Remote control devices were developed to expand an ability of users to control content interaction by associated clients. For example, a client may be configured as a television to consume traditional television programming and a traditional remote control device may be may be communicatively coupled to the television to initiate one or more control functions of the television. Therefore, a user may press buttons on the traditionally configured remote control device to increase or decrease volume of the television, change channels, select different sources for content, and so on.
Remote control devices today, however, may have numerous buttons to initiate numerous control functions and therefore may be considered complex by an unsophisticated user. In another example, the remote control device may have few buttons in order to simplify the users' experience, but such simplification may be frustrating to sophisticated users.
Techniques to personalize a remote control device are described. In an implementation, a remote control device includes a display device and one or more modules. The one or more modules are configured to determine an identity of a user and initiate one or more control functions related to control of a display of content by a client. The one or more modules are also configured to personalize a display of representations of the one or more control functions on the display device based on the determined identity of the user.
In an implementation, a user of a remote control device is identified. The remote control device has functionality to initiate one or more control functions to control a display of content by a client. A display of representations of the one or more control functions on the remote control device is personalized. A display of the content by the client is also personalized using configuration settings of the identified user.
In an implementation, a user of a remote control device is identified. The remote control device has functionality to initiate one or more control functions to control a display of content by a client. One or more configuration settings are located that correspond to the identified user. The one or more configuration settings are then applied to the remote control device.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The use of the same reference numbers in different instances in the description and the figures may indicate similar or identical items.
Overview
Techniques to personalize remote control devices are described. In an implementation, a remote controlled device includes functionality to identify a user of the remote control device. For example, the remote control device may include a fingerprint reader or other biometric recognition device that is capable of distinguishing one user from another, may accept codes entered by a user of the remote control device that may be used to identify the user, press a unique button assigned to the user, and so on.
Configuration settings may then be retrieved based on the identity of the user to personalize the remote control device. For example, the configuration settings may specify a particular arrangement of representations of the control functions of the remote control device, e.g., “where” the representations are displayed by the remote control device. In another example, configuration settings may be used to specify a color or image for a background of the remote control device, representations to be used for the control functions of the remote control device (e.g., size and/or shape), which control functions are to be represented on the remote control device, and so on. In this way, the “look and feel” of the remote control device may be personalized for the user, further discussion of which may be found in relation to
The identity of the user may also be used to configure devices other than the remote control device that was used to identify the user. The remote control device, for instance, may be configured to initiate control functions of a client that is configured as a television. The identity of the user obtained from the remote control device may also be used to personalize the television, such as to personalize an electronic program guide. A variety of other user interfaces of the television may also be personalized, such as a “splash screen” used to welcome the user when the television is turned on. The personalization of the remote control device and the client may also be linked such that “themes” may be developed to coordinate personalization of the remote control device and the client. Further discussion of client personalization may be found in relation to
In the following discussion, an example environment and systems are first described that is operable to perform techniques to personalize remote control devices. Example procedures are then described that may be employed in the example environment, as well as in other environments. Although personalization is described in a television environment in the following discussion, it should be readily apparent that a wide variety of goods and/or services may also be personalized without departing from the spirit and scope thereof such as a garage door opener, an automobile door opener and an automobile, a wireless phone that may be configured to initiated control functions of another device (e.g., a vending machine), and so on.
Example Environment
The client 104 may be configured in a variety of ways. For example, the client 104 may be configured as a computer that is capable of communicating over the network connections 112, 114, such as a television, a mobile station, an entertainment appliance (e.g., a game console), a set-top box communicatively coupled to a display device as illustrated, a wireless phone, and so forth. Thus, the client 104 may range from a full resource device with substantial memory and processor resources (e.g., television-enabled personal computers, television recorders equipped with hard disk) to a low-resource device with limited memory and/or processing resources (e.g., traditional set-top boxes).
Communication of content to the client 104 may be performed in a variety of ways. For example, the client 104 may be communicatively coupled to the content provider 108 (which may be representative of one or more content providers) using a packet-switched network, e.g., the Internet. Accordingly, the client 104 may receive one or more items of content 116(k), where “k” can be any integer from 1 to “K” directly from the content provider 108, e.g., via one or more websites. The content 116(k) may include a variety of data, such as television programming, video-on-demand (VOD) files, one or more results of remote application processing, and so on. A variety of other examples are also contemplated, such as by using an indirect distribution example in which the content 116(k) is communicated over the network connection 110 to the network operator 102.
Content 116(k), as illustrated in
The client 104, as previously stated, may be configured in a variety of ways to receive the content 118(n) over the network connection 114. The client 104 typically includes hardware and software to transport and decrypt content 118(n) received from the network operator 102 for output to and rendering by the illustrated display device. Although a display device is shown, a variety of other output devices are also contemplated, such as speakers. Further, although the display device is illustrated separately from the client 104, it should be readily apparent that the client 104 may also include the display device as an integral part thereof.
The client 104 may also include digital video recorder (DVR) functionality. For instance, the client 104 may include a storage device 120 to record content 118(n) as content 122(c) (where “c” can be any integer from one to “C”) received via the network connection 112 for output to and rendering by the display device. The storage device 120 may be configured in a variety of ways, such as a hard disk drive, a removable computer-readable medium (e.g., a writable digital video disc), and so on. Thus, content 122(c) that is stored in the storage device 120 of the client 104 may be copies of the content 118(n) that was streamed from the network operator 102. Additionally, content 122(c) may be obtained from a variety of other sources, such as from a computer-readable medium that is accessed by the client 104, and so on. For example, content 122(c) may be stored on a digital video disc (DVD) when the client 104 is configured to include DVD functionality.
The client 104 includes a client communication module 124 that is representative of functionality of the client 104 to control content interaction on the client 104, such as through the use of one or more “control functions”. The control functions may include a variety of functions to control output of content, such as to control volume, change channels, select different inputs, configure surround sound, and so on. The control functions may also provide non-linear playback of the content 122(c) (i.e., time shift the playback of the content 122(c)) such as pause, rewind, fast forward, slow motion playback, and the like. For example, during a pause, the client 104 may continue to record the content 118(n) in the storage device 120 as content 122(c). The client 104, through execution of the client communication module 124, may then playback the content 122(c) from the storage device 120, starting at the point in time the content 122(c) was paused, while continuing to record the currently-broadcast content 118(n) in the storage device 120 from the network operator 102.
When playback of the content 122(c) is requested, the client communication module 124 retrieves the content 122(c). The client communication module 124 may also restore the content 122(c) to the original encoded format as received from the content provider 108. For example, when the content 122(c) is recorded on the storage device 120, the content 122(c) may be compressed. Therefore, when the client communication module 124 retrieves the content 122(c), the content 122(c) is decompressed for rendering by the display device.
The network operator 102 is illustrated as including a manager module 126. The manager module 126 is representative of functionality to configure content 118(n) for output (e.g., streaming) over the network connection 112 to the client 104. The manager module 126, for instance, may configure content 116(k) received from the content provider 108 to be suitable for transmission over the network connection 112, such as to “packetize” the content for distribution over the Internet, configuration for a particular broadcast channel, and so on.
Thus, in the environment 100 of
The remote control device 106 is illustrated as including a control module 128 that is representative of functionality to control operation of the remote control device 106. The control module 128, for instance, is representative of functionality to initiate control functions of the client 104. For example, the control module 128 may be configured to receive inputs related to selection of representations of control functions, such as a selection of a “volume up” representation on the remote control device 106 using a button. Data representing this selection may then be communicated via network connection 114 to the client 104 that causes the client 104 (e.g., the client communication module 124) to increase the volume. A variety of other control functions may also be initiated by the control function module 128 as previously described.
The control module 128 is further illustrated as including a remote personalization module 130 that is representative of functionality to personalize the remote control device 106. The remote personalization module 130, for instance, may employ one or more configuration settings 132(c) (where “c” may be an integer from one to “C”) that are specific to a particular identified user. For example, the control module 128 may also be representative of functionality of the remote control device 106 to identify a particular user such as through a fingerprint scan or other biometric reading, e.g., using one or more techniques to measure and/or analyze human body characteristics such as hand measurements.
Once the user of the remote control device 106 is identified, the remote personalization module 130 may retrieve one or more configuration settings 132(c) that are particular to the identified user to personalize the remote control device 106. Likewise, the client 104 may also be personalized through use of a client personalization module 134.
Personalization of the remote control device 106 may also be aided by the client 104 or other devices and therefore is not limited to performance by the remote control device 106, itself. For example, the remote personalization module 130 may receive an input (e.g., an identifier) from a user of the remote control device 106 that may be used to differentiate a user from another user. The remote control device 106 may then forward this identifier to the client 104 for use by the client personalization module 134 to identify the user. Once the user is identified by the client 104, data may be communicated by the client 104 to the remote control device 106 to personalize the remote control device 106 by the remote personalization module 130. A variety of other techniques may also be used to personalize the remote control device 106 and/or the client 104, an example of which may be found beginning in relation to the following figure.
In another implementation, the display device of the remote control device 104 covers at least forty percent of the outer surface of the remote control device 104. In a further implementation, the display device consumes, approximately, an outer surface of the remote control device 106 that is viewable by a user when placed on a surface (e.g., a top of a table) and/or grasped in a hand of the user, e.g., the illustrated outer surface of the remote control device 106 in
The display device may be implemented such that representations of control functions and other data are reconfigurable and therefore may be personalized on the remote control device 106. For example, different portions of the display device of the remote control device 106 may be configured to detect contact and/or proximity of an object to the display device such that different portions of the display device are selectable. A variety of different techniques may be used to detect selection, such as through resistive techniques, surface acoustic waves, capacitive, infrared, use of strain gauges, optical imaging, dispersive signal technology, acoustic pulse recognition, frustrated total internal reflection, and so on. Using these techniques, representations of control functions may be personalized in a variety of ways (e.g., such as different sizes, shapes, arrangements, and so on) such that each is selectable by a user, further discussion of which may be found below.
By selecting one or more of the representations 202, a user may supply an input to initiate the represented control function by the client 104. As illustrated by the remote control device 106 of
The remote control device 106 of
However, the size and arrangement of those representations, one to another, has changed to be positioned according to the configuration settings 132(c) that were retrieved based on the identity of the user. For example, the size and shape of the representations of the numeric keypad of the remote control device 106 of
Additionally, the arrangement of the representations of the control functions has been changed. For instance, the representations of the numeric keypad as well as the representations to change the channel and the volume have been positioned lower on the display device of the remote control device 106 of
Further, different control functions are represented by the remote control device 106 of
Yet further, the remote control device 106 may also include a background 304 that is personalized based on the configuration settings 132(c). In illustrated example of
For example, a “splash” screen 306 is illustrated in
Likewise, an electronic program guide 406 output by the client 104 also follows the soccer theme, such as by including a background that mimics a soccer field. The electronic program guide 406, and more particularly representations of content, may also be personalized. For example, particular representations that are used to represent content as well as which content is included in the electronic program guide 406 may be personalized. Data used to provide the personalization of the remote control device 106 and/or the client 104 may be obtained from a variety of sources.
Returning now to
The manager module 126 of the network operator 102 is illustrated as including a personalization manager module 146, which is representative of functionality of the network operator 102 to manage personalization of the client 104 and the remote control device 106 over the network connection 112. The personalization manager module 146, for instance, may provide an interface that is accessible by a user of the client 104 over the network connection 112 to obtain (e.g., purchase) themes for use by the client 104 and/or the remote control device 106. For example, the themes may be configured as advertisements provided free of charge by respective advertisers.
Personalization of the remote control device 106 and/or the client 104 may also be performed directly by a user of the remote control device 106. The user, for instance, may specify a particular photo to be used as a background on the remote control device 106, particular representations to be used for control functions on the remote control device 106, which control functions are to be represented on the remote control device 106, and so on. For example, the user may “drag-and-drop” representations of control functions using a touchscreen of the remote control device 106.
Additionally, personalization may be based upon monitored user action with the remote control device 106. The remote personalization module 130, for instance, may monitor which channels are most frequented by the user and provide representations of those channels on the remote control device 106, favorite television programs that are viewed by the user, and so on. In this way, personalization of the remote control device and/or a client 104 may be dynamically updated without specific intervention on the part of the user.
Referring generally now to
In an implementation, the identity of the user may be “roamed” between multiple remote control devices 106. For example, as previously described the client 104 may be employed to identify the user. Continuing with this example, use of any one of the remote control devices in a household may cause communication with this central point to identify the user and/or receive data to personalize the remote control device 106. Thus, in this continued example personalization may “roam” to multiple remote control devices without having to be manually “set up” for each of the remote control devices in the household individually.
Generally, any of the functions described herein can be implemented using software, firmware, hardware (e.g., fixed-logic circuitry), manual processing, or a combination of these implementations. The terms “module”, “functionality” and “logic” as used herein generally represent software, firmware, hardware, or a combination thereof. In the case of a software implementation, for instance, the module, functionality, or logic represents program code that performs specified tasks when executed on a processor (e.g., CPU or CPUs). The program code can be stored in one or more computer-readable memory devices. The features of the techniques to personalize a remote control device are platform-independent, meaning that the techniques may be implemented on a variety of commercial computing platforms having a variety of processors.
Example Procedures
The following discussion describes personalization techniques that may be implemented utilizing the previously described environment, systems, user interfaces and devices. Aspects of each of the procedures may be implemented in hardware, firmware, or software, or a combination thereof. The procedures are shown as a set of blocks that specify operations performed by one or more devices and are not necessarily limited to the orders shown for performing the operations by the respective blocks. In portions of the following discussion, reference will be made to the environment 100 of
One or more configuration settings are located that correspond to the identified user (block 504). The remote control device 106, for instance, may locally store configuration settings 132(c) in a storage device. In another example, configuration settings 132(c) may be obtained via a network connection 114, such as from the client 104 and/or the network operator 102. A variety of other instances are also contemplated, such as a third-party service that stores the configuration settings 132(c) and personalization data 138(p) for retrieval by the remote control device 106.
The one or more configuration settings are then applied to the remote control device (block 506). A wide variety of configuration settings 132(c) may be used to personalize a remote control device 106. For example, the configuration settings 132(c) may specify a particular color of representations and/or a background to be used with the remote control device 106, a particular image to be used as a background for the remote control device 106, which control functions are to be represented by the remote control device 106, a “screen saver” that is displayed by the remote control device 106 after a predetermined “time out” period, and so on.
The one or more configuration settings may also be applied to the client (block 508). The configuration settings 132(c), for instance, may be communicated from the remote control device 106 over the network connection 114 to the client 104. A client personalization module 134 may then use the configuration settings 132(c) to personalize an output of content by the client 104, such as to personalize an electronic program guide and/or a splash screen, further discussion of which may be found in relation to the following figure.
A display of representations of the one or more control functions on the remote control device is personalized using configuration settings in the identified user (block 604). A display of the content of a client may also be personalized using configuration settings of the identified user (block 606). As previously described, the personalization may be performed in a variety of ways, such as to personalize a color, size, shape, arrangement, and so on of the representations of the remote control device 106 and/or a client 104.
The configuration settings of the identified user are dynamically updated automatically and without user intervention a monitoring interaction of the user with a remote control device (block 608). For example, the remote personalization module 130 may monitor interaction of the user with the remote control device 106. Based on this monitoring, the remote personalization module 130 may update the configuration settings 132(c), such as to choose which representations of content are displayed with the remote control device 106 and/or an arrangement of those representations, one to another. In another implementation, however, it should be readily apparent that the user may also manually personalize the remote control device 106 and/or the client, such as to “drag and drop” representations of the control functions to rearrange the representations.
Conclusion
Although the invention has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the invention defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specific features and acts are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claimed invention.