PREDICTIVE CACHING FOR CONTENT

• US 20160381168A1
• Filed: 09/07/2016
• Published: 12/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: BROMBERG, AARON M., HERRON-PATMON, BRYANT F., KARMACHARYA, NUSH, BARNARD, JOSHUA B., CHEN, PETER WEI-CHIH, SLOTNICK, STEPHEN A., DUBEY, ABHISHEK, WATTS, ANDREW J., WINOGRAD, RICHARD J., FREEMAN, JAMES MARVIN II
• Granted Patent: US 10,574,779 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/167 using a common memory, e.g. mailbox
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9574 of access to content, e.g. by caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/101 applying security measures for digital rights management data processing systems or methods, specially adapted for commerce, e.g. marketing, shopping, billing, auctions or e-commerce G06Q30/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/90 Buffering arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/061 for key exchange, e.g. in peer-to-peer networks cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key agreement H04L9/0838
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/068 using time-dependent keys, e.g. periodically changing keys cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for controlling usage of secret information H04L9/088
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/61 for supporting one-way streaming services, e.g. Internet radio
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5681 Pre-fetching or pre-delivering data based on network characteristics

Abstract

Disclosed are various embodiments for predictive caching of content to facilitate instantaneous use of the content. If a user is likely to commence use of a content item through a client, and if the client has available resources to facilitate instantaneous use, the client is configured to predictively cache the content item before the user commences use. In doing so, the client may obtain metadata for the content item from a server. The client may then initialize various resources to facilitate instantaneous use of the content item by the client based at least in part on the metadata.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

at least one computing device; and

a predictive caching system executable in the at least one computing device, wherein when executed the predictive caching system causes the at least one computing device to at least;

determine a recommended content item;

send metadata associated with the recommended content item from to a client prior to an indication from the client that use of the recommended content item is desired; and

cause processing relative to the metadata to be performed in the client to prepare the client for playback of the recommended content item prior to the indication from the client that use of the recommended content item is desired.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the recommended content item is selected from a set of recommended content items according to a relative priority.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing relative to the metadata further comprises initializing a decryption component in the client for decrypting an initial portion of the recommended content item.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing relative to the metadata further comprises initializing a decoding component in the client for decoding an initial portion of the recommended content item.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the recommended content item is determined based at least in part on a media consumption history of a user associated with the client.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the recommended content item is determined based at least in part on real-time behavior data of a user associated with the client, the real-time behavior data indicating at least one of:

content currently browsed by a user, a search query currently executed by the user, or a search result currently being displayed to the user.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein when executed the predictive caching system further causes the at least one computing device to at least send an initial portion of the recommended content item to the client prior to the indication from the client that use of the recommended content item is desired.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the metadata comprises a manifest file that includes sequence-specifying data and respective identifiers for a plurality of portions of the recommended content item.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the metadata comprises a decryption key for decrypting an encrypted initial portion of the recommended content item.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the decryption key is configured to expire at a particular time or after a time period.

11. A method, comprising:

determining, by a computing device, a recommended content item;

determining that the computing device has available resources to facilitate instantaneous use of the recommended content item; and

in response to determining that the computing device has available resources to facilitate instantaneous use of the recommended content item and before use of the recommended content item;

obtaining, by the computing device, metadata for the recommended content item from a server; and

initializing, by the computing device, the available resources to prepare for instantaneous use of the recommended content item based at least in part on the metadata.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising rendering, by the computing device, a recommendation for the recommended content item in a user interface after the available resources are initialized to prepare for instantaneous use of the recommended content item.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising obtaining, by the computing device, respective portions of the recommended content item in a plurality of bitrates from the server.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising obtaining, by the computing device, respective portions of the recommended content item in a plurality of languages from the server.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the available resources comprise a network bandwidth currently available to the computing device.

16. A method, comprising:

determining, by at least one computing device, a set of recommended media content items for a client;

preparing, by the at least one computing device, the client for instantaneous playback of the set of recommended media content items before a selection of any of the set of recommended media content items for playback; and

performing, by the at least one computing device, processing of a first recommended media content item of the set of recommended media content items in response to the first recommended media content item being selected for playback after the client is prepared for instantaneous playback of the first recommended media content item.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein preparing the client for instantaneous playback of the set of recommended media content items further comprises:

obtaining, by the computing device, metadata for individual ones of the set of recommended content items from a server; and

performing, by the computing device, processing relative to the metadata.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the set of recommended content items is determined based at least in part on real-time behavior data of the client.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the set of recommended content items is determined based at least in part on a media consumption history of the client.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the set of recommended content items is determined based at least in part on an amount of available resources in the client.