HK1139766B - Portable video programs - Google Patents

Description

Portable video programs

Cross-referencing of related files

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application No.11/229,862, filed on 9/19/2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

Background

The performance of portable electronic devices has increased over the past few years. With the increase in performance, various forms of wireless communication technologies have emerged. As a result, the lines of distinction between palm top computers, personal organizers (personal organizers), cellular radiotelephones, entertainment devices, personal gaming consoles, pagers, and the like are blurred and overlapped. These devices are referred to herein collectively or individually as Portable Wireless Devices (PWDs). As the capabilities of such devices have increased, PWDs have increased rapidly, and people have become accustomed to using such devices and always carrying them on hand. There is also a need for more powerful capabilities of these devices.

Disclosure of Invention

One aspect of the present invention provides a method for providing portable delivery of television programming to a portable wireless device, the method comprising the steps of: capturing, using the portable wireless device, a sample of a program being played by a television system from the television system while the television system is playing the program; processing the captured samples to extract attributes of the samples of the program being played by the television system; transmitting attributes of the captured sample to a service provider, thereby enabling the service provider to identify a program being played by the television system; and receiving at the portable wireless device a program from the service provider via wireless transmission.

Another aspect of the invention provides a method for providing portable delivery of television programming to a portable wireless device, the method comprising the steps of: capturing audio or video samples of a program being played by a television system from the television system using an audio or video recorder that forms part of the portable wireless device while the program is being played by the television system, wherein the captured samples include at least one of audio, video, and still image samples of the program; processing the captured samples to extract attributes of the samples of the program being played by the television system; transmitting attributes of the captured sample to a service provider, thereby enabling the service provider to identify a program being played by the television system; sending an order for a program to be sent to the portable wireless device; and receiving at the portable wireless device a program from the service provider via wireless transmission.

Yet another aspect of the present invention provides a portable wireless device apparatus for receiving delivery of television programming, the apparatus comprising: an audio or video recording device forming part of the portable wireless device, the audio or video recording device capturing audio or video samples of a program being played by a television system from the television system when the program is being played by the television system, wherein the captured samples include at least one of audio, video, and still image samples of the program; a processor that processes the captured sample to extract attributes of a sample of a program being played by the television system; a transmitter to transmit attributes of the captured sample to a primary service provider, thereby enabling the primary service provider to identify a program being played by the television system; and a receiver that receives at the portable wireless device a program from a television transmitter via wireless transmission.

Drawings

Some illustrative embodiments illustrating the objects, advantages and methods of operation and composition of the present invention will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a Portable Wireless Device (PWD) in communication with a television system according to some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating one processing operation of the system of FIG. 1in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is another flow diagram illustrating one processing operation of the system of FIG. 1in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates a PWD acquiring a television program from a Program Routing Service (PRS) in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating one processing operation of the system of FIG. 4 in accordance with some embodiments of the invention.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a Personal Video Recorder (PVR) in communication with a PWD according to some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating one processing operation of the system of FIG. 6 in accordance with certain embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is another flow chart illustrating one processing operation of the system of FIG. 6 in accordance with certain embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a PWD communicating with another PWD in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating operation of one process of the system of FIG. 9 according to some embodiments of the inventions.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of an alternative embodiment in which the television is not enabled to transmit to the PWD in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

Detailed Description

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail specific embodiments. It should be understood that the present disclosure of these embodiments is to be considered as an example of the principles and is not intended to limit the invention to the particular embodiments shown and described. In the description below, like reference numerals are used to describe the same, similar or corresponding parts in the several views of the drawings.

The terms a or an, as used herein, are defined as one or more than one. The term "plurality", as used herein, is defined as two or more than two. The term another, as used herein, is defined as at least a second or more. The terms including and/or having, as used herein, are defined as comprising (i.e., open language). The term coupled, as used herein, is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically. The term "program" as used herein is used in two separate contexts. In the first context, the term is used in the sense of "television program". In this context, the term is used to denote audiovisual content as any relevant sequence of a single television program, whether the content is a movie, sporting event, a segment of a multi-part series, a news broadcast, etc., described and reported in an electronic program guide.

In a second context, the term "program" is defined to specify a sequence of instructions for execution on a computer system. A "program" or "computer program" may include a subroutine, a function, a procedure, an object method, an object implementation, an executable application, an applet, a servlet, a source code, an object code, a shared library/dynamic load library (dynamic load library) and/or other sequence of instructions designed for execution on a computer system. The meaning of these terms will be clear from the context of use in this document.

Reference throughout this document to "one embodiment," "certain embodiments," "an embodiment," or similar terms means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, the appearances of such phrases or in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments without limitation.

One problem addressed using embodiments in accordance with the present invention is the lack of content synchronization between one mobile device and other fixed/mobile devices. What is particularly needed is an improved and more intuitive location-shifting of content using PWDs. (note that this problem is not the only problem solved according to embodiments of the invention, and solving this problem is not a requirement for all embodiments according to the invention.) consider the following scenario and solutions provided according to some embodiments of the invention:

scenario # 1:

joe is exercising at the gym and watching a movie on the gym's large screen TV. The movie is "Tomb Raiders of Timbuk 2". He has completed his workout at the gym and is ready to leave, but does not want to miss the suspense ending of the movie. Options for Joe? (a) Simply wait a while at the gym to watch the rest of the movie, (b) leave the gym and miss the rest of the movie, (c) leave the gym and attempt to watch the movie on his cell phone (which receives, for example, DVB-H terrestrial broadcasts) if he can conclude whether there is the movie "Tomb Raiders of Timbuk 2" (instead of, for example, "Tomb Raiders of Timbuk 3") on the band that he receives on his cell phone and where the movie is.

With some embodiments according to the invention, Joe points his cell phone (or other PWD) at the TV and presses a key on the cell phone, which then also starts displaying "Tomb Raiders of Timbuk 2" on its display. In this embodiment, the cell phone receives the movie from a compatible terrestrial broadcast of the movie, rather than from the TV. Note that if the TV is displaying pre-recorded content, then according to another embodiment, the actual content can be downloaded from the TV to Joe's cell phone or other portable device quickly, faster than real-time, assuming that the Digital Rights Management (DRM) requirements, if any, are met for the content and Joe's cell phone. (a similar case of pre-recorded content is outlined in scenario # 3.) if "Tomb Raiders of Timbuk 2" is not receivable on a cell phone (or via terrestrial broadcast or 3G transmission, etc.), Joe is notified that the content is not accessible on the cell phone, or is asked whether it is willing to pay for receiving content from a cell phone (or other) content provider as advanced 3G (premoium 3G) or broadcast content.

Scene #2

Mary is watching a live news broadcast on her cell phone on a bus (via DVB-H, 3G, DMB (digital multimedia satellite broadcast for mobile devices) or a conventional terrestrial TV broadcast, etc.) on the way home from work. As she enters her home, she wants to continue watching the news on her living room TV to take advantage of the larger display and enhanced audio capabilities. In this embodiment, Mary simply points her cell phone at her TV. In response, the TV turns on and begins to display the live news program Mary is watching on her cell phone.

Scene #3

Children are watching cartoons on the living room TV. These cartoons were prerecorded from earlier broadcasts via a PVR (personal video recorder, also known as digital video recorder). However, mom needs to go to work and she must take the kids with her. But children insist on watching cartoons.

In this case, according to one embodiment of the present invention, mom points her cell phone at the TV (or PVR) and presses a key. This causes the cartoons content on the PVR to be synchronized (in this case downloaded quickly) to her cell phone. She places the child in the back seat of the van, points the cell phone at the van's video entertainment display and presses another key on the cell phone which causes the cell phone's content to be synchronized (in this case downloaded, or streamed from the phone in real time) to the car's video system which continues to play cartoons for the child.

It should be noted that similar scenarios can also be used for music without accompanying video or video without accompanying audio. It should also be noted that mom may also allow children to see the content on the cell phone during walking from the living room to the van if they cannot lose the cartoon for a few seconds.

In the above scenario, any mobile device (i.e., PWD) may be used (e.g., a personal video game console or a palm-top computer may be used) instead of a cellular telephone, as the primary and secondary devices. So "synchronization" between the mobile devices themselves may also occur. Note that a number of solutions supporting DRM (digital rights management) are possible, but as DRM is not within the scope of this document it is not described here. Many other scenarios are possible, sharing home video on a friend's TV, synchronizing content from camcorder to home TV/PVR, etc. without departing from embodiments according to the invention. In certain preferred embodiments, the transfer is accomplished simply by "pointing to the target device" to synchronize and actuate the appropriate switches in any suitable user interface. Therefore, as generally described in the above-described scenario, it is desirable to be able to provide a user with continuous location-shifting content. Thus, in describing various exemplary embodiments disclosed herein, the term "television system" is used to broadly cover non-limiting examples of some devices capable of receiving television broadcasts or playing television content or television-like content or other audiovisual, audio or video content, such as PVRs, video cassette recorders (video cassette recorders), Digital Versatile Disk (DVD) players, camcorders, televisions, and television set-top boxes.

For the purposes of this document, any suitable Portable Wireless Device (PWD) may be used as the mobile device described in the above scenario. Examples of such devices are cellular telephones, wireless telephones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), palm top computers, as well as personal information managers, game consoles, and the like.

Turning now to FIG. 1, one embodiment of a system that operates generally as described above is shown in block diagram form. In this system, the television system 200 communicates with the portable wireless device 22 as described above in, for example, scenario No. 1. In this embodiment, the television system 20 may incorporate a television receiver in the form of a television set-top box (STB), a television set, or a Personal Video Recorder (PVR), such as a device for receiving cable or satellite transmissions. Such a television receiver is shown as the upper block 26 in the television system 20. Television system 20 may similarly be a system of multiple interconnected individual components, or may be housed in one or more enclosures in any combination, without departing from embodiments in accordance with the invention. The television receiver 26 is connected, for example, via a bus 28, with a Central Processing Unit (CPU)30 that monitors the operation of the television system 20. Although a single bus is described in this description, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate in view of the present teachings that multiple buses and multiple processors may be used to implement the operation of television system 20 described herein.

The CPU 30 communicates with the memory 32 via the bus 28. In addition, the CPU 30 controls the operation of the wireless transmitter 34 and the wireless receiver 36, and regulates data to and from the wireless transmitter 34 and the wireless receiver 36. Television system 20 incorporates one or more user interfaces 38 that allow a user to interact with the television system. As will become apparent subsequently, memory 32 may include Electronic Program Guide (EPG) data as well as an operating system and other operating instructions utilized by central processing unit 30. The wireless transmitter 34 of the television system 20 communicates with the portable wireless device 22 via the wireless receiver 40 of the portable wireless device 22. Similarly, the television system 20 communicates with the wireless transmitter 42 of the portable wireless device 22 via the wireless receiver 36. PWD 22 similarly includes a central processing unit 44, the central processing unit 44 being coupled to an operating memory 52, audio circuitry 54, a display driver 56, and a display 60 via one or more buses 48.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the memory 52 may comprise a combination of storage technologies including, but not limited to, Random Access Memory (RAM), flash memory or magnetic disk storage, and other forms of storage such as Read Only Memory (ROM) devices. As will be described later, in some embodiments, the memory 52 may be used to store content downloaded from a content provider.

In the illustrated example, the portable wireless device 22 may be a cellular or other wireless telephone device, wherein the telephone circuit 64 is present in the PWD 22 and the telephone circuit 64 operates under the control of a central processing unit. Also present in the portable wireless device 22 is a user interface, which may be any suitable user interface 68 for interacting with a user of the portable wireless device 22.

Therefore, a Portable Wireless Device (PWD) according to some embodiments has a transmitter that transmits a wireless request from the PWD, wherein the request includes a request for program identification information relating to a television program currently being received by a recipient device. The receiver receives a response from the recipient device, wherein the response conveys the program identifying information to the PWD. The identifying information is used to identify a wireless source that is compatible with the PWD receiving the television program. The transmitter transmits an order (order) for the television program from the PWD to the identified wireless source. The PWD receives a wirelessly transmitted television program from the identified source.

A Portable Wireless Device (PWD) according to some embodiments has a receiver that receives a wirelessly transmitted television program on the PWD and a wireless receiver that receives a request for identifying information relating to the television program that the PWD is currently receiving. The wireless transmitter transmits a response containing identification information identifying the program currently being received by the PWD.

A television apparatus according to some embodiments has a wireless receiver that receives a request from a wireless device, where the request includes a request for a television program that is currently being played by the television receiver system. The processor retrieves a television program currently being played by the television receiver system. The wireless transmitter transmits the television program currently being received to the wireless device.

A television receiver device according to some embodiments has a wireless receiver that receives instructions from a wireless device, wherein the instructions include a request to tune to a specified television program identified by transmitted program identification information. An Electronic Program Guide (EPG) having information of available television programs is retrieved that is available to the television receiver device. The processor associates the specified program identification information with the EPG information to identify the channel carrying the specified program. The television tuner tunes to the identified channel. For tuner-less implementations of televisions, such as with IPTV (internet protocol television), the television selects a multicast/broadcast IP stream corresponding to the identified channel or requests transmission of the corresponding IP stream from the service provider if the stream has not been multicast/broadcast.

Another television apparatus in accordance with some embodiments has a wireless receiver that receives a request from a wireless device, where the request includes a request for Electronic Program Guide (EPG) information relating to a television program currently being received by the television receiver system. The processor retrieves EPG information identifying a television program currently being received by the television receiver system. The wireless transmitter transmits EPG information identifying the television program currently being received to the wireless device.

One mode of operation of a pair of devices 20 and 22 is shown in fig. 2 as process 80, beginning at 84. At 84, assume that the television system is playing a television program that is already in progress. If the user of portable wireless device 22 wishes to begin receiving an in-progress program on portable wireless device 22, the user triggers an appropriate command from user interface 68 and PWD 22 sends a request to the television system at 86. At 90, the television system receives the command, and at 92, the television system retrieves Electronic Program Guide (EPG) data for the currently playing program. The television system then transmits the electronic program guide data stored in memory 32 to wireless receiver 40 of PWD 22 via wireless transmitter 34 at 96.

At this point, portable wireless device 22 utilizes its wireless communication capability via telephone circuitry or wireless transmitter 42 to locate the source of the program identified by the EPG data received from television system 20. At 100, PWD 22 may locate the source of the program, which may be any of a number of potential sources of television programs. Identification may be accomplished by identifying the same television program name or other identifier (e.g., VCR + code, etc.). At 100, cellular infrastructure such as CDMA2000 or 802.16, DVB-H or DMB may be used as a source of the desired program by way of example and not limitation. Once the programming source is located at 100, PWD 22 presents the user with options for the programming source (assuming more than one source is identified). Once the options are presented to the user at 104, the user selects the options via the user interface at 106 (or if only one option is available, the option is presented to the user at 106). If no options are identified at 106, processing exits at 110 and the user is notified via an appropriate error message that no content is available for the portable wireless device.

After selecting the option at 106, PWD 22 retrieves overhead information (if any) for the television program at 114. At 116, the PWD presents the overhead information (if any) to the user for approval. If the user chooses not to continue at 120, processing exits at 110. If, however, the user elects to continue at 120, PWD 22 calculates the current play position of the program (if relevant, i.e., in the case where the program is a pay-per-view program or a video-on-demand program) at 124. The PWD 22 then requests a stream of program content beginning at the current play position for VOD at 128. For non-VOD content, the PWD 22 and television content may be substantially synchronized as a result of being generated by the same source (e.g., a real-time news broadcast or a network-provided program). At 132, the PWD begins receiving a stream of television programs beginning at the current play position in one embodiment, or receives a downloaded television program in another embodiment. At 136, the PWD begins playing back the program (or in another embodiment stores the program for later retrieval).

According to the above process 80, via the user interface of PWD 22, a user can obtain a transition or simultaneous playback of a program being played on the television system by simply pointing PWD 22 at television system 20 and operating a designated control of the user interface. Therefore, PWD 22 utilizes its wireless transmitter 42 to initiate the transfer of electronic program guide information from television system 20. Television system 20 receives a request for this information via wireless receiver 36 and then transmits the EPG information to wireless receiver 40 using wireless transmitter 34. At this point, PWD 22 may identify alternate television programming sources that are compatible with PWD 22, as previously described. The portable wireless device 22 may then begin receiving the streamed selected television program or download certain programs to the memory 52 of the PWD for subsequent playback under the control of the user.

In process 80, the user is able to substantially effect a playback transition from television system 20 to a portable wireless device such as a telephone or palmtop computer. This is convenient for a user who is leaving the location of television system 20, for example, to a friend's house. However, it is also desirable that once the user reaches his destination, he can enjoy the remaining television programming with a larger format video display. Therefore, the user may wish to utilize a similar process to transfer television program identification from the portable wireless device to a larger format television system. One example process for implementing such a transition is shown as process 150 of FIG. 3, beginning at 152.

At 152, the PWD 22 is playing a program that is already in progress, but desires to begin enjoying the television program on the television system. To accomplish this, at 154, the user aims the PWD at a target television system (such as 20) and sends an instruction via wireless transmitter 42 to wireless receiver 36 of television system 20. The instruction sent at 154 instructs the television system to begin playing back the program. At 158, the television system acknowledges receipt of the indication, otherwise an error message is generated at 162 to notify the user that television system 20 has not acknowledged receipt of the instruction. Once the command is acknowledged, the subsequent action depends on whether the television system 20 is in standby mode at 164. If so, the television system is powered up at 168. However, if the television system is already powered up at 164, then power up at 168 is unnecessary and bypassed.

PWD 22 then transmits program guide data associated with the currently playing program via wireless transmitter 42 at 172. This information is received at the wireless receiver 36. Under the control of CPU 30, television system 20 retrieves electronic program guide data to determine what programs are currently available to the television system. The television system then searches the EPG data for a matching program at 180. If no matching program is found at 184, an error message is displayed at the television system and/or portable wireless device at 162.

If a corresponding television program is found at 184, television system 20 determines whether a fee is required for viewing the program at 186. If no fee is required, the television system tunes to the program and begins playing at the current program location, if possible, 188. In one embodiment, the PWD also terminates playback of the program at 190, or the user may manually terminate playback of the program.

If the service provider allows the program to be viewed on only one device at any time without a premium (e.g., only on the television or only on the PWD or neither at any given time), the television system 20 may actually take over playback from the PWD if the user wishes to pay no premium on both devices at the same time.

If a fee is required 186, the television system 20 presents the user with cost information and asks whether the fee is accepted 192. If the user does not accept the fee, control returns to 152 at 196. If, however, the user accepts the fee, control passes to 188 as previously described.

Therefore, the method for providing portable delivery of television programs to a Portable Wireless Device (PWD) according to fig. 3 to 4 includes: transmitting a request from the PWD to the television receiver system, the request including an electronic program guide for a television program related to a television program currently being received by the television receiver system

A request for (EPG) information; receiving a response from the television receiver system, wherein the response conveys the EPG information to the PWD; identifying a source compatible with the PWD for receiving the television program using the identifying information from the EPG; transmitting an order for the television program from the PWD to the identified source; and receiving a wirelessly transmitted television program from the source to the PWD.

In some embodiments, variations may be implemented wherein receiving the wireless transmission includes receiving one of a download and a streaming of the television program. In other embodiments, the TV receiver may be one of a television, a Personal Video Recorder (PVR), and a television set-top box. The source compatible with the PWD may be, for example, one of DVBH, DMB, and cellular infrastructure (cellular infrastructure). The source compatible with the PWD may comprise a cellular infrastructure such as CDMA2000 or IEEE 802.16. Identifying may include identifying television program sources having the same program identifier. Transmitting the request may include transmitting a wireless signal from the PWD to the television system. Sending the order may include placing the order via a cellular telephone infrastructure. Receiving a wireless transmission of a television program may include receiving a high-speed data transmission via a cellular telephone infrastructure.

Another method for providing portable delivery of television programs using a Portable Wireless Device (PWD) includes: receiving, at the television receiver system, an instruction transmitted from the PWD, the instruction including television program information relating to a television program currently being received by the PWD; retrieving Electronic Program Guide (EPG) data for channels available to the television receiver; identifying television receiver channels available for providing television programs by using television program information for identifying television program entries in the EPG; the television receiver tuning to the identified television program; and the television receiver receives the identified television program.

In some embodiments, the TV receiver is one of a television, a Personal Video Recorder (PVR) and a television set-top box. Identifying the channel may include comparing the EPG data to the data transmitted from the PWD to identify a television program channel having the same program identifier. Receiving the instruction includes receiving a wireless signal from the PWD to the television system using mm-wave, infrared, or Radio Frequency (RF) communication.

Turning now to fig. 4, a variation of some embodiments according to the invention is shown. In this embodiment, a portable wireless device 22 (substantially similar to the previous portable wireless device 22) is also in communication with a television system 20 (substantially similar to the television system 20 of FIG. 1). However, in this embodiment, the PWD 22 requests EPG data from the television system 20, and the EPG data is provided from the television system 20 to the portable wireless device 22 in a manner similar to that described previously. Once the PWD 22 has the EPG data for the currently playing television program, the PWD places an order for the program from the program routing service 200. The program routing service 200 receives the order and obtains the television program from a cable or satellite television service provider (or alternatively from a terrestrial broadcast or other source of television programs) and then provides the program directly to the portable wireless device 22. In fact, the program routing service may be affiliated with service provider 204 or may be affiliated with a wireless telephone service provider to provide services to PWD 22.

Although the reverse process, i.e., the portable wireless device transmitting EPG data to television system 20 for television system 20 to acquire a corresponding television program from cable or satellite (or other) television service provider 204, is not explicitly shown in fig. 4, it is also possible.

Therefore, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a method for providing portable delivery of television programs to a Portable Wireless Device (PWD) comprises: transmitting a request from the PWD to the television receiver system, the request including a request for Electronic Program Guide (EPG) information relating to a television program currently being received by the television receiver system; receiving a response from the television receiver system, wherein the response conveys the EPG information to the PWD; transmitting the EPG information to a Routing Service Provider (RSP); sending an order for the television program from the PWD to the RSP; and receiving the television program wirelessly transmitted from the RSP, wherein the RSP obtains the television program from the program provider.

Turning now to fig. 5, a more detailed process 210 is described for the operation of the system shown in fig. 4, the process 210 beginning at 212 where the television system is playing a program that is already in progress at 212. At 216, the user points the PWD 22 to the television system 20 and requests, via a user interface on the PWD 22, the television system to send EPG data back to the PWD. Television system 20 then receives the request at 220 and retrieves EPG data for the current program at 224. The television system then transmits the electronic program guide data for the current program to the PWD 22 at 228.

Once the PWD 22 has the EPG data for the current program, it can transmit the EPG data to the program routing service 200 at 232 and pre-route the program to the portable wireless device 22. At 236, the television program routing service receives programs from a cable or satellite or IPTV (internet protocol television) service 204 or the like. In the event there is overhead associated with routing the television program to the PWD 22, at 240, the PRS 200 may transmit overhead data to the PWD via wireless transmission. (in other embodiments, program routing may be provided by subscription or otherwise.) if the portable wireless device fails to confirm the desire to receive the program for a specified fee, processing exits at 250. Otherwise, if the user confirms at 244 that it is desired to receive the television program, control proceeds to 254, the PRS receives the program from the cable company at 254, and reformats the program for display on the portable wireless device at 260.

According to certain embodiments, the PRS 200 may stream or download content to the portable wireless device 22. If streaming is used, control proceeds to 264 where the portable wireless device receives an information stream containing the television program from the PRS at 264. If the content is to be downloaded, some form of DRM (digital rights management) may need to be implemented at 270, and then the PRS downloads the program to the PWD at 274. Various forms of DRM or Copy Protection (Copy Protection) may also be used for streamed content, depending on the details of the content and implementation.

In yet another embodiment according to the present invention, as shown in fig. 6, a portable wireless device such as 22 may obtain downloads of program content previously recorded on the personal video recorder 20. Additionally, the PWD may transfer the program to a personal video recorder. Personal video recorders are commonly referred to as digital video recorders because the recording medium is typically a hard disk drive or other digital medium. A process 300 for obtaining a download from the personal video recorder 20 to the portable wireless device 22 is shown as the process 300 of fig. 7 beginning at 304, where the program is played from the PVR at 304. The wireless portable device 22 sends a request to the PVR for the current program (or in another embodiment, at 308, the portable wireless device sends a request to the PVR for a selected program identified via an appropriate user interface). The PVR receives the request at 312 and performs DRM management functions at 316 if needed. In some embodiments, the user may determine at 320 whether the television program needs to be reformatted before being downloaded to the portable wireless device 22. In some embodiments, it may be advantageous to reformat (i.e., translate and transcode) the program to save storage space on the portable wireless device. Since the portable wireless device may have a smaller screen than the screen on which information is displayed directly from the PVR, substantial memory savings can be realized through reformatting. However, it may be desirable to obtain a copy of the content that is not reformatted so that it can be restored to another personal video recorder. Note that it is also possible for the TV to act as a proxy for the PVR. In this case, the PWD interacts with the TV, and the TV presents information to the PWD on behalf of the PVR.

If the user chooses to reformat the content, control proceeds to 324 where the PVR reformats the remaining program (or all of the programs) for display by the portable wireless device at 324. Control then proceeds to 328. If at 320, reformatting is not selected, control also passes to 328 where the PVR downloads the program to the portable wireless device via a high speed wireless connection at 328. The portable wireless device then stores the program for subsequent playback or immediately begins playing the program at 334.

Fig. 8 illustrates the reverse operation, wherein a request to download a program from a portable wireless device is sent from the portable wireless device to the PVR. If the program is currently playing at 358, control passes to 362 where the DRM management process may be invoked at 362. The programming may then be downloaded from the portable wireless device to the PVR at 364. If the program is not currently playing at 358, the user may be presented with a menu or other user interface at 368 that allows the user to select a program for download. The DRM management function is then performed at 372 and the program is downloaded from the portable wireless device to the PVR at 380. Although the reformatting operation is not explicitly shown in process 350 of fig. 8, the reformatting operation may also be provided as an option in the same manner as provided in process 300.

Referring now to fig. 9, it is also possible in some embodiments according to the present invention to transfer program identification information or the program itself from one portable wireless device to another. Fig. 9 shows a portable wireless device a as PWD 20 and a portable wireless device B as PWD 420. In this embodiment, the two devices are substantially similar in that they are both capable of at least performing the functions described and communicating using compatible protocols. The process for performing this function is shown as process 430 of FIG. 10. The process begins at 434 where a message requesting synchronization of a public television program is transmitted from portable wireless device a to portable wireless device B at 434. At 438, portable wireless device B acknowledges the message or generates an error message at 442. Once successfully acknowledged and the initial handshake operation for communication is achieved between the two portable wireless devices, portable wireless device B acknowledges the desire to synchronize with portable wireless device a, otherwise an error message is generated at 450 and the synchronization process terminates. If portable wireless device B accepts the synchronization request at 446, one of two options may occur. In option one, the DRM management function is performed at 454 and portable wireless device a transmits the television program directly to portable wireless device B via the high-speed wireless interface. If option two is utilized, program identification information is sent from portable wireless device A to portable wireless device B at 462. If desired, the DRM function may be performed at 466, and then portable wireless device B retrieves the program from the same source as that used by portable wireless device A using the program identifying information received at 462 at 470. In this manner, a pair of portable wireless devices may be synchronized to receive the same television program (or other content). So if two people wish to view the same program, they do not have to share the screen on the same portable wireless device (which may be small for multiple viewers and/or difficult in providing audio programming to both users).

Therefore, according to some embodiments, a method for providing synchronized delivery of content to a plurality of Portable Wireless Devices (PWDs) comprises: transmitting a synchronization message from the first PWD to the second PWD; requesting to synchronously receive the content being played by the first PWD; transmitting program identifying information from the first PWD to the second PWD, the program identifying information including implied or explicit source identifying information; sending an order for the content from the second PWD to the source identified by the source identifying information; and receiving content wirelessly transmitted from the identified source to the second PWD. The content may be downloaded or streamed, and the content may be a television program, audio or video, or other audiovisual content.

In another embodiment, a method for synchronizing content for a plurality of Portable Wireless Devices (PWDs) comprises: transmitting a wireless synchronization message from the first PWD to the second PWD; requesting synchronization of content being played by the first PWD; and synchronizing the content by transmitting the content from one of the first PWD and the second PWD to the other of the first PWD and the second PWD.

Thus, as described above, television programming or other content of audio, video or audio-visual may be made portable so that a user may carry the programming from place to place without interrupting viewing, if desired.

One exemplary proposed embodiment of a system according to the present invention has four main components/functions:

(a) directional and (ideal) line-of-sight transmission (1ine-of-sight) wireless transmitter/receiver on a mobile device;

(b) a directional or semi-omnidirectional and (ideally but not necessarily) line-of-sight transmitting wireless transmitter/receiver (or a second instance of element (a)) on a fixed device (e.g., a large screen TV);

(c) the above radio transmitter/receiver (Tx/Rx) may be low-speed or high-speed. If they are low speed, then additional independent high speed wireless Tx/Rx may be used on both the mobile and the fixed devices. These high speed devices may be directional or omnidirectional.

(d) Communication protocol between all devices. A common and preferably standardized protocol is established to validate the wireless link between the devices to exchange information about the program being viewed (e.g., name, channel, etc.) and, if desired, the actual AV (audio visual) content during synchronization. Additionally, the communication protocol may also optionally perform authentication/encryption for privacy/confidentiality if the owner of the device and/or DRM use encryption enablement.

One embodiment according to the present invention is described below. Fixed devices (e.g., TVs) have semi-omni-directional wireless transmitters/receivers implemented using mm-wave (e.g., 60-80GHz) wireless RF technology. A suitable horn antenna (horn antenna) is used to provide semi-omni-directionality to provide a beamwidth of, for example, 45 degrees. During synchronization, semi-omni-directional on the TV (or other base unit such as a PVR) is desirable for the user's convenience (so as not to make it too difficult to "align" the mobile device with the TV's wireless beam, and at the same time not to be so wide that the TV receives signals from an incorrect direction such as behind the TV).

Millimeter wave (mm-wave) technology provides high speed (-Gbps) throughput with relatively low power consumption per bit, and the slightly higher attenuation for mm-waves than 802.11x technology limits interference from other devices and unintentional "privacy intrusions," the latter being important in certain scenarios without enabling encryption. Although materials of these wavelengths have high reflectivity, interference is also limited by the directionality of the antenna which limits the range of directions of the originating and received RF energy.

mm-wave technology can also be implemented on mobile devices, but is typically made more directional (narrower beamwidth antennas). This allows the user to make an accurate selection among one or more target devices for synchronization, which is possible for the user since the mobile device is mobile.

When mm-wave technology is used, ideally Tx and Rx are used for initial communication/handshaking between two devices being synchronized and for actual high-speed data (content) transfer between these devices, for the case where the latter is needed as described in the scenario (i.e. when pre-recorded content is synchronized).

If the content being synchronized is live content, then according to this embodiment, only the content descriptors (program name, channel) may be sent and the receiving device attempts to locate and receive content from that channel or other channels having the same content. Therefore, the EPG information suitable for the relevant receiving method can be used by one or both devices.

Note that different devices may locate different content sources. For example, a large screen TV may receive content via cable HDTV or satellite broadcast. Another device may find the same content in a terrestrial SDTV broadcast, while a cell phone or other PWD device may find the same content in a DVB-H or SDTV terrestrial broadcast or an SDTV satellite or 3G transmission.

It is also noted that during synchronization of pre-recorded content, the content may be transcoded and/or translated based on the capabilities of the two devices, which may also be overridden by user preferences.

In some scenarios, it may be necessary or desirable to be able to tell the mobile device whether to synchronize currently viewed content from the target device to the mobile device on which the "synchronize" button was pressed, or whether to synchronize currently viewed content on the mobile device to the target device, as both devices may be currently displaying content. This may be accomplished, for example, using arrow keys on the mobile device (the up arrow indicating "away from user" to transfer content from the mobile device to the target device, and the down key head indicating "toward user" to transfer content from the target device to the mobile device).

In the above example, the wireless technology used is based on mm-waves. However, this is not the only option and the invention should not be considered as limited to this embodiment. Alternatively, suitable directional UWB (ultra wide band) or free space optical transmission techniques may be used, as they are both high bandwidth and low interference implementations. Free-space optics (free-space optics) is less preferred because of its stricter directivity, which makes it more demanding for users, but it can potentially make it more secure for high security applications. An omnidirectional implementation (e.g., an omnidirectional antenna for UWB or other 802.11 x) is used for implementations that allow a user to place a cell phone/mobile Phone (PWD) in any direction (e.g., on a couch) to download/upload content longer than 4-5 seconds, as some users may feel tired keeping the mobile device pointed at the target device for the entire period of large content. At a data rate of 1Gbps for mm-wave (e.g., 60GHz) implementations, a 2.5 hour SD MPEG-2 movie would take 30 seconds to download; h264 compression can reduce it to 10 seconds. Other wireless technologies such as 802.11x may also be used, however these technologies are generally less preferred due to the potential for greater problems with interference from other RF devices (including other 802.11x devices), although the lack of directivity may be compensated for as follows: the optical mechanism or selectively directional RF beam determines the spatial alignment and line-of-sight transmission conditions (for target device selection) and thus the 802.11x or omni-directional UWB or other omni-directional wireless methods for actual content transmission.

An omni-directional implementation of UWB may also be used as the only wireless technology, and in this case synchronization occurs between devices that are close enough to each other than pointing towards each other. While this is an acceptable implementation, it is not always the ideal implementation presented here, as it is not always possible to approach the target device.

There is a simplified implementation according to some embodiments of the present invention that allows a mobile device to synchronize its content with that of a TV system, but not necessarily vice versa. It works as follows. The TV system continuously transmits EPG information for the program currently being displayed on the TV (using one or more of the wireless technologies described previously). EPG transmission from the TV will occur regardless of whether there are any "listening" mobile devices. If and when a user with a mobile device is in the vicinity of the TV, the user can have his/her mobile device receive (or "acquire") and synchronize with the broadcast EPG information without handshaking or any transmission from the mobile device to the TV. Such an embodiment is very useful for public view television systems such as bars, streets, etc.

Note that in this context, several mobile devices, including cellular phones, have used flash memory or HDDs with 4+ Gbyte storage space, so the storage on these mobile devices is sufficient to implement all the described embodiments of the invention, and this storage is increasing with the development of economy.

Note that according to some embodiments, owners of TVs or other devices that place their TVs or other devices in a public location may use a menu type "enable/disable" option or conditional option such as "only allow synchronization for mobile devices with the correct real key" to limit whether any synchronization with the device occurs, and if so, in what (or both) directions the synchronization is allowed to occur.

In scenario #3 described above, a mode is briefly mentioned in which a mobile device (e.g., a cellular telephone) can selectively stream to a separate display in real-time without requiring the display to store the content. This mode places higher demands on the battery of the cell phone or other PWD and may not be ideal if the cell phone battery is substantially depleted. However, if the cellular phone battery capacity is sufficient (or if mains power is used to power the cellular phone), the portable device may stream directly to a display (e.g., a car display, a large screen TV, etc.) in real time at SD or HD resolution. This mode may simplify the DRM problem for content transfer, as the content may be considered to always be on the cell phone. Note that in other examples, the content may be audiovisual content, may be audio-only content or video-only content. In this case, the mobile device becomes a mobile content store and player, but may also be used for wireless streaming to a separate display (and/or a separate audio player). Such mobile "personal storage" (i.e., potentially large libraries of AV content) for large amounts of content is becoming increasingly more feasible with the rapid increase in overhead for content storage overhead and storage capacity. In these embodiments, where DRM is an issue, it is advantageous to use encoded (e.g. HDCP) encoded "baseband" (uncompressed) content to send content from the portable device to an external display, since uncompressed but encrypted content is considered more secure than compressed and encrypted content for copy protection and DRM. Note that under certain conditions, the proposed wireless transmission technologies (mm-wave, free-space optical system, and UWB) can all support data rates of 1+ Gbps even required to transmit HD uncompressed content.

Note that it is not necessary to "turn on" the TV before synchronizing and displaying content to the TV via the mobile device. Just as a conventional remote control can be used to trigger a TV in a "standby" state, the TV can be turned on in the same way by initiating synchronization to the TV. The radio of the TV may be maintained in a low power consumption state in which the radio of the TV monitors for an initial received signal from the mobile device and upon monitoring for the initial received signal enters a higher power consumption state for further interrogation of the mobile device and potential power of the entire TV.

Although the embodiments disclosed herein are disclosed in terms of television programs as content of interest, other embodiments are possible. For example, consider a pair of portable music players. A user of a first music player (e.g., MP3 player) may send identification information for a current play selection to a second music player using a process similar to that described, where the second music player may receive downloads or streaming from a wireless source based on the identification information from the source. Any of the processes shown in the flow diagrams may be suitably modified for use with audio and pure video content by appropriate substitution of appropriate sources and destinations. For the sake of brevity of the present disclosure, each possible scenario is not illustrated by a separate flowchart process. Alternatively, the following table provides a non-exhaustive list of many possibilities, which are applicable to the processes and devices described above.

Other combinations are possible without departing from embodiments according to the invention.

In some embodiments according to the invention, the television may not be able to transmit to the PWD for a number of reasons. In this embodiment, the program description information cannot be transmitted from the TV to the mobile device in the manner described above, since the TV cannot access its own program description information and/or since the TV has not yet implemented wireless communications as used in the previous embodiments. In this case, the program being played on the television can be identified using the cellular phone and the cellular network without assistance from the TV.

In this embodiment, a cellular telephone (or other mobile device) is used to take a picture, short video or audio sample of a program being played by a television. The cell phone or other PWD then image processes the photo, video or audio sample and extracts attributes of the information such as edges, objects, relative sizes, text, audio and/or the like. This information is then transmitted via the mobile device to the mobile device's network service provider where it is compared to a dynamic database of similar characteristics of video content being broadcast simultaneously or otherwise provided by the various television sources to identify matching program groups that the network may begin transmitting to the mobile device. In a variation of this embodiment, raw, unprocessed video and/or audio may be sent to the service provider and all processing occurs at the service provider using its processing resources.

To facilitate the matching process, the mobile handset may also provide information such as digitized audio of a program on the TV (the mobile device uses its built-in microphone to record the audio) and GPS or other location information of the mobile handset.

Alternatively, any of the actions described above may occur at a service node (i.e., at a service provider) on a cellular network, which reduces the computational requirements on the mobile handset. The matching may be based on matching of images, video or audio or any combination of the three.

All embodiments described herein may be performed not only for content synchronization from a host TV to a mobile device capable of displaying TV content, but also for synchronization from one mobile video device to another.

Referring now to FIG. 11, a flow chart 500 depicting an exemplary process embodiment according to the present invention is shown beginning at 502. At 504, video, still images, audio, GPS data, and/or other data is captured using video, audio, or GPS data acquired by video, audio, or GPS recording circuits 506 or 508 of FIG. 1, which form a part of the PWD 22. The captured data is then processed to extract important attributes (e.g., edges, objects, relative sizes, text, audio, and/or the like) at 512 (in this example, at PWD 22). The processed attributes are then sent to the service provider at 516. The service provider then matches these attributes to a dynamic database, such as content sent from a local source, or a popular movie, to identify the program currently playing on the television, at 520. If a match is not found at 524, a message may be sent to PWD 22 indicating that a match was not found at 528 and processing ends at 530. However, if a match is found at 524, a message is sent from the service provider to PWD 22 indicating that a match has been found at 532. PWD 22 then places an order for the content at 536, and the service provider may begin streaming (or sending) the content to PWD 22 at 540 until the end at 530. Any suitable payment scheme may be incorporated into this process. In addition, elements 512 and 516 can be readily interchanged, such that all processing of the captured information is performed at the service provider.

In certain embodiments, GPS data identifying the location of the PWD 22 may be used to reduce the likelihood that the program will go to a possible place via broadcast, cable or satellite in a particular geographic area, thereby simplifying the search. Additionally, the image processing performed at 512 may include searching the captured data for recognizable watermarks that are aids in program identification, such as network identifiers and on-screen display (OSD) data.

Therefore, a method of providing portable delivery of television programs to a Portable Wireless Device (PWD) according to some embodiments includes: capturing a sample of a program being played by the television using the PWD; sending the attributes of the captured sample to a service provider so that the service provider can identify the program being played by the television; and receiving, at the PWD, the television program from the service provider via the wireless transmission.

In some embodiments, the captured sample includes at least one of an audio, video, and still image sample of the program. In some embodiments, the attributes include the captured sample. In some embodiments, the attributes include at least one of information defining edges of the displayed objects, relative sizes of the displayed objects, text appearing in the image, and audio samples. In some embodiments, the service provider comprises one of DVBH, DMB, and cellular infrastructure. In some embodiments, the service provider comprises a cellular telephone network selected from the group consisting of CDMA2000 and IEEE802.16 compliant networks. In some embodiments, an order for a program is sent to the portable wireless device. In some embodiments, the order is sent via a cellular telephone network. In some embodiments, receiving the wirelessly transmitted television program includes receiving a high speed data transmission via a cellular telephone network. In certain embodiments, the PWD comprises one of a cellular telephone, a wireless telephone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a palm-top computer, a personal information manager, and a game console. In certain embodiments, the sample is captured via a camera (camera) forming part of the PWD. In certain embodiments, the sample is captured via an audio recorder forming part of the PWD. The computer readable storage medium may carry instructions for: any process according to an embodiment of the invention is performed when the instructions are executed on a programmed processor.

In some embodiments, a method for providing portable delivery of television programs to a Portable Wireless Device (PWD) comprises: capturing an audio or video sample of a program being played by the television using the PWD with an audio or video recorder forming part of the PWD, wherein the captured sample comprises at least one of an audio, video and still image sample of the program; sending the attributes of the captured sample to a service provider so that the service provider can identify the program being played by the television; transmitting an order for a program to be transmitted to the portable wireless device; and receiving, at the PWD, the television program from the service provider via the wireless transmission.

In some embodiments, the attributes include the captured sample. In some embodiments, the attributes include at least one of information defining edges of the displayed objects, relative sizes of the displayed objects, text appearing in the image, GPS data, and audio samples. In some embodiments, the service provider comprises one of DVBH, DMB, and cellular infrastructure. In certain embodiments, the PWD comprises one of a cellular telephone, a wireless telephone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a palm-top computer, a personal information manager, and a game console.

In certain embodiments, a Portable Wireless Device (PWD) apparatus that receives delivery of a television program has an audio or video recorder forming part of the PWD for capturing audio or video samples of the program being played by the television, wherein the captured samples include at least one of audio, video, GPS data, and still image samples of the program. The transmitter transmits the attributes of the captured sample to the service provider so that the service provider can identify the program being played by the television. The receiver receives a television program from a television transmitter via a wireless transmission at the PWD. In some embodiments, the service provider identifying the program being broadcast may be different from the service provider providing the television transmitter to the PWD, and in some embodiments, both functions may be performed by a single service provider.

In some embodiments, the transmitter also transmits an order for a program to be transmitted to the portable wireless device. In some embodiments, the attributes include the captured sample. In some embodiments, the attributes include at least one of information defining edges of the displayed objects, relative sizes of the displayed objects, text appearing in the image, GPS data, and audio samples. In some embodiments, the service provider comprises one of DVBH, DMB, and cellular infrastructure. In certain embodiments, the PWD comprises one of a cellular telephone, a wireless telephone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a palm-top computer, a personal information manager, and a game console.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the above teachings that some of the above exemplary embodiments are based on the use of a programmed processor, such as CPU 30 and CPU 40. However, the invention is not limited to these exemplary embodiments, as other embodiments may be implemented using hardware component equivalents such as special purpose hardware and/or dedicated processors. Similarly, general purpose computers, computer-based microprocessors, microcontrollers, optical computers, analog computers, special purpose processors, application specific circuits, and/or dedicated hard wired logic may be used to construct alternative equivalent embodiments. Therefore, there should be no difference between the hardware, software, or firmware implementations of any of the components used in implementing embodiments according to the present invention.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate, upon consideration of the above teachings, that the program operations, processes and associated data used to implement some of the above described embodiments may be implemented using disk storage and other forms of storage such as Read Only Memory (ROM) devices, Random Access Memory (RAM) devices, network memory devices, optical storage elements, magnetic storage elements, magneto-optical storage elements, flash memory, core memory and/or other equivalent volatile and non-volatile storage technologies without departing from certain embodiments of the present invention. These alternative storage devices may be generally represented by memories 32 and 52, and the alternatives discussed should be considered equivalents for purposes of this document.

Certain embodiments described herein may be implemented or may be implemented using a programmed processor executing program instructions that are broadly described above in flow chart form that can be stored on any suitable electronic or computer readable storage medium and/or transmitted over any suitable electronic communication medium. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the present teachings that the processes described above can be implemented in any number of variations and in many suitable programming languages without departing from embodiments of the present invention. For example, the order of performing certain operations may often be varied, additional operations may be added or operations may be deleted without departing from certain embodiments of the invention. Error trapping can be added and/or enhanced and variations can be made in user interface and information presentation without departing from certain embodiments of the present invention. Such variations are contemplated and considered equivalent.

While certain illustrative embodiments have been described, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, permutations and variations will become apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description.

Claims (25)

1. A method for providing portable delivery of television programming to a portable wireless device, the method comprising:

capturing a sample of a program being played by a television system from the television system using the portable wireless device while the television system is playing the program, wherein the television system is a device capable of receiving television broadcasts or playing television content;

processing the captured sample to extract attributes of the sample of the program being played by the television system;

sending the attributes of the captured sample to a service provider, thereby enabling the service provider to identify the program being played by the television system; and

receiving, at the portable wireless device, the program from the service provider via wireless transmission.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the captured samples comprise at least one of audio, video, and still image samples of the program.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the attribute comprises the captured sample.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the attribute comprises at least one of information defining: edges of displayed objects, relative sizes of displayed objects, text appearing in images, GPS data, and audio samples.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the service provider comprises one of DVBH, DMB, and cellular infrastructure.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the service provider comprises a cellular telephone network selected from the group consisting of CDMA2000 and IEEE802.16 compliant networks.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting an order for a program to be transmitted to the portable wireless device.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising sending the order via a cellular telephone network.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a wirelessly transmitted program comprises receiving a high speed data transmission via a cellular telephone network.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the portable wireless device comprises one of a cellular telephone, a wireless telephone, a personal digital assistant, a palm top computer, a personal information manager, and a game console.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the sample is captured via a camera forming part of the portable wireless device.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the sample is captured via an audio recorder forming part of the portable wireless device.

13. A method for providing portable delivery of television programming to a portable wireless device, the method comprising:

capturing from a television system, while the television system is playing a program, an audio or video sample of the program being played by the television system using an audio or video recorder that forms part of the portable wireless device, wherein the captured sample comprises at least one of an audio, video, and still image sample of the program, wherein the television system is a device capable of receiving television broadcasts or playing television content;

processing the captured sample to extract attributes of the sample of the program being played by the television system;

sending the attributes of the captured sample to a service provider, thereby enabling the service provider to identify the program being played by the television system;

sending an order for a program to be sent to the portable wireless device; and

receiving, at the portable wireless device, the program from the service provider via wireless transmission.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the attribute comprises the captured sample.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the attribute comprises at least one of information defining: edges of displayed objects, relative sizes of displayed objects, text appearing in images, GPS data, and audio samples.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the service provider comprises one of DVBH, DMB, and cellular infrastructure.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the portable wireless device comprises one of a cellular telephone, a wireless telephone, a personal digital assistant, a palm top computer, a personal information manager, and a game console.

18. A portable wireless device apparatus for receiving delivery of a television program, the apparatus comprising:

an audio or video recording device forming part of the portable wireless device, the audio or video recording device capturing audio or video samples of a program being played by a television system from the television system when the program is being played by the television system, wherein the captured samples include at least one of audio, video and still image samples of the program, wherein the television system is a device capable of receiving television broadcasts or playing television content;

a processor that processes the captured sample to extract attributes of the sample of the program being played by the television system;

a transmitter that transmits the attributes of the captured sample to a primary service provider, thereby enabling the primary service provider to identify the program being played by the television system; and

a receiver that receives the program at the portable wireless device from a television transmitter via wireless transmission.

19. The portable wireless device apparatus of claim 18 wherein the transmitter further transmits an order for a program to be transmitted to the portable wireless device.

20. The portable wireless device apparatus of claim 18, wherein the attribute comprises the captured sample.

21. The portable wireless device apparatus of claim 18, wherein the attributes comprise at least one of information defining: edges of displayed objects, relative sizes of displayed objects, text appearing in images, GPS data, and audio samples.

22. The portable wireless device apparatus of claim 18 wherein the portable wireless device comprises one of a cellular telephone, a wireless telephone, a personal digital assistant, a palm top computer, a personal computing manager, and a game console.

23. The portable wireless device apparatus of claim 18 wherein the television transmitter comprises a portion of the primary service provider.

24. The portable wireless device apparatus of claim 18, wherein the television transmitter comprises a portion of a second service provider.

25. The portable wireless device apparatus of claim 24 wherein at least one of the first service provider and the second service provider comprises one of DVBH, DMB, and cellular infrastructure.