Method and system for remote television replay control

• US 10,320,503 B2
• Filed: 11/09/2016
• Issued: 06/11/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: DIRECTV, LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Sweatt, Millard E., Woodward, Don, Matichuk, Chris E., Regnier, Alain, Nudelman, Mark, Pignon, Philippe, Westerhoff, Dave, Voltmer, F. Andrew, Self, Matthew, Mohan, Sunil
• Primary Examiner(s): Idowu, Olugbenga O
• Application Number:
  US15/347,548
• Publication Number:
  US 20170064369A1
• Time in Patent Office: 944 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/27 Arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/72 using electronic programme guides [EPG] focusing on identifying broadcast space time H04H60/39 ; menu type display of EPG in television receivers H04N21/47
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/82 the transmission system being the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2183 Cache memory caches in web servers or browsers G06F16/9574; intermediate storage and caching in data networks H04L67/568
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/222 Secondary servers, e.g. proxy server, cable television Head-end provisioning of proxy services in data packet switching networks H04L67/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23109 by placing content in organized collections, e.g. EPG data repository details of retrieval of video data and associated meta data in video databases G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26283 for associating distribution time parameters to content, e.g. to generate electronic program guide data
• 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 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4227 Providing Remote input by a user located remotely from the client device, e.g. at work
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4431 characterized by the use of Application Program Interface [API] libraries
• 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 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4825 using a list of items to be played back in a given order, e.g. playlists
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 : involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6175 : involving transmission via Internet broadcast-related systems characterised by the transmission system being the Internet H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6581 : Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/85406 : involving a specific file format, e.g. MP4 format
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8586 : by using a URL processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94; information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; URL in broadcast information H04H20/93; Web-based protocols H04L67/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 : on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/162 : Authorising the user terminal, e.g. by paying; Registering the use of a subscription channel, e.g. billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 : with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal

Abstract

A method, system, computer medium, and other embodiments for integrating unrelated web hosted services with stand-alone media-based devices are provided. Users can access and control the media-based device conveniently with a web-browser through various portals on the Internet. In one embodiment, users access the media-based device through one or more unrelated web portals, so as to control and to program the media-based device in a single web session, and to see information both stored on the media-based device and originating from third-party online sources of information and services in a single integrated presentation.

Claims

1. A device, comprising:

a processing system including a processor; and

a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, comprising;

transmitting, to a middle-tier server, application program interface function calls, wherein the middle-tier server retrieves information pertaining to a client device via a client application operating on the client device when the middle-tier server performs the application program interface function calls, wherein the information comprises electronic program guide information received from a third-party online service;

generating a portal having access to and in communication with the middle-tier server and the client device to store the information;

receiving the information from the portal;

creating a presentation according to the information at the portal, wherein a format of the presentation is based on a capability of the client device, and wherein the information is arranged according to a format of the third-party online service;

forwarding the presentation via the portal to the client application, wherein the client device displays the presentation by way of the portal through the client application;

receiving an indication of interest in the presentation from the client application based on a frequency at which the client device accesses an item within the presentation from the portal; and

caching, at the portal, the information regarding the item at the middle-tier server responsive to the client device interacting with the presentation to provide the indication of interest, wherein the caching occurs at the frequency based on the receiving of the indication of interest for a time at which the indication of interest occurs.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the information includes a channel lineup specific to the client device.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the information does not include information pertaining to programs not available to the client device.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the information includes general information and specific information, wherein the general information is received from an online service that includes content information, broadcast information, show information, movie clips, and wherein the specific information includes data related to the capability of the client device.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein caching the information comprises storing the general information and the specific information in a raw format.

6. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a processing system comprising a processor, application program interface function calls from a web-server;

generating, by the processing system, a portal having access to and in communication with the processing system and a client device;

instructing, by the processing system, the portal to provide the application program interface function calls to the client device;

retrieving, by the processing system, information pertaining to the client device, wherein the information comprises electronic program guide information received from a third-party online service;

providing, by the processing system, the information to the portal to be stored therein;

instructing, by the processing system, the portal to create a presentation according to the information, wherein a format of the presentation is based on a client application operating on the client device, and wherein the information is arranged according to a format of the third-party online service;

instructing, by the processing system, the portal to forward the presentation to the client application, wherein the client device displays the presentation through the client application;

receiving, by the processing system, an indication of interest in the presentation from the client application based on a frequency at which the client device accesses an item of the information within the presentation from the portal; and

instructing, by the processing system, the portal to cache the information regarding the item based on the frequency.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the information includes a channel lineup specific to the client device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the information does not include information pertaining to programs not available to the client device.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein information further includes content information, broadcast information, show information, movie clips, chat rooms information, search-engine information, or any combination thereof.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the cache of the information stores the information in a raw format.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein the portal creates the presentation by assembling the information into a flexible data format particular to the client application.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the assembling the information into the flexible data format particular to the client application comprises packaging data into one of an XML and a HTML format.

13. A non-transitory, machine-readable storage medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system including a processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:

instantiating a portal to receive general information from an online service;

instructing the portal to receive specific information that is related to a media processor, wherein the specific information comprises electronic program guide information received from a third-party online service;

instructing the portal to store the general information and the specific information;

receiving an application program interface function call from a web server;

responsive to receiving the application program interface function call;

instructing the portal to retrieve the general information and the specific information as retrieved data;

instructing the portal to assemble the retrieved data into a flexible data format particular to the web server;

instructing the portal to create a presentation from the flexible data format configured for a graphical user interface of the media processor, wherein the portal transmits the presentation to the media processor, and wherein the media processor provides an indication of interest in an item from the presentation based on a frequency at which the media processor accesses the item from within the presentation from the portal; and

instructing the portal to cache the retrieved data including the item based on the frequency.

14. The non-transitory, machine-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the general information includes a channel lineup specific to the media processor.

15. The non-transitory, machine-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the specific information includes the channel lineup specific to the media processor and does not include information pertaining to programs not available to the media processor.

16. The non-transitory, machine-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the fportal assembles the presentation into a flexible data format particular to the media processor including one of an XML and an HTML format.

17. The non-transitory, machine-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise instructing the portal to store the general information and the specific information responsive to requests from the media processor.