Apparatus and a method for preventing commercial skipping
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising a skipping control device;
- and a video recording and playback device including skipping functions;
wherein the video recording and playback device receives a video signal;
and wherein the skipping control device receives a content classification signal and uses it to determine whether to send a control signal to the video recording and playback device, wherein the control signal affecting operation of the skipping functions of the video recording and playback device.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system, apparatus, and method according to the present invention can enable or disable all manual and automated skipping functions of a video recording and playback device based on a content classification signal which is associated with a video signal. The content classification signal may be comprised of a plurality of portions each of which indicate whether commercial or non-commercial content is in a particular portion of a video signal. The manual and automated skipping functions may include all functions that allow fast forward with and without video content display, fast forward with different speeds, fast forward with varying speed, one-button skipping functions with at least one preset skipping time or length interval, and smart skipping functions that skip only to a certain end point set automatically or manually. The system and the method according to the present invention offers also flexible possibilities to selectively disable or enable the skipping functions based on a set of management parameters such as television channel identification, television program identification, television program class identification, date and time identification, as well as subscription related information. In addition, the system and the method according to the present invention provides a user-definable content classification signal in a content description file which is associated with the video signal to form the video plus content classification signal.
-
Citations
40 Claims
-
1. An apparatus comprising
a skipping control device; - and
a video recording and playback device including skipping functions;
wherein the video recording and playback device receives a video signal;
and wherein the skipping control device receives a content classification signal and uses it to determine whether to send a control signal to the video recording and playback device, wherein the control signal affecting operation of the skipping functions of the video recording and playback device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
- and
-
6. An apparatus comprising
a skipping control device; - and
a video recording and playback device including skipping functions;
wherein the video recording and playback device receives a video signal;
and wherein the skipping control device receives a first management parameter and uses it to determine whether to send a control signal to the video recording and playback device, wherein the control signal affects operation of the skipping functions of the video recording and playback device. - View Dependent Claims (7)
- and
-
8. An apparatus comprising
a video plus content classification signal reading and decryption device; -
a skipping control device; and
a video recording and playback device including skipping functions;
wherein the video plus content classification signal reading and decryption device receives a video plus content classification signal;
extracts a video signal from the video plus content classification signal;
extracts a content classification signal from the video plus content classification signal;
supplies the video signal to the video recording and playback device; and
supplies the content classification signal to the skipping control device;
and wherein the skipping control device uses the content classification signal to determine whether to send a control signal to the video recording and playback device, wherein the control signal affecting operation of the skipping functions of the video recording and playback device. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10)
-
-
21. A method comprising the steps of:
-
receiving a content classification signal relating to the content of a video signal and using it to determine whether to send a control signal to a video recording and playback device having skipping functions; and
sending the control signal to the video recording and playback device;
wherein the control signal affects skipping functions of the video recording and playback device. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
-
-
26. A method comprising the steps of
receiving a video signal; -
receiving a first management parameter and using it to determine whether to send a control signal to a video recording and playback device having skipping functions; and
sending the control signal to the video recording and playback device;
wherein the control signal affects operation of the skipping functions of the video recording and playback device.
-
-
28. A method comprising the steps of
receiving a video plus content classification signal; -
extracting a video signal from the video plus content classification signal;
extracting a content classification signal from the video plus content classification signal;
supplying the video signal to a video recording and playback device, having skipping functions; and
supplying the content classification signal to a skipping control device;
and wherein the skipping control device uses the content classification signal to determine whether to send a control signal to the video recording and playback device, wherein the control signal affecting operation of the skipping functions of the video recording and playback device.
-
Specification