Patent Application
20100293575
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a system of providing indexing and content information to content presentations.
2. Background of the Invention
The television broadcast experience has not changed dramatically since its introduction in the early 1900s. In particular, live and prerecorded video is transmitted to a device, such as a television, liquid crystal display device, computer monitor and the like, while viewers passively engage.
With broadband Internet adoption and mobile data services hitting critical mass, television is at a cross roads faced with:
In addition, there is a tremendous increase in the number of people that have high speed (cable model, DSL, broadband, etc.) access to the interne so that it is easier for people to download content from the internet. There has also been a trend in which people are accessing the Internet while watching television. Thus, it is desirable to provide a parallel programming experience that is a reinvigorated version of the current television broadcast experience that incorporates new Internet based content.
Attempts have been made in the prior art to provide a computer experience coordinated with an event on television. For example, there are devices (such as the “slingbox”) that allow a user to watch his home television on any computer. However, this is merely a signal transfer and there are no additional features in the process.
Another approach is to supplement a television program with a simultaneous internet presentation. An example of this is known as “enhanced TV” and has been promoted by ABC. During an enhanced TV broadcast, such as of a sporting event, a user can also log onto abc.com to participate in a preprogrammed and or pre-produced content and applications that have been created explicitly for a synchronous experience with the broadcast. The underlining disadvantage to this approached is that the user is limited to only the data made available by the website, and has no ability to customize or personalized the data that is being associated with the broadcast.
Other approaches include game-casts providing historical and post-play statistical data, and asynchronous RSS widgets.
All of the prior art systems lack customizable tuning of secondary content, user alerts, social network integration, interactivity, user generated content and synchronization to a broadcast instead of to an event.
Another problem with the prior art broadcast experience is the passive and static presentation of program information. Many program guides are printed (such as in the newspaper) or are part of a service provider package. For example, cable TV provides a program guide channel that scrolls through the channels showing a current schedule and the next few hours of programming.
Another prior art programming guide overlays a current channel with a scrollable program guide where the user can select a channel and see what is currently on the channel and what is coming up, often over an extended time period of several days, or even weeks ahead. Digital Video Recorders (DVR's) often have their own proprietary program guides, typically providing two weeks worth of data.
A disadvantage of all of these program guides is their lack of specific information. If content is in progress, the guide does not change. The content description stays the same whether the content is at its beginning or at its end.
The system provides a program guide that uses advance or contemporaneous indexing to provide richer content descriptions than in the prior art. For example, if a program is in progress, the present system will present a program guide with a general description and additional description of what is currently being presented along with what has previously happened in the program. For example, if the program is a live sporting event, the system will let you know the score, the time, which players are playing, and the outcomes of prior plays. If it is a reality competition, the guide will let you know which contestant is currently featured and the status of the other contestants, as well as what the current activity may be.
In addition to the dynamic and updated program guide, the system may provide in one or more embodiments associated content from secondary sources that is related to the primary (broadcast) content. This secondary content can include images, commercial offers, articles, blogs, twitter feeds, audio/video content, chat rooms, and the like.
The present system provides a dynamically indexed program guide in substantially real time. In one embodiment, the system provides associated secondary content with the content and/or the program guide itself.
The system can be used in conjunction with the system described in “Social Media Platform & Method”, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/540,748 and in “System for Providing Secondary Content Based on Primary Broadcast, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/849,239 both of which are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference. In addition, the system can be used independently or in conjunction with traditional content delivery systems.
Functional Block Diagram
The data/metadata extractor 102 and context extractor 103 provide output to media association engine 104. The media association engine 104 uses the metadata and context data to determine what secondary content and promotional content to be provided to a user. The media association engine 104 is coupled to a user profile database 112 which contains profile information about the registered users of the system. The media association engine 104 provides requests to secondary content source 105 and promotional content source 106. In one embodiment, the media association engine also provides data to the program guide engine 112 that in turn provides guide information to a user display 111 or to a stand-alone remote control 113 In one embodiment the stand-alone remote control includes a display that may be a touch screen display.
Secondary content source 105 can draw content from commercial sources 105 such as from one or more web sites, databases, commercial data providers, or other sources of secondary content. The request for data may be in the form of a query to an interne search engine or to an aggregator web site such as Youtube, Flickr, or other user generated media sources. Alternatively, the secondary content can be user generated content 114. This content can be chats, blogs, homemade videos, audio files, podcasts, images, or other content generated by users. The users may be participating and/or registered users of the system or may be non-registered third parties.
The promotional content sources 106 may be a local database of prepared promotional files of one or more media types, or it could be links to servers and databases of advertisers or other providers of promotional content. In one embodiment, the promotional content may be created dynamically, in some cases by “mashing” portions of the secondary content with promotional content.
The media association engine 104 assembles secondary content and promotional content to send to users to update user widgets. The assembled content is provided via web server 107 to a user, such as through the interne 108. A user client 109 receives the assembled secondary and promotional content updates and applies a local profile/settings filter 110. This filter tracks the active widgets of the user, team preferences, client processing capabilities, user profile information, and other relevant information to determine which widgets to update and with which information. User display 111 displays user selected widgets and are updated with appropriate content for presentation to the user.
The system includes a ratings manager 112 coupled to the media association engine 104 and the web server 107. The ratings manager 112 receives information about the primary content source, the secondary content source, user behaviour and interaction, user profile information, and metadata relating to the primary content, secondary content, and promotional content.
The ratings manager 112 can detect traditional ratings information such as the presence or absence of a viewer of the primary content. In addition, the ratings manager 112 has access to the user profile data and for all users accessing the system. So the system can not only provide comprehensive statistical information about the viewing and viewing interest of a user, but important demographic information as well. The system can provide real time and instantaneous geographic, age based, income based, gender based, and even favourite team based, data relating the response and viewership of consumers of the primary content.
The user generated content allows users to interact in real time about an event that they are experiencing together (e.g. the primary content broadcast). The system can utilize both found and provided user generated content. Found content includes user generated content that is found as the result of queries to sites that may include some or all user generated content (YouTube, Flickr, etc.). Provided content can be prepared content by a user that relates generally to the event (e.g. team or player discussions in blogs and podcasts, image, video, and/or audio presentations, etc.). Provided content can also be real-time generated content that is being provided during the primary content broadcast (e.g. podcasting, chatting, etc.).
In one embodiment, the system includes a chat widget that is tied to the particular broadcast event. The chat widget permits the user to define the user's own chat rooms. The chat widget can indicate presence, a buddy list, and context. By context the list could be populated by all viewers of a particular broadcast. In other instances, the widget could be populated by all of the buddies of the user who are viewing the broadcast. In some instances, the primary broadcast event is a sporting event or game. If there are other games being broadcast on other channels, the system provides a mechanism for a viewer of one game to still access chat widgets for other games. This may be via visual presentation of a limited number of recent posts from that chat widget, so that a view can scan the widgets from different games and elect to enter the widget if the viewer sees something of interest.
In one embodiment of the system, the secondary content that will be presented to the user is tied to the primary broadcast exclusively. In another embodiment, the secondary content that is provided to the user is tied to the chat widget content exclusively, whenever the user is actively using the chat widget. For example, if the primary broadcast is a sporting event, the chat users may be chatting about prior games, players or seasons related to one or more of the teams in the sporting event. The secondary content that is provided would then be tied to that conversation. If the chat is about a team from say, 2002, the statistics for the team from 2002 could be presented in a stat widget, images and multimedia about that team could be provided in a picture or video widget, and news stories about that team could be provided in a text widget.
In another embodiment, activation of the chat widget could cause a blend of secondary content, some of which relates to the primary broadcast and other of which relates to the chat content. In other embodiments, the chat widget itself could include frames or windows for secondary content specifically related to the chat while previously activated widgets tied to the primary broadcast continue to have their content tied to that primary broadcast.
The system provides the ability to search the text of the chat widget to provide key words to the media association engine to retrieve appropriate secondary content tied to those keywords and other meta data.
Program Guide Operation
The system provides a method and apparatus for providing live indexing and program guide for pre-recorded programs or for live programs.
Pre-Recorded Content
If not, the metadata is analyzed for close captioning information at step 205. If there is close captioning content, that content is parsed at step 206 and summaries of scenes are prepared based on the closed captioning at step 207. These summaries may include the character names appearing on screen, a summary of the dialogue, or other identifying summary characteristics. These generated summaries are also tied to and associated with the running time of the content at step 208.
When the guide is presented at step 209, the current time is compared to running time cues in the content. The appropriate summary descriptions are displayed at step 210 and the display or remote are updated as appropriate. This takes place for each program that appears on the guide.
The step of preparing summaries for the live indexing in one embodiment is illustrated in more detail in
If the summary blocks are not coincident with the commercial breaks at step 1105, the system proceeds to step 1107 and defines additional summary blocks. This means that there may be two or more summary blocks between commercial breaks. In one embodiment, the system attempts to identify scene changes at step 1108. A scene change may be indicated by closed captioning text that indicates a different time or location than the prior scene. In other cases, a scene change can be assumed when a certain number of speakers in a scene have changed. The system attempts to identify scenes and to define the summary blocks to be coincident with the scenes. Even if the summary blocks do not coincide perfectly with the actual perceived or defined scenes of the content, the system will still provide useful live indexing information.
Once the summary blocks have been defined, they are associated with timestamps to define their start points and end points and returned at step 1109. The system then proceeds to generate summaries as described in the flow diagram of
At step 1206 it is determined if another summary block is available for processing. If not, the system ends at step 1207. If so, the system returns to step 1201.
Special Case and Live Content
In one alternate embodiment, human assisted indexing is used instead of, or in conjunction with, automated indexing, such as is described in connection with
It should be noted that when using the guide, the user is free to look back in time to see what has already taken place so that the user can get an idea of where things stand in the presentation of the content. This is also useful when the guide is coordinated with a DVR so that the user can more quickly go to a desired portion of the program. In one embodiment, the guide can be coordinated with the fast forward or rewind feature of a DVR so that the guide is updated while the forward or backward scan is operating. In another embodiment, the recorded show is indexed to the guide so that the user can just click on an entry in the guide and be taken to that portion of the program without scanning. It is like a live and dynamic chaptering system for presented content.
Presentation of Guide
If the user where to select any of the other programs available, the display would reflect the current state of the program as well as any summaries that had already been provided for the program. As noted above, if the user is viewing via a DVR or the like, and fast forwards through the program, the guide may stay in place and update the summary descriptions during fast forwarding so that the user can more easily find a desirable scene or moment from the program.
The guide may be presented on a computer, as an overlay on the television screen, on a separate channel on the television, or on a remote control that includes a display screen.
In one embodiment of the system, additional information is available that is not shown in the display of
The Community tab can show twitter information (
The system contemplates vendor site integration, such as the Amazon integration illustrated in
In one embodiment of the system, the information extraction can be automated using the systems of context extraction described above. In other instances, human driven semantic indexing can be used to provide the related information. In other instances, a hybrid combined approach can be used as desired.
A person would watch the content, either live content or content that does not include closed captioning that could be mined for information, and manually prepares summaries for time segments of the program. The template can include likely scene breaks that can be used, modified, and/or expanded by the person entering summaries. Here, the format of the show is somewhat know from previous shows, with title/credits, introduction, commercial breaks and the like already laid out. The user can check a box from the template and the start time for that summary block is indicated in the “start time box”. When another box is checked, the prior box has its end time set and the start time for the new box is determined. This allows the summaries to be matched up with time code of the program so that even if a viewer watches later via DVR, for example, the summary blocks will still be matched up with the content.
After a template box is selected, the user can enter a description of the summary block and when the description is complete, can select the “publish Live” button to complete the process.
Embodiment of Computer Execution Environment (Hardware)
An embodiment of the system can be implemented as computer software in the form of computer readable program code executed in a general purpose computing environment such as environment 1000 illustrated in
Computer 1001 may include a communication interface 1020 coupled to bus 1018. Communication interface 1020 provides a two-way data communication coupling via a network link 1021 to a local network 1022. For example, if communication interface 1020 is an integrated services digital network (ISDN) card or a modern, communication interface 1020 provides a data communication connection to the corresponding type of telephone line, which comprises part of network link 1021. If communication interface 1020 is a local area network (LAN) card, communication interface 1020 provides a data communication connection via network link 1021 to a compatible LAN. Wireless links are also possible. In any such implementation, communication interface 1020′ sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals which carry digital data streams representing various types of information.
Network link 1021 typically provides data communication through one or more networks to other data devices. For example, network link 1021 may provide a connection through local network 1022 to local server computer 1023 or to data equipment operated by ISP 1024. ISP 1024 in turn provides data communication services through the world wide packet data communication network now commonly referred to as the “Internet” 1025 Local network 1022 and Internet 1025 both use electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals which carry digital data streams. The signals through the various networks and the signals on network link 1021 and through communication interface 1020, which carry the digital data to and from computer 1000, are exemplary forms of carrier waves transporting the information.
Processor 1013 may reside wholly on client computer 1001 or wholly on server 1026 or processor 1013 may have its computational power distributed between computer 1001 and server 1026. Server 1026 symbolically is represented in
Computer 1001 includes a video memory 1014, main memory 1015 and mass storage 1012, all coupled to bi-directional system bus 1018 along with keyboard 1010, mouse 1011 and processor 1013.
As with processor 1013, in various computing environments, main memory 1015 and mass storage 1012, can reside wholly on server 1026 or computer 1001, or they may be distributed between the two. Examples of systems where processor 1013, main memory 1015, and mass storage 1012 are distributed between computer 1001 and server 1026 include thin-client computing architectures and other personal digital assistants, Internet ready cellular phones and other Internet computing devices, and in platform independent computing environments,
The mass storage 1012 may include both fixed and removable media, such as magnetic, optical or magnetic optical storage systems or any other available mass storage technology. The mass storage may be implemented as a RAID array or any other suitable storage means. Bus 1018 may contain, for example, thirty-two address lines for addressing video memory 1014 or main memory 1015. The system bus 1018 also includes, for example, a 32-bit data bus for transferring data between and among the components, such as processor 1013, main memory 1015, video memory 1014 and mass storage 1012. Alternatively, multiplex data/address lines may be used instead of separate data and address lines.
In one embodiment of the invention, the processor 1013 is a microprocessor such as manufactured by Intel, AMD, Sun, etc. However, any other suitable microprocessor or microcomputer may be utilized. Main memory 1015 is comprised of dynamic random access memory (DRAM). Video memory 1014 is a dual-ported video random access memory. One port of the video memory 1014 is coupled to video amplifier 1016. The video amplifier 1016 is used to drive the cathode ray tube (CRT) raster monitor 1017. Video amplifier 1016 is well known in the art and may be implemented by any suitable apparatus. This circuitry converts pixel data stored in video memory 1014 to a raster signal suitable for use by monitor 1017. Monitor 1017 is a type of monitor suitable for displaying graphic images.
Computer 1001 can send messages and receive data, including program code, through the network(s), network link 1021, and communication interface 1020. In the Internet example, remote server computer 1026 might transmit a requested code for an application program through Internet 1025, ISP 1024, local network 1022 and communication interface 1020. The received code maybe executed by processor 1013 as it is received, and/or stored in mass storage 1012, or other non-volatile storage for later execution. In this manner, computer 1000 may obtain application code in the form of a carrier wave. Alternatively, remote server computer 1026 may execute applications using processor 1013, and utilize mass storage 1012, and/or video memory 1015. The results of the execution at server 1026 are then transmitted through Internet 1025, ISP 1024, local network 1022 and communication interface 1020. In this example, computer 1001 performs only input and output functions.
Application code may be embodied in any form of computer program product. A computer program product comprises a medium configured to store or transport computer readable code, or in which computer readable code may be embedded. Some examples of computer program products are CD-ROM disks, ROM cards, floppy disks, magnetic tapes, computer hard drives, servers on a network, and carrier waves.
The computer systems described above are for purposes of example only. An embodiment of the invention may be implemented in any type of computer system or programming or processing environment.
This patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/177,617 filed on May 12, 2009 which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61177617 | May 2009 | US |
