Method and apparatus for navigating content in a personal video recorder

• US 7,522,816 B2
• Filed: 08/12/2004
• Issued: 04/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DIRECTV, LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Goodwin, Mark, Westerhoff, David, Bullwinkle, Richard, Briggs, Adam
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; Thai
• Assistant Examiner(s): DUNN, MISHAWN N
• Application Number:
  US10/918,721
• Publication Number:
  US 20050196153A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,713 Days
• Field of Search: 386/35, 386/40, 386/46, 386/95, 386/83, 386/124, 725/110, 725/131, 725/132, 725/139, 725/140, 725/151
• US Class Current: 386/291
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2516 Hard disks
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/28 by using information signals recorded by the same method as the main recording G11B27/22 takes precedence

Abstract

A method and system for navigating content in a personal video recorder (“PVR”) is disclosed. The PVR detects events, or dark frames, during recording of television content, and records the locations of the events. The PVR can use the recorded locations of the events by applying commercial grouping rules, contained in a logic that is accessible by a processing unit, to divide the recorded television program into scenes. In applying such commercial grouping rules, a group of back-to-back television commercials comprises a single scene. Such division allows a user to skip over an entire scene (e.g. an entire block of commercials) with the press of a single navigation button.

Claims

1. A personal video recorder (“

PVR”

) comprising;

a processing unit;

a first communication interface;

a second communication interface;

data storage;

recorded program data stored in the data storage, the recorded-program data defining a recording of a television program;

event data stored in the data storage, the event data defining a plurality of events, and for each event, a corresponding time;

index data stored in the data storage, the index data defining the corresponding time for each event and a key frame byte offset for each corresponding time; and

record/playback logic accessible by the processing unit (i) to determine whether an event has occurred, (ii) to divide recorded program data into scenes, (iii) in response to a command from a user at a point in time during a first scene to skip to a next scene, to determine whether the time between the point in time and the next scene is too great to meaningfully divide program content, and (iv) if the time between the point in time and the next scene is too great to meaningfully divide program content, to skip a pre-defined amount of time to a later location within the first scene;

wherein the PVR can receive a television signal via the first communication interface, and wherein the PVR can transmit the recorded signal via the second communication interface to at least one display for viewing by a user.

2. The PVR of claim 1 wherein an event occurs when a dark frame is detected by the PVR.

3. The PVR of claim 2 wherein a dark frame is defined by a majority of pixels having a luminescence below a threshold level.

4. The PVR of claim 3 wherein the majority of pixels is ninety percent.

5. The PVR of claim 1 wherein the record/playback logic is implemented at least one of hardware or software.

6. The PVR of claim 1 wherein the at least one display is at least one of a television, a monitor, a projector, or a handheld display device.

7. The PVR of claim 1 wherein dividing the recorded program data into scenes comprises the step of analyzing the time difference between a plurality of events.

8. The PVR of claim 1, wherein the time between the point and the next scene is too great to meaningfully divide program content if the time is greater than 19 minutes.

9. The PVR of claim 1, wherein the time between the point and the next scene is too great to meaningfully divide program content if the time is greater than 10 minutes.

10. The PVR of claim 1, wherein the pre-defined amount of time is in the range of 5 to 15 minutes.

11. The PVR of claim 1, wherein the record/playback logic is further operable, in response to skipping a pre-defined amount of time to a later location within the first scene, to display a skip icon to the user, wherein the skin icon indicates to the user that a skip of the pre-defined amount of time took place.

12. An entertainment system comprising:

a display; and

a personal video recorder (“

PVR”

) comprising;

a processing unit;

a first communication interface;

data storage;

recorded program data stored in the data storage, the recorded-program data defining a recording of a television program;

event data stored in the data storage, the event data defining a plurality of events, and for each event, a corresponding time;

index data stored in the data storage, the index data defining the corresponding time for each event and a key frame byte offset for each corresponding time; and

record/playback logic accessible by the processing unit (i) to determine whether an event has occurred, (ii) to divide recorded program data into scenes, (iii) in response to a command from a user at a point in time during a first scene to skip to a next scene, to determine whether the time between the point in time and the next scene is too great to meaningfully divide program content, and (iv) if the time between the point in time and the next scene is too great to meaningfully divide program content, to skip a pre-defined amount of time to a later location within the first scene;

wherein the PVR can receive a television signal via the first communication interface, and wherein the PVR can playback the recorded content on the display for viewing by the user.

13. The PVR of claim 12 wherein an event occurs when a dark frame is detected by the PVR.

14. The PVR of claim 13 wherein a dark frame is defined by a majority of pixels having a luminescence below a threshold level.

15. The PVR of claim 14 wherein the majority of pixels is ninety percent.

16. The PVR of claim 12 wherein the record/playback logic is implemented at least one of hardware or software.

17. The PVR of claim 12 wherein the display is at least one of a television, a monitor, a projector, or a handheld display device.

18. The PVR of claim 12 wherein dividing the recorded program data into scenes comprises the step of analyzing the time difference between a plurality of events.

19. A method of navigating content in a personal video recorder (“

PVR”

), the method comprising;

recording programming content;

determining when at least one event occurs during recording;

recording the occurrence of the at least one event;

playing back the recorded programming content in response to an instruction by a user;

dividing the recorded programming content into scenes based on the at least one recorded event; and

upon receiving a command from a user at a point in time during a first scene. skipping a pre-defined amount of time to a later location within the first scene, if the time between the point and the next scene is too great to meaningfully divide content.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein recording programming content occurs in response to a record input sent to the PVR by a user.

21. The method of claim 19 wherein determining when at least one event occurs comprises detecting a dark frame.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein a dark frame is defined by a majority of pixels having a luminescence below a threshold level.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the majority of pixels is ninety percent.

24. The method of claim 19 wherein dividing recorded programming content into scenes comprises applying commercial content grouping rules to the at least one recorded event.

25. The method of claim 19 wherein dividing recorded programming content into scenes based on the at least one recorded event comprises defining commercial advertisement scenes.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein commercial advertising scenes are defined by a plurality events occurring about thirty seconds from each other.

27. A personal video recorder (“

PVR”

) comprising;

a processing unit;

a first communication interface;

a second communication interface;

data storage;

recorded program data stored in the data storage. the recorded program data defining a recording of a television program;

event data stored in the data storage. the event data defining a plurality of events, and for each event, a corresponding time;

index data stored in the data storage, the index data defining the corresponding time for each event and a key frame byte offset for each corresponding time; and

record/playback logic accessible by the processing unit (i) to determine whether an event has occurred, (ii) to divide recorded program data into scenes. wherein at least one scene is a commercial block, (iii) in response to a command from a user to skip an increment of time, to determine whether skipping the increment of time would land within a commercial block, and (iv) if the skip of the increment of time would land within a commercial block, to skip to the next scene;

wherein the PVR can receive a television signal via the first communication interface, and wherein the PVR can transmit the recorded signal via the second communication interface to at least one display for viewing by a user.

28. The PVR of claim 27, wherein the increment of time is in a range of 30 seconds to 10 minutes.