System and method for filtering content

• US 20050120369A1
• Filed: 12/02/2003
• Published: 06/02/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Matz, William Randolph
• Granted Patent: US 8,595,769 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/40
• 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 21/4668 for recommending content, e.g. movies
• 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 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

Systems and methods of presenting channel content in a distributed network having a client device and a server device, the method comprising the acts of evaluating tagged content, e.g., from the server device and creating a personalized channel at the client device. The personalized channel comprises content from two or more predetermined channels, i.e., channels received from the server device. Last, the system and method displays the content on the personalized channel. Also, systems and methods may be employed to display a personalized programming guide, using profile information to select a preferred subset of information to display such that the user is better able to discern desirable content.

Claims

1. A method of presenting channel content in a distributed network having a client device and a server device, the method comprising:

evaluating tagged content;

creating a personalized channel at the client device, wherein the personalized channel comprises content from two or more predetermined channels; and

displaying the content on the personalized channel.

2. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the tagged content is received from the server device and wherein the method further comprises:

parsing the tagged content to evaluate the tags; and

wherein the act of creating a personalized channel comprises repackaging content into the personalized channel.

3. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the tagged content is received from the server device and wherein the method further comprises:

parsing the tagged content to evaluate the tags; and

wherein the act of creating a personalized channel comprises automatically redirecting selected content to the user.

4. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the personalized channel is automatically created through use of a profile, wherein the profile is a stored data structure identifying user preferences and wherein the evaluating act compares incoming tag information with the profile to determine which content to add to the new channel.

5. A method as defined in claim 4 wherein the profile further comprises exclusion information and wherein content is not added to the personalized channel when tag information associated with the content matches exclusion information in the profile.

6. A method as defined in claim 4 wherein the preference information comprises preferences as to the type of content and the rating of the content.

7. A method as defined in claim 4 further comprising:

manually creating the profile.

8. A method as defined in claim 4 further comprising:

automatically creating the profile based on historical information.

9. A method as defined in claim 8 further comprising:

automatically updating the profile based on updated historical information.

10. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the personalized channel is manually created and updated.

11. A method as defined in claim 1 further comprising:

creating a second personalized channel, the second personalized channel comprising content from two or more predetermined channels, wherein second channel comprises at least some content not in the first personalized content.

12. A method as defined in claim 11 further comprising:

accessing the first personalized channel using a first access code; and

accessing the second personalized channel using a second access code, the second access code being different from the first access code.

13. A computer readable product readable by a computing system and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process comprising the acts defined in claim 1.

14. A computer readable product readable by a computing system and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process comprising the acts defined in claim 9.

15. A computer readable product readable by a computing system and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process comprising the acts defined in claim 10.

16. A computer readable product readable by a computing system and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process comprising the acts defined in claim 11.

17. A computer readable product readable by a computing system and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process comprising the acts defined in claim 12.

18. A method of displaying a programming guide of channel content in a distributed network having a client device and a server device, the method comprising:

receiving tag information prior to receiving associated content;

evaluating tag information based on a stored profile of preferences; and

displaying a personalized programming guide at the client device, wherein the personalized programming guide displays a preferred subset of available content.

19. A method as defined in claim 18 wherein the preferred subset matches the profile preferences.

20. A method as defined in claim 18 wherein the personalized programming guide blocks content tags associated with content to be excluded, as identified in the profile.

21. A method as defined in claim 18 wherein the personalized programming guide displays one or more personalized channels.

22. A method as defined in claim 21 wherein the programming guide scrolls through the predetermined channels, wherein the method further comprises:

continuously displaying the one or more personalized channels.

23. A computer readable product readable by a computing system and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process comprising the acts defined in claim 18.

24. A computer readable product readable by a computing system and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process comprising the acts defined in claim 22.

25. A system for displaying personalized channel information comprising:

a receive module that receives tag information, wherein the tag information is associated with content that may be viewed by a user of the system;

an analysis module that analyzes the tag information and modifies the display of the tag information; and

a display module for displaying the modified tag information.

26. A system as defined in claim 25 wherein the modified tag information displayed is an abbreviated programming guide.

27. A system as defined in claim 26 wherein the abbreviated programming guide displays personalized channel data.

28. A system as defined in claim 27 further comprising:

a user input/output module that receives personalized channel content selections to be added to the personalized channel, wherein the analysis module adds the selected content to the personalized channel.

29. A system as defined in claim 27 further comprising:

a profile interface module that accesses a user profile and provides tag information to the analysis module, the analysis module uses the profile tag information in selecting content to add to the personalized channel.

30. A system as defined in claim 25 wherein the modified tag information comprises a personalized channel of content.

31. A system as defined in claim 30 further comprising:

a user input/output module that receives personalized channel content selections to be added to the personalized channel, wherein the analysis module adds the selected content to the personalized channel.

32. A system as defined in claim 30 further comprising:

a profile interface module that accesses a user profile and provides tag information to the analysis module, the analysis module uses the profile tag information in selecting content to add to the personalized channel.