the first portion of the programming and the at least part of the remaining portion of the programming concurrently to memory.