Content rating, advisory, and profiling system for interactive television

• US 20030051238A1
• Filed: 08/16/2002
• Published: 03/13/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: GoldPocket Interactive, Inc. (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Original Assignee: GoldPocket Interactive, Inc. (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Inventors: Barone, Samuel T. Jr.
• Application Number:
  US10/222,697
• Publication Number:
  US 20030051238A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/32
• 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 21/4542 Blocking scenes or portions of the received content, e.g. censoring scenes
• 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 21/8166 involving executable data, e.g. software arrangements for executing specific programs G06F9/44; broadcasting computer programmes in broadcast systems H04H20/91; involving the movement of software or configuration parameters H04L67/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• 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 7/088 the inserted signal being digital
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/16 Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

An interactive television (ITV) system encoding content rating, content advisories, demographics information, and other types of ITV content profiling information for an ITV content into a video program. An ITV receiver receives the encoded video program and compares the ITV content profiling information with a viewer profile stored in memory. If the profiling information for the ITV content does not match the viewer'"'"'s profile, the ITV content is not provided to the viewer. For example, the ITV content is not provided if the content rating/advisory information embedded for the ITV content is greater than a rating limit set by the viewer.

Claims

1. A method for providing interactive television (ITV) content to a viewer, the method comprising:

generating ITV data associated with a particular ITV content;

generating a profile identifier for the ITV data, the profile identifier being used by an ITV receiver for determining whether to provide the particular ITV content to the viewer; and

embedding the ITV data and the profile identifier into the video program.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the profile identifier is a content rating label for rating the particular ITV content.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the content rating label is equivalent to the content rating label used for rating television programs.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the profile identifier is demographics information.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the embedding includes embedding the profile identifier in a plurality of portions of the video program.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving the video program with the embedded ITV data and profile identifier;

comparing the profile identifier with a viewer profile; and

providing the particular ITV content to the viewer or not based on the comparison.

7. A system for providing interactive television (ITV) content to a viewer, the system comprising:

a video source providing a video program;

a processor generating ITV data associated with a particular ITV content, the processor associating the ITV data with a profile identifier, the profile identifier being used by an ITV receiver for determining whether to provide the particular ITV content to the viewer; and

an encoder coupled to the video source and the processor, the encoder embedding the ITV data and the profile identifier in the video program.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the profile identifier is a content rating label for rating the particular ITV content.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the content rating label is equivalent to the content rating label used for rating television programs.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the profile identifier is demographics information.

11. The system of claim 7 wherein the encoder embeds the profile identifier in a plurality of portions of the video program.

12. The system of claim 7 further comprising a receiver receiving the video program with the embedded ITV data and profile identifier, comparing the profile identifier with a viewer profile, and providing the particular ITV content to the viewer or not based on the comparison.

13. An interactive television (ITV) program receiver comprising:

a video input receiving a video program embedded with ITV data and an associated profile identifier;

a memory storing viewer profile information; and

a processor coupled to the video input and the memory, the processor comparing the profile identifier embedded in the video program with the viewer profile information stored in the memory for determining whether to provide an ITV content associated with the ITV data to a viewer.

14. The receiver of claim 13, wherein the profile identifier is a content rating label for rating the ITV content.

15. The receiver of claim 14, wherein the content rating label is equivalent to the content rating label used for rating television programs.

16. The receiver of claim 13, wherein the profile identifier is demographics information.