System and Method to Identify an Item Depicted when Media Content is Displayed

• US 20110131605A1
• Filed: 12/02/2009
• Published: 06/02/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Vleck, Paul Van, Pratt, James, Edwards, Gregory, Belz, Steven M.
• Granted Patent: US 9,407,973 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/39
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/904 Browsing; Visualisation therefor for navigating the web G06F16/954; browsing optimisation for the web G06F16/957
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47815 Electronic shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12
• 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

Abstract

A computer-implemented method includes receiving, at a set-top box device, media content from a media content server. The media content includes one or more metadata tags associated with one or more items depicted when the media content is displayed. The computer-implemented method includes sending the media content to a display device. The computer-implemented method also includes receiving a first user selection to visually identify the one or more items. The computer-implemented method also includes receiving a purchase request to purchase at least one of the one or more items depicted.

Claims

8. A server, comprising:

a processor; and

a computer-readable storage medium comprising operational instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the server to;

receive a request from a set top box device for information about an item, the request including a metadata tag associated with the item, wherein the metadata tag identifies that the item is purchasable via the set top box device;

retrieve the information about the item from a database based on the metadata tag; and

send the information about the item to the set top box device.

9. The server of claim 8, further comprising operational instructions, that when executed by the processor, cause the server to:

receive a second request for information about a second item, the second request including an image of the second item;

perform a search to determine an identity of the second item based on the image of the second item;

retrieve information about the second item based on the identity of the second item; and

send the information about the second item to the set top box device.

10. A set top box device comprising:

a processor;

a network interface to receive media content including metadata tags associated with items depicted upon display of the media content, the metadata tags identifying the associated items as purchasable via the set top box device;

a tag filter comprising operational instructions that are executable by the processor to identify metadata tags that match a set of user preferences and to select items depicted based on the set of user preferences;

an output interface to send a request to a display device to visually identify the selected items; and

an input interface to receive a purchase request selecting a particular item from the visually identified selected items for purchase.

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving, at a set-top box device, media content from a media content server, the media content including one or more metadata tags associated with one or more items depicted in the media content when the media content is displayed;

sending the media content to a display device;

receiving a first user selection to visually identify the one or more items;

sending a display request to the display device to visually identify the one or more items; and

receiving a purchase request to purchase one of the one or more items depicted in the media content.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a second user selection indicating a request for information about a particular item of the one or more items;

sending an identification request including a metadata tag associated with the particular item from the set top box device to a server;

receiving the information about the particular item from the server; and

sending the information about the particular item to the display device.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a third user selection indicating a request for information about a second item depicted in the media content without an associated metadata tag;

sending an identification request including an image of the second item captured from the media content from the set top box device to the server;

receiving the information about the second item from the server; and

sending the information about the second item to the display device.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the third user selection is received from an input device that is coupled to the set top box device.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the input device comprises one of a mouse, a touch tablet, and a touch screen associated with the display device.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising pausing the media content prior to sending the display request to the display device.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first user selection is received from a remote control device.

11. The set top box device of claim 10, wherein the input interface is further operable to receive data selecting the particular item for purchase from a touch sensitive device.

12. The set top box device of claim 10, wherein the input interface is further operable to receive data selecting the particular item for purchase from a remote control device, wherein the data corresponds to a movement of the remote control device.

13. The set top box device of claim 11, wherein the output interface is further operable to instruct the display device to display a grid to visually identify items for purchase.

14. The set top box devoice of claim 13, wherein the input interface is further operable to receive coordinates of the grid from a remote control device, the coordinates of the grid selecting the particular item for purchase.

15. The set top box device of claim 11, wherein the network interface is further operable to send the purchase request to an electronic commerce server, the purchase request instructing the electronic commerce server to bill the purchase of the particular item to an account associated with the set top box device.

16. The set top box device of claim 15, wherein the purchase request instructs the electronic commerce server to send the particular item to an address associated with the set top box device.

17. The set top box device of claim 11, wherein the network receives the media content via an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) network.

18. The set top box device of claim 11, wherein the user preferences are stored at the set top box device.

19. The set top box device of claim 11, wherein the input interface is further operable to receive a request for information of a second item without an associated metadata tag, wherein the second item is depicted upon display of the media content.

20. The set top box device of claim 19, wherein the network interface is further operable to send a request including an image of the second item to an identification server.

16-1. The set top box device of claim 11, wherein the media content includes one of a movie, a television program, and an advertisement.