Method and apparatus for providing personalized supplemental programming

• US 20030088613A1
• Filed: 12/19/2002
• Published: 05/08/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/1996
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Anthony A. Shah-Nazaroff, David N. Hackson, Jean M. Goldschmidt Lki
• Original Assignee: Anthony A. Shah-Nazaroff, David N. Hackson, Jean M. Goldschmidt Lki
• Inventors: Goldschmidt lki, Jean M., Shah-Nazaroff, Anthony A., Hackson, David N.
• Granted Patent: US 7,370,026 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/202
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4332 by placing content in organized collections, e.g. local EPG data repository interfaces, Database management systems or updating for information retrieval G06F16/23; details of retrieval of video data and associated meta data in video database G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• 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 21/4622 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 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8405 represented by keywords
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/914 Video
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/916 Audio
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/957 Multidimensional
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/961 Associative
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation

Abstract

A method and apparatus for providing personalized supplemental programming is provided. In one embodiment, the invention can include searching text for a keyword, the text associated with primary programming to be provided to an element of an entertainment system, accessing a database upon finding the keyword, retrieving content associated with the keyword from the database, combining the retrieved content with the primary programming to generate combined programming, and providing the combined programming to the element of the entertainment system.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

searching text for a keyword, the text being associated with primary programming to be provided to an element of an entertainment system;

accessing a database upon finding the keyword;

retrieving content associated with the keyword from the database;

combining the retrieved content with the primary programming to generate combined programming; and

providing the combined programming to the element of the entertainment system.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

accessing a user profile; and

wherein retrieving content comprises determining the content to retrieve from the database based on the user profile.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the database comprises a list of keywords and content associated with each of the keywords.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the list of keywords is provided by a user.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the database comprises a three-dimensional relational database, the first dimension identifying genre of the content, the second dimension being characterized by user-specified text criteria, and the third dimension corresponding to different users.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the database comprises a multidimensional database and wherein one dimension of the database comprises a plurality of genres associated with the primary programming.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the database comprises a multidimensional database and wherein one dimension of the database comprises a plurality of user profiles.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the searched text comprises primary programming description information.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the primary programming description information comprises an electronic program guide.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the searched text comprises closed captioned text.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the entertainment system comprises one of a television system, an audio system, or a computer system.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the content comprises content which, when executed by a machine, causes the machine to display video, graphics, text, or audio.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the database comprises a list of keywords and a list of audio and video files associated with each keyword and wherein retrieving content comprises retrieving an associated audio or video file.

14. A machine-readable medium, having stored thereon data representing sequences of instructions which, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:

searching text for a keyword;

accessing a database upon finding the keyword;

retrieving content associated with the keyword from the database;

combining the retrieved content with primary programming; and

providing the combined programming to the element of the entertainment system.

15. The medium of claim 14, further comprising instructions which, when executed by the machine, cause the machine to perform further operations comprising:

accessing a user profile; and

determining the content to retrieve from the database based on the user profile.

16. The medium of claim 14, wherein the text comprises an electronic program guide.

17. The medium of claim 14, wherein the text comprises closed captioned text.

18. The medium of claim 14, wherein the content comprises content which, when executed by a machine, causes the machine to display video, graphics, text, or audio.

19. An apparatus comprising:

a database including content associated with a keyword;

a search engine to search text for a keyword, the text associated with primary programming to be provided to an element of an entertainment system;

a processor agent, communicatively coupled to the search engine, the processor agent to access the database upon finding the keyword, to retrieve the content associated with the keyword from the database, and to combine the retrieved content with primary programming; and

a delivery component, communicatively coupled to the processor agent, the delivery component to provide the combined programming to the element of the entertainment system.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising a primary programming database to supply the text.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the primary programming database comprises an electronic program guide.

22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the search engine searches a subset of the primary programming database corresponding to the time of the primary programming.

23. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the search engine searches a subset of the primary programming database corresponding to the source of the primary programming.

24. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the text comprises closed captioned text.

25. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the content comprises content which, when executed by a machine, causes the machine to display video, graphics, text, or audio.

26. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the database comprises a list of keywords and content associated with each of the keywords.

27. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the database comprises a three-dimensional relational database, the first dimension identifying genre of the content, the second dimension being characterized by user-specified text criteria, and the third dimension corresponding to different users.

28. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the database comprises a multidimensional database and wherein one dimension of the database comprises a plurality of genres associated with the primary programming.

29. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the database comprises a multidimensional database and wherein one dimension of the database comprises a plurality of user profiles.

30. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the database comprises a list of keywords and a list of audio and video files associated with each keyword, and wherein retrieve the content comprises retrieve an associated audio or video file.