System and method for temporally adaptive media playback

• US 10,397,665 B2
• Filed: 07/11/2016
• Issued: 08/27/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/22/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Basso, Andrea, Begeja, Lee, Gibbon, David C., Liu, Zhu, Renger, Bernard S., Shahraray, Behzad
• Primary Examiner(s): Davis, Chenea
• Application Number:
  US15/206,755
• Publication Number:
  US 20160323657A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,142 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4325 by playing back content from the storage medium reproduction of recorded television signals H04N5/76; reproduction of recorded television signals H04N9/79
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4402 involving reformatting operations of video signals for household redistribution, storage or real-time display details of conversion of video standards at pixel level H04N7/01; video transcoding H04N19/40; adapting incoming signals to the display format of the display terminal G09G5/005; media handling at the source in data packet switching networks H04L65/764
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440245 the reformatting operation being performed only on part of the stream, e.g. a region of the image or a time segment
• 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 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• 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 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/783 Adaptations for reproducing at a rate different from the recording rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and computer readable-media for temporally adaptive media playback. The method for adaptive media playback includes estimating or determining an amount of time between a first event and a second event, selecting media content to fill the estimated amount of time between the first event and the second event, and playing the selected media content possibly at a reasonably different speed to fit the time interval. One embodiment includes events that are destination-based or temporal-based. Another embodiment includes adding, removing, speeding up, or slowing down selected media content in order to fit the estimated amount of time between the first event and the second event or to modify the selected media content to adjust to an updated estimated amount of time. Another embodiment bases selected media content on a user or group profile.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

estimating, via a processor, an amount of time between a first event and a second event;

receiving, from a user and via a user interface, a preference;

selecting, based on the preference of the user and the amount of time, a first portion of media content and a second portion of the media content to fill the amount of time between the first event and the second event;

playing, via an output device, the first portion of the media content and the second portion of the media content; and

determining, via the processor, a change in a timing of the second event;

upon determining the change in the timing of the second event;

altering the first portion of the media content based on an updated end time, to yield an altered first portion of the media content, wherein the altered first portion of the media content has an altered run-time based on the updated end time;

replacing the first portion of the media content being played with the altered first portion of the media content; and

generating a notification of the updated end time.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the preference of the user is stored in a database, the database comprising a list of disliked content.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first event and second event are one of destination-based and temporal-based.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first portion of the media content comprises audio.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the altering further comprises playing the first portion of the media content at a different rate to fit the updated end time.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the second portion of the media content is not altered.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first portion of the media content comprises one of entertainment content, news content, and advertising content.

8. A system comprising:

a processor; and

a computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored which, when executed by the processor, result in the processing performing operations comprising;

estimating, via the processor, an amount of time between a first event and a second event;

receiving, from a user and via a user interface, a preference;

selecting, based on the preference of the user and the amount of time, a first portion of media content and a second portion of the media content to fill the amount of time between the first event and the second event;

playing, via an output device, the first portion of the media content and the second portion of the media content; and

determining, via the processor, a change in a timing of the second event;

upon determining the change in the timing of the second event;

altering the first portion of the media content based on an updated end time, to yield an altered first portion of the media content, wherein the altered first portion of the media content has an altered run-time based on the updated end time;

replacing the first portion of the media content being played with the altered first portion of the media content; and

generating a notification of the updated end time.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the preference of the user is stored in a database, the database comprising a list of disliked content.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the first event and second event are one of destination-based and temporal-based.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the first portion of the media content comprises audio.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the altering further comprises playing the first portion of the media content at a different rate to fit the updated end time.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the second portion of the media content is not altered.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the first portion of the media content comprises one of entertainment content, news content, and advertising content.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage device having instructions stored which, when executed by a computing device, result in the computing device performing operations comprising:

estimating, via a processor, an amount of time between a first event and a second event;

receiving, from a user and via a user interface, a preference;

selecting, based on the preference of the user and the amount of time, a first portion of media content and a second portion of the media content to fill the amount of time between the first event and the second event;

playing, via an output device, the first portion of the media content and the second portion of the media content; and

determining, via the processor, a change in a timing of the second event;

upon determining the change in the timing of the second event;

altering the first portion of the media content based on an updated end time, to yield an altered first portion of the media content, wherein the altered first portion of the media content has an altered run-time based on the updated end time;

replacing the first portion of the media content being played with the altered first portion of the media content; and

generating a notification of the updated end time.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage device of claim 15, wherein the preference of the user is stored in a database, the database comprising a list of disliked content.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage device of claim 15, wherein the first event and second event are one of destination-based and temporal based.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage device of claim 15, wherein the first portion of the media content comprises audio.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage device of claim 18, wherein the altering further comprises playing the first portion of the media content at a different rate to fit the updated end time.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage device of claim 19, wherein the second portion of the media content is not altered.