Live-Off-Disk Buffer Rewind via Headend Content Retrieval
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional DVR devices cannot rewind live-off-disk content to the beginning if a user tunes in mid-program, as the buffer only stores content from the time of channel change, leaving users unable to access earlier parts of events.
Innovation Solution
A method and system where the DVR device communicates with the headend to request and receive the missing portions of an event, allowing the user to rewind by spooling the content in reverse chronological order from the headend, and switching to normal playback once the content is fully buffered.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the LOD buffer only stores content from the time of channel change, then the buffer size and storage requirements are reduced, but the user cannot rewind to the beginning of the program
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by requesting and receiving the complete event content from the headend before the user initiates a rewind operation. The DVR device obtains the full program content in advance, ensuring that the entire event is available in the buffer before rewind is needed, thus enabling full rewind capability without requiring the buffer to continuously hold all content
Solution Approach 2:
The headend acts as an intermediary to provide the missing portions of the event that are not available in the LOD buffer. When a rewind request is detected, the system communicates with the headend to retrieve the unreceived portion of the event, allowing the user to rewind to the beginning without requiring the entire content to be pre-buffered locally
2Ease of operation
If the DVR device requests and receives missing portions from the headend, then the user can rewind to the beginning of the program, but the system complexity and communication overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The existing communication infrastructure between the DVR device and headend is leveraged for multiple purposes. The same content delivery system that provides live content is also used to retrieve missing portions for rewind operations, eliminating the need for separate specialized systems and reducing overall complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system serves itself by using its existing communication capabilities to retrieve needed content. When rewind is requested, the DVR device automatically communicates with the headend to obtain missing portions, and the headend responds by providing the requested content, creating a self-service mechanism that doesn't require additional external systems
Data Source
AI summary
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a method of receiving content over a content delivery system is provided. The method includes receiving a user request to initiate a rewind operation on content locally available in a live-off-disk (LOD) buffer. The content is associated with an event received over a content delivery system. If all of the event is not available in the LOD buffer, a message is communicated over the content delivery system to a headend requesting remaining content associated with an unreceived portion of the event. In response to the message, the remaining content is received from the headend over the content delivery system.