Television schedule system with access control

• US 20080178210A1
• Filed: 08/20/2007
• Published: 07/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/1996
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Burgess, Andrew, Casement, Marcy, Folker, David
• Application Number:
  US11/894,613
• Publication Number:
  US 20080178210A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4135 external recorder interface circuits between an apparatus for recording television signals and a television receiver H04N5/775
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44213 Monitoring of end-user related data arrangements for monitoring the users' behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• 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 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47211 for requesting pay-per-view content payment schemes payment architectures or payment protocols G06Q20/00, G07F
• 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 7/0882 for the transmission of character code signals, e.g. for teletext circuits for the digital non-picture data signal H04N7/035
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0887 for the transmission of programme or channel identifying signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/10 Adaptations for transmission by electrical cable H04N7/12 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a television schedule system with a user interface which allows a user to control access to television programs by time, rating, content, and/or channel. Furthermore, the user may set a limit on pay-per-view (PPV) spending to limit the purchase of PPV programs.

Claims

1. (canceled)

2. A method of exercising television access control, the method comprising:

receiving a viewer request to schedule a television program for recording, wherein the television program is scheduled for transmission on a channel;

receiving a viewer request to block the channel;

displaying a warning, in response to receiving the viewer request to block the channel, to warn the viewer that the television program is scheduled for recording on the channel to be blocked; and

blocking the channel in response to receiving the viewer request to block the channel, wherein the blocking does not block the scheduled recording of the television program.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the blocking occurs after the warning has been displayed for a predetermined period of time.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

unblocking the channel when the television program is scheduled for transmission;

tuning to the unblocked channel; and

recording the program.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising reblocking the channel when the recording has finished.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

defining a password;

receiving a viewer request to schedule a second television program for recording, wherein the second television program is scheduled for transmission on the blocked channel;

prompting a viewer to enter a password in response to receiving the viewer request to schedule the second television program for recording;

receiving a viewer input in response to the prompting; and

scheduling the second television program for recording if the viewer input matches the defined password.

7. A system for exercising television access control, the system comprising:

a display screen;

an input device configured to receive a viewer request to schedule a television program for recording, wherein the television program is scheduled for transmission on a channel, and to receive a viewer request to block the channel;

a display processor configured to display a warning, in response to receiving the viewer request to block the channel, to warn the viewer that the television program is scheduled for recording on the channel to be blocked; and

a processor configured to block the channel in response to receiving the viewer request to block the channel, wherein the blocking does not block the scheduled recording of the television program.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to block the channel after the warning has been displayed for a predetermined period of time.

9. The, system of claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to unblock the channel when the television program is scheduled for transmission.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising:

a tuner configured to tune to the unblocked channel; and

a recording device configured to record the program.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to reblock the channel when the recording has finished.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein:

the processor is further configured to define a password;

the input device is further configured to receive a viewer request to schedule a second television program for recording, wherein the second television program is scheduled for transmission on the blocked channel;

the display processor is further configured to display a prompt to the viewer to enter a password in response to receiving the viewer request to schedule the second television program for recording; and

the processor is further configured to receive a viewer input in response to the prompting and to schedule the second television program for recording if the viewer input matches the defined password.