METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IMPROVING PERFORMANCE AND USER EXPERIENCE OF A MOBILE BROADCAST RECEIVER

• US 20090298418A1
• Filed: 05/28/2009
• Published: 12/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Michael, Matthew, Li, Tao, Patel, Shimman, Veerepalli, Sivaramakrishna
• Granted Patent: US 8,490,124 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/3.04
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/08 among terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/28 Arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/93 which locates resources of other pieces of information, e.g. URL [Uniform Resource Locator]
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 2201/30 characterised by the use of a return channel, e.g. for collecting users' opinions, for returning broadcast space/time information or for requesting data
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 2201/33 via the broadcast channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 2201/37 via a different channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 2201/40 characterised in that additional data relating to the broadcast data are available via a different channel than the broadcast channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/31 Arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/33 Arrangements for monitoring the users' behaviour or opinions
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/46 for recognising users' preferences
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/64 for providing detail information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4126 The peripheral being portable, e.g. PDAs or mobile phones
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/414 Specialised client platforms, e.g. receiver in car or embedded in a mobile appliance
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/431 Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering
• 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 21/436 Interfacing a local distribution network, e.g. communicating with another STB or one or more peripheral devices inside the home
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4384 involving operations to reduce the access time, e.g. fast-tuning for reducing channel switching latency
• 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 21/4532 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 21/4858 : for modifying screen layout parameters, e.g. fonts, size of the windows
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6582 : Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17327 : with deferred transmission or handling of upstream communications

Abstract

Various techniques for receiving broadcast at a mobile broadcast receiver are described. In an aspect, the broadcast receiver provides user notification and/or automatically launches an application based on user preferences. In another aspect, the broadcast receiver improves channel switching time by predicting future channel selection based on real-time monitoring of user inputs. In another aspect, the broadcast receiver supports drag-and-drop user interface. In another aspect, the broadcast receiver provides additional information associated with a selected broadcast stream. In another aspect, the broadcast receiver processes a broadcast stream and sends output data to an external device for further processing and/or display. In another aspect, the broadcast receiver simultaneously displays live content and stored content. In another aspect, the broadcast receiver simultaneously receives multiple broadcast streams for displayed on one or more display units. In another aspect, the broadcast receiver collects user statistics and sends the statistics to a network entity.

Claims

1. A method of receiving broadcast information, comprising:

storing user preferences for broadcast contents;

monitoring incoming broadcast content at a mobile broadcast receiver; and

providing user notification or automatically launching an application based on the incoming broadcast content and the user preferences for broadcast contents.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving user selections for different broadcast contents over a period of time; and

determining the user preferences for broadcast contents based on the user selections.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving user inputs identifying the user preferences for broadcast contents.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the providing user notification or automatically launching an application comprises providing user notification or automatically launching an application only during designated times.

5. An apparatus for a mobile broadcast receiver, comprising:

a memory configured to store user preferences for broadcast contents; and

at least one processor configured;

to monitor incoming broadcast content and

to provide user notification or automatically launch an application based on the incoming broadcast content and the user preferences for broadcast contents.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

receive user selections for different broadcast contents over a period of time, and

determine the user preferences for broadcast contents based on the user selections.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive user inputs identifying the user preferences for broadcast contents.

8. An apparatus for receiving broadcast information, comprising:

means for storing user preferences for broadcast contents;

means for monitoring incoming broadcast content at a mobile broadcast receiver; and

means for providing user notification or automatically launching an application based on the incoming broadcast content and the user preferences for broadcast contents.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising:

means for receiving user selections for different broadcast contents over a period of time; and

means for determining the user preferences for broadcast contents based on the user selections.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising:

means for receiving user inputs identifying the user preferences for broadcast contents.

11. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer-readable medium comprising;

code for causing at least one computer to store user preferences for broadcast contents;

code for causing the at least one computer to monitor incoming broadcast content at a mobile broadcast receiver; and

code for causing the at least one computer to provide user notification or automatically launch an application based on the incoming broadcast content and the user preferences for broadcast contents.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, the computer-readable medium further comprising:

code for causing the at least one computer to receive user selections for different broadcast contents over a period of time; and

code for causing the at least one computer to determine the user preferences for broadcast contents based on the user selections.

13. A method of receiving broadcast information, comprising:

predicting a channel based on user input;

processing the predicted channel at a mobile broadcast receiver prior to user selection of the channel; and

providing content from the predicted channel if selected.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the predicting a channel based on user input comprises:

receiving user input highlighting a channel, and

selecting either the highlighted channel as the predicted channel or a channel ahead of the highlighted channel as the predicted channel.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the predicting a channel based on user input comprises:

determining user preferences based on user inputs over a period of time, and

selecting a channel having content matching the user preferences as the predicted channel.

16. An apparatus for a mobile broadcast receiver, comprising:

at least one processor configured to;

predict a channel based on user input,

process the predicted channel prior to user selection of the channel, and

provide content from the predicted channel if selected.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

receive user input highlighting a channel, and

select either the highlighted channel as the predicted channel or a channel ahead of the highlighted channel as the predicted channel.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

determine user preferences based on user inputs over a period of time, and

select a channel having content matching the user preferences as the predicted channel.

19. A method of receiving broadcast information, comprising:

receiving user input to drag and drop a highlighted channel onto a first window at a mobile broadcast receiver;

activating an application associated with the first window;

processing the highlighted channel with the application; and

displaying content from the highlighted channel on a second window at the mobile broadcast receiver.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the receiving user input to drag and drop the highlighted channel comprises receiving user input to drag the highlighted channel from a third window displaying an electronics service guide (ESG).

21. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

receiving user input to drag and drop a second highlighted channel onto a third window at the mobile broadcast receiver;

activating a second application associated with the third window;

processing the second highlighted channel with the second application; and

displaying content from the second highlighted channel on a fourth window at the mobile broadcast receiver.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the second and fourth windows are positioned according to one of the following manners so as to be:

displayed side-by-side in a non-overlapping manner;

displayed side-by-side in an overlapping manner;

or

displayed in a picture-in-picture manner such that one of the second and fourth windows is entirely contained within the other of the second and fourth windows.

23. An apparatus for a mobile broadcast receiver, comprising:

at least one processor configured to;

receive user input to drag and drop a highlighted channel onto a first window,

activate an application associated with the first window,

process the highlighted channel with the application, and

provide content from the highlighted channel for display on a second window.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine size or placement of the second window based on information associated with the first window.

25. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

receive user input to drag and drop a second highlighted channel onto a third window,

activate a second application associated with the third window,

process the second highlighted channel with the second application, and

provide content from the second highlighted channel for display on a fourth window.

26. A method of receiving broadcast information, comprising:

displaying a broadcast stream on a mobile broadcast receiver;

receiving user selection of the broadcast stream; and

retrieving additional information associated with the broadcast stream in response to the user selection.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the additional information retrieved in response to the user selection corresponds to one of:

additional information that is sent inband as part of the broadcast stream, and wherein the step of retrieving the additional information comprises retrieving the additional information from the broadcast stream; and

additional information that is retrieved out of band using other wired or wireless communication means in response to the user selecting a link that is sent inband as part of the broadcast stream, wherein the additional information retrieved out of band is then presented in either the same window as the broadcast stream or in another window.

28. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

storing the additional information at the mobile broadcast receiver prior to the user selection of the broadcast stream.

29. The method of claim 26, wherein the retrieving the additional information comprises downloading the additional information in response to receiving the user selection of the broadcast stream.

30. The method of claim 26, wherein the additional information comprises information for a product presented by the broadcast stream, promotional information for the product, program information for the broadcast stream, or a combination thereof.

31. An apparatus for a mobile broadcast receiver, comprising:

at least one processor configured to;

provide a broadcast stream for display,

receive user selection of the broadcast stream, and

retrieve additional information associated with the broadcast stream in response to the user selection.

32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the additional information is sent inband in the broadcast stream, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to retrieve the additional information from the broadcast stream.

33. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the at least one processor is configured to download the additional information in response to receiving the user selection of the broadcast stream.

34. A method of receiving broadcast information, comprising:

processing a broadcast stream at a mobile broadcast receiver to obtain output data; and

sending the output data to a first external device for additional processing or display,

wherein the output data comprises content from the broadcast stream and the first external device displays the content.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the processing the broadcast stream at the mobile broadcast receiver comprises:

demodulating and decoding the broadcast stream to obtain the output data, and

wherein the first external device decompresses the output data to obtain content from the broadcast stream.

36. The method of claim 34, further comprising:

sending the output data to a second external device for additional processing or display.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the output data is sent simultaneously to the first and second external devices via multicast transmission.

38. The method of claim 36, wherein the output data is sent separately to the first and second external devices via point-to-point transmission.

39. An apparatus for a mobile broadcast receiver, comprising:

at least one processor configured to process a broadcast stream to obtain output data; and

a communication unit configured to send the output data to a first external device for additional processing or display,

wherein the output data comprises content from the broadcast stream and the first external device displays the content.

40. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

demodulate and decode the broadcast stream to obtain the output data,

wherein the first external device decompresses the output data to obtain content from the broadcast stream.

41. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the communication unit is configured to send the output data to a second external device for additional processing or display.

42. A method of receiving broadcast information, comprising:

processing a first broadcast stream at a mobile broadcast receiver to obtain live content from the first broadcast stream;

retrieving stored content from memory at the mobile broadcast receiver; and

displaying the live content and the stored content simultaneously at the mobile broadcast receiver.

43. The method of claim 42, further comprising:

processing a second broadcast stream at the mobile broadcast receiver; and

storing content from the second broadcast stream in the memory for use later to display with live content.

44. The method of claim 42, further comprising:

receiving user selection to display the stored content with the live content, and

wherein the stored content is retrieved and displayed in response to the user selection.

45. An apparatus for a mobile broadcast receiver, comprising:

a memory to store content for display when selected; and

at least one processor configured to;

process a first broadcast stream to obtain live content from the first broadcast stream,

retrieve stored content from the memory, and

provide the live content and the stored content for simultaneous display at the mobile broadcast receiver.

46. The apparatus of claim 45, wherein the at least one processor is configured to process a second broadcast stream, and

wherein the memory is configured to store content from the second broadcast stream for use later to display with live content.

47. The apparatus of claim 45, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

receive user selection to display the stored content with the live content, and

retrieve the stored content in response to the user selection.

48. A method of receiving broadcast information, comprising:

receiving multiple broadcast streams at a mobile broadcast receiver; and

displaying the multiple broadcast streams on at least one display unit at the mobile broadcast receiver.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein the displaying the multiple broadcast streams comprises:

displaying a first broadcast stream on a first display unit at the mobile broadcast receiver, and

displaying a second broadcast stream on a second display unit at an external device.

50. The method of claim 48, wherein the displaying the multiple broadcast streams comprises displaying the multiple broadcast streams on one display unit at an external device.

51. An apparatus for a mobile broadcast receiver, comprising:

at least one processor configured to;

receive multiple broadcast streams at the mobile broadcast receiver, and

provide the multiple broadcast streams for display on at least one display unit at the mobile broadcast receiver.

52. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

provide a first broadcast stream for display on a first display unit at the mobile broadcast receiver, and

provide a second broadcast stream for display on a second display unit at an external device.

53. A method of receiving broadcast information, comprising:

collecting statistics of user viewing habits at a mobile broadcast receiver; and

reporting the collected statistics to a designated network entity.

54. The method of claim 53, wherein the collecting statistics of user viewing habits comprises:

receiving user selections for broadcast contents over a period of time, and

determining the statistics of user viewing habits based on the user selections.

55. The method of claim 53, wherein the collected statistics comprise type of content watched, frequency of content retrieval, time of content retrieval, location of content retrieval, or a combination thereof.

56. The method of claim 53, wherein the reporting the collected statistics comprises:

sending the collected statistics via a reverse link in a cellular system.

57. An apparatus for a mobile broadcast receiver, comprising:

at least one processor configured to;

collect statistics of user viewing habits at the mobile broadcast receiver, and

report the collected statistics to a designated network entity.

58. The apparatus of claim 57, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

receive user selections for broadcast contents over a period of time, and

determine the statistics of user viewing habits based on the user selections.