Patent Application
20100064320
Customers (a/k/a “subscribers”) of modern cable or television (TV) satellite services are familiar with the concept of an on-screen programming guide or an interactive program guide (IPG). These program guides allow a subscriber to display, sort and search TV programming that is playing on the channels available to the subscriber. Typically, when a subscriber accesses the program guide, the programs on at that moment are displayed. The user can generally scroll forward in time to see what is playing later in the day, on the next day, and further ahead in time. A typical program guide allows a subscriber to display programming up to two weeks into the future.
Today's television services provide hundreds of channels to chose programming content from, including movies and pay-per-view events. In the future, it is expected there will be thousands of channels. In order to make selections when faced with such a multitude of options, a subscriber may go to a magazine, newspaper or website to see what TV programs and movies are the most popular. Depending upon their preferences, subscribers may rely upon specific sources to determine popularity, such as, for example, Nielsen ratings from Nielsen Media Research of New York, N.Y. However, there presently is not any information concerning the popularity of the programs offered in these guides that are available while a subscriber is perusing the on-screen program guide.
a is an illustration of one embodiment of a computing device that can be used to practice aspects of the present invention;
b is an embodiment of a processing system having a distributed communication and processing architecture that may be used to practice aspects of the present invention;
Preferred embodiments that may be implemented according to the present invention now will be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed, this invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.
The preferred embodiments described herein provide systems and methods for a subscriber to make a selection from their on-screen program guide to see the popularity of available programming content. Popularity information and programming options may be brought together on a TV screen for a viewer's convenience and use. Additionally, the preferred popularity information can be applied to other directories such as, for example, video on demand movies, online games, movies currently playing in theaters, etc.
As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the preferred embodiment may be implemented as a method, a data processing system, or a computer program product. Accordingly, the preferred embodiment may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, implementations of the preferred embodiment may take the form of a computer program product on a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program instructions (e.g., computer software) embodied in the storage medium. More particularly, implementations of the preferred embodiments may take the form of web-implemented computer software. Any suitable computer-readable storage medium may be utilized including hard disks, CD-ROMs, optical storage devices, or magnetic storage devices.
The preferred embodiments according to the present invention are described below with reference to block diagrams and flowchart illustrations of methods, apparatuses (i.e., systems) and computer program products according to an embodiment of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, respectively, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be loaded onto a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus create a means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks.
These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including computer-readable instructions for implementing the function specified in the flowchart block or blocks. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that the instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks.
Accordingly, blocks of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations support combinations of means for performing the specified functions, combinations of steps for performing the specified functions and program instruction means for performing the specified functions. It will also be understood that each block of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based computer systems that perform the specified functions or steps, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.
In the preferred embodiments referenced herein, a “computer” or “computing device” may referenced. Such computer may be, for example, a mainframe, desktop, notebook or laptop, a hand held device such as a data acquisition and storage device, or it may be a processing device embodied within another apparatus such as, for example, a set top box for a television system or a wireless telephone. In some instances the computer may be a “dumb” terminal used to access data or processors over a network. Turning to
The processor 1 also communicates with various peripherals or external devices using an I/O bus 6. In the present embodiment, a peripheral I/O controller 7 is used to provide standard interfaces, such as RS-232, RS422, DIN, USB, or other interfaces as appropriate to interface various input/output devices. Typical input/output devices include local printers 18, a monitor 8, a keyboard 9, and a mouse 10 or other typical pointing devices (e.g., rollerball, trackpad, joystick, etc.).
The processor 1 typically also communicates using a communications I/O controller 11 with external communication networks, and may use a variety of interfaces such as data communication oriented protocols 12 such as X.25, ISDN, DSL, cable modems, etc. The communications controller 11 may also incorporate a modem (not shown) for interfacing and communicating with a standard telephone line 13. Finally, the communications I/O controller may incorporate an Ethernet interface 14 for communicating over a LAN. Any of these interfaces may be used to access a wide area network such as the Internet, intranets, LANs, or other data communication facilities.
Finally, the processor 1 may communicate with a wireless interface 16 that is operatively connected to an antenna 15 for communicating wirelessly with another device, using for example, one of the IEEE 802.11 protocols, 802.15.4 protocol, or a standard 3G wireless telecommunications protocols, such as CDMA2000 1x EV-DO, GPRS, W-CDMA, or other protocol.
An alternative embodiment of a processing system that may be used is shown in
Those skilled in the art of data networking will realize that many other alternatives and architectures are possible and can be used to practice the preferred embodiments. The embodiments illustrated in
The preferred embodiments provide for popularity information about certain video programming to be stored by a popularity information system as referenced hereinafter. This information may be obtained from other sources such as, for example, the Nielsen Ratings that are available at www.nielsenmedia.com, or it may be derived from empirical data such as by the system polling computing devices capable of providing viewing information and/or a history of viewing information to the system. This information may be periodically or continuously updated on the system. When a customer makes a selection while viewing, for example, a program guide, a request is made to the popularity information system, which then transmits the popularity information to the customer's computing device (e.g., a set top box), where it may be displayed to the customer.
An embodiment of network architecture that may be associated with an on-screen program guide with interactive program popularity information is shown in
Although
The IP channel 218 provides a separate channel for bi-directional communication between the set top box 206 and the service provider. Specifically, the IP channel 218 in this embodiment provides access to popularity information system 221, which is able to provide popularity information to the set top box 206. Furthermore, the IP channel 218 allows feedback from the set top box 206 to be provided to the system 221 to provide real-time and historical information about the shows being watched by the user. In one embodiment, the set top box 206 overlays a window of popularity information (i.e., a popularity window) on the video data when presenting the video signal to the television, though in other embodiments the popularity information is combined with the video signal provided by the service provider. Techniques for overlaying or combining displays are known in the art.
The QAM channel 214 carries video information from video source system 216. Although the QAM channel is illustrated as a single channel, there are typically multiple channels provided over an access network. Typically, additional equipment is required to multiplex and otherwise process a variety of video channels onto the access network (e.g., modulators, amplifiers, etc.) and
The popularity information system 221 may be implemented using a popularity information server 220, a program data storage 230, and a popularity processor 228. The popularity information server 220 may be implemented to include, for example, a web (HTTP) server or other communications protocol that allows for communications between server 220 and subscribers 224 over the access network 212. The popularity information server 220 has access to program data storage system 230, which stores program data, such as program guide information associated with the various programs available over the access network. The system 230 contains information regarding what programs are currently being provided by the video source 216 and at what times. It is presumed that infrastructure is in place (not shown) for automatically updating the system 230 with the appropriate information. Thus, the popularity server 220 can query (or otherwise obtain) information about which specific programs are being provided on the access network 212. This may include which programs are available on which channels. The server 220 may also have an interface 231 to allow a trusted source 232 to enter popularity data about a particular show. In other embodiments, the popularity server may be programmed to search or reach out to specified websites such as the Nielsen data website, to obtain popularity data from various sources. The server 220 may also be connected to popularity processor 228, which may be a computer configured to store and process popularity data from various sources. It is to be appreciated that one or more of the popularity information server 220, the popularity processor 228 and the program data storage system 230 may be implemented in the same computer (e.g., as separate processes) or separate computers. The popularity information can be stored on the popularity processor 228 and integrated into the data communicated over access network 212 so that viewers or potential viewers of the program would be able to see the popularity of a selected program. In such a case, the system 228 provides the popularity information to the server 220 which transmits it to the set top box 206 and the set top box 206 displays it on the television screen 204.
An embodiment of the typical information flow for processing a request for a review of popularity content is now described in the context of
The server 220 accesses the program data in system 230 to ascertain the available programs (current and in the immediate future). (Alternatively, the data could have been previously stored in the popularity server.) The server 220 provides a transmission 208 to the set top box 206 indicating program guide information for the available and upcoming programming content (alternately, such information could be provided to set top box 206 previously and stored, such as on a daily basis). The set top box 206 sends message 210 to the server 220, where message 210 may include selection criteria for the populations information (further described below). Server 220 may then send the selection criteria in a request 226 to popularity processor 228, which retrieves popularity information associated with the programming content, for example, using the selection criteria. Alternatively, the message 210 could be sent directly from the set top box 206 to the system 228 where popularity information associated with the programming content can be retrieved. Also alternatively, the selection criteria could be sent directly from the popularity information server 220 to the system 228 without receiving message 210, where the selection criteria are predefined and/or default criteria (e.g., most popular programs for the past seven days). This popularity information is then provided to the set top box 206 in a transmission 234, where it may be displayed, for example, as an overlay of the video image generated by the video signal. If equipped with the proper recording equipment (e.g., digital video recorder), the user may be provided with an option to record the selected popular program at the set top box 206 for playback at the user's convenience.
Alternative embodiments to the system described above are possible. For example, in
The set top box 206 may record the user's request for popularity information, as well as shows selected and/or received by a user, and keep a history of the viewer's actions. This information may be automatically conveyed to the server 220, or retained in the set top box 206 for future downloading to the server 220. The usage information may be stored and processed in the processor 228 in order to track viewership, popularity, etc., for example, on a real-time basis. The usage information in the popularity server may be periodically ‘pulled’ or ‘pushed’ to another computer system that generates periodic bills, in order to properly bill the viewer for such services, if billing is desired. Such information may also be used to determine the preferences of a user so that the user may be proactively notified of the popularity of recently-viewed or repetitively-viewed shows without the user having to request such information.
Selection criteria may be any information that may be used to select a subset of popularity information to provide to subscriber. For example, in the preferred system, a user may be able to: select one or more particular programs and view popularity information for just the selected programs; select a program type (e.g., a genre, such as sitcoms) and view popularity information for all programs having the program type; select a video channel and view popularity information for shows on that channel; select a date range and/or time range and view popularity information for shows within that range; or any combination of the foregoing. The selection criteria may also give an option to provide real-time popularity information vs. historical information (described below). The selection criteria may be included in the message from set top box 206 to server 220 requesting popularity information, or may be default or predefined selection criteria (e.g., the most popular shows over the past seven days) that may be stored or used automatically by server 220.
Once the dates are entered, the selection criteria are transferred from the set top box 206 to the server 220, for example, as part of message 210. The popularity server then accesses the system 228 to obtain popularity information for programming using the selection criteria—in this example, the most popular programming available over the access network between the two dates. The popularity or “most watched” information is then transferred from the system 228 to the server 220 and downloaded to the set top box 206, where it is displayed to the user on the user's display device 204 (e.g., television). An exemplary screen illustrating a form of displaying the results for the “most watched” programming between the two dates is shown in
Referring back to
Another embodiment of a screen for displaying “most watched” information is shown in
The embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3A-3F is but one example of many different ways that the preferred systems and processes can be implemented. It is to be appreciated that there are several ways that the channel guide may be displayed as well as various ways to make selections that are displayed on the screen and to be made aware of programming popularity information. For instance, in one embodiment voice commands rather than a remote may be used to make screen selections and information may be visually displayed on the screen(s) or it may be audible, or combinations thereof.
The preferred embodiments of the system described above may be used to provide a user with most watched programming content as a feature of an interactive program guide, as further described in the processes described herein.
Many modifications and other embodiments will come to mind to one skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions of the preferred embodiments. For instance, the popularity information may be provided audibly rather than (or in addition to) visually. Also, the popularity information may be presented in formats that are not shown herein. Accordingly, it should be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments described herein, but rather to the appended claims, and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in an inclusively descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.
