SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AGGREGATING DEVICES FOR INTUITIVE BROWSING

• US 20120117471A1
• Filed: 03/25/2010
• Published: 05/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Concert Technology Corporation
• Original Assignee: Eloy Technology, LLC (Concert Technology Corporation)
• Inventors: Amidon, Christopher M., Curtis, Scott, Svendsen, Hugh
• Granted Patent: US 9,288,540 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/716
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/252 Processing of multiple end-users' preferences to derive collaborative data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4263 involving specific tuning arrangements, e.g. two tuners
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• 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 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43622 Interfacing an external recording device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• 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 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• 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 21/4668 for recommending content, e.g. movies
• 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 21/4826 using recommendation lists, e.g. of programs or channels sorted out according to their score
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6543 for forcing some client operations, e.g. recording remote booting in general G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6582 Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 : Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 : on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8205 : involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the colour video signal

Abstract

A media device includes a communication interface communicatively coupling the media device to one or more other media devices and a display, and a controller associated with the communication interface. The controller is adapted to access one or more templates comprising a layout of a graphical user interface (GUI). The controller further identifies one or more other media devices from which media content may be streamed and one or more media content streams available from each of the one or more media devices and determine, based upon the template and the one or more media content streams, at least one of the media content streams to display. The controller then acquires and outputs the at least one of the media content streams for display in accordance with the layout.

Claims

1. A media device comprising:

a communication interface communicatively coupling the media device to one or more other media devices; and

a controller associated with the communication interface adapted to;

access one or more templates each comprising a layout of a graphical user interface (GUI);

identify one or more other media devices from which media content may be streamed and one or more media content streams available from each of the one or more media devices;

determine, based upon the one or more templates and the one or more media content streams, at least one of the media content streams to display;

acquire the at least one of the media content streams for display in accordance with the one or more layouts; and

output the at least one of the media content streams to a display for presentation in the GUI in accordance with the one or more layouts.

2. The media device of claim 1 wherein at least one of the one or more templates is a system template.

3. The media device of claim 1 wherein at least one of the one or more templates is personalized by a user.

4. The media device of claim 1 wherein the one or more templates further comprise at least one alert condition defining when and how media content is to be displayed in the GUI.

5. The media device of claim 4 wherein the controller, in response to identifying an occurrence of the at least one alert condition, is further adapted to:

output an indication of the alert condition for display in the GUI;

determine, based upon the one or more templates and the one or more media content streams, at least one of the media content streams to display;

acquire the at least one of the media content streams for display in accordance with the one or more layouts; and

output the at least one of the media content streams to a display for presentation in the GUI in accordance with the one or more layouts.

6. The media device of claim 5 wherein the controller is further adapted to monitor for the occurrence of the alert condition at a predetermined time interval.

7. The media device of claim 5 wherein the controller is further adapted to identify the occurrence of the alert condition in response to a trigger.

8. The media device of claim 1 wherein the one or more media content streams available from each of the one or more media devices are identified via accessing an aggregated content guide comprising information describing the media content streams available from each of the one or more media devices.

9. The media device of claim 1 wherein the controller is further adapted to optimize the at least one of the media content streams for display.

10. The media device of claim 9 wherein the controller is further adapted to optimize the at least one of the media content streams for display based upon a characteristic of the one or more media devices from which the at least one of the media content streams are acquired.

11. The media device of claim 10 wherein the characteristic of the one or more media devices is selected from a group consisting of an availability of the one or more media devices and a quality of the media content.

12. The media device of claim 1 wherein the GUI comprises at least one thumbnail displaying at least one of the media content streams for display and a background.

13. The media device of claim 12 wherein the controller is further adapted to output one or more graphic indicators each associated with one of the at least one thumbnail.

14. The media device of claim 13 wherein one of the one or more graphic indicators comprises an indication of a match between the at least one of the media content streams displayed in the associated thumbnail and a user preference.

15. The media device of claim 14 wherein the user preference is stored in the one or more templates.

16. The media device of claim 13 wherein one of the one or more graphic indicators comprises an indication that the at least one of the media content streams displayed in the associated thumbnail is currently being displayed on a display associated with the one or more other media devices.

17. The media device of claim 13 wherein one of the one or more graphic indicators comprises an indication that the at least one of the media content streams displayed in the associated thumbnail is currently streaming an advertisement.

18. The media device of claim 13 wherein one of the one or more graphic indicators comprises an icon that may be selected to provide more information related to the at least one of the media content streams displayed in the associated thumbnail.

19. The media device of claim 13 wherein one of the one or more graphic indicators comprises an indication of at least one of a score and an end of a game.

20. The media device of claim 1 wherein the media device is further adapted to optimize the at least one of the media content streams by replacing a portion of the at least one of the media content streams comprising an advertisement with a previously streamed portion of the at least one of the media content streams.

21. The media device of claim 1 wherein the media device is further adapted to optimize the at least one of the media content streams by:

receiving repeatedly alternating first and second media content streams from one of the other media devices;

outputting the first media content stream to a first one of the at least one thumbnail; and

outputting the second media content stream to a second one of the at least one thumbnail.

22. The media device of claim 21 wherein the first media content stream comprises a first image and the second media content stream comprises a second image.

23. The media device of claim 1 wherein the controller is further adapted to optimize the at least one of the media content streams by filtering the at least one of the media content streams based upon metadata associated with the at least one of the media content streams.

24. A computer-readable medium embodied in an article of manufacture encoded with instructions for directing a processor of a media device to:

access one or more templates each comprising a layout of a graphical user interface (GUI);

identify one or more other media devices from which media content may be streamed and one or more media content streams available from each of the one or more media devices;

determine, based upon the one or more templates and the one or more media content streams, at least one of the media content streams to display;

acquire the at least one of the media content streams for display in accordance with the one or more layouts; and

output the at least one of the media content streams to a display for presentation in the GUI in accordance with the one or more layouts.

25. The computer-readable medium of claim 24 wherein at least one of the one or more templates is a system template.

26. The computer-readable medium of claim 24 wherein at least one of the one or more templates is personalized by a user.

27. The computer-readable medium of claim 24 wherein the one or more templates further comprise at least one alert condition defining when and how media content is to be displayed in the GUI.

28. The computer-readable medium of claim 27 wherein the controller, in response to identifying an occurrence of the at least one alert condition, is further adapted to:

output an indication of the alert condition for display in the GUI;

determine, based upon the one or more templates and the one or more media content streams, at least one of the media content streams to display;

acquire the at least one of the media content streams for display in accordance with the one or more layouts; and

output the at least one of the media content streams to a display for presentation in the GUI in accordance with the one or more layouts.

29. A method comprising:

accessing one or more templates each comprising a layout of a graphical user interface (GUI);

identifying one or more other media devices from which media content may be streamed and one or more media content streams available from each of the one or more media devices;

determining, based upon the one or more templates and the one or more media content streams, at least one of the media content streams to display;

acquiring the at least one of the media content streams for display in accordance with the one or more layouts; and

outputting the at least one of the media content streams to a display for presentation in the GUI in accordance with the one or more layouts.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein the one or more templates further comprise at least one alert condition defining when and how media content is to be displayed in the GUI.

31. The method of claim 30 further comprising:

determining an occurrence of the at least one alert condition;

outputting an indication of the alert condition for display in the GUI;

determining, based upon the one or more templates and the one or more media content streams, at least one of the media content streams to display;

acquiring the at least one of the media content streams for display in accordance with the one or more layouts; and

outputting the at least one of the media content streams to a display for presentation in the GUI in accordance with the one or more layouts.

32. A computer-readable medium embodied in an article of manufacture encoded with instructions for directing a processor of a media device to:

receive a media item attribute;

identify one or more media items based upon the media item attribute and an aggregated content guide;

instruct one or more media devices to tune to the one or more media items and provide one or more media content streams corresponding to the one or more media items;

receive the one or more media content streams; and

output each of the one or more media content streams for display in an associated thumbnail.

33. The computer-readable medium of claim 32 wherein the processor is further directed to output one or more graphic indicators each associated with one of the one or more thumbnails.