Patent Application
20140096162
The present disclosure relates, in general, to streaming and/or broadcasting multimedia channels, and more particularly, to automatically generating multimedia channels for streaming and/or broadcasting, said channels being driven by social media, news events, and Internet searches, etc.
Conventionally, audio and video content has been delivered in broadcast format, grouped by channels. As delivery systems have matured, an increasing amount of content has been made available on-demand. Nonetheless, subscribers are accustomed to the channel-based model of content delivery, and channels can serve a valuable function as signaling devices for particular content (e.g., a subscriber knows which channel carries his or her favorite program) and as indicators of content (e.g., the Food Network™ carries programming about food). Accordingly, the channel model remains a popular mode for delivering content with distribution systems (such as cable television, satellite television, Internet Protocol television (“IPTV”), and the like). As such, different ways have been developed for putting on-demand content in sequence on a channel, as understood by those skilled in the art.
Due to the prevalence of social media, millions of people are now exposed to current events, more so than before the advent of social media, and certainly before the Internet became popular. However, information and content about the current events are spread across countless webpages, on-line news websites, social media postings, etc. Accordingly, it is difficult for a user who is interested in keeping current with news events, social media, and/or Internet searches, etc., to easily view related videos, listen to relevant audio, and/or read applicable writings in order to stay abreast with “What's Hot Now.”
Currently, trending data is available on the web, to indicate which current events have captured the attention of the online community (and serve as a proxy for indicating which events are popular with the population generally). One of the most used systems is Google® Trends™, which displays an hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly display of what topics generate the most searches on the web. By using this data, a person can see what topics are of most interest on the web (and across popular media as well). Unfortunately, this is a lean-forward process. A user would still need to follow the search links or perform additional searches for multimedia content in order to learn more about the searched topic(s) or to view, listen to, and/or read related multimedia content.
Accordingly, there is a need for more robust systems to allow subscribers access to content about currently-popular topics and/or events.
An aspect of the present disclosure seeks to address the problems noted above, for example, by using Internet and news trends to automatically build video (or multimedia) channels based on what the population is most interested in that day or hour. A simple example of this would be taking results from Google® Trends™ and putting together one or more video (and/or multimedia) channels around the results. In an aspect, some embodiments identify the most searched for topics on the Internet and then collect and/or channelize audio, video, and text data (i.e., multimedia content) that are related to those topics. In different aspects, these channels can be delivered using conventional television distribution techniques, such as cable television distribution systems, satellite television distribution systems, and/or IPTV distribution systems.
According to various embodiments, a system can process data concerning topical popularity and then collect the video, audio, and/or written content (i.e., “multimedia content”) around such topics. This content can be compiled into a television or interactive channel (e.g., on-demand or broadcast channel). For example, this process could be implemented as a specific set of channels on the Prism® (IPTV™) system that CenturyLink® offers today. A customer could watch this channel to see what is going on in his or her area or in the rest of the world. There could also be specific categories for each channel. For example, there could be a “What's Hot in Entertainment” channel, which shows movies, biographical videos, and the like, based on what people are currently searching for. Alternatively, a channel might be provided concerning sports, which could have the top search trends for that day, with highlight clips as well, scores, and the like.
Such programming can be integrated into subscription video systems (e.g., cable, satellite, IPTV) as part of a new channel package. Such content could also be provided by any appropriate mobile video system or any other commercially available multimedia broadcast or on-demand content delivery systems that have a data connection (e.g., video viewable on a mobile device or other commercially available TV systems).
In an exemplary aspect of the disclosure, methods and systems are described for creating automated social media and/or event driven multimedia channels. In this exemplary aspect, such methods and systems can leverage current events, social media postings, news breaks (e.g., in the form of clips, headlines, stories, etc.), when the events occur, and can generate specialized multimedia channels. In generating these specialized multimedia channels, these solutions can access trend data representing contemporary social media, Internet searches, and/or news events, and can generate keywords based on the trend data. Multimedia content libraries can be searched to find multimedia content (e.g., video content, audio content, written content, etc.) that are relevant to the generated keywords.
Once the multimedia content are found, the system might generate at least one dynamic automated on-demand channel for streaming the relevant multimedia content, based on the list of relevant multimedia content. In some embodiments, the system is configured to display a selection screen on the at least one dynamic automated on-demand channel from which the user is enabled to select a program of the relevant multimedia content for streaming.
In addition, or in the alternative, the system might generate at least one dynamic automated broadcast channel, as well as a programming schedule of the relevant multimedia content based on particular predetermined criteria (including, but not limited to, at least one of relevance, user preference, popularity, age of viewers, length of multimedia content, subject matter of multimedia content, and broadcaster's program scheduling policies). The relevant multimedia content might then be broadcast to a plurality of users on the at least one dynamic automated broadcast channel based on the generated programming schedule.
According to some embodiments, the program of relevant multimedia content (i.e., streamed content) can be formatted at the server of the telecommunications system—which may include one or more of a server at a head-end of the telecommunications system, a server located external to the head-end yet communicatively coupled to the head-end, a server located at a broadcast television distribution system, and a server located external to the broadcast television distribution system yet communicatively coupled thereto—for presentation on at least one user device. The at least one user device may include at least one of a cable television system, an interactive television system, a standard television system, an Internet Protocol television system, a gaming console, a mobile device, a personal computer, and a tablet computer.
In some embodiments, the broadcast relevant multimedia content (i.e., broadcast content) is formatted at the server for presentation on the at least one user device.
The specialized channel might last any number of days, weeks, months, years, or longer. The discovery process (in which the multimedia content is compiled based on the trend data of contemporary social media, Internet searches, and/or news events) might occur without human intervention, while the scheduling of the dynamic automated on-demand and/or broadcast channel might allow for some operator intervention.
The exemplary method and system would allow for the display of a selection screen that presents video clips, audio clips, and/or textual clips that represent the current trends of the hour, day, month, year, etc. (i.e., “What's Hot”), so that the user may select one or more of these video clips, audio clips, and/or textual clips for presentation on one or more user devices (e.g., mobile devices, computers, TVs, etc.). An alternative exemplary method and system could allow for the scheduling of a broadcast channel(s) that compiles said video clips, audio clips, and/or textual clips in a format similar to conventional TV broadcasts, and then broadcasts the channel(s) for viewing on the one or more user devices (e.g., mobile devices, computers, TVs, etc.).
The tools provided by various embodiments include, without limitation, methods, systems, and/or software products. Merely by way of example, a method might comprise one or more procedures, any or all of which are executed by a computer system. Correspondingly, an embodiment might provide a computer system configured with instructions to perform one or more procedures in accordance with methods provided by various other embodiments. Similarly, a computer program might comprise a set of instructions that are executable by a computer system (and/or a processor therein) to perform such operations. In many cases, such software programs are encoded on physical, tangible, and/or non-transitory computer readable media (such as, to name but a few examples, optical media, magnetic media, and/or the like).
A further understanding of the nature and advantages of particular embodiments may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification and the drawings, in which like reference numerals are used to refer to similar components. In some instances, a sub-label is associated with a reference numeral to denote one of multiple similar components. When reference is made to a reference numeral without specification to an existing sub-label, it is intended to refer to all such multiple similar components.
While various aspects and features of certain embodiments have been summarized above, the following detailed description illustrates a few exemplary embodiments in further detail to enable one of skill in the art to practice such embodiments. The described examples are provided for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the described embodiments. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art, however, that other embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details. In other instances, certain structures and devices are shown in block diagram form. Several embodiments are described herein, and while various features are ascribed to different embodiments, it should be appreciated that the features described with respect to one embodiment may be incorporated with other embodiments as well. By the same token, however, no single feature or features of any described embodiment should be considered essential to every embodiment of the invention, as other embodiments of the invention may omit such features.
Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers used herein to express quantities, dimensions, and so forth used should be understood as being modified in all instances by the term “about.” In this application, the use of the singular includes the plural unless specifically stated otherwise, and use of the terms “and” and “or” means “and/or” unless otherwise indicated. Moreover, the use of the term “including,” as well as other forms, such as “includes” and “included,” should be considered non-exclusive. Also, terms such as “element” or “component” encompass both elements and components comprising one unit and elements and components that comprise more than one unit, unless specifically stated otherwise.
Various aspects of the present disclosure are directed to identifying news events, social media topics, and/or Internet searches, etc., that capture the current attention of a particular, or a general, group of people (whether in a local region or around the world). This identification may be accomplished by using third party services, such as Google® Trends™, to generate trend data and/or might be performed using only system components and/or methodologies. Keywords can then be extracted from the trend data, and local and/or remote content catalogs can be searched using the keywords. Once relevant multimedia (i.e., video, audio, and/or written) content is found in either the local and/or remote content catalogs, which are respectively associated with local and remote databases (“databases” or “DBs”), the relevant content may be retrieved from the local and/or remote database(s), and compiled in on-demand or broadcast channels that are then formatted and presented on one or more user device(s) (including, but not limited to, personal computers, laptops, televisions, mobile devices, etc.).
With reference to
Through data network 116, the trend data is utilized by automatic channel generator or server 120. The process of generating a multimedia channel based on the trends of social media, news events, and Internet searches is described in greater detail below with reference to
For presentation as an on-demand channel(s), server 120 generates a selection screen(s) and displays the selection screen(s) to a user computer 132 or a user television 144 via an Internet Service Provider (“ISP”) network 124. User computer 132 may include one or more personal computers (“PCs”) 132a, one or more laptop computers 132b, and/or any other general-purpose computing devices. User television 144 may include one or more of any of a high-definition (“HD”) television 144a, an IPTV 144b or Connected TV/Smart TV/Hybrid TV 144b, and a cable television 144c, where any or all of HD TV 144a, IPTV 144b, Connected TV/Smart TV®/Hybrid TV 144b may be interactive TVs. Any of these televisions 144 may be coupled to the network 124 via a gaming console 136 and/or via a set-top box (“STB”) 140. In some embodiments, network 124 may be communicatively coupled to a transmission tower 128b, which would transmit the selection screen(s) to a user's mobile device 148 (including, e.g., mobile phone 148a, smartphone 148b, and tablet computer 148c). In response to a user selection via any of the user devices (i.e., computer 132, television 144, etc.), server 120 would generate a dynamic automated on-demand channel(s) and transmit the channel via network 124 (and perhaps also via tower 128b) to the requesting user device(s). Although network 124 is shown as an ISP network, network 124 may be embodied as any type of content distribution network (including, but not limited to, an ISP network, a satellite network, a cable television network, etc.).
For presentation as a broadcast channel(s), server 120 would generate a programming schedule based on the trend data and collection of available and relevant content (which is described in detail with respect to
The system 100 can include one or more user computers 132. A user computer 132 can be a general purpose personal computer or PC (including, merely by way of example, desktop computers, tablet computers, laptop computers, handheld computers, and the like, running any appropriate operating system, several of which are available from vendors such as Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., and the like) and/or a workstation computer running any of a variety of commercially-available UNIX™ or UNIX-like operating systems. In
A user computer 132 can also store and/or execute any of a variety of applications, including one or more applications configured to perform operations in accordance with methods provided by various embodiments (as described above, for example), as well as one or more office applications, database client and/or server applications, and/or web browser applications. Alternatively, a user computer 132 can be any other electronic device, such as a thin-client computer, Internet-enabled mobile telephone, and/or personal digital assistant, capable of communicating via a network (e.g., the network 124 described below) and/or of displaying and navigating web pages or other types of electronic documents. Although the exemplary system 100 is shown with two user computers 132 and one tablet computer 148c, any number of user computers can be supported.
The network 124 (and perhaps also networks 104 and 116) can be any type of network familiar to those skilled in the art that can support data communications using any of a variety of commercially-available (and/or free or proprietary) protocols, including without limitation TCP/IP and the like. Merely by way of example, the network 124 (or networks 104 and 116) can include a local area network (“LAN”), including without limitation a fiber network, an Ethernet network, a Token-Ring™ network and/or the like; a wide-area network; a wireless wide area network (“WWAN”); a virtual network, such as a virtual private network (“VPN”); the Internet; an intranet; an extranet; a public switched telephone network (“PSTN”); an infra-red network; a wireless network, including without limitation a network operating under any of the IEEE 802.11 suite of protocols, the Bluetooth™ protocol known in the art, and/or any other wireless protocol; and/or any combination of these and/or other networks. Alternatively, networks 104 and 116 may be embodied as one network separate from network 124. In some embodiments, networks 116 and 124 may be embodied as one network separate from network 104. In other embodiments, networks 104, 116, and 124 may be embodied as one network.
Embodiments can also include one or more server computers 120 (or server computers 108 and 112). Each of the server computers 120 may be configured with an operating system, including without limitation any of those discussed above, as well as any commercially (or freely) available server operating systems. Each of the servers 120 may also be running one or more applications, which can be configured to provide services to one or more clients 132, 136, 144, and 148 and/or other servers 120.
Merely by way of example, one of the servers 120 may be a web server, which can be used, merely by way of example, to process requests for web pages or other electronic documents from user computers 132 or mobile devices 148. The web server can also run a variety of server applications, including HTTP servers, FTP servers, CGI servers, database servers, Java servers, and the like. In some embodiments of the invention, the web server may be configured to serve web pages that can be operated within a web browser on one or more of the user computers 132 or mobile devices 148 to perform methods of the invention. The servers 120 may also function as a middleware server that provides content. For example, as discussed in greater detail with respect to
The server computers 120, in some embodiments, might include one or more application servers, which can be configured with one or more applications accessible by a client running on one or more of the client computers 132 and/or other servers 120. Merely by way of example, the server(s) 120 can be one or more general purpose computers capable of executing programs or scripts in response to the user computers 132 and/or other servers 120, including without limitation web applications (which might, in some cases, be configured to perform methods provided by various embodiments). Merely by way of example, a web application can be implemented as one or more scripts or programs written in any suitable programming language, such as Java™, C, C#™ or C++, and/or any scripting language, such as Perl, Python, or TCL, as well as combinations of any programming and/or scripting languages. The application server(s) can also include database servers, including without limitation those commercially available from Oracle™, Microsoft™, Sybase™, IBM™ and the like, which can process requests from clients (including, depending on the configuration, dedicated database clients, API clients, web browsers, etc.) running on a user computer 132 and/or another server 120. In some embodiments, an application server can create web pages dynamically for displaying the information in accordance with various embodiments, such as displaying a selection screen for an on-demand channel(s) as a web page(s). Data provided by an application server may be formatted as one or more web pages (comprising HTML, HTML5, JavaScript, etc., for example) and/or may be forwarded to a user computer 132 via a web server (as described above, for example). Similarly, a web server might receive web page requests and/or input data from a user computer 120 and/or forward the web page requests and/or input data to an application server. In some cases, a web server may be integrated with an application server.
In accordance with further embodiments, one or more servers 120 can function as a file server and/or can include one or more of the files (e.g., application code, data files, etc.) necessary to implement various disclosed methods, incorporated by an application running on a user computer 132 and/or another server 120. Alternatively, as those skilled in the art will appreciate, a file server can include all necessary files, allowing such an application to be invoked remotely by a user computer 132 and/or server 120.
It should be noted that the functions described with respect to various servers herein (e.g., application server, database server, web server, file server, etc.) can be performed by a single server and/or a plurality of specialized servers, depending on implementation-specific needs and parameters.
In certain embodiments, the system can include one or more databases including, but not limited to, databases or DBs 216, 228, and 236, as described in greater detail with respect to
In addition, various user devices (including, but not limited to, PC 132a, laptop 132b, gaming console 136, STB 140, HD TV 144a, IPTV 144b or Connected TV/Smart TV®/Hybrid TV 144b, tablet computer 148c, smartphone 148b, and mobile phone 148a, etc.) might also include a communications subsystem (not shown), which can include without limitation a modem, a network card (wireless or wired), an infra-red communication device, a wireless communication device and/or chipset (such as a Bluetooth™ device, an 802.11 device, a WiFi device, a WiMax device, a WWAN device, cellular communication facilities, etc.), and/or the like. The communications subsystem may permit data to be exchanged with a network (such as the networks described above, to name one example), with other computer systems, and/or with any other devices described herein.
Referring to
The extracted or generated keywords (or list of terms or narrowed list of terms) may be stored in keyword storage or database 216. In some embodiments, there may not be a need to store the keywords prior to searching for relevant content based on the keywords. During the content lookup process 220, the keywords are used to search either a local content catalog 232 or a remote content catalog 224, or both catalogs, for relevant multimedia content (including, but not limited to, video content, audio content, and/or written content, etc.). Once relevant content has been found, based on the keywords, a list of matching content 240 is compiled.
For an on-demand channel(s), an optional editorial check process 244 may be implemented, perhaps by a human operator at the service provider end or by an automated program, to check the layout of a selection screen(s). For a broadcast channel(s), the optional editorial check process 244 may be implemented in like fashion to check the program schedule(s) for the broadcast channel(s).
Once the content has been selected, in the case of the on-demand channel(s), or a program schedule has been generated, in the case of the broadcast channel(s), the relevant video, audio, and/or textual content is retrieved from either the remote content library 228 and/or the local content library 236 (based on the search of the remote and local content catalogs 224 and 232, respectively, and/or based upon the generated list 240). The retrieved relevant content is then formatted for display or presentation on one or more user devices 260 by formatter/renderer 248. For example, for user devices capable of high definition (“HD”) display, such as (but not limited to) IPTV 260i, formatter/renderer 248 (hereinafter, the “formatter,” “formatter/renderer,” or “renderer”) may format the channel(s) or render graphics or content of the channels for optimal display on an HD display screen (such as 1080i MPEG2). Formats may also include, for example, 640×480 MPEG2 or 1024×768 MPEG4 formats, or any other formats suitable for display or presentation of the multimedia content on mobile devices. Formatter 248 may also format and/or render a selection screen, an electronic program guide (the “EPG”), a broadcast program guide, and/or a playlist for display or presentation on the one or more user devices 260. Formatting or rendering the content of the channels or the graphical displays of the selection screen, the EPG, the broadcast program guide, and/or the playlist for the one or more user devices 260 associated with the user can comprise producing a bitmap and/or other graphical image corresponding to the content (e.g., visual and/or textual content), the display characteristics (e.g., screen resolution), and/or user input devices supported by the one or more user devices 260.
Dynamic automated content channel generator 252 generates on-demand and/or broadcast channel(s) or playlist(s) using the retrieved and formatted/rendered relevant content. The on-demand and/or broadcast channel(s) are then transmitted to one or more user devices 260 via content presentation system 256. User devices 260 may include one or more of PC 260a, laptop computer 260b, tablet computer 260c, smartphone 260d, mobile phone 260e, standard television 260f, STB 260g and cable television 260h, HD television or IPTV or interactive TV 260i, gaming console 260j, and HD TV or IPTV or interactive TV 260k. Each of user devices 260a-260k may be implemented as single units or multiple units.
Turning to
Utilizing the extracted or generated keywords from Block 308, content libraries—such as local content library 236 or remote content library 228—may be searched (Block 316), by searching, e.g., the respective content catalogs—such as local content catalog 232 or remote content catalog 224 for terms that match, are similar to, and/or are related to the extracted keywords. In some embodiments, searching for similar and/or related terms may include searching for root words (for example, searching for “view,” which is a root word of “viewing” or “views”) or synonyms (for example, searching for “view,” which is a synonym of “watch,” “perceive,” or “see”).
At Block 320, a list of relevant multimedia content (e.g., video, audio, and/or written content) may be generated. The list may be embodied as a string of characters (or binary equivalent thereof), or as a list of characters in a word-searchable document. The generated list may optionally be stored (Block 324)—as the string of characters or as a word-searchable document—in a database (not shown) that is local or remote to the server 120 or other channel-generating server. In some embodiments, this database may be database 216, which is used to store the generated or extracted keywords. At Block 328, the relevant multimedia content is retrieved from the content libraries based on the generated list (which may indicate which content library holds each of the relevant multimedia content). Retrieval of the relevant multimedia content may include following a pointer or other reference marker to the location of the local and/or remote content libraries 228/236, then saving a copy of the relevant multimedia content in a working buffer (e.g., RAM of server 120). Retrieval of the content is not so limited, and may include any known method known to those skilled in the art.
The multimedia content, at Block 332, is then formatted or rendered for presentation to a user, such as by formatter 248 in a manner as discussed above. At Block 336, the formatted multimedia content is subsequently output to the user devices 132, 136, 140, 144, 148, or 260 via content presentation/distribution systems 256 (as embodied, e.g., by network 124, broadcast distribution center 128a, and/or transmission tower 128b, or by any other distribution system (not shown)). In some embodiments, content presentation/distribution system 256 converts the formatted multimedia content into digital data packets that are transmitted via network 124 and via telecommunications transport media (e.g., cable, xDSL, etc.) in any manner known in the art. In the case of broadcast, the formatted multimedia content may be converted into analog or digital data signals that are transmitted via broadcast media (e.g., radio or satellite, etc.).
At the user devices 260, the multimedia content is transcoded for display or presentation (at Block 340). In some embodiments, transcoding includes converting the formatted multimedia content from the digital data packets, or from the analog/digital data signals, back into a format that is readable by the one or more user devices, and subsequently displaying/presenting the converted and formatted multimedia content on the display screen and/or speakers of the one or more user devices.
With reference to
At Block 404, news events, social media, and Internet searches, etc. are accessed from the Internet, and trend data is generated, at Block 408, based on top news, events, social media, Internet searches, etc. that are accessed in Block 404. Blocks 404 and 408, which are shown as dashed box diagrams in
On the server (such as server 120 in
Continuing onto
Determinations at Blocks 440a, 440b, and 440c are then made to locate the relevant content on the Internet, the local DB, and the remote DB, respectively. This functionality may be implemented by looking up the generated list (for the embodiments in which the generated list includes the locations where the relevant content are stored). Alternatively, Blocks 424a, 424b, and 424c may be repeated. Because the generated list from Block 428 is based on a determination that the relevant content is located in at least one of the Internet, the local DB, and the remote DB, if it is determined at Blocks 440a, 440b, or 440c that one or two of these locations do not contain the relevant content, then a determination is made whether the other location(s) contains the relevant content. Based on the location determinations at Blocks 440a, 440b, and 440c, the relevant content is retrieved from the Internet (at Block 444a), the local DB (at Block 444b), and/or the remote DB (at Block 444c). Retrieval of the relevant multimedia content may include following a pointer or other reference marker to the location of the local and/or remote content libraries 228/236, then saving a copy of the relevant multimedia content in a working buffer (e.g., RAM of server 120 or an external/internal content delivery network (“CDN”)). Retrieval of the content is not so limited, and may include any known method known to those skilled in the art. In some embodiments, the system might extract the key words, and/or search for content based on the keywords, e.g., (a) by searching in a service provider's library, and/or (b) by searching external content sources (e.g., Hulu®, YouTube®, or other Internet sites). As appropriate, the system might create links to relevant content via a uniform resource identifier (“URI” which can includes a uniform resource locator (“URL”) and/or a uniform resource name (“URN”)), URL/content name, Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, location/filename, and/or URI/filename.
At Block 448, a dynamic automated broadcast channel or a set of channels is generated based on the retrieved relevant video, audio, and/or written content, and based on predetermined criteria. The predetermined criteria may include, but are not limited to, at least one of relevance, user preference, popularity, age of viewers, length of multimedia content, subject matter of multimedia content, and broadcaster's program scheduling policies. Alternatively, or in addition, a playlist(s) of the retrieved relevant video, audio, and/or written content is generated. Here, the playlist may refer to one of a list of content to be broadcast, a list with links (e.g., hyperlinks or pointers) to the content to be broadcast, and an ordered arrangement of the actual content to be broadcast. The relevant content to be broadcast (the “broadcast content”) or the playlist is then formatted at Block 452 for display or presentation on the user device (such as one or more user devices 260 in
If the determination at Block 432 is made that the content is not to be broadcast, then the process shifts to the steps related to on-demand channel generation as shown in
Turning to
The selection screen, as discussed above, represents part of a user interface, which can function to receive input from a user, e.g., using standard input devices such as remote controllers (e.g., for one or more of the television sets 144, for STB 140, for gaming console 136, or for personal/laptop computer 132, etc.), mice and other pointing devices (e.g., a stylus for mobile devices 148), motion capture devices (e.g., an image capture device such as the Xbox® Kinect® or PlayStation Move®, or gyroscopically-driven or accelerometer-driven game controllers such as the PlayStation® Sixaxis® controllers or Wii Remote®, etc.), touchpads and/or touchscreens, keyboards (e.g., numeric and/or alphabetic), microphones, etc. The procedures undertaken to provide a user interface, therefore, can vary depending on the nature of the implementation; in some cases, providing a user interface can comprise displaying the user interface on a display device; in other cases, however, in which the user interface is displayed on a device remote from the computer system (such as on a client computer, wireless device, etc.), providing the user interface might comprise formatting data for transmission to such a device and/or transmitting, receiving and/or interpreting data that is used to create the user interface on the remote device. Alternatively and/or additionally, the user interface on a client computer (or any other appropriate user device) might be a web interface, in which the user interface is provided through one or more web pages that are served from a computer system (and/or a web server in communication with the computer system), and are received and displayed by a web browser on the client computer (or other capable user device). The web pages can display output from the computer system and receive input from the user (e.g., by using Web-based forms, via hyperlinks, electronic buttons, etc.). A variety of techniques can be used to create these Web pages and/or display/receive information, such as JavaScript, Java applications or applets, dynamic HTML/HTML5 and/or AJAX technologies, to name but a few examples.
In many cases, providing a user interface will comprise providing one or more display screens (not shown), each of which includes one or more user interface elements. As used herein, the term “user interface element” (also described as a “user interface mechanism” or a “user interface device”) means any text, image, or device that can be displayed on a display screen for providing information to a user and/or for receiving user input. Some such elements are commonly referred to as “widgets,” and can include, without limitation, text, text boxes, text fields, tables and/or grids, menus, toolbars, charts, hyperlinks, buttons, lists, combo boxes, checkboxes, radio buttons, and/or the like. While any illustrated exemplary display screens might employ specific user interface elements appropriate for the type of information to be conveyed/received by computer system in accordance with the described embodiments, it should be appreciated that the choice of user interface elements for a particular purpose is typically implementation-dependent and/or discretionary. Hence, the illustrated user interface elements employed by any display screens described herein should be considered exemplary in nature, and the reader should appreciate that other user interface elements could be substituted within the scope of various embodiments.
As noted above, in an aspect of certain embodiments, the user interface provides interaction between a user and a computer or interactive television system. Hence, when this document describes procedures for displaying (or otherwise providing) information to a user, or to receiving input from a user, the user interface may be the vehicle for the exchange of such input/output. Merely by way of example, in a set of embodiments, the user interface allows the user to select video, audio, and/or textual clip(s) for inclusion in an on-demand channel(s) generated for display or presentation on one or more user devices, as well as allowing the user to choose the order or arrangement of the selected video, audio, and/or textual clips within the generated on-demand channel(s).
Based on the user selection, at Block 472, in accordance with the discussion above, the generated list from Block 428 is searched for the selected content. At Blocks 476a, 476b, and 476c, determinations are made in order to locate the selected content from one or more of the Internet (Block 476a), the local DB (Block 476b), and the remote DB (Block 476c)—in the same manner in which the determinations at Blocks 440a, 440b, and 440c are made, as discussed above. Based on the location determinations at Blocks 476a, 476b, and 476c, the relevant content is retrieved from the Internet (at Block 480a), the local DB (at Block 480b), and/or the remote DB (at Block 480c).
At Block 484, a dynamic automated on-demand channel or a set of channels is generated based on the retrieved relevant video, audio, and/or written content. Alternatively, or in addition, a playlist(s) of the retrieved relevant video, audio, and/or written content is generated. Here, the playlist may refer to one of a list of content to be streamed, a list with links (e.g., hyperlinks or pointers) to the content to be streamed, and an ordered arrangement of the actual content to be streamed. The relevant content to be streamed (the “on-demand content”) or the playlist is then formatted at Block 488 for display or presentation on the user device (such as one or more user devices 260 in
Referring back to the Whitney Houston example, in Blocks 484 through 496, the generated on-demand channel would be generated (at Block 484) with the user selected video, audio, and/or textual clips of the singer/actress, arranged in the order indicated by the user at Block 468. The selected video, audio, and/or textual clips of the singer/actress would then be formatted for display or presentation on one or more user devices that are associated with the user; for example, IPTV 144b, laptop computer 132b, tablet computer 148c, and smartphone 148b may be associated with the user, in which case, the formatting step would allow for optimal presentation on each of these associated user devices. At Blocks 492 and 496, the generated on-demand channel containing the selected video, audio, and/or textual clips of the singer/actress, in the preferred order (which may be changed mid-stream of the channel streaming), can be streamed and presented/displayed on the associated user devices.
Alternative, or in addition, to the streamed on-demand channel of Whitney Houston, a playlist of the selected content may be generated at Block 484, and formatted, streamed, and displayed at Blocks 488-496. The playlist may be displayed concurrent with the generated on-demand channel, for example, as an overlaid program guide or an overlaid interactive menu listing in which the order of the selected content may be changed at will by the user. The overlaid guide may also allow for the user to add or delete content from the playlist. Alternative to the overlaid guide is a band that would appear at the top, bottom, left side, or right side of the displayed channel that allows for display of the playlist (together with the interactive re-ordering, adding, and/or deleting functionalities). After the content on the playlist has been streamed, the process may return to Block 464a, where another selection screen is generated. Blocks 464b through 496 may thus be repeated. In the case that the user no longer wants to view, listen to, and/or read content about Whitney Houston, an option in the selection screen may allow the user to return to Block 404.
In the embodiments in which multiple channels (whether broadcast or on-demand) are generated, one channel could relate to, e.g., Whitney Houston, while another channel(s) might relate to, e.g., Sunday's football game, while a third set of channels might relate to, e.g., the most talked about television program or movie of the season. The user would be able to switch channels in the same manner as he or she would with conventional television channels. Options may be provided for the user to create other specialized channels. These channels may be provided as part of the television/cable subscription package, as a stand-alone package, or as a pay-per-view type package.
In some embodiments, the user may select a period on which the trend data may be based. Such a period may extend backwards in time from a current time, by any number of seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or years. Alternatively, the period may be any user-defined period (e.g., between two user-selected dates).
According to some embodiments, the trend data, upon which the on-demand and broadcast channels are ultimately based, may be generated based upon a user database containing preferences of the user. Such a user database may be configured to track—with the user's permission—the user's social media postings and/or Internet searches with respect to contemporary news, events, or user interests, in order to generate keywords for seeking relevant content and generating tailored on-demand or broadcast channels. In these embodiments, the resultant channels may be provided as part of the television/cable subscription package, as a stand-alone package, or as a pay-per-view type package.
While certain features and aspects have been described with respect to exemplary embodiments, one skilled in the art will recognize that numerous modifications are possible. For example, the methods and processes described herein may be implemented using hardware components, software components, and/or any combination thereof. Further, while various methods and processes described herein may be described with respect to particular structural and/or functional components for ease of description, methods provided by various embodiments are not limited to any particular structural and/or functional architecture but instead can be implemented on any suitable hardware, firmware and/or software configuration. Similarly, while certain functionality is ascribed to certain system components, unless the context dictates otherwise, this functionality can be distributed among various other system components in accordance with the several embodiments.
Moreover, while the procedures of the methods and processes described herein are described in a particular order for ease of description, unless the context dictates otherwise, various procedures may be reordered, added, and/or omitted in accordance with various embodiments. Moreover, the procedures described with respect to one method or process may be incorporated within other described methods or processes; likewise, system components described according to a particular structural architecture and/or with respect to one system may be organized in alternative structural architectures and/or incorporated within other described systems. Hence, while various embodiments are described with—or without—certain features for ease of description and to illustrate exemplary aspects of those embodiments, the various components and/or features described herein with respect to a particular embodiment can be substituted, added and/or subtracted from among other described embodiments, unless the context dictates otherwise. Consequently, although several exemplary embodiments are described above, it will be appreciated that the invention is intended to cover all modifications and equivalents within the scope of the following claims.
