SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PRESENTING MEDIA SERVICES

• US 20080205426A1
• Filed: 02/23/2007
• Published: 08/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Knowledge Ventures, L.P. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: AMOROSO, EDWARD G., O'HERN, WILLIAM A., GROVER, NANCY
• Granted Patent: US 8,453,178 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/429
• 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 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A system and method for presenting media services is disclosed. A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a media system having a controller element that contextually associates a plurality of portals with a corresponding plurality of multimedia broadcast channels as an aggregated service offering. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A computer-readable storage medium in a portal, comprising computer instructions for presenting at a media system as an aggregated service selectable media services of the portal contextually associated with a multimedia broadcast channel.

2. The storage medium of claim 1, comprising computer instructions for presenting at the media system the selectable media services concurrently with a media program supplied by the multimedia broadcast channel.

3. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein the media system comprises a media device and a media controller that manages operations of the media device, and wherein the storage medium comprises computer instructions for:

presenting at the media controller the selectable media services; and

presenting at the media device a media program supplied by the multimedia broadcast channel uninterrupted by the selectable media services presented at the media controller.

4. The storage medium of claim 3, comprising computer instructions for:

receiving from the media controller a media service request associated with a selection from the selectable media services; and

presenting at the media device one among the media service requested concurrently with the media program, and the media service requested in place of the media program.

5. The storage medium of claim 1, comprising computer instructions for adapting in whole or in part the selectable media services responsive to a first media program supplied by the multimedia broadcast channel transitioning to a second media program.

6. The storage medium of claim 5, comprising computer instructions for:

receiving from the multimedia broadcast channel metadata associated with the second media program; and

adapting in whole or in part the selectable media services according to said metadata.

7. The storage medium of claim 5, wherein the adapted selectable media services are contextually associated with the second media program.

8. The storage medium of claim 5, comprising computer instructions for:

receiving media programming selections collected from at least one media device;

detecting a use pattern from the media programming selections; and

adapting in whole or in part the selectable media services according to said use pattern.

9. The storage medium of claim 8, wherein the use pattern corresponds to one among demographic and psychographic patterns.

10. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein the multimedia broadcast channel is supplied by one among digital and analog media programming systems.

11. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein the selectable media services comprise at least two among a group of media services corresponding to a programming guide, selectable prerecorded media content, one or more chat rooms, one or more contests, a polling service, a forum, a search engine, and one or more games, the group of media services contextually associated with the multimedia broadcast channel.

12. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein the media system comprises a Set-Top Box (STB), a media device and a media controller that manages operations of the media device by way of the STB, and wherein the multimedia broadcast channel distributes media programs to the STB according to at least one among multicast and unicast data transmissions.

13. A media system, comprising a controller element that contextually associates a plurality of portals with a corresponding plurality of multimedia broadcast channels as an aggregated service offering.

14. The media system of claim 13, wherein each of the plurality of portals supply the media system selectable media services contextually associated with a corresponding one of the plurality of multimedia broadcast channels.

15. The media system of claim 13, wherein the controller element presents a media program supplied by a select one of the plurality of multimedia broadcast channels responsive to receiving a broadcast channel selection request.

16. The media system of claim 15, wherein the controller element presents selectable media services of a select one of the plurality of portals corresponding to the selected multimedia broadcast channel in response to receiving a request for portal information for the selected multimedia broadcast channel.

17. The media system of claim 16, wherein the controller element receives the request responsive to detecting a selection from the plurality of multimedia broadcast channels to a new broadcast channel.

18. The media system of claim 17, wherein the controller element presents the new broadcast channel responsive to at least one more requests for said new broadcast channel.

19. The media system of claim 13, wherein the media system comprises at least one among an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) subsystem, a Set-Top Box (STB), a media device and a media controller that manages operations of the media device.

20. The media system of claim 13, wherein the selectable media services comprise at least two among a group of media services corresponding to a programming guide, selectable prerecorded media content, one or more chat rooms, one or more contests, a polling service, a forum, a search engine, and one or more games, the group of media services contextually associated with the multimedia broadcast channel.

21. The media system of claim 13, wherein the controller element receives information for contextually associating the plurality of portals with the plurality of multimedia broadcast channels.

22. The media system of claim 21, wherein the information comprises at least one among a list that identifies an association between the plurality of portals and the plurality of multimedia broadcast channels, subscriber information, and access information for each of said plurality of portals.

23. The media system of claim 21, wherein said information is incrementally collected as portal information from a select one of the plurality of multimedia broadcast channels.

24. A method, comprising supplying to a media services distributor a portal contextually associated with the multimedia broadcast channel for distribution to media systems as an aggregated service.

25. The method of claim 24, comprising adding media services contextually associated with the multimedia broadcast channel to the portal.

26. A method, comprising distributing an aggregated service comprising media programs of a multimedia broadcast channel and a portal contextually associated with the multimedia broadcast channel.