Patent Application
20100287584
Various technologies exist that allow a parent to control a child's access to media content. For example, so-called “V-chip” technology allows a parent to restrict viewing of television shows based upon television show ratings. Further, many types of media content have ratings that provide a parent with information that can be used in a decision to allow a child to purchase, view or otherwise access media content. For example, unedited movies shown on premium cable television or satellite channels generally have ratings that may be used to restrict access in a similar manner, as do video games, music, etc.
However, many types of content are rated under different rating system. For example, television shows are rated in the U.S. under the “TV Parental Guidelines” established by the National Association of Broadcasters, the National Cable Television Association and the Motion Picture Association of America, and include ratings such as TV-Y (all children), TV-Y7 (older children), TV-Y7-FV (older children, may be more intense than other TV-Y7 shows), TV-G (general audience—all ages), TV-PG (parental guidance suggested; may include sub-ratings for violence, sexual situations, strong language, and suggestive dialogue), TV-14 (may be unsuitable for children under 14), and TV-MA (may be unsuitable for children under 17).
On the other hand, movie ratings established by the Motion Picture Association of America and the National Association of Theater Owners utilize ratings such as G (general audience—all ages), PG (some material may not be suitable for children), PG-13 (some material may be inappropriate for children under 13, R (under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian), and NC-17 (no one 17 or under admitted). Video games and music are each rated under their own rating schemes.
Further, other countries may utilize yet other rating systems for each of these content types. As content from around the world becomes more and more accessible via the Internet (for example, via Internet television), parents in one country may increasingly encounter media items with ratings from other countries.
Accordingly, various embodiments are disclosed that are related to facilitating parental control of access to various types of media content. For example, in one disclosed embodiment, a computing device is configures to receive an input of a unified parental control information that comprises an age to which to compare a rating of a media item. The computing device is further configured to receive a first media item that is rated under a first rating system, to receive ratings information associated with the first media item, to compare the ratings information associated with the first media item to the unified parental control information, and to restrict playback of the first media item if the unified parental control information meets a threshold condition compared to the ratings information associated with the first media item. The computing device is further configured to receive a second media item that is rated under a second rating system that is different than the first rating system, to receive ratings information associated with the second media item, to compare the ratings information associated with the second media item to the unified parental control information, and to restrict playback of the second media item if the unified parental control information meets a threshold condition compared to the ratings information associated with the second media item.
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 to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure.
As mentioned above, media content may be rated under any of a number of different rating systems, depending upon the type of content and the geographic location (e.g. country) in which the media item is intended for consumption. Current media playback devices are often capable of receiving and playing back many different types of media content from many sources. For example, a media player on a computing device may be configured to receive and play back movies, music, television shows, images, etc., received from sources such as local removable media drives, network connections, broadcast receivers, etc. In light of this versatility, the parental control settings used to control the playback of such media items may become more difficult to manage.
Therefore, embodiments are disclosed herein that facilitate the setting and management of parental control settings in light of such diversity in media content type and source. Prior to discussing these embodiments in detail, an example use environment 100 is described with reference to
The computing device 102 further comprises a television receiver 108. The television receiver 108 may be incorporated into the computing device, or may be external to the computing device, and may be configured to receive television from a broadcast source 110, from a cable source 112, and/or any other suitable source, including but not limited to a satellite source (not shown).
As shown in
Computing device 102 also may be configured to receive media items over a network 122, such as the Internet. For example, computing device 102 may be configured to receive internet television shows from one or more internet television sources 124. Further, internet television sources 124 may be located in different countries, and therefore may provide television shows rated under different rating systems. This is indicated in
Computing device 102 may also receive media over network 122 from a media server 134. Such a media server 134 may be configured to provide various types of media items, including but not limited to movies 136, pre-recorded and/or live television shows 138, music 140, video games 142, etc. Each of these types of media items may be rated under one or more rating systems. For example, as depicted in
The computing device also may include a removable media drive 150 configured to receive a removable medium, such as a digital versatile disk (DVD), a compact disk (CD), a flash memory drive, etc. In
It will be understood that the embodiment of
Due at least in part to various rating systems being promulgated by different organizations that attempt to address different potential parental concerns, and that are potentially located in different countries, the various rating systems that the computing device 102 may encounter during ordinary use may use different rating conventions (e.g. age-based, letter-based, etc.), that have different numbers of ratings levels (e.g. U.S. television ratings include seven different ratings, while U.S. movie ratings include five different ratings), and that change between ratings levels at different specified ages. For example, the U.S. television rating TV-14 specifies an age of 14 years of age as a threshold age, while the U.S. movie rating PG-13 specifies an age of 13 years as a threshold age.
From the standpoint of parental control settings, a parent setting up and/or managing such a large number of potential ratings via a parental access control program currently may be prompted to select a desired rating for each different rating system supported by the computing device. This may further involve selecting desired ratings for rating systems from different countries, as a child may access media content from other countries via a network connection, satellite television, or the like. Further, when a child grows older, or when a younger child starts to seek out media content, changing such a large number of settings may be a relatively lengthy process, and may be subject to error if a parent forgets to change one or more of the ratings.
Therefore,
In the depicted embodiment, the unified parental control information comprises an access restriction age 204 and a home country identity 206. The access restriction age 204 specifies an age that a parent or other user wishes to have compared to media content ratings to determine whether to restrict playback of a media item. For example, a parent may enter the actual age of a child as the access restriction age, may enter an age older than the child if the child is perceived to be relatively more mature, or may enter an age younger than the child if stricter control is desired. The home country identity 206 allows the determination of a correct rating to utilize where a media item contains ratings from more than one rating system. It will be understood that the unified parental control information may also include additional information, such as a personal identification number (PIN) 207 that can be entered to allow a restricted media item to be unlocked for playback, additional access control information (e.g. special rules to apply where content is rated as containing violence, sexual situations, etc.), and other attributes of the media item. In some embodiments, the parental control information may support up to 2̂32 different attributes.
Continuing with
Next, the ratings information is compared to the unified parental control information at 212 to determine if playback of the media item is to be restricted. Comparing the ratings information to the unified parental control information may involve various processes. For example, a rating contained within the ratings information may be converted to an age value for comparison to the access restriction age 204 in the unified parental control information. The term “converted to an age value” and the like signify any conversion of a rating of any type to an age value that can be compared to the access restriction age 204. For example, under the U.S. movie rating system, the letter rating “R” may be converted to an age value of 17 for comparison to the access control age. Likewise, the alphanumeric rating PG-13 may be converted to an age value of 13 for comparison to the access control age.
Next, if it is determined that the unified parental control information meets a threshold condition compared to the ratings information, then, at 214, playback of the first media item is restricted. For example, if it is determined that the access restriction age 204 in the unified parental control information 202 is less than the age value to which the first media item rating was converted, playback may be restricted.
Continuing with
Next, method 300 comprises, at 310, receiving a first media item, and, at 312, receiving a rating from the first media item. Other ratings information may be received in addition to the rating. For example, a rating system identity may be received, as indicated at 314, to allow the rating to be converted to an age value, as well as to allow the determination of whether the rating is from a home country rating system. Further, one or more rating attributes may be received, as indicated at 316. A rating attribute may comprise, for example, a subrating such as a “violence”, “language”, “sexual content”, “suggestive dialogue”, “fantasy violence”, or other subrating. Further, a rating attribute may comprise a time range during which parental controls will apply. Such an attribute may be used in countries in which time-dependent access restriction rules exist. For example, some European countries may impose regulations whereby a content item may be unconditionally restricted (i.e. restricted no matter the ratings) during select times of the day such that it is viewable only by entering a PIN, but restricted according to the user's parental control information during other times of the day. In this case, the rating attribute may comprise an indication of this restriction. A rating attribute value comprising a window of time during the day in which such stronger restriction applies also may be received with the rating attribute.
Continuing with
Next, at 322, the ratings and rating system identities are stored in a ratings table associated with the first media item. The term “associated with the first media item” as used herein signifies that the ratings table and first media item are linked such that the ratings table may be located and accessed by a device playing the media item. In some specific embodiments, the ratings table may be appended to the first media item such that the ratings table and first media item are stored as a single file, while in other embodiments, the ratings table and first media item may be stored separately. Further, as indicated at 324, any ratings attributes and associated attribute values received at 316 are also stored in the ratings table.
After receiving and storing the ratings, rating system identities, and any ratings attributes, it is determined at 326 if any rating system for any of the stored ratings is associated with the home country identity. If the answer to this inquiry is yes, then, at 328, the home country rating is converted to an age value, which is then compared to the access restriction age. Next, at 330, playback is restricted if a threshold condition is met (e.g. if the access restriction age is lower than the rating age value). On the other hand, if it is determined at 326 that none of the stored rating system identities are associated with the home country identity, then, at 330, a strongest rating in the ratings information is converted to an age value, and compared to the access control age. Then, playback is restricted at 332 if the age value meets a threshold condition relative to the access control age.
Continuing with
On the other hand, if the rating system is determined at 342 not to be associated with the home country, then a strongest rating is converted to an age value, and the age value is compared to the access restriction age to determine whether to restrict playback at 348. Again, if a threshold condition is met, playback may be restricted. It will be understood that playback may still be allowed, even where restricted, if a viewer enters a PIN to unlock the restricted media item.
It will be understood that some media items may contain no ratings information. Therefore, in some embodiments, a parent may able to select whether or not to restrict playback of any unrated media items. This option may be selected, for example, as a part of the unified parental control information that is input by a parent.
After the capture component receives the ratings information and stores the ratings information in the ratings table, the media item may be accessed by a playback module 406 that controls the playback of the media item. The playback module is further configured to call a ratings module 406 that is configured to convert ratings, subratings, etc. stored in the ratings information to age values. The ratings module is also configured to compare the age values, rating system identity, and other information, to the unified parental control information which are then compared against the user's settings for the user's home country. If it is determined that playback is to be restricted, then the ratings module directs the playback module to restrict playback. In this case, playback may be enabled (e.g. unlocked) by entering a PIN.
In this manner, a single age-based value input by a parent may be used to control access to multiple different types of content rated under multiple different ratings systems. Further, a home country identity input may allow a correct rating for a media item to be selected where the media item has ratings from more than one country. This may facilitate the setting and management of parental control settings compared to the management of each different rating system separately. It will be understood that the configurations and/or approaches described herein for restricting playback of media items are presented for the purpose of example and not intended to be limiting, because numerous variations are possible. The specific routines or methods described herein may represent one or more of any number of processing strategies. As such, various acts illustrated may be performed in the sequence illustrated, in other sequences, in parallel, or in some cases omitted. Likewise, the order of the above-described processes may be changed.
The subject matter of the present disclosure includes all novel and non-obvious combinations and subcombinations of the various processes, systems and configurations, and other features, functions, acts, and/or properties disclosed herein, as well as any and all equivalents thereof.
