System and method for improved channel surfing
First Claim
1. A system for navigating through multiple channels of broadcast content to locate channels that are running programs of interest, comprising:
- an input port to receive a broadband source comprising multiple channels of broadcast content;
a plurality of auxiliary tuners coupled to the input port to select and demodulate channels of broadcast content and to output baseband information for the channels;
a commercial detector coupled to the baseband information of at least one channel, the commercial detector to provide a commercial status signal to indicate whether a commercial segment is running on the at least one channel;
a channel buffer to provide a buffered feed of the baseband channel information of the at least one channel;
an output port; and
a switch to selectively couple the buffered feed of the baseband channel information for the at least one channel to the output port in response to the commercial status signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods for navigating through multiple channels of broadcast content to locate channels that are running programs of interest include monitoring a plurality of channels of baseband channel information to detect commercials and commercial segments, buffering the baseband channel information for at least one channel; and switching the channel feed for a broadcast receiver to the buffered baseband channel information whenever the receiver is changed to a channel in which commercials or commercial segments are detected.
113 Citations
35 Claims
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1. A system for navigating through multiple channels of broadcast content to locate channels that are running programs of interest, comprising:
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an input port to receive a broadband source comprising multiple channels of broadcast content;
a plurality of auxiliary tuners coupled to the input port to select and demodulate channels of broadcast content and to output baseband information for the channels;
a commercial detector coupled to the baseband information of at least one channel, the commercial detector to provide a commercial status signal to indicate whether a commercial segment is running on the at least one channel;
a channel buffer to provide a buffered feed of the baseband channel information of the at least one channel;
an output port; and
a switch to selectively couple the buffered feed of the baseband channel information for the at least one channel to the output port in response to the commercial status signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for improved channel surfing, comprising:
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monitoring a plurality of channels of baseband channel information to detect commercials;
buffering the baseband channel information for at least one channel; and
switching the channel feed for a broadcast receiver to the buffered baseband channel information whenever the receiver is changed to a channel in which commercials are detected. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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14. A broadcast receiver, comprising:
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a plurality of auxiliary tuners to select and demodulate channels of broadcast content from a multichannel broadband source and to output baseband information for the channels;
a commercial detector coupled to the baseband information of at least one channel, the commercial detector to provide a commercial status signal to indicate whether a commercial segment is running on the at least one channel;
a channel buffer to provide a buffered feed of the baseband channel information for the at least one channel;
a primary tuner to select and demodulate a channel from the multichannel broadband source and to provide a primary feed of baseband channel information; and
a switch to selectively couple the buffered feed of the baseband channel information to replace the primary feed of baseband channel information in response to a commercial status signal indicating that a commercial is running on a channel to which the primary tuner has been changed. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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18. An apparatus, comprising:
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a scanning tuner to selectively receive and demodulate a plurality of broadcast channels and to provide baseband channel information for the selected channels;
a commercial detector coupled to the baseband channel information for the selected channels to distinguish between commercial segments and regular programming and to provide commercial status signals for the selected channels; and
a register to record commercial status information comprising the commercial status signals. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A program comprising a storage medium tangibly embodying program instructions for improved channel surfing, the program instructions including instructions operable to cause at least one programmable processor to:
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provide an auxiliary tuner configured to receive and demodulate a plurality of broadcast channels from a broadband source and to output baseband channel information for the channels;
buffer the baseband channel information for at least one channel;
detect and distinguish between commercial segments and regular programming in the baseband channel information for the channels; and
substitute the buffered baseband channel information for baseband channel information for the channel provided to a broadcast receiver when a commercial segment is detected.
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28. A network comprising:
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a broadband source comprising multiple channels of broadcast content;
a plurality of broadcast receivers coupled to the broadband source over the network;
a server located upstream of the receivers in the network, comprising;
a plurality of auxiliary tuners coupled to the broadband source to select and demodulate channels of broadcast content and to output baseband information for a plurality of channels;
a commercial detector coupled to the baseband information for the plurality of channels, the commercial detector to provide status signals to indicate whether commercial segments are running on any one of the plurality of channels;
a channel buffer to provide a buffered feed of the baseband channel information for at least one of the plurality of channels; and
a switch to selectively couple the buffered feed of the baseband channel information for the at least one channel for transmission in a downstream feed to the plurality of broadcast receivers in response to the commercial status signal indicating a commercial segment is running on the at least one channel. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A method for improved channel surfing, comprising:
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buffering the program content for a plurality of broadcast channels;
scanning the broadcast channels to detect commercials;
storing channel status information comprising detection of commercials;
switching to the buffered program content for a channel during channel surfing whenever status information indicates commercials are detected on the channel.
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Specification