Abstract:
The present invention is directed to systems and methods for forwarding locally stored video content that has a video resolution associated with receiving remote devices. More specifically, set top boxes (STBs) receive full screen and lower resolution video content for each program title. The STB may store both versions of the video content for future viewing. When remote devices request a program title, the STB forwards the lower resolution version. Alternatively, the STB may request an appropriate video resolution for a remote device from a video service provider.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates generally to a communications system. In particular, the present invention is directed to forwarding locally stored video having a suitable resolution to remote devices within the communications system. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    In a communications system, set top boxes (STBs) are typically capable of locally storing video content received by a video service provider. More specifically, an internal hard drive allows the STB to store received video content for future viewing. Recent advances further allow the STB to forward the stored video content to remote devices, such as computers, cellular phones, play stations, etc. In order to accurately display the video content on the remote devices, however, the STB needs to transcode or perform a scaling operation on the stored video content. More specifically, the video content, which is stored as a full screen video, needs to be scaled down to a suitable resolution, which typically is 320×240 or smaller, for smaller remote device screens. Some STBs include the necessary circuitry and software to perform the transcode operation; however, it is very expensive to include this feature in the numerous STBs in a communications system. Additionally, performing a video scaling operation by the processing circuitry and software in an STB places a burden on the normal operation of the STB. Thus, there exists a need that enables an STB to forward locally stored video content having a suitable video resolution to remote devices without requiring the STB to have the expensive circuitry and software to perform the video scaling and additionally not adding computationally intensive steps. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0003]    The invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the invention. In the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. 
           [0004]      FIG. 1  illustrates a communications system that transmits video content to STBs, which subsequently transcoder and forward video content to remote devices. 
           [0005]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of an abridged STB that is suitable for use in the communications system of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0006]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram of a communications system that enables a STB to forward video content having a suitable video resolution to remote devices without having to perform the scaling operation in accordance with the present invention. 
           [0007]      FIG. 4  is an abridged block diagram of the STB in accordance with the present invention that is suitable for use in the communications system of  FIG. 3 . 
           [0008]      FIG. 5  illustrates an example database linking a program title with its associated full screen video content and lower resolution video content, which is stored in memory, in accordance with the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0009]    Preferred embodiments of the invention can be understood in the context of a broadband communications system. Note, however, that the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. All examples given herein, therefore, are intended to be non-limiting and are provided in order to help clarify the description of the invention. 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  illustrates a communications system  100  that transmits video content to STBs, which subsequently transcode and forward video content to remote devices. Accordingly, a video service provider  105  receives video content from content providers  110 . The video service provider  105  performs the necessary operations on the received video content in order to transmit the video content to the video service network  115  for transmission to a plurality of STBs. It will be appreciated that only one STB  120  is shown for simplicity. The STB  120  may immediately forward the video content for display on a television  125  in a known manner. Additionally, the STB  120  may store the video content in an internal hard drive. Subsequently, if desired, the STB  120  may forward the stored video content to coupled remote devices. By way of example, the STB  120  may forward the stored video content to a wired remote devices, such as a portable game and/or video player  130 , or the STB  120  may wirelessly forward the stored video content to a receiver  135 , which then forwards the video content to coupled remote devices, such as a computer  140 , a PSP  145 , or a cellular telephone  150 . A further method of disseminating video content from the STB&#39;s storage could involve the transfer of video content to a removable storage card, and the subscriber could place the removable storage card in a portable video player. Additional remote devices may be indirectly coupled to the STB  120  via other service providers, such as a cellular service provider  155  or a data service provider  160 . In this manner, the stored video content is routed through the video service network  115  and on to the cellular service provider  155  for transmission to a cellular telephone  165  or to the data service provider  160  for transmission to a computer  170 , for example. 
         [0011]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of an abridged STB  120  that is suitable for use in the communications system  100  of  FIG. 1 . A tuner system  205  receives in-band (IB) and out-of-band (OOB) video content and other data signals from the video service network  115 . After processing by processor  210  in a known manner, received video content may be provided to the television  125  for immediate viewing. Additionally, the video content may alternatively or concurrently be stored in a hard drive  215 . As previously mentioned, when video content is transmitted to remote devices either directly (e.g., the remote devices are coupled to the STB  120 ) or indirectly (e.g., the remote devices are coupled to the STB  120  through the video service network  115  and/or other service providers), a transcode or scaling operation must initially be performed. Therefore, the video content is provided to a transcode processor  220 , which is shown as a separate device, but may also be included within the processor  210 . The transcode device  220  then scales the full size video resolution of the video content down to an appropriate resolution, which is required by the receiving remote device. The scaled video content is then either provided directly to the coupled remote devices or provided to the video service network  115  via a quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulator  225 . As previously mentioned, however, the transcode processor  220  is a time consuming process and also adds undesired expense to the STB  120 . 
         [0012]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram of a communications system  300  that enables an STB  305  to forward video content having a suitable video resolution to remote devices without having to perform the scaling operation in accordance with the present invention. As mentioned, content providers  110  provide video content to the video service provider  105 . Prior to transmitting the video content to the video service network  115 , video equipment performs different processes on the video content, e.g., the video content is encrypted and modulated onto a radio frequency (RF) carrier for transmission to the STBs. Another process encodes the received video content via encoders. A multiencoder  310  may additionally generate other streams of the received video content. The other streams may include an MPEG-2 stream, an MPEG-4 stream, and a lower resolution of the full screen video content. In a preferred embodiment the video content is encoded by different video encoders. The lower resolution video content is used by an STB as a picture-in-picture (PIP) stream. The lower resolution stream is transmitted for the times when a viewer wishes to view a first video on a main screen along with a lower resolution, i.e., PIP, video that is shown in the corner of the main screen. 
         [0013]    In accordance with the present invention, when an STB  305  records a full screen video, it will optionally record the lower resolution version of the full screen video. This may be a default of the STB  305  or it may be selected based on user input. The full screen video content and the lower resolution video content are associated with a video content program title as illustrated in  FIG. 5  and stored in memory of the STB  305 . In this manner, a subscriber can subsequently select a program title from an interface, e.g., “Pirates of the Caribbean,” which can be selected from either a STB graphical user interface (GUI) or from a remote device GUI. The appropriate video content based on the requesting device (e.g., the STB  305  or a remote device) is then retrieved from the hard drive and provided via an appropriate transfer port and is further discussed below. 
         [0014]      FIG. 4  is an abridged block diagram of the STB  305  in accordance with the present invention that is suitable for use in the communications system of  FIG. 3 . The tuner system  205  receives the full screen and the associated lower resolution video content. A processor  410  instructs a hard drive  415  to store both versions of the video content and appropriately associates the two versions having a same program title in the database  500 . When a coupled remote device, such as portable game/video player  130 , requests a stored program title, e.g., “Pirates of the Caribbean”  505 , the processor  410  recognizes that the request was made by the portable game/video player  130  due to the request coming in to the STB  305  on the portable game/video player connecting port. Alternatively, the request may be generated at the STB  305  by proxy for the portable game/video player  130 . The processor  410  then retrieves and transmits the lower resolution video content  510  to the portable game/video player  130  without performing the previously necessary scaling operation. Similarly, when wireless remote devices or remote devices coupled to the video service network  115  request a program title, the processor  410  transmits the lower resolution video content. 
         [0015]    It will be appreciated that the STB  305  may perform a sensing operation upon boot up that detects whether remote devices are directly or wirelessly connected to the STB  305 . It may then automatically save the lower screen resolution video content when saving the full screen video content. Another embodiment may require a subscriber to select that the lower resolution video content is to be saved. A further embodiment is to perform a set up procedure that uses a STB GUI to manually set up remote devices and then the STB  305  automatically stores the lower resolution video content. 
         [0016]    Furthermore, if remote devices require a different resolution than the transmitted lower resolution video content, the STB  305  may request an appropriate video resolution for these remote devices. For example, a cellular telephone may require a lower resolution than the stored lower resolution video content. In this manner, the STB  305  may transmit a request for a different resolution of the video content. Accordingly, the multiencoder  310  rescales the video content to the requested resolution. The STB  305  may determine the video resolution in different ways. A first way may be to self-discover using an internal database that includes various remote devices and their required video resolution. Another way may be for a subscriber to manually enter the video resolution of a remote device. Importantly, however, the multiencoder  310  performs the scaling operation, and the STB  305  does not require the necessary circuitry and software. 
         [0017]    While this invention has been described in conjunction with the specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the preferred embodiments of the invention, as set forth herein, are intended to be illustrative and not limiting. Various changes may be made without departing from the truth and the full scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.