Recommendation from stochastic analysis

• US 20090064229A1
• Filed: 08/30/2007
• Published: 03/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Morris, Ronald A.
• Application Number:
  US11/897,498
• Publication Number:
  US 20090064229A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/33 Arrangements for monitoring the users' behaviour or opinions
• 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 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44222 Analytics of user selections, e.g. selection of programs or purchase activity monitoring of user selections in data processing systems G06F11/34; arrangements for monitoring the user's behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• 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 21/4826 using recommendation lists, e.g. of programs or channels sorted out according to their score
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

Recommendations from stochastic analysis is described. In embodiment(s), a media content distributor can receive a request for movie recommendations from a viewer via a television client device. The content distributor can then provide various movie selection choices where each choice includes two movies having disparate identifying criteria. The identifying criteria can include any combination of a category of a movie, an attribute of the movie, or an aspect of the movie. The content distributor can receive viewer selections of one movie from each of the movie selection choices and then generate the movie recommendations for the viewer. The movie recommendation can be generated by stochastic analysis of the identifying criteria associated with the viewer selected movies from each of the movie selection choices.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving a request for a recommended movie;

providing a plurality of movie selection choices where each choice includes two movies having disparate identifying criteria;

receiving viewer selections of one movie from each of the movie selection choices; and

generating a movie recommendation by applying stochastic analysis on the identifying criteria associated with the viewer selected movies from each of the movie selection choices.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising communicating the movie recommendation to a television client device from which the request for the recommended movie was received.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the stochastic analysis determines the movie recommendation based on probability determined from numeric ratings of the identifying criteria associated with the viewer selected movies.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the identifying criteria associated with the viewer selected movies includes at least one of a category of a movie, an attribute of the movie, or an aspect of the movie.

5. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising receiving viewer-selected preferences to weight the identifying criteria, and wherein the movie recommendation is further generated by applying the stochastic analysis on the weighted identifying criteria.

6. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of movie selection choices are provided to the viewer in an established sequence, and wherein the movie recommendation is further generated based on a sequence that the viewer selected movies are received.

7. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

compiling descriptions of the identifying criteria associated with the movies; and

generating qualitative metadata of the movies from the compiled descriptions.

8. A method as recited in claim 7, wherein the movie recommendation is further generated by applying the stochastic analysis on the qualitative metadata associated with the viewer selected movies from each of the movie selection choices.

9. A media content distributor, comprising:

a recommendation system configured to;

receive a request for recommended media content from a television client device;

provide a plurality of content selection choices to a viewer via the television client device, where each content selection choice includes media content having disparate identifying criteria;

receive selections of media content from each of the content selection choices; and

an analytics module configured to generate the recommended media content by stochastic analysis of the identifying criteria associated with the selections of media content.

10. A media content distributor as recited in claim 9, wherein the recommendation system is further configured to initiate that the recommended media content be communicated to the television client device.

11. A media content distributor as recited in claim 9, wherein the analytics module is further configured to apply the stochastic analysis to generate the recommended media content based on probability determined from numeric ratings of the identifying criteria associated with the selections of media content.

12. A media content distributor as recited in claim 9, wherein the identifying criteria associated with the selections of media content includes at least one of a category of the media content, an attribute of the media content, or an aspect of the media content.

13. A media content distributor as recited in claim 9, wherein the recommendation system is further configured to receive viewer-selected preferences to weight the identifying criteria, and wherein the analytics module is further configured to apply the stochastic analysis to generate the recommended media content based on the weighted identifying criteria.

14. A media content distributor as recited in claim 9, wherein the recommendation system is further configured to provide the plurality of content selection choices in an established sequence, and wherein the analytics module is further configured to generate the recommended media content based on a sequence that the selections of media content are received.

15. A media content distributor as recited in claim 9, wherein the recommendation system is further configured to:

compile descriptions of the identifying criteria associated with the media content; and

generate qualitative metadata of the media content from the compiled descriptions.

16. A media content distributor as recited in claim 15, wherein the analytics module is further configured to apply the stochastic analysis to generate the recommended media content based on the qualitative metadata associated with the selections of media content.

17. One or more computer-readable media comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed, direct a media content distributor to:

compile descriptions of identifying criteria associated with movies;

generate qualitative metadata of the movies from the compiled descriptions;

receive viewer selections of one movie from each of a plurality of movie selection choices where each choice includes two of the movies having disparate qualitative metadata; and

apply stochastic analysis on the qualitative metadata associated with the viewer selected movies from each of the movie selection choices to generate a movie recommendation.

18. One or more computer-readable media as recited in claim 17, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed, direct the media content distributor to communicate the movie recommendation to a television client device from which the viewer selected movies are received.

19. One or more computer-readable media as recited in claim 17, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed, direct the media content distributor determine the movie recommendation based on probability determined from numeric ratings of the qualitative metadata associated with the viewer selected movies.

20. One or more computer-readable media as recited in claim 17, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed, direct the media content distributor to compile the descriptions of the identifying criteria which includes at least one of a category of a movie, an attribute of the movie, or an aspect of the movie.