Apparatus, systems and methods for satellite system fast channel change

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9743133-B2
Application number	US-201514854325-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 15, 2015
Priority date	Sep 15, 2015
Publication date	Aug 22, 2017
Grant date	Aug 22, 2017

Abstract

Fast channel change systems and methods are operable to change channels to a newly selected media content event in response to a user request. An exemplary embodiment communicates a previously stored low resolution version segment of the newly selected media content event to a presentation system while the media device is performing a tuning operation to change channels to receive a currently broadcasting high resolution version of the newly selected media content event. Once the tuning process has been completed at the media device, a handshake process is performed wherein the media device transitions presentation from the low resolution version to the high resolution version of the newly selected media content event.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for presenting media content, the method comprising:
receiving a low resolution version of each of a plurality of media content events at a media device that is one of a plurality of media devices that are each operable to receive a plurality of high resolution version media content events that are broadcast to the plurality of media devices via a broadcast communication system, wherein each of the plurality of low resolution version media content events corresponds to one of the broadcasting plurality of high resolution version media content events, and wherein the low resolution version of each one of the media content events is received in a low resolution content stream via a communication network;
segmenting each of the plurality of low resolution version media content events received in the low resolution content stream into a plurality of low resolution segments, wherein each of the plurality of low resolution segments includes a portion which corresponds to a currently broadcasting portion of the corresponding high resolution version media content event;
storing, in a memory of the media device, each one of the plurality of low resolution segments;
deleting a previously stored low resolution segment from the memory of the media device as a next one of the plurality of low resolution segments is stored such that the plurality of low resolution segments currently stored in the memory of the media device includes the portion which corresponds to the currently broadcasting portion of the corresponding high resolution version media content event;
receiving a user request while a first one of the plurality of high resolution version media content events is being presented to a user, wherein the user request is a request for presentation of a second one of the plurality of high resolution version media content events, and wherein the second high resolution version media content event is different from the first high resolution version media content event;
retrieving, in response to receiving the user request, the stored low resolution segment that includes the portion which corresponds to the currently broadcasting portion of the second high resolution version media content event from the memory of the media device;
presenting the retrieved low resolution segment on a display to the user;
tuning the media device to receive a broadcasted high resolution content stream that comprises the requested second high resolution version media content event in response to receiving the user request,
wherein the retrieved low resolution segment that includes the portion which corresponds to the currently broadcasting portion of the corresponding second high resolution version media content event continues to be presented on the display while the media device is tuning to the broadcasted high resolution content stream;

ending presentation of the low resolution segment on the display after the tuning of the media device to receive the second high resolution version media content event; and
starting presentation of the requested high resolution version of the media content event on the display in response to ending presentation of the low resolution segment.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the plurality of low resolution version media content events at the media device comprises:
receiving the plurality of low resolution version media content events from one of a media transmit facility (MTF) internet content manager or a regional internet content manager that is communicatively coupled to the media device via the communication network,
wherein the segmenting of the low resolution content stream into the plurality of low resolution segments that include the portion which corresponds to the currently broadcasting portion of the corresponding one of the plurality of high resolution version media content events occurs at one of the MTF internet content manager or the regional internet content manager prior to communicating the low resolution content stream to the media device.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the low resolution version of the media content event at the media device comprises:
receiving the low resolution version of the media content event from one of a media transmit facility (MTF) internet content manager or a regional internet content manager that is communicatively coupled to the media device via the communication network,
wherein the segmenting of the low resolution content stream into the plurality of low resolution segments that include the portion which corresponds to the currently broadcasting portion of the corresponding one of the plurality of high resolution version media content events occurs at the media device after the low resolution content stream is communicated from one of the MTF internet content manager or the regional internet content manager to the media device.

4. The method of claim 1 ,
wherein the high resolution version of the media content event comprises a series of high resolution video image frames that are each uniquely identified by a first identifier,
wherein each one of the plurality of low resolution segments comprises a series of low resolution video image frames that are each uniquely identified by a second identifier, and
wherein after tuning the media device has been tuned to receive the broadcasted high resolution content stream, the method further comprises:
selecting one of the high resolution video image frames of the high resolution version of the media content event;
comparing the first identifier of the selected high resolution video image frame with the second identifiers of the low resolution video image frames being presented on the display;
wherein ending presentation of the low resolution segment and starting presentation of the requested high resolution version of the media content event occurs when one of the second identifiers corresponds to the first identifier of the selected high resolution video image frame.

5. The method of claim 4 ,
wherein ending presentation of the low resolution segment on the display occurs after presentation of a low resolution video image frame that immediately precedes the low resolution video image frame having the second identifier that corresponds to the first identifier of the selected high resolution video image frame, and
wherein starting presentation of the requested high resolution version of the media content event begins with the selected high resolution video image frame having the first identifier.

6. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:
wherein the first identifier of the selected high resolution video image frame is a presentation time stamp, and
wherein the second identifier of the corresponding second video image frame is the presentation time stamp.

7. The method of claim 1 , the method further comprising:
presenting a next one of the plurality of low resolution segments after the retrieved low resolution segment has been presented on the display if the media device is not done tuning to the broadcasted high resolution content stream.

8. The method of claim 1 ,
wherein a first one of the other low resolution content streams is received from a media transmit facility (MTF) internet content manager that is communicatively coupled to the media device via the communication network,
wherein the MTF internet content manager is broadcasting the first one of the other low resolution content streams to a plurality of first media devices commonly located in a first geographic region and to a plurality of second media devices commonly located in a second geographic region that is different from the first geographic region,
wherein a second one of the other low resolutio

Assignees

• Echostar Technologies Llc

Inventors

• Greene Gregory

Classifications

• H04N21/631

  Multimode Transmission, e.g. transmitting basic layers and enhancement layers of the content over different transmission paths or transmitting with different error corrections, different keys or with different transmission protocols · CPC title

• H04N21/6143

  involving transmission via a satellite · CPC title

• H04N21/8456

  by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments · CPC title

• H04N21/6125

  involving transmission via Internet (transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82) · CPC title

• H04N21/4384 Primary

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