System and methods for the automatic transmission of new, high affinity media

• US 7,206,775 B2
• Filed: 07/06/2001
• Issued: 04/17/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Kaiser, Rolf, Carreno, Michael J., Bassman, Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAM, HUNG Q
• Application Number:
  US09/900,230
• Publication Number:
  US 20020019858A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,111 Days
• Field of Search: 707/2, 707/3, 707/4, 707/5, 707/6, 707/7, 707/10, 707/104.1, 846/01
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/435 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/4387 by the use of playlists
• 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: G06F 16/634 Query by example, e.g. query by humming
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/637 Administration of user profiles, e.g. generation, initialization, adaptation or distribution
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/639 using playlists
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/68 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/683 using metadata automatically derived from the content
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99936 Pattern matching access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99937 Sorting
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A system and methods for the automatic transmission of new, high affinity media to a user are provided. In connection with a system that convergently merges perceptual and digital signal processing analysis of media entities for purposes of classifying the media entities, various means are provided to a user for automatically extracting media entities that represent a high (or low) affinity state/space for the user in connection with the generation of a high affinity playlist, channel or station. Techniques for providing a dynamic recommendation engine and techniques for rating media entities are also included are also included. Once a high affinity state/space is identified, the high affinity state/space may be persisted for the user from experience to experience.

Claims

1. A method for matching user musical preferences, comprising:

providing, from a user, a specific choice of user preferences in song content to a content provider;

mapping the provided specific choice of user preferences in a song analysis and matching system using a set of fundamental musical properties that captures user preferences in song content;

scanning a database using the song analysis and matching system to find other songs that have a similar mapping of musical properties; and

playing automatically to the user other songs that have a similar mapping of musical properties;

allowing the user to make decisions of the other songs;

accessing a historical record containing at least one decision the user has made; and

restarting the playing of a new song according to selecting said at least one decision in said historical record, wherein said playing of said new song results in re-capturing of musical properties of said new song;

automatically running said re-captured musical properties through said song analysis and matching system; and

returning a new play list of songs that correspond to said re-captured musical properties.

2. A one step song personalization process in accordance with the method of claim 1 in which the user requests a particular song which the user finds pleasing and the song analysis and matching system automatically plays a set of songs with similar fundamental musical properties as the requested song.

3. A limited musical property song personalization process in accordance with the method of claim 1 in which the user specifies the type of music preferred by defining a partial element of a song wherein the partial element is selected from a group of song elements including mood descriptors, tempo descriptors and weight descriptors.

4. A multi-level musical property song personalization process in accordance with the method of claim 1 in which the user specifies a plurality of analysis elements selected from a group of analysis elements including a partial element of a song, a song, an album, an artist and a genre.

5. A one step “

get more”

personalization process in accordance with the method of claim 1 in which the user while listening to a particular song transmits a “

get more”

command resulting in the musical properties of the currently playing song being captured by the analysis and matching system and automatically playing to the user other songs that have a similar mapping of musical properties as the currently playing song.

6. A one step “

get faster”

personalization process in accordance with the method of claim 1 in which for a given musical property, the user may indicate an affinity for music whose corresponding attribute lies more in a specified direction for the musical property.

7. A dynamically updated recommendation process in accordance with the method of claim 1 in which the user automatically receives recommendations that match trends detected by the song analysis and matching system.

8. A dynamically updated user profile in accordance with the method of claim 1 in which the song analysis and matching system determines a user profile based on the historical record of past decisions made by the user.

9. A one step personalized replay process in accordance with the method of claim 1 in which by accessing a historical record, the user can recover all previous decisions and can restart the playing of music by the analysis and matching system in accordance with previous preferences.