Future capture of block matching clip

Abstract

A method and apparatus for capturing future instances of a song or a television show or the like. Responsive to a user activating a trigger, typically during the middle of the song or show, the system stores a clip and thereafter begins to monitor one or more channels or stations, attempting to locate that clip, such as by using DSP techniques. Upon finding the clip, the beginning and ending points of the song or show are identified, and the song or show is saved. Hunting may continue, to find a best available version of the song or show, such as one having the best noise characteristics.

1 . A method comprising: 
 receiving a media stream;    searching in the content for an instance of a clip that was captured from the media stream;    identifying the start of one segment including the clip as an indicator in the content; and    if the clip is found, storing said one segment of the content;    otherwise if the clip is not found, discarding a portion of previously searched content.    
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein searching for a clip comprises: 
 performing digital signal processing upon a window of the stored content to produce a digital signal processing window result;    performing digital signal processing upon the clip to produce a digital signal processing clip result; and    comparing the digital signal processing window result to the digital signal processing clip result.    
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising: 
 identifying an end point of the one segment; and    storing the one segment from the start point to the end point.    
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising: 
 finding a plurality of different clips in the content that has been stored; and    storing a plurality of segments of the content, each segment in the plurality including a corresponding clip.    
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 4  further comprising: 
 comparing every clip in said plurality to the stored content in parallel.    
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the media stream comprises video and the indicator that identifies the start includes blank frames.  
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the media stream comprises television and the indicator that identifies the start includes a predetermined time interval.  
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising: 
 receiving parameters, and wherein at least one of the searching for a clip and storing a segment are responsive to the parameters.    
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising: 
 identifying a media content item corresponding to the clip; and    obtaining the media content item from a source which is different than the media stream.    
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the source is an on-line retailer.  
   
   
       11 . An apparatus comprising: 
 a receiver to receive a digital media;    a capture trigger to designate a clip of the media stream;    a storage system coupled to the receiver to separately store the clip, the media stream, and a block of content, said block a subset of said digital media and including said clip; and    a processing system coupled to the storage system to receive an estimated time into the block of content when the capture trigger was activated, and based on the estimated time, search for the clip in the stored digital media, in response to finding the clip, identify, in the digital media, a start point of the block including the clip, and store the block from the start.    
   
   
       12 . The apparatus of  claim 11  further comprising: 
 a block manager to store a block of the digital media to the storage system, the clip a subset of the block.    
   
   
       13 . The apparatus of  claim 12  wherein the media stream comprises a radio broadcast and the block comprises a song.  
   
   
       14 . The apparatus of  claim 12  wherein the media stream comprises a television broadcast and the block comprises a television show.  
   
   
       15 . The apparatus of  claim 12  wherein the receiver is coupled to receive the media stream over a wireless broadcast channel.  
   
   
       16 . The apparatus of  claim 12  wherein the receiver is coupled to receive the media stream over a wired broadcast channel.  
   
   
       17 . The apparatus of  claim 12  further comprising: 
 an output device coupled to the receiver to play the media stream and wherein the user controls the length of the clip stored.    
   
   
       18 . The apparatus of  claim 11  wherein the processing system comprises a block manager, said block manager containing instructions that, if executed enable the processor to locate two blocks in the digital media, said blocks to include said clip.  
   
   
       19 . The apparatus of  claim 18  further including instructions that, if executed, enable the block manager to compare a first block and a second block, and to discard one of the compared blocks.  
   
   
       20 . The apparatus of  claim 19  further including instructions that, if executed, enable the block manager to discard a portion of the digital media that does not include the clip.  
   
   
       21 . The apparatus of  claim 18  wherein the storage comprises a clip storage to store the clip, a block storage to store the two blocks, and a stream storage to store the digital data corresponding with the media stream.  
   
   
       22 . A computer-readable medium comprising a machine-readable storage medium containing instructions that if executed enable a system to: 
 receive a media stream to store said media stream in a stream storage in digital form;    search in the digital data from the stream storage for an instance of a clip, the clip captured at random and other than near a start of particular content item, said capture before said search, said clip to be stored in a clip storage; and    if the clip is found, store, in a storage unit other than said stream storage, a first portion of the digital data from an identified start of the first portion to an identified endpoint of the first portion and including the clip;    otherwise if the clip is not found, discarding a portion of the digital data that has been searched.    
   
   
       23 . The medium of  claim 22  further comprising instructions that if executed enable the system to find an additional clip in the digital data at a third time later than said first time, and store a second portion of the digital data greater than and including the clip.  
   
   
       24 . The medium of  claim 23  further comprising instructions that if executed enable the system to compare the first portion to the second portion, and discard one of the portions, based on the comparison.  
   
   
       25 . The medium of  claim 22  further comprising instructions that if executed enable the system to identify a media content item corresponding to the clip, and obtain the media content item from a source which is different than the media stream.  
   
   
       26 . The medium of  claim 25  further comprising instructions that if executed enable the system to obtain the media content item from an on-line retailer.