CONVERTING, NAVIGATING AND DISPLAYING VIDEO CONTENT UPLOADED FROM THE INTERNET TO A DIGITAL TV VIDEO-ON-DEMAND PLATFORM

• US 20130254804A1
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Published: 09/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: BBiTV, Inc., Broadband iTV, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Broadband iTV, Inc.
• Inventors: Diaz Perez, Milton
• Application Number:
  US13/830,961
• Publication Number:
  US 20130254804A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23418 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics television picture signal circuitry for scene change detection H04N5/147; filtering for image enhancement G06T5/00; methods or arrangements for recognising scenes G06V20/00; arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2547 Third Party Billing, e.g. billing of advertiser
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; 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 21/2743 Video hosting of uploaded data from client
• 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 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• 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 21/858 Linking data to content, e.g. by linking an URL to a video object, by creating a hotspot
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

Video content is uploaded via the Internet to a video-on-demand (VOD) server identified by a title and a hierarchical address of categories and subcategories for categorizing the title. The VOD server converts and stores the video content at a storage address in a video content database linked to the title. The title is listed in a location of an electronic program guide (EPG) using the same categories and subcategories as in its hierarchical address. Any TV subscriber can access the EPG and navigate through its categories and subcategories to find a title for viewing on the TV. This can enable many, new blogging or podcasting-like programs by popular “Hosts” to be self-published on the Internet and readily navigated for display on TV. The EPG can also store TV program addresses as bookmarks and allow them to be shared with other subscribers or with friends and contacts online by sending to their email addresses.

Claims

1-20. -20. (canceled)

21. A method comprising the steps of:

(a) uploading, via a web browser, from a user device to a content management system, (i) video content, and (ii) respective content-characterizing data;

(b) automatically screening, using the content management system, the video content for at least one of objectionable text, objectionable audio, objectionable video or objectionable images, and rejecting the video content if found objectionable;

(c) encoding, using the content management system, the video content to an encoded video content file in a format capable of display on a television display;

(d) generating, using the content management system, content classification information for the video content using the respective content-characterizing data, said content classification information including a title and classified topical areas in a format navigable by a user of the video-on-demand system using a plurality of navigation displays to access the video content; and

(e) transmitting, using the content management system, the encoded video content file and the respective classification information to the video-on-demand system.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

utilizing the encoded video content file and the respective classification information to populate a video-on-demand system used by at least one end user device.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the video-on-demand system is used to display the encoded video file on a television display.

24. The method of claim 21, further comprising the step of

receiving, at the web-based content management system, additional data comprising images and text, wherein the additional data are uploaded from the user device.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein the content-characterizing data further comprise descriptive data about the video content.

26. The method of claim 21, wherein the encoding of the video content further comprises size and resolution processing.

27. The method of claim 21, wherein the generating of content classification information includes a title and location of the title in a hierarchy of topical areas so that a user of the video-on-demand system can navigate to the location of the title using a plurality of hierarchically arranged navigation displays.