Caching media in a media fling system

• US 10,645,135 B2
• Filed: 02/27/2018
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Farrell, Corey, Hounsell, Randall, Connelly, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Shang, Annan Q
• Application Number:
  US15/906,672
• Publication Number:
  US 20190044987A1
• Time in Patent Office: 798 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/65 Network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/75 Media network packet handling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/756 adapting media to device capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4335 Housekeeping operations, e.g. prioritizing content for deletion because of storage space restrictions storage management, e.g. defragmentation G06F3/0604; unloading stored programs G06F9/445; storage management in file systems G06F16/10; buffering arrangements in a network node or in an end terminal in packet networks H04L49/90
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4363 Adapting the video stream to a specific local network, e.g. a Bluetooth® network
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4402 involving reformatting operations of video signals for household redistribution, storage or real-time display details of conversion of video standards at pixel level H04N7/01; video transcoding H04N19/40; adapting incoming signals to the display format of the display terminal G09G5/005; media handling at the source in data packet switching networks H04L65/764
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44227 Monitoring of local network, e.g. connection or bandwidth variations; Detecting new devices in the local network configuring of peripheral devices in general G06F9/4411; monitoring connectivity in data switched networks H04L43/0811
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4516 involving client characteristics, e.g. Set-Top-Box type, software version or amount of memory available
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/632 using a connection between clients on a wide area network, e.g. setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet for retrieving video segments from the hard-disk of other client devices broadcast-related systems characterised by transmission among terminal devices H04H60/80; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104

Abstract

Aspects of the disclosure relate to a content (e.g., media) transfer or fling platform system and method. In a media fling platform system, media items may be cached at a rendering device prior to any selection of media items to fling. The determination of which media to cache may be based on a variety of factors including a user fling history, a currently viewed media item, and a navigation point in the media files. A fling request may take priority over caching, and the fling request may interrupt any caching processes.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a rendering device; and

a computing device comprising;

one or more processors; and

memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to;

determine, based at least on a user history, a first content item to cache at the rendering device;

initiate sending of the first content item to the rendering device for caching;

receive a fling request indicating a second content item to fling to the rendering device, wherein the first content item is different than the second content item;

interrupt, based on receiving the fling request, the sending of the first content item;

initiate sending of the second content item to the rendering device; and

based on a determination that the sending of the second content item to the rendering device is complete, resume the sending of the first content item for caching at the rendering device; and

wherein the rendering device is configured to receive one or more content items from the computing device.

2. The system of claim 1, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to:

store a fling count for each content item stored in the computing device, wherein the memory stores instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to determine the first content item to cache by determining the first content item to cache further based on the fling count for the first content item.

3. The system of claim 1, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to:

determine an estimated idle period based on a user browsing rate and

determine at least one content item for caching based on the estimated idle period.

4. The system of claim 1, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to:

update, based on receiving the fling request, content to cache based on the second content item.

5. The system of claim 1, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to:

detect a presence of the rendering device; and

based on detecting the presence of the rendering device, associate the computing device with the rendering device,

wherein the memory stores instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to determine the first content item by determining the first content item based on associating the computing device with the rendering device.

6. The system of claim 2, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to determine the first content item to cache further based on:

processing a plurality of content items for caching in order of highest fling count to lowest fling count.

7. The system of claim 1, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to:

based on a caching threshold, process a first previously cached content item to upgrade a quality of the first previously cached content item; and

send, to the rendering device, upgraded cached content for caching.

8. A system comprising:

a rendering device;

a computing device comprising;

one or more processors; and

memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to;

receive a first user request to view a selected content item;

determine a first content item to cache based on the selected content item, wherein the first content item is different than the selected content item;

initiate sending of the first content item to the rendering device for caching;

receive a second user request to fling the selected content item to the rendering device;

based on receiving the second user request, interrupt the sending of the first content item, to initiate flinging the selected content item to the rendering device; and

based on completion of the flinging the selected content item to the rendering device, resume the sending of the first content item to the rendering device.

9. The system of claim 8, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to:

store a fling count for each content item stored at the rendering device.

10. The system of claim 8, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to:

receive a third user request to view the selected content item; and

determine an update of the first content item to cache based on the third user request.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the first content item is cached at the rendering device at a first resolution, and the memory stores instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to:

based on a threshold number of content items to be cached at the rendering device, initiate sending of the first content item, at a second resolution, to the rendering device for caching.

12. The system of claim 8, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to:

determine an estimated idle period based on a user browsing rate; and

determine one or more content items to cache at the rendering device based on the estimated idle period.

13. The system of claim 8, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to:

receive a fling request for video content;

send, to the rendering device, instructions to clear a cache at the rendering device; and

send, to the rendering device, the video content to be buffered in the cache.

14. The system of claim 8, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to:

prepare one or more content items for previewing on a display of the computing device; and

present a preview of the selected content item via the computing device.

15. The system of claim 14, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to:

determine the first content item to cache further based on a viewing of the preview of the selected content item.

16. The system of claim 8, wherein the selected content item is stored in a first folder, and wherein the memory stores instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to determine the first content item to cache based on the selected content item by:

determining to cache all content items stored in the first folder.

17. A system comprising:

a rendering device comprising;

one or more processors; and

memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the rendering device to;

receive, from a computing device, a first cache request indicating a first content item to store in a cache;

initiate processing of the first cache request to store the first content item in the cache;

receive a first fling request indicating a second content item to output via an output device, wherein the first content item is different than the second content item;

interrupt, by the rendering device, the processing of the first cache request to initiate processing of the first fling request; and

based on a completion of the processing of the first fling request, resume the processing of the first cache request; and

a computing device configured to send one or more requests to the rendering device.

18. The system of claim 17, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the rendering device to:

receive, from the computing device, a second cache request indicating a third content item, the third content item being a higher quality version of the first content item; and

store the third content item in the cache in place of the first content item.

19. The system of claim 17, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the rendering device to:

receive, from the computing device, a second fling request comprising an identifier of the first content item.

20. The system of claim 19, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the rendering device to:

receive the first content item from the cache; and

send the first content item to the output device.