Systems and methods for providing media content

• US 20030234819A1
• Filed: 06/19/2003
• Published: 12/25/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: General Dynamics C4 Systems Incorporated (General Dynamics Corporation)
• Original Assignee: General Dynamics C4 Systems Incorporated (General Dynamics Corporation)
• Inventors: Brandano, Peter Dominic III, Brophy, Christopher John, Bryer, Steven Michael, Daly, Elizabeth Aries
• Application Number:
  US10/464,540
• Publication Number:
  US 20030234819A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/810
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/435 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/44 Browsing; Visualisation therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2143 located in a single building, e.g. hotel, hospital or museum arrangements specially adapted for plural spots in a confined site in broadcast systems H04H20/63; adaptations for transmission by electric cable for domestic distribution in television systems H04N7/106
• 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 21/4532 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 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47815 Electronic shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12

Abstract

The inventions relate to systems and methods for providing interactive media content with an easy-to-use graphical user interface. The inventions include simplifying improvements to the user interface of a networked system of servers providing advertising, games, internet, video, and other services. Improvements include a plurality of panels for the simultaneous display of a plurality of media, a promotion scheduler for controlling the content of the panels, a simplified means for making purchases, and a simplified means for navigating through layers of multiple options.

Claims

1. A system for providing media content comprising:

a means for providing audio and video signals;

a means for receiving said audio and video signals connected to said means for providing audio and video signals through a local area network;

a means for displaying said audio and video signals received by said means for receiving;

a means for sending control signals, wherein said control signals indicate the media content to be provided;

a means for receiving control signals from said means for sending control signals;

software for providing an interactive graphical user interface, wherein said graphical user interface includes a plurality of media panels with media contents on a display screen, and wherein a media content of at least one of said media panels changes in response to said control signals received by said means for receiving.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said means for providing audio and video signals is a video server, and said means for receiving said audio and video signals is a set-top box.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein said means for displaying said audio and video signals is a television set.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein said means for displaying said audio and video signals is a computer monitor.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein said means for sending control signals is an infrared remote control.

6. The system of claim 3, wherein said means for receiving control signals is said set-top box.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the media contents of one or more of said media panels is an advertisement.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein said advertisement is a directed advertisement.

9. The system of claim 7, further including a controlling database for specifying media contents to be displayed in said media panels.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein said graphical user interface includes menu options that are navigable and selectable using said means for sending control signals.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein said means for sending control signals includes one or more directional controller and one or more selection keys, and wherein said one or more directional controller is used to navigate through said menu options and said one or more selection keys is used to select menu options.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein a single push of said one or more selection keys is used to purchase the object of said advertisement.

13. A method of providing advertising in a system for providing media content, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a graphical user interface with a plurality of media panels on the display, wherein each media panel displays media content;

querying a database, said database containing a table listing promotional items in association with promotion text data and data indicating a duration of time, wherein said promotional items are static graphics, active graphics, scrolling text, video, or audio advertisements;

displaying at least one of said promotional items in at least one of said media panels for a duration of time indicated by said data indicating a duration of time in association with the at least one of said promotional items;

displaying the promotion text data in association with the displayed promotional items.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said promotional item is a video or audio advertisement, and said duration of time corresponds to the duration of the video or audio advertisement.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein said promotional item is an active graphic or scrolling text, and said duration of time corresponds to the time required for at least one cycle of said active graphic or scrolling text.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of accessing promotional items based on external criteria.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein said system for providing media content is in a hotel and said external criteria includes the time of day, characteristics of guests, interests of guests, and location of said hotel.

18. A system for providing media content comprising:

a means for providing audio and video signals;

a means for receiving said audio and video signals connected to said means for providing audio and video signals through a local area network;

a means for displaying said audio and video signals received by said means for receiving;

a means for sending control signals, wherein said control signals indicate the media content to be provided;

a means for receiving control signals from said means for sending control signals;

wherein the audio and video signals indicate a product or service for sale, and the means for sending control signals includes a selection key, and wherein the selection key is used to purchase the product or service for sale with a single push of the selection key.

19. The system of claim 18, further comprising a graphical user interface including menu options, wherein the menu options are navigable using the means for sending control signals, the means for sending control signals includes a directional controller, and the directional controller is used to navigate through the menu options.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the graphical user interface includes a plurality of media panels with media contents on a display screen, and wherein a media content of at least one of said media panels changes in response to said control signals received by said means for receiving.