Customizable Media Channels

• US 20080271080A1
• Filed: 04/30/2007
• Published: 10/30/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Taylor, Thomas H., Brown, David A., Sahami, Mehran, Patel, Manish G., Gupta, Neha, Blackburn, John, Gossweiler, Richard C.
• Granted Patent: US 8,782,698 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/47
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/72 using electronic programme guides [EPG] focusing on identifying broadcast space time H04H60/39 ; menu type display of EPG in television receivers H04N21/47
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/254 Management at additional data server, e.g. shopping server, rights management server arrangements for maintenance or administration in data networks H04L41/00; network services using third party service providers H04L67/53
• 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 21/4227 Providing Remote input by a user located remotely from the client device, e.g. at work
• 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 21/4532 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 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6543 for forcing some client operations, e.g. recording remote booting in general G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A computer-implemented method includes receiving an identification of a media program from a broadcast channel on an electronic program guide for inclusion in a personalized channel, adding the identified program to a personalized channel at a first time, and adding one or more additional programs to the personalized channel at times other than the first time.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving an identification of a media program from a broadcast channel on an electronic program guide for inclusion in a personalized channel;

adding the identified program to a personalized channel at a first time; and

adding one or more additional programs to the personalized channel at times other than the first time.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the identification of a program comprises sensing a drag-and-drop command from a cell in a program guide to the personalized channel.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more additional programs overlap in time with the identified program.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising identifying a non-overlapping time for the identified program and the one or more additional programs, and moving one of the identified program or the one or more additional programs to eliminate the overlap.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing code for causing the display of advertisements targeted to a user or to the identified program or one or more other programs.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing code for causing the automatic playing of each of the identified program and the one or more other programs in a predetermined order.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising identifying advertisements targeted to the identified program or the one or more other programs and providing the advertisements for display between program segments.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a search request from a user and providing for display to the user a list of search results and the electronic program guide, wherein the electronic program guide displays a program responsive to the request.

9. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

displaying media programs in an electronic program guide grid identifying a plurality of different channels;

receiving a user selection of one of a program episode associated with one of the plurality of different channels; and

adding the program episode to a personalized schedule of television programming to be displayed over a future time period.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising identifying gaps in programming on the personalized schedule and generating a command to select downloadable media from the internet to fill the gaps.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the downloadable media is targeted at least in part to characteristics of one or more programs in the personalized schedule.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising displaying media in the personalized schedule automatically in order.

13. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

displaying an electronic program guide grid having a plurality of channels;

receiving a command to add an episode from one of the plurality of channels to a personalized channel; and

combining the selected episode with other programs in the personalized channel.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising generating a user alert for overlapping programs on the personalized channel and moving one or more episodes to eliminate the overlap.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the command to add an episode comprises a drag-and-drop command from a cell in one of the plurality of channels to an area defined by the personalized channel.

16. A system for managing media programming, comprising:

a media store holding recorded media programs for a user device;

a media player controller programmed to arrange programs from a plurality of different channels on a personalized channel to permit automated and continuous playthough of the media programs; and

a media recorder under control of the media controller to record programs for later playback on the personalized channel.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising an internet-connected interface for receiving streaming media, and wherein the media player controller is programmed to play streaming programs and recorded programs.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the interface is configured to receive advertisements targeted to a user or programs on the personalized channel and to provide the advertisements for display under control of the media player controller.

19. The system of claim 16 further comprising a runtime component for generating a display of an electronic program guide grid showing the personalized channel and the plurality of different channels.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the runtime component generates requests for programming information and provides information received in response to the requests for display in the program grid.