PERSONAL VIDEO RECORDER E-MAIL ALERTS AND STATUS

• US 20100272414A1
• Filed: 04/28/2009
• Published: 10/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Reneris, Kenneth S.
• Granted Patent: US 8,667,549 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: N/A
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1881 with schedule organisation, e.g. priority, sequence management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1895 for short real-time information, e.g. alarms, notifications, alerts, updates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• 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 21/4583 Automatically resolving scheduling conflicts, e.g. when a recording by reservation has been programmed for two programs in the same time slot
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4667 Processing of monitored end-user data, e.g. trend analysis based on the log file of viewer selections
• 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 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6547 comprising parameters, e.g. for client setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape

Abstract

A web-based service which provides a notification such an email to a user to facilitate managing the recording of broadcast content using a personal video recorder (PVR). The user can agree to participate in the service in exchange for emails which can provide information such as a summary of programs recorded over a few days, missed recordings, and scheduling conflicts. The notification can include targeted recommendations, targeted advertising and information about recording habits of members of a social network of the user. A notification can be provided on an urgent basis if program schedule conflicts or hardware or software problems with the user'"'"'s equipment are detected. The user'"'"'s equipment can include a PC-based PVR, or a PC which communicates with a separate PVR device. PC-related information such as events thrown can also be reported up to the web service.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for providing information regarding broadcast video content, comprising:

receiving, at one or more servers, via a wide area network, information from a standalone computer, where the standalone computer;

(a) records broadcast video content or (b) communicates locally with a video recorder which records broadcast video content, the information identifying broadcast video content which has been scheduled to be recorded or has been recorded;

storing the information at the one or more servers;

accessing, at the one or more servers, notification settings associated with a user of the standalone computer; and

based on the stored information and the notification settings;

providing a routine notification to the user according to a notification schedule, the routine notification provides a summary of recording operations for the broadcast video content; and

providing an urgent notification to the user at a time which differs from the notification schedule when the information from the standalone computer is not received by an expected time.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the received information identifies a health status of the standalone computer, the method further comprising:

providing an urgent notification to the user at a time which differs from the notification schedule when the health status indicates a problem exists with the standalone computer.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein:

the received information identifies the health status from at least one event which is thrown by the standalone computer.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein:

the problem comprises a disk error of the standalone computer.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein:

the problem comprises a software update of the standalone computer.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein:

the problem comprises a restart of an operating system of the standalone computer.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the routine notification comprises one or more emails but not a cell phone text message; and

the urgent notification comprises a cell phone text message.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the received information identifies broadcast video content which the user requested to be recorded; and

the method further comprising accessing broadcast video content scheduling information to detect a scheduling conflicts; and

providing an urgent notification to the user at a time which differs from the notification schedule when a scheduling conflict is detected.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the received information identifies a health status of the video recorder, the method further comprising:

providing an urgent notification to the user at a time which differs from the notification schedule when the health status indicates a problem exists with the video recorder.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the received information identifies broadcast video content which has been recorded by multiple video recording devices;

the routine notification provides a unified summary of the broadcast video content which has been recorded by the multiple video recording devices.

11. A computer-implemented method for providing information regarding broadcast video content, comprising:

receiving, at one or more servers, user instructions which identify;

(a) an agreement by a user to participate in a web-based notification service, and (b) notification settings;

creating an account for the user in response to the user instructions;

receiving, at the one or more servers, via a wide area network, information from a standalone computer, where the standalone computer (a) records broadcast video content or (b) communicates locally with a video recorder which records broadcast video content, the information identifying broadcast video content which been scheduled to record or has been recorded;

storing the information at the one or more servers, indexed to the account;

accessing the notification settings at the one or more servers; and

based on the stored information and the notification settings, providing a notification to the user which provides a summary of recording operations of the broadcast video content.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein:

the user instructions identify a social network;

the one or more servers configure the notification to identify video content which is recommended by at least one member of the social network.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein:

the user instructions identify a social network; and

the one or more servers configure the notification to identify video content which at least one member of the social network has recorded.

14. Computer readable storage having computer readable software embodied thereon for programming at least one processor to perform a method for providing information regarding user premises equipment which records broadcast video content, the method comprising:

using a standalone computer of the user premises equipment to participate in a web-based notification service for the user premises equipment; and

pursuant to the web-based notification service;

transmitting, to one or more servers, according to a reporting schedule, via a wide area network, information from the standalone computer of the user premises equipment which identifies broadcast video content which has been scheduled to be recorded or has been recorded by the user premises equipment; and

transmitting, to the one or more servers, at a time which differs from the reporting schedule, via the wide area network, information from the standalone computer of the user premises equipment which identifies a problem with the user premises equipment, and which triggers a notification process to a user of the user premises equipment.

15. The computer readable storage media of claim 14, wherein:

the problem comprises a problem with the standalone computer.

16. The computer readable storage media of claim 14, wherein:

the standalone computer communicates with a video recorder of the user premises equipment via a local communication link, the video recorder tunes a broadcast video content signal; and

the problem comprises a problem with the video recorder.

17. The computer readable storage media of claim 14, wherein:

the information from the standalone computer identifies the problem from at least one event which is thrown by the standalone computer.

18. The computer readable storage media of claim 14, wherein:

the problem comprises a disk error of the standalone computer.

19. The computer readable storage media of claim 14, wherein:

the notification process provides an urgent notification to the user of a scheduling conflict for recording a broadcast video event is detected.

20. The computer readable storage media of claim 14, wherein:

the notification process provides an urgent notification to the user of an unexpected missed recording of a broadcast video event.