Systems and methods for reducing cut-offs in program recording

• US 20020054068A1
• Filed: 03/29/2001
• Published: 05/09/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: United Video Properties Incorporated (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: United Video Properties Incorporated (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Ellis, Michael D., Berezowski, David M.
• Application Number:
  US09/821,005
• Publication Number:
  US 20020054068A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/716
• 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 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• 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 21/4351 involving reassembling additional data, e.g. rebuilding an executable program from recovered modules
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/443 OS processes, e.g. booting an STB, implementing a Java virtual machine in an STB or power management in an STB
• 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 21/4583 Automatically resolving scheduling conflicts, e.g. when a recording by reservation has been programmed for two programs in the same time slot
• 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 21/466 Learning process for intelligent management, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies services using the results of monitoring in broadcast systems H04H60/61
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4667 Processing of monitored end-user data, e.g. trend analysis based on the log file of viewer selections
• 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 21/47217 for controlling playback functions for recorded or on-demand content, e.g. using progress bars, mode or play-point indicators or bookmarks specific graphical features in visual interfaces H04N21/4312
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8545 for generating interactive applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/088 : the inserted signal being digital

Abstract

A media recording system may be provided. The recording system may include features for reducing recording cut-off of a particular media event due to changes in the start time and end time of what is scheduled to be recorded. The recording system may provide a user with an opportunity to select a program by for example, selecting a listing, to have that program automatically recorded at a scheduled time for presentation to viewers. Changes in the schedule of programs may be compensated manually or automatically when the recording system receives information about actual or predicted time changes. In a manual mode, a user may adjust start or end times based on time change information that is displayed. For an automatic mode, the recording system may automatically compensate for predicted or actual time changes that are known by automatically adjusting the start and end times of recording.

Claims

1. A method for use in a recording system for reducing cut-offs when programs are recorded, comprising:

providing time change information about a scheduled program; and

recording the program to compensate for a time change based on the time change information.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the time change information comprises time delay information.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the time delay information is an actual time delay.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the time delay information is a predicted time delay.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the predicted time delay is based on previously logged time changes.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein providing time change information comprises displaying the time delay information for the program.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the time change information comprises time extension information.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the time extension information is an actual time extension.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the time extension information is a predicted time extension.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the predicted time extension is based on previously logged time changes.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein providing time change information comprises displaying the time extension information for the program.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing a user with an opportunity to select a recording start time.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising automatically selecting the recording start time.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising providing a user with an opportunity to select to have automatic selection of the recording start time.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing a user with an opportunity to select a recording end time.

16. The method of claim 1 further comprising automatically selecting the recording end time.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising providing a user with an opportunity to select to have automatic selection of the recording end time.

18. The method of claim 1 further comprising monitoring a data stream that is related to the program.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising providing the data stream to be a program data stream that is distributed for the program.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising providing a cue in the program data stream to indicate when the program is starting.

21. The method of claim 19 further comprising providing a cue in the program data stream to indicate when the program is ending.

22. The method of claim 20 further comprising recording the program with the time delay when the cue is received.

23. The method of claim 20 further comprising recording the program with the time extension when the cue is received.

24. The method of claim 1 further comprising displaying an icon in a program listing for that program that indicates that time change information is present.

25. The method of claim 1 further comprising displaying an icon in a program listing for that program that indicates that the program is to be recorded.

26. The method of claim 1 further comprising trimming a recording time of the scheduled program or an adjacent program to reduce the cut-off in a program recording.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein trimming the recording time comprises trimming based on a confidence level in time change information for the scheduled program and the adjacent program.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein trimming comprises trimming a time changed recording time of the scheduled program when time change information for the scheduled program has a lower confidence level than the adjacent program.

30. The system of claim 29 wherein the time change information comprises time delay information.

31. The system of claim 30 wherein the time delay information is an actual time delay.

32. The system of claim 30 wherein the time delay information is a predicted time delay.

33. The system of claim 32 wherein the predicted time delay is based on previously logged time changes.

34. The system of claim 29 wherein the control circuitry displays the time delay information for the program.

35. The system of claim 29 wherein the time change information comprises time extension information.

36. The system of claim 35 wherein the time extension information is an actual time extension.

37. The system of claim 35 wherein the time extension information is a predicted time extension.

38. The system of claim 37 wherein the predicted time extension is based on previously logged time changes.

39. The system of claim 29 wherein the control circuitry displays the time change information for the program.

40. The system of claim 29 wherein the control circuitry provides a user with an opportunity to select a recording start time to compensate for the time change.

41. The system of claim 29 wherein the control circuitry automatically selects a recording start time to compensate for the time change.

42. The system of claim 41 wherein the system is configured to provide the user with an opportunity to select to have the control circuitry automatically select a recording start time.

43. The system of claim 29 wherein the control circuitry provides the user with an opportunity to select a recording end time to compensate for the time change.

44. The system of claim 29 wherein the control circuitry automatically selects a recording end time to compensate for the time change.

45. The system of claim 44 wherein the system is configured to provide the user with an opportunity to select to have the control circuitry automatically select the recording end time.

46. The system of claim 29 further comprising an extractor for monitoring a data stream that is related to the program.

47. The system of claim 46 wherein the data stream is a program data stream that is distributed for the program.

48. The system of claim 47 wherein the control circuitry is configured to receive a cue in the program data stream to indicate when the program is starting.

49. The system of claim 47 wherein the control circuitry is configured to receive a cue in the program data stream to indicate when the program is ending.

50. The system of claim 48 wherein the media recording device records the program with the time delay when the cue is received.

51. The system of claim 48 wherein the media recording device records the program with the time extension when the cue is received.

52. The system of claim 29 wherein the control circuitry displays an icon in a program listing for that program that indicates that time change information is present.

53. The system of claim 29 wherein the control circuitry displays an icon in a program listing for that program that indicates that the program is to be recorded.

54. The system of claim 29 wherein the control circuitry is configured to trim the recording time of the scheduled program or an adjacent program to reduce the cut-off in a program recording.

55. The system of claim 54 wherein the control circuitry is configured to trim the recording based on a confidence level in time change information for the scheduled program and the adjacent program.

56. The system of claim 55 wherein the control circuitry is configured to trim a time change recording time of the scheduled program when time change information for the scheduled program has a lower confidence level than the adjacent program.

29. A recording system that reduces cut-offs when programs are recorded, comprising:

control circuitry that is configured to receive time change information about a scheduled program; and

a media recording device that is responsive to the control circuitry and that is configured to record the program to compensate for a time change based on the time change information.