Methods and systems for efficiently downloading media assets
Methods and systems are described for downloading media assets efficiently and quickly before loss of network connectivity. The method may allow a user to download portions of a media asset in different versions to download a maximum portion of the media asset before loss of network connectivity. Certain versions of media assets may be downloaded more quickly than other versions of media assets. The method may also allow a user to view partially downloaded media assets without network connectivity. The method may also replace portions of media assets downloaded in a first version with portions of the media assets in a second version once network connectivity is restored.
1. A method comprising:
receiving, via a computing device, a user selection of a media asset and a set time variable;
computing a size of a first segment of a first version of the media asset and a size of a second segment of a second version of the media asset such that the time to download a combination of the first segment and the second segment via a communication network is less than the set time variable, wherein the computing comprises optimizing the size of the first segment and the size of the second segment to maximize a higher quality version from among the first version of the media asset and the second version of the media asset; and
downloading, from a server via the communication network, the first segment and the second segment.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the combination of the first segment and the second segment forms a complete version of the media asset.
3. The method of claim 1 further comprising generating for display the first segment and the second segment.
4. The method of claim 1 further comprising estimating an amount of time remaining before a loss of connectivity between the computing device and the server and downloading the first segment and the second segment before the loss of connectivity.
5. The method of claim 4 wherein estimating an amount of time remaining before a loss of connectivity between the computing device and the server comprises:
monitoring the size of the first segment and the size of the second segment;
determining an available download bandwidth; and
adjusting the size of the first segment and the size of the second segment based on the available download bandwidth.
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving a user selection of a requested version of the media asset and wherein computing a size of a first segment of a first version of the media asset and a size of a second segment of a second version of the media asset is based on the user selection of the requested version of the media asset.
7. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving a user selection of a size of a first segment of a first version of the media asset and a user selection a size of a second segment of a second version of the media asset and wherein a size of a first segment of a first version of the media asset and a size of a second segment of a second version of the media asset comprises adjusting the user selection of a size of the first segment of the first version of the media asset and the user selection a size of the second segment of the second version of the media asset.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the estimating the amount of time remaining before the loss of connectivity comprises retrieving a user profile comprising at least one of a calendar, a location, and a behavior pattern.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein the computing comprises:
identifying a size of a plurality of versions of the media asset;
calculating a maximum download based on the set time variable; and
wherein the computing is based on the calculated maximum download.
10. A system comprising:
communication circuitry configured for a communication network; and
control circuitry configured to:
receive, via a computing device, a user selection of a media asset and a set time variable;
compute a size of a first segment of a first version of the media asset and a size of a second segment of a second version of the media asset such that the time to download a combination of the first segment and the second segment via a communication network is less than the set time variable, wherein the computing comprises optimizing the size of the first segment and the size of the second segment to maximize a higher quality version from among the first version of the media asset and the second version of the media asset; and
download, from a server via the communication network, the first segment and the second segment.
11. The system of claim 10 wherein the combination of the first segment and the second segment forms a complete version of the media asset.
12. The system of claim 10 the control circuitry further configured to generate for display the first segment and the second segment.
13. The system of claim 10 the control circuitry further configured to estimate an amount of time remaining before a loss of connectivity between the computing device and the server and downloading the first segment and the second segment before the loss of connectivity.
14. The system of claim 13 the control circuitry further configured to estimate an amount of time remaining before a loss of connectivity between the computing device and the server by:
monitoring the size of the first segment and the size of the second segment;
determining an available download bandwidth; and
adjusting the size of the first segment and the size of the second segment based on the available download bandwidth.
15. The system of claim 10 the control circuitry further configured to receive a user selection of a requested version of the media asset and wherein computing a size of a first segment of a first version of the media asset and a size of a second segment of a second version of the media asset is based on the user selection of the requested version of the media asset.
16. The system of claim 10 the control circuitry further configured to receive a user selection of a size of a first segment of a first version of the media asset and a user selection a size of a second segment of a second version of the media asset and wherein a size of a first segment of a first version of the media asset and a size of a second segment of a second version of the media asset comprises adjusting the user selection of a size of the first segment of the first version of the media asset and the user selection a size of the second segment of the second version of the media asset.
17. The system of claim 10 the control circuitry further configured to estimate the amount of time remaining before the loss of connectivity by retrieving a user profile comprising at least one of a calendar, a location, and a behavior pattern.
18. The system of claim 10 the control circuitry further configured to compute by:
identifying a size of a plurality of versions of the media asset;
calculating a maximum download based on the set time variable; and
wherein the computing is based on the calculated maximum download.