Alternate method of showing commercials using personal video recorders

• US 20020176702A1
• Filed: 05/08/2002
• Published: 11/28/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Texas Instruments, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Texas Instruments, Inc.
• Inventors: Frantz, Gene A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,327,931 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/108
• 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 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• 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 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8352 involving content or source identification data, e.g. Unique Material Identifier [UMID]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver

Abstract

A recording and playback system comprising a personal video recorder (“PVR”) coupled to a television monitor. The PVR records a video broadcast stream which comprises main program information as well as commercial content. The commercial content includes commercial identifier values which indicate to the PVR the presence of commercial content. Thus, during playback on the monitor, the PVR monitors the recorded broadcast stream for the commercial identifiers to determine the presence of commercial content. A user can control the PVR to play back the recorded stream in a conventional manner in which commercials interrupt the main program information. Alternatively, the user can cause the PVR to play back the recorded broadcast stream in an alternate format in which the main program information continues to play concurrently with the commercial content.

Claims

1. A video playback system, comprising:

a personal video recorder including user input controls which permit a user to control the operation of the personal video recorder; and

a television monitor coupled to said personal video recorder;

wherein said personal video recorder plays back a previously recorded broadcast stream on said television monitor, said previously recorded broadcast stream includes a main program and commercial content, said commercial content includes a commercial identifier, a standard commercial portion and an alternate commercial portion, and wherein a user can select whether the personal video recorder is to show the standard commercial portion or the alternate commercial portion on said television monitor.

2. The video playback system of claim 1 wherein, if a user selects the alternate commercial data portion, said personal video recorder continues to show said main program while concurrently showing said alternate commercial portion.

3. The video playback system of claim 2 wherein said main program is shown in a first field of said television monitor and said alternate commercial portion is shown in a second field of said television monitor.

4. The video playback system of claim 3 wherein said first field comprises a quadrangle and said second field comprises an L-shaped region abutting said quadrangle.

5. The video playback system of claim 3 wherein said first field comprises a center quadrangle on said television monitor and said second field comprises divided quadrangles on either side of said center quadrangle.

6. The video playback system of claim 1 wherein the personal video recorder causes sound associated only with the main program to be heard.

7. The video playback system of claim 1 wherein the person video recorder causes sound associated only with the alternate commercial portion to be heard.

8. A video system, comprising:

a personal video recorder including user input controls which permit a user to control the operation of the personal video recorder;

a television monitor coupled to said personal video recorder; and

a network connection coupled to said processor;

wherein said personal video recorder plays back previously recorded programming on said television monitor, said previously recorded programming includes a main program and commercial content, said commercial content includes a commercial identifier, a standard commercial portion and a web page identifier, and wherein a user can select whether the personal video recorder is to show the standard commercial portion or an alternate commercial portion on the television monitor.

9. The video playback system of claim 8 wherein said personal video recorder uses said web page identifier to locate said alternate commercial portion.

10. The video playback system of claim 8 wherein, if a user selects the alternate commercial portion to be shown on said television monitor, said personal video recorder continues to show said main program while concurrently showing said alternate commercial portion.

11. The video playback system of claim 8 wherein said main program is shown in a first field on said television monitor and said alternate commercial portion is shown in a second field on said television monitor.

12. The video playback system of claim 11 wherein said first field comprises a quadrangle and said second field comprises an L-shaped portion abutting said quadrangle.

13. The video playback system of claim 11 wherein said first field comprises a center quadrangle on said television monitor and said second field comprises divided quadrangles on either side of said first region.

14. The video playback system of claim 8 further including a network interface and wherein said alternate commercial portion is downloaded to said video playback system at a different time than said alternate commercial portion is shown on said television monitor.

15. The video playback system of claim 8 wherein the personal video recorder causes sound associated only with the main program to be heard.

16. The video playback system of claim 8 wherein the personal video recorder causes sound associated only with the alternate commercial portion to be heard.

18. The personal video recorder of claim 17 wherein a user uses said user controls to direct the processor to play the commercials concurrently with the main program information or to cease playing the main program when playing the commercials.

19. The personal video recorder of claim 17 wherein said processor examines said recorded video information for commercial identifiers which indicate the presence of a commercial in said video information.

20. The personal video recorder of claim 19 wherein said processor also examines said recorded video information for the presence of an alternate commercial portion which said personal video recorder shows on a television monitor at the same time that the main program information is shown.

21. The personal video recorder of claim 19 further including a network connection and wherein said processor also examines said recorded video information for the presence of a web page identifier which indicates the location of an alternate commercial portion which said personal video recorder retrieves via said network connection and shows on a television monitor concurrently with the main program information.

22. The personal video recorder of claim 21 wherein said web page identifier comprises a URL.

23. The personal video recorder of claim 21 wherein said web page identifier comprises an IP address.

24. The personal video recorder of claim 21 wherein said alternate commercial portion comprises interactive information to be shown on the television monitor.

26. The method of claim 25 further including selecting whether said commercial content is to be played in a full screen format or whether said commercial content is to be played on a first portion of said screen and the main program information is played on a second portion of said screen.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein (c) also includes examining the recorded stream for commercial content that is to be shown on the television screen concurrently with the main program information.

28. The method of claim 27 further including showing commercial content on said first portion of said screen while the main program information is played on said second portion of said screen.

30. The video system of claim 29 further including user controls coupled to said processor to permit a user to select one of two modes of operation in which in one mode commercials are shown on the monitor concurrently with a program and in the other mode the program stops playing while a commercial is shown.

31. The video system of claim 29 wherein said time delay is at least as long as a commercial.

17. A personal video recorder, comprising:

a processor;

user controls coupled to said processor;

a video output interface coupled to said processor;

a video input interface coupled to processor;

wherein said processor coordinates recording of video information provided over said video input interface, said recorded video information including main program information and commercials, and during playback of said recorded video information said processor plays commercials concurrently with the main program information or ceases playing the main program information to play the commercials.

25. A method for showing commercial content while showing main program information, comprising;

(a) recording a broadcast video stream comprising main program information and commercial content, said commercial content including a commercial identifier value;

(b) playing back said recorded broadcast stream on a television screen; and

(c) while playing back said recorded broadcast stream, examining the recorded stream for commercial identifier values.

29. A video system, comprising:

a processor;

a video input interface coupled to said processor and through which a broadcast stream is received, said broadcast stream including programs and commercials; and

a memory device coupled to said processor and in which at least a portion of said broadcast stream is stored;

a video output interface coupled to said processor to provide a video signal to a video monitor;

wherein said processor generates said video signal to show a commercial concurrently with a program on the monitor, and wherein the program and commercial are shown on the monitor delayed in time with respect to the broadcast stream received at the input interface.

32. A video device, comprising:

a processor;

a video output interface coupled to said processor; and

a video input interface coupled to said processor, through which a broadcast stream comprising commercials and programming is received;

wherein said processor concurrently plays said commercials and said programming through said video output interface.

33. The video device of claim 32 wherein said broadcast stream includes two types of commercials wherein one type of commercial interrupts the programming and the other type is shown concurrently with the programming.

34. The video device of claim 33 wherein a commercial includes an identifier value to permit the video device to detect the presence of the commercial.

35. The video device of claim 33 wherein the video device passively determines the presence of commercials.

37. The video device of claim 36 wherein said video device includes a video interface coupled to said processor and said commercial is transmitted to said video interface in a broadcast stream with said programming.

38. The video device of claim 37 wherein said processor determines the presence of commercials.

39. The video device of claim 36 further including a network interface over which said commercials are received.

36. A video device comprising:

a processor;

a video output interface coupled to said processor; and

memory coupled to said processor;

wherein said processor coordinates the transfer of video information including a commercial and programming to said video output interface to be shown on a video monitor coupled to said output interface and wherein said commercial and said programming are shown concurrently.