METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANAGING A PRESENTATION OF MEDIA CONTENT

• US 20150082353A1
• Filed: 11/17/2014
• Published: 03/19/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2010
• 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: Meuninck, Troy C., Brown, William A., Morris, Nadia, Ng, Virginia, Bedingfield, James Carlton Sr.
• Granted Patent: US 9,781,469 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/194 Transmission of image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/337 using polarisation multiplexing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/341 using temporal multiplexing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• 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 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8153 comprising still images, e.g. texture, background image

Abstract

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a computer-readable storage medium having computer instructions to present a plurality of unassociated media programs from a single presentation device having overlapping presentation periods, and cause the single presentation device to present a user interface for one of the plurality of unassociated media programs responsive to detecting a request for the user interface. Each of the plurality of unassociated media programs can be viewable only with a viewing apparatus. The viewing apparatus can be configured for viewing one of the unassociated media programs at a time. Other embodiments are disclosed and contemplated.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

presenting, by a system comprising a processor, a user interface during a presentation of a media program at a presentation device, wherein the media program corresponds to one of a plurality of separate media programs having overlapping presentation periods, wherein each of the media programs is presented during a time slot of the plurality of overlapping presentation periods and is viewable with a viewing device;

determining, by the system, a light intensity provided to the viewing device by the presentation device;

receiving, by the system, via the user interface, a signal corresponding to a user action, the signal representing a request for a change of illumination provided by the presentation device; and

adjusting, by the system, a number of time slots during which the media program is presented, to adjust the light intensity provided to the viewing device so that the media program is viewable with the viewing device at an adjusted light intensity.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting the user action by imaging sensors coupled to the processor; and

retrieving a user profile associated with a user of the viewing device,

wherein the adjusting is performed in accordance with the user profile.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the user action comprises a hand motion, wherein the presentation device comprises a television, and wherein the viewing device comprises shutter glasses.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the presenting is performed in response to a user movement detected by the imaging sensors.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the detecting further comprises detecting a position in three dimensions of the user'"'"'s hands.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising adjusting presentation of a three-dimensional image of an object in response to a user hand motion representing manipulation of the object.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the object represents a control of the media program presented to the viewing device.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising adjusting presentation of an image to the viewing device in response to a user hand motion, wherein a two-hand motion corresponds to a zoom-in or zoom-out command, and wherein a single-hand motion in a direction corresponds to a command to pan the image in the direction.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the media program comprises audio, and further comprising adjusting an audio volume of the media program in response to a user hand motion.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the request further comprises a request for a change of resolution provided by the presentation device.

11. A media processor comprising:

a memory to store instructions; and

a controller coupled to the memory, wherein the controller, responsive to executing the instructions, performs operations comprising;

causing a presentation device to present a first media program to a first viewing device using a first set of pixels of the presentation device and at a first polarization;

causing the presentation device to present a second media program to a second viewing device using a second set of pixels of the presentation device and at a second polarization different from the first polarization, the first media program and the second media program having overlapping presentation periods,

wherein the first set of pixels and the second set of pixels are arranged in alternating portions of the presentation device,

wherein the first viewing device is polarized to the first set of pixels for viewing the first media program without being able to view the second media program, and

wherein the second viewing device is polarized to the second set of pixels for viewing the second media program without being able to view the first media program.

12. The media processor of claim 11, wherein the alternating portions comprise alternating pixel rows or alternating pixel columns.

13. The media processor of claim 11, wherein the first set of pixels comprises odd pixel rows and the second set of pixels comprises even pixel rows.

14. The media processor of claim 11, wherein the first viewing device comprises a set of glasses having left and right lenses polarized substantially equally for viewing two-dimensional images in the first media program.

15. The media processor of claim 11, wherein the presentation device is caused to present three-dimensional images in the first media program.

16. The media processor of claim 15, wherein the three-dimensional images comprise left eye stereoscopic images and right eye stereoscopic images presented in a first portion and a second portion, respectively, of the first set of pixels.

17. A media processor comprising:

a memory to store instructions; and

a controller coupled to the memory, wherein the controller, responsive to executing the instructions, performs operations comprising;

receiving, from a media system, a first stream and a second stream, the first stream and the second stream comprising stereoscopic image streams from a three-dimensional media program;

synchronizing the first stream and the second stream according to synchronization data embedded in each of the first stream and the second stream;

determining whether a presentation device coupled to the media processor has a polarized display or has time-division multiplexing capability;

in accordance with a determination that the presentation device has a polarized display, directing the presentation device to present the first stream on a first portion of the polarized display and to present the second stream on a second portion of the polarized display; and

in accordance with a determination that the presentation device has time-division multiplexing capability,

transmitting a synchronization signal to a viewing apparatus to facilitate presentation of the first stream and the second stream in alternating time slots, and

directing the presentation device to present the first stream to the viewing apparatus in a first set of time slots and to present the second stream to the viewing apparatus in a second set of time slots.

18. The media processor of claim 17, wherein the media processor is coupled to the media system via a plurality of channels, and wherein the receiving further comprises retrieving the first stream and the second stream respectively from a first channel and a second channel of the plurality of channels.

19. The media processor of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise transmitting an audio signal associated with the media program.

20. The media processor of claim 17, wherein the first portion of the polarized display and the second portion of the polarized display comprise alternating pixel rows.