Subscriber interface device for use with an intelligent content-broadcast network and method of operating the same

• US 20030066078A1
• Filed: 04/19/2002
• Published: 04/03/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Orange S.A.
• Original Assignee: France Telecom Research and Development LLC
• Inventors: Bjorgan, Stephen, Noakes, Robert
• Application Number:
  US10/126,502
• Publication Number:
  US 20030066078A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4126 The peripheral being portable, e.g. PDAs or mobile phones
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• 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 21/42206 characterized by hardware details
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4227 Providing Remote input by a user located remotely from the client device, e.g. at work
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44222 Analytics of user selections, e.g. selection of programs or purchase activity monitoring of user selections in data processing systems G06F11/34; arrangements for monitoring the user's behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• 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 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• 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 21/4755 for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

An interface device and method for use with an intelligent content-broadcast network. User profile information is collected and stored in a memory device assessable to a secondary content processor. Secondary content is information, such as advertisements from a television network source, that is available for insertion into the primary broadcast stream as appropriate. When a particular user is identified as viewing a primary-content program, a processor associates the user with a stored profile and uses the profile information to determine what, if any, secondary content should be inserted and thus presented to the user as if it had been a part of the broadcast stream. The portion of the primary broadcast stream where secondary content may be inserted is indicated by embedded cues.

Claims

1. An interface for use with a broadcast receiver that receives a broadcast stream comprising primary and secondary content, detects cues in the broadcast stream delineating the secondary content, and selectively substitutes alternate secondary content into the broadcast stream based at least in part on the profiles of current users, said interface comprising:

a memory device for storing user-profile information;

a user-identity input device for indicating which users are currently using the receiver; and

a processor in communication with the input device and with the memory device, said processor for associating the current user identity information with the stored user-profile information, wherein the processor controls the selection and substitution of alternate secondary content into the broadcast stream based at least in part on the associated user-profile information.

2. The interface of claim 1, wherein the memory device is integrated into the user-identity input device, and wherein the user-identity indication comprises user-profile information.

3. The interface of claim 1, wherein the user-identity input device is a portable device that can be carried by a user.

4. The interface of claim 3, wherein the user-identity input device is a TV remote control.

5. The interface of claim 3, wherein the user-identity input device is a set-top box remote control.

6. The interface of claim 3, wherein the user-identity input device is a personal digital assistant (PDA).

7. The interface of claim 3, wherein the user-identity input device is a mobile telephone.

8. The interface of claim 1, wherein the memory device is located remotely from the processor and is accessible by the processor through a communications network.

9. The interface of claim 8, wherein the communications network is the Internet.

10. The interface of claim 1, wherein the user-identity input device is a passive device.

11. The interface of claim 1, wherein the user-profile information stored in memory is at least in part passively gathered.

12. A method for selectively substituting alternate secondary content into the primary content stream received in a broadcast receiver, the receiver having a control processor in communication with a memory device, said method comprising the steps of:

storing at least one user profile in the memory device;

identifying a current user of the broadcast receiver;

determining if the identified current user corresponds to a user profile stored the memory device and, if so, determining, based at least in part on the corresponding user profile, whether the available alternate secondary content should be substituted into the content stream; and

executing, in the control processor, a control routine to direct the receiver to substitute the alternate secondary content into the content stream, if it is determined that the substitution should be performed.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the user-profile information stored in memory is at least in part passively gathered.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the current user identifying step is performed passively.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the broadcast content stream includes cues indicating where in the broadcast stream the secondary content is located and further comprising the step of, prior to the determining step, detecting a secondary-content cue in the content stream.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the secondary-content cue comprises date-related information, and wherein the determination of whether alternate secondary content should be substituted is based at least in part on the date-related information.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the broadcast content comprises video programming.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the broadcast receiver is in communication with a video recording and playback device, and further comprising the step of performing the identifying, determining, and executing steps during the playback of a recorded video content stream.

19. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of automatically prompting a user for user-profile information if it is determined that an identified user is not associated with a user-profile stored in the memory device.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein the memory device is resident in a remote control device.

21. The method of claim 12, wherein the memory device is resident in a personal digital assistant (PDA).