Abstract:
The present invention is a system and method for providing scheduled live off disk recording for DVR devices. Characteristics describing selected content scheduled to be broadcast on a first channel is programmed into the DVR device  204  for recording onto the temporary buffer  208.  Once the selected content is received from a communications network  202,  the DVR device  204  navigates to the scheduled LOD channel planning to receive the selected content. Once tuned to the scheduled LOD channel, the DVR device  204  stores the selected content in a temporary buffer  208.  In the event the temporary buffer  208  becomes full, the DVR device  204  receives a full indication, and begins to overwrite the content of the temporary buffer  208  starting from the beginning, such that there is always a full buffer of data. In the event of a channel change, the temporary buffer is purged.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to the field of communications networks, and more particularly, to a system and method for providing scheduled live off-disk recording of content for DVR devices.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     DVR (digital video recorder) devices allow users to record various types of content, while offering several features the users may utilize in conjunction with the content. One feature provided by most DVR devices with respect to content allows the user to schedule certain content for daily recording, such as the daily news, weekly dramas, or movies. With this feature, the user may view the content recorded onto the DVR device at any time after recording.  
         [0003]     Another feature provided by DVR devices, referred to as “Live off Disk” (LOD), allows users to pause live television content, and rewind the content for a nominal amount of time on the current channel. LOD content may be subjected to such a rewinding event because LOD content is stored in a temporary buffer, which is used as temporary storage of the content while watching the “live” (i.e. buffered through the storage device) content. Thus, by storing this LOD content in the temporary buffer, this LOD feature allows the user to rewind anywhere within the temporary buffer up to the last channel change before arriving at the LOD content, or to the beginning of the temporary buffer, whichever is less.  
         [0004]      FIG. 1  is a system diagram illustrating an exemplary system providing such features described above in the prior art. System  100  comprises DVR device  104 , which is a device for receiving content from communications network  102  and presenting the content to viewing monitor  106 . DVR device  104  comprises off disk DVR memory  108  (DVR memory  108 ), which may comprise any volatile or non-volatile memory capable of storing the content from communications network  102 .  
         [0005]     In system  100 , the user views content broadcast from the communications network  102  via viewing monitor  106 . If selected content that the user wishes to view is scheduled for broadcast at a time that the user will may be unable to view the content, the user may schedule a recording session to occur on DVR device  104  when the selected content is broadcast from communications network  102 . This time at which the selected content will be broadcast is referred to as the “scheduled broadcast time”. At the scheduled broadcast time, the tuner will tune to the channel carrying the selected content and the selected content will be stored into DVR memory  108  within DVR device  104 , for later viewing by the user via the viewing monitor  106 . While this feature is helpful to those users wishing to view live content at a later time, this feature is proving problematic for DVR users who want to rewind live content that is not desired to be recorded into the DVR memory  108 .  
         [0006]     Another problem with the current situation is that some content may only be interesting to the user for a short period of time after recording or while the content is being broadcast. For example, if the user schedules the DVR to record the daily news each morning, and doesn&#39;t view the recorded daily news for a few days, the user will not be interested in viewing the older instances of the daily news, yet this content will have been permanently stored and occupy disk space. Another example is a baseball game, which loses tremendous value within a few hours of the end of the game, but a user may want to rewind a few innings to start from the beginning. This older content will take up space in the DVR memory until the user specifically deletes it or it sets deletion automatically by the DVR after some time according to deletion schedules known in the art. Thus, the scheduled recording of certain time-sensitive programs results in less disk space being available, which may even preclude other functions such as the recording of other programs which could be considered of higher priority.  
         [0007]     Therefore, there is a need in the art for a system and method for providing the scheduling recording of live content in a location other than the DVR memory.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     The present invention overcomes these and other deficiencies in the prior art by providing a system and method for providing scheduled live off disk recording for DVR devices. A user may choose to configure the DVR to tune to a particular channel at a particular time by entering characteristics describing the selected content, such as the title of the content or the scheduled broadcast time, into the DVR device. If not otherwise engaged in recording into DVR memory, the DVR will tune to the selected content at the scheduled broadcast time and begin filling the temporary buffer. The DVR will stay tuned to that channel until another event occurs (such as a manual channel change or other scheduled recording).  
         [0009]     The user will then be able to turn on, at any time, rewind to the beginning or within the temporary buffer to view the content. Otherwise, the temporary buffer will overwrite as normal after the temporary buffer size is exceeded. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0010]     For a fuller understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is a system diagram illustrating an exemplary system for recording content received from a communications network in the prior art.  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  is a system diagram illustrating an exemplary system for scheduling the recording of content received from a communications network in a temporary buffer in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 3  is a flow diagram illustrating the method of an embodiment of the present invention from the perspective of the DVR device  204 .  
         [0014]      FIG. 4  is a flow diagram illustrating the simplified method of an embodiment of the present invention from the perspective of the temporary buffer  208 .  
         [0015]      FIG. 5  is a flow diagram further illustrating the method of an embodiment of the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0016]     Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Generally, the present invention is a system and method for scheduling the recording of content received from a communications network. More particularly, the present invention is a system and method for scheduling the recording of content received by a DVR device coupled to a communications network into a temporary buffer.  
         [0017]      FIG. 2  is a system diagram illustrating an exemplary system for recording content received from a communications network in a temporary buffer in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. System  200  comprises DVR device  204 , which receives a signal comprising content from communications network  202 . DVR memory  210 , within DVR device  204 , may comprise volatile or non-volatile memory, and stores content received from communications network  202 .  
         [0018]     Temporary buffer  208  within DVR device  204  can be a section of DVR memory  210  allocated to LOD recording or can be a separate storage device. Temporary buffer  208  is coupled to viewing monitor  206  and communications network  202 . Some exemplary networks for comprising communications network  202  include, but are not limited to, broadcast television networks, cable television networks, satellite television networks, Ethernet networks, and Internet networks.  
         [0019]     Viewing monitor  206  is coupled to DVR device  204 , and displays content received by DVR device  204  from communications network  202 . Viewing monitor  206  may also be coupled to a user input device (not pictured) for inputting characteristics of desired content, such as the title of the desired content, or the scheduled broadcast time for the desired content.  
         [0020]      FIG. 3  is a flow diagram illustrating the method of an embodiment of the present invention from the perspective of the DVR device  204 . Method  300  begins at step  302  and proceeds to the scheduling of desired LOD recording times at step  304 . The scheduling of desired LOD recording times is done in response to receiving content description information from the user via a user input device coupled to the viewing monitor  206 . This content description information may include, but is not limited to, the title of the selected content, the scheduled broadcast time, or the characteristics of the selected content (i.e., the 5:00 local news). The scheduled broadcast time is the time at which the selected content is scheduled to be broadcast by the communications network.  
         [0021]     At step  306 , the DVR device  204  tunes to the channel carrying the selected content at the scheduled broadcast time. At step  308 , the selected content is stored in the temporary buffer  208  as it is broadcast.  
         [0022]     At step  310 , the present invention determines if the temporary buffer  208  is full or not full. If the temporary buffer  208  is determined to be full at step  310 , the present invention begins to overwrite the temporary buffer  208  from the beginning at step  312 , and returns to recording content into the temporary buffer  208  at step  308 .  
         [0023]     If the temporary buffer  208  is not determined to be full at step  310 , the present invention determines if the tuning resources of DVR device  204  are required for other functions, such as a channel change event or for recording higher priority content such as content to be stored on the DVR memory  210 . If such tuning resources are determined to be required at step  316 , the temporary buffer  208  is flushed, and the tuning resources are utilized in their required manner, such as to effectuate the channel change event. Method  300  then concludes at step  318 .  
         [0024]      FIG. 4  is a flow diagram illustrating the simplified method of an embodiment of the present invention from the perspective of the temporary buffer  208 . Method  400  begins at step  402 , and proceeds to the receipt of selected content broadcast on the scheduled LOD channel at step  404 .  
         [0025]     At step  406 , the temporary buffer  208  stores the selected content. As discussed in the explanation of  FIG. 2 , this step  406  may involve storing the selected content in either volatile or non-volatile memory.  
         [0026]     At step  408 , the temporary buffer  208  determines that there is not any room in the temporary buffer  208  to store any further content. Alternatively, the temporary buffer  208  may receive an indication that a channel change event has occurred at step  408 . A channel change event comprises the user, or a device coupled to the viewing monitor  206  or DVR device  204 , has turned the channel to a channel other than the scheduled LOD channel, and may be a channel change event in response to a scheduled recording into DVR memory  210 .  
         [0027]     At step  410 , the temporary buffer  208  deletes the entirety of the content stored in the temporary buffer  208  if a channel change event has occurred. Thus, after step  410 , the temporary buffer  208  is free to record more selected content  420 . Alternatively, if the temporary buffer  208  is determined to be full at step  408 , the temporary buffer continues to record the selected content, but overwrites the selected content already recorded at the beginning of the temporary buffer  208 . Thus, only the most current selected content is recorded into the temporary buffer  208  at step  420 .  
         [0028]      FIG. 5  is a flow diagram further illustrating the method of an embodiment of the present invention. Method  500  begins at step  502  and proceeds to the decision block  504 , wherein the present invention determines if: 1) a channel change event has occurred on television device  206 , or if 2) temporary buffer  208  is full.  
         [0029]     If a channel change event has occurred, method  500  proceeds to stop  510 , wherein the temporary buffer  208  is purged of all content. In the preferred embodiment, this involves deleting all the content in temporary buffer  208 . The content on the new channel after the channel change event is then written to the temporary buffer  208  at step  512 .  
         [0030]     If the temporary buffer  208  is determined to be full at step  504 , the temporary buffer is overwritten at step  506  with content as it is received by DVR device  204 . In the preferred embodiment, this step  506  comprises overwriting the temporally oldest content in temporary buffer  208  with the temporally newest content received from communications network  202 .  
         [0031]     Alternatively, if there is no channel change event at step  504 , nor is the temporary buffer full at step  504 , then method  500  loops, repeating step  504  until either event occurs. This method  500  executes continuously while television device  206  is powered on.  
         [0032]     In the description herein, numerous specific details are provided, such as examples of components and/or methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that an embodiment of the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other apparatus, systems, assemblies, methods, components, materials, parts, and/or the like. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not specifically shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of embodiments of the present invention.  
         [0033]     A “computer-readable carrier” for purposes of embodiments of the present invention may be any medium or transmission that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, system or device. The computer readable carrier can be, by way of example only but not by limitation, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, system, device, propagation medium, or computer memory.  
         [0034]     A “processor” or “process” includes any human, hardware and/or software system, mechanism or component that processes data, signals or other information. A processor can include a system with a general-purpose central processing unit, multiple processing units, dedicated circuitry for achieving functionality, or other systems. Processing need not be limited to a geographic location, or have temporal limitations. For example, a processor can perform its functions in “real time,” “offline,” in a “batch mode,” etc. Portions of processing can be performed at different times and at different locations, by different (or the same) processing systems.  
         [0035]     Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or “a specific embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention and not necessarily in all embodiments. Thus, respective appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment”, “in an embodiment”, or “in a specific embodiment”in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics of any specific embodiment of the present invention may be combined in any suitable manner with one or more other embodiments. It is to be understood that other variations and modifications of the embodiments of the present invention described and illustrated herein are possible in light of the teachings herein and are to be considered as part of the spirit and scope of the present invention.  
         [0036]     Embodiments of the invention may be implemented by using a programmed general purpose digital computer, by using application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic devices, field programmable gate arrays, optical, chemical, biological, quantum or nanoengineered systems, components and mechanisms may be used. In general, the functions of the present invention can be achieved by any means as is known in the art. Distributed or networked systems, components and circuits can be used. Communication, or transfer, of data may be wired, wireless, or by any other means.  
         [0037]     Additionally, any signal arrows in the drawings/Figures should be considered only as exemplary, and not limiting, unless otherwise specifically noted. Furthermore, the term “or” as used herein is generally intended to mean “and/or” unless otherwise indicated. Combinations of components or steps will also be considered as being noted, where terminology is foreseen as rendering the ability to separate or combine is unclear.  
         [0038]     The foregoing description of illustrated embodiments of the present invention, including what is described in the abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed herein. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention are described herein for illustrative purposes only, various equivalent modifications are possible within the spirit and scope of the present invention, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize and appreciate. As indicated, these modifications may be made to the present invention in light of the foregoing description of illustrated embodiments of the present invention and are to be included within the spirit and scope of the present invention.  
         [0039]     Thus, while the present invention has been described herein with reference to particular embodiments thereof, a latitude of modification, various changes and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosures, and it will be appreciated that in some instances some features of embodiments of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as set forth. Therefore, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the essential scope and spirit of the present invention. It is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular terms used in the following claims and/or to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include any and all embodiments and equivalents falling within the scope of the appended claims.