Content-on-demand interactive video method and apparatus

• US 5,634,849 A
• Filed: 04/12/1995
• Issued: 06/03/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nissim Corp.
• Original Assignee: Max Abecassis
• Inventors: Abecassis, Max
• Primary Examiner(s): Harrison, Jessica
• Assistant Examiner(s): SAGER, MARK ALAN
• Application Number:
  US08/420,586
• Time in Patent Office: 783 Days
• Field of Search: 463/1, 463/24, 463/29-31, 463/40, 463/43, 348/5.5-9, 348/12-13, 364/410, 358/310-311, 358/335, 358/342, 360/13, 360/25, 360/33.1, 380/5, 380/20, 380/23, 235/375
• US Class Current: 463/30
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/338 using television networks
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/47 involving branching, e.g. choosing one of several possible scenarios at a given point in time
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/63 by the player, e.g. authoring using a level editor
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/95 Storage media specially adapted for storing game information, e.g. video game cartridges
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/409 Data transfer via television network
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/63 for controlling the execution of the game in time
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/632 by branching, e.g. choosing one of several possible story developments at a given point in time
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/807 Role playing or strategy games
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/735 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/78 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/02 Control of operating function, e.g. switching from recording to reproducing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/022 Control panels
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/04 Arrangements for preventing, inhibiting, or warning against double recording on the same blank or against other recording or reproducing malfunctions
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/12 by sensing distinguishing features of or on records, e.g. diameter end mark
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2587 Laser Discs; Optical disc using analog recording
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• 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: G11B 7/14 : specially adapted to record on, or to reproduce from, more than one track simultaneously
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/37 : for identifying segments of broadcast information, e.g. scenes or extracting programme ID
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/46 : for recognising users' preferences
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/48 : for recognising items expressed in broadcast information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/59 : of video recognising characters or patterns in general G06F18/00, G06V20/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/65 : for using the result on users' side
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234318 : by decomposing into objects, e.g. MPEG-4 objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 : Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 : Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• 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 21/426 : Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 : Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• 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 21/4532 : 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 21/4542 : Blocking scenes or portions of the received content, e.g. censoring scenes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 : Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 : End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 : End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• 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 21/6543 : for forcing some client operations, e.g. recording remote booting in general G06F9/4416
• 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 21/8405 : represented by keywords
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 : by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/4448 : for frame-grabbing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 : on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 : by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17336 : Handling of requests in head-ends
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17354 : in an intermediate station common to a plurality of user terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8227 : the additional signal being at least another television signal

Abstract

A method and system for providing a player of a video game an automatically customized version of an interactive video game responsive to the player'"'"'s content preferences in at least one category of possibly unsuitable content. A content-on-demand interactive video game method principally comprises establishing a player'"'"'s content preferences responsive to at least one category of possibly unsuitable content; providing an interactive video game comprising gaming software, and a segment map defining, responsive to the at least one category of possibly unsuitable content, a plurality of content segments of the interactive video game; and automatically selecting, responsive to the gaming software, content segments from the plurality of content segments responsive to an application of the player'"'"'s content preferences to the segment map.

Claims

1. An interactive video game system comprising:

preferencing means for establishing a player'"'"'s content preferences responsive to at least one content category, said at least one content category including a violence category;

providing means for providing an interactive video game comprising gaming software and a segment map directly defining, responsive to said at least one content category, a plurality of video segments of said interactive video game wherein said plurality of video game segments comprises at least one parallel video segment;

processing means for automatically selecting video segments from said plurality of video segments responsive to said gaming software and an application of said player'"'"'s content preferences to said segment map; and

retrieving and buffering means for retrieving the selected video segments and for seamlessly skipping a retrieval of a non-selected video segment responsive to said gaming software.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying means for identifying video segments of said plurality of video segments responsive to said player'"'"'s content preferences;

determining means for allowing an editor to determine the suitability for said player of each of the identified video segments without a requirement for said editor to view a non-identified video segment; and

wherein said processing means is further responsive to the suitability determination.

3. An interactive video game system comprising:

preferencing means for establishing a player'"'"'s content preferences responsive to at least one content category, said at least one content category including a violence category;

providing means for providing an interactive video game comprising gaming software directly defining a plurality of content segments of said interactive video game responsive to said at least one content category wherein said plurality of content segments comprises at least one parallel content segment;

processing means for selecting content segments from said plurality of content segments responsive to an application of said player'"'"'s content preferences to said gaming software; and

retrieving and buffering means for retrieving the selected content segments and for seamlessly skipping a retrieval of a non-selected content segment responsive to said gaming software.

4. The system of claim 3, further comprising:

identifying means for identifying content segments of said interactive video game responsive to said player'"'"'s content preferences;

determining means for allowing an editor to determine the suitability for said player of each of the identified content segments without a requirement for said editor to view a non-identified content segment; and

wherein said processing means is further responsive to the suitability determination.

5. A method of playing an interactive video game comprising the steps of:

establishing a player'"'"'s content preferences responsive to at least one content category, said at least one content category including a violence category;

providing an interactive video game comprising gaming software, said gaming software directly defining, responsive to said at least one content category, a plurality of content segments of said interactive video game wherein said plurality of content segments comprises at least one parallel content segment;

automatically selecting content segments from said plurality of content segments responsive to an application of said player'"'"'s content preferences to said gaming software; and

retrieving the selected content segments and seamlessly skipping a retrieval of a non-selected content segment responsive to said gaming software.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

identifying content segments of said plurality of content segments responsive to said player'"'"'s content preferences;

allowing an editor to determine the suitability for said player of each of the identified content segments without a requirement for said editor to view a non-identified content segment; and

wherein said automatically selecting is further responsive to the suitability determination.