Context-sensitive television tags

• US 20040268403A1
• Filed: 06/26/2003
• Published: 12/30/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Krieger, Allyson M., Hart, Michael P., Yerkes, Rowland W., Lewis, Garth Anton
• Application Number:
  US10/607,073
• Publication Number:
  US 20040268403A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/112
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2353 specifically adapted to content descriptors, e.g. coding, compressing or processing of metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• 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 21/4667 Processing of monitored end-user data, e.g. trend analysis based on the log file of viewer selections
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4668 for recommending content, e.g. movies
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47205 for manipulating displayed content, e.g. interacting with MPEG-4 objects, editing locally
• 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 21/4751 for defining user accounts, e.g. accounts for children
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4753 for user identification, e.g. by entering a PIN or password cryptographic authentication protocols H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08
• 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 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4826 using recommendation lists, e.g. of programs or channels sorted out according to their score
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8133 specifically related to the content, e.g. biography of the actors in a movie, detailed information about an article seen in a video program
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8583 by creating hot-spots

Abstract

A TV tag embedded in web-based content can be selected by a viewer to cause a system to perform an operation associated with the TV tag. Example operations include personalization of a TV planner to include programs that are related to the selected TV tag, scheduling of a particular program to be recorded, generation of an email reminder to be sent when a particular program is scheduled for broadcast, and so on. In an implementation that includes a TV planner, the TV planner may be personalized to include programs associated with a television series, an episode, a movie, a celebrity, a sports team, a topic, and/or a particular channel.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving data that describes a television broadcast schedule;

rendering web-based content that is related to television entertainment; and

rendering along with the content, a TV tag, the TV tag having an associated data element that can be associated with at least a portion of the data that describes a television broadcast schedule.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the web-based content comprises program details associated with a particular television program.

3. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the web-based content comprises a description of a particular movie.

4. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the web-based content comprises a celebrity biography.

5. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the web-based content comprises a news article.

6. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the web-based content comprises an advertisement.

7. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the data element comprises data associated with a particular television series.

8. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the data element comprises television broadcast schedule data, the schedule data being filtered based on a timezone.

9. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the data element comprises television broadcast schedule data, the schedule data being filtered based on a channel lineup that is available from a television broadcast provider.

10. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the data element comprises data associated with a particular episode of a television series.

11. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the data element comprises data associated with a particular television program.

12. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the data element comprises data associated with a particular movie.

13. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the data element comprises data associated with a particular person.

14. The method as recited in claim 13 wherein the person comprises an actor.

15. The method as recited in claim 13 wherein the person comprises a director.

16. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the data element comprises data associated with a particular sporting event.

17. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the data element comprises data associated with a particular sports team.

18. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the data element comprises data associated with a particular broadcast channel.

19. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the TV tag is used to display a portion of the data that describes the television broadcast schedule that is contextually relevant in relation to the web-based content.

20. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising:

receiving an indication of a viewer selection of the TV tag; and

performing an action that is associated with the TV tag.

21. The method as recited in claim 20 wherein the action comprises providing data associated with the TV tag to a TV planner system, the data to be used to personalize TV planner data for the viewer.

22. The method as recited in claim 20 wherein the action comprises scheduling a recording device to record a particular program that is associated with the TV tag.

23. The method as recited in claim 20 wherein the action comprises scheduling an alert system to generate an alert associated with a particular program that is associated with the TV tag.

24. The method as recited in claim 23 wherein the alert comprises an email message.

25. One or more computer-readable media comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed, direct a computer system to perform the method as recited in claim 1.

26. A method comprising:

rendering web-based content that is related to television entertainment;

rendering along with the content, a selectable TV tag, the TV tag having an associated action and an associated data element;

receiving an indication of a viewer selection of the TV tag; and

performing the associated action in relation to the associated data element based on the selection of the TV tag.

27. The method as recited in claim 26 wherein the performing the associated action comprises maintaining personalization data based on the data element, the personalization data to be used to filter subsequent renderings of broadcast schedule data.

28. The method as recited in claim 26 wherein the data element identifies a particular television program, and wherein performing the associated action comprises scheduling a recording device to record the particular television program.

29. The method as recited in claim 26 wherein the performing the associated action comprises scheduling an alert system to generate an alert associated with the data element.

30. The method as recited in claim 29 wherein the data element identifies a particular television program, and the alert is generated when the particular television program is scheduled to be broadcast.

31. The method as recited in claim 29 wherein the alert comprises an email message.

32. One or more computer-readable media comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed, direct a computer system to perform the method as recited in claim 26.

33. A method comprising:

rendering an article that describes a particular television program;

rendering along with the article, a selectable TV tag that is associated with the particular television program;

receiving an indication of a viewer selection of the TV tag; and

transmitting personalization data based on the selected TV tag to a TV planner system that generates a personalized version of a television broadcast schedule.

34. The method as recited in claim 33 wherein the TV tag represents a particular television series, and wherein the personalization data indicates that the personalized version of the television broadcast schedule is to include data describing each episode of the particular television series that is scheduled to be broadcast.

35. The method as recited in claim 33 wherein the TV tag represents a particular episode of a particular television program, and wherein the personalization data indicates that the personalized version of the television broadcast schedule is to include data describing the particular episode of the particular television program that is scheduled to be broadcast.

36. The method as recited in claim 33 wherein the TV tag represents a particular television series, and wherein the personalization data indicates that the personalized version of the television broadcast schedule is to include data describing only new episodes of the particular television program that are scheduled to be broadcast.

37. A method comprising:

rendering content that describes a particular movie;

rendering along with the content, a selectable TV tag that is associated with the particular movie;

receiving an indication of a viewer selection of the TV tag; and

transmitting personalization data based on the selected TV tag to a TV planner system that generates a personalized version of a television broadcast schedule.

38. The method as recited in claim 37 wherein the TV tag represents a particular scheduled airing of the particular move, and wherein the personalization data indicates that the personalized version of the television broadcast schedule is to include data describing the particular scheduled airing of the particular movie.

39. The method as recited in claim 37 wherein the transmitting comprises:

determining whether the particular movie is scheduled for television broadcast; and

in an event that the particular movie is not scheduled for television broadcast, transmitting personalization data that indicates. that the personalized version of the television broadcast schedule is to include data describing scheduled broadcasts of the particular movie at a later date when the movie is scheduled for television broadcast.

40. The method as recited in claim 37 wherein the transmitting comprises:

determining whether the particular movie is scheduled for television broadcast; and

in an event that the particular movie is not scheduled for television broadcast, transmitting personalization data that indicates that the TV planner system is to automatically generate and send a reminder to the viewer when the particular movie is later scheduled for television broadcast.

41. The method as recited in claim 40 wherein the reminder comprises an electronic mail message.

42. The method as recited in claim 40 wherein the reminder comprises an Internet-based alert message.

43. The method as recited in claim 40 wherein the reminder comprises an automated telephone call.

44. One or more computer-readable media comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed, direct a computer system to perform the method as recited in claim 37.

45. A method comprising:

rendering content associated with a particular person;

rendering along with the content, a selectable TV tag that is associated with the particular person;

receiving an indication of a viewer selection of the TV tag; and

transmitting personalization data based on the selected TV tag to a TV planner system that generates a personalized version of a television broadcast schedule.

46. The method as recited in claim 45 wherein the TV tag represents a particular actor, and wherein the personalization data indicates that the personalized version of the television broadcast schedule is to include data describing any program scheduled to be broadcast in which the particular actor has a leading role.

47. The method as recited in claim 45 wherein the TV tag represents a particular celebrity, and wherein the personalization data indicates that the personalized version of the television broadcast schedule is to include data describing any program scheduled to be broadcast in which the particular celebrity has a role.

48. The method as recited in claim 45 wherein the TV tag represents a particular celebrity, and wherein the personalization data indicates that the personalized version of the television broadcast schedule is to include data describing any program scheduled to be broadcast in which the particular celebrity has an appearance.

49. The method as recited in claim 48 wherein the program scheduled to be broadcast in which the particular celebrity has an appearance comprises a talk show on which the celebrity is a guest.

50. One or more computer-readable media comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed, direct a computer system to perform the method as recited in claim 45.

51. A method comprising:

rendering an article associated with a particular sport;

rendering along with the article, a selectable TV tag that is associated with the particular sport;

receiving an indication of a viewer selection of the TV tag; and

transmitting personalization data based on the selected TV tag to a TV planner system that generates a personalized version of a television broadcast schedule.

52. The method as recited in claim 51 wherein the article is associated with a particular sporting event, and wherein the personalization data indicates that the personalized version of the television broadcast schedule is to include data describing any scheduled airing of the particular sporting event.

53. The method as recited in claim 51 wherein the article is associated with a particular sports team, and wherein the personalization data indicates that the personalized version of the television broadcast schedule is to include data describing any scheduled airing of sporting events involving the particular sports team.

54. The method as recited in claim 51 wherein the article is associated with a particular sports team, and wherein the personalization data indicates that the personalized version of the television broadcast schedule is to include data describing any scheduled airing of live sporting events involving the particular sports team.

55. One or more computer-readable media comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed, direct a computer system to perform the method as recited in claim 51.

56. A method comprising:

receiving web-based content, the content having an associated TV tag that identifies a topic of the web-based content;

searching television broadcast schedule data for programs associated with the topic; and

rendering, along with the web-based content, a list of scheduled programs that are associated with the topic.

57. A method comprising:

receiving web-based media content;

identifying television entertainment data that may be associated with the web-based media content; and

associating a TV tag representing the television entertainment data with the web-based media content, such that the TV tag is rendered when the web-based media content is rendered.

58. The method as recited in claim 57 wherein the associating comprises adding an ASP.NET control that represents the television entertainment data to an ASP.NET Active Server page that represents the web-based media content.

59. The method as recited in claim 58 wherein the ASP.NET control comprises an ASP.NET user control.

60. The method as recited in claim 58 wherein the ASP.NET control comprises an ASP.NET server control.

61. The method as recited in claim 57 wherein the TV tag has an associated action that is automatically performed when a viewer selects a rendered version of the TV tag.

62. One or more computer-readable media comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed, direct a computer system to perform the method as recited in claim 57.

63. A system comprising:

a program data repository to maintain television broadcast schedule data;

a web server system to store and serve web-based content; and

a TV tag generator to embed TV tags representing portions of the television broadcast schedule data in the web-based content such that when the web-based content is rendered, television broadcast schedule data associated with the web-based content is also rendered.

64. The system as recited in claim 63 wherein the TV tag generator is implemented as part o f the web server system.

65. A system comprising:

a program data repository to maintain television broadcast schedule data;

a network interface to receive viewer personalization data based on viewer-selection of a TV tag embedded in web-based media content;

a personalization data repository to maintain the viewer personalization data; and

a program data filter to filter the television broadcast schedule data based on the personalization data.

66. The system as recited in claim 65 further comprising a schedule transmitter to transmit a filtered television broadcast schedule to a viewer.

67. A system, comprising:

means for receiving web-based content;

means for receiving television entertainment data; and

means for embedding in the web-based content, a TV tag that represents a portion of the television entertainment data that is related to the web-based content.

68. The system as recited in claim 67, further comprising means for performing an action associated with the TV tag.

69. The system as recited in claim 68 wherein the means for performing an action comprises means for maintaining viewer personalization data based on the selection of the TV Tag.

70. The system as recited in claim 67, further comprising means for filtering the television entertainment data based on a timezone associated with a viewer.

71. The system as recited in claim 67, further comprising means for filtering the television entertainment data based on a channel lineup associated with a viewer.

72. One or more computer-readable media comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed, direct a computing system to:

receive web-based content that includes an embedded TV tag;

perform a search for television broadcast schedule data based on the TV tag; and

render the web-based content, replacing the embedded TV tag with results of the search.

73. The one or more computer-readable media as recited in claim 72 wherein the search returns a list of scheduled television programs that are associated with the web-based content.

74. The one or more computer-readable media as recited in claim 72 futher comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed, direct a computing system to:

receive an indication of a viewer selection of a data element that represents at least a portion of the results of the search; and

perform an action that is associated with the TV tag in relation to the data element.

75. One or more computer-readable media comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed, direct a computing system to:

receive an indication of a viewer selection of a TV tag, the TV tag being rendered with other web-based content, the TV tag having an associated television entertainment data element and an associated action; and

perform the associated action with reference to the associated television entertainment data element.

76. One or more computer-readable media comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed, direct a computing system to:

receive an indication of a viewer selection of a TV tag, the TV tag being rendered with other web-based content, the TV tag representing a particular television program; and

transmit personalization data to a TV planner system indicating that the viewer is interested in seeing a scheduled broadcast instance of the particular television program in a rendered personalized TV planner.

77. One or more computer-readable media comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed, direct a computing system to:

receive an indication of a viewer selection of a TV tag, the TV tag being rendered with other web-based content, the TV tag representing a particular television program; and

transmit personalization data to an alert system indicating that the viewer is interested in receiving an alert when the particular television program is scheduled for broadcast.

78. One or more computer-readable media comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed, direct a computing system to:

receive an indication of a viewer selection of a TV tag, the TV tag being rendered with other web-based content, the TV tag representing a particular television program; and

schedule a recording device to record a broadcast of the particular television program.