Media Guidance Application Duplicate Detection and Storage Optimization

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing media systems fail to identify and manage duplicate copies of the same media program, leading to inefficient storage usage as they use unique identifiers for each recording, regardless of the source, resulting in storage waste on devices like DVRs.

Innovation Solution

A media guidance application is implemented to detect duplicate media assets by comparing attributes such as title, description, and casting, determining which copy to delete or transfer to optimize storage across user devices, utilizing a similarity metric and confidence levels to automate decision-making.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If media asset identifiers are used to identify and store media programs, then each media program can be uniquely identified and organized, but duplicate copies of the same media program from different sources cannot be detected, leading to storage waste

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemedia program identification accuracyVSAvoidstorage space utilization

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent creates a duplicate copy of media asset metadata (title, description, casting, episode index, season index) and compares it with existing stored metadata to identify duplicate media programs. This copying approach allows the system to detect duplicates without re-analyzing the entire media content, efficiently resolving the contradiction between accurate identification and storage optimization

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the identification parameters from relying solely on unique media asset identifiers to using multiple comparable attributes (title, description, casting, episode index, season index). By transforming the identification approach from identifier-based to attribute-based comparison, the system can detect duplicates while maintaining reliable media program identification

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Reliability

If all media recordings are stored with unique identifiers regardless of source, then each recording is preserved individually, but storage efficiency deteriorates due to duplicate copies occupying space

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemedia recording preservationVSAvoidstorage resource consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The patent identifies duplicate media recordings through attribute comparison and selectively discards redundant copies while preserving the original or preferred version. This discarding process recovers storage space that was previously consumed by duplicate copies, resolving the contradiction between preserving all recordings and optimizing storage resource consumption

Inventive Principle:

Principle #34Discarding and recovering

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a copy of the metadata attributes for comparison purposes, allowing the system to identify duplicates and make informed decisions about which copies to retain and which to discard, thereby reducing storage resource consumption while maintaining reliable preservation of unique media content

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

3Measurement precision

If media guidance application compares multiple attributes to detect duplicates, then duplicate identification accuracy improves, but computational complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveduplicate detection accuracyVSAvoidattribute comparison system complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the duplicate detection process into distinct attribute comparisons (title, description, casting, episode index, season index), allowing each attribute to be evaluated independently. This segmentation improves detection accuracy by considering multiple dimensions while managing system complexity through modular, organized comparison logic

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a universal comparison framework that handles multiple different attribute types using a consistent methodology. This multi-functional approach improves duplicate detection accuracy across various media formats and sources while reducing overall system complexity by applying a single, unified comparison mechanism to all attribute types

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS10158911B1Systems and methods for managing storage of duplicate copies of a media asset at a storage device

Publication Date: 2018.12.18 ADEIA GUIDES INC

AI summary

Systems and methods are disclosed herein for detecting duplicate copies of a media asset and deleting or offloading one of the duplicate copies to different user devices. Specifically, a media guidance application, implemented at user equipment, may be used to record or store media assets from different media sources. The media guidance application may detect a duplicate copy of a previously stored media asset by comparing various attributes of the media asset. After detecting a duplicate copy of a media asset, the media guidance application may determine which of the duplicate copies of the same media asset is to be deleted, or to be transmitted for storage at a different user device.