APPARATUS, SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONTROL OF MEDIA CONTENT EVENT RECORDING

• US 20170094343A1
• Filed: 10/10/2016
• Published: 03/30/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dish Technologies LLC (Echostar Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Echostar Technologies LLC (Echostar Corporation)
• Inventors: Greene, Gregory
• Granted Patent: US 9,967,612 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/20 Analysis of motion motion estimation for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/43, H04N19/51
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/46 Extracting features or characteristics from the video content, e.g. video fingerprints, representative shots or key frames
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/413 Classification of content, e.g. text, photographs or tables
• 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 21/4334 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 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/45 Management operations performed by the client for facilitating the reception of or the interaction with the content or administrating data related to the end-user or to the client device itself, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies, resolving scheduling conflicts

Abstract

Systems and methods are operable to record a media content event at a media device. An exemplary embodiment grabs a series of subsequently received image frames from the media content event that is being recorded after a monitored real time reaches a closing credits monitor time, wherein the closing credits monitor time is a recording end time less a predefined duration. The embodiment then analyzes each of the image frames to identify an occurrence of text presented in the analyzed image frame, determines that the identified text corresponds to closing credits of the media content event if the at least one attribute of the identified text matches a corresponding predefined closing credits attribute, and initiates an end of the recording of the media content event in response to determining that the identified text corresponds to the closing credits of the media content event.

Claims

1. A method for recording media content events at a media device, the method comprising:

recording, by the media device, a broadcast of a media content event that is being received by the media device, wherein the broadcast of the media content event is associated with at least a scheduled broadcast start time defining when the broadcast of the media content is scheduled to begin and a scheduled broadcast end time defining when the broadcast of the media content event is scheduled to end;

analyzing a series of subsequently received image frames from the media content event by the media device in response to detecting that time has reached a predefined closing credits monitor time, wherein the closing credits monitor time is prior to the scheduled broadcast end time, and wherein for each of the analyzed image frames, the method further comprises;

analyzing, by the media device, the image frame to identify an occurrence of an attribute in the analyzed image frame;

comparing, by the media device, the attribute in the analyzed image frame with a corresponding predefined closing credits attribute; and

determining, by the media device, that the analyzed image frame includes closing credits of the media content event when the attribute in the analyzed image frame matches the corresponding predefined closing credits attribute; and

initiating an end of the recording of the media content event in response to determining that the identified attribute in the analyzed image frame corresponds to the predefined closing credits attribute.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the media device, the predefined closing credits attribute that is associated with the media content event that is being recorded, wherein the predefined closing credits attribute is received prior to analyzing the series of subsequently received image frames;

storing the predefined closing credits attribute in a memory medium of the media device; and

retrieving the predefined closing credits attribute from the memory medium of the media device to compare the attribute in the analyzed image frame with the predefined closing credits attribute.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the predefined closing credits attribute is received in electronic program guide (EPG) information.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the predefined closing credits attribute is stored in a memory medium of a remote electronic device that is remote from the media device, the method further comprising:

communicating a request from the media device to the remote electronic device, wherein the request identifies the media content event; and

receiving, at the media device, information comprising the predefined closing credits attribute from the remote electronic device.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the predefined closing credits attribute is included as part of the broadcasting media content event that is being received and recorded by the media device.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the broadcasting media content event is associated with a production company that has produced the broadcasting the media content event, wherein the production company is associated with a well known icon, and wherein the predefined closing credits attribute is an image of the icon associated with the production company, the method further comprising:

analyzing, by the media device, the image frame to identify an occurrence of an icon in the analyzed image frame;

comparing, by the media device, the icon in the analyzed image frame with the corresponding predefined closing credits image of the icon; and

initiating the end of the recording of the media content event when the identified icon in the analyzed image frame corresponds to the predefined closing credits image of the icon.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the attribute in the analyzed image frame is text, the method further comprising:

comparing, by the media device, the text in the analyzed image frame with a plurality of predefined closing credits text, and wherein the corresponding predefined closing credits text is stored in a memory medium; and

determining whether the text in the analyzed image frame matches at least one of the plurality of predefined closing credits text,

wherein the end of the recording of the media content event is initiated when the text in the analyzed image frame corresponds to the one of the plurality of predefined closing credits text.

8. The method of claims 7,

wherein the text in the analyzed image frame comprises at least one word or phrase,

wherein the plurality of predefined closing credits text includes a plurality of predefined words or phrases,

wherein the predefined words and phrases include at least one of a name of a director, a name of an actor, a title of the media content event, a location and a keyword, and

wherein the end of the recording of the media content event is initiated when the at least one word or phrase of the text in the analyzed image frame corresponds to the one of the plurality of words or phrases of the predefined closing credits text.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the attribute in the analyzed image frame is text, the method further comprising:

determining, by the media device, a height of at least one character of the text in the analyzed image frame; and

comparing, by the media device, the height of the at least one character in the analyzed image frame with a predefined text character height;

wherein the end of the recording of the media content event is initiated when the determined height of the at least one character in the analyzed image frame is at least equal to the predefined text character height.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the attribute in the analyzed image frame is text, the method further comprising:

determining, by the media device, a number of characters of the text in the analyzed image frame; and

comparing, by the media device, the number of characters in the text in the analyzed image frame with a predefined number of text characters;

wherein the end of the recording of the media content event is initiated when the determined number of characters of the text in the analyzed image frame is at least equal to the predefined number of text characters.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the attribute in the analyzed image frame is text, the method further comprising:

determining, by the media device, a number of words in the text in the analyzed image frame; and

comparing, by the media device, the number of words in the analyzed image frame with a predefined number of words;

wherein the end of the recording of the media content event is initiated when the determined number of words of the text in the analyzed image frame is at least equal to the predefined number of words.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the attribute in the analyzed image frame is text, the method further comprising:

determining, by the media device, a first location of the text in a first analyzed image frame;

analyzing, by the media device, a second image frame to identify a second location of the text in the analyzed second image frame, wherein the second image frame is after the first image frame in the media content event;

determining a difference between the first location and the second location of the text, wherein the determined difference corresponds to a distance of movement of the text; and

comparing, by the media device, the difference between the distance of movement of the text with a predefined distance,

wherein the end of the recording of the media content event is initiated when the determined distance of movement of the text is at least equal to the predefined distance.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the attribute in the analyzed image frame is text, the method further comprising:

determining, by the media device, a first location of the text in a first analyzed image frame;

analyzing, by the media device, a second image frame to identify a second location of the text in the analyzed second image frame, wherein the second image frame is after the first image frame in the media content event;

determining a difference between the first location and the second location of the text, wherein the determined difference corresponds to a direction of movement of the text; and

comparing, by the media device, the direction of movement of the text with a predefined direction of movement;

wherein the end of the recording of the media content event is initiated when the determined direction of movement of the text is the same as the predefined direction of movement.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the attribute in the analyzed image frame is text, the method further comprising:

identifying, by the media device, a bounded region in the analyzed image frame that is in proximity to the text in the analyzed image frame; and

determining whether a color of the bounded region in the analyzed image frame corresponds to a solid colored background,

wherein the end of the recording of the media content event is initiated in response to determining that the color of the bounded region in the analyzed image frame is the solid colored background.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the attribute in the analyzed image frame is text, the method further comprising:

identifying, by the media device, a bounded region in the analyzed image frame that is proximity to the text in the analyzed image frame; and

determining whether the bounded region in the analyzed image frame comprises a solid color,

determining a color of the bounded region in response to determining that the bounded region is comprised of a solid color;

comparing the color of the bounded region with a plurality of predefined colors;

wherein the end of the recording of the media content event is initiated when the determined color of the bounded region is one of the plurality of predefined colors.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the predefined closing credits monitor time that is prior to the scheduled broadcast end time is defined by a predefined duration, wherein an end of the duration corresponds to the scheduled broadcast end time.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein initiating the end of the recording of the media content event occurs after the predefined duration, wherein a start time of the predefined duration begins after determining that the identified attribute in the analyzed image frame corresponds to the predefined closing credits attribute, and wherein an end time of the predefined duration is after the scheduled broadcast end time of the media content event being recorded.

19. A media device, comprising:

a memory medium that stores a recording of a media content event as the media content event is being received in a broadcasting media content stream by the media device;

a memory that stores at least a scheduled recording end time of the media content event and a closing credits database, wherein the closing credit database comprises a plurality of predefined closing credit attributes; and

a processor system that is communicatively coupled to the memory medium and the memory, wherein the processor system performs;

analyzing an image frame of the media content event to identify an attribute of the analyzed image frame, wherein the analyzing of the received image frame begins when time reaches a closing credits monitor time, wherein the closing credits monitor time is equal to the scheduled recording end time less a predefined duration;

comparing the identified attribute with the plurality of predefined closing credit attributes stored in the closing credits database;

determining that the identified attribute matches at least one of the plurality of predefined closing credit attributes; and

initiating an end of the recording of the media content event in response to determining that the identified attribute matches at least one of the plurality of predefined closing credit attributes.

20. The media device of claim 19, wherein the plurality of predefined closing credit attributes are predefined based on the closing credits of the media content event being recorded, wherein the media device further comprises:

a media content stream interface that receives a broadcast of the media content event that is being recorded and that receives electronic program guide (EPG) information,

wherein the EPG information includes a scheduled broadcast time of the media content event being recorded, a scheduled broadcast end time of the media content event being recorded, and a plurality of predefined closing credit attributes associated with the media content event being recorded, and

wherein the received EPG information is stored in the memory, and

wherein the processor further performs;

retrieving the predefined closing credit attributes of the media content event being recorded from the memory.

21. The media device of claim 19, wherein the plurality of predefined closing credit attributes are predefined based on the closing credits of the media content event being recorded, wherein the media device further comprises:

a communication system interface that communicatively couples the media device, via a communication network, to a remote electronic device having a remote closing credits database that stores the plurality of predefined closing credit attributes associated with the media content event being recorded,

wherein the media device communicates a request to receive the plurality of predefined closing credit attributes associated with the media content event being recorded, and

wherein the media device receives the plurality of predefined closing credit attributes associated with the media content event being recorded from the electronic device in response to communicating the request.

22. The media device of claim 19, wherein the predefined duration that defines the closing credits monitor time is a first duration, wherein the end of the recording of the media content event is initiated after a second duration, and wherein the second duration is different from the first duration.

23. The media device of claim 19,

wherein the attribute in the analyzed image frame is text that comprises at least one word or phrase,

wherein at least one the plurality of predefined closing credit attributes is text that includes a plurality of predefined words or phrases,

wherein the predefined words and phrases include at least one of a name of a director, a name of an actor, a title of the media content event, a location and a keyword,

wherein the end of the recording of the media content event is initiated when the at least one word or phrase of the text in the analyzed image frame corresponds to the one of the plurality of word or phrases of the predefined closing credits text.