WO2002041100A2 - Method and system for providing media content - Google Patents

Method and system for providing media content Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2002041100A2
WO2002041100A2 PCT/US2001/042958 US0142958W WO0241100A2 WO 2002041100 A2 WO2002041100 A2 WO 2002041100A2 US 0142958 W US0142958 W US 0142958W WO 0241100 A2 WO0241100 A2 WO 0241100A2
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
provider
server
user
media content
top box
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2001/042958
Other languages
French (fr)
Other versions
WO2002041100A9 (en
WO2002041100A3 (en
Inventor
Christopher P. Waites
Original Assignee
Waites Christopher P
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Waites Christopher P filed Critical Waites Christopher P
Priority to AU2002230416A priority Critical patent/AU2002230416A1/en
Publication of WO2002041100A2 publication Critical patent/WO2002041100A2/en
Publication of WO2002041100A9 publication Critical patent/WO2002041100A9/en
Publication of WO2002041100A3 publication Critical patent/WO2002041100A3/en

Links

Classifications

    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04NPICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/43Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
    • H04N21/433Content storage operation, e.g. storage operation in response to a pause request, caching operations
    • H04N21/4335Housekeeping operations, e.g. prioritizing content for deletion because of storage space restrictions
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04NPICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/20Servers specifically adapted for the distribution of content, e.g. VOD servers; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/25Management operations performed by the server for facilitating the content distribution or administrating data related to end-users or client devices, e.g. end-user or client device authentication, learning user preferences for recommending movies
    • H04N21/258Client or end-user data management, e.g. managing client capabilities, user preferences or demographics, processing of multiple end-users preferences to derive collaborative data
    • H04N21/25866Management of end-user data
    • H04N21/25875Management of end-user data involving end-user authentication
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04NPICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/43Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
    • H04N21/433Content storage operation, e.g. storage operation in response to a pause request, caching operations
    • H04N21/4334Recording operations
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04NPICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/47End-user applications
    • H04N21/472End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content
    • H04N21/47211End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content for requesting pay-per-view content
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04NPICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/47End-user applications
    • H04N21/482End-user interface for program selection
    • H04N21/4828End-user interface for program selection for searching program descriptors
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04NPICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/60Network structure or processes for video distribution between server and client or between remote clients; Control signalling between clients, server and network components; Transmission of management data between server and client, e.g. sending from server to client commands for recording incoming content stream; Communication details between server and client 
    • H04N21/61Network physical structure; Signal processing
    • H04N21/6106Network physical structure; Signal processing specially adapted to the downstream path of the transmission network
    • H04N21/6125Network physical structure; Signal processing specially adapted to the downstream path of the transmission network involving transmission via Internet
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04NPICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/60Network structure or processes for video distribution between server and client or between remote clients; Control signalling between clients, server and network components; Transmission of management data between server and client, e.g. sending from server to client commands for recording incoming content stream; Communication details between server and client 
    • H04N21/61Network physical structure; Signal processing
    • H04N21/6156Network physical structure; Signal processing specially adapted to the upstream path of the transmission network
    • H04N21/6175Network physical structure; Signal processing specially adapted to the upstream path of the transmission network involving transmission via Internet
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04NPICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/80Generation or processing of content or additional data by content creator independently of the distribution process; Content per se
    • H04N21/83Generation or processing of protective or descriptive data associated with content; Content structuring
    • H04N21/835Generation of protective data, e.g. certificates
    • H04N21/8355Generation of protective data, e.g. certificates involving usage data, e.g. number of copies or viewings allowed
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04NPICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N7/00Television systems
    • H04N7/16Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems
    • H04N7/173Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
    • H04N7/17309Transmission or handling of upstream communications
    • H04N7/17318Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a method and system to acquire media content, comprising, for example, movies, music, and video games, from national distributors, or in some cases, directly from the studios, record companies, and/or manufacturers and to provide this media content through the a network to customers.
  • media content comprising, for example, movies, music, and video games, from national distributors, or in some cases, directly from the studios, record companies, and/or manufacturers and to provide this media content through the a network to customers.
  • the acquisition and delivery of this content is described in this document.
  • Media content will be delivered from distributors/manufacturers to a server/provider on taps, DVD, disc or other medium. In most cases the content will be delivered over he Internet. The se ve will provide the infrastructure to receive this media content.
  • broadcast television will be routed through the server/provider for delivery to customers.
  • the transmission from the broadcast television providers to server/provider will, initially, be adapted to the broadcast television providers existing infrastructure. As television broadcast evolves into Digital TV, this segment of the transfer will be modified appropriately by the server/provider.
  • the transmission of the broadcast television content from the server/provider to customers will occur via infrastructure provided by the server/provider,
  • the madia content described above will be stored on database servers.
  • the content will be copied to the database in digital format.
  • the server/provider will host application and web servers at a secure, high-availability co-hosting location. Customers will access the server/provider web site on these web servers through the Internet.
  • the application servers will manage the selection, rental, sale, and delivery of the movies/music/games. Customers will be able to find and request movies/music/games by Actor, Director, Title, Category, Style, or other suitable criteria from this database.
  • the web customer interface provided by the server/provider will facilitate selection and ordering. Ordering may be for rental or, in certain cases, purchase.
  • the instant set box will comprise hardware and software capable of recording media content on a drive in the set top box for replay and a future time.
  • the set-top box will be provided by the server/provider, in collaboration with various hardware, software, and telecommunications experts.
  • the set-top box will remain the property of the server/provider and is installed, along with the installation of fiber optic cable into the customer's home. There will be an installation fee and a deposit required.
  • the server/provider set-top box will replace the customer's cable box. It will supply Internet connection, through the server/provider. It will also provide a cable TV connection. As an extra-cost opticn, the set-top box will contain a DVD player/recorder. Movies/inusic/games can be purchased from the server/provider and recorded onto CD's/DVD disk right on the set-top bos.
  • the server/provider control ox will control the TV and all the devices in the set-top box, thereby replacing multiple remote controls for the customer.
  • a typical scenario would be as follows: A customer presses a button on the control box that navigates to the server/provider website via the server/provider network. The user sees the server/provider login screen on a TV set. Ml interaction with the server/provider is through the customer's TV, by way of the set-top box, controlled by the controller box. If the customer is new, he is routed to a web page that allows him to become a member. A credit card is registered for that Customer. At this point the customer is allowed to enter a usarname, and the system issues a password for that customer. A registered customer goes to a page that allows him to select movies, music, or video games.
  • the customer indicates that he wishes to choose a movie, he is then taken to a page that allows him to choose a movie, in choosing a movie, the customer ⁇ able to search by actor, director, year of release, genre, rating, or one of several other criteria.
  • the customer chooses the movie, it is added to his "basket".
  • Several movies, music selections, and/or video games can be added to the "basket” in similar fashion.
  • the customer can click a button to check out. After a brief confirmation message, the customer can check this item or items out and his credit card, debit card or smart card is charged for the purchase or purchases.
  • the servers retrieve the digital images of the selected media content, i.e., movie ( s ) /music/game (s) and begins transmission.
  • the movie is transmitted across the fiber optic network to the set-top box in the customer's home.
  • the set-top box stores the digital image of the movie to its internal hard disc.
  • the user can play the movie on his TV, to which the set-top box is connected.
  • the playback is controlled by the controller box.
  • the Customer can begin playback at any time. Once playback begins, a timer within the set-top box is started. From this point, in time, the customer has use of this music for a se period of time (say, two weeks) .
  • the customer can start, atop, rewind, and replay the movie at will.
  • the movie will be marked for deletion from the set-top hard disc.
  • the system will display a message on the TV screen informing the user that the movie has expired, and asking the customer if he wishes to purchase the ovie. If the customer answers "No," the system deletes the movie from the hard disc. If the customer answers "Yes, " the system displays a screen (a web page at the server/provider) that allows the customer to purchase the movie.

Abstract

An improved method of providing media content to at least one user comprising the steps of accessing by the user of a server/provider website via a set-top box, and selecting by the user of media content stored in a server/provider database, and delivery of the selected media content to the user set-top box by the server/provider.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING MEDIA CONTENT
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority from Waites, "Method and System for Providing Media Content," United States Provisional Application No. SO/249, 925, filed November 17, 2000, herein incorporated by reference.
FT81X) OF THE PSESENT INVENTION The present invention relates to a method and system to acquire media content, comprising, for example, movies, music, and video games, from national distributors, or in some cases, directly from the studios, record companies, and/or manufacturers and to provide this media content through the a network to customers. The acquisition and delivery of this content is described in this document.
SUMMARY OF THE IWEirøXON
Media content will be delivered from distributors/manufacturers to a server/provider on taps, DVD, disc or other medium. In most cases the content will be delivered over he Internet. The se ve will provide the infrastructure to receive this media content.
In addition, broadcast television will be routed through the server/provider for delivery to customers. The transmission from the broadcast television providers to server/provider will, initially, be adapted to the broadcast television providers existing infrastructure. As television broadcast evolves into Digital TV, this segment of the transfer will be modified appropriately by the server/provider. The transmission of the broadcast television content from the server/provider to customers will occur via infrastructure provided by the server/provider, The madia content described above will be stored on database servers. The content will be copied to the database in digital format. The server/provider will host application and web servers at a secure, high-availability co-hosting location. Customers will access the server/provider web site on these web servers through the Internet. The application servers will manage the selection, rental, sale, and delivery of the movies/music/games. Customers will be able to find and request movies/music/games by Actor, Director, Title, Category, Style, or other suitable criteria from this database. The web customer interface provided by the server/provider will facilitate selection and ordering. Ordering may be for rental or, in certain cases, purchase.
Data transfer to and from server/' rovider will rake place across fiber optic cable. This fiber optic cable network will go all the way into the customer's home, and connect to a set-top box. It is also contemplated that the set top box can provide (replace) the function o£ a video rape recorder. The instant set box will comprise hardware and software capable of recording media content on a drive in the set top box for replay and a future time.
The set-top box will be provided by the server/provider, in collaboration with various hardware, software, and telecommunications experts. The set-top box will remain the property of the server/provider and is installed, along with the installation of fiber optic cable into the customer's home. There will be an installation fee and a deposit required.
The server/provider set-top box will replace the customer's cable box. It will supply Internet connection, through the server/provider. It will also provide a cable TV connection. As an extra-cost opticn, the set-top box will contain a DVD player/recorder. Movies/inusic/games can be purchased from the server/provider and recorded onto CD's/DVD disk right on the set-top bos.
The server/provider control ox will control the TV and all the devices in the set-top box, thereby replacing multiple remote controls for the customer.
A typical scenario would be as follows: A customer presses a button on the control box that navigates to the server/provider website via the server/provider network. The user sees the server/provider login screen on a TV set. Ml interaction with the server/provider is through the customer's TV, by way of the set-top box, controlled by the controller box. If the customer is new, he is routed to a web page that allows him to become a member. A credit card is registered for that Customer. At this point the customer is allowed to enter a usarname, and the system issues a password for that customer. A registered customer goes to a page that allows him to select movies, music, or video games. If the customer indicates that he wishes to choose a movie, he is then taken to a page that allows him to choose a movie, in choosing a movie, the customer ιε able to search by actor, director, year of release, genre, rating, or one of several other criteria. Once the customer chooses the movie, it is added to his "basket". Several movies, music selections, and/or video games can be added to the "basket" in similar fashion. The customer can click a button to check out. After a brief confirmation message, the customer can check this item or items out and his credit card, debit card or smart card is charged for the purchase or purchases. At this point the servers retrieve the digital images of the selected media content, i.e., movie ( s ) /music/game (s) and begins transmission. In the case of a movie, as an example, the movie is transmitted across the fiber optic network to the set-top box in the customer's home. The set-top box stores the digital image of the movie to its internal hard disc. At this point the user can play the movie on his TV, to which the set-top box is connected. The playback is controlled by the controller box. The Customer can begin playback at any time. Once playback begins, a timer within the set-top box is started. From this point, in time, the customer has use of this music for a se period of time (say, two weeks) . During that time period, the customer can start, atop, rewind, and replay the movie at will. Once the time period has expired, the movie will be marked for deletion from the set-top hard disc. After this point in time, the next time the customer accesses a server/provider function from the set-top box (for example, to play a movie or a music track) , the system will display a message on the TV screen informing the user that the movie has expired, and asking the customer if he wishes to purchase the ovie. If the customer answers "No," the system deletes the movie from the hard disc. If the customer answers "Yes, " the system displays a screen (a web page at the server/provider) that allows the customer to purchase the movie.
A similar scenario would exist for music and video games .
The attached figure has been generally described above and is provided to illustrate an embodiment of the present invention. It should be understood that the illustrative embodiment is not limiting and thoβe skilled in the art would ec gnize various equivalent embodiment that could also ba used and which would be in the scope of this invention.

Claims

The invention to be claimed is:
1. A method of providing media content to at least one user comprising the steps of;
(a) accessing by the user of a serve /provider website via set-top box?
(b) selecting by the user of media content stored in a server/provider database; and
(c) delivering of the selected media content to the user set-top bo by the server provider. . The method of claim 1, wherein the accessing is via the Internet,
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the user set-top box further comprises a DVD player/recorder.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the data transfer between the user and the server/provider is via fiber optic cable.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein a server/provider control bos controls a user's TV and external devices connected to the TV as well as all devices in the user set- top box.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the media content provided by the server/provider is stored in the user set- top box.
7. The method of claim 6, further comprising deleting the stored media content after a preselected time period.
PCT/US2001/042958 2000-11-17 2001-11-19 Method and system for providing media content WO2002041100A2 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU2002230416A AU2002230416A1 (en) 2000-11-17 2001-11-19 Method and system for providing media content

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US24992500P 2000-11-17 2000-11-17
US60/249,925 2000-11-17

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2002041100A2 true WO2002041100A2 (en) 2002-05-23
WO2002041100A9 WO2002041100A9 (en) 2002-07-25
WO2002041100A3 WO2002041100A3 (en) 2003-01-23

Family

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Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/US2001/042958 WO2002041100A2 (en) 2000-11-17 2001-11-19 Method and system for providing media content

Country Status (2)

Country Link
AU (1) AU2002230416A1 (en)
WO (1) WO2002041100A2 (en)

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4949187A (en) * 1988-12-16 1990-08-14 Cohen Jason M Video communications system having a remotely controlled central source of video and audio data
US5818935A (en) * 1997-03-10 1998-10-06 Maa; Chia-Yiu Internet enhanced video system
US20010033343A1 (en) * 2000-03-23 2001-10-25 Adrian Yap Multi-tuner DVR
US20020016776A1 (en) * 2000-03-24 2002-02-07 Chorng-Yeong Chu Distributing digital content

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4949187A (en) * 1988-12-16 1990-08-14 Cohen Jason M Video communications system having a remotely controlled central source of video and audio data
US5818935A (en) * 1997-03-10 1998-10-06 Maa; Chia-Yiu Internet enhanced video system
US20010033343A1 (en) * 2000-03-23 2001-10-25 Adrian Yap Multi-tuner DVR
US20020016776A1 (en) * 2000-03-24 2002-02-07 Chorng-Yeong Chu Distributing digital content

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
HENDRICKS, V.: 'Moxi media center' APPLIANCE WEB, [Online] 07 February 2002, XP002951284 Retrieved from the Internet: <URL:http://www.iapplianceweb.com/appReview /IAW_Set-Top_BOX/23> [retrieved on 2002-05-13] *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
WO2002041100A9 (en) 2002-07-25
WO2002041100A3 (en) 2003-01-23
AU2002230416A1 (en) 2002-05-27

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