Customizing database information for presentation with media selections

• US 6,411,949 B1
• Filed: 08/12/1999
• Issued: 06/25/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Schaffer, J. David
• Primary Examiner(s): Breene, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): RAYYAN, SUSAN F
• Application Number:
  US09/372,959
• Time in Patent Office: 1,048 Days
• Field of Search: 705/10, 705/14, 705/26, 345/333, 345/307, 345/228, 345/335, 345/762, 345/723, 345/744, 707/2, 707/514, 707/500.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/40 of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data retrieval of still image data G06F16/50; retrieval of audio data G06F16/60; retrieval of video data G06F16/70
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/48 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• 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 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8133 specifically related to the content, e.g. biography of the actors in a movie, detailed information about an article seen in a video program
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing

Abstract

Enhanced content data is supplied in association with a media selection. The enhanced content data is customized responsive to a user profile. The uncustomized enhanced content is stored as a data structure having levels of nodes. Each node within a given level represents an alternative version of a shared enhanced content sub-topic. A processor chooses between nodes within the levels and assembles the chosen nodes to produce the customized enhanced content data.

Claims

1. A system for enhancing content of a media selection comprising:

at least one storage device arranged to maintain at least one user profile and enhanced content data related to the media selection; and

a processing device arranged to combine and supply the enhanced content data with the media selection responsive to the user profile,

wherein;

the user profile comprises a list of user features;

the enhanced content data is embodied in a plurality of data structures stored on the at least one storage device, at least one of the data structures having a plurality of nodes, each node comprising a respective piece of candidate enhanced content, at least first and second ones of the nodes in a single data structure representing alternative versions of a shared enhanced content topic; and

the processing device chooses between at least the first and second ones of the nodes responsive to the list of user features.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing device is arranged to supply the enhanced content data such that the enhanced content data comprises a plurality of subtopic content items, each subtopic content item resulting from a respective choice by the processor between nodes in a respective group of nodes, the nodes within each respective group representing alternative versions of a shared enhanced content subtopic.

3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one storage device comprises:

a rewritable local memory device for maintaining the user profile; and

a separate memory device for embodying the media selection and the enhanced content data.

4. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said system further comprises:

means for receiving the media selection and enhanced content data.

5. The system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the means for receiving comprises a network connection.

6. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the user profile includes a list of user features.

7. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the user profile includes values based on an intensity scale and associated with the list of user features.

8. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system is adapted to supply the media selection and content data to the user as a combined media selection.

9. A computer method for enhancing content of a media selection, the method comprising the steps:

accessing a user profile embodied on a storage device;

accessing enhanced content data embodied on a storage device and relevant to the media selection, the enhanced content data comprising a plurality of groups of respective content subtopic items, the respective content subtopic items within each group representing alternative versions of a shared enhanced content subtopic;

choosing at least one appropriate content subtopic item from at least one of the groups, responsive to the user profile;

assembling an enhanced content package responsive to the choosing; and

presenting the media selection combined with the enhanced content package to the user.

10. A system for customizing a media selection, said system comprising:

at least one storage device arranged to maintain at least one user profile, comprising a list of user features, and the media selection embodied in at least one data structure comprising a plurality of nodes, each node comprising a respective piece of candidate enhanced content, at least first and second ones of the nodes in a single data structure representing alternative versions of a shared topic; and

a processor arranged to choose between at least the first and second ones of the nodes responsive to the list of user features to assemble the media selection.

11. The system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the processor is arranged to supply the media selection such that media selection comprises a plurality of sub-topic content items, each sub-topic content item resulting from a respective choice by the processor between nodes in a respective group of nodes, the nodes within each respective group representing alternative versions of a shared content sub-topic.

12. A system for customizing a media selection, said system comprising:

at least one storage device arranged to maintain an embodiment of at least one user profile, and an embodiment of candidate items for the media selection comprising a plurality of respective groups of sub-topic content items, at least two of the groups comprising a plurality of respective sub-topic content items representing alternative versions of a shared content sub-topic corresponding to that group; and

a processor arranged to choose between sub-topic content items within the at least two groups, responsive to the user profile, and to assemble the media selection from the results of the choice.