Apparatus and method for allowing rating level control of the viewing of a program

• US 6,115,057 A
• Filed: 08/22/1997
• Issued: 09/05/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Index Systems Incorporated (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Mankovitz, Roy J., Kwoh, Daniel S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kostak, Victor R.
• Application Number:
  US08/918,547
• Time in Patent Office: 1,110 Days
• Field of Search: 348/5.5, 348/7, 348/10, 348/734, 348/564, 348/563, 348/460, 348/12, 348/13, 348/1, 380/20, 455/3.1, 455/4.1, 455/4.2
• US Class Current: 725/28
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/48 for recognising items expressed in broadcast information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/65 for using the result on users' side
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4112 having fewer capabilities than the client, e.g. thin client having less processing power or no tuning capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42222 Additional components integrated in the remote control device, e.g. timer, speaker, sensors for detecting position, direction or movement of the remote control, microphone or battery charging device
• 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 21/4532 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 21/4542 Blocking scenes or portions of the received content, e.g. censoring scenes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• 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 21/488 Data services, e.g. news ticker systems specially adapted for using meteorological information in broadcast systems H04H60/71
• 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 5/7755 the recorder being connected to, or coupled with, the antenna of the television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/088 the inserted signal being digital
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0884 for the transmission of additional display-information, e.g. menu for programme or channel selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0887 for the transmission of programme or channel identifying signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309

Abstract

An apparatus is provided for allowing rating level control of the viewing of a program. The apparatus includes a device for entering a desired rating level for controlling the viewing of a program, a device for extracting rating data from a program video segment, the rating data indicating a rating level of the program video segment, and a device for extracting text data representative of the content of the program video segment from the program video segment. The apparatus includes a device for determining whether the extracted rating data indicates that the program video segment has an acceptable rating level for viewing with regard to the entered desired rating level and a device for blocking the playing of the program video segment if it is determined that the extracted rating data indicates that the program video segment has an unacceptable rating level for viewing with regard to the entered desired rating level. The apparatus further includes a device for substituting display of the extracted text data representative of the content of the program video segment for the blocked program video segment, if it is determined that the extracted rating data indicates that the program video segment has an unacceptable rating level for viewing with regard to the entered desired rating level.

Claims

1. An apparatus for exercising parental control over a television receiver comprising:

means for receiving a television signal containing a plurality of video scenes and textual data describing story lines of the respective video scenes;

means for separating the textual data from the video scenes;

a display monitor;

means for displaying the video scenes on the monitor;

a user input device; and

means responsive to the user input device for sequentially displaying the textual data describing the story lines on the monitor as a plurality of separate screens instead of the respective video scenes to apprise a user of the story lines of the video scenes.

2. A method for displaying on a monitor a textual description of user-blocked video scenes in a television program comprising the steps of:

receiving a television signal including a plurality of video scenes and a textual description of a story line of the scenes, wherein each video scene is associated with a parental control rating;

separating the parental control rating from a respective video scene;

displaying a first video scene on the monitor if the associated parental control rating of the first video scene does not match a user-defined blocking criterion;

blocking a second video scene from being displayed if the associated parental control rating of the second video scene matches the user-defined blocking criterion; and

sequentially displaying the textual description of the story line of the blocked second video scene as a plurality of separate screens on the monitor instead of the blocked second video scene.

3. The method of claim 2, in which the parental control rating of a respective video scene is inserted in the television signal at the beginning and the end of the respective video scene.

4. The method of claim 2, in which the parental control rating of a respective video scene is embedded in a vertical blanking interval of the television signal to mark the respective video scene.

5. The method of claim 2, in which the blocking criterion is matched when the parental control rating of a video scene exceeds a desired user rating.

6. The method of claim 2 further comprising the step of synthesizing an audio signal from the textual data to voice the textual data.

7. The method of claim 2 further comprising the step of displaying a third video scene on the monitor if the associated parental control rating of the third video scene does not match the user-defined blocking criterion.

13. The method of claim 2, in which the textual description of the story line changes in a same sequence as the story line occurs in the blocked video scene.

14. The method of claim 2, in which the textual description of the story line is a series of changing messages displayed sequentially in different screens in a same sequence as the story line occurs in the blocked video scene.

15. The method of claim 2, in which the textual description of the story line changes while the parental control rating does not change.

8. An apparatus for exercising access control over a video scene of a television program comprising:

a tuner for receiving a television signal including a plurality of video scenes and a textual description of a story line of the scenes, wherein each video scene is associated with a parental control rating;

a decoder for separating the parental control rating from a respective video scene;

a display monitor;

means for displaying a first video scene on the monitor if the associated parental control rating of the first video scene does not match a user-defined blocking criterion;

means for blocking a second video scene from being displayed if the associated parental control rating of the second video scene matches the user-defined blocking criterion; and

means for sequentially displaying the textual description of the story line of the blocked second video scene as a plurality of separate screens on the monitor instead of the blocked second video scene.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 further comprising a synthesizer to provide an audio signal from the textual data to voice the textual data.

16. The apparatus of claim 8, in which the textual description of the story line is a series of changing messages displayed sequentially in different screens in a same sequence as the story line occurs in the blocked video scene.

17. The apparatus of claim 8, in which the textual description of the story line changes while the parental control rating does not change.

10. A method for exercising access control over a video scene of a television program comprising the steps of:

telecasting a television signal including a plurality of video scenes and a textual description of a story line of the scenes, wherein each video scene is associated with a parental control rating;

intercepting the television signal at a television receiver;

displaying the video scenes included in the television signal at the receiver;

blocking a video scene from being displayed if the associated parental control rating of the video scene matches a user-defined blocking criterion; and

sequentially displaying the textual description of the story line of the blocked video scene as a plurality of separate screens on the monitor instead of the blocked video scene.

11. The method of claim 10 in which the parental control rating of a respective video scene is inserted in the television signal at the beginning and the end of the respective video scene.

12. The method of claim 10 in which the parental control rating of a respective video scene is embedded in a vertical blanking interval of the television signal to mark the respective video scene.