Unified DVR Content Indexing Across Multiple Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing video recorder systems lack the ability to provide a unified and filtered listing of content across multiple digital video recorders (DVRs) for seamless multi-room viewing, making it difficult for users to access and manage recorded content across different devices.
Innovation Solution
The system facilitates the retrieval and display of content information from multiple DVRs by creating an aggregated index that includes device identification, content metadata, and viewing status, allowing users to view a unified listing of content stored on linked devices, which can be filtered and sorted based on various criteria.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If content is distributed across multiple DVR devices, then content storage capacity and viewing flexibility are improved, but system complexity and difficulty of content management increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary device that acts as a mediator between multiple DVR devices and the user interface. This intermediary aggregates content information from multiple DVRs, manages the unified content listing, and handles playback coordination, thereby isolating the complexity from both the user and individual DVR devices while enabling multi-room viewing capability
2Adaptability or versatility
If content is distributed across multiple DVR devices, then content storage capacity and viewing flexibility are improved, but content management and access difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges content listings from multiple DVR devices into a single unified interface that presents all available content as if it were stored on one device. This combining approach allows users to browse, search, and manage content across multiple devices through a single simplified interface, maintaining ease of operation while providing flexible content access
3Ease of operation
If a unified content listing is created across multiple DVRs, then user accessibility and content discoverability are improved, but data aggregation and processing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the data aggregation process by having each DVR device independently provide its own content metadata and information to the intermediary. This segmentation allows the intermediary to receive structured, standardized data from multiple sources without needing to handle raw unstructured data, reducing processing complexity while improving content accessibility through the unified listing
Data Source
AI summary
A method may include requesting aggregated index information relating to media content stored on a least two digital video recorder (DVR) devices. The aggregated index information is received in response to the request. The aggregated index information includes a number of content entries, each entry including location information identifying a DVR device on which the associated media content is stored. A listing of the media content is displayed based on the aggregated index information.