Patent Grant
9800929
The present disclosure relates generally to providing recommendations for content users, and, more specifically, to a method and system for obtaining viewing data and generating program recommendations in a content recommendation system.
The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Television programming content providers are increasingly providing a wide variety of content to consumers. Available content is typically displayed to the user using a grid guide. The grid guide typically includes channels and timeslots as well as programming information for each information timeslot. The programming information may include the content title and other identifiers such as actor information and the like.
Because the number of channels is so great, all of the channels cannot be simultaneously displayed on the screen display. A user can scroll up and down and sideways to see various portions of the program guide for different times and channels. Because of the large number of content titles, and timeslots and channels, is often difficult to decide on a program selection to view.
The present disclosure provides a system and method for generating recommendations based upon viewing data from events at the user device and a recommendation algorithm.
In one aspect of the disclosure, a method includes determining a timeslot, tracking viewer events within a user device to form a viewer tracking log, generating a timeslot viewing profile based on the timeslot and viewer tracking log that corresponds to television programs watched previously at the user device during the timeslot, comparing the timeslot viewing profile with available content and generating a content recommendation list for the timeslot based on comparing.
In a further aspect of the disclosure, a system and method for generating television recommendations includes a viewer tracking module that tracks viewer events to form a viewer tracking log. A recommendation module that determines a timeslot, generates a timeslot viewing profile based on the timeslot viewing data. The viewer tracking log corresponds to television programs watched previously at the user device during the timeslot. The recommendation module compares the timeslot viewing profile with available content for the timeslot and generates a content recommendation list based after the recommendation module compares the timeslot viewing profile with available content.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.
The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.
As used herein, the term module, circuit and/or device refers to an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and memory that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable components that provide the described functionality. As used herein, the phrase at least one of A, B, and C should be construed to mean a logical (A or B or C), using a non-exclusive logical OR. It should be understood that steps within a method may be executed in different order without altering the principles of the present disclosure.
While the following disclosure is made with respect to example DIRECTV® broadcast services and systems, it should be understood that many other delivery systems are readily applicable to disclosed systems and methods. Such systems include wireless terrestrial distribution systems, wired or cable distribution systems, cable television distribution systems, Ultra High Frequency (UHF)/Very High Frequency (VHF) radio frequency systems or other terrestrial broadcast systems (e.g., Multi-channel Multi-point Distribution System (MMDS), Local Multi-point Distribution System (LMDS), etc.), Internet-based distribution systems, cellular distribution systems, power-line broadcast systems, any point-to-point and/or multicast Internet Protocol (IP) delivery network, and fiber optic networks. Further, the different functions collectively allocated among a service provider and integrated receiver/decoders (IRDs) as described below can be reallocated as desired without departing from the intended scope of the present patent.
Further, while the following disclosure is made with respect to the delivery of content (e.g., television (TV), movies, games, music videos, etc.), it should be understood that the systems and methods disclosed herein could also be used for delivery of any media content type, for example, audio, music, data files, web pages, games, etc. Additionally, throughout this disclosure reference is made to programs, data, information, movies, assets, video data, etc., however, it will be readily apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art that these terms are substantially equivalent in reference to the example systems and/or methods disclosed herein. As used herein, the term title or program will be used to refer to the movie or program name.
In the following examples, recommendations of titles of various programs are provided. The content recommendations may provide a title either graphically or alpha-numerically or a combination of both. Graphically, content posters or thumbnails may be provided. Several lists are generated, sorted and processed herein. The lists may include content or program titles or one or more alphanumeric identifiers or both. The list may not contain the actual content itself.
Referring now to
The head end 12 may communicate various content 30 or program guide data 32 through the satellite 18. The user device 22 may receive the content 30 and program guide data 32 for use therein. A plurality of set top boxes 22 may be in communication with the head end 12 through a network 36. The network 36 may be one type of network or multiple types of networks. The network 36 may, for example, be a public switch to telephone network, the internet, a mobile telephone network or other type of network.
The set top boxes 22 illustrated in
A mobile device 40 may also be incorporated in the system 10. The mobile device 40 may also receive downlink signals from the satellite 18. The mobile device may also be in communication through a wireless network to the head end 12.
The network 36 may also be in communication with a home media center 50. The home media center 50 may be in communication with a plurality of client devices 52. The client devices 52 may be set top boxes or other clients such as an RVU client. Thus, the home media center 50 may have one central storage device therein. The home media center 50 may be used to distribute content, channels, programs and other data to each of the clients 52. The home media center 50 may also include an antenna 24 for communicating with the satellite 18 in a similar manner to that illustrated above with respect to the set top boxes 22.
Referring now to
A controller 114 may be a general processor such as a microprocessor that cooperates with control software. The controller 114 may be used to coordinate and control the various functions of the user device 22. These functions may include a tuner 120, a demodulator 122, a decoder 124 such as a forward error correction decoder and any buffer or other functions.
The controller 114 may also include a viewer tracking module 116 and a recommendation module 118. The viewer tracking module 116 is used for tracking and logging viewing events at the user device 22. Ultimately, the viewer history may be logged in a viewer tracking log as will be further described below. The recommendation module 118 is used for generating recommendations corresponding to programs currently available for viewing corresponding to previously watched content during a timeslot. The recommendation module 118 may also generate programs or recordings that are deemed to be future or current programmings that the viewer should like based on an analysis of viewing habits of the viewer. Both types of recommendations will be further described below.
The tuner 120 receives the signal or data from the individual channel. The tuner may receive television programming content, program guide data or other types of data. The demodulator 122 demodulates the signal or data to form a demodulated signal or data. The decoder 124 decodes the demodulated signal to form decoded data or a decoded signal. The controller 114 may be similar to that found in current DIRECTV® set top boxes which uses a chip-based multifunctional controller. Although only one tuner 120, one demodulator 122 and one decoder 124 are illustrated, multiple tuners, demodulators and decoders may be provided within a single user device 22.
The controller 114 is in communication with a memory 130. The memory 130 is illustrated as a single box with multiple boxes therein. The memory 130 may actually be a plurality of different types of memory including the hard drive, a flash drive and various other types of memory. The different boxes represented in the memory 130 may be other types of memory or sections of different types of memory. The memory 130 may be non-volatile memory or volatile memory.
The memory 130 may include storage for various operational data collected during operation of the user device 22. One type of data storage includes the viewer tracking log 132 obtained and controlled by the viewer tracking module 116. The viewer tracking log (VTL) 132 includes viewer tracking log data that includes data about details of programs that have been watched or played back, including what time that they were watched or played back. The data of the VTL 132 may also include how long they were watched and program details. Recording deletion data within a digital video recorder may also be included in the data of the VTL 132.
Another type of memory 130 is the settings and the list information (SLI) memory 134. The SLI memory 134 may store various types of data including set top box playlist data 136 that has the playlist for content saved within the user device 22. The playlist data contains content visible to users and content currently non-visible to users. Another type of data is the favorite settings for the user device 22. The favorites may be stored in a favorite's memory 138. Other types of data may also be included in the SLI memory 134 which is illustrated as an “other” data memory 140. The other data memory 140 may include various types of data including ignored suggestions which correspond to suggestion or recommendation suggestions that were ignored. Another type of data in the other data memory 140 may include the channels subscription data, the blocked channels, adult channels, rating limits set by the user device 22, current set top box language, prioritizer data, TV resolution data, to do list data, the conditional access module identifier, and a request identifier. The request identifier may be generated at the simulation engine 50 of
The memory 130 may also include advanced program guide memory 144. The advanced program guide (APG) memory 144 may store program guide data that is received within the system. The program guide data may store various amounts of data including two or more weeks worth of program guide data. The program guide data from the APG memory 144 may be communicated in various manners including through the satellite 18 of
The memory 130 may also include a digital video recorder 146. The digital video recorder 146 may be a hard drive, flash drive, or other memory device. A record of the content stored in the digital video recorder is a playlist. The playlist may be stored in the DVR 146 or a separate memory as illustrated.
The user device 22 may also include a user interface 150. The user interface 150 may be various types of user interfaces such as a keyboard, push buttons, a touch screen, a voice activated interface or the like. The user interface 150 may be used to select a channel, select various information, change the volume, change the display appearance, or other functions. The user interface 150 may also be used for selecting recommendation and providing feedback for recommendations as will be described below.
A network interface 152 may be included within the user device 22 to communicate various data through the network 36 illustrated above. The network interface 152 may be a WiFi, WiMax, WiMax mobile, wireless, cellular, or other types of communication systems. The network interface 152 may use various protocols for communication therethrough including, but not limited to, hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP).
Referring now to
The viewer events module 210 generates data corresponding to viewing events so that the recommendation module 118 is able to generate useful recommendations likely to be of interest to the user. Various viewing events may include tuning to live television events, playing back recordings, channel changes and trickplay changes. Trickplay changes may include various digital video recorder functions including skipping various content during playback, or other digital video recorder functions.
The live viewing events may only be logged after a predetermined amount of time has passed while viewing a channel. A live viewing event may therefore have a time the tuning change occurred (which is the time the event was generated minus the 30-second waiting period), the channel object of the channel tuned and a program object of the program currently airing. Other information in the live viewing data may include a dual-live buffer swap.
A live television viewing event may also be generated when the current program ends and another begins in order to note the change of the program object identifier. In such a case, the event may be immediately generated with no 30-second lag between the change and the generation of the event.
A playback viewing event may also be logged. The playback of a program from a digital video recorder may be a playback viewing event. The time the playback began (which is the time the event was generated minus the 30-second waiting period), the channel object of the channel that the recording was recorded from and the program object of the recording may all be recorded.
A channel change may also be logged by the viewer events module 210. If the viewer changes the channel that is currently being viewed live, a channel change event may be logged. The time the channel was changed, the original channel and the destination channel may be logged.
Trickplay changes may also be monitored. If a trickplay is performed and no other trickplays are performed within a predetermined amount of time, the trickplay event may be logged. The time the trickplay change occurs, the location that the trickplay occurs within the recording and the new trickplay state may all be logged.
An idle-mode change may also be logged. That is, if the set top box or user device goes into an idle mode or comes out of an idle mode, an idle mode change event may be logged. The time the idle mode change occurred, a flag indicating whether the user device is entering or exiting an idle mode and a flag indicating whether the idle mode is actually stand-by, may all be logged.
An audio change is another viewer event that may be logged. If the viewer changes audio on the currently-tuned channel or in a recording, then an audio change event may be logged. The time the audio change occurred, a new audio stream identifier and an audio stream language may all be logged.
The viewer event module 210 may also log whether a recording has been deleted. If a recording has been deleted from the digital video recorder, a recording deleted event may be logged. The recording deleted event may include the time the recording was deleted, the channel object of the channel that the recording being deleted was from, the program object of the recording deleted and the reason the recording was deleted such as an explicit viewer deletion, a recording expiration, no room on the hard drive or the like.
The viewer events from the viewer events module 210 are communicated to the tracker module 212 which gathers the viewer events, analyzes them and based on the analysis adds the entries to the viewer tracking log 214. The viewer tracking log 214 may include the watched programs and recordings deleted.
The tracker module 212 may include a viewing tracker module queue 220 that queues the various viewer events. An aggregate queued events module 222 may aggregate the queued events and store them within the viewing tracker log 214.
The viewer tracking module 116 may be specific to one user device in a system such as a networked system illustrated in
The recommendation module 118 may also be in communication with set top box specific information 230 including the playlist and the channels subscribed to. These may be referred to as “channels I get.”
The recommendation module 118 may also be in communication with the current program guide data 232. The program guide data 232 corresponds to the currently available programs provided by the head end.
The recommendation module 118 may also be in communication with supplemental data 234. The data 234 corresponds to various data objects that may be sent together with the program guide data. The supplemental data 234 may include channels recommended. The recommended channels may be recommended by a person or determined by machine. The channels recommended may be communicated from the head end 12 as a data object to the user device 22. The recommended channels may be in a list from most recommended to least recommended.
Outside sources may also provide data. Outside sources may include sources that provide recommended programs. For example, programs may be recommended based upon a selection. Thus, all recommended programs related to a selected program may be provided. A list of related television series related to a selected television series may also be provided. The recommendations may be performed based upon various object data. The supplemental data may also include a channel group which groups channels together. For example, related channels may be grouped together based upon content typically played at such channels. A daily editorial list may also provide data selected by a person or a machine for a particular time period. For example, if a certain sporting event such as the Super Bowl will be played that day, this may be included within the daily editorial list. Other special events for a particular day may also be included within the daily editorial list.
A filter module 236 for filtering available content may also be used. The filter module 236 may include the watched program ratings, channel locks, adult content filters or other user selectable filters. The filters prevent content titles from appearing in the recommendations lists.
The recommendation engine 118 may generate an output to a display 240. The output is a recommendations list having titles, poster or other identifiers of content that may be desirable for the user. In the present example a first recommendation list and a second recommendation list is displayed simultaneously. Each list is generated using a different method. The display 240 may include a What's On display 242 as the first recommendation list and a You Might Like display 244 as the second recommendation list. The output may be in graphical, alphanumeric, or a combination or graphical and alphanumeric identifiers. These passages will be further described below.
Referring now to
In step 324, all the segments of the same program are summed together. In step 326, not all of the events may be stored in a viewer log. This reduces the size of the viewer log to a manageable size. In this case, 20% of a timeslot is used. Thus, if the sum of all the segments in a timeslot is greater than 20% of the timeslot in step 326, the viewer event is added to the viewer log in step 328. In this case, a timeslot may be 30 minutes and thus the 20% corresponds to six minutes. Of course, other times may be used. The 20% is merely used as a non-limiting example. In step 326, if the sum of all the program segments does not total 20%, then step 330 does not add the program to the viewer log.
A timeslot is a predefined time period having a start time and an end time. For example, a timeslot may be 7:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. If the present time is 7:15 p.m., 7:00 to 7:30 p.m. is the current timeslot and 7:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. is the next timeslot.
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The You Might Like portion 414 lists recommendations for the viewer. The You Might Like portions are programs that are not regularly watched by users. The You Might Like recommendations can be available now or in future. A plurality of thumbnails 424-430 is provided. The thumbnails 424-430 displayed in the You Might Like portion 414 correspond to recommendations from the recommendation engine.
The viewer-tracking and recommendation algorithms described herein operate in the satellite-connected set top box with or without a network connection or feedback from the set top box to the head-end. Feedback may be provided from broadband-connected set top box users, to enable PC or mobile users to log in to their account and view their recommendations. The feedback may also allow analysis and improvement of the performance of the recommendation algorithms.
Referring now to
Referring now to
In step 1010, a current timeslot is determined. A current timeslot is determined in order to analyze the programs and channels normally viewed at that time of day or day of week. The current timeslot is used to generate recommendations that are relevant to the viewers that normally view television at that time of day or week. A current timeslot enables recommendations to be generated for a shared television based on different viewers and different viewing habits at different timeslots. Determining the current timeslot will be further set forth below. In general, the current timeslot for the present example is 30 minutes. Thus, data will be analyzed for the current 30-minute timeslot. The next timeslot may also be used depending on the relative time within the timeslot. The choosing of the timeslot will be described further in
In step 1012, a timeslot viewing profile generation algorithm is used to define a timeslot viewing profile for programs viewed live and for recordings played back during the current timeslot. The timeslot viewing profile may identify a program series. In such a case, the profile may be referred to as a timeslot series profile. A series is a program title that has multiple episodes. Traditionally, a series runs consecutive weeks on a network. Although many networks offer repeats of various times. Again, the timeslot series will be described further below in
In step 1016, it is determined whether or not the What's On list is full. If the What's On list is full in step 1018, the list is displayed. As described above, the list may be displayed in a thumbnail, a poster, an alphanumeric display, or combination thereof.
Referring back to step 1016, if the list is not full, additional recommendations for the list may be obtained. In step 1020, a timeslot viewer preferred channels list may be developed. The timeslot viewer preferred channels list returns a list of preferred channels or typical channels watched during the timeslot of interest. The list provides a score or ranking value for each channel to provide a relative indication of importance or usage. More popular channels will be ranked higher. In step 1022 select the current programs from the timeslot viewer preferred channels list. In step 1024, a genre match algorithm based upon the viewer preferred program genres may be used to provide a score or ranking for programs from available content on the viewer preferred channels in the timeslot that match the typical genre. Higher ranked channels will be matched first. In step 1026, the highest ranking program matches are added to the What's On list. After step 1026, the What's On list is displayed on a display associated with a user device. The timeslot viewer preferred channels and genre-matching algorithm will be described further below in
It should be noted that the algorithm for generating the What's On list may have the contents filtered. That is, parental settings or rating settings may be set by the user at the user device. That is, adult content may not be added to the list if adult content is to be excluded. Likewise, content ratings higher than PG 13 may also not be added to the list. Thus, at any point during the process, filters may be used to prevent content from being added to the What's On list.
Referring now to
In step 1114, related program titles that are already stored in the user device are eliminated. That is, the content identifier or program object identifier may be used to sort through the related list and eliminate identical content. In step 1116, the first X number of content titles from the reduced list may be used for the You Might Like list. The value X may be chosen as 2 in the present example. However, various numbers of related contents may be chosen.
In step 1118, if there is more space in the related or You Might Like list, step 1120 is performed which obtains an editorial list. The editorial list is a list of content titles that may be set forth for a timeslot or other time period. The head end or external source may generate the list. The list may be a ranked list so the higher ranked content titles are compared first. In step 1122, a most watched channels list is generated. In step 1124, the editorial list is compared to the most watched channels list. That is, if any of the editorial list programs are on the most watched channels, step 1126 adds the program title or content identifier from the editorial list to the related or You Might Like list. The editorial list may also include a target channels list with each content title such that the title may also be added if any of the target channels is on the most watched channels list. The editorial list may also include a list of related programs or series with each content title such that the title may be added if any of the related programs or series matches a regularly watched program or series in the timeslot viewing profile generated in step 1012. The editorial list may also include a universal editorial content title, such that the title may be added for all viewers in a timeslot without checking their most watched channels list. The process in steps 1124-1126 is repeated until there is no more room in the You Might Like list or the related list, or the maximum number of daily editorial list programs has been added. Step 1128 determines whether the related or You Might Like list is full. If the list is not full, step 1130 determines whether the end of the editorial list or the maximum number of editorial items has been added to the list. In one embodiment, only two editorial list matches may be added to the related or You Might Like list.
When the end of the editorial list or the maximum editorial entries has not been reached in step 1130, step 1122 is again performed. When the end of the editorial list or the maximum editorial entries has been added to the related list in step 1130, step 1134 seeks to add more content to the related or You Might Like list. Genre-matching may be used to obtain further items for the related or You Might Like list. In step 1134, a related channels list is obtained. In step 1136, genre-matching may be applied to the upcoming programs on the related channels. Genre-matching may be performed for the current timeslot as well as a future timeslot. In step 1138, a list of matching programs from the related channels list is obtained. Values may be obtained for the genre-matching of these programs. When a content title has a highest genre match value or exceeds a minimum threshold corresponding to the highest likelihood of a match, step 1140 adds the content title to the related list. The closeness value is described below. If the related list is not full in step 1142, step 1140 may add another content from the genre-matched related channels list. When the related or You Might Like list is obtained, step 1144 displays the You Might Like list with the various content titles. The You Might Like list has a content identifier, a channel identifier and a program identifier associated therewith. However, only a thumbnail or alphanumeric descriptor may be displayed. The display may also be formed after steps 1118 and 1128 are performed. That is, after there is no more room in the related list in step 1118 or the related list is full in step 1128, step 1144 is performed.
Referring now to
In step 1210, if the current time is X minutes or more from the end of the current time period (which may be 30 minutes), step 1214 uses the current timeslot. The value X may be five minutes or other appropriate setting. In step 1210, when the current timeslot is not X minutes or more from the end of the current time period, the next timeslot is used in step 1212. That is, when the current time is closer than X minutes, step 1212 uses the next 30-minute timeslot for generating recommendations. The timeslot definition may be used in
Referring now to
In step 1310, the timeslot for analysis is determined. The timeslot for analysis may be the current timeslot or next timeslot depending on the current time relative to the end of the timeslot as described above in
In step 1312, the watched program events from the viewer tracking log are obtained from previous days. The program identifier, channel identifier, and the time watched for each of the programs are obtained from the viewer tracking log. The time watched value is assigned in the viewer tracking log as set forth in step 1314. As will be described below, the time watched value may be adjusted. In step 1316, it is determined whether the watched program event was a playback of a recording or a live program. In step 1316, if the program is a recording, the time watched value may be adjusted downward by an adjustment factor. The adjustment factor may be adjusted downward to account for the playback of recordings being less important than the live viewings.
Referring back to step 1316, if the event is not a recording playback, step 1320 is performed. Step 1320 is also performed after step 1318. In step 1320, it is determined whether the “watched program” event occurred on the same day of the week as the current day. If the watched program event occurred on the same day of the week, the time value is adjusted upward in step 1322. Again, this may be another adjustment factor.
If the event did not occur on the same day of the week and after step 1322, step 1324 determines whether the watched program event occurred greater than X days ago. The value X may be set so that an adjustment factor may be used to reduce the value of old content. In step 1326, if the watched program event is greater than X days old, step 1326 adjusts the time value downward by an adjustment factor. After step 1326, step 1328 determines the overall time watched value for each channel. The overall time watch value of the values sum together and adjusted per the adjustment factors above.
After step 1328, step 1330 may perform the steps of 1312-1328 for adjacent timeslots. That is, the same analysis may be performed for future timeslots. This is an optional step. After step 1330, step 1332 may adjust the time watched value for adjacent timeslots by an adjustment factor based on the time distance away from the current timeslot. Thus, timeslots directly adjacent to the current timeslot may be adjusted downward less than slots two timeslots ago.
After step 1332, step 1334 determines the total adjusted time watch values for current and adjacent timeslots. A most watched channels list may then be generated. Each element of the list may include a time watched value. The list may be sorted by the time watched value with the most time watched being at the top of the list.
In step 1336, it is determined whether the total time watched value is less than Y. If the total time value is less than Y, the channel may be dropped from further analysis in step 1338. The value Y may be a value chosen so that only significantly watched values are used. In step 1340, it is determined whether the channel watched time value is less than a certain percentage of the total watched time. This step is also performed after step 1336. If the total watched time value is less than a certain percentage, step 1342 removes the channel from further consideration. Referring back to step 1340, when the watched value is not less than a certain percentage of the total watched time value. Step 1344 sorts the channels with the highest total adjusted time watched value. In step 1346, if there is a tie, step 1348 places the channel that was most recently watched first in the list. Step 1350 is performed after step 1348 and after step 1346 if no tie was found in the watched time value. In step 1350 a preferred channels list having channel identifiers in an ordered manner based upon the time watched is generated. Various numbers of channels may be selected, such as the top 10 channels. In step 1352, if the preferred channels list is greater than X channels, a timeslot viewer preferred list of channels is generated in step 1354.
In step 1352, if the preferred channels list is not greater than X channels, then step 1356 adds recommended channels from a recommended list to the preferred list. That is, the head end may generate a recommended channels list with default channels to use for recommendations if no other information is available. These channels may likely be the most popular channels determined by the user serviced by the head end. The channels from the list may be screened so that the channels received by the particular set top box or user device are used. The recommended list may include content in various categories and may alternate the categories. For example, movie, sports, kids, news channels may all be provided within the recommended channels list. However, one channel from each category may be provided at the top of the list so that the list may be varied in content. The recommended channels list may be communicated to the user device through various means including channel objects communicated with the program guide data.
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After step 1522 and when the watched program event is not greater than X days ago, step 1524 is performed. In step 1524, the program content from the same series is grouped together using the content identifier, content identifier type and/or the primary identifier or other indicator of series. As mentioned above, the content identifier may have a series identifier incorporated therein. In step 1526, the weighted count values for each program in the group are summed together. The highest count values for a series having more than Y total programs, is generated. Thus, a timeslot series profile list having series that includes a type of identifier such as a content identifier, a content type and a primary identifier is formed. The highest priority of content may be at the top of the list. It should be noted that if two or more series have the same total count value, the priority may be determined based on the position of the series as specified in the prioritizer. This same total weighted count value may also be prioritized by the most recently viewed series content. It should also be noted that the time series profile is generated if the series generated is greater than two total programs. As long as there is more than two total programs within a series that have been watched, the timeslot profile series is generated in step 1530.
Referring now to
Referring back to step 1614, when more than one recording is found, step 1618 attempts to select one of the recordings. In step 1618, the content identifier string may be used. In this specific example, the recording with the lowest secondary ID value which, in the present example, is the fourth number in the content identifier string is used in the determination. The recording with the lowest secondary identifier is used. In step 1620, if there is not greater than one value, the lowest secondary ID value is added to the list in step 1616. If there is still greater than one recording, step 1622 adds the content from the higher channel to the What's On list. Of course, steps 1618 and 1622 are arbitrary ways for resolving the conflict in the list.
If no recordings were found in step 1610, step 1630 is performed. In this case, the most watched channels by timeslot determined in
Referring back to step 1634, when the currently airing program does match the timeslot profile, it is determined whether the currently airing program on any channel matches the content identifier from the list in step 1638. After step 1638, if more than one match is not found in step 1640, step 1616 adds the currently airing program to the What's On list. In step 1640, if more than one match is found, the secondary identifier or the most recent start time or the highest channel number may be used to resolve the conflict in step 1642. This step may perform steps similar to steps 1618-1622 described above.
Referring now to
In step 1714 the cosine similarity is calculated. The cosine similarity is a measure of the closeness of a candidate program vector to the genre profile target vector. The dot product between the candidate unit vector and the target unit vector is equal to the cosine of the angle between these vectors. The dot product is calculated by adding the category weights of the target vector for each category in the candidate program. The sum of weights is divided by the square root of the number of categories. This genre match calculation is illustrated in
In
Referring now to
The weight in the target vector is adjusted to new weight to incorporate feedback from recently watched programs. The new weight equals the old genre weight plus the step size divided by the square root of the number of categories in the program multiplied by the normalization value minus the genre match calculation of the program. For example, if the step size is 1, the weight adjustment is 1 minus 0.53 divided by the square root of 3. The resulting value 0.27 is the adjustment for the genre weights corresponding to the viewed program. Thus, if the program having the weights illustrated in
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The currently airing program on the second channel in the most watched channels in the timeslot list has not been added so, based on a genre match ranking, Futurama on channel 216 at 7:00 p.m. is added to the What's On results list.
The currently airing program on channel 705 is the only other program not added yet. The programs on the other two channels have already been added. Therefore, golf on channel 729 at 6:00 p.m. is added to the What's On results list.
For the You Might Like list, the data link for the Simpsons refers to the Family Guy on channel 306 so that the Family Guy is added to the You Might Like results list. All upcoming programs for up to three hours may be obtained from the related channels list generated from the viewer-preferred channels list. Presuming the following match the genre matched test, there are only three shows that have not passed or been added to the What's On list or the You Might Like list. These are Nightly News on channel 217 at 7:30 p.m., Futurama on channel 216 at 7:30 p.m. and Sports Center on channel 729 at 9:00 p.m. These results may be sorted chronologically so that nightly news, Futurama, Sports Center and The Family Guy are presented in that order. A screen display having posters or thumbnails and/or alphanumeric characters may be used for presenting the What's On and You Might Like lists.
Referring now to
The You Might Like list uses a related data link which, as mentioned above, links the Simpsons to The Family Guy. The related channels list ultimately gathers only three programs because they are the only current and future programs left airing on any channel of the recommended channels list. The following three programs, Seinfeld, House and Sports Center are added to the You Might Like list. Chronologically, the list may be sorted as Seinfeld, House, Sports Center and The Family Guy.
Those skilled in the art can now appreciate from the foregoing description that the broad teachings of the disclosure can be implemented in a variety of forms. Therefore, while this disclosure includes particular examples, the true scope of the disclosure should not be so limited since other modifications will become apparent to the skilled practitioner upon a study of the drawings, the specification and the following claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/500,855, filed on Jun. 24, 2011. The entire disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference.
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