Abstract:
A personal video recorder coupled to a server provides a capability to record one or more missed portions of a TV program. The personal video recorder provides a way for a user to record the full content of a TV program even though the personal video recorder was not activated at the beginning of the TV program. The personal video recorder is coupled through a network to a server associated with a storage system, which records the entire TV program. The user, upon deciding to record the TV program after the TV program has started, requests the personal video recorder to obtain the missed beginning portion. The personal video recorder signals the server through the network with the TV program ID and the time at which recording started. The server responds with an address and data range, which the personal video recorder uses to download the missed portion of the TV program.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims priority to Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/850,323, filed on Oct. 6, 2006, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to video recording and in particular to spontaneous recording of a TV program or video, whereby the beginning of the TV program or video is recorded upon starting of a viewing of the TV program or video at some point after the beginning. 
         [0004]    2. Description of related art. 
         [0005]    Personal video recording provides a flexibility to allow recording a TV program for viewing at a future time and simultaneously recording a TV program during the viewing of the TV program for replay at some future time. In order to record the entire TV program requires an individual to plan ahead and set a video recorder to start based on a published schedule. If an individual is surfing through TV channels and comes upon a program of interest after the program has started, any recording of that program can only begin at the point where the individual started viewing, and the beginning of the TV program can only be recorded upon a rescheduling of the program by the broadcaster of the program. 
         [0006]    In U.S. Pat. No. 7,114,172 a method, apparatus and system is directed to synchronizing the video output of personal video recorders in two or more locations, wherein a broadcast program is received and recorded on one of the personal video recorders. U.S. Pat. No. 7,107,606 is directed to a system and method for providing video on demand for pre-scheduled multicasts of videos and initiated transmissions of the front portion of the videos. U.S. Pat. No. 6,701,528 is directed to a method and apparatus for providing virtual video on demand, wherein a segment of the video program is stored in advance of the video on demand viewing at a latter time. U.S. Pat. No. 6,622,305 is directed to a method for display of near video on demand that are broadcast over a network to a receiver, which records at least one broadcast channel. U.S. Pat. No. 6,483,986 is directed to a method to permit a viewer alternate subject matter while receiving streaming video without loss of the streaming video. 
         [0007]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,480,667 is directed a means for receiving a video stream and recording the video stream onto a storage unit while a portion of the video stream is retrieved for viewing. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,434,748 an apparatus is directed to providing VCR like “trick mode” functions comprising pause, fast-forward and rewind in a distributed video on demand program environment. U.S. Pat. No. 6,327,418 is directed to a continuous stream of digital data, i.e. video and audio data, with a virtual segment where non-linear playback such as rewind, pause, fast forward and frame advance can implemented even though a continuous data stream does not cease. U.S. Pat. No. 6,233,389 is directed to a multimedia time warping system where a user stores a selected television program while simultaneously watching or reviewing another program. 
         [0008]    In U.S. Pat. No. 5,706,388 a recording system is directed to a viewing operation for previously recorded data without stopping a recording operation of data currently being received. U.S. Pat. No. 5,696,868 (Kim et al.) is directed to an apparatus and a method for recording and playing back a broadcast signal, wherein the broadcast signal is separated into video and audio and written separately into video and audio memories. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,682,597 a system and method is directed to video on demand to accommodate video surfing, wherein a server operates in near video on demand mode, whereby the server continuously sends multiple copies of each program on separate channels allowing a user to perform asynchronous operations. U.S. Pat. No. 5,534,912 is directed to a video on demand system utilizing asymmetric digital subscriber line interface to produce an extended video on demand distribution system. U.S. Pat. No. 5,438,423 is directed to a time warping for video viewing by providing a random access dynamic buffer for a video signal from a selected video channel where the video signal is continuously fed into the dynamic buffer in a re-circulating fashion to allow a user to control real time video viewing in a similar manner to a VCR. US 2003/0170003 is directed to a method for time shifting a video, which has a real time mode where real time video frames are delivered for display. 
         [0009]    When surfing TV channels to find interesting content, often an interesting program or movie is found after the beginning portion. Unless the program or movie is rebroadcast the viewer does not have a convenient means for recording the beginning portion. A system is needed that allows personal video recording to capture the portion of the program that was missed because the viewer was late in accessing the particular TV program. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    It is an objective of the present invention to provide a system whereby an entire TV program from beginning to end can be recorded on a personal video recorder when the user was late in accessing the TV program. 
         [0011]    It is also an objective of the present invention to request a beginning portion of a TV program from a server providing a TV program recording service of the TV program from the beginning of the TV program up to the point where viewing began. 
         [0012]    It is further an objective of the present invention for the server to respond to the request for the beginning portion with an address and range that is used by the personal video recorder system to download the beginning portion. 
         [0013]    It is still further an objective of the present invention to record in the personal video recorder both the TV program and the missed portion of the TV program while a user is watching the TV program. 
         [0014]    In the present invention a personal video recorder is coupled to a server through a network. Through registration with the server, the personal video recorder is allowed to download from a storage system coupled to the server video content that was missed by the personal video recorder for which the user of the personal video recorder has a financial obligation for any missed downloaded portion. The missed video content can result from a user not scheduling the personal video recorder to start recording at the published start time of a TV program, or because the user while surfing TV broadcast came upon a TV program after the start of the program and decided to record the program including the beginning portion that was missed, or because the recording by the personal video recorder was interrupted by a perturbation from noise, dropped signal, momentary power outage and/or other reasons. 
         [0015]    When the user (viewer) finds a TV program that has started and is liked, the user starts the personal video recorder to capture the remaining portion of a TV program. At the same time the user requests the personal video recorder to obtain the beginning portion of the TV program up to the point where recording was started. The personal video recorder signals a server, which provides a TV program recording service, and through a network provides the server with a TV program ID and the time at which recording on the personal video recorder commenced. The server responds with an address (such as a URL) and a range of data representing the missing portion of the TV program. The personal video recorder then requests the missing portion of the TV program using the address and the range of data previously provided by the server. A storage system associated with the server maintains a copy of the TV program for a period of time after the end of the broadcast of the program to allow users to download missing portions. 
         [0016]    The present invention described herein can also be used to record on the personal video recorder a segment of a TV program that was interrupted by perturbations between the broadcaster and the user&#39;s TV set, i.e. noise, dropped signal and momentary power outage. In the case of recovering a perturbed segment, the user would have to provide to the server through the personal video recorder the program ID and the starting and ending time of the perturbed segment, or request either the first portion of the TV program to the point where the perturbation ends, or request the second portion of the TV program starting at the beginning of the perturbation and ending at the end of the TV program. As before, the server then responds with an address and a range of data that the personal video recorder uses to download through the network the desired portion of the TV program. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0017]    This invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
           [0018]      FIGS. 1A and 1B  are block diagrams of the coupling between a personal video recorder, a server and a storage system of the present invention; and 
           [0019]      FIG. 2  is a flow diagram of the method of the present invention to obtain a missing portion of a recorded TV program. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0020]    In  FIG. 1A  is shown a block diagram of the present invention where a personal video recorder  10  is coupled to a server  11   a,  which provides a video recording service, through a network  12 , for example the Internet or equivalent communication networks. The network  12  communicates data to the server  11   a  and receives from the server  11   a  non-video data as well as video data, in which the video data is at least a portion of a TV program that is broadcast from a producer/broadcaster  23 . A TV program broadcast  13 , i.e. cable, satellite or other means, from a producer/broadcaster  23  is delivered to a TV  14  of a viewer (user) and is recorded on storage system  16   a  contained within the server  11   a.  A storage system  17  contained within the personal video recorder  10  also records the TV program broadcast  13  when the viewer activates the personal video recorder to capture the TV program broadcast. A storage system  16   a  within the server  11   a  provides a source of TV programs recorded prior to or during the TV program broadcast  13  from which the user of the recorder  10  can download portions of TV programs that have been missed or were corrupted. A storage system  16   x  comprising TV program files can be remote from the server  11   a  regardless of whether the server comprises a storage system  16   a.  The remote storage system  16   x  may comprise one to N storage units that are physically located together or physically distributed. A storage time feedback  22  provides feedback to the producer/broadcaster  23  the length of time that a TV program is maintained on a storage system  16   a  and  16   x,  and provides a mechanism by which the producer/broadcaster  23  can erase TV programs from storage when the TV program storage exceeds any predetermined agreement with respect to the storage of TV programs on the storage system  16   a  and  16   x.    
         [0021]    In  FIG. 1B  is shown a block diagram of the present invention where a personal video recorder  10  is coupled through a network  12  to a plurality or servers  11   a  to  11   m,  which provide video recording services. Similar to  FIG. 1A , the plurality of servers  11   a  to  11   m  record a TV program broadcast  13  and maintains storage of the TV program in storage systems  16   a  to  16   m.  It should be noted that storage capacity requirement is flexible and not demanding and duplicate copies of a particular TV program is needed only under rare extenuating circumstances, which might be done where bandwidth, storage problems or other special considerations were deemed important. An external storage system  16   x  comprising storage units ( 1 -N) can be used to store TV programs broadcast from the producer/broadcaster  23 . The external storage system  16   x  is shared between the servers (server  1  to server M) and is physically located separate from the servers. The storage units ( 1 -N) of the external storage system may be located together or distributed separately. The storage systems  16   a  to  16   m  within servers  11   a  to  11   m  may or may not exist concurrently with the external storage system  16   x,  and the producer/broadcaster  23  monitors the storage of TV programs through the storage time feedback  22  on all active storage systems  16   a  to  16   m  and  16   x  storage units one to N. 
         [0022]    Referring again to  FIG. 1A , the personal video recorder is registered with the server  11   a,  and informational communication is carried out between the recorder agent  20  within the personal video recorder  10  and the server agent  21  within the server  11   a.  The communications between the recorder agent  20  and the server agent  21  is conducted through a network, i.e. the internet, private cable or phone network, or any other existing network comprising cellular, wireless and radio network, coupling between the recorder agent and the server agent. 
         [0023]    As is often the case, a viewer may not have set the personal video recorder  10  to record a particular TV program broadcast or may have not been aware that a particular TV program was of interest, thus missing an initial portion of the broadcast. The viewer may also have been surfing the available TV channels looking for content of interest. In any case, when a viewer finds a TV program broadcast that is interesting after the beginning portion of the broadcast, the present invention provides the method and apparatus to obtain the portion of a TV program broadcast that is not initially included in the recording in the personal video recorder  10 , such as the beginning portion within the time frame of the broadcast. Also if there are segments of the broadcast that have been corrupted by noise or other impediments, i.e. interference or power failure, the method and apparatus of the present invention provides a recovery mechanism for the corrupted segments. 
         [0024]    For example; a viewer starts surfing the available TV channels and finds subject material on a particular channel that is interesting after the start of the program. Upon realizing that the content of the broadcast material is of interest, the viewer starts recording the TV program and requests the personal video recorder  10  to obtain the beginning portion of the TV program that has been missed. The recorder agent  20  sends a message through the network  12  to the server agent  21  indicating the TV program identification and the time range of the beginning segment that has been missed. The server agent  21  responds to the recorder agent with an address (such as a URL) and the range of data that is to be downloaded. The recorder agent then requests the storage system  16   a  or  16   x  to provide the beginning or other portions of the TV program. The storage system  16   a  or  16   x  provides the video data that has been requested to the recorder storage system  17 . The obtaining of the video data of the missing portion of the TV program as well as the recording of the current portion of the TV program can be accomplished simultaneous or after the viewer watching the TV broadcast  13  on the TV set  14 . The missed portion of the TV program is inserted or concatenated in a fashion that any replay of the TV program will appear as originally broadcast 
         [0025]    If there is a corrupted and/or missing segment, the viewer (user) requests the personal video recorder to obtain a replacement for the corrupted segment. If there are multiple corrupted and/or missing segments, the personal video recorder, after receiving the recording request from the viewer (user), obtains a replacement for each of the corrupted and/or missing segment. 
         [0026]    It should be noted, it is within the scope of this invention that the personal video recorder can be a handheld device or an integrated portion of the handheld device, and the TV can be a display on the handheld device or a display coupled to the hand held device 
         [0027]    In  FIG. 2  is shown a flow diagram for the method of the present invention to recover missed segments of broadcast TV programs. A personal video recorder is coupled to a server  60  through a network, i.e. the internet, private cable or phone network, or similar messaging networks. The personal video recorder is registered with the server  61  to insure identity of the user of the services and that proper payments are made for the services. A TV program as it is broadcast, which comprises advertisement and program content, is recorded on a storage system  62 . The storage system is either integrated into the server or external to the server. The user (or viewer) while watching the TV program broadcast on a TV set  63 , initiates the recording of the broadcast TV program on the personal video recorder  64 . Either because the start of the recording of the TV program was initiated after the start of the broadcast, or because of perturbations in the broadcast, i.e. power failure of interference, there is a missed segment in the broadcasted TV program in the personal video recorder. The user decides there is a need to obtain the missed segment, or portion, of the broadcasted TV program  65 , and the user requests the personal video recorder obtain the missed segment or portion of the broadcasted TV program  66 . The recorder agent in the personal video recorder provides to the server agent, located in the server, the identifier of the TV program and the time of the missed segment, or portion, of the broadcasted TV program  67 . The server agent responds to the recorder agent with an address (such as a URL) and range of the missed TV program data  68  that can be downloaded through the network, where the network comprises the internet, private cable or phone network, or any other existing network, comprising cellular, wireless and radio network. The personal video recorder requests the missing segment of the broadcast TV program from the storage system  69  using the address and the range of the missed TV program data that was sent by the server agent. Upon receipt of the data of the missing segment or portion of the broadcast TV program, the data is checked for integrity  70 . If the data is found to be corrupted  71 , the personal video recorder requests a retransmission of the download  72 , and the storage system downloads the missing segment  69 . If the download is found to be good  73 , the missed portion of the broadcasted TV program is stored into the storage system of the personal video recorder  74 . The TV program is erased from the storage system after a predetermined period of time from the completion of the broadcast of the TV program  75 . During the time that the TV program is active on the storage system, the user of the personal video recorder may request a download of the TV program including the entire program, which allows a user who determines a need to have a copy at the very end of the TV program to obtain a copy. Storage time feedback is provided from the storage system to the producer/broadcaster to allow the producer/broadcaster to monitor the amount of time the TV program is maintained on the storage system  76 . If the TV program is maintained on the storage system beyond the predetermined period of time, the producer/broadcaster issues a command through the storage time feedback to erase the TV program from the storage system  77 . 
         [0028]    Referring back to  FIGS. 1A and 1B , it should be noted that it is within the scope of the present invention that the network  12  is an integral part of the TV program broadcast system  13  whereby a missed portion of a TV program broadcast is requested by the recorder  10  and downloaded to the recorder either simultaneous to the TV program broadcast or after the TV program broadcast is completed. For example, cable can provide the TV program broadcast as well as the two way communications necessary to request a missed portion of a TV program and to communicate the missed portion to the recorder, thus negating the need to have a separate network  12 . In the case of a TV program broadcast  13 , which is transmitted over a medium that does not provide two way communications, satellite for example, a separate communication medium, the Internet for example, can be used as the network  12  to request and receive a missed portion of a TV program. It is also within the scope of the present invention that a communication medium, such as satellite or cable, could provide the missed portion of the TV program while the internet or equivalent communication media is used to request the missed portion of the TV program. 
         [0029]    While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.