Method and Apparatus to Facilitate Automatically Forming an Aggregation of Multiple Different Renderable Content Items

• US 20090241155A1
• Filed: 03/18/2008
• Published: 09/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Motorola Mobility, Inc. (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Shepard, Clayton W., Wodka, Joseph W., Narasimhan, Nitya, Horozov, Tzvetan T., Vasudevan, Venugopal, Irani, Danesh S., Mhatre, Swapnil E.
• Application Number:
  US12/050,295
• Publication Number:
  US 20090241155A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/112
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/252 Processing of multiple end-users' preferences to derive collaborative data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26258 for generating a list of items to be played back in a given order, e.g. playlist, or scheduling item distribution according to such list retrieval of multimedia data based on playlists G06F16/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2665 Gathering content from different sources, e.g. Internet and satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4756 for rating content, e.g. scoring a recommended movie
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17336 Handling of requests in head-ends

Abstract

A network element (400) can receive (101) (from an end user (404) and via a data network (403)) a message as regards an aggregation of multiple different renderable content items. By one approach this message comprises, at least in part, selection criteria as have been selected by the end user. This network element can then automatically use (102) this selection criteria to select a plurality of specific renderable content items from amongst a plurality of candidate different renderable content items. These teachings will then support automatically combining (103) the plurality of specific renderable content items to form the requested aggregation of multiple different renderable content items.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

at a network element;

receiving from an end user, via a data network, a message as regards an aggregation of multiple different renderable content items, wherein the message comprises, at least in part, selection criteria as have been selected by the end user;

automatically using the selection criteria to select a plurality of specific renderable content items from amongst a plurality of candidate different renderable content items;

automatically combining the plurality of specific renderable content items to form the aggregation of multiple different renderable content items.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the message comprises a request for the aggregation of multiple different renderable content items.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

delivering to the end user the aggregation of multiple different renderable content items.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

storing information as corresponds to the aggregation of multiple different renderable content items.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the information comprises the aggregation of multiple different renderable content items.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein storing information as corresponds to the aggregation of multiple different renderable content items further comprises storing at least some of the selection criteria as metadata in conjunction with the aggregation of multiple different renderable content items.

7. The method of claim 4 wherein the information comprises the selection criteria used to select the plurality of specific renderable content items.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the selection criteria comprise, at least in part, personal information regarding an intended consumer of the aggregation of multiple different renderable content items.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the selection criteria comprise, at least in part, context information regarding a consuming context in which the aggregation of multiple different renderable content items is to be rendered for an intended consumer.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the selection criteria comprise, at least in part, information regarding entities that contributed any of the multiple different renderable content items.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the selection criteria comprise, at least in part, an intended application purpose regarding consumption of the aggregation of multiple different renderable content items.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the selection criteria comprise, at least in part, temporally-based selection criteria.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the selection criteria comprise, at least in part, at least one content-identifying keyword.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the selection criteria comprise, at least in part, at least one of:

an identity of another end user;

a characterization of content scope;

a requirement regarding a relative level of popularity as individually corresponds to the renderable content items;

at least one filter tag to either ALLOW or DENY specific tags.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the aggregation of multiple different renderable content items comprises different portions of a shared original composite renderable content item.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein at least some of the multiple different renderable content items are from differing original source content but share a same original source event.

17. A network element comprising:

a network interface configured and arranged to receive from an end user, via a data network, a message as regards an aggregation of multiple different renderable content items, wherein the message comprises, at least in part, selection criteria as have been selected by the end user;

a processor operably coupled to the network interface to receive the message and to responsively;

automatically use the selection criteria to select a plurality of specific renderable content items from amongst a plurality of candidate different renderable content items;

automatically combine the plurality of specific renderable content items to form the aggregation of multiple different renderable content items.

18. The network element of claim 17 wherein the processor is further configured and arranged to deliver to the end user the aggregation of multiple different renderable content items.

19. The network element of claim 17 wherein the processor is further configured and arranged to store information as corresponds to the aggregation of multiple different renderable content items.

20. The network element of claim 17 wherein the selection criteria comprise, at least in part, at least two of:

personal information regarding an intended consumer of the aggregation of multiple different renderable content items;

content information regarding a consuming context in which the aggregation of multiple different renderable content items is to be rendered for an intended consumer;

information regarding entities that contributed any of the multiple different renderable content items;

an intended application purpose regarding consumption of the aggregation of multiple different renderable content items;

temporally-based selection criteria;

at least one content-identifying keyword.