Patent ID: 8695053

Claim:
A set-top box serving as a synchronizing bridge for multimedia data processing, routing, storage, and access, the set-top box comprising: a signal processor and/or a converter which generate a pre-encoded stream of digitized data after receiving a raw incoming multimedia signal or after receiving a pre-processed, decoded, decompressed, and/or decrypted incoming multimedia signal from a service provider-specific signal receiver; a multi-standard codec which generates one or more streams of encoded multimedia data from the pre-encoded stream of digitized data, wherein a continuous stream of one particular encoded multimedia data is chopped up into individually-viewable segments of variable lengths by the set-top box prior to data transmission to another device, and wherein each length of each individually-viewable segment is shorter when the set-top box's current workload is heavy or when the set-top box's bandwidth availability is low, and wherein each length of each individually-viewable segment is longer when the set-top box's current workload is light or when the set-top box's bandwidth availability is high; one or more I/O ports which receive and/or transmit data to a cloud-computing storage and service operatively connected to the set-top box, wherein the data is the individually-viewable segments of variable lengths that are automatically-routed to and stored in the cloud-computing storage and service for a quick user viewing of each individually-viewable segments even before all of the individually-viewable segments comprising the continuous stream of one particular encoded multimedia data are received by the cloud-computing storage and service, and wherein the individually-viewable segments of variable lengths from the set-top box are categorized to be searchable and identifiable by a user ID associated with the set-top box; and A CPU operatively connected to a memory unit, the signal processor and/or the converter, and the multi-standard codec, wherein the CPU commands and controls an overall behavior of the set-top box and authorizes a user operatively connected to the set-top box via the web or cloud-computing service to adjust a setting in the set-top box.