VIDEO-ON-DEMAND CONTENT DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING VIDEO-ON-DEMAND SERVICES TO TV SERVICE SUBSCRIBERS

• US 20200137457A1
• Filed: 12/30/2019
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Broadband iTV, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Broadband iTV, Inc.
• Inventors: Perez, Milton Diaz
• Granted Patent: US 11,252,476 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2221 being a cable television head-end CATV in broadcast systems H04H20/78
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234309 by transcoding between formats or standards, e.g. from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 or from Quicktime to Realvideo conversion of standards in analog television systems H04N7/01
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2353 specifically adapted to content descriptors, e.g. coding, compressing or processing of metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2393 involving handling client requests scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2541 Rights Management protecting software against unauthorised usage in a vending or licensing environment G06F21/10; security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2547 Third Party Billing, e.g. billing of advertiser
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25858 involving client software characteristics, e.g. OS identifier
• 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 21/26225 involving billing parameters, e.g. priority for subscribers of premium services
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2743 Video hosting of uploaded data from client
• 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 21/4312 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 21/4383 Accessing a communication channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44222 Analytics of user selections, e.g. selection of programs or purchase activity monitoring of user selections in data processing systems G06F11/34; arrangements for monitoring the user's behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4627 Rights management associated to the content security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• 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 21/4821 : using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6118 : involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 : involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6175 : involving transmission via Internet broadcast-related systems characterised by the transmission system being the Internet H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 : IP
• 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

A video-on-demand (VOD) content delivery system has a VOD Application Server which manages a database of templates for presentation of video content elements of different selected types categorized in hierarchical order. A web-based Content Management System receives content uploaded online in file formats with metadata for title and topical area, and automatically converts it into video data format compatible with the VOD content delivery system indexed by title and topical area. A User Interface for the system delivers listings data to the viewer'"'"'s TV indexed by title and topical area specified by the uploaded metadata.

Claims

1. A content delivery platform for providing video-on-demand services to a plurality of TV service subscribers via a closed system, the content delivery platform comprising:

(a) a web-based content management system, comprising a first set of one or more computers and a first set of computer-readable memory operatively connected to the first set of one or more computers of the web-based content management system, wherein the web-based management system is configured to;

(i) receive, via the Internet, first metadata from a first video content provider device associated with a first video content provider, where the first metadata is associated with first video content in a first digital video format, wherein the first metadata includes first title information associated with a first title, first category information associated with the first title and first subcategory information associated with the first title, to specify a respective hierarchical location of the first title of the first video content within a video-on-demand content menu using the respective hierarchically-arranged the first category information, the first subcategory information, and the first title information, and

(ii) store the first metadata in a metadata database on a second set of computer-readable memory operatively connected to the web-based content management system;

(b) a video-on-demand application server operatively connected to the web-based content management system, comprising a second set of one or more computers and a third set of computer-readable memory, that obtains, from the metadata database of the web-based content management system, the first metadata;

wherein the video-on-demand application server is programmed to perform the steps of;

(i) in response to a request from a first set top box of a respective first TV subscriber, generating first video-on-demand content menu data comprising the first category information, the first subcategory information, and the first title information;

(ii) providing, to the first set top box operatively connected to first TV equipment of the respective first TV service subscriber, the first video-on-demand content menu data to generate in real time, a first templatized video-on-demand content menu based on a plurality of different display templates for navigating in a drill down manner through titles by the first category information, the first subcategory information, and the-first title information to locate the first title using the first title information;

wherein the first category information, the first subcategory information and the first title information are the same as designated by the content provider in order to locate the first title among a plurality of titles whose associated video content is desired for viewing on the respective TV equipment,

wherein the first templatized video-on-demand content menu is generated in real time in a plurality of layers comprising;

1. a first layer comprising a background screen to provide at least one of a basic color, logo, or graphical theme to display;

2. a second layer comprising a particular display template selected from the plurality of different display templates, wherein the particular display template comprises one or more reserved areas that are reserved for displaying video-on-demand content data provided by a a different layer of the plurality of layers; and

3. a third layer comprising reserved area content generated using the video-on-demand menu data, to be displayed in the one or more reserved areas of the particular display template, wherein the reserved area content comprises at least one of text, an image, a navigation link, and a button,

(iii) in response to the respective first TV service subscriber selecting, via a first control unit in communication with the first set top box, the first title associated with the first video content from the hierarchically-arranged video-on-demand content menu, sending instructions to the first set top box to obtain the first video content associated with the first title from a video server for display on the first TV equipment of the respective first TV service subscriber;

(iv) ingesting usage data for the respective TV service subscriber including data indicative of selections by the respective TV service subscriber for viewing the first video content and storing the usage data;

(v) in response to a second request from a first set top box of a respective first TV subscriber, generating second video-on-demand content menu data comprising second category information, second subcategory information, and second title information;

(vi) providing, to the first set top box operatively connected to first TV equipment of the respective first TV service subscriber, the second video-on-demand content menu data to generate in real time, a second templatized video-on-demand content menu for navigating in a drill down manner from a first template associated with the second category using the second category information and the second subcategory information, to a second template associated with the second subcategory using the second subcategory information and the second title information, to a third template associated with the second title using the second title information, wherein the second title is associated with second video content associated with a second video content provider;

wherein at least one of the second category information and the second subcategory information is based on the usage information in order to locate the second title among a plurality of titles whose associated video content is desired for viewing on the respective TV equipment

(vii) in response to the respective first TV service subscriber selecting, via a first control unit in communication with the first set top box, the second title associated with the second video content from the hierarchically-arranged video-on-demand content menu, sending instructions to the first set top box to obtain the second video content associated with the second title from the video server for display on the first TV equipment of the respective first TV service subscriber.

2. The content delivery platform of claim 1, wherein the control unit is a remote control unit.

3. The content delivery platform of claim 1, wherein the first metadata further comprises time information that specifies at least one of (i) when the first video content is scheduled to be available for viewing on the content delivery platform or (ii) when the first video content is scheduled to be removed from display on the content delivery platform.

4. The content delivery platform of claim 1, wherein the second category information is the first category information.

5. The content delivery platform of claim 1, wherein the second category information is different from the first category information.

6. The content delivery platform of claim 1, wherein the second subcategory information is the first subcategory information.

7. The content delivery platform of claim 1, wherein the second subcategory information is different from the first subcategory information.

8. The content delivery platform of claim 1, wherein the second title is different from the first title.

9. The content delivery platform of claim 1, wherein the second video content is different from the first video content and the second video content provider is different from the first video content provider.

10. The content delivery platform of claim 1, wherein the second video content is different from the first video content and the second video content provider is the first video content provider.