Multi-tier recorder to enable seek-back unique copy recording
View Patent ↗Multi-tier recording to enable, for example, seek-back unique copy recording may be provided. First, content may be recorded to a time-shift buffer. Recording instructions may be received and a virtual recorder corresponding to a user may be instantiated. Next, content from the time-shift buffer may be obtained according to the received recording instructions. Then the obtained content may be saved to the instantiated virtual recorder.
1. A method comprising:
recording content to a time-shift buffer, wherein recording the content to the time-shift buffer comprises maintaining the content in the time-shift buffer within a finite sliding time-window and maintaining a manifest file comprising reference to media segments for the finite sliding time-window;
receiving recording instructions;
instantiating a virtual recorder corresponding to a user;
obtaining content from the time-shift buffer according to the received recording instructions; and
saving the obtained content to the instantiated virtual recorder.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein recording the content to the time-shift buffer comprises maintaining the content in the time-shift buffer within the finite sliding time-window comprising at least 24 hours.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein recording the content to the time-shift buffer comprises:
obtaining the content from one of a plurality of linear feeds by a linear acquisition node; and
saving, by the linear acquisition node, the content to the time-shift buffer.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein recording the content to the time-shift buffer comprises obtaining the content from one of a plurality of linear feeds.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving recording instructions comprises receiving recording instructions from the user.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving recording instructions comprises receiving recording instructions from the user through an end-client.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein instantiating the virtual recorder corresponding to the user comprises instantiating the virtual recorder in response to receiving the recording instructions.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein instantiating the virtual recorder corresponding to the user comprises instantiating the virtual recorder in a data-center on demand.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the content from the time-shift buffer according to the received recording instructions comprises querying the manifest file for information regarding the media segments within the time-shift buffer.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the content from the time-shift buffer according to the received recording instructions comprises obtaining content previous to a time at which the recording instructions were received.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein saving the obtained content to the instantiated virtual recorder comprises saving the obtained content by the instantiated virtual recorder to per-user storage unique to the user.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein saving the obtained content to the instantiated virtual recorder comprises saving the obtained content wherein the per-user storage and the time-shift buffer are within the same data plane of a multi-tier recorder.
13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing the content from the instantiated virtual recorder.
14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing the content from the instantiated virtual recorder to an end-use client from which the user transmitted the recording instructions.
15. An apparatus comprising:
a data plane configured to:
receive content from at least one linear feed, and
store the received content in a time-shift buffer, wherein the received content is maintained in the time-shift buffer for a finite sliding time-window, and wherein a manifest file comprising reference to media segments for the finite sliding time-window is maintained in the time-shift buffer; and
a control plane configured to:
receive recording instructions,
cause the data plane to instantiate a virtual recorder corresponding to a user,
cause the data plane to obtain content from the time-shift buffer according to the received recording instructions, and
cause the data plane to save the obtained content to the instantiated virtual recorder.
16. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the control plane is further configured to cause the data plane to provide the content from the instantiated virtual recorder to an end-use client.
17. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the control plane is further configured to cause the data plane to provide the content from the instantiated virtual recorder to an end-use client through a delivery server.
18. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the control plane being configured to receive recording instructions comprises the control plane being configured to receive recording instructions from the user.
19. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the control plane being configured to receive recording instructions comprises the control plane being configured to receive recording instructions from the user through an end-client.
20. A method comprising:
instantiating a virtual recorder corresponding to a user in response to receiving recording instructions;
obtaining content from a time-shift buffer according to and in response to the received recording instructions, wherein obtaining the content from the time-shift buffer further comprises obtaining a manifest file comprising reference to media segments stored on the time-shift buffer, wherein the content is maintained in the time-shift buffer for a finite sliding time-window;
saving the obtained content to the instantiated virtual recorder;
providing the obtained content from the instantiated virtual recorder to an end-use client; and
un-instantiating the virtual recorder in response to providing the obtained content.
21. The method of claim 20 , wherein providing the obtained content to the end-use client comprises providing the obtained content to the end-use client through a delivery server.
22. The method of claim 20 , further comprising recording the content to the time-shift buffer.
23. The method of claim 22 , wherein recording the content to the time-shift buffer comprises obtaining the content from one of a plurality of linear feeds.
24. The method of claim 20 , wherein obtaining the content from the time-shift buffer according to the received recording instructions comprises obtaining content previous to a time at which the recording instructions were received.
25. The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the content from the time-shift buffer according to the received recording instructions comprises querying the manifest file for information regarding one of the media segments within the time-shift buffer.
26. The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the content from the time-shift buffer according to the received recording instructions comprises:
receiving the manifest file from the time-shift buffer;
receiving a start time from the received recording instructions;
identifying one of the media segments corresponding to the start time from the manifest file; and
pulling, starting from the identified one of the media segments, the media segments from the time-shift buffer.
27. The method of claim 1 , wherein maintaining the content in the time-shift buffer within the finite sliding time-window comprises maintaining the content the time-shift buffer for a look-back recording window specified by an operator.