SYSTEM AND METHOD TO FACILITATE PROGRAMMING OF AN ASSOCIATED RECORDING DEVICE

• US 20070277201A1
• Filed: 08/09/2007
• Published: 11/29/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Wong, Curtis, Drucker, Steven
• Granted Patent: US 8,316,389 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/21 Server components or server architectures
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23 Processing of content or additional data; Elementary server operations; Server middleware
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4227 Providing Remote input by a user located remotely from the client device, e.g. at work
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• 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 21/43622 Interfacing an external recording device
• 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 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• 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 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• 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 9/79 Processing of colour television signals in connection with recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction

Abstract

A system and method are disclosed to facilitates programming of a recording device. A client system is operatively coupled with the recording device, which, for example, is programmed and/or configured to record selected audio and/or visual broadcast programming. The client system receives a message, such as in the form of electronic mail (email) or another suitable form, from a remotely located computer. One or more tokens are associated with the message for providing program criteria indicative of selected audio and/or visual programming, which may be employed to program the recording device for recording broadcast programming based on the token.

Claims

1. A server external to a content provider that is configured to provide the content provider with an estimate of a size of a viewing audience for a program to be broadcast prior to a broadcast time of the program, the server comprising:

a program database configured to store information about programs provided by one or more content providers;

a tuning space database configured to store information about one or more local tuning spaces;

a translation function configured to translate tokens that identify the program to be broadcast into instructions that identify the program to be broadcast into a local tuning space by interfacing with the program database and the tuning space database and configured to send the instructions to a viewer'"'"'s device;

a ratings database configured to store information indicating a popularity of the program to be broadcast obtained during token translations prior to the broadcast time of the program to be broadcast; and

a predictive filter configured to estimate the size of the viewing audience for the program to be broadcast based on the information stored in the ratings database and to provide this estimate to the content provider prior to the program'"'"'s broadcast time.

2. The server of claim 1, further comprising a user profile database configured to store demographic information about the viewer, wherein the predictive filter is further configured to send at least some of the demographic information about the viewer to the content provider.

3. The server of claim 1, further comprising an update function configured to employ update data to modify the program database or the tuning space database or both according to the update data.

4. The server of claim 1, wherein the program to be broadcast is an audio program.

5. The server of claim 1, wherein the program to be broadcast is a visual program.

6. Computer-executable instructions for performing a method of providing a content provider with a prediction about a size of a viewing audience for a program to be broadcast prior to a broadcast time of the program, the computer-executable instructions stored on one or more computer-readable media external to the content provider, the method comprising:

receiving information about programs provided by one or more content providers;

receiving information about one or more local tuning spaces;

translating tokens that identify the program to be broadcast into instructions that identify the program to be broadcast into a local tuning space by interfacing with the program database and the tuning space database;

sending the instructions to a viewer'"'"'s device;

storing information relating to a popularity of the program to be broadcast obtained during token translations prior to the broadcast time of the program;

predicting the size of the viewing audience for the program to be broadcast based on the stored information relating to the popularity of the program to be broadcast; and

sending the predicted size of the viewing audience for the program to be broadcast to the content provider prior to the program'"'"'s broadcast time.

7. The computer-executable instructions of claim 6, further comprising storing demographic information about the viewer and sending at least some of the demographic information to the content provider prior to the program'"'"'s broadcast time.

8. The computer-executable instructions of claim 6, further comprising updating the information about programs provided by the one or more content providers or the information about one or more local tuning spaces or both according to a change in scheduled programming.

9. A system external to a content provider that is configured to provide the content provider with an estimate of a size of a viewing audience for a program to be broadcast prior to a broadcast time of the program, the system comprising:

means for storing information about programs provided by one or more content providers;

means for storing information about one or more local tuning spaces;

means for translating tokens that identify the program to be broadcast into instructions that identify the program to be broadcast into a local tuning space by interfacing with the means for storing information about programs and the means for storing information about one or more local tuning spaces;

means for sending the instructions to a viewer'"'"'s device;

means for storing information indicating a popularity of the program to be broadcast obtained during token translations prior to the broadcast time of the program to be broadcast;

means for estimating the size of the viewing audience for the program to be broadcast based on the information stored in the means for storing information indicating the popularity of the program to be broadcast; and

means for sending the estimate of the size of the viewing audience for the program to be broadcast to the content provider prior to the program'"'"'s broadcast time.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising means for storing demographic information about the viewer, wherein the means for sending the estimate is further configured to send at least some of the demographic information about the viewer to the content provider.

11. The system of claim 9, further comprising means for employing update data to modify information stored in the means for storing information about programs or information stored in the means for storing information about one or more local tuning spaces or both.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the program to be broadcast is an audio program.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the program to be broadcast is a visual program.