Method and apparatus for restricting DVD content

• US 20070212025A1
• Filed: 03/01/2007
• Published: 09/13/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TiVo Solutions Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: TiVo Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Beach, Brian, Barton, James, Glennon, Shelly, Schmidt, Margret, Poniatowski, Robert
• Granted Patent: US 8,761,585 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/261
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/005 Reproducing at a different information rate from the information rate of recording for television signals H04N5/783
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4112 having fewer capabilities than the client, e.g. thin client having less processing power or no tuning capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42646 for reading from or writing on a non-volatile solid state storage medium, e.g. DVD, CD-ROM
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44016 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for substituting a video clip
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/441 Acquiring end-user identification , e.g. using personal code sent by the remote control or by inserting a card
• 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 21/4542 Blocking scenes or portions of the received content, e.g. censoring scenes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• 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 21/488 Data services, e.g. news ticker systems specially adapted for using meteorological information in broadcast systems H04H60/71
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 : between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 : on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 : on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 : by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/7921 : for more than one processing mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 : involving data reduction

Abstract

Techniques described herein enable parents to establish a child-protective “kids zone” on a DVR. According to one technique, a DVR receives, from a parent, identities of DVD content items that the parent does not want children to view. The DVR maps the identities to a kids zone. During times that the DVR is set to operate in the kids zone operational mode, the DVR prevents itself from presenting any content from DVDs that are associated with the identities. At other times, during which the DVR is not set to operate in the kids zone operational mode, the DVR may allow itself to present DVD content that are associated with the identities.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

placing a device into a first operational mode;

reading content information from a DVD inserted into a DVD player communicatively connected to the device;

comparing at least a portion of the DVD content information with restriction criteria associated with the first operational mode;

suppressing playback of the DVD content when the at least a portion of the DVD content information does not satisfy the restriction criteria; and

allowing playback of the DVD content when the at least a portion of the DVD content information satisfies the restriction criteria.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

presenting a list of DVD content titles from which a user can select one or more allowable DVD content.

3. A method as recited in claim 2, further comprising:

retrieving the list of DVD content titles from a source via a network connection.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

accepting user input defining keywords or DVD content titles that, when present in at least a portion of a DVD'"'"'s content information, are not allowed to be played while the device is in the first operational mode.

5. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

accepting user input defining keywords or DVD content titles that, when present in at least a portion of a DVD'"'"'s content information, are allowed to be played while the device is in the first operational mode.

6. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

displaying DVD content information from a DVD that has been inserted into the DVD player to a user, when the device is not in the first operational mode.

7. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the DVD content information includes any of:

title, actors, director, content synopsis, and rating.

8. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

accepting user input defining DVD content ratings that are acceptable when the device is in the first operational mode.

9. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

retrieving a rating for a DVD'"'"'s content from a source via a network connection.

10. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

retrieving a content synopsis for a DVD'"'"'s content from a source via a network connection.

11. An apparatus comprising:

a module for placing a device into a first operational mode;

a module for reading content information from a DVD inserted into a DVD player communicatively connected to the device;

a module for comparing at least a portion of the DVD content information with restriction criteria associated with the first operational mode;

a module for suppressing playback of the DVD content when the at least a portion of the DVD content information does not satisfy the restriction criteria; and

a module for allowing playback of the DVD content when the at least a portion of the DVD content information satisfies the restriction criteria.

12. An apparatus as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

a module for presenting a list of DVD content titles from which a user can select one or more allowable DVD content.

13. An apparatus as recited in claim 12, further comprising:

a module for retrieving the list of DVD content titles from a source via a network connection.

14. An apparatus as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

a module for accepting user input defining keywords or DVD content titles that, when present in at least a portion of a DVD'"'"'s content information, are not allowed to be played while the device is in the first operational mode.

15. An apparatus as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

a module for accepting user input defining keywords or DVD content titles that, when present in at least a portion of a DVD'"'"'s content information, are allowed to be played while the device is in the first operational mode.

16. An apparatus as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

a module for displaying DVD content information from a DVD that has been inserted into the DVD player to a user, when the device is not in the first operational mode.

17. An apparatus as recited in claim 11, wherein the DVD content information includes any of:

title, actors, director, content synopsis, and rating.

18. An apparatus as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

a module for accepting user input defining DVD content ratings that are acceptable when the device is in the first operational mode.

19. An apparatus as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

a module for retrieving a rating for a DVD'"'"'s content from a source via a network connection.

20. An apparatus as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

a module for retrieving a content synopsis for a DVD'"'"'s content from a source via a network connection.

21. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions, which instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the steps of:

placing a device into a first operational mode;

reading content information from a DVD inserted into a DVD player communicatively connected to the device;

comparing at least a portion of the DVD content information with restriction criteria associated with the first operational mode;

suppressing playback of the DVD content when the at least a portion of the DVD content information does not satisfy the restriction criteria; and

allowing playback of the DVD content when the at least a portion of the DVD content information satisfies the restriction criteria.

22. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 21, further comprising:

presenting a list of DVD content titles from which a user can select one or more allowable DVD content.

23. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 22, further comprising:

retrieving the list of DVD content titles from a source via a network connection.

24. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 21, further comprising:

accepting user input defining keywords or DVD content titles that, when present in at least a portion of a DVD'"'"'s content information, are not allowed to be played while the device is in the first operational mode.

25. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 21, further comprising:

accepting user input defining keywords or DVD content titles that, when present in at least a portion of a DVD'"'"'s content information, are allowed to be played while the device is in the first operational mode.

26. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 21, further comprising:

displaying DVD content information from a DVD that has been inserted into the DVD player to a user, when the device is not in the first operational mode.

27. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 21, wherein the DVD content information includes any of:

title, actors, director, content synopsis, and rating.

28. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 21, further comprising:

accepting user input defining DVD content ratings that are acceptable when the device is in the first operational mode.

29. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 21, further comprising:

retrieving a rating for a DVD'"'"'s content from a source via a network connection.

30. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 21, further comprising:

retrieving a content synopsis for a DVD'"'"'s content from a source via a network connection.