Receivers for television signals

• US 9,113,209 B2
• Filed: 12/02/2011
• Issued: 08/18/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sky CP Limited (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: British Sky Broadcasting Limited (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Willame, Xavier, Bodkin, Nigel, James, Nicholas, Collins, Ellen Fiona, Freeman, Benjamin Johnathan, Sullivan, Brian Francis
• Primary Examiner(s): CHEN, CAI Y
• Application Number:
  US13/309,784
• Publication Number:
  US 20120070130A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,355 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/433 Content storage operation, e.g. storage operation in response to a pause request, caching operations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4583 Automatically resolving scheduling conflicts, e.g. when a recording by reservation has been programmed for two programs in the same time slot
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction

Abstract

A television signals receiver for receives and stores television signals encoded at a variable data rate. Time information is generated based on the time of receipt of the signals that defines the duration of the television signals when output in decompressed form at a substantially constant data rate. The received signals are then written to a file on a hard disk 13 in received order together with the time information. The time information of signals stored in the file is monitored and old signals are deleted from the file such that the file stores signals corresponding to a predetermined period of time.

Claims

1. A method of storing data comprising:

storing a data stream as a data file in a memory such that the data file does not exceed a specified size by deleting the oldest stored data from the data file whilst storing new data at the end of the data file,

wherein the oldest data is deleted by moving the start of the data file to later in the stored data stream,

wherein the memory is formatted as plural storage sectors and the data file occupies a plurality of the storage sectors, and

wherein the new data is stored in any available sector of said plural storage sectors that was not allocated to the oldest data being deleted from the data file.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data file occupies a series of the storage sectors, and wherein the start of the data file is identified as at a particular storage sector.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the start of the data file is moved by identifying another particular storage sector later in the series of storage sectors such that the preceding storage sectors in the series are removed from the data file.

4. A method of recording data representing a programme for subsequent playback of the programme, the method comprising:

storing one set of received data for one programme in a store in accordance with the method of claim 1 while simultaneously outputting the same data for display of the programme represented thereby; and

simultaneously recording another set of received data for another programme in the store.

5. A non-transitory computer program product arranged to perform the method of claim 1 when executed by a processor.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the data is television program data, said storing a data stream as a data file in a memory comprises storing a television program data stream as a review buffer in the data file, and wherein the method further comprises converting the data file to a television program recording for subsequent playback by stopping the deletion of the oldest data while continuing to store the new data at the end of the data file.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the data file is converted to a television program recording in response to a user selection.

6. An apparatus for storing data, comprising:

means for storing a data stream as a data file in a memory; and

a file manager for managing the size of the data file such that it does not exceed a specified size by deleting the oldest data stored in the data file whilst new data is stored at the end of the data file,

wherein the file manager deletes the old data by moving the start of the data file to later in the stored data stream,

wherein the memory is formatted as plural storage sectors and the data file occupies a plurality of the storage sectors, and

wherein the apparatus is arranged to allocate the new data is stored in any available sector of said plural storage sectors that was not allocated to the oldest data being deleted from the data file.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the data file occupies a series of the storage sectors, and wherein the file manager identifies the start of the data file as at a particular storage sector.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the file manager moves the start of the data file by identifying another particular storage sector later in the series of storage sectors such that the preceding storage sectors in the series are removed from the data file.

9. An apparatus for recording data representing a programme for subsequent playback of the programme, the apparatus comprising:

means for storing one set of received data for one programme in a store by the apparatus of claim 6 while simultaneously outputting the same data for display of the programme represented thereby; and

means for recording another set of received data for another programme in the store.

12. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the data is television program data and the apparatus is further arranged to convert the data file to a television program recording for subsequent playback by stopping the deletion of the oldest data while continuing to store the new data at the end of the data file.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the data file is converted to a television program recording in response to a user selection.