METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTING CONTENT LOCALLY

• US 20160094891A1
• Filed: 09/30/2014
• Published: 03/31/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hall, Robert J.
• Granted Patent: US 10,045,088 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/63 to plural spots in a confined site, e.g. MATV [Master Antenna Television]
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 40/90 specially adapted for satellite broadcast receiving
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2542 for selling goods, e.g. TV shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12
• 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 21/6193 involving transmission via a satellite arrangements for data linking, networking or transporting, or for controlling an end to end session in a satellite broadcast system H04B7/18526
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64315 DVB-H

Abstract

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a content distribution device that receives a signal stream from a satellite including items of media content. The device selectively stores a first subset of the media content items at a storage device, according to a characteristic of a location proximate to the device. The device selectively stores a second subset of the items according to a history of user requests for content transmitted in proximity to the content distribution device. The device receives a request from a consumer device for an item in the first subset or the second subset, retrieves the item, and transmits the item to the consumer device via a wireless access channel. The transmitting is performed according to a short range wireless protocol without utilizing a long range wireless protocol. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A content distribution device comprising:

a processor;

a receiver coupled to the processor and including a satellite antenna;

a storage device for locally storing media content; and

a memory for storing executable instructions which, when executed by the processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising;

determining a channel for receiving from a satellite a signal stream comprising a plurality of items of media content;

receiving the signal stream via the channel;

selectively storing a first subset of the plurality of items of media content at the storage device in accordance with a characteristic of an environment of the content distribution device;

selectively storing a second subset of the plurality of items of media content at the storage device in accordance with a history of user requests for content that were transmitted from a location within the environment of the content distribution device;

receiving a request from a communication device for an item in the first subset or the second subset of the plurality of items of media content; and

transmitting to the communication device the item retrieved from the first subset or the second subset of the plurality of items of media content via a wireless access channel, wherein the transmitting is performed according to a short range wireless protocol without utilizing a long range wireless protocol.

2. The content distribution device of claim 1, wherein the request from the communication device includes a request for content not locally stored, and wherein the operations further comprise:

transmitting a request for the content to another content distribution device located outside a communication range of the content distribution device; and

receiving the content from the other content distribution device.

3. The content distribution device of claim 2, wherein the operations further comprise:

selecting advertising content in accordance with a type of media content in the request from the communication device; and

retrieving the advertising content from the storage device,

wherein the transmitting further comprises transmitting the advertising content to the communication device via the wireless access channel.

4. The content distribution device of claim 1, wherein the determining further comprises selecting the channel based on an identity of the channel, a type of content provided on the channel, a time of day, whether currently provided content is stored in the storage device, or any combination thereof.

5. The content distribution device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise providing the signal stream to the communication device in accordance with a request from the communication device for real-time access to the plurality of items of media content.

6. The content distribution device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise routing, through the content distribution device, messages between the communication device and a remote e-commerce server, the messages comprising a transaction to obtain authorization for the communication device to access the media content.

7. The content distribution device of claim 6, wherein the e-commerce server is accessible via an LTE system, and wherein the routing is performed using an LTE transceiver coupled to the processor.

8. The content distribution device of claim 1, wherein the selectively storing the first subset of the plurality of items of media content further comprises selecting items of media content in accordance with a time of day, a likelihood of consumer interest regarding an item or event concurrent with the selecting, or a combination thereof.

9. The content distribution device of claim 1, wherein the request from the communication device includes a bookmark associated with the item identifying a first portion of the item already obtained by the communication device and a second portion of the item not yet obtained by the communication device, and wherein the transmitting further comprises transmitting only the second portion of the item to the communication device.

10. The content distribution device of claim 1, wherein the short range wireless protocol is IEEE 802.11ac or IEEE 802.11n.

11. A computer-readable storage device in a content distribution device, comprising instructions which, responsive to execution by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving from a satellite a signal stream comprising a plurality of items of media content;

selectively storing a first subset of the plurality of items of media content at the storage device in accordance with a characteristic of an environment of the content distribution device;

selectively storing a second subset of the plurality of items of media content at the storage device in accordance with a history of user requests for content that were transmitted from a location within the environment of the content distribution device;

receiving a request from a communication device for the signal stream or for an item in the first subset or the second subset of the plurality of items of media content; and

transmitting to the communication device via a wireless access channel, in accordance with the request, the signal stream or the item retrieved from the first subset or the second subset of the plurality of items of media content, wherein the transmitting is performed according to a short range wireless protocol without utilizing a long range wireless protocol.

12. The computer-readable storage device of claim 11, wherein the request from the communication device includes a request for content not locally stored, and wherein the operations further comprise:

transmitting a request for the content to a remote other content distribution device; and

receiving the content from the other content distribution device.

13. The computer-readable storage device of claim 11, wherein the signal stream is received from the satellite via a preselected channel other than a broadcast channel.

14. The computer-readable storage device of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise routing, through the content distribution device, messages between the communication device and a remote e-commerce server, the messages comprising a transaction to obtain authorization for the communication device to access the media content.

15. The computer-readable storage device of claim 14, wherein the e-commerce server is accessible using the long range wireless protocol, and wherein the routing is performed using a receiver coupled to the processor operating according to the long range wireless protocol.

16. A method comprising:

receiving, by a content distribution device comprising a processor, a signal stream from a satellite comprising a plurality of items of media content;

selectively storing, by the content distribution device, a first subset of the plurality of items of media content at a storage device of the content distribution device, in accordance with a characteristic of an environment of the content distribution device;

selectively storing, by the content distribution device, a second subset of the plurality of items of media content at the storage device in accordance with a history of user requests for content that were transmitted from a location within the environment of the content distribution device;

receiving, by the content distribution device, a request from a consumer device for an item in the first subset or the second subset of the plurality of items of media content; and

transmitting, by the content distribution device, to the consumer device the item retrieved from the first subset or the second subset of the plurality of items of media content via a wireless access channel, wherein the transmitting is performed according to a short range wireless protocol without utilizing a long range wireless protocol.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the request from the consumer device includes a request for content not locally stored, and further comprising:

transmitting a request for the content to a remote other content distribution device; and

receiving the content from the other content distribution device.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising providing the signal stream to the consumer device in accordance with a request from the consumer device for real-time access to the plurality of items of media content.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the signal stream is received from the satellite via a preselected channel other than a broadcast channel.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the short range wireless protocol is IEEE 802.11ac or IEEE 802.11n.