Interactive television system

• US 7,444,665 B2
• Filed: 01/03/2002
• Issued: 10/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Siemens Networks GmbH & Company KG (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Vogel, Derek K., Cezeaux, Thomas Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): Lonsberry, Hunter B.
• Application Number:
  US10/039,292
• Publication Number:
  US 20020108111A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,490 Days
• Field of Search: 725/86, 725/87, 725 91- 93, 725/112, 725/136
• US Class Current: 725/112
• 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 21/42228 the reprogrammable keys being displayed on a display screen in order to reduce the number of keys on the remote control device itself
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• 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 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• 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 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8586 by using a URL processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94; information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; URL in broadcast information H04H20/93; Web-based protocols H04L67/02

Abstract

An interactive television system is described.

Claims

1. A method in a video server for modifying video to be sent to a user on-demand, the method comprising:

receiving from the user a request to send the video to the user;

retrieving profile information for the user, the profile information updated responsive to previous purchases of the user, the profile information comprising user specified filtering criteria, the user specified filtering criteria adapted to cause an interactive program guide to be displayed with user-identified information filtered out;

based at least in part on input from the user, dynamically and individually for the user modifying the video by adding ATVEF information to the video based on the retrieved profile information of the user and the previous purchases of the user and the user'"'"'s probable future purchases in view of his previous purchases; and

transmitting the modified video to the user.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the modifying includes evaluating rules to determine whether the video should be modified.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the video is an on-demand movie.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the modifying occurs dynamically as the movie is being transmitted to the user.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the video includes frames and the modifying occurs dynamically on a frame-by-frame basis.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the ATVEF information relates to purchasing an item that is related to the video to be transmitted.

7. The method of claim 1 including wherein the modifying is automatic, the modifying based on an automatic analysis of closed caption information relating to the video.

8. A method in a content server for enhancing content being broadcast, the method comprising:

receiving the broadcasted content;

retrieving profile information related to a destination to which the received content is to be transmitted, the profile information updated responsive to previous user purchases, the profile information comprising user specified filtering criteria, the user specified filtering criteria adapted to cause an interactive program guide to be displayed with user-identified information filtered out;

adding ATVEF information to the received content based on the retrieved profile information, input from the user, the previous user purchases, and probable future purchases in view of previous purchases; and

transmitting the received content with the added ATVEF information to the destination.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the adding of ATVEF information includes modifying ATVEF information included in the received content.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the adding of ATVEF information includes adding ATVEF to content that does not include ATVEF information as broadcasted.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein the added ATVEF information is based on an automatic analysis of closed caption information.

12. The method of claim 8 wherein the received content includes frames and the ATVEF information is added on a frame-by-frame basis.

13. A method in a video server for modifying video to be sent to a user on-demand the method comprising:

receiving from the user a request to send the video to the user;

retrieving profile information for the user, the profile information updated responsive to previous purchases of the user;

dynamically and individually for the user adding interactive content information to the video based upon the profile information, input from the user, the previous purchases of the user, and the user'"'"'s probable future purchases in view of his previous purchases, the profile information comprising user specified filtering criteria, the user specified filtering criteria adapted to cause an interactive program guide to be displayed with user-identified information filtered out; and

transmitting the video with the added interactive content information to the user.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising evaluating rules to determine whether interactive content should be added to the video.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein the video is an on-demand movie.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein the video includes frames and the adding occurs on a frame-by-frame basis.

17. The method of claim 13 wherein the interactive content information is ATVEF information.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the ATVEF information relates to purchasing an item that is related to the video being transmitted.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein the ATVEF information relates to descriptive information regarding the video.

20. The method of claim 13 including wherein the adding is automatic, the adding based on an automatic analysis of closed caption information relating to the video.