Content Asset Delivery Using Unsecured Prefetch During Licensing

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Solution Overview

Problem

There is a delay in outputting content assets due to the processing time required for licenses, especially in digital rights management systems, causing inefficiencies in content access.

Innovation Solution

Send an unsecured portion of the content asset to the user device while the license is being processed, determining its size based on the estimated time for the user device to receive the license, followed by sending a secured portion once the license is obtained.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If content assets are sent in a secured format with license processing, then content protection is improved, but output delay increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent protectionVSAvoidoutput delay

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The content asset is divided into two portions: an unsecured portion that can be accessed immediately and a secured portion that requires license processing. This segmentation allows the system to provide immediate access to part of the content while maintaining protection for the remainder, thereby reducing overall output delay while preserving content security.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The unsecured portion of the content asset is prepared and made available to the user device in advance of license processing completion. This preliminary action allows the user to access content immediately without waiting for the license to be processed, effectively eliminating the output delay while the license processing continues in the background.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Loss of time

If the entire content asset is sent in unsecured format, then output delay is reduced, but content protection is worsened

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveoutput delayVSAvoidcontent protection

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of timeVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The content asset is segmented into unsecured and secured portions. The unsecured portion is sent immediately to reduce output delay, while the secured portion remains protected and is only accessed after license processing completes. This segmentation strategy balances the need for immediate access with the need for content protection.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different portions of the content asset have different security qualities: the first portion is unsecured for immediate access, while the second portion remains secured for protected access. This local quality differentiation allows the system to optimize for both speed and security in different parts of the same content asset.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS20260082095A1Systems and methods for managing access to content assets

Publication Date: 2026.03.19 COMCAST CABLE COMM LLC

AI summary

Delay in output of a requested content asset by a user device may be reduced by sending a portion of the content asset to the user device in a particular type of format, such as an unsecured format. The unsecured portion of the content asset may be sent to the user device while a license for the content asset is being processed. The size of the unsecured portion of the content asset may be determined based on a time for the user device to receive the license. The time for the user device to receive the license may be determined based on a time to process the license. After sending the license to the user device, another portion of the content asset may be sent to the user device in a secured format. The user device may use the license to access the secured portion of the content asset.