Patent · US Active

Place-shifting apparatus and system

US8468567B2 · kind B2 · utility

6Cited by
3References
5Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJun 11, 2007
Grant dateJun 18, 2013
Priority date
Expiry dateJan 3, 2030

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04N21/812
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A place-shifting system for distributing video content from a content source (2) has apparatus including a set-top box (STB) (1) with a digital interface to a sender (6). The sender (6) receives video content from the STB (1) conditional upon access permissions that may be associated with a subscription. The permissions may also be determined using the identifier of a viewer device (9). The viewer (9) requests connection to a specific sender (6) by sending an association request to an association server (8) via a network connection (10). The association server (8) returns location information specific to the sender (6) being requested to the viewer (9). The viewer (9) and sender (6) then communicate directly (11) to establish communication and to start transfer of video and other information. The sender (6) can remove content protection from the video content before transcoding, re-applying content protection and sending it. The viewer (9) can act as a remote control for the STB (1) and modifies of the format of On-Screen Display data depending on its video output capability.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.