Archiving broadcast programs
View Patent ↗A system for receiving and presenting broadcast programming has a television receiver connected to a set-top box having an internal hard disc on which selected programs may be recorded. As the internal hard disc has a finite capacity it can become full, particularly if the viewer wishes to retain a library of recordings. The system provides for the automatic transfer of programs stored on the internal hard disc to external hard drives. The viewer is enabled to set the criteria for such archiving using the remote control unit and on-screen menu options. Content with the largest size, the earliest recorded content, or the content viewed less frequently, may be automatically archived. The set-top box is also enabled to collate information identifying the externally stored content and to store that on the internal hard drive together with information as to the location of the stored content. This enables a viewer to retrieve the transferred content.
1. A method of archiving broadcast programs which have been received at a set-top box and recorded at storage local to the set-top box as they are received, the method comprising:
recording, by the set-top box, one or more of the broadcast programs with a recorder of the set-top box;
applying, by the set-top box, predetermined criteria to determine whether to retain one or more recordings of the one or more of the broadcast programs or to transfer the one or more recordings to an identified device of a set of one or more devices external to the set-top box and communicatively coupled to the set-top box via a hub that is communicatively coupled to the set-top box via a network interface of the set-top box;
consequent to determining that the one or more recordings are to be transferred to the identified device based on the predetermined criteria, automatically transferring, without additional user input or interaction, the one or more recordings to the identified device to facilitate saving the one or more recording on a hard drive of the identified device, wherein:
the predetermined criteria specifies a threshold value of available storage capacity, and the determining comprising determining that a local available storage capacity of local storage of the set-top box is below the threshold value;
the predetermined criteria further specifies a particular broadcast program located on the local storage that is to be maintained on the local storage and not transferred to the set of one or more devices despite satisfying other predetermined criteria; and
the automatically transferring comprises causing, by the set-top box, storing of the one or more recordings of the one or more of the broadcast programs at selected locations of the identified device;
storing and maintaining, by the set-top box, identifying information at the local storage of the set-top box for each transferred broadcast program stored at the identified device; and
accessing, by the set-top box, the identifying information at the local storage of the set-top box to produce an on-screen guide of available automatically transferred broadcast programs in identified device.
2. The method of archiving broadcast programs according to claim 1 , wherein the predetermined criteria includes one or more of:
an age of recorded programs, a size of recorded programs, a frequency with which recorded programs are accessed, and/or user settings.
3. The method of archiving broadcast programs according to claim 1 , further comprising receiving a selection at the set-top box via a produced on-screen menu for presentation of the one or more recordings stored at the identified device.
4. The method of archiving broadcast programs according to claim 1 , wherein the set of one or more devices comprises a plurality of devices, and the method further comprises creating additional recordings of at least some of the broadcast programs, and automatically transferring the additional recordings to selected devices of the plurality of device based on the predetermined criteria.
5. The method of archiving broadcast programs according to claim 4 , wherein the identifying information comprises an identifier of the identified device among the plurality of devices on which each recording of the one or more recordings is stored.
6. The method of archiving broadcast programs according to claim 4 , wherein the hub is physically separate from the set of one or more devices and the set-top box.
7. The method of archiving broadcast programs according to claim 1 , wherein the predetermined criteria comprise an instruction for a particular broadcast program to be maintained on the storage local to the set-top box and archived to the identified device.
8. The method of archiving broadcast programs according to claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving an instruction at the set-top box to present the predetermined criteria; and
cause presenting for display, by the set-top box, a menu identifying criteria for determining how or when content should be transferred to the set of one or more devices.
9. The method of archiving broadcast programs according to claim 8 , further comprising:
causing presenting of a sub-menu identifying selectable options of categories of broadcast content to be stored on the set of one or more devices.
10. The method of archiving broadcast programs according to claim 9 , wherein the sub-menu further comprises selectable options of broadcast programs to be stored on the set of one or more devices corresponding to all programs from a select channel.
11. The method of archiving broadcast programs according to claim 8 , further comprising:
causing presenting of selectable options for identifying content to be stored on the set of one or more devices, the selectable options comprising an option to transfer recordings in a first order based on recording dates.
12. The method of archiving broadcast programs according to claim 11 , further comprising:
causing presenting of selectable options for identifying content to be stored on the set of one or more devices, the selectable options comprising an option to transfer recordings in a second order based on recording size.
13. The method of archiving broadcast programs according to claim 12 , further comprising:
causing presenting of selectable options for identifying content to be stored on the set of one or more devices, the selectable options comprising an option to transfer recordings in a second order based on viewing frequency.
14. A system for receiving and presenting broadcast programs, the system comprising:
a set-top box arranged to receive and process the broadcast programs and to cause a selected processed broadcast program to be presented by a presentation device communicatively coupled to the set-top box, the set-top box comprising storage local to the set-top box arranged to store recordings of selected received broadcast programs;
a hub that is communicatively coupled to the set-top box via a network interface of the set-top box and that is communicatively coupled to a set of one or more devices that are external to the set-top box and that comprise one or more, hard drives;
wherein the set-top box is arranged to:
record one or more of the broadcast programs with a recorder of the set-top box;
apply predetermined criteria to determine whether to retain one or more recordings of the one or more of the broadcast programs or to transfer the one or more recordings to an identified device of the set of one or more devices;
consequent to determining that the one or more recordings are to be transferred to the identified device based on the predetermined criteria, automatically transfer, without additional user input, the one or more recordings to the identified device to facilitate saving the one or more recording on a hard drive of the identified device, wherein:
the predetermined criteria specifies a threshold value of available storage capacity, and the determining comprising determining that a local available storage capacity of the storage local to the set-top box is below the threshold value;
the predetermined criteria further specifies the identified device as a first storage location of a first category of broadcast programs, and specifies a second identified device as a second storage location of a second category of broadcast programs, and wherein one of both of the first category and the second category corresponds to at least one of movies, sporting events, and/or individual broadcast series programs; and
wherein the set-top box is arranged to store and maintain identifying information for each recording of the one or more recordings transferred to and stored at the identified device as long as the recording is maintained at the identified device, and
wherein the presentation device comprises a display, and
wherein the set-top box is arranged to generate and show on the display a list of the one or more recordings transferred to provide an on-screen guide of available material comprising the one or more recordings.
15. The system for receiving and presenting broadcast programs according to claim 14 , further comprising a user interface for enabling a user to select one of the one or more recordings maintained at the identified device for presentation, wherein to select for presentation one of the one or more recordings, one program in the displayed list is selected by way of the user interface resulting in access to the identified device to transfer the selected program back to the set-top box for presentation.
16. The system for receiving and presenting broadcast programs according to claim 15 , wherein said user interface additionally enables the user to select at least one of the broadcast programs for presentation or for recording.
17. The system for receiving and presenting broadcast programs according to claim 16 , wherein said user interface is a remote control unit.
18. The system for receiving and presenting broadcast programs according to claim 14 , further comprising a user interface for enabling a user to select at least one of the broadcast programs for presentation or for recording.
19. The system for receiving and presenting broadcast programs according to claim 14 , wherein:
the presentation device at the set-top box further comprises at least one loudspeaker; and
the set-top box comprises a tuner, a processor, and at least one hard disc providing local storage.