SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR INTERACTIVE PROGRAM GUIDES WITH PERSONAL VIDEO RECORDING FEATURES

• US 20120141096A1
• Filed: 12/22/2011
• Published: 06/07/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: UV Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: United Video Properties Incorporated (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Ellis, Michael D., Gaydou, Danny R., Reichardt, M. Scott, Baumgartner, Joseph P., Thomas, William L.
• Application Number:
  US13/335,787
• Publication Number:
  US 20120141096A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/297
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/10962 wherein both recording and playback take place simultaneously
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/41 Flat as opposed to hierarchical combination, e.g. library of tapes or discs, CD changer, or groups of record carriers that together store one title
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/005 Reproducing at a different information rate from the information rate of recording for television signals H04N5/783
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/329 on a disc [VTOC]
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23406 involving management of server-side video buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2387 Stream processing in response to a playback request from an end-user, e.g. for trick-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2747 Remote storage of video programs received via the downstream path, e.g. from the server
• 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 21/42214 using alphanumerical characters
• 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 21/4314 for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4333 Processing operations in response to a pause request
• 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 21/4335 Housekeeping operations, e.g. prioritizing content for deletion because of storage space restrictions storage management, e.g. defragmentation G06F3/0604; unloading stored programs G06F9/445; storage management in file systems G06F16/10; buffering arrangements in a network node or in an end terminal in packet networks H04L49/90
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44004 involving video buffer management, e.g. video decoder buffer or video display buffer
• 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 21/454 : Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• 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 21/47 : 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 21/47217 : for controlling playback functions for recorded or on-demand content, e.g. using progress bars, mode or play-point indicators or bookmarks specific graphical features in visual interfaces H04N21/4312
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4751 : for defining user accounts, e.g. accounts for children
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4753 : for user identification, e.g. by entering a PIN or password cryptographic authentication protocols H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08
• 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 21/478 : Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 : Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 : End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 : for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 : End-user interface for client configuration
• 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 21/632 : using a connection between clients on a wide area network, e.g. setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet for retrieving video segments from the hard-disk of other client devices broadcast-related systems characterised by transmission among terminal devices H04H60/80; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6587 : Control parameters, e.g. trick play commands, viewpoint selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 : involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• 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 21/8456 : by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 : Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 : on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/783 : Adaptations for reproducing at a rate different from the recording rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 : by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 : Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/7921 : for more than one processing mode

Abstract

Methods and systems that provide enhanced personal video recorder (“PVR”) and interactive television program guide (“IPG”) functionality are provided. An interactive television application (“application”) may be implemented to provide such functionality. The application may be used to display a list of PVR recordings, to schedule recordings to a PVR, to configure recordings, to view a list of scheduled recordings, to configure recording settings, or to select delete priority settings for recordings. The application may integrate pay-per-view and PVR functionality. The application may send user notifications for changes that are to be made to the recording content of a PVR. Live programming may be buffered by the application using a straight buffers that are created for each new program. Parallel buffers for concurrent programs may be implemented using multiple tuners. Straight buffers may be used in managing or controlling the flow of programming.

Claims

1-28. -28. (canceled)

29. A storage manager for a video recorder comprising:

a user input device for receiving a user selection of one or more shows for recording;

a storage device for storing said selected one or more shows when they are broadcast;

control circuitry configured to;

determine, based on priorities respectively related to a plurality of shows that are stored in said storage device, an estimated time until said control circuitry will delete each of said plurality of shows; and

a display for providing an interface screen, said interface screen presenting;

a plurality of listings, each of which corresponding to one of said plurality of shows; and

a visual indication of the determined estimated time until said control circuitry will delete at least said one of said plurality of shows, said visual indication being simultaneously displayed with said plurality of listings.

30. The storage manager of claim 29 wherein said interface screen further presents said priorities and allows a user to change said priorities.

31. The storage manager of claim 29, wherein said control circuitry provides a option associated with a specific show to keep the show longer and wherein said control circuitry changes a priority of said specific show in response to receiving a user selection of said option.

32. The storage manager of claim 29, wherein said plurality of listings are presented in a list, said interface screen configured to provide:

a dragging mechanism configured to allow said user to access one of said plurality of listings in said list; and

a dropping mechanism configured to allow said user to reorder said list by dropping said one of said listings in a new location in said list.

33. The storage manager of claim 29 wherein said interface screen displays an icon corresponding to said estimated time until said control circuitry will delete at least said one of said plurality of shows.

34. The storage manager of claim 29 wherein said control circuitry examines said plurality of shows to determine whether one or more of said plurality of shows is a part of a series, wherein said control circuitry limits a number of shows of said series that are to be saved by said control circuitry, and wherein said control circuitry deletes a show of said series from said storage device when said number exceeds said limit.

35. The storage manager of claim 29 further comprising an interactive program guide (IPG) for:

receiving said user selection from said input device; and

directing said display to provide said interface screen.

36. The storage manager of claim 35 wherein said plurality of shows are represented by one or more cells in said interactive program guide.

37. A method for managing a storage device, the method comprising:

receiving a user selection of one or more shows for recording;

storing said one or more selected shows in said storage device when they are broadcast;

assigning priorities respectively to a plurality of shows that are stored in said storage device;

processing storage data associated with said plurality of shows to determine, based on said assigned priorities, an estimated time until each of said plurality of shows will be deleted from said storage device;

displaying a plurality of listings, each of which corresponding to one of said plurality of shows; and

providing a visual indication of the determined estimated time until at least said one of said plurality of shows will be deleted from said storage device, said visual indication being simultaneously displayed with said plurality of listings.

38. The method of claim 37 further comprising:

presenting said priorities to a user; and

changing said priorities in response to receiving a request from said user.

39. The method of claim 37 further comprising:

providing an option associated with a specific show to a user to keep the show longer; and

changing a priority of said specific show in response to receiving a user selection of said option.

40. The method of claim 37, wherein said plurality of listings are presented in a list, the method further comprising:

allowing a user to drag one of said listings in said list;

allowing a user to drop said one of said listings in a new location in said list; and

re-ordering said list.

41. The method of claim 37, wherein providing a visual indication comprises:

displaying an icon corresponding to said estimated time until each of said plurality of shows will be deleted from said storage device.

42. The method of claim 37 further comprising:

examining said shows;

determining whether one or more of said plurality of shows is part of a series;

obtaining a limit to a number of shows of said series that are to be saved; and

deleting a show of said series from said storage device when said number exceeds said limit.

43. The method of claim 37, wherein said user selection is received by an interactive program guide, and wherein said plurality of listings are provided by said interactive program guide.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein said plurality of shows are represented by one or more cells in said interactive program guide.