U.S. patent application number 14/257392 was filed with the patent office on 2014-08-14 for convenient video program start over system and method for a video entertainment distribution network.
This patent application is currently assigned to COMCAST IP HOLDINGS I, LLC. The applicant listed for this patent is COMCAST IP HOLDINGS I, LLC. Invention is credited to James R. Albrecht, Bruce R. Bradley, Sandi Hannum, Peter Sheedy, Matt Wong.
Application Number | 20140229999 14/257392 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50482034 |
Filed Date | 2014-08-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140229999 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hannum; Sandi ; et
al. |
August 14, 2014 |
CONVENIENT VIDEO PROGRAM START OVER SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR A VIDEO
ENTERTAINMENT DISTRIBUTION NETWORK
Abstract
A system and method are described herein for providing an
convenient video program start over system and method for a video
entertainment distribution network whereby a user may interactively
revert back to the beginning of an ongoing video program that is
currently broadcasted over the video distribution network. The
novel system and method may be implemented on any video network
having interactive television (ITV) capabilities, wherein user
requests from a client are serviceable at an upstream head end, and
video storage means exist for the purpose of storage of time based
broadcast video programs. The system preferably utilizes a process
that involves a minimally complicated sequence of commands that are
easily understood and remembered by virtually any user, thereby
enhancing the probability of consumer acceptance. The start over
system and method may be embodied as a program of instructions,
defining a controller, that are executed by a micro-processor
located in the STB (client) or head end (server). Optional means
are also provided for allowing only a subset of all available
broadcast video programs that emanate from a plurality of
programming sources to be used with the start over system.
Inventors: |
Hannum; Sandi;
(Philadelphia, PA) ; Albrecht; James R.;
(Girdwood, AK) ; Wong; Matt; (Palo Alto, CA)
; Bradley; Bruce R.; (Wayne, PA) ; Sheedy;
Peter; (Huntingdon Valley, PA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
COMCAST IP HOLDINGS I, LLC |
Philadelphia |
PA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
COMCAST IP HOLDINGS I, LLC
Philadelphia
PA
|
Family ID: |
50482034 |
Appl. No.: |
14/257392 |
Filed: |
April 21, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
11186170 |
Jul 21, 2005 |
8707376 |
|
|
14257392 |
|
|
|
|
60590056 |
Jul 21, 2004 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
725/88 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N 9/79 20130101; H04N
21/2393 20130101; H04N 21/6587 20130101; H04N 21/2387 20130101;
H04N 7/173 20130101; H04N 21/47202 20130101; H04N 21/47217
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
725/88 |
International
Class: |
H04N 21/6587 20060101
H04N021/6587; H04N 9/79 20060101 H04N009/79; H04N 21/2387 20060101
H04N021/2387; H04N 7/173 20060101 H04N007/173 |
Claims
1. A video entertainment distribution network having interactive
television capabilities, comprising: a video storage device which
is operable to store a plurality of broadcast video programs which
emanate from at least one programming source; and, a controller in
communication with said storage device for causing said storage
device to record at least one of said broadcast video programs,
thereby creating a stored video program in said storage device
which is substantially similar in content to said broadcast video
program; wherein said controller is further operable to cause play
of said broadcast video program which has partially elapsed to
revert to play of said stored video program from the beginning
thereof.
Description
BACKGROUND TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) on
U.S. Provisional application No. 60/590,056 Entitled "ONE TOUCH,
START OVER", filed on Jul. 2 2004, by James R, Albrecht, et al.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates generally to interactive television
systems providing DVD-like functionality, and more specifically, to
a system which enables the instantaneous replay from the start of a
partially elapsed program emanating from a conventional programming
source using an convenient minimally interactive procedure.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Historically, television programming sources provided
multi-media entertainment to the consumer public over an aerial
broadcast medium such that individual program offerings were
supplied only at predetermined times as determined by the
programming source. With this constraint, a consumer was
essentially forced to modify his or her personal schedule in order
to view the desired program at the prespecified time. The advent of
video cassette recorders (VCRs), and other similar video recording
devices such as digital versatile disks (DVDs), and TiVO.TM. brand
digital video recording (DVR) equipment have alleviated this
problem somewhat by allowing the user to record programs from a
broadcast channel for personal viewing at a later time.
Nevertheless, this flexibility requires that the user maintain a
proactive knowledge base of future programming in order to avoid
missing an interesting program altogether. The multi-media
entertainment generally consists of video portion and an associated
audio portion (hereinafter to be collectively termed video), which
is typically delineated into multiple video programs, each spanning
a predetermined amount of time.
[0004] Traditional television broadcast offerings consisted of
relatively few choices in concurrent video programs from which a
user simply chose between a very short list of program alternatives
for view at any particular time. Nevertheless, television
programming sources have since burgeoned into a rather large
industry, wherein today's cable access television (CATV), and
direct broadcast satellite (DBS) systems provide over a hundred
channels, which are available for viewing at any given time. Given
this rather large selection of viewing options, a phenomenon,
commonly known as "channel surfing", has developed whereby the user
alternatively views each of the available channels at a somewhat
rapid pace in order to find an interesting program. This makeshift
mode of program selection does abate the necessity of maintaining
an active knowledge of future programming, yet the initial portions
of the video programs are almost always invariably missed due to
the fact that the user is only able to obtain knowledge of the
ongoing program after it has been playing for some predetermined
amount of time.
[0005] Advances in video technology have provided for various types
of video on demand (VoD) services, which have generally increased
the level of interactivity that a user may have with their
television viewing experience. Whereas viewing options historically
available to the user only consisted of switching among the
different channel offerings, VoD has provided such services as
Pay-PerView.TM., wherein a user may order and view video programs
from the CATV provider. Another service that has been proposed for
use within a VoD environment is VCR-like functionality, wherein the
user is allowed to interactively fast-forward, reverse, pause, or
stop an ongoing video program. U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,253 to Swix, et
al. describes one such device wherein a method is disclosed for
managing potential bandwidth problems that are created while
providing VCR-like functionality within a typical VoD system. U.S.
Pat. No, 6,608,966 to Anderson, et al. describes a method of
canceling selected frames from a conventional MPEG-2 video stream
in order to enable fast-forward, and reverse functionality. The
'966 and '253 devices, however, are defined for use only with
stored video assets; rewinding to an earlier portion of an ongoing
video program is not enabled using the teachings described
therein.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,263 to O'Callaghan does describe a
device which provides for rewind functionality to an ongoing
program by the creation of duplicate copies of an ongoing program
that are stored in a time-staggered fashion such that a user may
interactively reverse, pause, or fast-forward through the video
program via alternative access to either of these time-staggered
video assets. However, no means are disclosed for quickly reverting
back to the beginning of the ongoing program. Furthermore, it is
contemplated that such a system that enables rewind to the start of
a relatively long program would unduly tax the storage requirements
of a typical VoD system as well unduly burden multi-media transport
mediums such as currently implemented coaxial cable or hybrid fiber
cable (HFC) distribution lines having only a finite amount of
available bandwidth.
[0007] Typical users of consumer products will not make use of an
available function of that product lithe use of that functionality
requires a complicated sequence of steps or actions. That is,
consumer acceptance is closely associated with simplicity of use.
Rewind functionality provided by the '263 device is available for
ongoing programming, however no means are disclosed for easily, and
quickly finding the beginning of the ongoing program using a simple
"start over" procedure, The act of rewinding a program while
"channel surfing" is a burdensome task wherein the user is required
to rewind the program in an iterative fashion until the starting
location is found. It is projected that a typical "channel surfer",
who is characteristically known as a whimsical viewer, would forgo
the use of such a device rather than go through the involved
procedure of finding the actual beginning of any given program.
Throughout the rest of this document, the term "start over" will be
used to denote the action of returning the program to its starting
location and subsequently beginning play therefrom.
[0008] Thus there has remained a long-felt, unsatisfied need for a
system which implements "start over" functionality to an ongoing
program of a conventional video distribution system, whereby play
of an ongoing video program may be initiated from the start thereof
utilizing a process that involves a minimally complicated sequence
of commands.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND OBJECTIVES
[0009] The present invention provides a solution to these needs, as
well as other needs, via a convenient video program start over
system and method for a video entertainment distribution network
whereby a user may interactively revert back to the beginning of an
ongoing video program that is currently being broadcast over the
video distribution network. With this system, a user who has
inadvertently missed a portion of a currently broadcasted video
program may interactively instruct the network to replay the entire
program from the beginning thereof using a simple, minimally
interactive procedure.
[0010] The present system is particularly suited for entertainment
video distribution networks having a video data mass storage device
that is adapted for the interactive storage and retrieval of
selected streams of video data from a programming source. Such
systems may include community access TV (CATV, also known as cable
television), direct broadcast satellite (DBS) distribution networks
having interactive television (ITV) capabilities, or may even be
comprised of a system having an interactively controlled mass
storage system located at the customer premises such as TiVO.TM.
brand digital video recording (DVR) equipment. An interactive
television (ITV) enabled network defined as pertaining to this
disclosure, is the ability of a server device such as a head end to
receive and process upstream requests from a distally located
client device such as a conventional set top box (STB) and thus
manipulate video data which is sent downstream to the STB
corresponding to those requests. ITV functionality is typically
provided in a video distribution network via a conventional type of
system which is commonly referred to as a navigator. The navigator,
among other services, provides a means of handling human
interaction with the network in a preferably ergonomic manner, and
processes requests from the user, then forwards these requests to
the upstream server or head end. The navigator is preferably a
microprocessor driven algorithm which is executed by a plurality of
stored program instructions located either in the head end or
STB.
[0011] The present invention provides a user interface which is
simple and convenient, thereby enhancing the probability of
acceptance by a user. The system preferably utilizes a process that
involves a minimally complicated sequence of commands that are
easily understood and remembered by virtually any user. The
convenient, minimally interactive procedure may be defined as any
user interactive set of user commands that involves a minimally
complicated sequence of user operations to initiate the start over
system. As it is well known that systems which require a multiple
sequence of actions are not easily remembered, the start over
system preferably provides an intuitive operation requiring
preferably only one-step from a user terminal such as a television
style remote in order to initiate the start over operation.
[0012] It is therefore an object of the present invention is to
provide an convenient use video program start over system and
method for a video entertainment distribution network that enables
an associated video program that is currently playing on said
network to be played from the beginning of said video program.
[0013] Another object of the present invention is to provide an
convenient video program start over system and method for a video
entertainment distribution network which is adapted for use in any
type of network having interactive television (ITV)
capabilities.
[0014] Another object of the present invention is to provide an
convenient video program start over system and method for a video
entertainment distribution network having a user interface which
requires a minimal number of user steps in order to initiate the
start over operation.
[0015] Another object of the present invention is to provide an
convenient video program start over system and method for a video
entertainment distribution network, wherein optional means are
provided to allow a programming source to determine Which of its
particular video programs are to be start over enabled.
[0016] These and other objects of the present invention will eco
readily apparent to those familiar with current video distribution
principles and will become apparent in the following portions of
the specification, wherein the detailed description is for the
purpose of fully disclosing preferred embodiments of the invention
without placing limitations thereon.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] For a further understanding of the nature and objects of the
present invention, reference should be made to the following
detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings, in which like elements are given the same or analogous
reference numbers, and wherein:
[0018] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of some of the principle
components of a typical video distribution system having
interactive television capabilities.
[0019] FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of a conventional
television that is currently showing a partially elapsed video
program, wherein a graphical, start over icon is overlaid
thereon.
[0020] FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of a conventional
television that is currently showing a conventional electronic
programming guide (EPG), wherein several partially elapsed video
programs each have a graphical, start over icon overlaid thereon,
thereby exhibiting that the start over system is available for use
with that particular video program.
[0021] FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of a conventional
television having a broadcast program shown thereon, wherein the
star over icon exists as a portion of a detailed description
overlay bar.
[0022] FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of a conventional
television having a broadcast program currently being shown
thereon, wherein a partial electronic programming guide has several
start over icons embedded on several corresponding cells
thereof.
[0023] FIG. 6 is a simplified example of the start over lookup
table of the present invention.
[0024] FIG. 7A is a simplified example of the programming source
start over enablement table of the present invention.
[0025] FIG. 7B is a simplified example of the program ID start over
enablement table of the present invention.
[0026] FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of a method for providing the start
over system on a typical video distribution system having
interactive television capabilities.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0027] Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a generic
diagrammatic view of a video entertainment distribution network
system having interactive television (ITV) capabilities 10. The
system generally comprises a head end II which processes broadcast
video programs and other programming services emanating from a
plurality of programming sources 12 and forwards these video
programs onward to a client device such as a typical set top box
(STB). Each STB 13 is operable to control which programs are shown
on their associated display such as a conventional television 14,
and outputs commonly used NTSC, PAL, or SECAM formatted signals to
the television set. The distribution network 15 is typically
comprised of a lattice of coaxial cable lines or hybrid-fiber-cable
(HFC) for connectivity of the head end to the plurality of STBs in
the network, and may also include a plurality of broadcast centers
or nodes that each service a subset of STBs within a small
demographic area. Although a conventional television was cited as a
specific type of display, it is to be appreciated that the present
system may be implemented with any display defining a consumer
electronic display device such as a PDA, a cellular telephone, a
television, a personal computer, a laptop computer, and the
like.
[0028] It is noted that the network, as shown in FIG. 1, shows a
conventional video entertainment distribution network having a head
end that distributes video information to a plurality of STBs.
However, as is apparent to one skilled in the art, the head end and
STBs interconnected to the distribution network may, in fact, be an
internet server and a client such as a conventional personal
computer respectively. That is, the start over system of the
present invention may also be implemented on an interne network, or
any other network having a head end (server) and STB (client)
configuration.
[0029] User input is typically accomplished in an ITV enabled
network system via a remote control device 17, which transmits
individual keystroke commands via infrared (IR), Radio Frequency
(RF), or other aerially transmittable signals to the STB. However,
it is to be appreciated that user input may also be accomplished
via a personal computer or other similar type device having user
input means, which is interconnected to the network. Upstream
signaling of user requests are typically provided in a video
distribution network via a conventional type of system commonly
referred to as a navigator. The navigator, among other services,
provides a means of handling human interaction with the network in
a preferably ergonomic manner, and processes requests from the user
to the upstream server or head end. The navigator is preferably a
micro-processor driven algorithm which is executed by a plurality
of stored program instructions located either in the head end or
STB.
[0030] The head end 11 of a typical ITV enabled system also
includes a video server 20, which is capable of storing a plurality
of video programs for view at a user specified time. The server 20
is operable to process multiple incoming requests from a plurality
of users at the same time, and delegates the necessary bandwidth
for a requested stored video program for transmission to the user,
wherein such a service that is provided to the user is commonly
referred to as Video-On-Demand (VoD). in order to facilitate
storage requirements for such a system, a video storage device 21
is included therein, which may consist of one or an array of
magnetic disks, optical disks, or servers based on RAM technology.
Additionally, an video server manager 22 is also included that
controls access to content stored in the video server 20 and has an
associated program and database storage 23, which houses user
information, stored video programs, or other fields of information
that are used by the ITV system.
[0031] Historically, the incoming video stream contained a
plurality of concurrent programming sources which were frequency
division multiplexed onto a coaxial or fiber optic cable within a
video distribution network, each requiring approximately 6 to 8 MHz
of bandwidth. However, newer technologies have enabled digitization
of the video stream, wherein individual video programs transmitted
through the distribution network may be encapsulated within formats
such as MPEG, MPEG-2, IP over DOCSIS, and the like. The newer
digitized video formats have been very conducive to enabling ITV
functionality in that upstream signaling (e.g. information which is
sent from the STB to the head end) is accomplished using in-band
signaling. Conversely, the older frequency division multiplexed
systems did not provide for 2-way signaling within the distribution
infrastructure, thus full ITV functionality was not possible with
these systems. Additionally, television entertainment distribution
systems utilizing satellite transmissions, which are commonly
referred to as direct broadcast satellite (DBS), may incorporate
ITV capabilities via use of out-of-band signaling methods made
possible through the public switched telephone network (PSTN), or
other similar upstream signaling mechanism. Accordingly, it is to
be appreciated that the principles and teachings of the present
invention are applicable to any video distribution system having
ITV capabilities including those which have been described
hereinabove.
[0032] Each programming source is allocated within the network and
made available to the end user as a selective entity that is
designated as a channel. Thus, multiple programming sources that
are made concurrently available to the user over the network, are
selectively accessible by the user using the well known process of
changing channels. When carried on in a relatively rapid manner,
the aforedescribed phenomenon of "channel surfing" occurs.
Typically, this occurs when the user is simply changing channels in
hopes of finding something interesting to watch. Because content
that is currently viewed during the channel surfing operation has
already been in progress for some predetermined amount of time, a
portion of that particular program has been missed by a user.
[0033] FIG. 2 shows a television 30 exhibiting a screen-shot 31 of
a sample channel which has been recently accessed by a user,
wherein the program has partially elapsed. A partially elapsed
program is defined as a video program having a predetermined run
time that has begun play over a specified channel without having
fully elapsed through the entire run time thereof. A start over
icon 32 incorporating an embodiment of the present invention is
shown on the display screen of the television set, which prompts
the user to press a particular key on the remote 17 if replay of
the presently viewed video program from start is desired. The start
over icon 32 is preferably a small, graphical image that overlaid
or embedded in the existing moving video image, somewhere on the
display so as not to severely impair viewing of the video image,
yet sufficiently prominent to alert the user that the start over
system is available for use. The start over icon is preferably a
momentary button that is displayed on the screen for a
predetermined period of time, defining an icon persistency time,
following a switch to that particular channel. The icon persistency
time is preferably set by a CATV provider to a range of
approximately 5 to 20 seconds, wherein it is believed that this
range of time offers optimal amount of time for a typical user to
react to the start over system offering without encumbering the
user's viewing experience. Following this time, the icon will be
removed from the screen and the start over system will be disabled
for that particular channel. Re-enablement of the start over system
for that particular channel is then only accomplished by switching
to a different channel and then switching back to the present
channel. Thus, there are two principle conditions which must exist
for the start over icon 32 to be shown on the television display.
The start over icon will only be shown on the display if the
particular program is a partially elapsed program.
[0034] The key on the remote 17, which is used for actuation for
the start over feature, may exist as a dedicated key whose only
functionality is to actuate the start over feature. In this case, a
relatively small icon representative indicia may be imprinted on
the upper surface of the key in order to facilitate ease of
recognition by the user. Alternatively, the key on the remote may
exist as a defined key, wherein any key commonly implemented on a
conventional remote may be designated for use with the start over
feature. Examples of such a defined key may be any numeric key, or
either of the "up", "down", "left", or "right" keys disposed on the
remote 17. Nevertheless, it is to be appreciated by those skilled
in the art any type of user input device may be implemented for
initiating the start over feature, wherein several examples include
a button mounted on the front panel of the STB, or even a key on
the keyboard of a personal computer that is interconnected to the
STB.
[0035] The overlaid graphical image is created by an on-screen
display (OSD) generator algorithm, which exists as a portion of the
controller of the present invention. The OSD generator is operable
to display the graphical image on top of the resulting raster image
of the video program that is displayed on the television.
Alternatively, if the OSD portion of the controller is executed
from the head end, the graphical image may be embedded in the
raster image of the video program. An embedded graphical image is
defined as an image that is superimposed on the raster image of the
video program such that only one television signal is sent to the
display device. Conversely, a overlaid graphical image is defined
as an image which is forwarded to the display device independently
of the raster image of the video program.
[0036] Optionally, another condition for display of the start over
icon 32 is disclosed, wherein individual channels, or individual
video programs may be start over enabled or disabled by the CATV
provider or by the programming source, thereby defining a start
over enablement feature. That is, an entire channel may be
configured to allow the start over system on all of its programs,
or conversely disallowed from the use thereof. Further, individual
programs may be enabled/disabled from use of the start over system.
For example, some programming sources may not wish to have their
programs played at any time other than at the prescribed schedule.
Given this case, the programming source would have means to disable
the start over system using an in-band, downstream signaling
technique (to be described later). Other examples include
programming sources having a programming schedule made up of
predominantly instantaneous news reporting, yet interspersed with
special interest news clips having a predetermined run time.
Whereas the start over feature would not make sense for use with
the instantaneous news report content, special interest news clips
having information that is conveyed to the user that is developed
throughout the run-time thereof, directly lend themselves for use
with the start over system.
[0037] One aspect of the optional start over enablement feature is
that the CATV provider has an efficient means of managing the
storage requirements for the start over system within a video
distribution network having a video storage device of limited
storage capacity. Because modern video distribution systems
typically offer over several hundred channels, providing the start
over system for all programming sources or channels would unduly
tax the storage capacities of most commonly used disk arrays. The
start over enablement feature supplies a solution to this need by
allowing the CATV provider to choose all of the available channels,
or only a subset of available channels to be provided with the
start over system.
[0038] Optionally, the start over icon may also be provided in
conjunction with a. conventional full screen electronic program
guide (EPG) as shown in FIG. 3. An exemplary EPG screen 35 is shown
having a grid-like display of five rows depicting the programming
schedules for five associated programming sources. Each row has a
multiple of cells of varying length, wherein the first cell of the
left-most column contains information regarding the name of the
programming source. Successive cells indicate individual programs
that are aligned vertically according to their respective time
slots. As shown, graphical start over icons 36 are shown embedded
or overlaid upon several of the program cells in which the start
over feature is enabled. As is well known in the art, any number of
operations may be supplied to the user order to enable operation of
the start over feature from within an EPG screen; one exemplary
method contemplates a dedicated button on the remote, which may be
pressed if the user wishes to view the desired partially elapsed
program from the beginning thereof Alternatively, the start over
icon 38 may be presented to the user as an embedded or overlaid
icon upon a conventional information bar 39 as shown in FIG. 4. Yet
another alternative contemplates a start over icon 48, which is
embedded or overlaid upon cells within a partial grid electronic
program guide 47 as shown in FIG. 5. As shown, an ongoing broadcast
video program 37 is shown with a detailed description bar overlay
39 overlaying the bottom portion thereof Thus, the previous two
examples show several means of providing interactive notification
to the user that the start over feature is available for a
particular program.
[0039] Currently, most digital cable distribution systems utilize
MPEG-2 transport techniques to deliver digital video over hybrid
fiber coaxial architectures. It is well known to those familiar
with the art that there are several techniques that are available
for delivering program and channel information to the receiving
device in order for the receiving device to become aware of what
channels currently exist on the network and what programs are
associated with those channels. On the in-band path there are two
primary protocols; first the Program Specific Information (PSI)
data is used to define what services are contained within each
multiplexed HFC cable. The PSI data contains several information
tables that the receiving device will use to determine the
appropriate PH) values in which to extract data for each program
within the transport stream. These information tables are; Program
Association Table (PAT) and Program Map Table (PMT) which are used
to correlate specific program numbers within the transport stream
to specific PIDs values, such as the video and audio PIDs for the
desired video program. The second in-band protocol which is
optionally used by cable systems is the Program and System
Information Protocol (PSIP). PSIP information defines the
programming within an aerial broadcast system and will be modified
by CATV provider to reflect the new position of the program as it
relates to the frequency distribution within the CATV provider's
system as opposed to its original over-the-air location.
[0040] Several pieces of information are also distributed to the
receiving device via the downstream out-of-band (OOB) path which is
used by the receiving device to define the available channels on
the network. The first OOB information is Service Information (SI)
or Network Information Table (NIT) which provides the virtual
channel map information to the receiving device. This table relates
program channel numbers to specific distribution frequencies on the
cable network. Secondly proprietary data is also delivered OOB to
support Electronic Program Guides (EPG) that exists on receiving
devices. This information enables the EPG to display an on screen
guide that presents to the user all the programs currently
available on the network as well as their associated virtual
channel numbers. In some cases this proprietary program guide data
is delivered via an in-band channel whereby the STB would tune to a
specified in-band channel and extract the program data from the
MPEG transport stream.
[0041] The channel and program data mentioned above is coordinated
by the delivery network, as such, it is well known to the delivery
network. In addition, as video programs are stored within the
network to support the "minimally interactive" start over solution,
it should be categorized in such a way as to be consistent with at
least one component of the information that is delivered to the
receiving device, such as Program Name. By utilizing at least one
common element the receiving device can deliver upstream to the
head end this common indicator so the head end understands exactly
which program the receiving device wishes to start from the
beginning.
[0042] As hereinbefore described, the head end is operable to
receive programs from the various programming sources and transmit
the plurality of program offerings to the plurality of users
through the video distribution network. In accordance with the
present invention, video programs are stored in the program storage
as well as forwarded to clients in the network. This is
accomplished by parsing the channel and program data of each
incoming video stream of a programming source in order to determine
the start of a new program. When a new program name has been
detected, storage is allocated in the video storage device 21 via
the video server 20, and an entry is added to a lookup table 40
contained in the video server manager 22. FIG. 6 shows a partial
list of program names that are contained within the exemplary
lookup table 40. Coupled with each program name entry 41 are
several other fields, such as the programming source channel 42,
and a currently accessed flag 43.
[0043] Each entry will remain persistent in the lookup table as
long the program is partially elapsed or the currently accessed
flag 43 is true (e.g. logic "1"). The currently accessed flag is
set to true whenever a client (user) in the network is currently
accessing the video program that is stored on the storage device,
thereby defining a stored video program; if not, the currently
accessed flag is set to false (e.g. logic "0"). The system
constantly monitors the PID fields of the incoming video streams of
each programming channel to determine if the particular program is
partially elapsed. Whenever both currently accessed flag, and the
program name field of the particular programming source changes,
the program name entry is removed from the lookup table and the
stored video program removed from the video storage device.
[0044] Optionally, the start over system may also include
provisions to allow the programming source and/or CATV provider to
determine what video programs, if any, are to be start over
enabled. That is, the system may be configured to allow only a
subset of available programming sources or individual video
programs to be enabled for use with the start over system. This
utility is accomplished by providing a pair of optional start over
enablement tables that preferably reside in the program and
database storage 23 and are accessible by the video server manager
22. Nevertheless, it is to be appreciated that the pair of tables
may reside in any portion of the network such as in storage means
within individual STBs 13 within the network 10 and controlled by
the processing system therein.
[0045] A pictorial representation of the programming source start
over enablement table and program name start over enablement table
are shown in FIGS. 7a and 7b respectively. The entries within a
programming source start over enablement table 45 may be updated by
the CATV provider, and serve to limit the use of the start over
system to those programming sources or channels that are included
therein. The program name start over enablement table 46 contains a
list of individual video programs for which the start over system
is enabled; accordingly, only individual video programs contained
therein are enabled for use by the start over system. The entries
in the program name start over enablement table 46 are perennially
persistent and is only updated/modified by the CATV provider or by
the programming source. While control of either table by the CATV
provider is accomplished via modification of the aforementioned
tables maintained locally at the head end, control and manipulation
of either table by the programming source must be accomplished via
information sent within the data stream of the incoming video
stream. Preferably, this information is sent from the programming
source to the server using a field of the MPEG-2 packet. The user
portion of the incoming video stream of the MPEG-2 packet contains
a user bit, which when parsed, is operable by the start over system
to add the associated program ID to the lookup table 40. That is,
if the user bit is set to "true", start over functionality is
allowed for that particular program source or channel and thus .
added to the table. When the start over system obtains receipt of a
new program name, either or preferably both of these tables (45,
and 46) are consulted to verify that both the programming source
and program name allow start over functionality thereof If not, the
video program is not stored in the video server 20 while passing
through the head end 11.
[0046] FIG. 8 shows a flow diagram of the steps involved in a
method for realizing the start over system of the present
invention. The method may be embodied as a program of instructions,
defining a controller, that are executed by a micro-processor
located in the STB (client) or head end (server). Alternatively,
the steps of the program may be executed on the STB as well as the
head end wherein the processing responsibilities are shared
therebetween. The system initially causes the head end to monitor
incoming video streams (step 100) in a polling fashion until a new
program name has been recovered therefrom (step 101), In practice,
the head end may receive numerous new program names within a
relatively short time frame, and subsequently pass multiple
recordation requests to the video server 20. It is also important
to note that the video server is simultaneously capable of
recording a plurality of video programs as well as playing a
plurality of video programs in a concurrent manner. When a new
program name has been detected by the system, it may optionally be
compared against a programming source start over enablement table
45 or a program name start over table 46 located within the video
server manager 22 (step 102). Preferably, both types of tables are
existent and the system compares both the program name and
associated programming source or channel to insure that the
particular video program is start over enabled. If either the
program name or associated channel does not have an entry in its
respective table (45, and 46), processing of that particular
program name has ceased and control reverts back to step 100.
[0047] The system then instructs the video server 20 to begin
recordation of the entire video program and updates the lookup
table 40 with the new program name information (step 103). After
some period of time, the user may become cognizant of the partially
elapsed video program via either changing to that particular
channel or by browsing through the EPG. If this is the case and the
user wishes to view the the entire video program from start, the
dedicated or embedded button on the remote control device 17 is
actuated (step 104). Next, the STB 13 reverts to the ITV mode,
wherein a dedicated connection is established with the head end in
order to begin receipt of the stored video program from the video
server 20 (step 105) using commonly known ITV techniques. Because
the current status of the STB is in an ITV mode, features that are
commonly associated with an ITV system may be utilized such as
pause, fast-forward, fast-rewind, stop, and the like. The user then
begins viewing the stored video program in the normal manner,
albeit in a time delayed fashion from the original time slot
alloted by the programming source (step 106). The user may view the
entire program through to its completion or may optionally stop
play thereof prematurely. If the user chooses to view the entire
program, the system is blocked from inadvertent deletion of the
stored video program from the video storage by the setting of the
currently accessed flag 43. However, when the user has completed
view of the selected program, the system checks for other users
that could also he watching the same program, and thus only resets
the currently accessed flag to "false" if no remaining users are
watching that particular time delayed video program (step 107).
[0048] If all remaining users have completed view of the stored
video program, or no user within the network has requested view of
the program from start, the system will still monitor the incoming
video stream in a polling fashion until the broadcast video program
has totally elapsed (step 108). This allows users a maximum window
of opportunity for view of the program in its entirety, regardless
of what portion of the program has been missed. Once the program
has totally elapsed and no further users are accessing the stored
version thereof, the system instructs the video server to delete
the stored video program from video storage and removes the program
name and associated information from the lookup table (step
109).
[0049] Alternatively the start over system may he enabled for use
with video programs transmitted over other network mediums such as
the internet. The present invention provides enhanced utility over
presently known start over systems in that only one button is
required to enact reversion to play of the program from the start
thereof. Although well known video players exist for use with
internet coupled devices such a personal computer, these video
players require a multiple step procedure for enacting the start
over mechanism. The present invention on the other hand, provides
advantage by requiring only a I step procedure for enacting the
start over feature on a partially elapsed video program. This one
step procedure encounters the dedication of a key of the keyboard
of the client device. Thus, the user may, if so desired, revert to
the start of a partially elapsed video program by simply pressing
one key on the client's keyboard.
[0050] An alternative embodiment of the present invention
contemplates a VOD start over system which is operable on video
programs that are accessed by the user in VOD mode. The VOD start
over system is similar to the previous embodiment in that a storage
device, is existent for the storage of said stored video programs,
interactive control by the user is provided by an embedded or
overlaid graphical icon, and an input means for input by the user,
and a controller for causing reversion to the start of the video
program upon request from the input means. The only difference
being that a VOD video program is enabled for start over viewing in
lieu of the broadcast video program of the previous embodiment.
Thus, with the present arrangement, no requirements exist for the
storage of incoming broadcast video programs onto the storage
device; virtually all VOD video programs are already existent
therein. Another key difference from the previous embodiment is
that the stored video program is never deleted from the storage
device. A user may thus begin view of a VOD program, and if so
desired during the play thereof, revert back to play from the
beginning of the program using only a defined or dedicated button
on the remote control device.
[0051] Although the present invention has been disclosed with a
certain degree of particularity, it should be recognized that
various elements thereof may be altered by persons skilled in the
art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
For example, it is well known that individual video program
information may be derived from an accompanying EPG database. Thus,
the system as in step 100 of FIG. 8 may utilize the start time of a
video program as stored in the EPG to initiate recordation thereof
to video storage. Consequently, the completion time of the video
program may be obtained therefrom as well. Thus, the described
embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as
illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is,
therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the
foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning
and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within
their scope.
* * * * *