System and Process for Connecting Media Content

• US 20090313295A1
• Filed: 06/11/2008
• Published: 12/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Comcast Cable Holdings LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Blaxland, Thomas A., Epstein, Jason, Muvavarirwa, Rangarirayi, Moore, Jonathan T.
• Granted Patent: US 8,370,396 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/26 Visual data mining; Browsing structured data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/284 Relational databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/735 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/7867 using information manually generated, e.g. tags, keywords, comments, title and artist information, manually generated time, location and usage information, user ratings
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

A system for correlating a user'"'"'s interests to media content, said system comprising: (a) at least one data store comprising media content data relating to people, works, and tags; (b) a relationship generator configured to generate direct relationships among said people, works and tags; (c) a connection module to generate connections between a primary person, work or tag and a first set of said people, works, and tags, wherein each person, work and tag of said first set has a direct relationship with said primary person, work or tag; and (d) a display module for causing the display of at least a portion of said first set of said people, works and tags.

Claims

1. A system for correlating a user'"'"'s interests to media content, said system comprising:

at least one data store comprising media content data relating to people, works, and tags;

a relationship generator configured to generate direct relationships among said people, works and tags;

a connection module to generate connections between a primary person, work or tag and a first set of said people, works, and tags, wherein each person, work and tag of said first set has a direct relationship with said primary person, work or tag; and

a display module for providing information related to at least a portion of said first set of said people, works and tags for display.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said connector module is configured to generate one or more secondary connections between said primary person, work or tag and a second set of said people, works, and tags.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein said connector module is configured to generate at least one second or higher degree connection between said primary person, work or tag and a third set of said people, works, and tags.

4. The system of claim 2, further comprising:

a prioritization module for prioritizing said first and second sets of people, works, and tags, and reducing them to selected connections; and

wherein said display module is configured to cause the display of said selected connections.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein said prioritization module is configured to prioritize based on available works corresponding to said first or second sets of people, works, and tags.

6. The system of claim 4, further comprising:

a weighting module configured to weigh said people, works, and tags based upon at least a number of direct relationships between the people, works and tags, and

wherein said prioritization module is configured to prioritize said first or second sets of people, works, and tags according to their weight.

7. The system of claim 2, further comprising:

a sentence generator for providing a description of said direct or secondary connection between said primary person, work or tag and a person, work or tag of said first or second sets.

8. The system of claim 2, wherein said connection module generates direct relationships based on a matrix of at least people, films, TV shows, and tags versus at least people, films, TV shows, and tags.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a user profile data store from which said primary person, work or tag is derived.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein said people, works and tags includes available works data, and wherein said first set comprises a list of available works having a direct connection with said primary person, work, or tag, and said display module is configured to effect the display of a time and location for viewing at least a portion of said watch list.

11. The system of claim 10, further comprising a user input module for obtaining desired viewing times from said user.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein said connector module is also configured to generate one or more secondary connections between said primary person, work or tag and a second set of said people, works, or tags, wherein each person, work or tag of said second set has at least (a) a plurality of direct relationships with said primary person, work, or tag, or (b) a common direct relationship with said primary person, work, or tag, and wherein said connector module is also configured to add said available works having a direct connection a person, work or tag from said second set to said watch list.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein said people, works and tags includes alternative media data, and wherein said first set comprises a list of alternative media having a direct connection with said primary person, work, or tag.

14. A graphical user interface (GUI) for causing the display of connections between content media, wherein said connections are between a primary person, work or tag and related people, works and tags, said GUI being configured to perform the following steps:

(a) generating a display representing said at least a portion of said connections, wherein said display includes a primary object corresponding to said primary person, work or tag, the primary object being displayed with one or more enhanced features relative to other objects and at least one secondary object corresponding to people, works or tags connected to said primary object;

(b) selecting one of said secondary objects;

(c) embellishing said selected secondary object with one or more enhanced features.

15. The GUI of claim 14, wherein said secondary object also comprises at least one of a description of the connection with the primary object, or an image of the person, work, or tag corresponding to said connection.

16. The GUI of claim 14, wherein said enhanced features comprise more color, increased brightness, sound, animation, and ordering on top of said other objects.

17. The GUI of claim 14, wherein an object is selected when said user moves a cursor over it.

18. The GUI of claim 14, further configured to perform the steps of:

establishing one of said secondary objects as a new primary object in response to a user command;

generating connections between relevant people, works and tags and a new primary person, work or tag corresponding to said new primary object; and

reiterating steps (a) and (b).

19. The GUI of claim 18, further configured to perform the steps of:

causing the display of a running list of the primary and the new primary objects.

20. The GUI of claim 19, wherein said running list displays images associated with the primary and the new primary objects.

21. The GUI of claim 18, further configured to perform the steps of:

causing said objects corresponding to a particular primary or new primary object on said running list to be redisplayed when said user selects said particular primary or new primary object.

22. A process of representing a set of connections on a display, said process comprising:

generating connections between a primary person, work or tag and people, works and tags;

causing the display of said connections, wherein said display includes a plurality of objects, each object corresponding to a connection including a primary object corresponding to said primary person, work or tag, said primary object being displayed with one or more enhanced features over the other objects; and

embellishing one of said other objects with one or more enhanced features when said user indicates an interest in it.

23. A process of correlating user interests to media content, said process comprising:

(a) generating direct relationships among people, works, and tags from media content data;

(b) establishing a primary person, work or tag;

(c) connecting said primary person, work or tag and a first set of said people, works, and tags, wherein each person, work and tag of said first set has a direct relationship with said primary person, work or tag;

(d) generating one or more secondary connections between said primary person, work or tag and a second set of said people, works, and tags, wherein each person, work and tag of said second set has a secondary connection to said primary person, work, or tag; and

(e) providing information related to at least a portion of said first and second sets for display.

24. The process of claim 23, wherein at least a portion of said people, works, or tags of said second set are not part of said first set.

25. The process of claim 23, further comprising:

generating one or more second or higher degree connections between said primary person, work or tag and a third set of said people, works, or tags.

26. The process of claim 23, further comprising:

prior to step (e) prioritizing said first and second sets of people, works, or tags to reduce the number of connections for display.

27. The process of claim 26, wherein said prioritizing is based on available works directly related to said people, works, or tags of said first and second sets.

28. The process of claim 27, wherein said display also includes a recommendation for viewing works directly related to said people, works, or tags.

29. The process of claim 28, wherein said recommendation includes a time and location for viewing recommended works.

30. The process of claim 26, wherein said prioritizing is based on a weighting of said people, works, and tags.

31. The process of claim 30, wherein said weighting is based on the frequency with which a particular person, work or tag is listed as a direct relationship.

32. The process of claim 30, wherein said weighting is based on said user profile.

33. The process of claim 23, wherein said prioritizing is based on alternative media being directly related to said people, works, or tags.

34. A process of correlating user interests to recommend viewing, said process comprising:

identifying available works;

prioritizing said identified works based on at least one of timing of work availability or a user profile; and

generating a recommended watch list based on the prioritization of said identified available works.

35. A process of correlating user interests to alternative media, said process comprising:

establishing a primary person, work or tag;

connecting said primary person, work or tag to alternative media directly related to said primary person, work, or tag; and

causing the display of a list of said alternative media.

36. A process of generating a biography on a person:

establishing a primary person;

connecting said primary person to people, tags, and works having direct relationships;

prioritizing connections to limit their number;

generating and causing the display of one or more sentences explaining the direct relationship associated with the limited number of connections.