SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROGRAMMING VIDEO RECORDERS

• US 20100242076A1
• Filed: 03/03/2010
• Published: 09/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Ad Insertion Platform SARL
• Original Assignee: Getmore Tv SARL
• Inventors: Steffen, Florian, Potesta, Laurent
• Application Number:
  US12/716,369
• Publication Number:
  US 20100242076A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/109
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/252 Processing of multiple end-users' preferences to derive collaborative data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4227 Providing Remote input by a user located remotely from the client device, e.g. at work
• 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 21/47214 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 21/4755 for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6543 for forcing some client operations, e.g. recording remote booting in general G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for programming video recorders (5, 7, 9) that comprises the following steps:

• • selecting a piece of video content (E1-E6) to be recorded, the selection being made by a user by means of an electronic program guide presented by a server (1);
  • including an indication of said video content in a theme grouping one or more pieces of content on a same subject;
  • selecting the users with a subscription to said theme;
  • automatically transmitting programming instructions to the video recorders (5, 7, 9) of the users with a subscription to said theme.

Claims

1. A method for programming video recorders, comprising the following steps:

a piece of video content to be recorded is selected in an Electronic Program Guide by an editor-user of a video recorder,

an identification of said video content is included in a theme grouping one or more pieces of video content,

the users with a subscription to said theme are selected,

programming instructions of said piece of video content are automatically transmitted to the video recorders of the users with a subscription to said theme, the video recorders of said users being thus programmed without any intervention from the users.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one editor-user is at the same time an editor selecting the video content of themes proposed to other users and a user whose video recorder is scheduled for recording programs included in themes managed by other editor-users.

3. The method claim 2, wherein a same video recorder is used for selecting the video content included in a theme and for recording the video content of other themes.

4. The method of claim 3, including a step during which said editor-user creating a theme defines a closed list of users who have the right to subscribe thereto.

5. The method of claim 4, including a step during which a user subscribes himself to a public theme or to a theme to which he has the right to subscribe.

6. The method of claim 2, including a step during which said editor-user creating a theme defines the rights of other users of the theme, wherein each user can be granted or refused at least one of the following rights:

the right to subscribe to the theme;

the right to add indications of video content to the theme;

the right to delete indications of video content of the theme;

the right to comment on a piece of video content;

the right to comment on a theme.

7. The method of claim 1, including a step of adding a comment or a rating to an item of video content selected in a theme.

8. The method of claim 7, including a step of searching for themes by means of a search tool on said server.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein a program executed by said server or in said digital recorder manages conflicts during the simultaneous programming of several pieces of video content.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the user defines priorities associated to the themes to settle said conflicts.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the user defines rules for choosing the video contents which are to be automatically erased from his recorder.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein a server sends programming command instructions to said video recorders in encrypted form.

13. The method of claim 1, including a step during which a user defines on a server a list of television channels to which he has access.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein said programming command instructions are transmitted via Internet to digital recorders directly connected to an Internet-type network.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein said programming command instructions are transmitted to at least one gateway at a cable operator that includes them in the video signal transmitted to the users.

16. The method of claim 1, including a step of adding advertising content associated to at least some recorded video contents.

17. A server for programming video recorders, having:

an electronic program guide;

a database for storing a list of themes grouping indications of video content and the user rights associated to this indications of video content;

an interface enabling the users to remotely modify the lists of themes and associated rights;

a module for automatically transmitting instructions to program video recorders in order to initiate the automatic recording of the video contents in each theme with the users who enjoy the corresponding rights, without intervention of said users.