Hierarchical storage management for data

• US 8,732,784 B2
• Filed: 12/07/2010
• Issued: 05/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2010
• 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: Friedman, Lee
• Primary Examiner(s): EKPO, NNENNA NGOZI
• Application Number:
  US12/962,144
• Publication Number:
  US 20120141092A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,260 Days
• Field of Search: 725/82, 725/141
• US Class Current: 725/141
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2743 Video hosting of uploaded data from client
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4108 characterised by an identification number or address, e.g. local network address protecting specific internal or external computer components using identification number G06F21/73; network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming H04L61/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4135 external recorder interface circuits between an apparatus for recording television signals and a television receiver H04N5/775
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4227 Providing Remote input by a user located remotely from the client device, e.g. at work
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4332 by placing content in organized collections, e.g. local EPG data repository interfaces, Database management systems or updating for information retrieval G06F16/23; details of retrieval of video data and associated meta data in video database G06F16/739
• 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 21/4402 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 21/4627 Rights management associated to the content security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8543 using a description language, e.g. Multimedia and Hypermedia information coding Expert Group [MHEG], eXtensible Markup Language [XML] information retrieval of semistructured data, the underlying structure being taken into account, e.g. mark-up language structure data G06F16/80
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8205 involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the colour video signal

Abstract

A particular computing system includes a processor and a network interface to receive media content from one or more media recorder devices. The media content is transcoded into a portable media format. The computing system also includes a storage module executable by the processor to store the received media content to a data storage device. The computing system further includes a sideloading module executable by the processor to sideload stored media content from the data storage device to one or more first endpoint devices. The computing system also includes a streaming module executable by the processor to stream the stored media content from the data storage device to one or more second endpoint devices. The computing system further includes a backup module executable by the processor to transmit the stored media content from the data storage device to a second data storage device.

Claims

1. A computing system, comprising:

a processor;

a transcoding module executable by the processor to;

transcode video content from a first media format into a second media format suitable for storage; and

transcode the video content from the second media format into a third media format suitable for playback on an endpoint device;

a storage module executable by the processor to;

store the video content to a first data storage device;

store user input at the first data storage device, the user input indicating that the endpoint device has access to the video content, wherein the video content is stored at a second data storage device distinct from the first data storage device;

receive second user input at the first data storage device, the second user input designating the video content as unshared; and

initiate removal of the video content from each storage device, other than a root storage device, of a hierarchical storage system at which the video content has been replicated;

a network interface to retrieve, in response to a request from the endpoint device, the video content in the first media format from the second data storage device;

a sideloading module executed by the processor to sideload the video content from the first data storage device to the endpoint device;

a streaming module executable by the processor to stream the video content from the first data storage device to the endpoint device; and

a backup module executable by the processor to transmit the video content from the first data storage device to a third data storage device.

2. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the second data storage device transcodes the video content into the first media format before transmitting the video content to the computing system.

3. The computing system of claim 1, wherein transcoding the video content comprises modifying a bit rate of the video content from a first bit rate to a second bit rate, modifying a resolution of the video content from a first resolution to a second resolution, modifying a compression scheme of the video content, or any combination thereof.

4. The computing system of claim 1, wherein transcoding the video content comprises modifying a file format of the video content from a first file format to a second file format.

5. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the endpoint device comprises a desktop computing device, a laptop computing device, a mobile computing device, a mobile phone, a portable media player device, a gaming console, or any combination thereof, and wherein the computing system enables hierarchical storage of the video content.

6. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the computing system is coupled to a local network via the network interface, wherein the streaming module is further executable by the processor to concurrently stream the video content from the first data storage device to a first remote endpoint device located outside the local network and to a second remote endpoint device located outside the local network.

7. The computing system of claim 6, wherein a network device coupled to the local network is assigned a particular public internet protocol address, and wherein the video content is streamed to the first remote endpoint device via a first port of the particular public internet protocol address that is assigned to the network device and the video content is streamed to the second remote endpoint device via a second port of the particular public internet protocol address that is assigned to the network device.

8. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the computing system is coupled to a local network via the network interface, wherein the streaming module is further executable by the processor to concurrently stream the video content from the first data storage device to a local endpoint device located within the local network and to a remote endpoint device located outside the local network.

9. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the computing system is adapted to concurrently sideload the video content from the data storage device to the endpoint device and stream the video content from the data storage device to a second endpoint device.

10. The computing system of claim 1, further comprising an authentication module executable by the processor to:

receive authentication information from the endpoint device; and

permit access to the video content based on the authentication information and based on the user input.

11. The computing system of claim 1, wherein each video content item stored at the first data storage device and the second data storage device is associated with a metadata record.

12. The computing system of claim 11, wherein the metadata record comprises an extensible markup language file.

13. The computing system of claim 1, further comprising a synchronization module executable by the processor to synchronize media and corresponding metadata stored at the first data storage device with media and corresponding metadata stored at a remote data storage device.

14. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the backup module is further executable by the processor to restore the video content at the data storage device from the second data storage device.

19. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the video content is not stored at the first data storage device while the user input is stored at the first data storage device.

15. A method comprising:

storing user input at a first data storage device, the user input indicating that an endpoint device has access to video content, wherein the video content is stored at a second data storage device distinct from the first data storage device;

receiving a request from the endpoint device for the video content;

in response to the request from the endpoint, retrieving the video content from the second data storage device and simultaneously performing at least two of;

storing the video content to the first data storage device;

sideloading the video content from the first data storage device to a second endpoint device;

streaming the video content from the first data storage device to the endpoint device; and

transcoding the video the video content from a first media format to a second media format associated with the endpoint device;

receiving second user input at the first data storage device, the second user input designating the video content as unshared; and

initiating removal of the video content from each storage device, other than a root storage device, of a hierarchical storage system at which the video content has been replicated.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the video content comprises previously recorded video content.

17. A computer-readable storage device storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations including:

storing user input at a first data storage device, the user input indicating that an endpoint device is to have access to video content, wherein the video content is stored at a second data storage device distinct from the first data storage device;

receiving a request from the endpoint device for the video content;

in response to the request from the endpoint device, retrieving the video content via a local network from the second data storage device and simultaneously performing two of;

storing the video content to the first data storage device;

sideloading the video content from the data storage device to the endpoint device;

streaming the video content from the first data storage device to a second endpoint device; and

transcoding the video from a first media format to a second media format associated with the endpoint device;

receiving second user input at the first data storage device, the second user input designating the video content as unshared; and

initiating removal of the video content from each storage device, other than a root storage device, of a hierarchical storage system at which the video content has been replicated.

18. The computer-readable storage device of claim 17, wherein the second endpoint device is outside the local network and wherein the video content is transcoded and streamed to the second endpoint device via a wide area network concurrently with the video content being received from the second data storage device.