Systems and methods for dynamic conversion of web content to an interactive walled garden program

• US 20040073941A1
• Filed: 09/30/2002
• Published: 04/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Ludvig, Edward A., Logue, Jay D., Feinberg, Brian K., Sandke, Steven R.
• Application Number:
  US10/262,325
• Publication Number:
  US 20040073941A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/113
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2355 involving reformatting operations of additional data, e.g. HTML pages optimising the visualization of content for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/9577; tracking of instant messages H04L51/234; media packet handling at the source H04L65/762
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4402 involving reformatting operations of video signals for household redistribution, storage or real-time display details of conversion of video standards at pixel level H04N7/01; video transcoding H04N19/40; adapting incoming signals to the display format of the display terminal G09G5/005; media handling at the source in data packet switching networks H04L65/764
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4725 using interactive regions of the image, e.g. hot spots details of information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8543 using a description language, e.g. Multimedia and Hypermedia information coding Expert Group [MHEG], eXtensible Markup Language [XML] information retrieval of semistructured data, the underlying structure being taken into account, e.g. mark-up language structure data G06F16/80
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8545 for generating interactive applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

Systems and methods to dynamically convert Web content to an interactive program for display on resource constrained television clients are described. In particular, a head-end server in a digital television entertainment system downloads the Web content from an external data source. The head-end server dynamically transcodes the downloaded content into an interactive walled garden program (iWGP) that includes MPEG stills and metadata for delivery to a client in the television entertainment system.

Claims

1. In a digital television entertainment system, a method for dynamic conversion of Web content to an interactive program for display on a client, the method comprising:

downloading, by a head-end server, the Web content from an external data source; and

dynamically transcoding, by the head-end server, the Web content into an interactive walled garden program (iWGP) for delivery to a client in the digital television entertainment system.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the Web content in an HTML data format.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the Web content is walled garden Web site content with possible links to one or more other walled garden web sites, and wherein the external data source is Web server.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the iWGP includes a link to a different iWGP such that the client can be used to navigate from the iWGP to the different iWGP, the link indicating a digital service corresponding to the different iWGP and target metadata for the different iWGP.

5. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the client is a set-top box.

6. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the iWGP includes at least one still and corresponding metadata, the metadata describing structure, contents, and an interaction model for the at least one still.

7. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein downloading the Web content further comprises periodically downloading the Web content from the external data source.

8. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein downloading the Web content further comprises downloading the Web content from the external data source according to one or more parameters of a configuration file, at least one parameter of the one or more parameters being a Universal Resource Identifier (URI) identifying the external data source and a root Web page of the Web content.

9. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein downloading the Web content further comprises downloading the Web content from the external data source according to one or more parameters of a configuration file, the configuration file identifying the external data source, a root Web page of the Web content, and Web content targeting information.

10. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein transcoding the Web content further comprises changing a hypertext link indicated by a page of the Web content into a relative link, the relative link referencing a bitmap on a file carousel, the bitmap corresponding to the page, the file carousel being used by the head-end server to broadcast the iWPG to the client.

11. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the Web content is in a dynamic HTML (DHTML) data format, the Web content comprising at least one interface page, and wherein transcoding the Web content further comprises taking multiple snapshots of the interface page over time to substantially capture dynamic aspects of the interface page, each snapshot of the multiple snapshots being generated at a different time as compared to a different snapshot of the multiple snapshots.

12. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the Web content comprises one or more interface pages, and wherein transcoding the Web content further comprises, for each interface page, generating digital video and metadata components, the metadata component indicating structure, content, and an interaction model for the digital video components.

13. A method as recited in claim 12, wherein the digital video components comprise MPEG stills.

14. A computer-readable medium comprising computer-program instructions executable by a processor to perform operations as recited in the method of claim 1.

15. In a television entertainment infrastructure, a head-end server comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory comprising computer-program instructions executable by the processor to performs operations comprising;

identifying an address corresponding to an external data source and source content, the source content being in an HTML data format;

downloading the source content from the external data source; and

automatically converting the source content into an iWGP, the iWGP including multiple MPEG stills and metadata for navigating the stills, the iWGP for broadcast delivery to a client in the television entertainment infrastructure.

16. A head-end server as recited in claim 15, wherein the source content exhibits transitive closure.

17. A head-end server as recited in claim 15, wherein the metadata includes a link to a different iWGP such that the client can be used to navigate from the iWGP to the different iWGP.

18. A head-end server as recited in claim 17, wherein the link indicates a digital service corresponding to the different iWGP and target metadata for the different iWGP.

19. A head-end server as recited in claim 15, wherein the client comprises a set-top box.

20. A head-end server as recited in claim 15, wherein the metadata describes structure and contents for an interaction model associated with the multiple MPEG stills.

21. A head-end server as recited in claim 15, wherein downloading the source content further comprises communicating media service organization (MSO) and/or subscriber data to the external data source for use by the external data source to localize the source content.

22. A head-end server as recited in claim 15, wherein automatically converting the source content further comprises generating a plurality of different stills over time from a single interface page of the source content, the interface page comprising attributes that change over time.

23. A head-end server as recited in claim 15, wherein automatically converting the source content into broadcast ready data further comprises configuring the broadcast ready data to indicate a program name, an iWGP transport rate, a parental control rating, an identifier that maps a digital service to iWGP, an MPEG program number at which the iWGP is being broadcast, and/or a program broadcast frequency.

24. A head-end server as recited in claim 15, wherein automatically converting the source content further comprises:

identifying a picture quality attribute; and

encoding a picture component from the source content into a still of the multiple MPEG stills such that the still is compressed according to the picture quality attribute.

25. A head-end server as recited in claim 15, wherein the computer-program instructions further comprise instructions for:

delivering video components of the iWGP to the client over an in-band communication channel; and

delivering metadata to the client over an in-band or out-of-band communication channel, the metadata corresponding to an interaction model for the video components.

26. A computer-readable medium comprising computer-program instructions executable by a processor to performs operations comprising:

fetching Web content from an external data source;

responsive to receiving the Web content, transcoding the Web content to an interactive walled garden program (iWGP); and

delivering the iWGP to a client in a television entertainment infrastructure.

27. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 26, wherein the Web content is in an HTML data format.

28. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 26, wherein the client comprises a set-top box.

29. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 26, wherein the iWGP includes a relative link to a different iWGP such that the client can be used to navigate from the iWGP to the different iWGP, the link indicating a digital service corresponding to the different iWGP and target metadata for the different iWGP.

30. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 26, wherein a iWGP metadata page includes at least one relative link to a different metadata document in the iWGP.

31. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 26, wherein each metadata document includes an identifier to a corresponding background video component.

32. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 26, wherein fetching the Web content further comprises communicating content targeting information to the external data source for use by the external data source to select localized source content for transcoding by a cable-head-end into the iWGP.

33. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 26, wherein the computer-program instructions for transcoding the Web content further comprises instructions for generating a plurality of different video components over time from a single interface page of the Web content, the interface page comprising attributes that are dynamic over time.

34. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 26, wherein the computer-program instructions for transcoding the Web content further comprise instructions for configuring the iWGP with a program name, a target iWGP transport rate, a parental control rating, a digital service corresponding to the iWGP, an MPEG program number at which the iWGP is being broadcast, and/or a program broadcast frequency.

35. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 26, wherein the computer-program instructions for delivering the iWGP to the client further comprise instructions for broadcasting the iWGP to the client over an in-band communication channel or over a combination of the in-band communication channel and an out-of-band communication channel.

36. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 26, wherein the computer-program instructions for delivering the iWGP to the client further comprise instructions for:

broadcasting one or more video components to the client via an in-band communication channel; and

broadcasting the one or more metadata components to the client over an out-of-band communication channel, the metadata components corresponding to the video components.

37. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 26, wherein the Web content comprises one or more interface pages, and wherein transcoding the Web content further comprises, for each interface page of the one or more interface pages, generating digital video components according to specified picture quality attributes.

38. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 26, wherein the Web content comprises one or more interface pages, and wherein delivering the iWGP to the client further comprises:

identifying a priority attribute associated with at least one interface page of the interface pages; and

configuring a carousel to broadcast the at least one interface page to the client multiple times within a latency period specified according to the priority attribute.

39. In a television entertainment infrastructure, a head-end server comprising:

downloading means for downloading Web content from the external data source; and

transcoding means for automatically converting the Web content to an interactive walled garden program (iWGP) for broadcast delivery to a client in the television entertainment infrastructure.

40. A head-end server as recited in claim 39, wherein the iWGP is transcoded such that it substantially reduces processing and/or data storage resources used at the client to present the iWGP.

41. A head-end server as recited in claim 39, wherein the client is processing and/or data storage resource constrained to a point that the client is incapable of executing a Web browser.

42. A head-end server as recited in claim 39, wherein the client comprises a set-top box.

43. A head-end server as recited in claim 39, wherein the transcoding means further comprises means for generating a plurality of different stills over time from a single interface page of the Web content, the interface page comprising attributes that change over time.

44. A head-end server as recited in claim 39, wherein the transcoding means further comprises means for configuring the iWGP based on one or more pre-set parameters selected from a program name, an iWGP transport rate, a parental control rating, an identifier that maps a digital service to the iWGP, an MPEG program number at which the iWGP is being broadcast, and/or a iWGP broadcast frequency.

45. A head-end server as recited in claim 39, wherein the transcoding means further comprises means for configuring the iWGP With a relative link to a different iWGP such that the client can be used to navigate from the iWGP to the different iWGP, the link indicating a digital service corresponding to the different iWGP and target metadata for the different iWGP.

46. A head-end server as recited in claim 39, wherein the transcoding means further comprises means for encoding a picture component from the Web content such that the picture component is compressed according to a predetermined picture quality attribute.

47. A head-end server as recited in claim 39, further comprising delivery means for broadcasting video components of the iWGP to the client over an in-band communication channel, and delivering metadata to the client over an in-band or out-of-band communication channel, the metadata corresponding to an interaction model for the video components.