Recorder vacation mode
Contents
1. 508 Processor s 510 US 8 565 586 B2 1 RECORDER VACATION MODE BACKGROUND A television client device implemented as a digital video recorder typically includes a scheduling system that manages when media content such as television programs and movies are recorded saved and deleted Generally scheduled recordings are prioritized at the time of recording but later deleted when storage space is needed for new recordings based on a first in first out assessment This can result in the untenable effect of deleting earlier recorded media content that may have had a higher priority to a viewer only to save media content that is recorded later but that has a lower priority to the viewer This type of recording management may be undesirable to users that utilize digital video recorders and particularly for those who may not be able to proactively manage the sched uled recordings on a daily basis For example when a user goes on a business trip or on vacation for an extended dura tion episodes of daily news shows and other programs may continue to be recorded filling up the limited amount of storage space available with a digital video recorder When storage space is needed for new recordings these lower pri ority recordings will be saved while earlier recorded movies and first run programs will be deleted When a user goes on a business trip or on vacation it is likely that episodes ofa daily news program do not need to be re2. according to a standard profile 302 a 300 A user interface is initiated for display from which a vacation mode can be enabled 304 A vacation profile is established from the standard profile 306 Input received to enable vacation mode 308 DVR unattended for a defined duration 312 Enable the vacation mode and schedule recordings of media assets according to the vacation profile 310 Designate when a media asset is to be deleted if recorded while the vacation mode is enabled 314 Disable the vacation mode to reactivate the standard profile 316 Fig 3 U S Patent Oct 22 2013 Sheet 4 of 5 US 8 565 586 B2 r 400 Initiate a polling event to determine whether a media asset is scheduled to be recorded 402 DVR is in a vacation mode 404 Media asset to record in standard mode 406 Initiate a recording of the media asset 408 Media asset to record in vacation mode 410 Fig 4 U S Patent Oct 22 2013 Sheet 5 of 5 Device 500 Computer Readable Media 514 Device Applications 518 Recording Scheduler 524 Storage Media 516 Audio Video Input Output 526 Operating System 520 Device Manager 522 Processing amp Control 512 Audio System 528 Display System 530 Fig 5 US 8 565 586 B2 Communication Devices 502 Data Input s 506 Communication Interface s
3. and or an entity that operates the device such that a device describes logical devices that include users software firmware and or a combination of devices The various client devices 104 shown in system 100 are also implemented as components in client systems that include a respective display device 122 A client device and display device together render and playback any form of audio video and or image data A display device 122 can be implemented as any type of a television high definition tele vision HDTV LCD or similar display system The various client devices 104 e g television gaming or computer devices can also be associated with one or more input devices such as a remote control device 124 for user select able inputs and selections to the television client device 116 a gaming controller 126 for user selectable inputs to the gam ing device 118 and a keyboard 128 and or mouse input devices for user selectable inputs to the computer device 120 The example device 108 is representative of the various client devices 104 that can implement various embodiments of vacation mode Any of the devices described herein can also be implemented with any number and combination of differing components as described with reference to the example device shown in FIG 5 such as one or more proces sors communication components data inputs memory com ponents processing and control circuits and or a media con tent rendering syste
4. media asset that is recorded while the vacation mode is enabled which is different than if the media asset is recorded while the standard mode is enabled At block 316 the vaca tion mode is disabled to reactivate the standard profile For example the recording scheduler disables the vacation mode to reactivate the standard profile if a user selectable input is received to initiate disabling the vacation mode The vacation mode can also be disabled if a device input is detected that indicates the digital video recorder is not unattended The method can then continue at block 302 to schedule recordings of media assets according to the standard profile when the vacation mode is disabled FIG 4 illustrates example method s 400 for a recording vacation mode The order in which the method is described is not intended to be construed as a limitation and any number an 0 an 5 20 35 40 45 50 65 10 of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement the method or an alternate method At block 402 a polling event is initiated to determine whether a media asset is scheduled to be recorded For example the recording scheduler e g refers throughout to recording scheduler 144 at device 108 and or recording scheduler 148 at content distributor 102 initiates a polling event to determine if a media asset is scheduled to be recorded As an alternate implementation to a polling based system that perio
5. vacation mode status indicators that let a user know when a digital video recorder media asset recorder portable media player or other similar device is enabled in a vacation mode User interface 212 illustrates an example of a vacation settings user interface that includes user selectable controls for manipulation to manage how the recording scheduler initiates a vacation mode for a digital video recorder media assets recorder or similar device A user can opt to set vaca tion dates manually at 214 and by selecting to initiate manual control at 216 Although only shown as date settings the vacation dates can also be implemented to include time set tings such as a vacation start date and time of 05 25 2009 at 7 30 p m and or time settings in various formats Alterna tively or in addition a user can opt to have the recording US 8 565 586 B2 7 scheduler determine when to initiate the vacation mode auto matically at 218 and by setting the number of days at 220 to monitor for inactivity after which the vacation mode is auto matically enabled After the designated period of inactivity the recording scheduler initiates enabling the vacation mode In various implementations a selection to set the vacation dates manually at 216 or a selection to have the vacation mode determined automatically at 218 can initiate another user interface 222 that includes saved operation mode profiles 224 such as a standard profile vacation profil
6. image data received from any media content and or data source In vari ous embodiments the rendering system 138 is implemented to render one or more vacation mode user interfaces 140 for display such as shown on the display device 122 that is associated with the television client device 116 The rendering system 138 is also implemented to render a program guide 142 for display on a display device 122 of the client systems A program guide can include program pre views displayed as text an image and or video that corre sponds to a respective program and an associated channel and or data stream When a vacation mode is enabled in a device a program guide 142 can include a display of icons to inform a user about media assets that are not recorded but would otherwise have been recorded in a standard mode Additionally a program guide 142 can include various vaca tion mode status indicators that let a user know at a glance when a digital video recorder media asset recorder portable media player or other similar device is enabled in a vacation mode In this example system 100 device 108 includes a record ing scheduler 144 that can be implemented as computer executable instructions and executed by processors to imple ment embodiments and or features of a vacation mode when implemented for a digital video recorder media asset recorder or similar device The recording scheduler 144 can instantiate different operation modes 146 that incl
7. the content distributor 102 and or another network based service can be implemented with a recording scheduler 148 to implement the various features aspects and embodiments of a recorded vacation mode as described with reference to the recording scheduler 144 Fur ther the implementation of a recording scheduler is appli cable for any device that may be constrained by recording resources e g memory storage space bandwidth etc and that downloads and records scheduled media assets such as television programs movies music videos and the like In various embodiments of vacation mode a recording sched uler such as recording scheduler 144 implemented at device 108 or recording scheduler 148 implemented at content dis tributor 102 can be managed remotely via a another wired and or wireless device such as a computer device a cell phone 150 laptop computer or other mobile device FIG 2 illustrates example vacation mode user interfaces 200 in various embodiments of a vacation mode User inter face 202 illustrates one example that includes user selectable controls 204 for selection by a user to enable the vacation mode i e On or disable the vacation mode 1 e Off The 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 user interface 202 also includes a vacation priority list 206 of media assets that are scheduled to be recorded and includes a divider or partition referred to herein as a slider 208 that a
8. US008565586B2 az United States Patent 10 Patent No US 8 565 586 B2 Maskatia et al 45 Date of Patent Oct 22 2013 54 RECORDER VACATION MODE 2009 0051768 A1 2 2009 DeKeyser o u 348 143 2009 0100478 Al 4 2009 Craner et al 2010 0150531 A1 6 2010 Corry et al u 386 123 75 Inventors a oaee ell e 2010 0162324 A1 6 2010 Mehta etal occ 725 61 Jose CA US OTHER PUBLICATIONS 73 Assignee Microsoft Corporation Redmond WA US Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U S C 154 b by 989 days 21 Appl No 12 469 457 22 Filed May 20 2009 65 Prior Publication Data US 2010 0299681 A1 Nov 25 2010 51 Int Cl HOAN 5 76 2006 01 52 U S Cl USPC euna enet t E ER eR Ei 386 291 58 Field of Classification Search USPE seidsinceize a e eE a 386 291 See application file for complete search history 56 References Cited U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 6 756 997 B1 6 2004 Ward II et al 7 088 910 B2 8 2006 Potrebic et al 7 369 750 B2 5 2008 Cheng et al 7 498 839 B1 2006 0173562 A1 2006 0212904 Al 2007 0077920 Al 2008 0084296 A1 3 2009 Jenkins IV ou cece 326 41 8 2006 Verhaegh et al 700 86 9 2006 Klarfeld et al 4 2007 Weeks et al 4 2008 Kutziket al ww 340 540 Distribution System 112 Recording Scheduler Media Content Input s B Recording Scheduler 144 WebShifter Gold Retriev
9. a user associated with a device will be on vacation or not utilizing the device In other situations the user associated with a device may travel for business where a business trip is a shorter period of time or fewer days than what the user des US 8 565 586 B2 5 ignates as a vacation In this case the recording scheduler 144 can be implemented to also enable a business trip mode or other similar designation to activate a trip profile that includes a designated list of media assets to be recorded and saved for the duration that the device is likely to be unat tended The recording scheduler 144 can determine that a digital video recorder media asset recorder or similar device has been unattended for a period of time or defined number of days and automatically enable the vacation mode Alterna tively or in addition the recording scheduler 144 can receive a user selectable input to enable the vacation mode such as a user input to television client device 116 with remote control device 124 In various embodiments the recording scheduler 144 initiates a user interface 140 for display from which the vacation mode can be enabled as a user selectable input From a vacation mode user interface a user can set up a recording schedule and vacation priority list to manage recordings of media assets when a digital video recorder or similar device is likely to be unattended for a defined duration that is associated with a vacation A vacati
10. ation networks 106 include any type of a data network voice network broadcast network an IP based network and or a wireless network 114 that facilitates com munication of data and media content in any format The communication networks 106 can be implemented using any type of network topology and or communication protocol and may be represented or otherwise implemented as a com bination of two or more networks In addition any one or more of the arrowed communication links facilitate two way data communication The various client devices 104 in system 100 can be imple mented as any one or combination of a wired and or wireless device as any form of television client device 116 e g television set top box digital video recorder DVR etc gaming device 118 computer device 120 portable computer device consumer device media device communication device video processing and or rendering device appliance device electronic device and or as any other type of device that is implemented to receive media content in any form of audio video and or image data A client device 104 may also be implemented as any type of mobile phone e g cellular VoIP WiFi etc a portable media device e g a personal media player portable media player handheld media player etc or any other wired and or wireless device that receives any form of audio video and or image data A client device may also be associated with a user i e a person
11. cated from device 500 to an audio device and or to a display device via an RF radio frequency link S video link composite video link component video link DVI digital video interface analog audio connection or other similar communication link In an embodiment the audio system 528 and or the display system 530 are imple mented as external components to device 500 Alternatively the audio system 528 and or the display system 530 are imple mented as integrated components of example device 500 Although embodiments of a recorder vacation mode have been described in language specific to features and or meth ods it is to be understood that the subject of the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or methods described Rather the specific features and methods are disclosed as example implementations ofa recorder vaca tion mode The invention claimed is 1 A method implemented in a device that executes a recording scheduler the method comprising scheduling recordings of media assets according to a stan dard profile that includes a priority list of the media assets to be recorded designating when one or more of the media assets of the priority list are to be deleted while the standard mode of the digital video recorder is enabled initiating a user interface for display from which a vacation mode can be enabled to manage recordings of a subset of the media assets when a digital video recorder is l
12. cited in claim 8 wherein the recording scheduler is further configured to initiate a user interface for display that includes one or more user selectable vacation settings and includes a vacation profile editor comprising user selectable profile controls configured for manipulation to establish the vacation priority list of the subset of the media assets 16 Computer readable storage memory devices having stored thereon computer executable instructions that if executed by a computer device initiate the computer device to initiate a user interface for display from which a vacation mode can be enabled to manage recordings of media assets when a digital video recorder is likely to be unat tended for a duration that is associated with a vacation determine that the digital video recorder has been unat tended for a defined duration of time automatically enable the vacation mode to activate a vaca tion profile that designates the media assets to be recorded according to a vacation priority list of the media assets designate when one or more of the media assets that are recorded according to the vacation priority list are to be deleted while the vacation mode is enabled detect a device input that indicates the digital video recorder is not unattended automatically disable the vacation mode to reactivate a standard profile responsive to detection of the device input and designate when one or more of the media assets that are rec
13. corded because the user is unlikely to return and watch two weeks of past news Con trary the user will likely want to watch a new movie that was recorded either previous to the user leaving for vacation or while the user was on vacation provided that it has not been deleted by the scheduling system SUMMARY This summary is provided to introduce simplified concepts of a recorder vacation mode The simplified concepts are further described below in the Detailed Description This summary is not intended to identify essential features of the claimed subject matter nor is it intended for use in determin ing the scope of the claimed subject matter Embodiments of a recorder vacation mode are described In various embodiments a recording scheduler is imple mented to schedule recordings of media assets according to a standard profile that includes a priority list of the media assets to be recorded The recording scheduler initiates a user inter face for display from which a vacation mode can be enabled to manage recordings of a subset of the media assets when a digital video recorder is likely to be unattended for a duration that is associated with a vacation The recording scheduler can enable the vacation mode to activate a vacation profile that includes a vacation priority list of the subset of the media assets The user interface includes user selectable vacation settings and a vacation profile editor having user selectable profile contro
14. dia assets listed in a vacation priority list when a digital video recorder media asset recorder or similar device is likely to be unat tended for a duration or number of days that is associated with a vacation A user interface can include user navigable con trols for manipulation to establish the vacation priority list of the media assets and or include user selectable vacation set tings The vacation profile editor 234 includes user selectable profile controls for manipulation to establish the vacation priority list of the media assets At block 306 a vacation profile is established from the standard profile For example the vacation priority list 206 illustrated in the vacation mode user interface 202 that is associated with a vacation profile is established or otherwise derived from a standard priority list that is associated with a standard profile In an embodiment a user selectable input is received via the user interface to establish the vacation prior ity list as a subset of the media assets from a standard priority list At block 308 a determination is made as to whether a user selectable input is received via the user interface to ini tiate enabling the vacation mode For example the recording scheduler 144 can receive a user selectable input via the vacation mode user interface 202 to enable the vacation mode such as a user input to television client device 116 with remote control device 124 If a user selectable input is
15. dically initiates to check whether a media asset is to be recorded the recording scheduler can be imple mented to simply determine a next recording event and com municate a recording instruction to the recorder to begin recording at a designated time and or date At block 404 a determination is made as to whether a recorder is operating in a vacation mode For example the recording scheduler determines whether the vacation mode has been enabled in a digital video recorder media asset recorder or similar device If the vacation mode has not been enabled i e no from block 404 then at block 406 a determination is made as to whether there is a media asset also referred to as an event to record according to a standard mode For example the recording scheduler determines whether a media asset is to be recorded when the digital video recorder is enabled in the standard mode e g when the vacation mode is disabled If there is not a media asset to record while in the standard mode i e no from block 406 then the method continues at block 402 to initiate a polling event to determine a media asset to be recorded If there is a media asset to record while in the standard mode i e yes from block 406 then at block 408 a recording of the media asset is initiated For example the recording scheduler initiates recording the scheduled media asset If the vacation mode has been enabled e yes from block 404 t
16. e business profile e g for a business trip mode and or any other cus tom or user defined profile Any of the saved profiles 224 can be designated for use when the vacation mode is enabled such as a selection of the business profile or vacation profile at 226 Any of the saved profiles 224 can also be selected to edit a profile at 228 or to copy a profile at 230 such as when creating a new profile from one of the saved profiles The recording scheduler can be integrated with an eventing system of the digital video recorder media asset recorder or similar device to monitor for key press events or other indi cations of device use If the recording scheduler does not receive an event for the specified time duration and or day interval it enables the vacation mode and loads the vacation profile into the scheduler The recording scheduler then con tinues to monitor for key press events or other indications of use and when an event is recognized received or otherwise determined disables the vacation mode and reloads the stan dard profile for scheduling and recording media assets A user may also choose whether to turn off suggested recordings or other non user initiated recordings at 232 via the vacation settings user interface 212 Another vacation mode user interface illustrates an example of a vacation profile editor 234 that includes user selectable profile controls for manipulation to manage a pri ority list 236 of the media ass
17. ed at lt lt http www bestshareware net download webshifter gold htm gt gt pp 3 Buckeye DVR User Manual Retrieved at buckeyecablesystem com downloads User_Information UserGuide pdf gt gt pp 12 Scheduling Recordings Retrieved at lt lt http www mythtv org docs mythtv HOWTO 12 html gt gt pp 10 TiVo HD XL DVR 150 HD hours Retrieved at lt lt http reviews cnet com digital video recorders dvrs tivo hd xl dvr 4505 6474__ 7 33231115 html gt gt pp 19 lt lt http DVR_ cited by examiner Primary Examiner Thai Tran Assistant Examiner William Tran 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Wolfe SBMC 57 ABSTRACT Embodiments of a recorder vacation mode are described In various embodiments a recording scheduler is implemented to schedule recordings of media assets according to a stan dard profile that includes a priority list of the media assets to be recorded The recording scheduler initiates a user interface for display from which a vacation mode can be enabled to manage recordings of a subset of the media assets when a digital video recorder is likely to be unattended for a duration that is associated with a vacation The recording scheduler can enable the vacation mode to activate a vacation profile that includes a vacation priority list of the subset of the media assets 18 Claims 5 Drawing Sheets Vacation Mode f User interface U S Patent Oct 22 2013 Sheet 1 o
18. ed to establish the vacation pri ority list of the subset of the media assets from the standard priority list of the media assets 10 A device as recited in claim 8 wherein the recording scheduler is further configured to initiate a user interface for display from which the vacation mode can be enabled as a user selectable input 11 A device as recited in claim 8 wherein the recording scheduler is further configured to initiate a user interface for display that includes one or more user navigable controls configured for manipulation to establish the vacation priority list of the subset of the media assets 12 A device as recited in claim 8 wherein the recording scheduler is further configured to receive a user selectable input to enable the vacation mode 13 A device as recited in claim 8 wherein the recording scheduler is further configured to disable the vacation mode after at least one of a user selectable input is received to disable the vacation mode or after a device input is detected that indicates the media asset recorder is not unattended 14 A device as recited in claim 8 wherein the recording scheduler is further configured to designate when a media asset is to be deleted if recorded while the vacation mode is enabled the recording scheduler further configured to desig 15 20 25 30 35 40 14 nate when the media asset is to be deleted if recorded while the vacation mode is disabled 15 A device as re
19. edia player or other similar device that has limited storage capacity consumes media assets and may be configured to automatically down load the media assets The user can simply enable a vacation mode for the device and the recording scheduler manages the recording saving and or deleting of media assets such as by preventing lower priority recordings from being scheduled and recorded until the vacation mode is disabled Accord ingly the user does not have to manually remove media assets from a priority list when going on vacation and then have to add the media assets to the priority list again when returning from vacation Additionally the standard mode settings pri orities and profiles remain unchanged while the vacation mode is enabled Embodiments of a recorder vacation mode provide a mechanism to enable and disable the vacation mode for a digital video recorder media asset recorder or other similar device and provide that a user can easily specify a modified recording schedule such as for use when the user is away and not able to regularly manage the recordings While features and concepts of the described systems and methods for a recorder vacation mode can be implemented in any number of different environments systems and or vari ous configurations embodiments ofa recorder vacation mode are described in the context of the following example systems and environments FIG 1 illustrates an example system 100 in which vario
20. es communicate data with device 500 Device 500 includes one or more processors 510 e g any of microprocessors controllers and the like which process various computer executable instructions to control the operation of device 500 and to implement embodiments of a recorder vacation mode Alternatively or in addition device 500 can be implemented with any one or combination of hardware firmware or fixed logic circuitry that is imple mented in connection with processing and control circuits which are generally identified at 512 Although not shown device 500 can include a system bus or data transfer system that couples the various components within the device A system bus can include any one or combination of different bus structures such as a memory bus or memory controller a peripheral bus a universal serial bus and or a processor or local bus that utilizes any of a variety of bus architectures Device 500 also includes computer readable media 514 such as one or more memory components examples of which include random access memory RAM non volatile memory e g any one or more of a read only memory ROM flash memory EPROM EEPROM etc and a disk storage device A disk storage device may be implemented as any type of magnetic or optical storage device such as a hard disk drive a recordable and or rewriteable compact disc CD any type of a digital versatile disc DVD and the like Device 500 can also include a mass sto
21. ets In an implementation the vacation profile editor 234 can be initiated from the user interface 222 that includes the saved operation mode profiles 224 such as when a user selects to edit a profile at 228 When auser configures a vacation mode a new vacation profile can be created and or a previously saved profile can be utilized as a template to create the vacation profile as described with reference to user interface 222 The vacation profile editor 234 can include and or display priority lists of all scheduled recordings of series and the associated priorities A user can turn a recording for any particular media asset on or off at 238 set a keep at most value 240 and manage HD SD high definition standard definition recording pref erences 242 for each individual recording and or series in the priority list 236 of the media assets A user may prefer to record most of the media assets in standard definition to save available recording disk space The keep at most value 240 provides that a user can change the number of episode record ings for a particular show or program that a digital video recorder media asset recorder or similar device will keep When the keep at most value is set to less than the non vacation standard mode setting the device can wait until the next recording of the series and then enforce the new lower keep at most settings Although not shown the vacation pro file editor 234 can also include a selectable prefe
22. f 5 US 8 565 586 B2 Content Distributor 102 Media Content 110 Distribution System 112 Recording Scheduler 148 Media Content Input s 130 Tuner s 134 Rendering System 138 Recording Scheduler 144 AT Communication Network s 106 104 14 Vacation Mode User Interface 50 18 l 0 Media Assets 132 Device Manager 136 Program Guide 142 Operation Modes 146 Fig 1 U S Patent Oct 22 2013 Sheet 2 of 5 US 8 565 586 B2 202 Vacation Mode User Interface Move the Slider to indicate which Series to record while on vacation 1 My Favorite Sitcom 2 Workplace Drama 208 3 Game of the Week gt 210 4 Syndicated Sitcom 5 Local Daily News aa 200 210 204 206 Vacation Settings Set Vacation Dates Manually End Date 06 09 2009 218 Set Vacation Dates Automatically Start Vacation Mode after 5 days 222 _ Turn off Suggested Recordings Operation Mode Profiles Standard Profile lt Vacation Profile Business Profile Custom Profile Vacation Profile Editor HD SD Keep 1 My Favorite Sitcom C Workplace Drama _ amp 2 3 Game of the Week Q 4 Syndicated Sitcom Q 5 Local Daily News 4 Save Changes n AP AIP a gt i gt i gt U S Patent Oct 22 2013 Sheet 3 of 5 US 8 565 586 B2 Schedule recordings of media assets
23. g sched uler does not cancel the standard priority settings that are listed below the vacation recording cut off i e below the slider 208 but instead designates the media assets as not to be recorded in a vacation mode When the vacation mode is disabled the recording scheduler e g refers throughout to recording scheduler 144 at device 108 and or recording scheduler 148 at content distributor 102 again designates all of the standard priority settings back to the standard mode state for scheduling and recording Accordingly the user does not have to manually remove media assets from the priority list when going on vacation and then have to add the media assets to the priority list again when returning from vacation Additionally the standard mode series settings remain intact and are unchanged The recording scheduler can track a recording history for media assets when the media assets are designated as not to be recorded in a vacation mode A user can then view the record ing history and see that some media assets were not recorded because they were of a low priority and the vacation mode was enabled when a media asset would have otherwise been recorded Additionally a program guide and other recording information user interfaces can include indications that denote vacation mode recordings and settings For example the recording history of the media assets can included as part of a program guide and the recording history can include
24. hen at block 410 a determina tion is made as to whether there is a media asset also referred to as an event to record according to the vacation mode For example the recording scheduler determines whether a media asset is to be recorded when the digital video recorder is enabled in the vacation mode If there is a media asset to record while in the vacation mode i e yes from block 410 then at block 408 a recording of the media asset is initiated For example the recording scheduler initiates recording the scheduled media asset If there is not a media asset to record while in the vacation mode 1 e no from block 410 then the method continues at block 402 to initiate a polling event to determine a media asset to be recorded FIG 5 illustrates various components of an example device 500 that can be implemented as any type of client device and or content distributor as described with reference to FIG 1 to implement embodiments of a recorder vacation mode In various embodiments device 500 can be implemented as any one or combination of a wired and or wireless device as any form of television client device e g television set top box digital video recorder DVR etc consumer device com puter device portable computer device media device com munication device video processing and or rendering device appliance device gaming device electronic device and or as any other type of device Device 500 may also be as
25. ices Further the features described herein are platform independent such that the techniques may be implemented on a variety of computing platforms having a variety of proces sors FIG 3 illustrates example method s 300 for a recording vacation mode The order in which the method is described is not intended to be construed as a limitation and any number of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement the method or an alternate method At block 302 media assets are scheduled to be recorded according to a standard profile The standard profile corre lates to a standard priority list of the media assets to be recorded For example the recording scheduler e g refers throughout to recording scheduler 144 at device 108 and or recording scheduler 148 at content distributor 102 schedules media assets to be recorded according to a priority list of media assets in a standard mode of operation that includes a standard profile At block 304 a user interface is initiated for display from which a vacation mode can be enabled For example the recording scheduler initiates a vacation mode user interface 202 via which a user can select to enable a vacation mode Other vacation mode user interfaces can also be initiated for display such as the vacation settings user interface 212 and or US 8 565 586 B2 9 the vacation profile editor 234 In various embodiments a user interface is utilized to manage recordings of me
26. ikely to be unattended for a duration that is associated with a vacation enabling the vacation mode to activate a vacation profile that includes a vacation priority list of the subset of the media assets designating when one or more of the subset of media assets of the vacation priority list are to be deleted while the vacation mode is enabled the designation of when to delete the media asset being different if recorded while the standard mode is enabled and disabling the vacation mode to reactivate the standard pro file after detecting a device input that indicates the digi tal video recorder is not unattended 2 A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising estab lishing the vacation profile from the standard profile 3 A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the user interface includes one or more user selectable controls configured for manipulation to establish the vacation priority list of the subset of the media assets from the priority list of the media assets 4 A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising at least one of receiving a user selectable input via the user interface to initiate said enabling the vacation mode or determining that the digital video recorder has been unat tended for a defined duration and automatically enabling the vacation mode 5 A method as recited in claim 1 wherein detecting the device input that indicates the digital video recorder is not unattended comprises receiving a use
27. ls for manipulation to establish the vacation priority list of the subset of the media assets from the priority list of the media assets BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments of a recorder vacation mode are described with reference to the following drawings The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to reference like features and components FIG 1 illustrates an example system in which embodi ments of a recorder vacation mode can be implemented 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 FIG 2 illustrates example vacation mode user interfaces in accordance with one or more embodiments FIG 3 illustrates example method s for a recorder vaca tion mode in accordance with one or more embodiments FIG 4 illustrates example method s for a recorder vaca tion mode in accordance with one or more embodiments FIG 5 illustrates various components of an example device that can implement embodiments of a recorder vacation mode DETAILED DESCRIPTION Embodiments of a recorder vacation mode provide that a recording scheduler manages which media assets to record save and or delete according to different operation modes such as a standard or daily mode a vacation mode a business trip mode and the like When a user is away from home on vacation or for business the recording scheduler manages the limited amount of storage space available for a digital video recorder media asset recorder portable m
28. m In this example device 108 includes media content inputs 130 to receive media assets 132 from content distributor 102 The media content inputs 130 can include any type of com munication interfaces and or data inputs such as Internet Protocol IP inputs over which streams of television content e g IPTV content are received via an IP based network An IPTV receiver can include a media content input 130 to receive television content as an IPTV multicast via an Ether net input port from content distributor 102 In addition the media content inputs 130 include any type of broadcast and or over the air inputs via which media content is received over the air Device 108 also includes one or more tuners 134 to a 5 20 40 45 55 65 4 tune television channels and or data streams for display and viewing In various implementations a tuner 134 can be implemented as a hardware tuner or alternatively as a soft ware tuner that is implemented to tune to a television channel and or data stream to receive television media content Device 108 is implemented with a device manager 136 that includes any one or combination of a control application software application signal processing and control module code that is native to the particular device and or a hardware abstraction layer for the particular device Device 108 also includes a rendering system 138 to receive and render media content in any form of audio video and or
29. on mode user interface can include one or more user navigable controls for manipulation to establish the vacation priority list of media assets A vacation mode user interface can also include one or more user selectable vacation settings as well as a vacation profile editor having user selectable profile controls for manipulation to establish the vacation priority list Examples of vacation mode user interfaces are described with reference to the user interfaces shown in FIG 2 In embodiments the recording scheduler 144 is imple mented to disable the vacation mode for a digital video recorder or similar device when a user selectable input is received such as via a vacation mode user interface The recording scheduler 144 can also be implemented to disable the vacation mode if a device input is detected that indicates the device 108 e g a digital video recorder media asset recorder and the like is not unattended The vacation mode can be disabled to reactivate the standard mode and record scheduled media assets according to a standard profile that correlates to a standard priority list of the media assets In various embodiments the recording scheduler 144 is also implemented to designate when a media asset is to be deleted if recorded while the vacation mode is enabled as well as designate when a media asset is to be deleted if recorded while the standard mode is enabled e g the vacation mode is disabled In alternate embodiments
30. orded according to a standard priority list are to be deleted while the standard profile is enabled 17 Computer readable storage memory devices as recited in claim 16 wherein the computer executable instructions if executed further initiate the computer device to receive a user selectable input via the user interface to establish the vacation priority list of the media assets 18 Computer readable storage memory devices as recited in claim 16 wherein the computer executable instructions if executed further initiate the computer device to receive a user selectable input via the user interface to enable the vaca tion mode
31. r selectable input to initiate said disabling the vacation mode 6 A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the user interface includes at least one or more user selectable vacation set tings and includes a vacation profile editor comprising user selectable profile controls configured for manipulation to establish the vacation priority list of the subset of the media assets US 8 565 586 B2 13 7 A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the user interface includes at least one of a selectable designation of whether to record the media asset in high definition or standard definition to con serve recording media space or a selectable keep at most value that designates a number of episode record ings to save for a particular media asset 8 A device comprising at least a memory and a processor that implement a record ing scheduler that is configured to schedule media assets to be recorded and designate when the media assets are to be deleted according to a standard priority list of the media assets and enable a vacation mode to schedule a subset of the media assets to be recorded and designate when the subset of media assets are to be deleted according to a vacation priority list the vacation mode configured to be auto matically enabled when a media asset recorder is unat tended for a duration of time that is associated with a vacation 9 A device as recited in claim 8 wherein the recording scheduler is further configur
32. r users The recording scheduler can independently manage the standard and or vacation pro files of an individual user to schedule and record particular media assets In an implementation the least restrictive set tings can be implemented if there are scheduled recordings that are duplicated between users Example methods 300 and 400 are described with refer ence to respective FIGS 3 and 4 in accordance with one or more embodiments of a recording vacation mode Generally any of the functions methods procedures components and modules described herein can be implemented using hard ware software firmware fixed logic circuitry manual pro cessing or any combination thereof A software implemen tation of a function method procedure component or module represents program code that performs specified tasks when executed on a computing based processor The example methods may be described in the general context of computer executable instructions which can include soft ware applications routines programs objects components data structures procedures modules functions and the like The methods may also be practiced in a distributed com puting environment where functions are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communication network In a distributed computing environment computer executable instructions may be located in both local and remote computer storage media including memory storage dev
33. rage media device 516 Computer readable media 514 provides data storage mechanisms to store the device data 504 as well as various device applications 518 and any other types of information and or data related to operational aspects of device 500 For example an operating system 520 can be maintained as a computer application with the computer readable media 514 and executed on processors 510 The device applications 518 can include a device manager 522 e g a control application software application signal processing and control module code that is native to a particular device a hardware abstrac tion layer for a particular device etc The device applica tions 518 also include any system components or modules of a recording scheduler 524 to implement embodiments of a recorder vacation mode In this example the device applica tions 518 are shown as software modules and or computer applications Alternatively or in addition the recording scheduler 524 can be implemented as hardware software firmware or any combination thereof Device 500 can also include an audio and or video input output system 526 that provides audio data to an audio system 528 and or provides video data to a display system 530 The audio system 528 and or the display system 530 can include any devices that process display and or otherwise render 20 25 40 45 65 12 audio video and image data Video signals and audio signals can be communi
34. received via the user interface i e yes from block 308 then at block 310 the vacation mode is enabled and record ings of media assets are scheduled according to the vacation profile If a user selectable input is not received via the user inter face i e no from block 308 then at block 312 a deter mination is made as to whether the digital video recorder has been unattended for a defined duration such as a number of days or weeks For example the recording scheduler moni tors for inactivity key press events or other indications of device use to determine ifa digital video recorder media asset recorder or other similar device is unattended for a defined time duration and or day interval If the digital video recorder has not been unattended for a defined duration 1 e no from block 312 then the method continues at block 302 to schedule recordings of media assets according to the stan dard profile If it is determined that the digital video recorder has been unattended for the defined duration i e yes from block 312 then at block 310 the vacation mode is enabled and recordings of media assets are scheduled according to the vacation profile For example the vacation mode is automati cally enabled by the recording scheduler At block 314 a media asset is designated when to be deleted if recorded while the vacation mode is enabled For example the recording scheduler designates when to delete a
35. rence to designate the episode type for each of the media assets listed in the priority list 236 An episode type designation may be set differently in the vacation mode An episode type of a media asset designates whether to record a program based on whether it will be the first ever airing of the program a repeat airing of the program or a duplicate recording of a new program episode that was previously recorded 35 40 45 55 65 8 When the vacation mode is disabled the keep at most settings are reverted back to the standard profile settings and enforced by the recording scheduler A user can also modify various parameters and or other settings for a vacation prior ity list where the parameters and or settings are not global but initiated when the vacation mode is enabled For example priority controls 244 can be selected by a user to individually reorder the priority of each media asset listed in the priority list 236 in the vacation profile When the vacation mode is then disabled the standard mode settings are restored which provides that a user can have a completely different recording profile while on vacation without having to change daily or standard user settings In various embodiments a recording scheduler can man age multi user scheduling where one or more users may enable a vacation mode while the digital video recorder media asset recorder or similar device operates in a standard mode associated with othe
36. sociated with a user 1 e a person and or an entity that operates the device such that a device describes logical devices that include users software firmware and or a combination of devices Device 500 includes communication devices 502 that enable wired and or wireless communication of device data 504 e g received data data that is being received data scheduled for broadcast data packets of the data etc The US 8 565 586 B2 11 device data 504 or other device content can include configu ration settings of the device media content stored on the device and or information associated with a user of the device Media content stored on device 500 can include any type of audio video and or image data Device 500 includes one or more data inputs 506 via which any type of data media content and or inputs can be received such as user selectable inputs music television media content recorded video con tent and any other type of audio video and or image data received from a content source Device 500 also includes communication interfaces 508 that can be implemented as any one or more ofa serial and or parallel interface a wireless interface any type of network interface a modem and as any other type of communication interface The communication interfaces 508 provide a con nection and or communication links between device 500 and a communication network by which other electronic com puting and communication devic
37. ude one or more different profiles having a priority list of media assets to be recorded In various implementations the different opera tion modes 146 can include a vacation mode a standard mode a business trip mode and or any other designated mode identifier In an example the recording scheduler 144 is implemented to schedule media assets to be recorded accord ing to a priority list of media assets in a standard mode of operation The standard mode can include a standard profile that correlates to a priority list of the media assets to be recorded In various embodiments the recording scheduler 144 is also implemented to enable a vacation mode e g one of the operation modes 146 to activate a vacation profile that cor relates to a vacation priority list of media assets to record In various embodiments the vacation priority list of media assets is a subset of the media assets that are included in the priority list of the standard profile The vacation mode can be enabled by the recording scheduler 144 to schedule at least the subset of the media assets to be recorded according to the vacation priority list In embodiments the vacation mode is enabled when a digital video recorder media asset recorder or similar device is likely to be unattended for a duration that is associated with a vacation of a user of the device In an implementation the unattended duration designated as a vacation is a period of time or number of days that
38. us embodiments of a recorder vacation mode can be imple mented System 100 includes a content distributor 102 imple mented for media content distribution and communication with various client devices 104 via communication networks 106 An example device 108 is representative of various client devices 104 that receive media content 110 when distributed from content distributor 102 In a media content distribution system the content distributor 102 includes a distribution system 112 that facilitates distribution of media content media assets television content metadata and or other asso ciated data to multiple viewers users customers subscribers viewing systems consumer devices client devices and the like Media content e g to include recorded media content includes any type of audio video and or image data received from any media content and or data source as media assets As described herein a media asset can include recorded video content video on demand content television content televi sion programs or programming advertisements commer cials music movies video clips and other media content Other media content can include interactive games network based applications and any other content or data e g to US 8 565 586 B2 3 include program guide application data user interface data advertising content closed captions data content metadata search results and or recommendations etc The communic
39. user can slide up or down in the vacation priority list 206 with user selectable controls 210 The slider 208 can be set to select a series priority cut off of the media assets that will be scheduled for recording when the vacation mode is enabled Additionally the user interface 202 can include other selectable controls such as a navigable selection to a series priority screen from which a user can change the priority of the recordings as well as modify or update the media assets that are listed in the vacation priority list 206 When a user enables the vacation mode the digital video recorder media asset recorder or similar device will record those media assets that have a series priority above the user selected cut off as designated by the slider 208 In various embodiments the vacation priority list 206 of the media assets is derived from the media assets that are included in the standard priority list of the standard profile In this example listed items 1 5 that correlate to various media assets may be included in the standard priority list and listed items 1 3 above the slider 208 are part of the vacation priority list when the vacation mode is enabled In an implementation to manage the scheduling and recording of the media assets the standard priority settings are global and applicable at all times for a device e g digital video recorder media asset recorder or similar device When the vacation mode is enabled the recordin
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