Providing correlated programming information for broadcast media content and streaming media content

• US 10,057,660 B2
• Filed: 02/29/2016
• Issued: 08/21/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Oztaskent, Ant, Volovich, Yaroslav
• Primary Examiner(s): Hance, Robert J
• Application Number:
  US15/057,105
• Publication Number:
  US 20160182974A1
• Time in Patent Office: 904 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/254 Management at additional data server, e.g. shopping server, rights management server arrangements for maintenance or administration in data networks H04L41/00; network services using third party service providers H04L67/53
• 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 21/42209 for displaying non-command information, e.g. electronic program guide [EPG], e-mail, messages or a second television channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42224 Touch pad or touch panel provided on the remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/431 Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4383 Accessing a communication channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440218 by transcoding between formats or standards, e.g. from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 conversion of standards in analogue television systems H04N7/01
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44222 Analytics of user selections, e.g. selection of programs or purchase activity monitoring of user selections in data processing systems G06F11/34; arrangements for monitoring the user's behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/462 Content or additional data management, e.g. creating a master electronic program guide from data received from the Internet and a Head-end, controlling the complexity of a video stream by scaling the resolution or bit-rate based on the client capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for providing correlated programming information for broadcast media content and streaming media content. In one implementation, a processing device receives first programming information that includes scheduling information for media content originating at a first source. The processing device correlates the first programming information with second programming information, the second programming information including scheduling information generated based on a current time for a media content item originating at a second source. The processing device provides the second programming information as correlated with the first programming information.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving first programming information for a first channel of a plurality of channels, the first programming information comprising scheduling information for a first media content item originating at a first source;

correlating, by a processing device, the first programming information with second programming information for a second channel of the plurality of channels, the second programming information comprising scheduling information for a second media content item originating at a second source, the correlating being based on whether the second media content item has been previously viewed by a user and a similarity between the first media content item and the second media content item, and wherein the correlating is to arrange the second media content item originating at the second source with respect to the first media content item based on a duration of the second media content item being similar to a duration of the first media content item originating at the first source;

receiving first communication information for a first device providing the first channel and second communication information for a second device providing the second channel;

providing a user interface comprising the plurality of channels to facilitate selection by the user for a particular channel of the plurality of channels originating from the first source and the second source, wherein the first channel and the second channel are presented as grouped together with the correlated first programming information and the second programming information based on the similarity between the first media content item and the second media content item; and

in response to a selection of the particular channel, generating a first instruction to control the first device based on the first communication information when the first device provides the particular channel and a second instruction to control the second device based on the second communication information when the second device provides the particular channel.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the first communication information and the second communication information comprises:

retrieving a file from a server that specifies a first protocol comprising commands to control the first device and a second protocol comprising commands to control the second device, the first instruction being further based on the commands to control the first device and the second instruction being further based on the commands to control the second device.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an input from the user specifying a first channel number for the first channel and a second channel number for the second channel, wherein the correlating is further to arrange the second media content item and the first media content item based on the first channel number and the second channel number that have been specified by the user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second media content item originating at the second source comprises media content not previously viewed by the user.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second media content item originating at the second source comprises a sequence of media content items.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

identifying one or more of the media content items as being previously viewed by the user; and

removing the one or more of the media content items from the sequence.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying the first device and the second device, and wherein the first communication information specifies a function to be executed to generate the first instruction and the second communication information specifies another function to be executed to generate the second instruction.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the similarity corresponds to content of the second media content item originating at the second source being related to content of the first media content item originating at the first source.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the second programming information as correlated with the first programming information comprises arranging the second programming information in relation to the first programming information.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the second programming information as correlated with the first programming information comprises assigning a respective identifier to each of the first programming information and the second programming information.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the second programming information as correlated with the first programming information comprises providing composite programming information, the composite programming information comprising (a) at least a segment of the first programming information and (b) at least a segment of the second programming information.

12. A system comprising:

a memory; and

a processing device, coupled with the memory, to;

receive first programming information for a first channel of a plurality of channels, the first programming information comprising scheduling information for a first media content item originating at a first source;

correlate the first programming information with second programming information for a second channel of the plurality of channels, the second programming information comprising scheduling information for a second media content item originating at a second source, the correlating being based on whether the second media content item has been previously viewed by a user and a similarity between the first media content item and the second media content item, and wherein the correlating is to arrange the second media content item originating at the second source with respect to the first media content item based on a duration of the second media content item being similar to a duration of the first media content item originating at the first source;

receive first communication information for a first device providing the first channel and second communication information for a second device providing the second channel;

provide a user interface comprising the plurality of channels to facilitate selection by the user for a particular channel of the plurality of channels originating from the first source and the second source, wherein the first channel and the second channel are presented as grouped together with the correlated first programming information and the second programming information based on the similarity between the first media content item and the second media content item; and

in response to a selection of the particular channel, generate a first instruction to control the first device based on the first communication information when the first device provides the particular channel and a second instruction to control the second device based on the second communication information when the second device provides the particular channel.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the processing device is further to:

generate, based on a selection of the first media content item originating at the first source, a command associated with a first device; and

generate, based on a selection of the second media content item originating at the second source, a command associated with a second device.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the second media content item originating at the second source comprises a sequence of media content items.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the processing device is further to:

identify a device associated with at least one of the first media content item originating at the first source or the second media content item originating at the second source; and

obtain a communication protocol associated with the device.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the similarity corresponds to content of the second media content item originating at the second source being related to content of the first media content item originating at the first source.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein to provide the second programming information as correlated with the first programming information the processing device is to arrange the second programming information in relation to the first programming information.

18. The system of claim 12, wherein to provide the second programming information as correlated with the first programming information the processing device is to assign a respective identifier to each of the first programming information and the second programming information.

19. The system of claim 12, wherein to provide the second programming information as correlated with the first programming information the processing device is to provide composite programming information, the composite programming information comprising (a) at least a segment of the first programming information and (b) at least a segment of the second programming information.

20. A non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processing device, cause the processing device to perform operations comprising:

receiving first programming information for a first channel of a plurality of channels, the first programming information comprising scheduling information for a first media content item originating at a first source;

correlating, by the processing device, the first programming information with second programming information for a second channel of the plurality of channels, the second programming information comprising scheduling information for a second media content item originating at a second source, the correlating being based on whether the second media content item has been previously viewed by a user and a similarity between the first media content item and the second media content item, and wherein the correlating is to arrange the second media content item originating at the second source with respect to the first media content item based on a duration of the second media content item being similar to a duration of the first media content item originating at the first source;

receiving first communication information for a first device providing the first channel and second communication information for a second device providing the second channel;

providing a user interface comprising the plurality of channels to facilitate selection by the user for a particular channel of the plurality of channels originating from the first source and the second source, wherein the first channel and the second channel are presented as grouped together with the correlated first programming information and the second programming information based on the similarity between the first media content item and the second media content item; and

in response to a selection of the particular channel, generating a first instruction to control the first device based on the first communication information when the first device provides the particular channel and a second instruction to control the second device based on the second communication information when the second device provides the particular channel.