Set top box health and configuration

• US 10,015,483 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2017
• Issued: 07/03/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dish Technologies LLC (Echostar Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Dish Technologies LLC (Echostar Corporation)
• Inventors: Schaefer, Germar, Minnick, Danny J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Telan, Michael R
• Application Number:
  US15/639,871
• Publication Number:
  US 20170366806A1
• Time in Patent Office: 368 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 17/04 for receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41265 having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4424 Monitoring of the internal components or processes of the client device, e.g. CPU or memory load, processing speed, timer, counter or percentage of the hard disk space used error monitoring in general G06F11/30; arrangements for monitoring conditions of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/32; diagnosis, testing or measuring for television receivers H04N17/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4425 Monitoring of client processing errors or hardware failure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6582 Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38

Abstract

Disclosure is directed to determining a condition of the television receiver and communicating information regarding that condition to end-points that are external to the television receiver. The television receiver may create a two-dimensional barcode with information regarding the receiver condition and output the two-dimensional barcode for display on a display device. Once displayed on the display device, the two-dimensional barcode may be scanned into a mobile device where the information regarding the receiver condition may be stored, processed and/or forwarded to another location or device.

Claims

1. A method of managing a television receiver, comprising:

sensing a condition of a television receiver;

in response to sensing the condition of the television receiver, creating a two-dimensional barcode with information corresponding to configuration settings of the television receiver, the information comprising settings information corresponding to user-adjustable settings;

outputting the two-dimensional barcode from the television receiver for display on a display device;

wherein, when the two-dimensional barcode is scanned from the display device into a mobile device, the two-dimensional barcode conveys the information corresponding to the configuration settings to the mobile device, so that the mobile device obtains the information for later use by the television receiver;

subsequently communicating, by the television receiver with the mobile device, to transfer the information corresponding to the configuration settings from the mobile device to the television receiver; and

self-configuring, by the television receiver, based at least in part on the information corresponding to the configuration settings transferred from the mobile device to the television receiver, including the settings information corresponding to the user-adjustable settings.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a request to reconfigure the television receiver according to the information corresponding to the configuration settings retained by the mobile device;

where the communicating, by the television receiver with the mobile device, is responsive to the request and comprises establishing a connection from the television receiver to a storage medium on which the mobile device has stored the information corresponding to the configuration settings.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the condition corresponds to one or more user-adjustable settings for the television receiver, and the sensing is executed in response to receiving a user request at the television receiver to save the one or more user-adjustable settings.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the condition of the television receiver is an error condition occurring during an operation of the television receiver, and the method further comprises:

determining that the error condition will result in an imminent failure of an internal component of the television receiver;

wherein the creating the two-dimensional barcode with information corresponding to configuration settings of the television receiver is in response to the determining.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

developing a second two-dimensional barcode based on a corresponding error code, wherein the developing includes encoding the second two-dimensional barcode with routing information; and

outputting the second two-dimensional barcode from the television receiver for display on the display device;

wherein, when the second two-dimensional barcode is scanned from the display device into the mobile device, the second two-dimensional barcode conveys the routing information to the mobile device, so that the mobile device obtains the information to access a remote site with the routing information and direct error information regarding the error condition to a service provider capable of mitigating the error condition.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein:

the routing information includes a uniform resource locator configured to access a website through a browser operating on the mobile device; and

the website is configured to communicate the error condition to the service provider using information obtained by scanning the second two-dimensional barcode.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the routing information causes the mobile device to automatically launch an application that is configured to communicate with the service provider.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the two-dimensional barcode is additionally created with second information corresponding to configuration settings of a user input device configured to communicate to the television receiver, and, when the two-dimensional barcode is scanned from the display device into the mobile device, the two-dimensional barcode conveys the second information to the mobile device so that the mobile device obtains the second information for later use in input device reconfiguration.

9. A method, comprising:

scanning a two-dimensional barcode into a mobile device, the two-dimensional barcode;

being displayed on a display device associated with a television receiver;

and created with information corresponding to configuration settings of a television receiver in response to a condition of the television receiver, the information comprising settings information corresponding to user-adjustable settings;

wherein, when the two-dimensional barcode is scanned from the display device into the mobile device, the two-dimensional barcode conveys the information corresponding to the configuration settings to the mobile device, so that the mobile device obtains the information for later use by the television receiver;

decoding the two-dimensional barcode at the mobile device to determine the information corresponding to the configuration settings to the mobile device;

storing the information corresponding to the configuration settings for later use in reconfiguring the television receiver; and

subsequently communicating with the television receiver to transfer the information corresponding to the configuration settings from the mobile device to the television receiver to reconfigure the television receiver based at least in part on the information, including the settings information corresponding to the user-adjustable settings.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the information corresponding to the configuration settings includes a configuration setting for a remote control device associated with the television receiver.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the storing the information corresponding to the configuration settings comprises:

establishing a network connection between the mobile device and a storage device that is remote from the mobile device;

transmitting the storing the information corresponding to the configuration settings from the mobile device to the storage device across the network connection; and

storing the information corresponding to the configuration settings at the storage device.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving a request to reconfigure the television receiver according to the information corresponding to the configuration settings retained by the mobile device;

where the communicating comprises establishing a connection between the television receiver and a storage medium on which the mobile device has stored the information corresponding to the configuration settings.

13. A television receiver, comprising:

a tuner operable to receive a program service transmission having a plurality of channels, the tuner operable to select one of the channels and to prepare the channel to be output in a data signal to a display device;

a memory connected to the tuner, the memory including a tangible storage medium operable to store computer readable data and instructions;

a processor connected to the memory operable to run computer executable code stored in the memory;

a sensing module configured to execute on the processor to sense a condition of the television receiver;

an encoding module configured to execute on the processor to create, in response to sensing the condition of the television receiver, a two-dimensional barcode with information corresponding to configuration settings of the television receiver, the information comprising settings information corresponding to user-adjustable settings;

an output module configured to execute on the processor to output the two-dimensional barcode from the television receiver for display on the display device;

wherein, when the two-dimensional barcode is scanned from the display device into a mobile device, the two-dimensional barcode conveys the information corresponding to the configuration settings to the mobile device, so that the mobile device obtains the information for later use by the television receiver; and

a configuration module configured to execute on the processor to;

subsequently communicate with the mobile device to transfer the information corresponding to the configuration settings from the mobile device to the television receiver; and

configuring the television receiver, based at least in part on the information corresponding to the configuration settings transferred from the mobile device to the television receiver, including the settings information corresponding to the user-adjustable settings.

14. The television receiver of claim 13, wherein the communicating comprises connecting to a storage medium used by the mobile device to store the information corresponding to the configuration settings, to download the settings information corresponding to the user-adjustable settings, and wherein the configuring the television receiver comprises setting the television receiver according to the settings information.

15. The television receiver of claim 13, further comprising:

a recorder operable to a record and store a program associated with a channel of the program service transmission;

wherein the settings information includes a recording timer configured to cause the recorder to record a particular program.

16. The television receiver of claim 13, the configuration module to receive a request to reconfigure the television receiver according to the information corresponding to the configuration settings retained by the mobile device, where the communicating is responsive to the request and comprises establishing a connection from the television receiver to a storage medium on which the mobile device has stored the information corresponding to the configuration settings.

17. The television receiver of claim 13, wherein:

the condition corresponds to one or more user-adjustable settings for the television receiver, and

the sensing is executed in response to receiving a user request at the television receiver to save the one or more user-adjustable settings.

18. The television receiver of claim 13, wherein:

the condition of the television receiver is an error condition occurring during an operation of the television receiver;

the television receiver is configured to determine whether the error condition will result in an imminent failure of an internal component of the television receiver; and

the creating the two-dimensional barcode with information corresponding to configuration settings of the television receiver is in response to determining that the error condition will result in an imminent failure of an internal component of the television receiver.

19. The television receiver of claim 18, wherein:

the encoding module is further configured to develop a second two-dimensional barcode based on a corresponding error code, wherein the developing includes encoding the second two-dimensional barcode with routing information; and

the output module is further configured to output the second two-dimensional barcode from the television receiver for display on the display device;

wherein, when the second two-dimensional barcode is scanned from the display device into the mobile device, the second two-dimensional barcode conveys the routing information to the mobile device, so that the mobile device obtains the information to access a remote site with the routing information and direct error information regarding the error condition to a service provider capable of mitigating the error condition.

20. The television receiver of claim 19, wherein:

the routing information includes a uniform resource locator configured to access a website through a browser operating on the mobile device; and

the website is configured to communicate the error condition to the service provider using information obtained by scanning the second two-dimensional barcode.