MEDIA LIBRARY IN AN INTERACTIVE MEDIA GUIDANCE APPLICATION

• US 20100186038A1
• Filed: 12/14/2009
• Published: 07/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: United Video Properties Incorporated (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: United Video Properties Incorporated (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Walker, Todd A., Thomas, William L.
• Application Number:
  US12/636,897
• Publication Number:
  US 20100186038A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/42
• 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: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739

Abstract

Systems and methods for selecting content for a media library using an interactive media guidance application are provided. The user may search for content to select by entering search terms in a search page and selecting content from search results in a search results page. The user may also select content by directly entering identification for the content, selecting content from a message suggesting content, or by selecting content from interactive media guidance application pages. The content may include content that is currently available and bookmarks for content that is not yet available. For such bookmarks, when the content becomes available, the interactive media guidance application may notify the user and/or add the actual content to the media library. The user may access the media library from any user device and perform any suitable operation with the content of the media library (e.g., download content to a user device or playback content).

Claims

1-26. -26. (canceled)

27. A method for providing an interactive media guidance application comprising:

receiving a user selection of at least one on-demand media content from a list of media contents;

determining that the selected on-demand media content is not currently available;

adding, in response to determining that the selected on-demand media content is not currently available, a bookmark for the selected on-demand media content to a media library comprising a collection of user selected on-demand media content, wherein the bookmark includes information that identifies the selected on-demand media content;

monitoring a plurality of distinct sources of media content to determine when the selected on-demand media content becomes available; and

in response to determining that the selected on-demand media content has become available, notifying the user that the selected on-demand media content has become available.

28. The method of claim 27 further comprising adding the selected on-demand media content to the media library after it has become available.

29. The method of claim 27 further comprising:

accessing the media library with a user device;

selecting on-demand media content from the media library; and

playing back the selected on-demand media content.

30. The method of claim 29 further comprising purchasing the selected on-demand media content prior to playing back the selected content.

31. The method of claim 27 further comprises:

receiving search terms for on-demand media content;

searching for on-demand media content based on the search terms;

displaying search results; and

wherein receiving the user selection of at least one on-demand media content comprises receiving the user selection of at least one of the displayed search results.

32. The method of claim 27 wherein receiving the user selection of at least one on-demand media content further comprises receiving a user input of information identifying at least one on-demand media content.

33. The method of claim 27 further comprising:

providing recommendations for at least one on-demand media content to add to the media library; and

wherein receiving the user selection of at least one on-demand media content comprises receiving a user selection of at least one recommended on-demand media content.

34. The method of claim 33 further comprising:

monitoring the collection of user-selected on-demand media content; and

providing recommendations for the at least one on-demand media content based on the monitoring of the collection.

35. The method of claim 27 wherein the media content is a playlist.

36. The method of claim 27 wherein the plurality of distinct sources of media content comprises any of a recording device, the Internet, a video-on-demand server, a broadcast source, and a satellite source.

37. The method of claim 27 further comprising accessing the media library using any of television equipment, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a set-top box, a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant, a handheld wireless communication device, a portable television, and a portable media player.

38. The method of claim 27 further comprising accessing the media library over an Internet communications link.

39. The method of claim 27 wherein the list of media content comprises at least one of advertisement for a future program, a movie trailer, and title of a future program.

40. A system for providing an interactive media guidance application comprising a display device, an input device and control circuitry, the control circuitry configured to:

receive a user selection of at least one on-demand media content from a list of media contents;

determine that the selected on-demand media content is not currently available;

add, in response to determining that the selected on-demand media content is not currently available, a bookmark for the on-demand media content to a media library comprising a collection of user selected media content, wherein the bookmark includes information that identifies the selected on-demand media content;

monitor a plurality of distinct sources of media content to determine when the selected on-demand media content becomes available; and

in response to determining that the selected on-demand media content has become available, notifying the user that the selected on-demand media content has become available.

41. The system of claim 40 wherein the control circuitry is further configured to add the selected on-demand media content to the media library after it has become available.

42. The system of claim 40 wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

access the media library with a user device;

select an on-demand media content from the media library; and

direct the display device to play back the selected on-demand media content.

43. The system of claim 40 wherein the control circuitry is further configured to prompt the user to purchase the selected on-demand media content prior to playing back the selected on-demand media content.

44. The system of claim 40 wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

receive search terms for on-demand media content;

search for on-demand media content based on the search terms;

direct the display device to display search results; and

receive a user selection of at least one of the displayed search results.

45. The system of claim 40 wherein the control circuitry is further configured to receive a user input of information identifying at least one on-demand media content.

46. The system of claim 40 wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

provide recommendations for at least one on-demand media content to add to the media library; and

receive a user selection of at least one recommended on-demand media content.

47. The system of claim 46 wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

monitor the collection of user-selected media content; and

provide recommendations for the at least one on-demand media content based on the monitoring of the collection.

48. The system of claim 40 wherein the media content is a playlist.

49. The system of claim 40 wherein the plurality of distinct sources of media content comprises any of a recording device, the Internet, a video-on-demand server, a broadcast source, and a satellite source.

50. The system of claim 44 wherein the search results comprise a playlist.

51. The system of claim 40 wherein the control circuitry is further configured to access the media library using any of television equipment, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a set-top box, a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant, a handheld wireless communication device, a portable television, and a portable media player.

52. The system of claim 40 wherein the control circuitry is further configured to access the media library over an Internet communications link.

53. The system of claim 40 wherein the list of media content comprises at least one of advertisement for a future program, a movie trailer, and title of a future program.

54. A method for providing an interactive media guidance application comprising:

receiving a user selection of at least one on-demand media content from a list of media contents;

determining that the selected on-demand media content is not currently available;

adding, in response to determining that the selected on-demand media content is not currently available, an identifier for the selected media content to a media library comprising a collection of user selected on-demand media content, wherein the identifier identifies the selected on-demand media content;

monitoring a plurality of remote sources of media content to determine when one of the remote sources will provide the selected on-demand media content associated with the identifier; and

in response to determining that one of the remote sources provides the selected on-demand media content associated with the identifier, notifying the user that the selected on-demand media content has become available.

55. The method of claim 54 wherein the plurality of remote sources of media content comprises any of a recording device, the Internet, a video-on-demand server, a broadcast source, and a satellite source.

56. The method of claim 54 wherein the list of media content comprises at least one of advertisement for a future program, a movie trailer, and title of a future program.

57. A system for providing an interactive media guidance application comprising a display device, an input device and control circuitry, the control circuitry configured to:

receive a user selection of at least one on-demand media content from a list of media contents;

determine that the selected on-demand media content is not currently available;

add, in response to determining that the selected on-demand media content is not currently available, an identifier for the selected media content to a media library comprising a collection of user selected on-demand media content, wherein the identifier identifies the selected on-demand media content;

monitor a plurality of remote sources of media content to determine when one of the remote sources will provide the selected on-demand media content associated with the identifier; and

in response to determining that one of the remote sources provides the selected on-demand media content associated with the identifier, notifying the user that the selected on-demand media content has become available.

58. The system of claim 57 wherein the plurality of distinct sources of media content comprises any of a recording device, the Internet, a video-on-demand server, a broadcast source, and a satellite source.

59. The system of claim 57 wherein the list of media content comprises at least one of advertisement for a future program, a movie trailer, and title of a future program.