Apparatus and method for providing televison services using an aggregator

• US 20070192807A1
• Filed: 02/16/2006
• Published: 08/16/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Knowledge Ventures, L.P. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Sbc Knowledge Ventures, L.P.
• Inventors: Howcroft, Jerald
• Granted Patent: US 8,640,176 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/86
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25833 involving client hardware characteristics, e.g. manufacturer, processing or storage capabilities allocation of resources considering hardware capabilities in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/5044; allocation of resources considering software capabilities in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/5055
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; 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 21/2668 Creating a channel for a dedicated end-user group, e.g. insertion of targeted commercials based on end-user profiles information retrieval from the Internet by querying with filtering and personalisation G06F16/9535; arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast H04H20/10; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/063
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44204 Monitoring of content usage, e.g. the number of times a movie has been viewed, copied or the amount which has been watched monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; protecting generic digital content where the protection is independent of the precise nature of the content G06F21/10; arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services in broadcast systems H04H60/31
• 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 21/4826 using recommendation lists, e.g. of programs or channels sorted out according to their score
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• 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 21/8586 by using a URL processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94; information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; URL in broadcast information H04H20/93; Web-based protocols H04L67/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

The present disclosure provides an apparatus, method, and computer programs for obtaining content from a communications network. One aspect of the disclosure includes: storing an aggregator on a Set Top Box (STB) associated with a television set, wherein the aggregator is adapted to obtain content corresponding to a plurality of feeds from a communications network; displaying the plurality of feeds on the television set in response to a first input received by the STB; accepting at the STB a selection of at least one feed from the plurality of feeds; obtaining content from the communications network corresponding to the selected at least one feed; and providing the obtained content for display on the television set.

Claims

1. A computer-readable medium accessible to a processor for executing instructions contained in a computer program embedded in the computer readable medium, the computer program comprising:

instructions to access an aggregator at a device associated with a television set to obtain content corresponding to a plurality of feeds from a communications network;

instructions to display the plurality of feeds on a television set in response to a first input;

instructions to select at least one feed from the plurality of feeds in response to a second input;

instructions to obtain content corresponding to the selected feed from the communications network using the aggregator; and

instructions to display the obtained content on the television set.

2. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the device is a set-top-box and the computer program further comprises instructions to store the obtained content on a storage medium associated with the STB.

3. The computer-readable medium of claim 2, wherein the computer program further comprises instructions to access the storage medium to display the obtained content on the television set in response to a third input.

4. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the obtained content is syndicated content that is automatically updated over a time period.

5. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the aggregator obtains the content over Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).

6. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the obtained content is one of video, voice, and data.

7. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the obtained content further comprises content in an Extensible Markup Language (XML) format.

8. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the aggregator is Real Simple Syndication.

9. An apparatus for displaying content obtained over a communications network on a television set, comprising:

a processor;

a first computer program including an aggregator, accessible to the processor, to obtain content corresponding to a plurality of feeds from the communications network;

a second computer program, accessible to the processor, the second computer program comprising;

instructions to display the plurality of feeds on the television set in response to a first input;

instructions to select at least one feed from the plurality of feeds in response to a second input;

instructions to obtain content corresponding to the selected feed from the network using the aggregator; and

instructions to display the obtained content on the television set.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 further comprising a storage device that stores the obtained content.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the storage device is one of a digital video recorder, a hard disk, and a Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM).

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the second computer program further comprises instructions for storing the obtained content at the storage device.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the second computer program further comprises instructions to provide the obtained content for display on the television set from the storage device in response to a third input.

14. The apparatus of claim 9 further comprising:

a first interface adapted to be coupled to the television set to provide the obtained content to the television set; and

a second interface adapted to obtain content from the communications network.

15. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the apparatus is integral to the television set.

16. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the obtained content is syndicated content that is updated over a time period.

17. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the aggregator obtains the content over Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).

18. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the obtained content is one of video, voice, and data.

19. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the obtained content includes content in an XML format.

20. A method for providing a television service, comprising:

storing an aggregator on a Set Top Box (STB) associated with a television set, wherein the aggregator is adapted to obtain content corresponding to a plurality of feeds from a communications network;

displaying the plurality of feeds on the television set in response to a first input received by the STB;

accepting at the STB a selection of at least one feed from the plurality of feeds;

obtaining content from the communications network corresponding to the selected at least one feed; and

providing the obtained content for display on the television set.

21. The method of claim 20 further comprising storing the obtained content on a storage medium associated with the STB.

22. The method of claim 21 further comprising accessing the storage medium for providing the obtained content for display on the television set in response to a second input.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the storage medium is one of a digital video recorder, a hard disk, and a Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM).

24. The method of claim 20, wherein the obtained content is syndicated content that is updated over a time period.

25. The method of claim 20, wherein obtaining content further comprises obtaining the content over Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).

26. The method of claim 20, wherein the obtained content is one of video, voice, and data.