U.S. patent application number 10/848931 was filed with the patent office on 2004-10-28 for providing content interruptions.
Invention is credited to Rashkovskiy, Oleg B., Shendar, Noam A..
Application Number | 20040216170 10/848931 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 24241996 |
Filed Date | 2004-10-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040216170 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Rashkovskiy, Oleg B. ; et
al. |
October 28, 2004 |
Providing content interruptions
Abstract
Content which users may wish to receive may be distributed with
interrupting content such that the use of the content on the user's
receiver may be interrupted and replaced with the interrupting
content. The content which the user wishes to receive may be
software, audio, video, graphics or other material and the
interrupting content in one embodiment of the prevent invention may
be advertisements. In this way, the user's receiver may be utilized
to determine when it is appropriate to interrupt the interruptible
content with the interrupting content. This may provide a
convenient mechanism for reduced price or free distribution of a
wide variety of media currently provided only in physical form or
only for free without any compensation to the content provider.
Inventors: |
Rashkovskiy, Oleg B.;
(Cupertino, CA) ; Shendar, Noam A.; (Mountain
View, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
TROP, PRUNER & HU, P.C.
Suite 100
8554 Katy Freeway
Houston
TX
77024
US
|
Family ID: |
24241996 |
Appl. No.: |
10/848931 |
Filed: |
May 19, 2004 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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10848931 |
May 19, 2004 |
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09561443 |
Apr 28, 2000 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
725/135 ;
348/E7.071; 715/201; 725/136 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N 21/4331 20130101;
H04N 21/812 20130101; H04H 60/22 20130101; H04H 20/40 20130101;
H04H 60/23 20130101; H04H 20/106 20130101; H04N 21/8166 20130101;
H04H 60/16 20130101; H04N 21/4408 20130101; H04N 21/458 20130101;
H04H 20/28 20130101; H04N 21/4622 20130101; H04N 7/17318 20130101;
H04N 21/6543 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
725/135 ;
725/136; 715/500.1 |
International
Class: |
H04N 007/16; G06F
017/60; H04L 009/00; H04K 001/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method comprising: allowing the use of a first content on a
content receiver; automatically interrupting the use of the first
content; and causing the receiver to temporarily replace the first
content with second content.
2. The method of claim 1 including receiving said first and second
content over a broadband distribution system.
3. The method of claim 2 including receiving television
programming.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein temporarily replacing the first
content with the second content includes periodically replacing the
first content with the second content.
5. The method of claim 4 including replacing said first content
with advertising content.
6. The method of claim 1 including receiving digital content and
demodulating said content.
7. The method of claim 6 including parsing content and control
information.
8. The method claim 7 wherein parsing content from control
information includes parsing from said content, instructions for
determining when said content may be interrupted.
9. The method of claim 7 including receiving instructions from a
back channel for controlling the interruption of said content.
10. The method of claim 1 including receiving encrypted content and
controlling the decryption of said content to prevent theft of said
content.
11. An article comprising a medium for storing instructions that
enable a processor-based system to: allow the use of a first
content on the system; automatically interrupt the use of the first
content; and cause the system to temporarily replace the first
content with second content.
12. The article of claim 11 further storing instructions that
enable a processor-based to receive said first and second content
over a broadband distribution system.
13. The article of claim 12 further storing instructions that
enable a processor-based system to receive television
programming.
14. The article of claim 11 further storing instructions that
enable a processor-based system to periodically replace the first
content with the second content.
15. The article of claim 11 further storing instructions that
enable a processor-based system to receive digital content and to
demodulate said content.
16. The article of claim 15 further storing instructions that
enable a processor-based system to parse content from control
information.
17. The article of claim 16 further storing instructions that
enable a processor-based system to parse from said content,
instructions for determining when said first content may be
interrupted.
18. The article of claim 16 further storing instructions that
enable a processor-based system to receive instructions from a back
channel for controlling the interruption of said content.
19. The article of claim 11 further storing instructions that
enable a processor-based system to receive encrypted content and
control the decryption of said content to prevent theft of said
content.
20-30. (Canceled)
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] This invention relates generally to broadband content
distribution.
[0002] Broadband content distribution may involve the distribution
of television programming to a large number of receivers as well as
the distribution of other forms of content. Content which may be
amenable to wide spread distribution include video, graphics,
software, audio and games.
[0003] The ability to charge customers for content in many cases
means that the type of content that may be distributed may be of
higher quality. Thus, pay-per-view television programming is widely
accepted.
[0004] However, there is a considerable demand for the distribution
of content without charge. Conventional television broadcasts
subsidize distribution through an advertising scenario. Similarly,
in connection with the Internet, a large amount of content is
distributed for free with the hope that viewers will patronize
advertisers that pay for banner ads that accompany the content.
[0005] Thus, it would be desirable to include advertising material
or other interruptions in the course of a wide variety of content
that might be distributed for free or at reduced charge in a
broadband distribution network. However, many content formats are
not amenable to the ready incorporation of advertising material.
For example, games and software could be distributed with banner
ads. However, full screen display of advertisements is generally
not viable because there is no way to know when to insert these
advertisements in the course of the video game or software
operation.
[0006] Thus, there is a need for ways to provide temporary
interruptions, for example for purposes of inserting
advertisements, in a wide variety of content distributed in a
digital broadband distribution system.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is a schematic depiction of a broadband digital
distribution system in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention;
[0008] FIG. 2 is a flow chart for software which may be utilized on
a receiver in the system shown in FIG. 1; and
[0009] FIG. 3 is a block depiction of a receiver in accordance with
one embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0010] A digital broadband distribution network 10, shown in FIG.
1, may implement the distribution of a variety of content formats
and the provision of content interruptions on a content receiver
16. The content receiver 16 receives content from a content
transmitter 12 which in turn receives broadcast content from a
content provider 14.
[0011] The content transmitted by the transmitter 12 may be made up
of conventional content termed "interruptible content" and
"interrupting content". Interruptible content is content whose
operation, play, or use may be interrupted for the substitution of
other content. The content which is temporarily substituted for the
interruptible content is called the interrupting content.
[0012] In accordance with one embodiment, interruptible content
that the user desires to receive may be interrupted with
interrupting content that may help to pay for the interruptible
content. The interrupting content may include advertisements.
[0013] The interruptible content may be video, graphics, audio,
games, and other software such as application software. The
interrupting content may be substituted for the interruptible
content under control of the receiver 16 in one embodiment.
[0014] The content from the content transmitter 12 is received by a
tuner/demodulator 18 contained in the digital content receiver 16.
The tuner/demodulator 18 tunes to one or more channels and
demodulates those channels for display. In addition, the
tuner/demodulator 18 may parse the interruptible and interrupting
content and forwards that information to an encrypted cache 20. The
tuner/demodulator 18 also parses storing instructions utilized for
controlling the storage of the content. The storing instructions
are also forwarded to the encrypted cache 20 for use in storing the
content. In addition, the tuner/demodulator 18 may parse upgrades,
provided with the content, for upgrading previously received
content. Finally the tuner/demodulator 18 may parse interruption
instructions from the rest of the content. These interruption
instructions tell when to interrupt the interruptible content with
the interrupting content. The interruption instructions may be
forwarded to a program guide 24.
[0015] The program guide 24 may receive interruption instructions
from a back channel which may be coupled to the broadcast content
provider 14. The interruption instructions may be conveyed, for
example, over the Internet as indicated at 26. In some cases, the
interruption instructions may be updated, revised or extended and
therefore it may be necessary to convey them after the original
content is received.
[0016] The program guide 24 may provide a schedule of available
information that may be received from the content provider 14. This
information may be accessed over the backchannel such as the
Internet 26 to reduce the storage requirements on the content
receiver 16. The interruption instructions, received over the back
channel or as parsed by the tuner/demodulator 18, may be forwarded
by the content guide 24 to a shell 22. The shell 22 in one
embodiment of the present invention may be a software module that
controls the use of content received from the broadcast content
provider 14. Moreover, the shell 22 implements the interruption of
interruptible content with interrupting content in accordance with
interruption instructions received as described previously.
[0017] The encrypted cache 20 stores the content in a format that
prevents decryption and theft by unauthorized individuals. The
encrypted cache 20 may, for example, be part of a hard disk drive.
When content is received by the system 10, the shell 22 stores the
information on the hard disk drive and particularly in the
encrypted cache. For example, the shell 22 may cause the content to
be distributed to a variety of storage locations on the hard disk
drive so that the content may not be continuously accessed in one
contiguous hard drive area. Only the shell 22 can access the map
which indicates where the content is stored on the hard disk drive
and how it can be reconstructed to play back the content in a
meaningful fashion.
[0018] Thus, as content is acquired from a source and stored
through the shell into the hard disk drive, it is stored in a form
which can only be access by the shell thereafter. To access the
content one must access the content through the shell because only
the shell knows where all the portions of the content are stored
and how to reconstruct it in a meaningful fashion. Thus, the shell
can control access in a variety of ways. For example, the shell can
prevent access, the shell can provide access only in return for
either watching a commercial or paying a fee or the shell may limit
the number of times that the content may be viewed or even the
times when the content may be viewed.
[0019] Thus, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the shell 22
may have content, such as games or rentable software as a few
examples. When the user wishes to use the content which is
available from the content provider 14, the user may request a
download of that information or that information may be conveyed
during conditions of high bandwidth availability. Alternatively,
other schemes for providing the content to the receiver 16 may be
utilized. In general, the transport mechanism may include any
digital mechanism such as satellite transmission, cable
transmission or airwave broadcast.
[0020] Conceivably, the content may also be provided in
conventional physical, portable forms such as compact disks
(CD-ROM), digital video disks (DVD), flash memory or the like. The
content, however received, is encoded in a way in which, absent the
use of the shell 22, one would be unable to use, hear, view, play
or otherwise enjoy the content. Thus, the system controls access to
the content in a secure way using encryption provided with the
content as conveyed over the transport media or as received in
physical form by the user.
[0021] Once the information has been cached in the cache 20, the
user can receive the right to enjoy play, hear or view the content
as the case may be from the shell 22. The shell 22 then releases
the information for use in the appropriate format on the
processor-based content receiver 16. The shell 22 may also control
the number of times or the time period when the content may be
used.
[0022] Moreover, the shell 22 monitors a criteria which determines
when the content's use is to be interrupted with interrupting
content. Thus, the shell 22 may force a mechanism wherein
interrupting content may be temporarily played in place of
interruptible content. For example, advertisements may be provided
together with the interruptible content. Alternatively, the
interrupting and interruptible content may be received at different
times via different mechanisms.
[0023] For example, the interrupting content may be inserted at
regular intervals. In other cases, the interrupting content may be
inserted when advantageous conditions arise. For example, in
connection with gaming software, when the user reaches a stopping
point, the system may determine that the action has paused
sufficiently that the interrupting content may be inserted.
Moreover, instead of linearly inserting the interrupting content,
the content may be inserted in a progressive fashion. Thus, the
more the user uses the content the higher the rate at which
interrupting content may be substituted.
[0024] In one embodiment of the present invention, the content that
is being played may be interrupted with the play of the commercial
in real time. That is, when the commercial is broadcast over a
broadcast media, it may automatically be inserted into the playback
of the content on the system 10 as well.
[0025] In one embodiment of the present invention, the
interruptible content may be an advertisement; however, the
interrupting content may also be a request that the user make some
form of payment in order to continue to use the interruptible
content. For example, the receiver 16 may be called upon to access
backchannel to make a payment for the continued use of the content.
When the receiver 16 does so, the receiver 16 may be provided with
a code either through the back channel or from the content provider
which allows continued use of the interruptible content.
[0026] In some embodiments of the present invention, techniques may
be utilized to reduce the likelihood that users of the system 10
will discontinue their use when the commercial is played. For
example, an overlay may be provided over the commercial indicate
what is coming up next in the content. For example, where the
content is game and the commercial is inserted after the user
reaches a given level, information may be provided about the next
level as an overlay, for example, over the ongoing play of the
commercial.
[0027] Referring to FIG. 2, the software 28 for controlling the
interruption of the interruptible content may be stored on a
suitable storage medium such as a hard disk drive on the receiver
16. Initially, the software 28 waits for a request for content as
indicated in diamond 30. Once such a request is received, the
content may be supplied as indicated in block 32. In the same
process, interruption instructions may be acquired as indicated in
block 34 for the content which was requested and supplied in block
32. In addition, interrupting content may then be obtained as
indicated in block 36. When an interruption criteria is satisfied,
as determined in diamond 38, the ongoing use of the interruptible
content may be interrupted as indicated in block 40. Thus, in one
embodiment of the present invention, the interruptible content is
interrupted upon satisfaction of an interruption criteria. The
interrupting content, such as an advertisement, is substituted
temporarily.
[0028] A check at diamond 42 then determines whether the
interrupted criteria is complete. If not, the flow recycles to
continue to check to determine whether the interruption criteria is
satisfied at diamond 38. Otherwise, the flow ends.
[0029] A processor-based content receiver 16 in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 3, may be a set
top box, a desk top computer, an appliance, a handheld device, or
other form factors. The receiver 16 may include a processor 44. In
one embodiment, the processor 44 may be coupled to an accelerated
graphics port (AGP) chipset 46 for implementing an accelerated
graphics port embodiment. The chipset 46 communicates with the
system memory 52, the AGP port 48 and the graphics accelerator 50.
A television 54 may be coupled to the video output of the graphics
accelerator 50. The chipset 46 is also coupled to a bus 56 which
may be, for example, a Peripheral Component Interconnect bus (PCI)
bus. See revision 2.1 of the PCI Electrical Specification available
from the PCI Special Interest Group, Portland, Oreg. 97214. The bus
56 connects to a TV tuner/capture card 58 which provides tuning and
demodulation for receiving the digital signal. The card 58 may be
coupled an antenna 60 or other source of digital video such as a
cable input, a satellite receiver or the like.
[0030] The bus 56 is also coupled to a bridge 62 that couples the
hard disk drive 64 that may store the software 28 in one embodiment
of the present invention. The bridge 62 is also coupled to another
bus 66 which may be coupled to a serial input/output (SIO) device
68. In one embodiment of the present invention, the device 68 is in
turn coupled to an interface 70 which may be an infrared interface.
The interface 70 communicates with a remote control unit 72. Also
connected to the bus 66 is a basic input/output system (BIOS)
74.
[0031] In some cases, a large amount of content may eventually be
downloaded or otherwise acquired and stored in a storage medium
associated with the system 10. For example, in conventional
systems, the storage medium may be a hard disk drive. Thus, it may
be useful for the user to know what content has been stored on the
user's hard disk drive. A file may be assembled which gives the
user a content guide that lists all the content which is still
available for access through the shell 22. In this way, the user
can select that content by selecting one of the entries in the
content guide. For example, the entries in the content guide may be
selected by mouse clicking on them causing the content to
immediately begin play.
[0032] While a digital receiving system has been described above,
the present application is equally applicable to analog systems
such as analog television receivers which work with set-top boxes.
In such case, storing instructions may be provided over the
vertical blanking interval in one embodiment of the present
invention. Alternatively, storing instructions may be received over
the Internet or through some other source.
[0033] In another alternate embodiment, interruption instructions,
interrupting content and interruptible content may be received over
the Internet 26. In such case, the content may be forwarded through
the program guide 24 and directly to the encrypted cache 20. As a
result, the content bypasses the tuner/demodulator 18 but still
ends up being stored in the encrypted cache 20 as described
previously. That information may then be accessed through the shell
22 in the same way as information stored in the encrypted cache 20
via the tuner/demodulator 18. The interruption instructions may be
sent through the program guide 24 to the shell 22.
[0034] While the present invention has been described with respect
to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art will
appreciate numerous modifications and variations therefrom. It is
intended that the appended claims cover all such modifications and
variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of this present
invention.
* * * * *