APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING SET TOP BOX ASSISTANCE

• US 20090063969A1
• Filed: 08/31/2007
• Published: 03/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2007
• 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: WHITE, SCOTT
• Granted Patent: US 9,009,593 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/705
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 7/00 Electrically-operated teaching apparatus or devices working with questions and answers mechanically operated G09B3/00; computing arrangements G06F
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/231 Content storage operation, e.g. caching movies for short term storage, replicating data over plural servers, prioritizing data for deletion
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/232 Content retrieval operation locally within server, e.g. reading video streams from disk arrays storage management G06F3/0604; details of querying and searching of video data from a database G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2408 Monitoring of the upstream path of the transmission network, e.g. client requests monitoring data switching networks utilization H04L43/0876; scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• 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 21/432 Content retrieval operation from a local storage medium, e.g. hard-disk details of retrieval of video data and associated meta data in video databases G06F16/739
• 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 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a server having a controller to monitor for a tutorial request from a set top box coupled to a monitor display where the tutorial request is associated with use of the set top box, determine a tutorial type based on the tutorial request, and establish real time communication using a first webcam coupled to the set top box and a second webcam coupled to a communication device at a support center when the tutorial type is a video conference. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A computer-readable storage medium, comprising computer instructions for:

presenting an operational interface for a set top box on a display monitor, the operational interface having a plurality of graphic controls for use of the set top box by a user;

monitoring for a user input associated with one of the plurality of graphic controls;

determining a tutorial video corresponding to the user input, the tutorial video comprising information associated with the use of the set top box and the one of the plurality of graphic controls;

determining a location of the tutorial video from a library of tutorial videos, the library comprising local storage on the set top box and remote storage, the location being at least one of the local storage and the remote storage; and

obtaining the tutorial video from a remote source when the location is the remote storage.

2. The storage medium of claim 1, comprising computer instructions for:

presenting to the user a notification of an availability of the tutorial video; and

presenting the tutorial video on the display monitor in response to a selection of the tutorial video by the user.

3. The storage medium of claim 1, comprising computer instructions for:

presenting a graphic object in the tutorial video;

monitoring for another user input;

moving the graphic object based on the another user input; and

adjusting the tutorial video based on the moving of the graphic object.

4. The storage medium of claim 1, comprising computer instructions for obtaining the tutorial video from the remote source by at least one of progressive download, full download, and streaming.

5. The storage medium of claim 1, comprising computer instructions for presenting the tutorial video in at least one of a pop-up window and a visually transparent video.

6. A server, comprising a controller to:

monitor for a tutorial request from a set top box coupled to a monitor display, the tutorial request being associated with use of the set top box;

determine a tutorial video corresponding to the tutorial request, the tutorial video comprising information associated with the use of the set top box; and

transmit the tutorial video to the set top box, wherein the tutorial request is based at least in part on interactive user inputs to the set top box and a graphic object presented on the monitor display and being manipulated by the interactive user inputs.

7. The server of claim 6, wherein the information of the tutorial video is associated with a component of the set top box, and wherein the graphic object represents the component of the set top box.

8. The server of claim 6, wherein the information of the tutorial video is associated with a function of the set top box, and wherein the graphic object is associated with the function of the set top box.

9. The server of claim 6, wherein a notification is presented to a user of the set top box indicating availability of the tutorial video, and wherein the tutorial video is presented on the display monitor in response to a selection of the tutorial video by the user.

10. The server of claim 6, wherein the controller is adapted to transmit the tutorial video to the set top box by at least one of progressive download, full download, and streaming.

11. A server, comprising a controller to:

monitor for a tutorial request from a set top box coupled to a monitor display, the tutorial request being associated with use of the set top box;

determine a tutorial type based on the tutorial request; and

establish real time communication using a first webcam coupled to the set top box and a second webcam coupled to a communication device at a support center when the tutorial type is a video conference.

12. The server of claim 11, wherein the controller is adapted to:

determine a tutorial video corresponding to the tutorial request when the tutorial type is not the video conference, the tutorial video comprising information associated with the use of the set top box; and

transmit the tutorial video to the set top box.

13. The server of claim 12, wherein the tutorial request is based at least in part on interactive user inputs to the set top box and a graphic object presented on the monitor display and being manipulated by the interactive user inputs when the tutorial type is not the video conference.

14. The server of claim 11, wherein the controller is adapted to:

present an operational interface for the set top box on the display monitor, the operational interface having a plurality of graphic controls for the use of the set top box by a user;

monitor for a user input associated with one of the plurality of graphic controls;

determine a tutorial video corresponding to the user input, the tutorial video comprising information associated with the use of the set top box and the one of the plurality of graphic controls;

determine a location of the tutorial video from a library of tutorial videos, the library comprising local storage on the set top box and remote storage, the location being at least one of the local storage and the remote storage; and

obtain the tutorial video from a remote source when the location is the remote storage.

15. The server of claim 14, wherein the information of the tutorial video is associated with a component of the set top box, and wherein the graphic object represents the component of the set top box.

16. A set top box, comprising a controller to:

monitor for a tutorial request from a set top box of a group of set top boxes, the set top box being coupled to a monitor display, the tutorial request being associated with use of the set top box;

determine a tutorial video corresponding to the tutorial request when the tutorial request is not for a video conference, the tutorial video comprising information associated with the use of the set top box; and

transmit the tutorial video to the set top box, wherein the tutorial request is based at least in part on interactive user inputs to the set top box and a graphic object presented on the monitor display and being manipulated by the interactive user inputs.

17. The set top box of claim 16, wherein the information of the tutorial video is associated with a component of the set top box, and wherein the graphic object represents the component of the set top box.

18. The set top box of claim 16, wherein the controller is adapted to establish real time communication using a first webcam coupled to the set top box and a second webcam coupled to a communication device at a support center when the tutorial request is for the video conference.

19. A method, comprising:

presenting an operational interface for a set top box on a display monitor, the operational interface having a plurality of graphic controls for use of the set top box by a user;

monitoring for a user input to the set top box;

determining a tutorial request based on the user input;

establishing real time communication using a first webcam coupled to the set top box and a second webcam coupled to a communication device at a support center when the tutorial request is for a video conference; and

determining a tutorial video corresponding to the user input when the tutorial request is not for the video conference, the tutorial video comprising information associated with the use of the set top box and one of the plurality of graphic controls.

20. The method of claim 19, comprising:

determining a location of the tutorial video from a library of tutorial videos when the tutorial request is not for the video conference, the library comprising local storage on the set top box and remote storage, the location being at least one of the local storage and the remote storage; and

obtaining the tutorial video from a remote source when the location is the remote storage.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the tutorial request is determined based at least in part on interactive user inputs to the set top box and a graphic object presented on the monitor display and being manipulated by the interactive user inputs when the tutorial request is not for the video conference.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the information of the tutorial video is associated with a component of the set top box, and wherein the graphic object represents the component of the set top box.