# US 8,789,096 B2 · Apparatus, systems and methods for transmitting media content events > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 8,789,096 B2 - Document ID: US8789096B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 13/095,759 - Filed: 2011-04-27 - Published: 2012-11-01 - Granted: 2014-07-22 - Earliest claimed: 2011-04-27 - Assignees: EchoStar Technologies L.L.C. - Applicants: Allan Richard Bly, Jr. - Inventors: Allan Richard Bly, Jr. - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8789096B2 ## CPC - H04N 21/26616: {for merging a unicast channel into a multicast channel, e.g. in a VOD application, when a client served by unicast channel catches up a multicast channel to save bandwidth (data multicast over packet-switching network H04L12/18)} - H04N 21/4331: {Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback} - H04N 21/47202: {for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand} - H04N 21/6543: for forcing some client operations, e.g. recording {(remote booting in general G06F9/4416)} - H04N 21/6581: {Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application} - H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION ## Abstract Systems and methods are operable to transmit at least a portion of a media content event. An exemplary embodiment receives a request from a first media device, wherein the request identifies a media content event of interest; identifies a first media content stream with a concluding portion of the media content event of interest currently transmitting to a second media device; concurrently transmits the concluding portion of the media content event of interest to the first media device; and transmits a second media stream containing an initial portion of the media content event to the first media device. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method that communicates a media content event of interest from a media content distribution center, wherein the media content event of interest is defined by a serial ordered plurality of portions that begins with a first portion and is followed by a second portion, the method comprising: concurrently broadcasting a plurality of first media content streams to a plurality of media devices, wherein each of the plurality of first media content streams include a concluding portion of the media content event of interest, wherein the concluding portion begins with the second portion of the plurality of portions of the media content event of interest, wherein the second portion is followed by remaining portions of the media content event of interest, wherein the concluding portion of each of the plurality of first media content streams are broadcast offset in time from each other by a duration that includes at least the second portion of the media content event of interest; receiving a request from a first media device of the plurality of media devices, wherein the request identifies the media content event of interest; identifying a first one of the broadcast plurality of first media content streams that is currently broadcasting the second portion of the media content event of interest at a time that the request is received from the first media device, wherein the concluding portion of the media content event of interest in the identified first one of the broadcast plurality of first media content streams is receivable at the first media device; transmitting an instruction to the first media device in response to the communicated request, wherein the instruction has information that identifies the first one of the concurrently broadcast plurality of first media content streams; and concurrently transmitting a second media content stream containing an initial portion of the media content event of interest to the first media device, wherein the initial portion includes the first portion and the second portion of the media content event of interest. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting an instruction to the first media device, wherein the instruction causes the first media device to store the initial portion and the concluding portion of the media content event of interest. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining a total duration of the media content event of interest; determining a concluding duration of the concluding portion of the media content event of interest; and calculating an initial duration of the initial portion of the media content event of interest to be transmitted based on the difference between the total duration of the media content event of interest and the determined concluding duration of the concluding portion. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying a first video frame of the second portion of the concluding portion of the media content event of interest; identifying a last video frame of the first portion of the initial portion of the media content event of interest based on the identified first video frame of the concluding portion; and transmitting instructions to the first media device to enable continuous playback, the instructions comprising identification of the first video frame of the concluding portion and the last video frame of the initial portion. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting a notification to the first media device, wherein the notification identifies the first one of the broadcast plurality of first media content streams that is broadcasting the second portion of the media content event of interest at the time that the request is received from the first media device; and operating, at the first media device, a tuner to receive the identified first one of the broadcast plurality of first media content streams. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, further comprising: establishing a communication link, at the first media device, to at least one media content distribution center, wherein the initial portion of the media content event of interest operating at the first media device is received at the first media device over the established communication link. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, wherein the communication link is established over the Internet. ### Claim 8 A method for receiving media content events at a media device, the method comprising: communicating a request to a media content distribution center for a media content event of interest, wherein the media content event of interest is defined by a serial ordered plurality of portions that begins with a first portion and is followed by a second portion; receiving a plurality of first media content streams in response to the communicated request with a concluding portion of the media content event of interest that are concurrently transmitted to a plurality of media devices, wherein the concluding portion begins with the second portion of the plurality of portions of the media content event of interest, wherein the second portion is followed by remaining portions of the media content event of interest, wherein the concluding portion of each of the plurality of first media content streams are broadcast offset in time from each other by a duration that includes at least the second portion of the media content event of interest; receiving information in response to the communicated request, wherein the information identifies one of the concurrently broadcast plurality of first media content streams, and wherein the identified one of the concurrently broadcast plurality of first media content streams is currently broadcasting the second portion of the media content event of interest; and receiving a second media content stream containing an initial portion of the media content event of interest, wherein the initial portion includes the first portion and the second portion of the media content event of interest. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, further comprising: storing the initial portion and the concluding portion in a memory medium such that when presented, the initial portion and the concluding portion allow for continuous playback of the media content event of interest. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, further comprising: receiving identification information from the media content distribution center identifying a first video frame of the second portion of the media content event of interest; receiving identification information from the media content distribution center identifying a last video frame of the first portion of the media content event of interest; and storing the first media content stream and the second media content stream such the last video frame and the first video frame are in sequence. ### Claim 11 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, further comprising: receiving a notification from the media content distribution center, wherein the notification has a device identifier corresponding to the requesting media device. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, wherein the notification includes information that identifies one of the plurality of first media content streams that is broadcasting the second portion at the time that the request was communicated from the requesting media device. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The method of claim 12, further comprising: operating a tuner of the media device to receive the identified one of the broadcast plurality of first media content streams. ### Claim 14 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein receiving the plurality of first media content streams in response to the communicated request further comprises: receiving a notification that identifies one of the plurality of first media content streams that is broadcasting the second portion of the media content event of interest at a time that the request is communicated from the media device; and tuning a tuner in the media device to the identified one of the plurality of first media content streams. ### Claim 15 A media device comprising: a communication network interface communicatively coupled to the media device with at least one media content distribution center; a memory medium that stores at least a concluding portion of a received media content event that is included in an identified one of a plurality of concurrently broadcast media content streams of a media content event of interest, wherein the media content event of interest is defined by a serial ordered plurality of portions that begins with a first portion and is followed by a second portion, wherein each of the plurality of concurrently broadcast media content streams include a concluding portion of the media content event of interest, wherein the concluding portion begins with the second portion of the plurality of portions of the media content event of interest, wherein the second portion is followed by remaining portions of the media content event of interest, and wherein the concluding portion of each of the plurality of concurrently broadcast media content streams are broadcast offset in time from each other by a duration that includes at least the second portion of the media content event of interest; a processor system communicatively coupled to the communication network interface and the memory medium, wherein the processor system is operable to: generate a request that is communicated to a media content distribution center for the media content event of interest; receive an instruction in response to the communicated request, wherein the instruction identifies a first one of the concurrently broadcast media content streams to select, and wherein the identified one of the concurrently broadcast media content streams is currently broadcasting the second portion of the media content event of interest; process the selected first one of the concurrently broadcast media content streams in response to the communicated request, wherein the selected first one of the concurrently broadcast media content streams includes the concluding portion of the media content event of interest that is currently broadcasting the second portion; and process a received second media stream containing an initial portion of the media content event of interest, wherein the initial portion includes the first portion and the second portion of the media content event of interest. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The media device of claim 15, further comprising: a media content event retrieval module, when executed on the processor system, stores at least the concluding portion in the memory medium such that when presented, the initial portion and the stored concluding portion allows for continuous playback of the media content event of interest. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The media device of claim 15, further comprising: a presentation device interface that communicates the first media content stream and the second media content stream in the memory medium to a media presentation device. ### Claim 18 (depends on 15) The media device of claim 15 further comprising: a media content event retrieval module, when executed on the processor system, that requests from the media content distribution center, additional media content when a duration of the initial portion and a duration of the concluding portion are less than a total duration of the media content event of interest. ### Claim 19 (depends on 15) The media device of claim 15 further comprising: a media content event retrieval module, when executed on the processor system, that processes a received notification from the media content distribution center, wherein the notification identifies the selected one of the concurrently broadcast media content streams, wherein the notification has a device identifier corresponding to the requesting media device. ### Claim 20 A method that communicates media content from a media content distribution center, the method comprising: receiving a request from a first media device, wherein the request identifies a media content event of interest, wherein the media content event of interest is defined by a serial ordered plurality of portions that begins with a first portion and is followed by a second portion; concurrently broadcasting a plurality of first media content streams from the media content distribution center, wherein the broadcast plurality of first media content streams are accessible by the first media device and a plurality of other media devices, wherein each one of the broadcast plurality of first media content streams comprises a concluding portion of the media content event of interest, wherein the concluding portion begins with the second portion of the plurality of portions of the media content event of interest, wherein the second portion is followed by remaining portions of the media content event of interest, and wherein the concluding portion of each of the plurality of first media content streams are broadcast offset in time from each other by a duration that includes at least the second portion of the media content event of interest; transmitting an instruction to the first media device in response to the communicated request, wherein the instruction identifies one of the concurrently broadcast plurality of first media content streams, and wherein the identified one of the concurrently broadcast plurality of first media content streams is currently broadcasting the second portion of the media content event of interest; and transmitting a second media content stream containing an initial portion of the media content event to the first media device, wherein the initial portion includes the first portion and the second portion of the media content event of interest. ### Claim 21 (depends on 20) The method of claim 20, further comprising: transmitting an instruction to the first media device, wherein the instruction enables the first media device to access the concluding portion of the first media content stream. ### Claim 22 (depends on 20) The method of claim 20, further comprising: assigning a device identifier of the first media device to the first media content stream and the second media content stream. ### Claim 23 A media device comprising: a processor system; a tuner that receives at least one of a plurality of broadcast media content streams with a concluding portion of a media content event of interest, wherein the media content event of interest is defined by a serial ordered plurality of portions that begins with a first portion and is followed by a second portion, wherein the concluding portion begins with the second portion of the plurality of portions of the media content event of interest, wherein the second portion is followed by remaining portions of the media content event of interest, and wherein the concluding portion of each of the plurality of broadcast media content streams are broadcast offset in time from each other by a duration that includes at least the second portion of the media content event of interest; and a communication network interface communicatively coupled to the processor system and the tuner, wherein the communication network interface is communicatively coupled to the media device with at least one media content distribution center, wherein the communication network interface is operable to: communicate a request to a media content distribution center for the media content event of interest; receive an instruction in response to the communicated request, wherein the instruction identifies one of the broadcast plurality of media content streams, wherein the identified one of the broadcast plurality of media content streams is concurrently transmitted to a plurality of media devices and comprises the concluding portion of the media content event of interest that is currently broadcasting the second portion, and wherein an initial portion of the media content event of interest has been previously communicated; and receive a unicast media content stream containing the initial portion of the media content event of interest, wherein the initial portion includes the first portion and the second portion of the media content event of interest. ### Claim 24 (depends on 23) The media device of claim 23, further comprising: a memory medium communicatively coupled to the processor system and the communication network interface, wherein the memory medium stores at least the concluding portion of the received media content event of interest, wherein the stored media content event of interest begins with the second portion; and a presentation device interface that communicates the initial portion of the media content event of interest received in the unicast media content stream to a presentation device, wherein the concluding portion is presented upon conclusion of the presentation of the initial portion to allow for continuous playback of the media content event of interest. ### Claim 25 (depends on 23) The media device of claim 23, wherein the communication network interface is further operable to: receive a notification from the media content distribution center, wherein the notification identifies a device identifier corresponding to the requesting media device. ### Claim 26 (depends on 23) The media device of claim 23, wherein the presentation of the initial portion ends with an end of presentation of the first portion of the media content event of interest, and wherein presentation continues with the second portion of the media content event of interest that was received in the identified one of the plurality of broadcast media content streams. ### Claim 27 (depends on 23) The media device of claim 23, wherein the presentation of the initial portion ends with an end of presentation of the second portion of the media content event of interest, and wherein presentation continues with a third portion of the media content event of interest that was received in the identified one of the plurality of broadcast media content streams, wherein the third portion follows the second portion.