Distributed media content transfer and access management

Abstract

A method of managing media content on a vehicle comprises storing a media content library comprising a plurality of media content items in non-volatile data storage media disposed in the vehicle, storing access rule data in the non-volatile data storage media, establishing a connection with a remote computing device over a communication link, receiving, from the remote computing device over the communication link, an indication identifying a first subset of the media content library to be designated as active, updating the access rule data to indicate that the first subset of the media content library is designated as active, and presenting at least a portion of the first subset of the media content library on a media presentation device based at least in part on said updating.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A media content management server comprising:
 non-volatile data storage media storing:
 a media content library comprising a plurality of media content items, wherein each of the plurality of media content items have a priority relative to one another, 
 association data associating users with personal electronic devices, and 
 itinerary data indicating vehicles that the users are scheduled to travel on; 
   a network interface; and   control circuitry configured to:
 identify a first user scheduled to travel on a vehicle based on the itinerary data, 
   determine a first personal electronic device of the first user based on the association data,
 determine a first portion of content of the media content items to be provided to the first personal electronic device based on the priority of the first portion of content of the media content items, and 
 provide the first portion of content of the media content items to the first personal electronic device over a first network using the network interface to allow for local transferring of the first portion of content by the first personal electronic device to a content delivery system of the vehicle over a second network when the first user is onboard the vehicle. 
   
     
     
         3 . The media content management server of  claim 2 , wherein the priority of each of the plurality of media content items is based at least in part on popularity of each of the plurality of media content items, wherein more popular media content items receive a higher priority than less popular media content items. 
     
     
         4 . The media content management server of  claim 3 , wherein the popularity of each of the plurality of media content items is determined for the vehicle. 
     
     
         5 . The media content management server of  claim 2 , wherein the priority of each of the plurality of media content items is based at least in part on whether each of the plurality of media content items is free content or paid content, wherein paid content receives a higher priority than free content. 
     
     
         6 . The media content management server of  claim 2 , wherein the priority of each of the plurality of media content items is based at least in part on a size of each of the plurality of media content items. 
     
     
         7 . The media content management server of  claim 6 , wherein larger media content items receive a higher priority than smaller media content items. 
     
     
         8 . The media content management server of  claim 2 , wherein the priority of each of the plurality of media content items is based at least in part on a media license for each of the plurality of media content items. 
     
     
         9 . The media content management server of  claim 2 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to provide a second portion of content of the media content items to the content delivery system of the vehicle over a third network. 
     
     
         10 . The media content management server of  claim 2 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to transmit a request to the first personal electronic device requesting access to data storage of the first personal electronic device. 
     
     
         11 . The media content management server of  claim 2 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:
 receive an indication from the first personal electronic device over the first network indicating an amount of storage that is usable for temporary storage of the first portion of content; and   identify the first portion of content based on the priority and the indicated amount of storage.   
     
     
         12 . The media content management server of  claim 2 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:
 identify a second user scheduled to travel on the vehicle based on the itinerary data;   determine a second personal electronic device of the second user based on the association data; and   provide a second portion of content of the media content items to the second personal electronic device over the first network based on the priority of the second portion of content of the media content items.   
     
     
         13 . The media content management server of  claim 12 , wherein at least some of the first portion of content is part of the second portion of content. 
     
     
         14 . The media content management server of  claim 2 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to, when said local transferring of the first portion of content by the first personal electronic device to the content delivery system of the vehicle over the second network is unsuccessful, transfer the first portion of content to the content delivery system of the vehicle over a third network. 
     
     
         15 . A method for delivering media content to a vehicle, the method comprising:
 maintaining a media content library comprising a plurality of media content items, wherein each of the plurality of media content items comprises a priority defining a prioritization relative to others of the plurality of media content items;   identifying a first user scheduled to travel on a vehicle based on itinerary data indicating a vehicle on which the first user is scheduled to travel;   determining a first personal electronic device of the first user based on association data associating the first user with the first personal electronic device;   determining a first portion of content of the media content items to be provided to the first personal electronic device based on the priority of the first portion of content of the media content items; and   providing the first portion of content of the media content items to the first personal electronic device over a first network to allow for local transferring of the first portion of content by the first personal electronic device to a content delivery system of the vehicle over a second network when the first user is onboard the vehicle.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 assigning the priority to each of the plurality of media content items in the media content library.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the priority of each of the plurality of media content items is based at least in part on popularity of each of the plurality of media content items, wherein more popular media content items receive a higher priority than less popular media content items. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the popularity of each of the plurality of media content items is determined for the vehicle. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the priority of each of the plurality of media content items is based at least in part on whether each of the plurality of media content items is free content or paid content, wherein paid content receives a higher priority than free content. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the priority of each of the plurality of media content items is based at least in part on a size of each of the plurality of media content items. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein larger media content items receive a higher priority than smaller media content items. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the priority of each of the plurality of media content items is based at least in part on a media license for each of the plurality of media content items. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 providing a second portion of content of the media content items to the content delivery system of the vehicle over a third network.   
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 transmitting a request to the first personal electronic device requesting access to data storage of the first personal electronic device.   
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 receiving an indication from the first personal electronic device over the first network indicating an amount of storage that is usable for temporary storage of the first portion of content; and   identifying the first portion of content based on the priority and the indicated amount of storage.   
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 identifying a second user scheduled to travel on the vehicle based on the itinerary data;   determining a second personal electronic device of the second user based on the association data; and   providing a second portion of content of the media content items to the second personal electronic device over the first network based on the priority of the second portion of content of the media content items.   
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein at least some of the first portion of content is part of the second portion of content. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 when said local transferring of the first portion of content by the first personal electronic device to the content delivery system of the vehicle over the second network is unsuccessful, transferring the first portion of content to the content delivery system of the vehicle over a third network.   
     
     
         29 . A personal electronic device comprising:
 a wireless communication interface;   non-volatile data storage media; and   control circuitry communicatively coupled to the wireless communication interface and the non-volatile data storage media, the control circuitry being configured to:
 establish a first connection with a remote media content management server over a first communication network; 
 receive at least a portion of a media content item from the media content management server over the first communication network, wherein the portion of the media content item is determined to be provided to the personal electronic device based on a priority of the media content item relative to other media content items; 
 temporarily store the at least a portion of the media content item in the non-volatile data storage media; 
 establish a second connection with a network access terminal of a media delivery system associated with a vehicle over a second communication network using the wireless communication interface; 
 transfer the at least a portion of the media content item from the non-volatile data storage media to the media delivery system over the second communication network using the wireless communication interface; and 
 after said transferring the at least a portion of the media content item, delete the at least a portion of the media content from the non-volatile data storage media. 
   
     
     
         30 . The personal electronic device of  claim 29 , wherein the priority of the media content item is based at least in part on popularity of the media content items relative to the other media content items, wherein more popular media content items receive a higher priority than less popular media content items. 
     
     
         31 . The personal electronic device of  claim 30 , wherein the popularity of the media content item is determined for the vehicle. 
     
     
         32 . The personal electronic device of  claim 29 , wherein the priority of the media content item is based at least in part on whether the media content item is free content or paid content, wherein paid content receives a higher priority than free content. 
     
     
         33 . The personal electronic device of  claim 29 , wherein the priority of the media content item is based at least in part on a size of the media content item. 
     
     
         34 . The personal electronic device of  claim 33 , wherein larger media content items receive a higher priority than smaller media content items. 
     
     
         35 . The personal electronic device of  claim 29 , wherein the priority of each of the plurality of media content items is based at least in part on a media license for each of the plurality of media content items. 
     
     
         36 . The personal electronic device of  claim 29 , wherein the at least a portion of the media content comprises encrypted media. 
     
     
         37 . The personal electronic device of  claim 29 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to transmit an indication to the media content management server indicating an amount of data storage of the non-volatile data storage media that is available for temporary storage of media content from the media content management server. 
     
     
         38 . The personal electronic device of  claim 29 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:
 obtain an indication that the at least a portion of the media content item is desired for transfer to a media delivery system associated with another vehicle;   maintain the at least a portion of the media content item in the non-volatile data storage media for a period of time after said transferring the at least a portion of the media content item in response to the indication; and   transfer the at least a portion of the media content item from the non-volatile data storage media to the media delivery system associated with the other vehicle;   wherein said deleting the at least a portion of the media content from the non-volatile data storage media is performed after said transferring the at least a portion of the media content to the media delivery system associated with the other vehicle.   
     
     
         39 . The personal electronic device of  claim 29 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:
 determine that the personal electronic device has unused network capacity at a first period of time, wherein said transferring the at least a portion of the media content item is performed at least in part during the first period of time based on the determination that the personal electronic device has unused network capacity.   
     
     
         40 . The personal electronic device of  claim 29 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:
 after said deleting the at least a portion of the media content from the non-volatile data storage media, notify the media content management server that the portion of the media content has been deleted.