EP1621019A1 - Pay per view architecture providing for local storage of content - Google Patents

Pay per view architecture providing for local storage of content

Info

Publication number
EP1621019A1
EP1621019A1 EP03738892A EP03738892A EP1621019A1 EP 1621019 A1 EP1621019 A1 EP 1621019A1 EP 03738892 A EP03738892 A EP 03738892A EP 03738892 A EP03738892 A EP 03738892A EP 1621019 A1 EP1621019 A1 EP 1621019A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
content
viewer
video sequence
viewable
recited
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status 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 status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP03738892A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP1621019A4 (en
Inventor
Anthony Wood
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
DirecTV Group Inc
Original Assignee
Digital Networks North America Inc
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 Digital Networks North America Inc filed Critical Digital Networks North America Inc
Publication of EP1621019A1 publication Critical patent/EP1621019A1/en
Publication of EP1621019A4 publication Critical patent/EP1621019A4/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N7/00—Television systems
    • H04N7/16—Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems
    • H04N7/173—Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
    • H04N7/17309—Transmission or handling of upstream communications
    • H04N7/17318—Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/20—Servers specifically adapted for the distribution of content, e.g. VOD servers; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/25—Management 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
    • H04N21/254—Management at additional data server, e.g. shopping server, rights management server
    • H04N21/2543—Billing, e.g. for subscription services
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/20—Servers specifically adapted for the distribution of content, e.g. VOD servers; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/25—Management 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
    • H04N21/258—Client or end-user data management, e.g. managing client capabilities, user preferences or demographics, processing of multiple end-users preferences to derive collaborative data
    • H04N21/25866—Management of end-user data
    • H04N21/25891—Management of end-user data being end-user preferences
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/41—Structure of client; Structure of client peripherals
    • H04N21/414—Specialised client platforms, e.g. receiver in car or embedded in a mobile appliance
    • H04N21/4147—PVR [Personal Video Recorder]
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/43—Processing 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
    • H04N21/433—Content storage operation, e.g. storage operation in response to a pause request, caching operations
    • H04N21/4334—Recording operations
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/45—Management operations performed by the client for facilitating the reception of or the interaction with the content or administrating data related to the end-user or to the client device itself, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies, resolving scheduling conflicts
    • H04N21/4508—Management of client data or end-user data
    • H04N21/4532—Management of client data or end-user data involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/45—Management operations performed by the client for facilitating the reception of or the interaction with the content or administrating data related to the end-user or to the client device itself, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies, resolving scheduling conflicts
    • H04N21/454—Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/47—End-user applications
    • H04N21/472—End-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
    • H04N21/47202—End-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 content on demand, e.g. video on demand
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/80—Generation or processing of content or additional data by content creator independently of the distribution process; Content per se
    • H04N21/81—Monomedia components thereof
    • H04N21/812—Monomedia components thereof involving advertisement data
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N7/00—Television systems
    • H04N7/16—Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems
    • H04N7/162—Authorising the user terminal, e.g. by paying; Registering the use of a subscription channel, e.g. billing
    • H04N7/165—Centralised control of user terminal ; Registering at central
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N7/00—Television systems
    • H04N7/16—Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems
    • H04N7/173—Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
    • H04N7/17309—Transmission or handling of upstream communications
    • H04N7/17327—Transmission or handling of upstream communications with deferred transmission or handling of upstream communications

Definitions

  • Video on demand and pay per view systems are well-known in the art. Typically, these systems provide for enabling viewers to request a particular movie title and serving the movie from a video server or the like.
  • An example of such a prior art system is described in U.S. Patent Number 5,899,582 titled “Movie-on-demand disk storage loop architecture" (the '582 patent).
  • the '582 patent describes storage requirements for a single movie, dependent on picture quality, compression ratio and length of the movie ranging from 1 gigabyte (GB) to 3 GB.
  • GB gigabyte
  • the '582 patent suggests that HDTV movies may require storage capacity of 33 GB per movie.
  • the '582 patent further suggests that the described server may be targeted to initially support 1600 users with later systems providing support for 10,000 users per video server.
  • the '582 patent states that supporting thousands of users with their diverse movie interests will require storage of hundreds, if not thousands of titles. Thus, total storage capacity of the proposed video servers will be relatively large — at least approaching the terabyte range.
  • the viewer selects a movie for viewing, commits to payment for the movie, and the movie content is then delivered to the viewer.
  • This general approach of obtaining authorization for payment before delivery of the movie is used whether the content is delivered from a video server over a network or whether the content is delivered in a more manual approach by the viewer going to the video store, selecting a video, paying for it, and bringing it home for viewing.
  • Even the so-called DIVXTM disk required payment at a retail outlet for the disk before it was brought home to be played.
  • a method of and apparatus for delivering content to a device at a viewer's location storing the content on a storage media on the device, accepting viewer input to select the content for viewing and, responsive to the viewer input, displaying the content for viewing and charging the viewer a fee
  • Figure 1 is an overall network diagram of a network as may implement an embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 2 is a high level block diagram of a recording and playback device as may be implemented by an embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 3 is an illustration of a video sequence.
  • Figure 4 is an overall flow diagram illustrating a method as may be implemented by the present invention.
  • Figure 5 illustrates a remote control device as may be utilized with a video playback device.
  • Figure 6 is an exemplary display as may be utilized by an embodiment of the present invention.
  • Video Tape Recorders and Personal Television The described invention has application in video playback devices .
  • video playback devices such as conventional video tape recorders (VTRs) as well as emerging Personal Television . (PTV) devices.
  • VTRs video tape recorders
  • PTV emerging Personal Television .
  • Embodiments of a commercially available PTV are available as the Replay TV 2001, 2003 and 2004 personal television devices.
  • Figure 1 provides a high level illustration of a network as may implement the present invention.
  • the illustrated network comprises a display device 102.
  • the display device 102 is a television; however, in alternative embodiments, the display device 102 may another type of device such as a monitor.
  • the display device 102 is coupled to receive television programming conventionally such as over-the-air (as illustrated by use of the receiving antenna 103 and transmitting antenna 112), over a cable television system, or over a satellite television system (or all or any combination of these.)
  • a recording and playback device 104 is coupled with the television and is also coupled to receive the television.
  • the recording and playback device shown in high-level block diagram form in Figure 2, will be described in greater detail below.
  • the recording and playback device 104 is coupled in communication with a server 108.
  • the coupling is through a network 106.
  • the recording and playback device 104 is coupled by telephonic connection to the network 106 and the server is likewise coupled by telephonic connection to the network 106.
  • the network 106 may be the internet or some other distributed network.
  • Other couplings between the server 108 and the network may be utilized. For example, a wireless connection may be utilized or a connection through a cable plant may be utilized.
  • the server 108 is coupled in communication with the recording and playback device 104 so that the server 108 may provide updated information to the recording and playback device 104 and, as will be described, the device 104 may provide information to the server 108 regarding content viewed by the viewer so that appropriate fees can be charged.
  • FIG. 1 Overview of the Recording / Playback device 104
  • Figure 2 provides a high level block diagram overview of a recording and playback device as may be utilized by an embodiment of the present invention.
  • the described embodiment comprises a processor 202 that provides for overall control of the operation of the device 104.
  • the processor may be any of a number of commercially available processors or may be a special purpose processor.
  • Required programming to control the processor 202, as well video sequences may be recorded on recording media 203.
  • other information such as advertisements, promotional materials, sponsorship information, and branding logos may be stored on the recording media 203. This information may be stored as graphics or video. An example of this is illustrated by Figure 6 which illustrates a screen display 601 showing available movies 602 and a promotional graphic 603 for a selected movie.
  • programming to control the processor 202 may include first instructions for detecting viewer selection of a "non- viewable" video sequence, second instructions for converting the non- viewable video sequence into a viewable video sequence and third instructions for charging the viewer a fee for selection of the non-viewable video sequence.
  • recording media 203 is a disk drive but in other embodiments may be another type of recording device and in certain embodiments more than one recording device may be utilized.
  • the device 104 further comprises input and output connections 204- 207 allowing for communication between the device 104 and the display device 102, the antenna and/or other program source (e.g., cable, satellite) 103, the server 108 (such as over a telephonic connection to a network 106 as illustrated) and to a user input/output device such as a remote or keyboard.
  • program source e.g., cable, satellite
  • server 108 such as over a telephonic connection to a network 106 as illustrated
  • a user input/output device such as a remote or keyboard.
  • communication with the server may take place over the same connection(s) as used for the program source 103.
  • a remote control device 501 that may communicate over connection 206 is illustrated in . greater detail with reference to Figure 5.
  • the remote control device 501 of the described embodiment includes buttons allowing for selection of items from a menu 502 including arrows for moving a cursor or highlighter on a screen and a select button. These may be used to select one of the various movies 602 on display 601.
  • FIG. 3 A typical video sequence is shown illustratively by Figure 3.
  • nori-viewable content is initially delivered to the device 104, step 401.
  • non- viewable content means content which is not practically viewable by the user unless the user agrees (either explicitly in response to prompts or the like) or implicitly (such ' as pursuant to a subscriber agreement) to pay a fee for viewing the content.
  • the content may be encrypted to prevent viewing. •
  • the encryption may be accomplished using any of a number of known encryption techniques.
  • the content may be delivered and stored out of sequence. For example, the last third of a movie may be transmitted first, the
  • the content may be transmitted in a corrupted
  • the content may simply be transmitted and stored on recording media 203 but the device 104 may enforce rules that only allow viewing of the content when the viewer agrees (again either implicitly or explicftly) to pay for viewing the content.
  • Such an embodiment is relatively simple to implement as it does not require use of encryption or the like.
  • one drawback to this embodiment is that a viewer watching the content as it is being transmitted will be able to watch the content without fee.
  • the content may be transmitted, for example ate at night to minimize the number of viewers watching the content without paying the required fee.
  • the ncn-viewable content is delivered to the device 104 prior to a request for viewing of the content being made by the viewer.
  • the non-viewable content may be delivered during periods of time when bandwidth is economically available (e.g. during night hours) and the content is available locally at the device 104 when the viewer wishes to view the content.
  • the non-viewable content may be transmitted over any of a number of transmission media, including for example, cable, satellite, over-the-air or a networked or telephonic infrastructure.
  • the non-viewable content is stored on a storage media 203, step 403.
  • the device 104 may be configured to select only certain content for recording in order to efficiently utilize available space on storage media 203.
  • the viewer may have configured the device 104 to record all movies starring a given actor or actress, or all movies of a certain type (e.g., action, romance, etc.), all movies directed by a given director, or all movies that have won a give award (e.g., Oscar), all movies that have achieved a certain level of review by critiques (e.g., all "two thumbs up movies"), etc.
  • the viewer may configure the device 104 to record all games with a given team playing (all 49'rs games), all championship games, etc.
  • the described embodiment requires storage only ' for titles of interest of the viewer while still allowing for transmission of hundreds of titles (dependent on bandwidth availability) to provide titles of interests to thousands, if not millions, of potential viewers.
  • the viewer selects a program for viewing, step 405.
  • the viewer may select one of the various movies that have been stored on the storage media 203 by, for example, using the remote control 501 to select a program title on display 601.
  • the selected content has already been completely transmitted and stored on device 104 at the time it is selected for viewing.
  • the viewer may be allowed to select a program which is still be transmitted and view the program as it is being transmitted.
  • This type of implementation may have particular application for events, such as sporting events, which benefit from real-time viewing.
  • the non-viewable content is converted to viewable content, step 407.
  • encrypted content may be decrypted, scrambled or corrupted content may be descrambled, and content that is transmitted out of order may be viewed in order.
  • the content is then displayed on display device 102, step 409.
  • the viewer is charged a fee for viewing the content.
  • the fee may vary dependent on the content (e.g., first run movies may be more expensive than second run movies).
  • information on what content has. been viewed is communicated to server 108 through network 106 and the viewer is sent periodic statements for billing purposes.
  • the viewer is given the opportunity to view a first portion of the content without charge. For example, the viewer may be allowed to view the first ten minutes of a movie (or even the first half or more) without charge..
  • a fee is charged for viewing the remaining portion of the content.
  • a viewer is enticed to start viewing the movie because there is no charge for doing so but, assuming the movie is of interest, will incur the fee in order to complete viewing of the movie.
  • the viewer may be informed prior to viewing the content that viewing more than a first portion (e.g., 10 minutes) will result in a charge or, alternatively, the viewer may be prompted after viewing the first portion to respond whether the viewer wishes to see the remaining portion of the content and to be .charged for viewing the remaining portion.
  • a first portion e.g. 10 minutes

Abstract

A method of and apparatus for delivering content to a device (401) at a viewer's location, storing the content on a storage media (403) on the device, accepting viewer input to select the content for viewing (405) and, responsive to the viewer input (407), displaying the content for viewing (409) and charging the viewer a fee (411) for viewing the content.

Description

PAY PER VIEW ARCHITECTURE PROVIDING FOR LOCAL STORAGE OF CONTENT
1
. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Video on demand and pay per view systems are well-known in the art. Typically, these systems provide for enabling viewers to request a particular movie title and serving the movie from a video server or the like. An example of such a prior art system is described in U.S. Patent Number 5,899,582 titled "Movie-on-demand disk storage loop architecture" (the '582 patent).
The '582 patent describes storage requirements for a single movie, dependent on picture quality, compression ratio and length of the movie ranging from 1 gigabyte (GB) to 3 GB. With the advent of HDTV, the '582 patent suggests that HDTV movies may require storage capacity of 33 GB per movie. The '582 patent further suggests that the described server may be targeted to initially support 1600 users with later systems providing support for 10,000 users per video server. The '582 patent states that supporting thousands of users with their diverse movie interests will require storage of hundreds, if not thousands of titles. Thus, total storage capacity of the proposed video servers will be relatively large — at least approaching the terabyte range.
Typically, in movie on demand systems, the viewer selects a movie for viewing, commits to payment for the movie, and the movie content is then delivered to the viewer. This general approach of obtaining authorization for payment before delivery of the movie is used whether the content is delivered from a video server over a network or whether the content is delivered in a more manual approach by the viewer going to the video store, selecting a video, paying for it, and bringing it home for viewing. Even the so-called DIVX™ disk required payment at a retail outlet for the disk before it was brought home to be played.
Of course, obtaining the payment from the consumer before delivery of the movie makes sense because it assures payment is actually received. However, there is a downside. In the case of delivery of a movie over a network, there are difficulties in providing sufficient network bandwidth and other resources for delivery at the requested time. Requiring the viewer to go a retail outlet minimizes impulses purchases. .
Thus, it would be desirable to develop an improved system for providing content (such as movies) to a user. It would be desirable if the improved method provides for payment by the user for the content while allowing for impulse purchases and while minimizing real-time demand for bandwidth.
SI IMMARY OF THE INVENTION A method of and apparatus for delivering content to a device at a viewer's location, storing the content on a storage media on the device, accepting viewer input to select the content for viewing and, responsive to the viewer input, displaying the content for viewing and charging the viewer a fee
for viewing the content.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is an overall network diagram of a network as may implement an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a high level block diagram of a recording and playback device as may be implemented by an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 3 is an illustration of a video sequence.
Figure 4 is an overall flow diagram illustrating a method as may be implemented by the present invention.
Figure 5 illustrates a remote control device as may be utilized with a video playback device.
Figure 6 is an exemplary display as may be utilized by an embodiment of the present invention.
For ease of reference, it might be pointed out that reference numerals in all of the accompanying drawings typically are in the form "drawing number" followed by two digits, xx; for example,' reference numerals on Figure 1 may be numbered 1xx; on Figure 3, reference numerals may be numbered 3xx. In certain cases, a reference numeral may be introduced on one drawing and the same reference numeral may be utilized on other drawings to refer to the same item. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS THE PRESENT INVENTION
Video Tape Recorders and Personal Television The described invention has application in video playback devices . such as conventional video tape recorders (VTRs) as well as emerging Personal Television. (PTV) devices. Embodiments of a commercially available PTV are available as the Replay TV 2001, 2003 and 2004 personal television devices.
Embodiments of personal television devices are further described in co-pending U.S. Patent Applications:
Serial No.: 09/130,994 filed August 7, 1998 titled "Video Data Recorder with Integrated Channel Guides";
Serial No.: 09/131,092 filed August 7, 1998 titled "Video Data Recorder for Recording Predefined Format Shows";
Serial No.: 09/131,091 filed August 7, 1998 titled "Video Data Recorder with Personal Channels"; and
Serial No.: 09/262,144 filed March 3, 1999 titled "Digital Recording and. Playback" which is a continuation of U.S. Patent Application Serial No.: 09/132,690 filed August 11 , 1998; all of which are incorporated herein by reference. Figure 1 provides a high level illustration of a network as may implement the present invention. The illustrated network comprises a display device 102. In the described embodiment the display device 102 is a television; however, in alternative embodiments, the display device 102 may another type of device such as a monitor. The display device 102 is coupled to receive television programming conventionally such as over-the-air (as illustrated by use of the receiving antenna 103 and transmitting antenna 112), over a cable television system, or over a satellite television system (or all or any combination of these.)
A recording and playback device 104 is coupled with the television and is also coupled to receive the television. The recording and playback device, shown in high-level block diagram form in Figure 2, will be described in greater detail below.
Turning back to Figure 1, the recording and playback device 104 is coupled in communication with a server 108. In the described embodiment, the coupling is through a network 106. The recording and playback device 104 is coupled by telephonic connection to the network 106 and the server is likewise coupled by telephonic connection to the network 106. The network 106 may be the internet or some other distributed network. Other couplings between the server 108 and the network may be utilized. For example, a wireless connection may be utilized or a connection through a cable plant may be utilized. In any event, the server 108 is coupled in communication with the recording and playback device 104 so that the server 108 may provide updated information to the recording and playback device 104 and, as will be described, the device 104 may provide information to the server 108 regarding content viewed by the viewer so that appropriate fees can be charged.
Overview of the Recording / Playback device 104 Figure 2 provides a high level block diagram overview of a recording and playback device as may be utilized by an embodiment of the present invention.
As is illustrated, the described embodiment comprises a processor 202 that provides for overall control of the operation of the device 104. The processor may be any of a number of commercially available processors or may be a special purpose processor.
Required programming to control the processor 202, as well video sequences (e.g., movies and other pay per view events as well as recorded television programs) may be recorded on recording media 203. In addition, other information such as advertisements, promotional materials, sponsorship information, and branding logos may be stored on the recording media 203. This information may be stored as graphics or video. An example of this is illustrated by Figure 6 which illustrates a screen display 601 showing available movies 602 and a promotional graphic 603 for a selected movie.
In the described embodiment, programming to control the processor 202 may include first instructions for detecting viewer selection of a "non- viewable" video sequence, second instructions for converting the non- viewable video sequence into a viewable video sequence and third instructions for charging the viewer a fee for selection of the non-viewable video sequence. The operation of the system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention will be described below in greater detail.
In the described embodiment, recording media 203 is a disk drive but in other embodiments may be another type of recording device and in certain embodiments more than one recording device may be utilized.
The device 104 further comprises input and output connections 204- 207 allowing for communication between the device 104 and the display device 102, the antenna and/or other program source (e.g., cable, satellite) 103, the server 108 (such as over a telephonic connection to a network 106 as illustrated) and to a user input/output device such as a remote or keyboard. In certain embodiments, communication with the server may take place over the same connection(s) as used for the program source 103.
A remote control device 501 that may communicate over connection 206 is illustrated in. greater detail with reference to Figure 5. The remote control device 501 of the described embodiment includes buttons allowing for selection of items from a menu 502 including arrows for moving a cursor or highlighter on a screen and a select button. These may be used to select one of the various movies 602 on display 601.
It should be noted that certain details are omitted from Figure 2 such as read-only memory and encoders and decoders. However, such details will be apparent to one skilled in the art.
Content On Demand
Turning now to Figures 3 and 4, a method for delivery and playback of content or video sequences is described. A typical video sequence is shown illustratively by Figure 3.
In the described embodiment, nori-viewable content is initially delivered to the device 104, step 401. In the present application, the term "non- viewable" content means content which is not practically viewable by the user unless the user agrees (either explicitly in response to prompts or the like) or implicitly (such' as pursuant to a subscriber agreement) to pay a fee for viewing the content.
In- certain embodiments, the content may be encrypted to prevent viewing. • The encryption may be accomplished using any of a number of known encryption techniques. In other embodiments, the content may be delivered and stored out of sequence. For example, the last third of a movie may be transmitted first, the
first part second and the middle part third.
In other embodiments, the content may be transmitted in a corrupted
format.
Thus, in all three of these embodiments, viewers who attempt to view the programming either while it is being transmitted or after it has been recorded will, as a practical matter, be prevented from viewing the content.
In still other embodiments, the content may simply be transmitted and stored on recording media 203 but the device 104 may enforce rules that only allow viewing of the content when the viewer agrees (again either implicitly or explicftly) to pay for viewing the content. Such an embodiment is relatively simple to implement as it does not require use of encryption or the like. However, one drawback to this embodiment is that a viewer watching the content as it is being transmitted will be able to watch the content without fee. The content may be transmitted, for example ate at night to minimize the number of viewers watching the content without paying the required fee.
Advantageously, the ncn-viewable content is delivered to the device 104 prior to a request for viewing of the content being made by the viewer. Thus, the non-viewable content may be delivered during periods of time when bandwidth is economically available (e.g. during night hours) and the content is available locally at the device 104 when the viewer wishes to view the content.
The non-viewable content may be transmitted over any of a number of transmission media, including for example, cable, satellite, over-the-air or a networked or telephonic infrastructure.
The non-viewable content is stored on a storage media 203, step 403. Advantageously, in the described embodiment, the device 104 may be configured to select only certain content for recording in order to efficiently utilize available space on storage media 203. For example, the viewer may have configured the device 104 to record all movies starring a given actor or actress, or all movies of a certain type (e.g., action, romance, etc.), all movies directed by a given director, or all movies that have won a give award (e.g., Oscar), all movies that have achieved a certain level of review by critiques (e.g., all "two thumbs up movies"), etc. In the case of sporting events, the viewer may configure the device 104 to record all games with a given team playing (all 49'rs games), all championship games, etc. Thus, unlike embodiments such as described in the '582 patent that require storage of hundreds of titles because of diverse interests of hundreds or thousands of viewers who may access the system, the described embodiment requires storage only' for titles of interest of the viewer while still allowing for transmission of hundreds of titles (dependent on bandwidth availability) to provide titles of interests to thousands, if not millions, of potential viewers. The viewer selects a program for viewing, step 405. For example, in the described embodiment, the viewer may select one of the various movies that have been stored on the storage media 203 by, for example, using the remote control 501 to select a program title on display 601. In many cases, the selected content has already been completely transmitted and stored on device 104 at the time it is selected for viewing. However, in certain embodiments, the viewer may be allowed to select a program which is still be transmitted and view the program as it is being transmitted. This type of implementation may have particular application for events, such as sporting events, which benefit from real-time viewing.
After selection by the viewer, the non-viewable content is converted to viewable content, step 407. For example, encrypted content may be decrypted, scrambled or corrupted content may be descrambled, and content that is transmitted out of order may be viewed in order. The content is then displayed on display device 102, step 409.
Finally, the viewer is charged a fee for viewing the content. The fee may vary dependent on the content (e.g., first run movies may be more expensive than second run movies). In the described embodiment, information on what content has. been viewed is communicated to server 108 through network 106 and the viewer is sent periodic statements for billing purposes. In one alternative embodiment, the viewer is given the opportunity to view a first portion of the content without charge. For example, the viewer may be allowed to view the first ten minutes of a movie (or even the first half or more) without charge.. A fee is charged for viewing the remaining portion of the content. In such an embodiment, a viewer is enticed to start viewing the movie because there is no charge for doing so but, assuming the movie is of interest, will incur the fee in order to complete viewing of the movie. In this embodiment, the viewer may be informed prior to viewing the content that viewing more than a first portion (e.g., 10 minutes) will result in a charge or, alternatively, the viewer may be prompted after viewing the first portion to respond whether the viewer wishes to see the remaining portion of the content and to be .charged for viewing the remaining portion.
Thus, what has been described is a method and apparatus for delivering content to a viewer and charging the viewer a fee for viewing the content.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:
1. A method comprising: a) delivering content to a device at a viewer's location; b) storing the content on a storage media on the device; c) accepting viewer input to select the content for viewing; d) responsive to the viewer input, displaying the content for viewing by the viewer and charging the viewer a fee for viewing the content.
2. The method as recited by claim 1 wherein the content is delivered in a non-viewable format and the content is processed responsive to the viewer input to provide viewable content.
3. The method as recited by claim 2 wherein the non-viewable format is an encrypted format and the content is decrypted responsive to the viewer input to provide viewable content.
4. The method as recited by claim 2 wherein the non-viewable format is a corrupted format.
5. The method as recited by claim 2 wherein the non-viewable format is an out of sequence format and the content is displayed in sequence.
6. The method as recited by claim 1 wherein the content is a movie.
7. The method as recited by claim 1 wherein the content is a sporting event.
8. The method as recited by claim 1 further comprising the step of periodically communicating between the device and a central server information regarding content viewed by the viewer and constructing billing information for the viewer based on the viewed content.
9. The method as recited by claim 1 wherein the storage media is a disk.
I
10. The method as recited by claim 1 wherein the storage media is a tape.
11. A video playback device comprising: a) receiving means for receiving a non-viewable video sequence; b) storing means storing the non-viewable video sequence; c) input means for accepting viewer input for selection of the video sequence; and d) processing means, responsive to the input means, for converting the non-viewable video sequence to a viewable video sequence and for charging the viewer a fee for selection of the video sequence.
12. The video playback device as recited by claim 11 wherein the non- viewable video sequence is an encrypted video sequence and the processing means decrypts the non-viewable video sequence to produce a viewable video sequence.
13. The video playback device as recited by claim 11 the non-viewable video sequence is a corrupted video sequence.
14. The video playback device as recited by claim 11 the non-viewable video sequence is an out of order video sequence and the processing means displays the video sequence imorder.
15. The video playback device as recited by claim 11 wherein the receiving means comprises an- input coupled to receive the video sequence from an antenna, cable or satellite.
16. The video playback device as recited by claim 11 wherein the storage means is selected from one of a disk or a tape.
17. The video playback device as recited by claim 11 wherein input means comprises a remote control.
18. The video playback device as recited by claim 17 wherein the processor means comprises a processor programmed to convert the non-viewable video sequence to a viewable video sequence.
19. A video playback device comprising: a) a random access storage media having stored thereon a non- viewable video sequence; b) a processor; c) a stored program for controlling the processor, the stored program including first instructions for detecting viewer selection of the non- viewable video sequence, second instructions for converting the non-viewable video sequence to a viewable video sequence responsive to detecting viewer selection of the non-viewable video sequence and third instructions for charging the viewer a fee for selection of the non-viewable video sequence.
20. A video playback device comprising:
a) a random access storage media having stored thereon a video sequence; b) a processor; c) a stored program for controlling the processor, the stored program including first instructions for detecting viewer selection of the video sequence, second instructions for charging the viewer a fee for selection of the video sequence.
21. A method comprising: a) delivering content to a device at a viewer's location; b) storing the content on a storage media on the device; c) accepting viewer input to select the content for viewing; d) responsive to the viewer input, displaying the content for viewing by the viewer, allowing the viewer to view a first portion of the content without charge and and charging the viewer a fee for viewing a second portion of the content.
EP03738892A 2003-05-03 2003-05-03 Pay per view architecture providing for local storage of content Withdrawn EP1621019A4 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

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PCT/US2003/013753 WO2004100550A1 (en) 2003-05-03 2003-05-03 Pay per view architecture providing for local storage of content

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EP1621019A4 EP1621019A4 (en) 2006-05-10

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EP1621019A4 (en) 2006-05-10
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AU2003245254A1 (en) 2004-11-26

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