Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC

Eric D Hybertson

Thomas Harrison Reed

Edward P Galt, Iii

Robert D Taylor

Chris Cholas

Nicholas Nielsen

Ernest Joseph Biancarelli

Dean Osborne

Eduardo Cardona

Michael B Detty

Joel C Tyus

Charles A Hasek

Milash James

Edmund Knufinke

Apparatus and method for improving the bandwidth efficiency of delivering electronic program guide (EPG) data to consumer premises equipment (CPE). In one exemplary embodiment, electronic guide data is rendered by devices away from the CPE, shifting the executing data- and bandwidth-heavy operations away from the CPE. In particular, one or more gateways at the user's home bears the processing, memory, bandwidth load to reduce the inefficiency of delivering redundant information to CPE(s) interfacing with the gateway(s). Using guide data it receives from the cloud, the gateway produces and delivers to the CPE one or more 'simple views' of the guide data, including a video stream, still image, or simple HTML or other renderable formats. As the end user interacts with the CPE, the user receives a series of the simple views, allowing the rich experience that is typically given by EPG rendered directly by the CPE.

Apparatus and methods for efficient delivery of electronic program guide data

Methods and apparatus that facilitate watching of programming content on a secondary channel during a program segment, e.g., commercial break or program portion which is not of interest to a user, on a primary channel are described. In various embodiments when a user switches to a secondary channel during a program segment, the switch is detected and the program on the primary channel continues to be received and buffered while the content from the secondary channel is output to the display. The program segment on the primary channel may be a commercial break including one or more commercials or a portion of a program identified as a segment in information communicated with the program or via out of band signaling. The end of the segment on the primary channel is detected and the user is notified or automatically switched back to the primary channel at the end of the segment.

Methods and apparatus that facilitate channel switching during commercial breaks and/or other program segments

Methods and apparatus for ensuring protection of transferred content. In one embodiment, content is transferred while enabling a network operator (e.g., MSO) to control and change rights and restrictions at any time, and irrespective of subsequent transfers. This is accomplished in one implementation by providing a premises device configured to receive content in a first encryption format and encodes using a first codec, with an ability to transcrypt and/or transcode the content into an encryption format and encoding format compatible with a device which requests the content therefrom (e.g., from PowerKey/MPEG-2 content to DRM/MPEG-4 content). The premises device uses the same content key to encrypt the content as is used by the requesting device to decrypt the content.

Apparatus and methods for content transfer protection

In accordance with one configuration, a server resource forwards map information to a client device. The map information maps a respective title of available content to a corresponding network address from which the respective title of available content is assigned to be retrievable from a server resource. In response to receiving a content request directed from the client device to the corresponding network address of the server resource: the server resource tunes to a corresponding channel to obtain and buffer requested content as specified by the content request and delivers the buffered requested content to the client device.

Tuning efficiency and delivery of content

Methods and apparatus for providing playback devices with trick play functionality are described. The system includes a playback device, e.g., without recording capability, and a gateway device with multiple tuner-demodulators and/or a cable modem and recording capability. During normal playback, in some embodiments, both the playback device and gateway receive content in parallel with the gateway recording content at the request of the playback device and supplying the content over the local network when a user of the playback device requests a trick play operation. A single gateway, with multiple tuner demodulator pairs and/or a cable modem, supports trick play functions. In some embodiments if the number of playback devices exceeds the number of tuner-demodulator pairs in the gateway, the playback device can stream content to the gateway for recording and to be returned via the local network in the event of a request for a trick play operation.

Methods and apparatus for supporting trick play functions in devices without local storage

Methods and apparatus for deploying and configuring WiFi capable devices are described. A WiFi capable device such as security camera, temperature monitor and/or other device intended for use with a home network including a gateway device is preconfigured with WiFi network connection information, e.g., a network identifier such as a first SSID corresponding to a first WiFi LAN network used to supply configuration information. The gateway device is preconfigured to act as an access point for the configuration network to which the first SSID corresponds. The gateway device also supports one or more additional LAN networks, e.g., home networks which can be used for data traffic. The additional LAN networks may include an Ethernet network, a coax cable network, a powerline network and/or an additional WiFi network corresponding to a second SSID. A WiFi capable device is configured via the first network to communicate traffic data via the second network.

Automated provisioning of managed services in a Wi-Fi capable client device

A power control apparatus for controlling power consumption in customer premises equipment (CPE) for use in a content and data distribution network includes a detector, operative to determine an operational status of a connection between the CPE and a headend in the content and data distribution network, and a controller coupled with the detector. The controller is operative to place the CPE in a first mode of operation when a power failure event is not present and the operational status is indicative of a loss of connectivity between the CPE and the headend. The apparatus further includes switching circuitry coupled with the controller. The switching circuitry is operative in the first mode to disable power to a first subset of functional modules in the CPE, to thereby reduce power consumption in the CPE.

Apparatus and method for reducing power consumption in customer premises equipment

Methods and apparatus for expanding the storage capacity of one or more DVRs in a household by attaching them to a shared network storage device are described. Recorded content is encrypted in at least some embodiments on a per customer basis rather than on a per DVR basis allowing content to be moved between devices at a customer premise and played back by any of the devices at the customer premise where the content was recorded. Network congestion delays are avoided by allowing a user to specify when content is to be locally available at a DVR and moving the content prior to the specified time, if necessary, to the local storage device in the DVR. DVRs can access, decrypt and display content stored on the network storage device that was recorded by another DVR in the same household.

Methods and apparatus for DVR and network storage of locally recorded content

By way of a non-limiting example, a server resource receives portions of a non-adaptive bit rate data stream. The server resource also receives portions of an adaptive bit rate data stream. The server resource interleaves the portions of the adaptive bit rate data stream and the portions of the non-adaptive bit rate data stream onto the multi-stream data channel. Thereafter, the server resource initiates transmission of the multi-stream data channel (which includes the adaptive bit rate data stream and the non-adaptive bit rate data stream) over a network such as a backbone or core network to a downstream resource such as a distribution resource. The distribution resource, in turn, transmits the adaptive bit rate data stream and the non-adaptive bit rate data stream to a group of multiple subscribers that have shared access to communication link in a cable network environment.

Growing community of inventors

Longmont, CO, United States of America

Eric D Hybertson