Temporally-seamless channel change functionality during multichannel streaming sessions

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10097883-B1
Application number	US-201715605394-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	May 25, 2017
Priority date	May 25, 2017
Publication date	Oct 9, 2018
Grant date	Oct 9, 2018

Abstract

Devices, systems, method, and program products are provided, which support temporally-seamless change functionalities during multichannel streaming sessions established between a streaming media server and a client media receiver. In embodiments, the method includes outputting, to a display device, a first streaming channel contained in a streaming channel bundle and assigned a high priority level. When receiving a channel change request to view a second streaming channel, the client media receiver monitors for additional channel change requests over a predetermined wait period. If an additional channel change request is received within the wait period, the client media receiver repeats the step of monitoring. Conversely, if an additional channel change request is not received with the wait period, the client media receiver sends a channel reprioritization command to the streaming media server to prioritize the second streaming channel over the first streaming channel in continued transmission of the streaming channel bundle.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method carried-out by a client media receiver, comprising:
receiving, at the client media receiver, a prioritized streaming channel bundle transmitted over a communications network by a streaming media server;
outputting, to a display device associated with the client media receiver, a first streaming channel contained in the prioritized streaming channel bundle;
receiving, at the client media receiver, a user channel change request to view a second streaming channel contained in the prioritized streaming channel bundle;
monitoring, at the client media receiver, for an additional channel change request within a predetermined wait period commencing upon receipt of the user channel change request; and
if an additional user channel change request is not received within the predetermined wait period, transmitting a channel reprioritization command to the streaming media server to prioritize the second streaming channel over the first streaming channel in continued transmission of the prioritized streaming channel bundle;
wherein, prior to elapse of the predetermined wait period: (i) the first streaming channel is assigned a higher priority ranking than is the second streaming channel, and (ii) the first streaming channel is received by the client media receiver at an optimal quality level, while the second streaming channel is concurrently received by the client media receiver at a reduced quality level.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising repeating the step of monitoring if an additional user channel change request is received within the predetermined wait period.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving, at the client media receiver, the prioritized streaming channel bundle as over-the-top streaming television programming.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the streaming media server comprises a set-top box located in a residence of an end user, and wherein the method further comprises transmitting commands from the client media receiver to the set-top box enabling placeshifting of the prioritized streaming channel bundle for viewing at the client media receiver.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising, in response to receiving the user channel change request to view the second streaming channel, outputting to the display device:
a live stream of the second streaming channel if currently provided to the client media receiver as part of the prioritized streaming channel bundle transmitted over the communications network; and
a recorded segment of the second streaming channel if a live stream of the second streaming channel is not currently provided to the client media receiver.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein content from the second streaming channel is presented at a time position; and
wherein the method further comprises, when the time position of the second streaming channel is delayed relative to a time of live streaming due to presentation of the recorded segment, providing a user option to advance to the time of live streaming.

7. The method of claim 5 further comprising:
while outputting the recorded segment of the second streaming channel to the display device, awaiting receipt from the streaming media server of: (i) a live stream of the second streaming channel, and (ii) a historical gap fill segment for the second streaming channel extending from a time of live streaming to the conclusion of the recorded segment; and
when receiving historical gap fill segment from the streaming media server, outputting the historical gap fill segment to the display device upon conclusion of the recorded segment.

8. The method of claim 5 further comprising:
storing the recorded segment of the second streaming channel in a memory accessible to the client media receiver; and
repeatedly updating the recorded segment to contain more timely content from the second streaming channel when second streaming channel is provided to the client media receiver, while limiting a length of the recorded segment to a predetermined duration.

9. A method carried-out by a client media receiver, comprising:
receiving, at the client media receiver, a prioritized streaming channel bundle transmitted from a streaming media server over a communications network;
outputting, to a display device associated with the client media receiver, a first streaming channel contained in the streaming channel bundle; and
when receiving, at the client media receiver, a user channel change request to view a second streaming channel contained in the prioritized streaming channel bundle, outputting to the display device:
a live stream of the second streaming channel if currently provided to the client media receiver as part of the prioritized streaming channel bundle;
a recorded segment of the second streaming channel if a live stream of the second streaming channel is not currently provided to the client media receiver; and
a historical gap fill segment for the second streaming channel received from the streaming media server and extending from a time of live streaming to the conclusion of the recorded segment, the client media receiver outputting historical gap fill segment to the display device upon conclusion of the recorded segment.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:
storing the recorded segment of the second streaming channel in a memory accessible to the client media receiver; and
repeatedly updating the recorded segment to contain more timely content from the second streaming channel when second streaming channel is provided to the client media receiver, while limiting a length of the recorded segment to a predetermined duration.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising varying, at the client media receiver, the predetermined duration in response to changes in network latency of the communications network.

12. The method of claim 10 further comprises decreasing, at the client media receiver, the predetermined duration as a storage capacity of the memory is increasingly filled.

13. A method carried-out by a client media receiver, comprising:
receiving, at the client media receiver, a prioritized streaming channel bundle transmitted over a communications network by a streaming media server;
outputting, to a display device associated with the client media receiver, a first streaming channel contained in the prioritized streaming channel bundle;
receiving, at the client media receiver, a user channel change request to view a second streaming channel contained in the prioritized streaming channel bundle;
monitoring, at the client media receiver, for an additional channel change request within a predetermined wait period commencing upon receipt of the user channel change request; and
if an additional user channel change request is not received within the predetermined wait period, transmitting a channel reprioritization command to the streaming media server to prioritize the second streaming channel over the first streaming channel in continued transmission of the prioritized streaming channel bundle;
wherein, prior to elapse of the predetermined wait period: (i) the first streaming channel is assigned a higher priority ranking than is the second streaming channel, and (ii) the first streaming channel is received by the client media receiver as a continuous stream, while the second streaming channel is concurrently received by the client media receiver as a discontinuous stream.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising repeating the step of monitoring if an additional user channel change request is received within the predetermined wait period.

15. The method of

Assignees

• Sling Media Pvt Ltd
• Sling Media Pvt Ltd

Inventors

• Rasool Mohammed

Classifications

• H04N21/2387

  Stream processing in response to a playback request from an end-user, e.g. for trick-play · CPC title

• H04N7/17345

  Control of the passage of the selected programme · CPC title

• H04N21/4383 Primary

  Accessing a communication channel · CPC title

• H04N21/637

  Control signals issued by the client directed to the server or network components · CPC title

• H04N21/4384

  involving operations to reduce the access time, e.g. fast-tuning for reducing channel switching latency · CPC title