System for accessing content

• US 20010044855A1
• Filed: 03/28/2001
• Published: 11/22/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nowavision, LLC
• Original Assignee: Nowavision, LLC
• Inventors: Kurfist, Lewis Andrew, Sasso, Jim, Vermeire, Brian Christopher
• Granted Patent: US 6,874,152 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/310
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/611 for multicast or broadcast systems for broadcast or conference H04L12/18; arrangements for broadcast or distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/00; arrangements for broadcast applications with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time H04H60/00; selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS], H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• 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 21/4532 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 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4755 for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• 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 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information 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 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A system for accessing content over a network of computers. The system includes a database system, a content provider interface, a viewer interface, and a virtual remote control. The database system maps channels codes to network addresses as well as to content descriptions. The network address identifies a unit of information or entertainment content. The channel codes include a genre code and a numerical code. The content provider interface assists content providers in entering the network addresses and the content descriptions for their information and entertainment content into the database system. The viewer interface includes a guide (which may be printed or electronic) and a network browser. The viewer interface displays the content descriptions and allows the user to select and view the unit of content on a channel. The virtual remote control is software implemented and allows the viewer to access the channels or to surf through the channels for a given genre. In some embodiments, the viewer can use a microphone, game pad, infra red controller, mouse, keyboard or other computer peripheral to control the virtual remote control or the viewer interface. In one embodiment, a speech recognition module and speech synthesizer module are included. In some embodiments, only channels associated to units of content are accessible while the viewer surfs through channels. In some embodiments, the viewer can assign channels associated to units of content to the viewer'"'"'s favorites list.

Claims

1. A system for accessing content over a network of computers, the system comprising:

a database system that contains a mapping of a plurality of channel codes to a plurality of network addresses and a plurality of content descriptions, where each channel code comprises a genre code and a numerical code, and where each network address identifies a unit of content;

a content provider interface to the database system that allows content providers to enter the network addresses and the content descriptions into the database system for the units of content;

a viewer interface to the database system, comprising a guide, a virtual remote control, and a network browser application on one of the computers connected to the computer network;

where the guide shows the content descriptions for units of content and allows a viewer to select one of the channels for viewing through the network browser application; and

where the virtual remote control allows the viewer to access the units of contents through the network browser application by inputting a channel code or by selecting a genre code and browsing through the channel codes of that genre code, wherein

the virtual remote control is independently displayed from the network browser application.

2. The system for accessing content from

claim 1

, further comprising a tracking module coupled to the computer network and in communication with the viewer interface, for tracking statistics on the viewing habits of the user.

3. The system for accessing content from

claim 1

, further comprising a plurality of themes, where the user can choose one of the themes and the user interface is altered to match the chosen theme.

4. The system for accessing content from

claim 1

, further comprising:

a speech recognition module, for accepting spoken commands from the viewer;

a speech synthesizer module for verbally responding to the viewer;

wherein the speech recognition module and the speech synthesizer module are interfaced with the guide, the virtual remote control and the network browser application of the viewer interface; and

wherein the viewer can interact with the guide, the virtual remote control and the network browser application through the speech recognition module and the speech synthesizer module.

7. The system for accessing content from

claim 1

, wherein the Internet Domain Name System is not accessed in providing the user with units of content.

5. A virtual remote control for a system for accessing content over a network of computers, wherein the virtual remote control is software run by one of the computers on the network of computers, and wherein the virtual remote control comprises a channel scan function that allows a user to cycle through channels within a genre.

6. The virtual remote control from

claim 5

, wherein channel scan function also allows the user to cycle through channels for a genre, where only the channels having content and which have been identified as one of the user'"'"'s favorite channels are accessible by the channel scan function.

8. A remote control for a system for accessing content over a network of computers, wherein the remote control is adapted to accept channel codes consisting of a genre code and a numerical code.

9. The remote control from

claim 8

, wherein the remote control is a virtual remote control that is software run on one of the computers from the network of computers.

10. The remote control from

claim 8

, wherein the remote control is further adapted to require a genre code before a user can cycle through the channels in the genre.

11. The remote control from

claim 9

, wherein the remote control further comprises a speech recognition module, for accepting spoken commands from a user;

a speech synthesizer module for verbally responding to the user; and

wherein the user can interact verbally with the remote control through the speech recognition module and the speech synthesizer module.

12. A virtual remote control for a system for accessing content over a network of computers, wherein the virtual remote control is software in one of the computers from the network of computers;

and wherein the virtual remote control comprises a channel scan function that allows a user to cycle through channels, where only the channels having content are accessible by the channel scan function.

13. The virtual remote control from

claim 12

, further wherein the virtual remote control requires the user to choose a genre so that the channel scan function allows the user to cycle through the channels of the genre having content.

14. A system for accessing content over a network of computers, the system comprising a plurality of favorites lists on one of the computers, wherein each user of the computer is assigned one of the plurality of favorites lists, and wherein each user can associate units of content to the favorites list of that user;

and wherein the system sorts the units of content associated to the favorites lists by genre.

15. A virtual remote control for a system for accessing content over a network of computers, wherein the virtual remote control is software in one of the computers from the network of computers;

and wherein a user of one of the computers can access units of content with the virtual remote control via a peripheral device connected to the computer, where the peripheral device can be a microphone, an infra-red controller which accepts commands from a traditional television remote control, or a game pad.

16. A content player for a computer from a network of computers for accessing units of content with spoken commands from a user, the content player comprising:

a database system that contains a mapping of a plurality of channel codes to a plurality of network addresses, where each channel code comprises a genre code and a numerical code, and where each network address identifies a unit of content;

a network browser which plays a selected unit of content from the network of computers to the user; and

a user interface module comprising a speech recognition module and a speech synthesizer module, for accepting spoken commands from the user and for verbally responding to the user, wherein the user interface module reacts to a spoken command from the user by retrieving the network address from the database system mapped to one of the channel codes and instructs the network browser to retrieve and play the unit of content located at the network address.

17. A system for organizing on-line content from a network of computers, the system comprising:

a database system that contains a mapping of a plurality of channel codes to a plurality of network addresses and a plurality of content descriptions, where each channel code comprises a genre code and a numerical code, and where each network address identifies a unit of content; and

a content provider interface coupled to the database system, for allowing a user to enter one of the plurality of network addresses and one of the plurality of content descriptions into the database system for a unit of content, wherein the content provider interface associates the network address and the content description to one of the plurality of channel codes.

18. The system for organizing on-line content from

claim 17

, further comprising a tracking module for monitoring the channel codes accessed from the database by one of the computers from the network of computers.