# US 10,873,778 B2 · Reducing digital video recorder storage through reduced encoding of certain program portions > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,873,778 B2 - Document ID: US10873778B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/915,354 - Filed: 2018-03-08 - Published: 2019-09-12 - Granted: 2020-12-22 - Earliest claimed: 2018-03-08 - Assignees: DISH Network L.L.C. - Applicants: DISH Network L.L.C. - Inventors: Steven Casagrande - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10873778B2 ## CPC - H04N 21/4335: Housekeeping operations, e.g. prioritizing content for deletion because of storage space restrictions {(storage management, e.g. defragmentation G06F3/0604; unloading stored programs G06F9/445; storage management in file systems G06F16/10; buffering arrangements in a network node or in an end terminal in packet networks H04L49/90)} - H04N 21/4147: PVR [Personal Video Recorder] (H04N5/76 takes precedence {; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40}) - H04N 21/4331: {Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback} - H04N 21/4334: {Recording operations (recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27)} - H04N 21/44029: {for generating different versions} - H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION ## Abstract Systems, devices and processes reduce the amount of memory or disk space needed to store encoded video content used in adaptive video streaming by eliminating certain portions of the recorded program from one or more copies of the encoded program. Content occurring before or after a scheduled start of a program, for example, can be retained in only a subset of the encoded copies so that the program content is available to be streamed, but only at certain video qualities. Commercials or other less popular portions may also be eliminated in one or more encoded copies. By eliminating the less-likely-to-be-viewed portions of the content from some (but not all) of the encoded copies, the total amount of storage space needed to store the encoded program is reduced without compromising the ability to play back all portions of the recorded program. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A process executable by a computing device to store a recorded program on a storage medium, the process comprising: determining a portion of the recorded program that is most likely to be viewed by a viewer and at least one portion of the program that is less likely to be viewed by the viewer; encoding a plurality of encoded copies of the recorded program; and storing the plurality of encoded copies of the recorded program on the storage medium for subsequent retrieval, wherein a first subset of the plurality of encoded copies stored on the storage medium comprises the entire recorded program, and wherein a second subset of the plurality of encoded copies stored on the storage medium comprises only the portion of the program that is most likely to be viewed by a viewer and omits the at least one portion of the program that is less likely to be viewed by a viewer, wherein the entire recorded program for each of the plurality of encoded copies is cached in a first data storage separate from the storage medium prior to the storing, and wherein the at least one portion of the program that is less likely to be viewed by a viewer for the second subset of the encoded copies is deleted from the first data storage without being stored on the storage medium. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1 wherein each of encoded copies of the recorded program is encoded at a different level of quality. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The process of claim 2 wherein the encoded copy of the recorded program having the highest quality is one of the second subset of encoded copies and the encoded copy of the recorded program having the lowest quality is one of the first subset of encoded copies. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The process of claim 3 wherein there are more copies of the recorded program in the second subset of encoded copies than in the first subset of encoded copies. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1 wherein the determining occurs after the encoding but prior to the storing. ### Claim 6 A process executable by a computing device to store a recorded program on a storage medium, the process comprising: determining a portion of the recorded program that is most likely to be viewed by a viewer and at least one portion of the program that is less likely to be viewed by the viewer; encoding a plurality of encoded copies of the recorded program; and storing the plurality of encoded copies of the recorded program on the storage medium for subsequent retrieval, wherein a first subset of the plurality of encoded copies stored on the storage medium comprises the entire recorded program, and wherein a second subset of the plurality of encoded copies stored on the storage medium comprises only the portion of the program that is most likely to be viewed by a viewer and omits the at least one portion of the program that is less likely to be viewed by a viewer, wherein the determining occurs prior to the encoding, and wherein the encoding comprises encoding only the portion of the program that is most likely to be viewed by a viewer without encoding the at least one portion of the program that is less likely to be viewed by a viewer for the second subset of the plurality of encoded copies. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The process of claim 6 wherein the determining comprises receiving a message from a content management system that indicates a start time of the recorded program. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The process of claim 7 wherein the portion of the recorded program that is most likely to be viewed by a viewer begins at the start time, and wherein the at least one portion of the program that is less likely to be viewed by the viewer comprises a portion of the recorded program occurring prior to the start time indicated by the content management system. ### Claim 9 (depends on 6) The process of claim 6 wherein the portion of the recorded program that is most likely to be viewed by a viewer begins at a scheduled start time, and wherein the at least one portion of the program that is less likely to be viewed by the viewer comprises a portion of the recorded program occurring prior to the scheduled start time. ### Claim 10 (depends on 6) The process of claim 6 wherein each of the encoded copies of the recorded program is encoded at a different level of quality. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The process of claim 10 wherein the encoded copy of the recorded program having the highest quality is one of the second subset of encoded copies. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The process of claim 11 wherein the encoded copy of the recorded program having the lowest quality is one of the first subset of encoded copies. ### Claim 13 (depends on 6) The process of claim 6 wherein there are more copies of the recorded program in the second subset of encoded copies than in the first subset of encoded copies. ### Claim 14 A computing device comprising a processor, a data storage and an interface to a network, wherein the processor executes an automated process to deliver an adaptive media stream via the network representing a recorded program that is stored on the storage device, the automated process comprising: determining a portion of the recorded program that is most likely to be viewed by a viewer and at least one portion of the program that is less likely to be viewed by the viewer; encoding a plurality of encoded copies of the recorded program; and storing the plurality of encoded copies of the recorded program on the storage medium for subsequent retrieval and delivery via the network, wherein a first subset of the plurality of encoded copies stored on the storage medium comprises the entire recorded program, and wherein a second subset of the plurality of encoded copies stored on the storage medium comprises only the portion of the program that is determined to be most likely to be viewed by a viewer and omits the at least one portion of the program that is determined to be less likely to be viewed by a viewer, wherein the entire recorded program for each of the plurality of encoded copies is cached in a first data storage separate from the storage device prior to the storing, and wherein the at least one portion of the program that is less likely to be viewed by a viewer for the second subset of the encoded copies is deleted from the first data storage without being copied the storage device. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The computing device of claim 14 wherein each of the encoded copies of the recorded program is encoded at a different level of quality. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The computing device of claim 14 wherein the determining occurs after the encoding but prior to the storing. ### Claim 17 (depends on 14) The computing device of claim 14 wherein the encoded copy of the recorded program having the highest quality is one of the second subset of encoded copies and the encoded copy of the recorded program having the lowest quality is one of the first subset of encoded copies, and wherein there are more copies of the recorded program in the second subset of encoded copies than in the first subset of encoded copies. ### Claim 18 A computing device comprising a processor, a data storage and an interface to a network, wherein the processor executes an automated process to deliver an adaptive media stream via the network representing a recorded program that is stored on the storage device, the automated process comprising: determining a portion of the recorded program that is most likely to be viewed by a viewer and at least one portion of the program that is less likely to be viewed by the viewer; encoding a plurality of encoded copies of the recorded program; and storing the plurality of encoded copies of the recorded program on the storage medium for subsequent retrieval and delivery via the network, wherein a first subset of the plurality of encoded copies stored on the storage medium comprises the entire recorded program, and wherein a second subset of the plurality of encoded copies stored on the storage medium comprises only the portion of the program that is determined to be most likely to be viewed by a viewer and omits the at least one portion of the program that is determined to be less likely to be viewed by a viewer, wherein the determining occurs prior to the encoding, and wherein the encoding comprises encoding only the portion of the program that is most likely to be viewed by a viewer without encoding the at least one portion of the program that is less likely to be viewed by a viewer for the second subset of the plurality of encoded copies. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The computing device of claim 18 wherein the encoded copy of the recorded program having the highest quality is one of the second subset of encoded copies and the encoded copy of the recorded program having the lowest quality is one of the first subset of encoded copies, and wherein there are more copies of the recorded program in the second subset of encoded copies than in the first subset of encoded copies. ### Claim 20 (depends on 18) The computing device of claim 18 wherein each of the encoded copies of the recorded program is encoded at a different level of quality.