Internet enabled video media content stream

• US 10,555,051 B2
• Filed: 07/21/2016
• Issued: 02/04/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bagheri, Manouchehr
• Primary Examiner(s): Flynn, Nathan J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kurien, Christen A
• Application Number:
  US15/216,024
• Publication Number:
  US 20180027305A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,293 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23424 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for inserting or substituting an advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2387 Stream processing in response to a playback request from an end-user, e.g. for trick-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42224 Touch pad or touch panel provided on the remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4333 Processing operations in response to a pause request
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4524 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; systems specially adapted for using geographical information in broadcast systems H04H60/70; protocols in which the network application is adapted for the location of the user terminal in communication control or processing H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47815 Electronic shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8126 involving additional data, e.g. news, sports, stocks, weather forecasts
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/858 Linking data to content, e.g. by linking an URL to a video object, by creating a hotspot

Abstract

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a method that includes receiving weblink information, receiving media content, inserting the weblink information into a digital frame, providing the plurality of digital frames as a video stream to a consumer media device, displaying, by the consumer media device, the video stream, receiving, by the consumer media device, a user input to pause the video stream during the displaying of the video stream to pause the video stream to display a current digital frame of the plurality of digital frames, receiving, by the consumer media device, a user input indicating a selection of a portion of the current digital frame, determining selected Weblink information for the portion of the current digital frame, and providing a connection to a website associated with the selected Weblink information to the consumer media device. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a processing system comprising a processor, product website information, wherein the product website information is provided by a same service provider as a provider of media content;

receiving, by the processing system, the media content, wherein the media content comprises a plurality of digital frames;

providing, by the processing system, the plurality of digital frames as a video stream to a consumer media device, wherein the consumer media device displays the video stream;

providing, by the processing system, instructions to the consumer media device to insert a first portion of the product website information into a current digital frame for a primary object that is detected as being displayed in the current digital frame that is sold by a merchant;

receiving, by the processing system, an indication of a user input to pause a presentation of the video stream while the consumer media device displays the video stream, wherein the consumer media device pauses the presentation of the video stream to display the current digital frame of the plurality of digital frames responsive to the user input to pause the presentation of the video stream;

providing, by the processing system and while the presentation of the video stream has been paused, instructions to the consumer media device to insert a second portion of the product website information into the current digital frame for secondary objects that are detected as being displayed in the current digital frame that are related to the primary object and that are sold by the merchant;

receiving, by the processing system, an indication of the user input indicating a selection of a portion of the current digital frame from the consumer media device, wherein the portion of the current digital frame indicates one of the primary or secondary objects;

determining, by the processing system, selected product website information from the first or second portion of the product website information for the portion of the current digital frame, wherein access to a website via the selected product website information is only active after the pausing of the presentation of the video stream; and

providing, by the processing system, a connection to the website associated with the merchant and the selected product website information to the consumer media device through equipment of the service provider, wherein the providing the connection comprises creating a secure connection between the consumer media device and the website within a control of the service provider to access the selected product website information, and wherein the service provider controls access to an account of a user by the website.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising buffering the video stream during the pausing of the presentation of the video stream.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving purchase information from the website based on the user input of the user; and

accessing the account of the user from the service provider to complete a purchase via the website according to the purchase information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the inserting of the second portion of the product website information into the current digital frame comprises:

identifying the secondary objects related to the product website information within the current digital frame as a related image; and

adding the product website information to the related image.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

accessing a database comprising connections between objects and website links during the providing the video stream to the consumer media device;

identifying an object from the database within the current digital frame as an identified image; and

adding a related website link to the identified image.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein responsive to receiving the user input to pause the presentation of the video stream, the method further comprises:

performing an additional scan of the current digital frame for additional objects of the database; and

adding additional related website links to the additional objects.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a location of the consumer media device; and

providing location based website information related to the location of the consumer media device as the product website information being inserted into the current digital frame.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the user input indicating the selection of the portion of the current digital frame comprises a voice input.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a firewall between the consumer media device and the merchant.

9. 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:

receiving media content, wherein the media content comprises a plurality of digital frames;

receiving an access information database including a plurality of objects and a plurality of webpage links;

displaying the media content;

inserting a first link of the plurality of webpage links in a current digital frame of the plurality of digital frames for a primary object of the plurality of objects that is detected as being displayed in the current digital frame, wherein the primary object is sold by a merchant;

receiving a command to pause a presentation of the media content during the displaying of the media content to pause the media content to display the current digital frame of the plurality of digital frames;

responsive to the receiving of the command to pause the presentation of the media content, inserting at least a second link of the plurality of webpage links into the current digital frame for at least a second object of the plurality of objects that is detected as being displayed in the current digital frame, wherein the at least a second object is related to the primary object and is sold by the merchant;

receiving an input indicating a selection of a portion of the current digital frame, wherein the portion of the current digital frame indicates one of the primary object or the at least a second object as a selected object; and

providing a secure connection to a product website associated with one of the first link or the at least a second link in accordance with the selected object via an intranet provided between the processing system and the product website, wherein access to the product website is only active after the presentation of the media content is paused, wherein the product website is provided by a same service provider as a provider of the media content, and wherein equipment of the same service provider accesses an account of a subscriber to securely interact with the product website.

10. The non-transitory, machine-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the receiving the input indicating the selection of the portion of the current digital frame comprises a voice input.

11. The non-transitory, machine-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise providing purchase information to the product website based on user input, wherein the product website accesses the account of the subscriber from the service provider of the media content to complete a purchase via the product website according to the purchase information.

12. The non-transitory, machine-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the access information database includes a plurality of item categories, and wherein the operations further comprise:

performing a first search of the plurality of digital frames responsive to the receiving of the command to pause the presentation of the media content to determine if the primary object in the current digital frame matches an item category of the plurality of item categories; and

performing a second search of the current digital frame wherein the second search comprises accessing a portion of the access information database based on the item category of the first search.

13. An apparatus, 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;

providing media content to a media processor, wherein the media content comprises a plurality of digital frames;

providing a website link database to the media processor, wherein the website link database includes website links for objects sold by a merchant that appear in the plurality of digital frames, wherein the media processor adds a first website link of the website links to a first object of the objects in a digital frame of the plurality of digital frames responsive to receiving a pause command, wherein the media processor adds a second website link of the website links to a second object of the objects in the digital frame while a presentation of the media content is paused, and wherein the website link database and the media content are both provided by a same service provider;

receiving an indication of a selection of one of the first object or the second object as a selected object in the digital frame from the media processor;

determining a selected webpage corresponding to the selected object; and

providing a secure connection to the selected webpage to the media processor via the same service provider, wherein access to the selected webpage is only active after the presentation of the media content is paused, wherein the media processor opens a web browser window being hosted by the same service provider to present the selected webpage, and wherein equipment of the same service provider accesses an account of a user stored by the same service provider to mediate a purchase of the selected object through the selected webpage.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the media processor is configured to perform a preprocessing search of the media content while the media content is being displayed on a display of the media processor, and wherein the media processor is configured to perform a search of the digital frame for selected objects that appear in the digital frame responsive to receiving the pause command.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving purchase information from the selected webpage based on user input; and

accessing the account of the user to complete a purchase via the selected webpage according to the purchase information.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the providing the secure connection to the selected webpage comprises accessing a webserver of the selected webpage and providing the purchase information to the webserver.

17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the media processor determines a current location of the media processor, and wherein the media processor accesses the website link database according to the current location to determine location appropriate website links for the selected object in the digital frame.

18. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the selected webpage is maintained by the same service provider.

19. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein operations further comprise providing a firewall between the media processor and a product provider that accesses the selected webpage.