Method and system for transforming content for execution on multiple platforms

• US 20010056460A1
• Filed: 04/23/2001
• Published: 12/27/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TiVo Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: TVWorks LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Carney, John, de Andrade, David, Knowles, Mark, Sahota, Ranjit
• Granted Patent: US 7,702,995 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/201
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/103 Formatting, i.e. changing of presentation of documents automatic justification G06F40/189; automatic line break hyphenation G06F40/191
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/62 Establishing a time schedule for servicing the requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25883 being end-user demographical data, e.g. age, family status or address arrangements for identifying locations of users in broadcast systems H04H60/52
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2668 Creating a channel for a dedicated end-user group, e.g. insertion of targeted commercials based on end-user profiles information retrieval from the Internet by querying with filtering and personalisation G06F16/9535; arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast H04H20/10; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/063
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/434 Disassembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. demultiplexing audio and video streams, extraction of additional data from a video stream; Remultiplexing of multiplex streams; Extraction or processing of SI; Disassembling of packetised elementary stream demultiplexing of data packets for data networks, e.g. RTP/UDP H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• 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 21/4622 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 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/858 Linking data to content, e.g. by linking an URL to a video object, by creating a hotspot
• 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 7/16 Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems

Abstract

A method and system are disclosed for acquiring and transforming existing content (e.g., Hyper Text Markup Language HTML content) for display and execution on multiple platforms and architectures. In one embodiment, capture templates are created to harvest content from disparate content sources on multiple platforms. Data is extracted from the content from the disparate content sources using the created capture templates that drives extracting process. A standardized data stream is generated from the extracted data. The standardized data stream is provided for display on one or more different type of platforms.

Claims

1. A syndication method comprising:

creating capture templates to harvest content from disparate content sources on multiple platforms;

extracting data from the disparate content sources using the created capture templates to control the extraction process; and

generating a standardized, normalized data stream from the extraction process and incoming content sources; and

providing the standardized data stream for optimized display on one or more different types of platforms.

2. The syndication method of

claim 1

, wherein the content includes Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) content, FTP content, Database content, Extensible Markup Language (XML) content, or content from a data source.

3. The syndication method of

claim 1

, wherein the creating of the capture templates includes creating one or more XML files or documents to define rules, logic, and content extraction parameters, and wherein the capture templates are to provide an ability to insert new media types and content optimized for a particular platform.

4. The syndication method of

claim 1

, wherein providing the standardized data stream for display includes:

providing the standardized data stream on a television display, personal computer display, or an electronic portable device display; and

generating content and code optimized, personalized for a specific platform, network environment, or local market.

5. The syndication method of

claim 1

, wherein providing the standardized data stream includes:

caching the standardized data stream;

caching the capture templates; and

caching optimized, personalized and localized content generated for a specific platform, network environment, or local market.

6. A system for syndication comprising:

a content harvest and conversion platform to create capture templates to harvest content from disparate content sources on multiple platforms and to extract data from the content sources using the created capture templates to control the extracting process; and

a syndication server to generate a standardized data stream from the extracted data and to provide the standardized data stream for input to a content engine for display on one or more different types of platforms.

7. The system of

claim 6

, wherein the content includes Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) content, FTP content, Database content, Extensible Markup Language (XML) content, or content from a data source.

8. The system of

claim 6

, wherein the content harvest and conversion platform is to create one or more XML files or documents to define rules, logic, and content extraction parameters, and is to provide an ability to insert new media types and content optimized for a particular platform.

9. The system of

claim 6

, wherein the syndication server is to provide the standardized data stream for input to a content engine to deliver optimized content and code for a television display, personal computer display, or an electronic portable device display.

10. The system of

claim 6

, wherein the syndication server is to cache the standardized data stream, the capture templates, and optimized, personalized and localized content generated for a specific platform, network environment or local market.

11. A computer-implemented method comprising:

parsing an Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) web page;

creating an XHTML compliant document from existing HTML pages;

extracting content from the XHTML document;

creating one or more extensible markup language (XML) files or documents from the parsed HTML web page; and

transforming the XML files or documents into a displayable format.

12. The method of

claim 11

, wherein the parsing of the HTML web page includes:

converting of the document to a standard XHTML compliant document, and extracting tags and attributes from the XHTML web page.

13. The method of

claim 11

, wherein the transforming of the XML files or documents includes transforming the XML files or documents into a displayable format for a television display, computing device display, or portable electronic device display.

14. The method of

claim 11

, further comprising:

storing the XML files or documents in a repository; and

storing the capture templates in a repository or machine-readable medium.

15. The method of

claim 11

, wherein the creating of the XML files or documents includes selectively dragging tags and attributes from the parsed HTML page into a template.

16. A processing device comprising:

a parsing unit to parse an Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) web page;

a content generating unit to create one or more extensible markup language (XML) files or documents from the parsed HTML web page; and

a transforming unit to transform the XML files or documents into a displayable format.

17. The processing device of

claim 16

, wherein the parsing unit is to extract tags and attributes from the HTML web page.

18. The processing device of

claim 16

, the transforming unit is to transform the XML files or documents into a displayable format for a television display, computing device display, or portable electronic device display.

19. The processing device of

claim 16

, further comprising:

a repository to store the XML files or documents.

20. The processing device of

claim 16

, wherein the content generating unit is to drag selectively tags and attributes from the parsed HTML page into a template.

21. A machine-readable medium providing instructions, which if executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform an operation comprising:

parsing an Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) web page;

creating one or more extensible markup language (XML) files or documents from the parsed HTML web page; and

transforming the XML files or documents into a displayable format.

22. The machine-readable medium of

claim 21

, further providing instructions, which if executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform an operation comprising:

extracting tags and attributes from the HTML web page.

23. The machine-readable medium of

claim 21

, further providing instructions, which if executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform an operation comprising:

transforming the XML files or documents into a displayable format for a television display, computing device display, or portable electronic device display.

24. The machine-readable medium of

claim 21

, further providing instructions, which if executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform an operation comprising:

storing the XML files or documents in a repository.

25. The machine-readable medium of

claim 21

, further providing instructions, which if executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform an operation comprising:

selectively dragging tags and attributes from the parsed HTML page into a template.

26. A computer-implemented method comprising:

displaying a tree structure of a web page; and

dragging contents of the tree structure into a template.

27. The method of

claim 26

, further comprising:

storing the template in a repository.

28. The method of

claim 26

, further comprising:

creating an extensible markup language (XML) file or document from the template.

29. The method of

claim 26

, further comprising:

changing a layout of the web page by adding or modifying content in the template.

30. The method of

claim 26

, further comprising:

retrieving the web page from an Internet network.

31. An content authoring application tool comprising:

means for displaying a tree structure of a web page; and

means for dragging contents of the tree structure into a template.

32. The content authoring application tool of

claim 31

, further comprising:

means for storing the template in a repository.

33. The content authoring application tool of

claim 31

, further comprising:

means for creating an extensible markup language (XML) file or document from the template.

34. The content authoring application tool of

claim 31

, further comprising:

means for changing a layout of the web page by adding or modifying content in the template.

35. The content authoring application tool of

claim 31

, further comprising:

means for retrieving the web page from an Internet network.

36. A machine-readable medium providing instruction, which if executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform an operation comprising:

displaying a tree structure of a web page; and

dragging contents of the tree structure into a template.

37. The machine-readable medium of

claim 36

, further providing instructions, which if executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform an operation comprising:

storing the template in a repository.

38. The machine-readable medium of

claim 36

, further providing instructions, which if executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform an operation comprising:

creating an extensible markup language (XML) file or document from the template.

39. The machine-readable medium of

claim 36

, further providing instructions, which if executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform an operation comprising:

changing a layout of the web page by adding or modifying content in the template.

40. The machine-readable medium of

claim 36

, further providing instructions, which if executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform an operation comprising:

retrieving the web page from an Internet network.

41. A method for a content engine comprising:

managing localization and personalization rules for content and media assets; and

delivering the content and media assets to one or more receivers based on the localization and personalization rules.

42. The method of

claim 41

, further comprising:

targeting the content and media assets to specific receivers using the localization and personalization rules.

43. The method of

claim 41

, wherein the managing of the localization and personalization rules for the content and media assets includes managing the localization and personalization rules for geographic or demographic targeting of the content and media assets.

44. The method of

claim 41

, further comprising:

composing the content and media assets usable by a platform operating within the receivers.

45. The method of

claim 41

, wherein the delivering of the content and media assets includes integrating the content and media assets within a broadcast for the receivers.

46. A method for generating content comprising:

producing content targeted for a specific platform or receiver based on stored meta-data or run-time properties related to the content.

47. The method of

claim 46

, wherein the content includes Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) content, Extensible Markup Language (XML) content, JavaScript content, Java content, custom code content, or media content.

48. The method of

claim 46

, further comprising:

locating and harvesting Internet based content; and

converting and delivering the Internet based content for interactive services provided to the platform or receiver.

49. The method of

claim 48

, wherein the converting and delivering of the Internet based content includes using templates to convert and deliver the Internet based content.

50. The method of

claim 46

, further comprising:

delivering the content using an external cache to optimize delivery of the content.

51. The method of

claim 50

, wherein the delivering of the content includes dynamically loading the content in the cache to combine with broadcast content.

52. A repository comprising:

a data store to store meta-data relating to design objects and properties to deliver content for a specific platform or receiver.

53. The repository of

claim 52

, wherein the meta-data is used to capture, version, catalogue, index, or query information.

54. The repository of

claim 52

, further comprising:

a data store to store screen designs, templates, business logic, or conversion tables for delivering content to the specific platform or receiver.

55. A method comprising:

providing a meta-model to enable reuse of complete architectures, interface models, or personalization logic from existing designs.

56. The method of

claim 55

, further comprising:

applying a modification to content for a specific platform or receiver to create interactive services related to the content for the specific platform or receiver.

57. The method of

claim 55

, further comprising:

providing projections of design information for a specific configuration.

58. The method of

claim 55

, further comprising:

using an advanced object oriented inheritance and semantic network taxonomy process to provide an easy to use abstraction of a service.

59. A method for harvesting content comprising:

accessing content and media assets from a web site on an Internet network based on acquisition and conversion rules stored in a repository.

60. The method of

claim 59

, further comprising:

navigating the web site to locate and access the content and media assets without changing existing content on the web site.

61. The method of

claim 59

, wherein the accessing of the content and media assets includes accessing the content and media assets using an Internet protocol.

62. A method for a content converter comprising:

converting Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) content into an Extensible Markup Language (XML) file using conversion rules.

63. The method of

claim 62

, further comprising:

creating content for a specific platform using the XML file.

64. A method for providing a visual layout of content for display systems of multiple platforms, the method comprising:

providing a user interface to layout and customize interactive services for the display systems.

65. The method of

claim 64

, further comprising:

providing a drop and drag and drop environment to define and create content transformation and mapping rules for the interactive services.

66. The method of

claim 64

, further comprising:

allowing a user to configure specific platform and language properties to create platform specific services.