Remote accessible programming
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A remote video recording and retrieval system comprising:
- a first computing device having access to a tuner, to a computer network, and to a video recording mechanism, said first computing device being effective for encoding a video signal into at least one predetermined video data encoding format; and
a second computing device having access to said first computing device via said computer network, and having access to a first data store remote from said first computing device, said second computing device being effective for submitting recording instructions to said first computing device for recording a televised program;
said first computing device being effective for accessing and recording said televised program via said tuner and said video recording mechanism, said first computing device being further effective for transferring a video encoded data version of said televised program as a video encoded data file to said first data store;
wherein said first data store is remote to said second computing device, and said second computing device accesses said first data store via Internet to retrieve said video encoded data file.
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Abstract
A local user issues recording instructions via the Internet to a remote computing device. The remote recording device records broadcast programs available to it according to the received recording instructions, and compresses and encodes the recorded program into a specified media format. The file holding the encoded broadcast program may be subdivided into multiple smaller files before being moved into another computer specified by the user and accessible via the Internet. The remote computing device may receive recording instruction via a pulse telephone and may be incorporated into existing video cassette recorders.
124 Citations
42 Claims
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1. A remote video recording and retrieval system comprising:
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a first computing device having access to a tuner, to a computer network, and to a video recording mechanism, said first computing device being effective for encoding a video signal into at least one predetermined video data encoding format; and a second computing device having access to said first computing device via said computer network, and having access to a first data store remote from said first computing device, said second computing device being effective for submitting recording instructions to said first computing device for recording a televised program; said first computing device being effective for accessing and recording said televised program via said tuner and said video recording mechanism, said first computing device being further effective for transferring a video encoded data version of said televised program as a video encoded data file to said first data store; wherein said first data store is remote to said second computing device, and said second computing device accesses said first data store via Internet to retrieve said video encoded data file. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A remote video recording and retrieval system comprising:
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a first computing device having access to a tuner, to a computer network, and to a video recording mechanism, said first computing device being effective for encoding a video signal into at least one predetermined video data encoding format; and a second computing device having access to said first computing device via said computer network, and having access to a first data store remote from said first computing device, said second computing device being effective for submitting recording instructions to said first computing device for recording a televised program; said first computing device being effective for accessing and recording said televised program via said tuner and said video recording mechanism, said first computing device being further effective for transferring a video encoded data version of said televised program as a video encoded data file to said first data store; wherein said second computing device specifies a maximum file size for said video encoded data file created by said first computing device; wherein said first data store is remote to said second computing device, and said second computing device accesses said first data store via internet to retrieve said view encoded data file. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A remote video recording and retrieval system comprising:
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a first computing device having access to a tuner, to a computer network, and to a video recording mechanism, said first computing device being effective for encoding a video signal into at least one predetermined video data encoding format; and a second computing device having access to said first computing device via said computer network, and having access to a first data store remote from said first computing device, said second computing device being effective for submitting recording instructions to said first computing device for recording a televised program; said first computing device being effective for accessing and recording said televised program via said tuner and said video recording mechanism, said first computing device being further effective for transferring a video encoded data version of said televised program to said first data store; wherein said first computing device has a second data store, and said first computing device responds to an inquiry from said second computing device by transmitting to said second computing device a list of scheduled televised programs locally available to said first computing device, an alterable preferred video encoding format selection field, a listing of available free space on said second data store, and an expected available recording time based on the currently selected preferred video encoding format and the currently available free space; wherein said first data store is remote to said second computing device, and said second computing device accesses said first data store via Internet to retrieve said video encoded data file. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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20. A remote video recording and retrieval system comprising:
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a first computing device having access to a tuner, to a computer network, and to a video recording mechanism, said first computing device being effective for encoding a video signal into at least one predetermined video data encoding format; and a second computing device having access to said first computing device via said computer network, and having access to a first data store remote from said first computing device, said second computing device being effective for submitting recording instructions to said first computing device for recording a televised program; said first computing device being effective for accessing and recording said televised program via said tuner and said video recording mechanism, said first computing device being further effective for transferring a video encoded data version of said televised program to said first data store; wherein said first computing device has access to multiple tuners for recording multiple programs airing simultaneously, said first computing device further being effective for alerting said second computing device when the number of simultaneous programs scheduled for recording exceeds the number of available tuners; wherein said first data store is remote to said second computing device, and said second computing device accesses said first data store via Internet to retrieve said video encoded data file. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A media recording and encoding apparatus comprising:
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a tuner for receiving broadcast information; a record and encode mechanism coupled to said tuner and effective for recording and encoding said broadcast information to produce an encoded data file representation of said broadcast information; a network access node coupled to the Internet for receiving recording instructions; a data store coupled to said encode and record mechanism and to said network access node; said apparatus being effective for activating said tuner and said record and encode mechanism in accordance with said recording instructions, storing said encoded data file in said data store, and transmitting said encoded data file via said network access node to a predetermined destination on the the Internet; and wherein said tuner is one of a plurality of tuners and said second data store further comprising multiple memory storage units having a one-to-one correspondence with each of said plurality of tuners; each tuner and its corresponding memory storage unit sharing a common status rating indicating if the tuner is active, scheduled for later use, or free, indicating that the tuner is inactive and not scheduled for later use, an active rating being of higher value than a scheduled rating, and a scheduled rating being of higher value than a free rating; each tuner and its corresponding memory storage unit further sharing an adjustable priority level having a low default value that is selectively adjusted when a tuner is scheduled for said apparatus being effective for monitoring the available memory space remaining in an active tuner'"'"'s corresponding memory storage unit and effective for initiating a memory reassignment routine in response to said available memory space being below a predetermined value, said memory reassignment routine being effective for identifying a set of memory storage units having the lowest status rating and assigning the storage unit of lowest priority within the set of said active tuner. - View Dependent Claims (28)
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29. A method of remotely recording and retrieving broadcast information comprising the steps of:
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a. using a first local computing device to connect to a second remote computing device via a computer network; b. using said first computing device to submit recording instructions to said second computing device, said recording instructions including a selection of a broadcast station and a recording time window specifying a future time; c. using said second computing device to tune a broadcast receiver to receive said selected broadcast station and to initiate recording of received signals from said selected broadcast station during said recording time window; d. encoding said received signals into a predetermined encode format to produce an encoded digital representation of said received signals; e. using said second computing device to transmit said encoded digital representation to a predetermined destination via said computer network; and f. accessing said encoded digital representation from said predetermined destination; and wherein said recording instructions specifying the selection of a broadcast station and a corresponding recording time window is defined as a recording session, and step b includes submitting multiple recording sessions to said second computing device, said second computing device assigning a different memory space to each of said multiple recording sessions in a one-to-one correspondence, step d including storing the encoded digital representation of a recording session in its corresponding memory space. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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- 40. The method of said 29 wherein each of said multiple recording session includes a priority level and step d includes reassigning a first memory space corresponding to a first recording session having a first priority level to a second recording session having a second priority level higher than said first priority level.
Specification