Automatic video program recording in an interactive television environment

• US 20080212942A1
• Filed: 02/01/2008
• Published: 09/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: ACTIVEVIDEO NETWORKS, LLC
• Original Assignee: ICTV, Inc.
• Inventors: Gordon, Donald, Pavlovskaia, Lena Y., Landau, Airan, Fossgreen, Donald J.
• Application Number:
  US12/012,491
• Publication Number:
  US 20080212942A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/124
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/48 using compressed domain processing techniques other than decoding, e.g. modification of transform coefficients, variable length coding [VLC] data or run-length data motion estimation in a transform domain H04N19/547; processing of decoded motion vectors H04N19/513
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23412 for generating or manipulating the scene composition of objects, e.g. MPEG-4 objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23424 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for inserting or substituting an advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2343 involving reformatting operations of video signals for distribution or compliance with end-user requests or end-user device requirements video transcoding H04N19/40; media packet handling at the source H04L65/762
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2365 Multiplexing of several video streams
• 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 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4325 by playing back content from the storage medium reproduction of recorded television signals H04N5/76; reproduction of recorded television signals H04N9/79
• 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 21/4347 Demultiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44012 involving rendering scenes according to scene graphs, e.g. MPEG-4 scene graphs
• 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 21/8545 for generating interactive applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

Systems and methods for recording a broadcast video program are disclosed. The system is coupled to a television of a user. The broadcast video program is displayed on the user'"'"'s television and includes associated user selectable material. The system has an input for receiving the broadcast video program and the associated selectable material. A user interface device operates with the system allowing a user to select the selectable material. In response to selection of the selectable material, a processing module requests interactive content related to the selectable material from a processing office. In response to the selection of the selectable material, the system causes a video recorder to automatically begin recording of the broadcast video program. The interactive content is then displayed on the user'"'"'s television. When the user has finished interacting with the interactive content, the recorded video program is retrieved and displayed on the user'"'"'s television at the point in the video program when the selectable material was requested.

Claims

1. A system connected to a television for recording a broadcast video program, the broadcast video program having associated user selectable material, the system comprising:

an input receiving the broadcast video program;

a user interface device allowing selection of the user selectable material associated with the broadcast video program;

a processing module responsive to user selection for requesting interactive content related to the selectable material from a processing office; and

a video recorder responsive to a signal received from the processing module for recording the broadcast video program in response to user selection of the selectable material.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein when the processing module receives a signal from the user interface device to exit the interactive content, the processing module causes the video recorder to automatically begin playback of the recorded video program on the television.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein the user input controls selection of a broadcast video program from a plurality of broadcast video programs.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein the selectable material is an MPEG object.

5. A system according to claim 1, wherein the selectable material is an advertisement.

6. A system according to claim 1, wherein the interactive content is a web page.

7. A system according to claim 1, wherein the interactive content is composed of a plurality of stitched MPEG elements.

8. A system according to claim 1, wherein the video content and the selectable material are both MPEG objects having state information maintained at the processing office.

9. A system according to claim 1, wherein the video content and the selectable material are MPEG elements and the processing office maintains state information about each MPEG element.

10. A system according to claim 1, wherein the selectable material is an advertisement and selection of the selectable material causes an interactive session with interactive advertising.

11. A method for automatically recording a video program, the method comprising:

receiving a user selected broadcast video program into a device in signal communication with a television, at least a portion of the broadcast video program containing user selectable material;

displaying the broadcast video program on the television;

in response to receiving a selection signal selecting the user selectable material, requesting from a processing office interactive content related to the selectable material;

receiving the interactive content from the processing office; and

automatically recording the broadcast video program.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising:

stopping display of the broadcast video program; and

displaying the interactive content on the television.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising:

when a return signal is received by the device for exiting the interactive content, playing back the recorded broadcast video program.

14. The method according to claim 13 wherein the automatic recording occurs at a video recorder associated with a client device coupled to a television.

15. The method according to claim 14 wherein playback of the broadcast video program by the video recorder begins at a point within the broadcast video program where the broadcast video program was directed to the video recorder.

16. The method according to claim 11 wherein the selectable material is an MPEG object and the processing office maintains state information about the selectable material.

17. The method according to claim 11 wherein the interactive content is an MPEG object and the processing office maintains state information about the interactive content.

18. The method according to claim 11 wherein the user selectable material is an advertisement temporally interwoven into the video program.

19. The method according to claim 11 wherein the user selectable material is an advertisement that is part of at least one video frame that includes the video program.

20. The method according to claim 11, wherein selection of the selectable material causes an interactive session.

21. A computer program product having computer code on a computer readable medium, the computer program product for use with a computer for recording a broadcast video program having associated selectable material, the computer code comprising:

computer code for requesting from a processing office interactive content related to the selectable material, in response to receiving a selection signal selecting the user selectable material;

computer code for receiving the interactive content from the processing office; and

computer code for automatically recording the broadcast video program.

22. A computer program product according to claim 21, further comprising:

computer code for stopping display of the broadcast video program; and

computer code for displaying the interactive content on the television.

23. A computer program product according to claim 21, further comprising:

computer code for causing the recorded broadcast video program to be played back on the television when a return signal is received by the device for exiting the interactive content.

24. A computer program product according to claim 23 wherein play back of the broadcast video program begins at a temporal location within the broadcast video program when the program was redirected to a digital video recorder.

25. A computer program product according to claim 21 wherein the user selectable material is an advertisement temporally interwoven into the video program.

26. A computer program product according to claim 21 wherein the user selectable material is an advertisement that is part of at least one video frame that includes the video program.

27. A computer program product according to claim 21, further comprising computer code for causing an interactive session when a signal is received indicating selection of the selectable material.