Community-based recommendation engine

• US 20100064325A1
• Filed: 09/11/2008
• Published: 03/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: OpenTV, Inc. (Kudelski SA)
• Original Assignee: OpenTV, Inc. (Kudelski SA)
• Inventors: Fishman, Alex, Chai, Crx K.
• Granted Patent: US 8,644,688 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/61
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/252 Processing of multiple end-users' preferences to derive collaborative data
• 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 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44226 on social networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4438 Window management, e.g. event handling following interaction with the user interface
• 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 21/4661 Deriving a combined profile for a plurality of end-users of the same client, e.g. for family members within a home user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4668 for recommending content, e.g. movies
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4756 for rating content, e.g. scoring a recommended movie
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• 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 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17309 Transmission or handling of upstream communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A community-based recommendation engine is provided. In one example embodiment, a system to provide community-based recommendation engine comprises a recommendation detector and a decision module. The recommendation detector is configured to receive, at a viewer'"'"'s system, a recommendation for a content item from a contact of a viewer. The decision module may be configured to determine an action to be performed at the viewer'"'"'s system, based on the recommendation and on one or more rules, accept the recommendation as an instruction to perform the action, and initiate the action at the viewer'"'"'s system.

Claims

10. A system comprising:

a recommendation detector to receive, at a viewer'"'"'s system, a recommendation for a content item from a contact of a viewer;

a decision module to;

determine an action to be performed at the viewer'"'"'s system, based on the recommendation and on one or more rules,

accept the recommendation as an instruction to perform the action, and

initiate the action at the viewer'"'"'s system.

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, at a viewer'"'"'s system, a recommendation for a content item from a contact of a viewer;

determining an action to be performed at the viewer'"'"'s system, based on the recommendation and on one or more rules;

accepting the recommendation as an instruction to perform an action at the viewer'"'"'s system; and

initiating the action at the viewer'"'"'s system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the determining of the action to be performed at the viewer'"'"'s system comprises;

determining a value indicating a trust level assigned to the contact by the viewer, and

accepting the recommendation as an instruction to record the content item based on the determined value indicating the trust level; and

the initiating of the action at the viewer'"'"'s system comprises initiating a recording process for the content item.

3. The method of claim 2, comprising determining a star rating associated with the content item, wherein the accepting of the recommendation as an instruction to record the content item is based on the determined star rating.

4. The method of claim 1, comprising providing a multi-panel media interface to maintain a profile of the contact, the profile including trust level information.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the initiating of the action comprises displaying a real time notification presented on a display device associated with the viewer'"'"'s system.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the display device associated with the viewer'"'"'s system is a television.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, at the viewer'"'"'s system, an instruction to rate a viewable program;

receiving, at the viewer'"'"'s system, an instruction to send a recommendation of the viewable program to a set top box associated with the contact of the viewer.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the instruction to rate the viewable program is in response to the viewer engaging one or more keys on a remote control device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein determining of the action to be performed at the viewer'"'"'s system comprises:

determining data associated with the recommendation; and

applying one or more rules to the data associated with the recommendation.

11. The system of claim 10, comprising a contact evaluation module to determine a value indicating a trust level assigned to the contact by the viewer, wherein the decision module is to:

accept the recommendation as an instruction to record the content item based on the determined value indicating the trust level, and

initiate a recording process for the content item.

12. The system of claim 11, comprising a rating detector to determine a star rating associated with the content item, wherein the decision module is to accept the recommendation as an instruction to record the content item based on the determined star rating.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the recommendation detector is to receive the recommendation from the contact'"'"'s set top box.

14. The system of claim 10, comprising a multi-panel media interface to maintain a profile of the contact, the profile including a trust level information, the trust level information.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the multi-panel media interface is to:

receive an instruction from the viewer to rate a viewable program; and

associate a star rating provided by the viewer with the viewable program.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the instruction to rate the viewable program is in response to the viewer engaging one or more keys on a remote control device.

17. The system of claim 15, comprising a communications module to send the star rating provided by the viewer to a server for aggregation.

18. The system of claim 10, wherein the decision module is to display, on the viewer'"'"'s display device, a real time notification of the received recommendation.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the viewer'"'"'s display device is a television.

16-1. The system of claim 15, comprising a communications module to send a recommendation of the viewable program to a set top box associated with the contact of the viewer in response to the instruction from the viewer to rate the viewable program.

20. A machine-readable medium having instruction data to cause a machine to:

receive, at a viewer'"'"'s system, a recommendation for a content item from a contact of a viewer;

determine a value indicating a trust level assigned to the contact by the viewer;

determine an action to be performed at the viewer'"'"'s system, based on the recommendation and on one or more rules;

accept the recommendation as an instruction to perform the action, and

initiate the action at the viewer'"'"'s system.