Patent Application
20080080835
Turning now to the drawings,
Video content is most often, but not always, associated with audio content that is played in a synchronized fashion with the video content. To simplify the discussion of these embodiments, audio content will not be treated in as much detail as video content. It should be kept in mind, however, that when an action or element is described in the following description and claims solely in the context of video content, no assumptions should be made regarding whether or not that action or element also relates to audio content. For example, when it is said that video content is recorded and played back, no assumption should be made as to whether or not audio content is also being recorded and played back.
Referring back to
A “removable memory device” refers to a storage device that can be placed in/on and removed from the video content recording apparatus 100. A removable memory device 200 can take any suitable form, and it is presently preferred that the removable memory device 200 take the form of a non-volatile, solid-state memory device, such as a flash memory card. Memory cards of a particular type typically conform to a standard size and format and are interchangeable in the sense that they can be inserted and removed from a variety of host devices. Suitable flash memory cards include, but are not limited to, the following memory cards: SD™, SD™(HC), MiniSD™(HC), MMC™, MMCPlus™, MMCmobile™, MicroSD™(HC), Memory Stick™, Memory Stick PRO™, Memory Stick Duo™, and Memory Stick PRO Duo™. A USB memory device can also be used. Any suitable type of memory array can be used in a solid-state memory device, including a write-many or write-once two-dimensional or three-dimensional array, made from any suitable material. While it is presently preferred that the removable memory device 200 be a solid-state memory device, other removable memory devices can be used, such as, but not limited to, an optical disc and a magnetic disk.
A video content source 300 is any device that provides video content. Examples of a video content source include, but are not limited to, a cable tuner box, a satellite tuner box, a digital video broadcasting (DVB) tuner box, a terrestrial antenna, a set-top box, a VCR, a DVD player, a camcorder, a digital camera, a camera/video phone, a personal or digital video recorder (e.g., TiVo™), a game player, or a personal computer. The video content source 300 can provide video content in analog or digital form. A display device 400 can be a monitor or television, for example. In some situations, the video content source 300 is part of the display device 400, such as when the display device 400 is a television with a built-in tuner. The remote control device 500 is typically a wireless handheld user interface device used to communicate user commands to the video content recording apparatus 100. The computer 600 can be any suitable computing device, and the power supply 700 can be AC or a battery or both.
As shown in
The video content recording apparatus 100 comprises a first input 110 configured to receive video content from the video content source 300. Although any suitable input can be used, it is presently preferred that the first input be a composite video input. Composite video combines the three basic elements of a video picture (color, brightness, and synchronization data) into a single combined signal and is commonly used in consumer video equipment. The video content recording apparatus 100 also comprises a second input 120 configured to receive the removable memory device 200. When the removable memory device 200 takes the form of a memory card, the second input 120 can be a slot in the video content recording apparatus 100 that contains an electrical connector that mates with a mating connector on the memory card. The second input 120 can be adapted for any suitable removable memory device (e.g., the second input 120 can be a tray for receiving an optical disc). Although only a single second input 120 is shown in
The video content recording apparatus 100 further comprises a third input 130 configured to receive user input. As shown in
The video content recording apparatus 100 also comprises a fourth input 140 configured to allow the apparatus 100 to be connected to the computer 600. It is presently preferred that the fourth input 140 be a USB connector. Although not shown, the video content recording apparatus 100 can comprise inputs (e.g., left and right channels) for audio content.
The video content recording apparatus 100 also has a number of outputs, such as the first output 150 that is configured to provide control information to the video content source 300. The first output 150 is preferably an infrared emitter that communicates control information to the video content source 300 via an infrared transmission, although other wireless technologies can be used. As an alternative to using wireless technology, the first output 150 can be physically connected to the video content source 300, e.g., via an electrical or optical cable. The second output 160 is configured to provide video content and other display output (e.g., a graphical user interface) to the display device 400 and is preferably a composite video output and, optionally, an HDTV output. The power input 170 receives power from the power supply 700. Although not shown, the video content recording apparatus 100 can comprise outputs (e.g., left and right channels) for audio content.
As shown in
After the recording, the user removes the removable memory device 200 from the video content recording apparatus 100 and inserts it into a playback device 800 for playback. A playback device can be any video-enabled device, such as but not limited to, a handheld game console 810 (e.g., the Sony PSP™ or the Nintendo DS™), a mobile phone 820, a smart phone 830, a PC/notebook computer 840, a portable media player, such as a SanDisk Sansa™ e200 Series MP3 player, a handheld computer or other video-enabled device (including, but not limited to, a Windows CE device), a set-top box, or a display device (e.g., a television) with playback functionality. A playback device can also be the same (or different) video content recording apparatus 100 that recorded the video content onto the removable memory device 200. Accordingly, as described in more detail below, video content can be recorded on the removable memory device 200 in a format that is both suitable for small screen sizes of portable playback devices as well as full-screen sizes of display devices.
As can be seen from the examples noted above, a playback device can perform functions in addition to playing back video content stored on the removable memory device 200. For example, the playback device can also play games, make telephone calls, receive email, or even record video content. Also, while it would be especially convenient for the playback device to contain an input for the removable memory device 200 (e.g., a memory card slot), so the user can just “plug in” the removable memory device 200 into the playback device, some playback devices may not contain such an input, such as some existing portable media players, or may not have an input for the type of memory device (e.g., memory card) used by the video content recording apparatus 100. In these situations, the user can transfer the video content from the removable memory device 200 first to an intermediary device, such as a personal computer 840, and then from the intermediary device to the ultimate playback device (e.g., using software on the intermediary device).
As can be seen from the illustration in
Returning to the drawings,
As shown in
With reference now to both
In this embodiment, video content recording parameters (and values for those parameters) for a plurality of playback devices are stored in a database in the firmware stored in the embedded memory 185. In operation, a user selects a target playback device (such as a mobile phone or a handheld game device) using the remote control device 500 and a graphical user interface displayed on the display device 400. After the user makes a selection, the processor 180 selects the corresponding video content recording parameter (and associated values) for that playback device from the database stored in the firmware. The processor 180 then processes and records the video content in the removable media device 200 in accordance with the values of those parameters. Additional information about the use of video content recording parameters and mechanisms for updating video content recording parameters can be found in “Video Content Recording Apparatus with Syntax for Video Content Recording Parameters,” U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/514,651, filed Sep. 1, 2006, and “Method for Using a Video Content Recording Apparatus with Syntax for Video Content Recording Parameters,” U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/514,471, filed Sep. 1, 2006, both of which are assigned to the assignee of the present invention and are hereby incorporated by reference.
As mentioned above, while the video content recording apparatus 100 can have a single input for a single type of removable memory device, the video content recording apparatus 100 can have a plurality of inputs for a plurality of removable memory devices of the same type or of different types. For example, the video content recording apparatus 100 shown in
When two or more removable memory devices are connected to the video content recording apparatus 100, the video content recording apparatus 100 can have a button next to each of the inputs, and a user can press one of the buttons to manually select which of the inputs are to be used for recording. As another example, the user can manually select the input, along with the date, channel, and start/end times of a desired recording, in a scheduled recording setting.
Instead of the user manually selecting one of the removable-memory-device inputs, circuitry in the video content recording apparatus 100 (e.g., the processor 180 executing computer-readable program code stored in the embedded memory 185) can select one of the plurality of inputs to record video content based on information about the video content. “Information about the video content” can include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: broadcast date, channel number, channel name, start time, end time, title, synopsis, actor, director, year of production, genre, parental control information, and duration. In operation, one or more of the removable-memory-device inputs can be designated for recording video content comprising specified video content information. For instance, with reference to
Instead of the manufacturer making the designation, a user of the video content recording apparatus 100 can designate which slots should be used for certain types of recordings. For example, the video content recording apparatus 100 can display a graphical user interface on the display device 400 to allow a user to designate one of the plurality of inputs for recording video content comprising specified video content information. With reference to the exemplary display screen shown in
Instead of a manufacturer or a user designating which inputs should be used for various recordings, the designation can be received by the video content recording apparatus 100 from a removable memory device 990 (see
Information about the video content can be provided to the video content recording apparatus 100 in any suitable manner. For example, with reference to
If the user does not know what information to enter, the user can consult a program schedule in a print or electronic TV guide (e.g., in the newspaper, on a website, or in a guide channel). Alternatively, the information about the video content can be specified in electronic program guide data. An electronic program guide (or “EPG”) is a user interface displayed by the video content recording apparatus 100 that provides information about current and/or upcoming video content to allow a user to select a desired recording. Electronic program guide data broadly refers to any information about video content that can be used to facilitate user selection of a desired recording. EPG data includes, but is not limited to, broadcast date, channel number, channel name, start/end times, as well as descriptive information about video content, such as, but not limited to, title, synopsis, actors, directors, year of production, genre, parental control information, and duration.
Instead of using an electronic program guide displayed by the video content recording apparatus 100, information about the video content can also be provided in a scheduled recording file provided by an external electronic program guide (i.e., one provided by a web site and not by the apparatus 100 itself). A “scheduled recording file” is a file that contains information that instructs the video content recording apparatus 100 to record selected video content specified in the file. A “scheduled recording file” can contain, for example, the date, channel, and start/end times of the selected video content, as well as descriptive and other information, such as program name and synopsis, that can later be viewed by the user using the video content recording apparatus 100.
Additional information about electronic program guides, scheduled recording files, and how electronic program guide data can be provided to a video content recording apparatus can be found in “Video Content Recording Apparatus with Electronic Program Guide Functionality,” U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ (attorney docket no. 10519-154), filed herewith, and “Method for Using a Video Content Recording Apparatus with Electronic Program Guide Functionality,” U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ (attorney docket no. 10519-166), filed herewith, both of which are assigned to the assignee of the present invention and are hereby incorporated by reference.
Irrespective of how the electronic program guide data gets to the video content recording apparatus 100, the electronic program guide data can contain information about video content that the apparatus 100 can use to select a removable-memory-device input for recording. For example,
Selecting which removable-memory-device input to use based on information about the video content allows a user to better manage his memory card resources by creating “theme cards.” For example, suppose a user wants to use the video content recording apparatus 100 to record children's programming for his kids to watch on a portable game player and also to record sitcoms that the user can watch on his PDA during morning commutes. By using information about the video content to select an input, all of the video content for the user can be recorded on one card (e.g., in Slot 1), and all of the video content for the user's kids can be recorded on another card (e.g., in Slot 2). In this way, all of the user's video content would be on one card, while all of the user's kids video content would be on another card. This allows the user to “grab and go”—eliminating the need to take multiple removable memory devices in order to find the one program the user wants to watch. This also provides the user with the ability to record on multiple memory devices of the same type without having to swap devices.
It should be noted that many alternatives can be used with these embodiments. For example, circuitry in the video content recording apparatus 100 can select a second input to record video content onto a second removable memory device after a first removable memory device in a first input is full. In this way, the circuitry uses the additional removable-memory-device inputs for extra storage so that when a memory device in a first input is full, the recording will continue in a memory device in another input that contains an available (non-full) memory device (e.g., the physically-next input or another input). Either the user or the manufacturer can designate an order in which the inputs should be used in the event that the removable memory device in one of the inputs becomes full. As another example, several types of selection criteria can be used in combination (e.g., record Reality TV shows in Slot 1, but, if the memory card in Slot 1 is full, record Reality TV shows in Slot 2 instead). Further, while information about video content in the above examples was used to select only one of the plurality of removable-memory-device inputs, in an alternate embodiment, two or more removable-memory-device inputs can be selected (e.g., record Reality TV shows on Slots 1 and 2).
Other alternatives and embodiments can be used with the embodiments described herein. For example, a “recording profile” can be stored on a removable memory device that informs a video content recording apparatus of the video content recording parameters that are to be used with that removable memory device. In operation, when the removable memory device is inserted into the video content recording apparatus, the processor could recognize the recording profile by its file extension and then use the video content recording parameters specified in that file to record video content on that memory device. In this way, a user can insert a memory device into his or another's video content recording apparatus, and the apparatus would know how to record the video content consistent with the user's playback device without requiring any further action by the user. This is especially advantageous when a single video content recording apparatus is used by multiple users, such as in a multi-user household with different users having different playback devices. The video content recording apparatus would automatically record video content for a particular playback device without a user having to manually select a target playback device. More generally, the video content recording apparatus can be configured to (1) always let the recording profile override previous settings, (2) never let the recording profile override previous settings, or (3) let the recording profile override previous settings after confirmation by the user. In the event that the recording profile is used, the video content recording apparatus can be configured to return to its previous video content recording parameters after the removable memory device is removed from the apparatus.
Finally, in the above embodiment, a processor and firmware were used to perform various functionality. Recognizing that there are alternatives to such an arrangement, the term “circuitry” is used as a more general descriptor for the one or more components that can be used to perform the operations discussed herein. For example, as above, “circuitry” can take the form of a processor executing computer-readable program code stored in a computer-readable medium (e.g., here, firmware stored in embedded memory). As noted above, the embedded memory can take the form of EEPROM or NAND memory, although other memory can be used. Also, computer-readable media other than embedded memory (such as, but not limited to, a hard drive, a removable memory device, etc.) can be used to store computer-readable program code. Accordingly, all or part of the computer-readable program code referred to herein as firmware can be software routines stored in embedded memory or in a storage device other than embedded memory. “Circuitry” can take other suitable forms, such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic controller, an embedded microcontroller, and a single-board computer. Accordingly, the term “circuitry” should not be limited to any particular type of implementation, described herein or otherwise. Further, “circuitry” should not be limited to the functions described herein. For example, when circuitry takes the form of a processor executing firmware, as above, it should be understood that the processor can perform functions in addition to the ones described above.
It is intended that the foregoing detailed description be understood as an illustration of selected forms that the invention can take and not as a definition of the invention. It is only the following claims, including all equivalents, that are intended to define the scope of this invention. Finally, it should be noted that any aspect of any of the preferred embodiments described herein can be used alone or in combination with one another.
