I lllll llllllll Ill lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll 111111111111111111111111111111111
`US007647614B2
`
`c12) United States Patent
`Krikorian et al.
`
`(10) Patent No.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 7,647,614 B2
`Jan.12,2010
`
`(54) FAST-START STREAMING AND BUFFERING
`OF STREAMING CONTENT FOR PERSONAL
`MEDIA PLAYER
`
`5,237,648 A
`5,386,493 A *
`5,434,590 A
`
`8/1993 Mills et al.
`1/1995 Degen et al. ................ 704/267
`7/1995 Dinwiddie, Jr. et al.
`
`(75)
`
`Inventors: Jason Krikorian, San Mateo, CA (US);
`Blake Krikorian, San Mateo, CA (US);
`Bhupendra Shah, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
`Alexander Gurzhi, San Jose, CA (US);
`Satish Iyer, Bangalore (IN)
`
`(73) Assignee: Sling Media, Inc., Foster City, CA (US)
`
`( *) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term ofthis
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 774 days.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 11/147,985
`
`(22)
`
`Filed:
`
`Jun. 7, 2005
`
`(65)
`
`Prior Publication Data
`
`US 2006/0095472 Al
`
`May 4, 2006
`
`Related U.S. Application Data
`
`(60) Provisional application No. 60/577,833, filed on Jun.
`7, 2004.
`
`(51)
`
`Int. Cl.
`(2006.01)
`H04N 71173
`(52) U.S. Cl. ............................. 725/94; 725/80; 725/87;
`725/110
`( 58) Field of Classification Search . ... ... ... ... .. ... . 725/87,
`725/80, 94, 11 O; 386/112
`See application file for complete search history.
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`3,416,043 A
`5,161,021 A
`
`12/1968 Jorgensen
`1111992 Tsai
`
`(Continued)
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`DE
`
`4407319 Al
`
`9/1994
`
`(Continued)
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`Faucon, B., "TV 'Brick' Opens up Copyright Can of Worms," Finan(cid:173)
`cial Review, Jul. 1, 2003, [online] [Retrieved on Apr. 12, 2006]
`Retrieved
`from
`the
`Internet
`<URL:http://afr.com/cgi-bin/
`newtextversions. pl?storyid~ 10 56825330084&date~2003/07/01
`&pagetype~printer&section~ 105380131870 5&path~/ articles/
`2003/06/30/ 10 56825330084 .html>.
`
`(Continued)
`
`Primary Examiner-Hunter B. Lansberry
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Ingrassia Fisher & Lorenz,
`P.C.
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A personal media broadcasting system enables video distri(cid:173)
`bution over a computer network and allows a user to view and
`control media sources over a computer network from a
`remote location. A personal broadcaster receives an input
`from one or more types of media sources, digitizes and com(cid:173)
`presses the content, and streams the compressed media over a
`computer network to a media player running on any of a wide
`range of client devices for viewing the media. The system
`may allow the user to issue control commands (e.g., "channel
`up") from the media player to the broadcaster, causing the
`source device to execute the commands. The broadcaster and
`the media player may employ several techniques for buffer(cid:173)
`ing, transmitting, and viewing the content to improve the
`user's experience.
`
`16 Claims, 2 Drawing Sheets
`
`Central
`Server
`180
`
`Remote Clients
`170
`
`Home Internet
`Gateway
`11Q
`
`Personal
`Broadcaster
`100
`
`AN Source
`Devices
`120
`
`On-Network
`Storage
`Device
`130
`
`Local Clients
`150
`
`DISH, Exh. 1007, p. 1
`
`

`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`5,493,638 A
`5,602,589 A
`5,661,516 A
`5,682,195 A
`5,706,290 A
`5,708,961 A
`5,710,605 A
`5,757,416 A
`5,774,170 A
`5,794,116 A
`5,822,537 A
`5,831,664 A
`5,850,482 A
`5,852,437 A
`5,880,721 A
`5,898,679 A
`5,909,518 A
`5,911,582 A
`5,936,968 A
`5,987,501 A
`6,002,450 A
`6,008,777 A
`6,014,694 A
`6,020,880 A
`6,031,940 A
`6,036,601 A
`6,040,829 A
`6,043,837 A
`6,075,906 A
`6,088,777 A
`6,097,441 A
`6,104,334 A
`6,108,041 A
`6,115,420 A
`6,141,059 A
`6,141,447 A
`6,160,544 A
`6,201,536 Bl
`6,212,282 Bl
`6,222,885 Bl
`6,223,211 Bl
`6,240,459 Bl
`6,243,596 Bl
`6,256,019 Bl
`6,263,503 Bl
`6,279,029 Bl
`6,282,714 Bl
`6,286,142 Bl
`6,310,886 Bl
`6,340,994 Bl
`6,356,945 Bl
`6,357,021 Bl
`6,389,467 Bl
`6,434,113 Bl
`6,456,340 Bl
`6,466,623 Bl
`6,470,378 Bl
`6,476,826 Bl
`6,487,319 Bl
`6,493,874 B2
`6,496,122 B2
`6,505,169 Bl
`6,510,177 Bl
`6,529,506 Bl
`6,553,147 B2
`6,557,031 Bl
`6,564,004 Bl
`6,567,984 Bl
`6,584,559 Bl
`6,597,375 Bl
`6,600,838 B2
`
`2/1996 Hooper et al.
`2/1997 Vishwanath et al.
`8/1997 Carles
`10/1997 Hendricks et al.
`111998 Shaw eta!.
`111998 Hylton eta!.
`111998 Nelson
`5/1998 Birch et al.
`6/1998 Hite et al.
`8/1998 Matsuda et al.
`10/1998 Katseff et al.
`1111998 Wharton et al.
`12/1998 Meany et al.
`12/1998 Wugofski et al.
`3/1999 Yen
`4/1999 Brederveld et al.
`6/1999 Chui
`6/1999 Redford et al.
`8/1999 Lyons
`1111999 Hamilton et al.
`12/1999 Darbee et al.
`12/1999 Yiu
`112000 Aharoni et al.
`212000 Naimpally
`212000 Chui et al.
`3/2000 Heckel
`3/2000 Croy et al.
`3/2000 Driscoll, Jr. et al.
`612000 Fenwick et al.
`712000 Sorber
`8/2000 Allport
`8/2000 Allport
`8/2000 Faroudja et al.
`912000 Wang
`10/2000 Boyce et al.
`10/2000 Linzer et al.
`12/2000 Hayashi et al.
`3/2001 Hendricks et al.
`4/2001 Mershon
`4/2001 Chaddha et al.
`4/2001 Hamilton et al.
`5/2001 Roberts et al.
`6/2001 Kikinis
`7/2001 Allport
`7/2001 Margulis
`8/2001 Sampat et al.
`8/2001 Ghori et al.
`9/2001 Ehreth
`10/2001 Barton
`112002 Margulis et al.
`3/2002 Shaw eta!.
`3/2002 Kitagawa et al.
`512002 Eyal
`8/2002 Gubbi
`912002 Margulis
`10/2002 Youn et al.
`10/2002 Tracton et al.
`1112002 Plotkin et al.
`1112002 Chai
`12/2002 Humpleman
`12/2002 Sampsell
`112003 Bhagavath et al.
`112003 De Bonet et al.
`3/2003 Yamamoto et al.
`4/2003 Chai et al.
`4/2003 Mimura et al.
`5/2003 Kadono
`5/2003 Allport
`6/2003 Huh et al.
`7/2003 Yawitz
`7/2003 Chui
`
`US 7,647,614 B2
`Page 2
`
`8/2003 Swix et al.
`6,609,253 Bl
`6,611,530 Bl
`8/2003 Apostolopoulos
`6,628,716 Bl
`9/2003 Tan et al.
`6,642,939 Bl * 1112003 Vallone et al.
`.............. 715/721
`1112003 Malkemes et al.
`6,647,015 B2
`6,658,019 Bl
`12/2003 Chen et al.
`6,665,751 Bl
`12/2003 Chen et al.
`6,697,356 Bl
`212004 Kretschmer et al.
`6,701,380 B2
`3/2004 Schneider et al.
`3/2004 Minke eta!.
`6,704,678 B2
`6,708,231 Bl
`3/2004 Kitagawa
`6,718,551 Bl
`412004 Swix et al.
`6/2004 Bahl et al.
`6,754,266 B2
`6,754,439 Bl
`6/2004 Hensley et al.
`6,757,851 Bl
`6/2004 Park et al.
`6,757,906 Bl
`6/2004 Look et al.
`7/2004 Price
`6,766,376 B2
`6,768,775 Bl
`7/2004 Wen et al.
`6,771,828 Bl
`8/2004 Mal var
`6,774,912 Bl
`8/2004 Ahmed et al.
`8/2004 Cheung
`6,781,601 B2
`8/2004 Masudetal.
`6,785,700 B2
`6,798,838 Bl
`912004 Ngo
`6,806,909 Bl
`10/2004 Radha et al.
`6,807,308 B2
`10/2004 Chui et al.
`1112004 Zhang et al.
`6,816,194 B2
`6,816,858 Bl
`1112004 Coden et al.
`1112004 Ojard et al.
`6,826,242 B2
`12/2004 Acharya et al.
`6,834,123 B2
`1/2005 Barlow et al.
`6,839,079 B2
`1/2005 Ferri ere
`6,847,468 B2
`212005 Tardif
`6,850,571 B2
`6,850,649 Bl
`212005 Mal var
`3/2005 Apostolopoulos et al.
`6,868,083 B2
`6,889,385 Bl
`512005 Rakib et al.
`6,892,359 Bl
`512005 Nason et al.
`6,898,583 Bl
`512005 Rising, III
`6,907,602 B2
`6/2005 Tsai et al.
`8/2005 Uchida et al.
`6,930,661 B2
`6,941,575 B2
`912005 Allen
`10/2005 Ikedo et al.
`6,952,595 B2
`6,981,050 Bl
`12/2005 Tobias et al.
`7,016,337 Bl
`3/2006 Wu et al.
`7,020,892 B2 * 3/2006 Levesque et al. .............. 725/89
`7,032,000 B2
`412006 Tripp
`7,047,305 Bl
`512006 Brooks et al.
`10/2006 Foreman et al.
`7,124,366 B2
`7,151,575 Bl
`12/2006 Landry et al.
`7,184,433 Bl
`212007 Oz
`5/2007 Uchida et al.
`7,224,323 B2
`7,239,800 B2
`7/2007 Bilbrey
`3/2008 Dacosta
`7,344,084 B2
`7,430,686 Bl
`9/2008 Wang eta!.
`7,464,396 B2 * 12/2008 Hejna, Jr ...................... 725/97
`7,505,480 Bl
`3/2009 Zhang et al.
`200110021998 Al
`9/2001 Margulis
`200210010925 Al
`112002 Kikinis
`2002/0031333 Al
`3/2002 Mano eta!.
`2002/0046404 Al
`412002 Mizutani
`2002/0053053 Al
`512002 Nagai et al.
`2002/00807 53 Al
`612002 Lee
`200210090029 Al
`712002 Kim
`2002/0105529 Al
`8/2002 Bowser et al.
`2002/0122137 Al
`912002 Chen et al.
`2002/0131497 Al
`912002 Jang
`2002/0138843 Al
`912002 Samaan et al.
`200210143973 Al
`10/2002 Price
`2002/0147634 Al
`10/2002 Jacoby et al.
`2002/0147687 Al
`10/2002 Breiter et al.
`2002/0167458 Al
`1112002 Baudisch et al.
`2003/0028873 Al
`212003 Lemmons
`2003/0095791 Al
`5/2003 Barton et al.
`2003/0159143 Al
`8/2003 Chan
`
`DISH, Exh. 1007, p. 2
`
`

`
`US 7,647,614 B2
`Page 3
`
`2003/0192054 Al
`2003/0231621 Al
`2004/0003406 Al
`2004/0068334 Al
`2004/0139047 Al
`200410162845 Al
`200410172410 Al
`2004/0205830 Al
`2004/0212640 Al
`2004/0216173 Al
`2004/0236844 Al
`2004/0255249 Al
`2005/0021398 Al
`2005/0027821 Al
`2005/0044058 Al
`2005/0053356 Al
`2005/0055595 Al
`2005/0097542 Al
`2005/0114852 Al
`2005/0132351 Al
`2005/0138560 Al
`2005/0198584 Al
`2005/0204046 Al
`2005/0216851 Al
`2005/0227621 Al
`2005/0229118 Al
`2005/0246369 Al
`2005/0251833 Al
`2005/0283791 Al
`2005/0288999 Al
`2006/0011371 Al
`2006/0031381 Al
`2006/0051055 Al
`2006/0095401 Al
`2006/0095471 Al
`2006/0095942 Al
`2006/0095943 Al
`2006/0117371 Al
`2006/0146174 Al
`2007 /0003224 Al
`2007/0022328 Al
`2007/0074115 Al
`200710168543 Al
`200710180485 Al
`2007/0198532 Al
`2007 /0234213 Al
`2007 /0286596 Al
`2008/0059533 Al
`
`10/2003 Birks et al.
`12/2003 Gubbi et al.
`112004 Billmaier
`412004 Tsai et al.
`7/2004 Rechsteiner et al.
`8/2004 Kim et al.
`912004 Shimojima et al.
`10/2004 Kaneko
`10/2004 Mann eta!.
`10/2004 Horoszowski et al.
`1112004 Kocherlakota
`12/2004 Chang et al.
`112005 McCleskey et al.
`212005 Alexander et al.
`212005 Matthews et al.
`3/2005 Mate et al.
`3/2005 Frazer et al.
`512005 Lee
`512005 Chen et al.
`6/2005 Randall et al.
`6/2005 Lee et al.
`912005 Matthews et al.
`912005 Watanabe
`912005 Hull et al.
`10/2005 Katoh
`10/2005 Chiu et al.
`1112005 Oreizy et al.
`1112005 Schedivy
`12/2005 McCarthy et al.
`12/2005 Lerner et al.
`112006 Fahey
`212006 Van Luijt et al.
`3/2006 Ohkawa
`512006 Krikorian et al.
`512006 Krikorian et al.
`512006 Van Beek
`512006 Demircin et al.
`612006 Margulis
`712006 Hagino
`112007 Krikorian et al.
`112007 Tarra et al.
`3/2007 Patten et al.
`7/2007 Krikorian et al.
`8/2007 Dua
`8/2007 Krikorian et al.
`10/2007 Krikorian et al.
`12/2007 Lonn
`3/2008 Krikorian
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`EP
`EP
`EP
`EP
`KR
`KR
`WO
`WO
`WO
`WO
`WO
`WO
`WO
`WO
`WO
`WO
`
`0838945 A
`1443766 A2
`1691550 A
`1830558 Al
`19990082855 A
`20010211410 A
`0133839 Al
`WO 01133839
`0147248 A2
`0193161 Al
`03026232 Al
`03052552 A2
`WO 03/052552
`2004032511 Al
`2005050898 A2
`2006074110 A
`
`4/1998
`8/2004
`8/2006
`9/2007
`1111999
`8/2001
`5/2001
`5/2001
`6/2001
`12/2001
`3/2003
`6/2003
`6/2003
`412004
`6/2005
`712006
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`Archive of "TV Brick Home Server," www.tvbrick.com, [online]
`[Archived by http://archive.org on Jun. 3, 2004; Retrieved on Apr. 12,
`
`2006] Retrieved from the Internet <URL:http://web.archive.org/web/
`20041107111024/www.tvbrick.com/en/affiliate/tvbs/tvbrick/
`tvbrick/document 18 _print>.
`PCT International Search Report and Written Opinion, PCT/US05/
`20105, Feb. 15, 2007, 6 pages.
`Roe, Kevin, "Third-Party Observation Under EPC Article 115 On
`The Patentability Of An Invention," Dec. 21, 2007.
`Roe, Kevin, Third-Party Submission For Published Application
`Under CFR §1.99, Mar. 26, 2008.
`Skodras et al., "JPEG2000: The Upcoming Still Image Compression
`Standard," May 11, 2000, 14 pages.
`Kessler, Gary C., An Overview of TCP/IP Protocols and the Internet;
`Jan. 16, 2007, retrieved from the Internet on Jun. 12, 2008 at http://
`www.garykessler.net/library/tcpip.htrnl; originally submitted to the
`InterNIC and posted on their Gopher site on Aug. 5, 1994.
`Taubman et al., "Embedded Block Coding In JPEG2000," Feb. 23,
`2001, pp. 1-8 of36.
`Balster, Eric J., "Video Compression and Rate Control Methods
`Based on the Wavelet Transform," The Ohio State University 2004,
`pp. 1-24.
`Kulapala et al., "Comparison of Traffic and Quality Characteristics of
`Rate-Controlled Wavelet and DCT Video," Arizona State University,
`Oct. 11, 2004.
`International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT/US2006/
`04382, mailed Apr. 27, 2007.
`Krikorian, Jason, U.S. Appl. No. 11/734,277, filed Apr. 12, 2007.
`Tarra, Raghuveer et al., U.S. Appl. No. 60/975,239, filed Sep. 26,
`2007.
`Rao, Padmanabha R., U.S. Appl. No. 12/166,039, filed Jul. 1, 2008.
`Williams, George Edward, U.S. Appl. No. 12/167,041, filed Jul. 2,
`2008.
`Faucon, B. "TV 'Brick' Opens up Copyright Can of Worms," Finan(cid:173)
`cial Review, Jul. 1, 2003, [online [Retrieved on Apr. 12, 2006]
`Retrieved from the Internet, URL:http://afr.com/cgi-bin/newtextver(cid:173)
`sions.pl?storyid+ 1056825330084&3ate+2003/07/01
`&pagetype+printer&section+ 10538013 l 8705&path+articles/2003/
`0613010156825330084.htrnl.].
`Archive of "TV Brick Home Server," www.tvbrick.com, [online]
`[Archived by http://archive.org on Jun. 3, 2004: Retrieved on Apr. 12,
`2006] retrieved from the Internet <URL:http://web.archive.org/web/
`20041107111024/www. tvbrick.corn/en/affiiiate/tvbs/tvbrick/docu(cid:173)
`mentl 8/print>.
`PCT International Search Report and Written Opinion, PCT/
`US2005/020105, Feb. 15, 2007, 6 pages.
`Bajpai, Parimal et al. "Systems and Methods of Controlling the
`Encoding of a Media Stream," U.S. Appl. No. 12/339,878, filed Dec.
`19, 2008.
`Malone, Edward D. et al. "Systems and Methods for Controlling
`Media Devices," U.S. Appl. No. 12/256,344, filed Oct. 22, 2008.
`Banger, Shashidhar et al. "Systems and Methods for Determining
`Attributes of Media Items Accessed Via a Personal Media Broad(cid:173)
`caster," U.S. Appl. No. 12/334,959, filed Dec. 15, 2008.
`Kulkarni, Anant Madhava "Systems and Methods for Creating Logi(cid:173)
`cal Media Streams for Media Storage and Playback," U.S. Appl. No.
`12/323,907, filed Nov. 26, 2008.
`Rao, Padmanabha R. "Systems and Methods for Linking Media
`Content," U.S. Appl. No. 12/359,784, filed Jan. 26, 2009.
`Krikorian, Blake Gary et al. "Systems and Methods for Presenting
`Media Content Obtained From Multiple Sources," U.S. Appl. No.
`12/408,456, filed Mar. 20, 2009.
`Krikorian, Blake Gary et al. "Systems and Methods for Projecting
`Images From a Computer System," U.S. Appl. No. 12/408,460, filed
`Mar. 20, 2009.
`International Search Report and Written Opinion for International
`Application No. PCT/US2006/025911, mailed Jan. 3, 2007.
`International Search Report for International Application No. PCT/
`US2007/063599, mailed Dec. 12, 2007.
`International Search Report for International Application No. PCT/
`US2007/076337, mailed Oct. 20, 2008.
`International Search Report and Written Opinion for International
`Application No. PCT/US2006/025912, mailed Jul. 17, 2008.
`International Search Report for International Application No. PCT/
`US2008/059613, mailed Jul. 21, 2008.
`
`DISH, Exh. 1007, p. 3
`
`

`
`US 7,647,614 B2
`Page 4
`
`International Search Report and Written Opinion for International
`Application No. PCT/US2008/080910, mailed Feb. 16, 2009.
`Wikipedia "Slingbox" [Online], Oct. 21, 2007, XP002512399;
`retrieved from the Internet: <URL:http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.
`php?title~Slingbox&oldid~ 166080570>; retrieved on Jan. 28, 2009.
`Capable Networks LLC "Keyspan Remote Control---Controlling
`Your Computer With a Remote" [Online], Feb. 21, 2006,
`XP002512495; retrieved from the Internet: <URL:http://www.
`slingcommunity.corn/article/ 1179 l/Keyspan-Remote(cid:173)
`Control---Controlling-Your-Computer-With-a-Remote/
`?highlight~remote+controi>; retrieved on Jan. 28, 2009.
`Wikipedia "LocationFree Player"
`[Online], Sep. 22, 2007,
`XP002512400; retrieved from the Internet: <URL: http://en.
`wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title~LocationFree_Player
`&oldid~l59683564>; retrieved on Jan. 28, 2009.
`[Online] 2006,
`Inc. "Slingbox User Guide"
`Sling Media
`XP002512553; retrieved from the Internet: <URL:http://www.
`slingmedia.hk/attach/en-US_Slingbox_User_Guide_vl.2.pdf>;
`retrieved on Jan. 29, 2009.
`2004,
`[Online],
`"LocationFree TV"
`Sony Corporation
`SP0025124 l O; retrieved from the Internet: <URL:http://www.docs.
`sony.corn/release/LFX l_X5revision.pdf>; retrieved on Jan. 28,
`2009 [note-document uploaded in two parts as file exceeds the
`25MB size limit].
`Sony Corporation "LocationFree Player Pak-LocationFree Base
`Station-LocationFree Player" [Online] 2005, XP002512401;
`retrieved from the Internet: <URL:http://www.docs.sony.com/re(cid:173)
`lease/LFPKl .pdf>; retrieved on Jan. 28, 2009.
`China State Intellectual Property Office "First Office Action," issued
`Jul. 31, 2009, for Application No. 200580026825.X.
`USPTO, Non-Final Office Action, mailed Aug. 4, 2009; U.S. Appl.
`No. 11/734,277, filed Apr. 12, 2007.
`USPTO, Final Office Action, mailed Jul. 31, 2009; U.S. Appl. No.
`111683,862, filed Mar. 8, 2007.
`USPTO, Non-Final Office Action, mailed Aug. 5, 2009; U.S. Appl.
`No. 111147,683, filed Jun. 7, 2005.
`USPTO, Non-Final Office Action, mailed Sep. 3, 2009; U.S. Appl.
`No.111620,711, filed Jan. 7, 2007.
`European Patent Office, European Search Report for European
`Application No. EP 08 16 7880, mailed Mar. 4, 2009.
`Mythtv Wiki, "MythTV User Manual'' [Online], Aug. 27, 2007,
`XP0025 l 5046; retrieved from the Internet: <URL:http://www.
`mythtv.org/wiki?title~User_Manual:Introduction&oldid~25549>.
`International Searching Authority, Written Opinion and International
`Search Report for International Application No. PCT/US2008/
`077733, mailed Mar. 18, 2009.
`International Searching Authority, Written Opinion and International
`Search Report for International Application No. PCT/US2008/
`087005, mailed Mar. 20, 2009.
`Watanabe Y. et al., "Multimedia Database System for TV Newscasts
`and Newspapers"; Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Springer
`Verlag, Berlin, Germany; vol. 1554, Nov. 1, 1998, pp. 208-220,
`XP002402824, ISSN: 0302-9743.
`Yasuhiko Watanabe et al., "Aligning Articles in TV Newscasts and
`Newspapers"; Proceedings of the International Conference on
`Computationallinguistics, XX, XX, Jan. 1, 1998, pp. 1381-1387,
`XP002402825.
`Sodergard C. et al., "Integrated Multimedia Publishing: Combining
`TV and Newspaper Content on Personal Channels"; Computer Net-
`
`works, Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam, Netherlands;
`vol. 31, No. 11-16, May 17, 1999, pp. 1111-1128, XP004304543,
`ISSN: 1389-1286.
`Ariki Y. et al., "Automatic Classification of TV News Articles Based
`on Telop Character Recognition"; Multimedia Computing and Sys(cid:173)
`tems, 1999; IEEE International Conference on Florence, Italy, Jun.
`7-11, 1999, Los Alamitos, California, USA, IEEE Comput. Soc. US;
`vol. 2, Jun. 7, 1999, pp.148-152, XP010519373, ISBN: 978-0-7695-
`0253-3; abstract, paragraph [03.l], paragraph [05.2], figures 1,2.
`USPTO, Non-Final Office Action mailed Dec. 17, 2004; U.S. Appl.
`No. 09/809,868, filed Mar. 15, 2001.
`USPTO, Final Office Action mailed Jul. 28, 2005; U.S. Appl. No.
`09/809,868, filed Mar. 15, 2001.
`USPTO, Non-Final Office Action mailed Jan. 30, 2006; U.S. Appl.
`No. 09/809,868, filed Mar. 15, 2001.
`USPTO, Final Office Action mailed Aug. 10, 2006; U.S. Appl. No.
`09/809,868, filed Mar. 15, 2001.
`USPTO, Non-Final Office Action mailed Jun. 19, 2007; U.S. Appl.
`No. 09/809,868, filed Mar. 15, 2001.
`USPTO, Non-Final Office Action mailed Apr. 16, 2008; U.S. Appl.
`No. 09/809,868, filed Mar. 15, 2001.
`USPTO, Final Office Action mailed Sep. 18, 2008; U.S. Appl. No.
`09/809,868, filed Mar. 15, 2001.
`USPTO, Non-Final Office Action mailed Mar. 31, 2009; U.S. Appl.
`No. 09/809,868, filed Mar. 15, 2001.
`USPTO, Non-Final Office Action mailed May 1, 2008; U.S. Appl.
`No. 111111,265, filed Apr. 21, 2005.
`USPTO, Final Office Action mailed Dec. 29, 2008; U.S. Appl. No.
`111111,265, filed Apr. 21, 2005.
`USPTO, Non-Final Office Action mailed Jun. 8, 2009; U.S.Appl. No.
`111111,265, filed Apr. 21, 2005.
`USPTO, Non-Final Office Action mailed Jun. 26, 2008; U.S. Appl.
`No. 111620,707, filed Jan. 7, 2007.
`USPTO, Final Office Action mailed Oct. 21, 2008; U.S. Appl. No.
`111620,707, filed Jan. 7, 2007.
`USPTO, Non-Final Office Action mailed Mar. 25, 2009; U.S. Appl.
`No. 111620,707, filed Jan. 7, 2007.
`USPTO, Non-Final Office Action mailed Aug. 7, 2008; U.S. Appl.
`No.111620,711, filed Jan. 7, 2007.
`USPTO, Final Office Action mailed Feb. 9, 2009; U.S. Appl. No.
`111620,711, filed Jan. 7, 2007.
`USPTO, Non-Final Office Action mailed Feb. 25, 2009; U.S. Appl.
`No. 111683,862, filed Mar. 8, 2007.
`USPTO, Non-Final Office Action mailed May 15, 2009; U.S. Appl.
`No. 111147,664, filed Jun. 7, 2005.
`USPTO, Non-Final Office Action mailed Jun. 25, 2008; U.S. Appl.
`No. 111428,254, filed Jun. 30, 2006.
`USPTO, Final Office Action mailed Feb. 6, 2009; U.S. Appl. No.
`111428,254, filed Jun. 30, 2006.
`Sonic Blue "ReplayTV 5000 User's Guide," 2002, entire document.
`"Wireless Local Area Networks: Issues in Technology and Stan(cid:173)
`dards" Jan. 6, 1999.
`Bluetooth-News; Main Future User Models Document Verification
`& Qualification: Bluetooth Technical Background, Apr. 21, 1999; pp.
`1 of 7 and 2 of 7; http://www.bluetooth.com/v2/news/show.asp 1-2.
`Microsoft Corporation; Harman/Kardon "Master Your Universe"
`1999.
`Matsushita Electric Corporation of America MicroCast Wireless PC
`Multimedia Transceiver System, Nov. 1998.
`* cited by examiner
`
`DISH, Exh. 1007, p. 4
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan.12,2010
`
`Sheet 1of2
`
`US 7,647,614 B2
`
`Central
`Server
`180
`
`Home Internet
`Gateway
`11.Q
`
`Personal
`Broadcaster
`100
`
`Remote Clients
`170
`
`FIG. 1
`
`NV Source
`Devices
`120
`
`On-Network
`Storage
`Device
`130
`
`Local Clients
`150
`
`Home Internet
`Gateway
`11.Q
`
`100
`
`Analog Input
`1------1
`220
`210 I
`
`Audio In
`
`'- -
`
`-
`
`_
`
`_J
`
`Cable Feed
`Control
`1----1 1----1
`250 I
`270 I
`I
`•
`I
`I Cable IN
`I
`I
`I
`
`IR
`
`RS-232
`,_ ___ _J
`
`I
`
`I • 260 I • 280
`
`I Cable OUT
`
`._ ___ _J
`
`Power
`
`.230
`
`Reset
`
`.240
`
`Network
`OUT
`290
`
`NV Source Device
`120
`
`IR Emitter
`285
`
`FIG. 2
`
`DISH, Exh. 1007, p. 5
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Jan.12,2010
`
`Sheet 2of2
`
`US 7,647,614 B2
`
`.... Q)
`Q) u
`_g ~ ~1
`c: Q) (")
`0
`.......
`uE
`
`.
`(!)
`LL
`
`Q) u
`~
`Q)
`.......
`c: ll)I
`-c (")
`-N
`0
`~
`Q) z
`
`....
`0
`U)
`:« ~
`g (")
`....
`a.
`
`Q)
`
`....
`"O LOI
`0
`~ (")
`0
`
`T"""
`
`Q)
`....... u
`5.~ ~1
`c: Q) (")
`
`--c:
`
`Jl
`
`0
`Q)
`"O
`5
`I
`rJ)
`
`n
`
`H
`
`Q)
`
`.....
`·w 0
`0
`(1)
`a. "O
`E ·-
`o>
`()
`
`.......
`..c: 0
`.Q>.-
`0::: "O
`..._
`::J
`Q) <(
`....J
`
`§I
`
`C"
`0 01
`E (")
`Q) (")
`~
`
`....
`Q) 01
`c: T"""
`::J (")
`I-
`
`H
`
`Q)
`::0
`co
`()
`u.
`0:::
`
`DISH, Exh. 1007, p. 6
`
`

`
`US 7,647,614 B2
`
`1
`FAST-START STREAMING AND BUFFERING
`OF STREAMING CONTENT FOR PERSONAL
`MEDIA PLAYER
`
`CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATIONS
`
`2
`described above. Accordingly, it would be desirable to enable
`users to access their A/V content from any of a variety of
`remote locations inside or outside the home, as such content
`is currently available only from locations in the home that
`traditionally receive and play it (e.g., a television set).
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
`Application No. 60/577,833, filed Jun. 7, 2004, which is
`incorporated by reference in its entirety. This application is 10
`also related to co-pending U.S. Application entitled, "Per(cid:173)
`sonal Media Broadcasting System," to Krikorian et al., filed
`Jun. 7, 2005, application Ser. No.11/147,664, and co-pending
`U.S. Application entitled, "Personal Media Broadcasting
`System With Output Buffer," to Krikorian et al., filed Jun. 7, 15
`2005, application Ser. No. 11/147,663, each of which is incor(cid:173)
`porated by reference in its entirety.
`
`BACKGROUND
`
`20
`
`25
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`This invention relates generally to personal streaming
`media broadcasters, and in particular to streaming media
`from a media source input to a client device over a network.
`2. Background of the Invention
`While people spend a great deal of time watching televi(cid:173)
`sion programming and other forms of audio-visual (A/V)
`content, they are also spending an increasing amount of time
`interfacing with computing devices such as personal comput(cid:173)
`ers, personal digital assistants, mobile phones, dedicated 30
`multimedia devices, and other devices that, like the tradi(cid:173)
`tional television, include a display. These types of computing
`devices allow people to be increasingly mobile, but this
`mobility reduces the time people spend at home in front of
`their televisions. It would therefore be beneficial to enable 35
`people to enjoy their television programming and other forms
`of A/V content they now receive at home on these computing
`devices as well, regardless of location and without depen(cid:173)
`dence on physical connections.
`This ability would enable several desirable applications.
`For example, a user might want to access and control televi(cid:173)
`sion and other regularly consumed A/V content from a per(cid:173)
`sonal computer (desktop as well as notebook computers) or
`other computing devices around the home via the user's local
`network in the home. Since cable, satellite, and other sources
`of television content typically enterthe house at a few discrete
`locations, allowing access to the content over a home network
`gives the user more freedom to enjoy the content throughout
`the home. Another possible application would be to enable a
`user to access and control television and other A/V content 50
`from any number of remote networks where a broadband
`connection is available to the user (e.g., at an airport, at work,
`at school, in a hotel, in a cafe, at an acquaintance's house). Yet
`another application would be to enable a user to access and
`control television and other A/V content from a mobile phone 55
`or other computing devices that can be connected to a wide
`area network (e.g., GPRS, W-CDMA, CDMA-2000, lXRTT,
`lXEVDO, and the like). In various applications, users are
`likely to want to access their media content stored on devices,
`such as personal computers and other devices having storage, 60
`from remote networks. Nevertheless, network bandwidth and
`other limitations have made it difficult to provide an effective
`and enjoyable remote media experience for the user.
`But traditional streaming media solutions do not enable
`these applications in any effective way; moreover, they suffer 65
`from technical limitations that would prevent their use in
`personal media broadcasting applications
`like
`those
`
`A personal media broadcasting system enables video trans-
`mission over a computer network, allowing a user to view and
`control media sources over a computer network from a
`remote location. In one embodiment, the personal media
`broadcasting system includes a personal media broadcaster
`and a media player. The personal media broadcaster may be
`configured to receive as an input virtually any media source.
`The broadcaster digitizes and compresses the received media
`content (if necessary) and streams the media over a computer
`network to the media player. The media player may reside on
`any of a wide range of client devices for viewing the media. A
`user may send control commands (e.g., "channel up") using
`the media player back over the network to be executed by the
`media source device, thus affecting the media stream received
`by the media player.
`In one embodiment, a personal media broadcasting system
`includes a personal media broadcaster and media player cli(cid:173)
`ent, which communicate with each other over a network. The
`personal media broadcaster can accept an A/V signal from
`one or more A/V source devices. From this A/V signal, the
`personal media broadcaster constructs a media stream that is
`suitable for transmission over a network to the media player
`client. The personal media broadcaster includes a network
`interface for transmitting the media stream to the media
`player client. As the media stream is received at the client, it
`can be viewed by a user using the media player client. In one
`embodiment, the personal media broadcaster is a dedicated
`appliance, not a general purpose computer. In this way, a
`general purpose computer need not be powered on and con(cid:173)
`nected to the A/V source devices for the user to receive media
`40 content remotely. In another embodiment, the media player
`client can run on any general or multi-purpose device (such as
`a personal computer or cellular phone), beneficially avoiding
`the need for the user to carry special equipment to use the
`broadcasting system. The computer network over which the
`45 broadcaster and media player client communicate may com(cid:173)
`prise a wide area network, such as the Internet, allowing the
`user to receive media content from the home to anywhere in
`the world where a connection to the network is available.
`To improve the user's experience, the person media broad(cid:173)
`casting system may employ any of a number of techniques for
`buffering, transmitting, and viewing the content. In one
`embodiment, for example, the media stream is constructed by
`encoding the audio/visual signal using a bit rate selected at
`least in part based on an amount of free space remaining in an
`intermediate output buffer used to temporarily store the
`media stream before it is transmitted to the media player
`client. While various measures of occupancy of the interme(cid:173)
`diate output buffer can be used, one involves the use of mul(cid:173)
`tiple watermarks to measure the free space available in the
`buffer. The encoding bit rate can be decreased each time the
`free space dips below a watermark, while it can be increased
`when the free space rises above a watermark or if the free
`space never drops below the watermark in the first place. In
`this way, the encoding bit rate can be dynamically adjusted
`based on current performance of the system, and this dynamic
`adjustment can occur at the broadcaster without requiring
`feedback from the client.
`
`DISH, Exh. 1007, p. 7
`
`

`
`US 7,647,614 B2
`
`15
`
`20
`
`4
`such as personal computers and cell phones. The client may
`be able to connect to the personal broadcaster through a Web
`browser interface.
`The system described herein may be applied in a number of
`applications or usage scenarios. For example, there are a
`variety of uses in the home over a wired or wireless home
`network for the system. In the home, users can view and
`control their AN source components, such as a personal
`video recorder (PVR) or a cable set-top box, from any desktop
`10 PC, notebook PC, PDA, or other network devices. For
`example, this application allows a user to convert a wireless
`notebook PC situated in the kitchen into a wireless LCD TV.
`As another example of in-home use, young parents can pair a
`personal broadcaster with a simple analog camera and place
`them in the baby's room to provide a real time video and audio
`stream of their child displayed on a device in another location
`in the home.
`Another usage scenario category relates to users who are
`away from home but have access to a broadband connection.
`This access can be in a variety of locations, such as at work,
`at school, at a friend's house, in a cafe, at the airport or in a
`plane, or in a hotel. From these locations, users can connect to
`their personal broadcaster over the public Internet and enjoy
`the same live television experience that they have at home.
`25 The present invention allows users that are away from home
`to access the full breadth of programming they are accus(cid:173)
`tomed to, and even view content that they previously captured
`on their personal video recorder.
`Yet another usage scenario category relates to individuals
`30 with mobile phones, communicators, or other wide area net(cid:173)
`work devices. On emerging networks, the bit rate is now high
`enough for users to enjoy streaming video on their devices.
`This opens up new possibilities for the personal broadcaster
`to deliver a wealth of progrannning to the mobile user, all of
`35 which originates from the user's own home.
`The media stream transmitted from the personal media
`broadcaster to the media player client networks can take
`advantage of a combination of any number of networking
`protocols, including HTTP over TCP/IP, as well as UDP,
`40 RTSP, RTP, RSVP, and the like. Because embodiments of the
`invention can accept, digitize, encode, and stream any analog
`AN source, there are a vast number of uses for the personal
`broadcaster-from a security camera system to a method for
`extending a user's satellite radio to the user's cell phone.
`
`3
`In another embodiment, the media player client imple(cid:173)
`ments a fast-start mechanism by which the media player
`receives a media stream in real time from the personal media
`broadcaster and stores the media stream in a buffer. The
`media player client plays the received media stream from the
`buffer at a decreased playback speed without waiting for the
`buffer to fill to a predetermined threshold. While the playback
`speed is kept at a sl