Consumers today are confronted with an ever increasing number of television channels and video media content items. This can make viewing decisions and media content item selection decisions difficult for a media consumer. Electronic program guides are one way to organize and present media content items which are available via broadcast, subscription, download, or the like. Presently, however, electronic program guides contain only a limited amount of media content information (metadata) regarding the media content items which are listed in the electronic program guides.
Consider, for example, a media content item which is a Monday Night Football broadcast. A typical electronic program (EPG) guide may carry the name of the media content item “Monday Night Football”, the station on which it airs, the network on which it airs, the time period in which it airs, and a short description about the game (such as the teams and their current win/loss records). Additionally, metadata in the form of a series identifier, which is typically not displayed, exists to facilitate the easy identification of episodes of Monday Night Football in the case of a user selecting a series record option (to record recurring episodes of Monday Night Football). Typically, only a few recording options are offered by EPG listings of a media content item. Examples of these few recording options typically fit in the categories of: record this episode; create a series recording (such as every episode of Monday Night Football); or set a reminder.
The metadata about a media content item in an EPG is limited, but is typically enough to identify the media content item to a consumer. However, there are numerous other factors which may weigh in upon a decision to select and watch (or record) an item of media content. Because of this, the lack of additional information, beyond mere basic identification of the media content item, can be frustrating to a consumer.
Likewise, a consumer's interest in the media content item may be of such a nature that the typically presented recording options of merely recording a single episode of the media item, setting a reminder, or else creating a series recording of recurring episodes of the media item, do not satisfy the consumer's need. As such, a user may be forced to perform a complicated query, set up a specialized recording option, or manually find and record related shows of interest, because the two recording options typically available are so limited. This can be frustrating, especially if it requires complicated use of a limited input device such as a mobile phone or remote control to create an on screen query or to step through numerous menus and selections.
Thus, a technology which addresses some of the above disadvantages and limitations with the media content information presented in electronic program guides would be advantageous.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
A technology for expanding media content item information is disclosed. The technology provides a method and a system for expanding upon media content information presented in a listing of a media content item in an electronic program guide. The method analyzes metadata of a listing of a media content item in an electronic program guide to identify trigger information associated with the media content item. The trigger information is provided to an individualized media content information gathering engine. The individualized media content information gathering engine is utilized to perform a specialized data collection process based upon the trigger information. The specialized data collection process is for gathering expanded media content information regarding the media content item. This expanded media content information may be presented, for example, to assist a consumer with a selection decision as to whether the consumer is interested in watching or recording a media content item, such as, for example, a television show.
The technology also provides a method for displaying an expanded series recording option for a listing of a media content item in an electronic program guide. A specialized data collection process is performed to generate a series grouping of which the media content item is a member. The specialized data collection process is based upon metadata of the listing. The method presents the series grouping upon a display device, such as a television, as an expanded series recording option in an enhanced electronic programming guide listing associated with the media content item. In response to a user selection of the expanded series recording option, the method marks items of the series grouping for recording.
The accompanying figures, which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the technology for expanding media content item information and, together with the description, serve to explain principles discussed below:
The figures referred to in this description should be understood as not being drawn to scale unless specifically noted.
Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present technology for expanding media content item information, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the technology for expanding media content item information will be described in conjunction with various embodiments, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the present technology for expanding media content item information to these embodiments. On the contrary, the presented technology for expanding media content item information is intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents, which may be included within the spirit and scope the various embodiments as defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, in the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present technology for expanding media content item information. However, the present technology for expanding media content item information may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, and circuits have not been described in detail as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the present embodiments.
Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussions, it is appreciated that throughout the present detailed description, discussions utilizing terms such as “analyzing”, “providing”, “utilizing”, “presenting”, “gathering”, “generating”, “performing”, “marking”, “identifying”, and “comparing”, or the like, refer to the actions and processes of a computer system (such as computer 100 of
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The following discussion will begin with a description of the structure of a media content information expanding system 200. Discussion will proceed to description of an implementation of an example method for expanding upon media content information presenting in a listing of a media content item in an electronic program guide. Operation of components of system 200 will be described in greater detail in conjunction with the examples presented for illustration of this method. Discussion will proceed to a description of components of system 200 used in an example method for displaying, on a display device, an expanded series recording option for a listing of a media content item in an electronic program guide. Example expanded electronic program guide information and displays will be discussed to further illustrate these methods.
EPG metadata analyzer 210 analyzes both displayed and undisplayed metadata from an EPG listing for a media content item, such as a television show. As shown in
EPG metadata analyzer 210 analyzes one or more pieces of such media content item metadata from the EPG listing for the media content item for. The purpose of the analysis is identifying trigger information. Trigger information may be words, terms, categories, and the like, which are associated with the media content item, and which may be used to conduct searches or otherwise gather more information about the media content item. For a media content item that is a sporting event, examples of such trigger information may be the name of a player, the word “football”, the name of a team, the name of a network, the name of a city, and so forth. Additionally, in one embodiment, EPG metadata analyzer 210 analyzes one or more components of the media content item metadata from the listing to initially categorize the type of media content item. For example, is the media content item a prime time television show, a sporting event, a children's television show, a news show, a movie, or some other type of media content item? The native EPG listing often, but not always contains this sort of category information. In one embodiment, the EPG metadata analyzer may additionally analyze broadcast information, such as one or more video frames of a broadcast or closed captioning of a broadcast, to determine a category, such as sports, or a sub-category/genre, such as football, which the media content item may be assigned to.
In one embodiment where the native EPG does not contain category metadata, duration metadata may be analyzed to determine the difference between a movie and a television show (as movies are typically longer than 90 minutes and television shows typically shorter). In one embodiment, time period metadata may be analyzed to determine the difference between a prime time television show and a children's show, which may air at distinct times of day on certain networks. This initial categorization is useful, for example, for determining an individualized media content information gathering engine toward which to direct trigger information.
In one embodiment where the native EPG does contain category metadata, genre metadata may be analyzed to even better determine how to categorize a media content item. For example, if native category information indicates that a media content item is sports programming, further genre metadata analysis may of metadata in the native EPG may allow determination of what type of sports programming, such as a basketball game, a baseball game, a football game, a sports highlights show. By analyzing genre metadata, EPG metadata analyzer 210 can more accurately determine the selection of an individualized media content gathering engine and can provide more specialized trigger information with which to conduct searches.
Individualized media content information gathering engine(s) 220 represents a collection or grouping of one or more individualized media content gathering engines (220A, 220B, 220C, 220D, 220E and 220N for example) which are coupled to EPG metadata analyzer 210. Each individualized media content information gathering engine 220 is configured for performing a specialized data collection process based upon the trigger information supplied to it. The specialized data collection process is for gathering expanded media content information regarding the media content item of the listing which was initially analyzed by EPG metadata analyzer 210. Gathered expanded media content information may then be formatted and displayed, such as in an enhanced EPG, to provide expanded media content item information for the subject listing of a media content item.
An individualized media content information gathering engine 220 is coupled to or capable of accessing or searching one or more data sources for the purpose of gathering individualized media content information based upon supplied trigger information. Some examples of such data sources include, but are not limited to: a second or multiple other electronic program guide listings; a sports information service such as a sports ticker or a team website; a historical listing of sports broadcasts such as an archive which may allow download and viewing of vintage sporting events; a ratings service which provides ratings in for movies or programming on television; a weather service which provides forecast and local conditions for a particular city or region; a movie database which allows searches by actor, director, movie title, or the like, for information about a movie or principals involved in the production of a movie; a news service such as a network or internet website which posts current news items of interest; a syndication feed such as an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed, or the like, which receives news items from selected sources; a collaborative filtering service which provides rankings, recommendations, related choices, or the like based upon filtering a plurality of consumer inputs; and a programming review service which critically reviews or critiques movies and/or television shows. Such data sources may be accessible, for example, via the Internet.
Media content information presenter 230 is coupled to individualized media content information gathering engine(s) 220. Media content information presenter 230 is configured for presenting a gathered item of expanded media content information in a displayable user interface. In one embodiment, this comprises formatting gathered information from an individualized media content information gathering engine 220 for display on a display device 118 (
In one embodiment, media content information presenter 230 formats a piece of gathered information for presentation as decision support information. Decision support information is a form of expanded media content item information which further assists a consumer in making a decision as to whether to watch, purchase, or record a media content item. In one embodiment this includes providing selectable “on demand” viewing options that are associated with the media content item displayed in the EPG or providing an option to search for related on demand viewing options. In one embodiment, media content information presenter 230 formats a gathered piece or grouping of information for presentation as one or more series recording options for a consumer to choose from. For example, other recording options may be offered in addition to or in place of typical EPG options to record a media content item or record a series which constitutes other media content items with the same series identifier metadata. In one embodiment for instance, a consumer may be offered one or more additional series groupings of media content items which have been gathered and/or grouped by an individualized media content information gathering engine 220. In one embodiment, such an additional series grouping may be recorded, for example, with one selection of a button, icon, or selectable region on a presented on a display.
The following discussion sets forth in detail the operation of present technology for expanding media content item information. With reference to
At step 310 of flow diagram 300, in one embodiment, the method analyzes metadata of a listing of a media content item in an electronic program guide to identify trigger information associated with the media content item. In one embodiment, for example, EPG metadata analyzer 210 analyzes metadata of a listing of a media content item in an EPG.
With reference now to
In one embodiment, EPG metadata analyzer 210 analyzes such displayed metadata 420A and/or undisplayed metadata 410 for trigger information. Some examples of trigger information which EPG metadata analyzer 210 may identify from displayed metadata 420A of
At step 320, in one embodiment, the method provides the trigger information to an individualized media content information gathering engine 200. In one embodiment, as shown in
Following the present example illustrated by
At step 330, in one embodiment, the method utilizes the individualized media content information gathering engine to perform a specialized data collection process based upon the trigger information. In such an embodiment, the specialized data collection process is for gathering expanded media content information regarding the media content item. In various embodiments, this may comprise utilizing the trigger information as a basis for searching or otherwise gathering information from data sources such as, for example: a second (or subsequent) electronic program guide listing, a sports information service, a historical listing of sports broadcasts, a ratings service, a weather service, a movie database, a news service, a syndication feed, a collaborative filter, and a programming review service, among others.
Following the previous example illustrated by the football game media content item described by metadata 420A and 410A of
Additionally, via a specific search of metadata (420) of other EPG listings and other data sources using the triggering information or the series identifier 411A, expanded series groupings related to the media content item (a football game) are gathered. For example in one embodiment a list of series grouping identified by sports media content information gathering engine 220A comprises: a series grouping of all NY Giants games; a series grouping of all Jaguars games; a series grouping of all American Football Conference (AFC) South games; a series grouping of all National Football Conference (NFC) East games; a series grouping of all National Football League (NFL) games; a series grouping of all Monday Night Football games (which may have previously been identified by an existing electronic program guide function); a series grouping of all Tiki Barber appearances; and a series grouping of all High Definition (HD) football games. In each of these series groupings that is generated the media content item (football game) is a member, for example by virtue of the sport, the league, the conference, the type of broadcast, or a player from a team.
In one embodiment, the method of flow diagram 300 further comprises presenting an item of gathered expanded media content information in a displayable user interface along with the listing. In one embodiment, media content information displayer 230 configures one or more items of gathered expanded media content information for display on a display device such as a television or display device 118. In one embodiment, the expanded media content information is displayed as an enhanced electronic program guide (EEPG) listing. EEPG listing 400A of
In one embodiment, an item of expanded media content information is presented as an expanded series recording option, wherein the media content item is a member of a grouping of media items encompassed by the expanded series recording option. In EEPG listing 400A, a variety of expanded series groupings are presented as expanded series recording options 440A. Thus the expanded series recording options shown are: “Record all NY Giants games” 441; a “Record all Jaguars games” 442; “Record all American Football Conference (AFC) South games” 443; “record all National Football Conference (NFC) East games” 444; “Record all National Football League (NFL) games” 445; “Record all Monday Night Football games” 446 (which may been identified by an existing electronic program guide function); “Record all Tiki Barber appearances” 447; and “Record all High Definition (HD) football games”. As can be seen each expanded series recording option 440A has a descriptive name which describes the series grouping it represents.
In various embodiments, as shown in
In one embodiment, an item of expanded media content information is presented as an item of decision support information to assist a user in a selection decision regarding the media content item. EEPG listing 400A shows an example of a plurality of items of expanded media content information presented as decision support information 430A. For example, injured reserve list information (431, 432) and weather information (433, 434) are presented to help a user decide whether not to watch or record the media content item (football game) displayed by EEPG listing 400A. For example, injured reserve list information 431 indicates that fullback Tiki Barber is out with a broken leg. If the consumer is a Tiki Barber fan, this information will likely assist in a decision as to whether or not to watch or record the media content item represented by EEPG listing 400A. Similarly, in one embodiment a selectable region/“button” such as button 435 may be provided to allow a user to easily search on demand options. For example, a user selection of button 435 will cause on-demand associated on-demand viewing options to be searches. In the presently describe example, this may allow a user to easily search for and find an on demand offering of classic football games between the New York Giants and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
In accordance with the system 200 and the method of flow diagram 300, metadata 410B and 420B are analyzed for trigger information (as previously described herein), and as previously described herein this trigger information is coupled to an individualized media content information gathering engine 220. In this case, the trigger information is provided to movie media content information gathering engine 220D, which then accesses one or more data sources, in the manner previously described to gather expanded media content item information based upon the trigger information. Some examples of trigger information, in this instance, may be “Tom Cruise”, “Nicole Kidman”, “Ron Howard”, “Oklahoma land rush”, and “Far and Away”. Thus expanded media content information such as a review, an age rating, awards received may be gathered, for example, from a movie database, a ratings service, and/or a program review service. Similarly, series groupings may be gathered in the manner previously described. Examples of such as series groupings include: movies staring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman; movies directed by Ron Howard; movies staring Ron Howard; movies staring Tom Cruise; movies starring Nicole Kidman; and programs about the Oklahoma land rush.
Still referring to
In accordance with the system 200 and the method of flow diagram 300, metadata 410C and 420C are analyzed for trigger information (as previously described herein), and as previously described herein this trigger information is coupled to an individualized media content information gathering engine 220. In this case, the trigger information is provided to news media content information gathering engine 220B, which then accesses one or more data sources in the manner previously described to gather expanded media content item information based upon the trigger information. Some examples of trigger information, in this instance, may be “news”, “ABC Evening News”, and “summary of world and national news events”. Thus expanded media content information such as top ABC website news releases and top RSS news releases may be gathered, for example, from a news service, a network website, and/or a syndicated news feed such as an RSS subscription.
Still referring to
In accordance with the system 200 and the method of flow diagram 300, metadata 410D and 420D are analyzed for trigger information (as previously described herein), and as previously described herein this trigger information is coupled to an individualized media content information gathering engine 220. In this case, the trigger information is provided to children's show media content information gathering engine 220C, which then accesses one or more data sources in the manner previously described to gather expanded media content item information based upon the trigger information. Some examples of trigger information, in this instance, may be “DIS”, “Kim Possible”, and “Animated”. Thus expanded media content information such as an American Family Values Rating, for example, may be gathered from a data source such as a ratings service, and/or a program review service.
Still referring to
In accordance with the system 200 and the method of flow diagram 300, metadata 410E and 420E are analyzed for trigger information (as previously described herein), and as previously described herein this trigger information is coupled to an individualized media content information gathering engine 220. In this case, the trigger information is provided to prime time television show media content information gathering engine 220N, which then accesses one or more data sources in the manner previously described to gather expanded media content item information based upon the trigger information. Some examples of trigger information, in this instance, may be “Crime Scene Investigation” and “Las Vegas”. Thus, series groupings may be gathered in the manner previously described. Examples of such series groupings include: a series grouping of the episodes of the present media content item; an über-series grouping of all spin-offs from the prime time television show Crime Scene Investigation (for example: Crime Scene Investigation, Crime Scene Investigation—New York, Crime Scene Investigation—Miami, and Crime Scene Investigation—Los Angeles); a first grouping of episodes of a single spin-off prime time television show (Crime Scene Investigation—New York); a second grouping of episodes of a single spin-off prime time television show (Crime Scene Investigation—Miami); and a third grouping of episodes of a single spin-off prime time television show (Crime Scene Investigation—Los Angeles).
Still referring to
At step 910 of flow diagram 900, in one embodiment, the method performs a specialized data collection process to generate a series grouping of which the media content item is a member. In such an embodiment, the specialized data collection process is based upon metadata of the listing. This is consistent with the previous description of utilizing an individualized media content information gathering engine 220 as described in conjunction with step 330 of flow diagram 300, except that this is a more focused implementation. In the interests of brevity and clarity, similar elements of this method will not be re-described herein.
In one embodiment, step 910 comprises utilizing collaborative filtering data from a plurality of users to determine a series grouping of which a media content item is a member. With reference to
Information gathered from such a collaborative filter may indicate that such consumers additionally watch or record the spin-off shows of Crime Scene Investigation—New York, Crime Scene Investigation—Miami, and Crime Scene Investigation—Los Angeles. In response to gathering this expanded media content item information, prime time television show media content information gathering engine 220N may then create an über-series grouping of which the media content item (Crime Scene Investigation) is a member.
With continued reference to step 910 and to
Information gathered from such a collaborative filter may indicate that such consumers additionally watch or record New York Giants games and NFC East games. Thus, in one embodiment, in response to gathering this expanded media content item information, prime time television show media content information gathering engine 220A may then create a series grouping of New York Giants games and an series grouping of AFC East games both of which the media content item (the football game of the New York Giants at Jacksonville Jaguars) is a member.
In one embodiment, step 910 of the method comprises comparing series identifier metadata of the listing to a set of series identifier metadata rules to determine a grouping of related listings of differing series identifier metadata. In one such embodiment, the media content item is a member of the grouping of related listings. With reference to
Information gathered from such an effort may indicate that spin-off shows of Crime Scene Investigation—New York, Crime Scene Investigation—Miami, and Crime Scene Investigation—Los Angeles are related to “Crime Scene Investigation”, even though they do not share series identifier 411E in common. In response to gathering this expanded media content item information, prime time television show media content information gathering engine 220N may then create an über-series grouping of which the media content item (Crime Scene Investigation) is a member or create individual related series groupings for each of the related media items/shows.
At step 920 of flow diagram 900, in one embodiment, the method presents the series grouping upon the display device as an expanded series recording option in an enhanced electronic programming guide listing associated with the media content item. This is consistent with the previous description of presenting a series grouping as part of an enhanced electronic programming guide listing (EEPG listing), which was described in conjunction with the method of flow diagram 300 in
In one embodiment, presenting a series grouping as an enhanced recording option 440E also comprises presenting a description of the series grouping. This is useful so that a consumer may decide quickly whether or not they are interested in recording items of the series grouping. For example, in one embodiment, when presented as an EEPG listing, the über-series grouping which becomes expanded recording option 842 has a descriptive title of “Record All Crime Scene Investigation Genres”.
In some instances it is useful to present even more information to a consumer. In these instances, presenting the series grouping upon the display device as an expanded series recording option in an enhanced electronic programming guide listing associated with the media content item further comprises presenting a listing of media content items in the series grouping. A listing 847 of the media content items constituted by expanded series recording option 842, is shown in EEPG listing 440E. Each media content item in the über-series grouping represented by expanded recording option 842 is listed by title in listing 847. This provides additional information to a consumer, which assists the consumer in making a decision on whether or not to select and record a presented expanded series recording option such as expanded series recording option 842.
At step 930 of flow diagram 900, in one embodiment, in response to a user selection of an expanded series recording option, the method marks items of the respective series grouping for recording. For example, in an embodiment in which method 900 is implemented in a digital video recorder, recording functionality of the digital video recorder is accessed and utilized to “mark for recording” the media content items which belong to a series grouping which has been selected for recording by selecting an expanded series recording option. Such a user selection may be made, in one embodiment, by using a remote control or other cursor control device 116 to manipulate a cursor or other selection device to select an expanded series recording option provided in an EEPG listing.
Example embodiments of the present technology for expanding media content item information are thus described. Although the subject matter has been described in a language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.