Apparatus and methods for broadcast monitoring

• US 7,640,560 B2
• Filed: 05/08/2006
• Issued: 12/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: TiVo Solutions Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Gotuit Media Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Goldhor, Richard, Goessling, Daniel, Logan, James D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Huynh, Son P
• Application Number:
  US11/429,722
• Publication Number:
  US 20060218579A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,331 Days
• Field of Search: 725 9- 11, 725/14, 725/32, 725/34, 725/35, 725/40, 725/46, 725 86- 93, 725/109, 725/110, 715/723
• US Class Current: 725/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/14 for monitoring programmes
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/28 Arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/38 Arrangements for distribution where lower stations, e.g. receivers, interact with the broadcast
• 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 21/26208 the scheduling operation being performed under constraints
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/088 the inserted signal being digital

Abstract

Disclosed herein are systems and methods for editing the content of a broadcast programming signal to provide a proprietary program signal that has been tailored to the preferences of an individual monitoring the broadcast programming signal. Accordingly, the systems and methods of the invention offer computer-integrated television monitoring.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a first station for;

receiving a broadcast programming signal;

generating, concurrently with receiving the broadcast programming signal, a plurality of first time stamps according to a first time reference;

indexing a plurality of locations in the broadcast programming signal using the plurality of first time stamps;

storing, in a memory buffer, the broadcast programming signal and the plurality of first time stamps;

receiving, from a second station, a plurality of marking signals, each of the marking signals comprising;

one or more of a plurality of second time stamps, the plurality of second time stamps being generated according to a second time reference and referencing the plurality of locations in the broadcast programming signal, the one or more of the plurality of second time stamps identifying one of a plurality of segments in the broadcast programming signal; and

information on the one of the plurality of the segments in the broadcast programming signal;

receiving a selection of one of the marking signals;

synchronizing the one or more of the plurality of second time stamps in the one of the marking signals to one or more of the plurality of first time stamps based on a difference between the first time reference and the second time reference;

determining the segment in the broadcast programming signal identified by the one or more of the plurality of second time stamps in the one of the marking signals by comparing the synchronized second time stamps with the plurality of the first time stamps; and

processing the segment in the broadcast programming signal based on the information in the one of the marking signals; and

the second station that is different than the first station for;

receiving the broadcast programming signal;

generating the plurality of marking signals; and

transmitting the plurality of marking signals to the first station.

2. The system of claim 1,

wherein the first station is further for delivering computer readable data that comprises program segment information associated with one or more of the marking signals and the program segments associated with the one or more marking signals.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the program segment information comprises a quality rating for the programming segments associated with the one or more marking signals.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the program segment information comprises feedback from prior users of the programming segments associated with the one or more marking signals.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the feedback comprises commentary supplied by prior users of the programming segments associated with the one or more marking signals.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the feedback is determined from selective jumping to and delivering of the programming segments associated with the one or more marking signals requested by the prior users.

7. The system of claim 2, wherein the first station is further for generating an access request for the computer readable data.

8. The system of claim 2, wherein the broadcast programming signal and the computer readable data are transmitted over a digital communications network and the broadcast programming signal comprises video content.

9. A method, comprising:

receiving, at a first station, a broadcast programming signal;

generating, at the first station and concurrently with receiving the broadcast programming signal, a plurality of first time stamps according to a first time reference;

indexing, at the first station, a plurality of locations in the broadcast programming signal using the plurality of first time stamps;

storing, at the first station and in a memory buffer, the broadcast programming signal and the plurality of first time stamps;

receiving, at a second station that is different than the first station, the broadcast programming signal;

generating, at the second station, a plurality of marking signals, each of the marking signals comprising;

one or more of a plurality of second time stamps, the plurality of second time stamps being generated according to a second time reference and referencing the plurality of locations in the broadcast programming signal, the one or more of the plurality of second time stamps identifying one of a plurality of segments in the broadcast programming signal; and

information on the one of the plurality of the segments in the broadcast programming signal;

receiving, at the first station and from the second station, the plurality of marking signals;

receiving, at the first station, a selection of one of the marking signals;

synchronizing, at the first station, the one or more of the plurality of second time stamps in the one of the marking signals to one or more of the plurality of first time stamps based on a difference between the first time reference and the second time reference;

determining, at the first station, the segment in the broadcast programming signal identified by the one or more of the plurality of second time stamps in the one of the marking signals by comparing the synchronized second time stamps with the plurality of the first time stamps; and

processing, at the first station, the segment in the broadcast programming signal based on the information in the one of the marking signals.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein one or more of the marking signal comprise computer readable data comprising program segment information corresponding to program segments within the broadcast programming signal.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the program segment information comprises feedback associated with operators of the first set of user devices.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising displaying, at the first station, the program segment information in a first portion of a monitor screen and the corresponding program segments in a second portion of the monitor screen.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

generating, at the second station, computer-readable data representative of a menu of the program segments; and

transmitting, at the second station to the first station, the computer-readable data.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the computer-readable data further comprises program segment information.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising halting, at the first station, playback of the broadcast programming signal during viewing of the program segment information.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising viewing, at the first station, the program segment information simultaneously with viewing the broadcast programming signal.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

generating, at the first station, a time remaining signal based on the program segment information and representative of the time remaining in a program segment or a total broadcast programming signal; and

displaying, at the first station, the time remaining in a program segment or total broadcast programming signal based on the time remaining signal.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving, at the second station, computer-readable data representative of viewer comments related to the broadcast programming signal; and

transmitting, at the second station to the first station, the computer-readable data representative of viewer comments.