FAVORITES MOSAIC

• US 20090083824A1
• Filed: 09/26/2007
• Published: 03/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Knowledge Ventures, L.P. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Knowledge Ventures, L.P. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Noll, Roland, Pettit, Scott Alan, McCarthy, Mary
• Granted Patent: US 8,683,519 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/151
• 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 21/44016 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for substituting a video clip
• 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 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• 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 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

A set-top box generates a multimedia signal that includes streaming video for a plurality of currently available multimedia channels. A user configures a plurality of favorite channels. Streaming video from the favorite channels is provided in a plurality of viewports on a display. A user presses a favorites button on a remote control to prompt an application server to signal a content server to provide a compound video signal including streaming video from each favorite channel. The set-top box produces a resultant video signal including the streaming video from each favorite channel in a corresponding viewport. The viewports correspond to a mosaic template that may be hosted by the application server and accessed by the content server.

Claims

1. A set-top box comprising:

a memory for storing a client application, the client application operable for;

receiving a user request to view a user-specified set of favorite channels;

calling a favorite channel application hosted on an application server;

wherein the set-top box is enabled for providing a resultant video stream for a display;

wherein the resultant video stream is based on a plurality of multimedia content feeds, wherein each multimedia content feed corresponds to one of the predetermined set of favorite channels; and

wherein each multimedia content feed includes streaming video associated with currently available content on one of the predetermined set of favorite channels.

2. The set-top box of claim 1, wherein a mosaic template is employed in constructing the resultant video stream, wherein the mosaic template has a plurality of holes, wherein each hole corresponds to a corresponding of the multimedia content feeds.

4. The set-top box of claim 2, wherein the mosaic template is hosted by the application server.

5. The set-top box of claim of claim 4, wherein a content server feeds the set-top box a compound multimedia stream, wherein the compound multimedia stream includes information decoded by the set-top box to present the resultant video stream.

6. The set-top box of claim 2, wherein the client application is operable for:

receiving an input for preventing one of the predetermined set of favorite channels from inclusion with the resultant video stream.

7. The set-top box of claim 2, wherein each hole corresponds to a URL, wherein each URL corresponds to a source for one of the plurality of multimedia content feeds.

3. The set-top box of claim 3, wherein the mosaic template is stored in the memory.

8. A computer program product comprising computer executable instructions, stored on a computer readable medium, for providing multimedia content, the instructions operable for:

detecting a favorites mosaic request associated with a user;

obtaining user-definable data indicative of the user'"'"'s favored channels, wherein the favored channels include a first channel and a second channel; and

generating a mosaic object including;

instructions to retrieve a first multimedia content stream associated with the first channel and a second multimedia content stream associated with the second channel; and

instructions to generate a display stream comprising a mosaic template including a first viewport and a second viewport wherein the first multimedia content stream plays within the first viewport and wherein the second multimedia content stream plays within the second viewport.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, further comprising instructions for delivering the mosaic object to a set-top box associated with the user.

10. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein obtaining the user definable data comprises retrieving the user definable data from a networked storage resource.

11. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the mosaic template further includes a current channel viewport and wherein a multimedia content stream associated with a current channel plays within the current channel viewport.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein a bandwidth requirement of the current channel video stream is greater than a bandwidth requirement of the first multimedia content stream.

13. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein a dimension of the current channel viewport is greater than a dimension of the first viewport.

14. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the instructions to retrieve the first multimedia content stream include instructions for transmitting a first IP address from a set-top box to a content server, wherein the first IP address is associated with the first multimedia content stream.

15. A method of providing a service enabling a mosaic favorites feature, comprising:

provisioning an application server with a mosaic favorites application wherein the mosaic favorites application is operable to respond to receiving a mosaic favorites request associated with a user by;

retrieving user definable data indicative of at least one favored channel of the user;

generating a mosaic favorites object wherein the mosaic favorites object includes the user definable data and instructions, operable when executed, to generate a display stream comprising a mosaic template including at least one favorites viewport and at least one additional viewport wherein a video stream associated with the favored channel plays in the favorites viewport; and

sending the mosaic favorites object to a set-top box associated with the user.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising providing a preferences application operable to enable the user to define the user definable data.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising enabling a set-top box to respond to a signal from a remote control unit by sending a mosaic favorites request to the application server.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising providing a user accessible application to configure a set-top box associated with the user to respond to a signal from a remote control unit by sending a mosaic favorites request to the application server.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the user definable data is indicative of multiple favored channels and wherein the mosaic template includes a viewport corresponding to each favored channel and wherein video streams associated with each of the favored channels play in respective viewports.