Method and apparatus for detecting and viewing similar programs within a video system

• US 7,254,829 B1
• Filed: 08/22/2005
• Issued: 08/07/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Brown, Jeffrey A., Finseth, Craig A., Hsiao, Philip E.
• Primary Examiner(s): BUI, KIEU OANH T
• Application Number:
  US11/209,967
• Time in Patent Office: 715 Days
• Field of Search: 725/38, 725/41, 725/56, 725/133, 725/141, 725/153, 348/563, 348/564, 348/569, 348/734
• US Class Current: 725/141
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4348 Demultiplexing of additional data and video streams
• 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 21/466 Learning process for intelligent management, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies services using the results of monitoring in broadcast systems H04H60/61
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4663 involving probabilistic networks, e.g. Bayesian networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4668 for recommending content, e.g. movies
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4826 using recommendation lists, e.g. of programs or channels sorted out according to their score
• 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 7/162 Authorising the user terminal, e.g. by paying; Registering the use of a subscription channel, e.g. billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

A device that detects and displays similar programs within a video system includes a memory, a display and a receiver that receives an input stream of television program content and electronic program guide data, wherein the program guide data includes a plurality of attributes characterizing television programs within the television program content. The receiver separates electronic program guide data from the input stream while the memory stores the electronic program guide data separated from the input stream. Upon receiving a first user request, a controller compares a first set of attributes relating to at least one television program within the television content with second sets of attributes relating to further television programs within the television program content to determine a correlation between the first television program and each of the further television programs. In this manner, the controller identifies the television programs that have attributes that are similar to the attributes of the first television program based on the correlation and displays indications of the television programs found to be similar.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving program guide data including first attribute information for a first television program and second attribute information for each of a plurality of second television programs;

determining a similarity score for each of the plurality of second television programs based on a comparison of the first and second attribute information, wherein each of the similarity scores is based on a weighted combination of attributes associated with the second attribute information that match attributes associated with the first attribute information; and

displaying an indication of at least one of the second television programs based on the similarity scores.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the indication includes displaying an explanation of a correlation between the first television program and the at least the one of the second television programs.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the similarity score comprises comparing a first plurality of attribute descriptors associated with the first attribute information to a second plurality of attribute descriptors associated with the second attribute information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the similarity score comprises assigning at least one weighted value to the first and second attribute information.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the similarity score comprises:

determining a count value associated with matches between a first plurality of attribute descriptors associated with the first attribute information and a second plurality of attribute descriptors associated with the second attribute information; and

multiplying the count value by a weighted value.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting a television program from the plurality of second television programs based on the similarity scores.