Processing program content material

• US 7,734,579 B2
• Filed: 02/08/2006
• Issued: 06/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/08/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Littlemore Technologies LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Cansler, James Jr., White, Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo; Tim T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Morrison; Jay A
• Application Number:
  US11/351,150
• Publication Number:
  US 20070186247A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,581 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/609
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8455 involving pointers to the content, e.g. pointers to the I-frames of the video stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/783 Adaptations for reproducing at a rate different from the recording rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17309 Transmission or handling of upstream communications

Abstract

A method and system to process program content material are described herein. A received data stream includes program content data associated with a particular program and includes index data corresponding to the program content data of the particular program. The index data includes one of a plurality of program format codes. A database determines a program format type of the particular program. The database includes the plurality of program format codes and includes a corresponding plurality of program format types, wherein each program format type is associated with a specific division of program content material. Chapter points of the particular program are determined based on the associated specific division of program content material of the program format type corresponding to the one of the plurality of program format codes of the index data.

Claims

1. A system to process video program content material of a program in which the video program content material is provided by an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) content provider, the system comprising:

a programmable hardware device comprising a set-top box associated with a digital video recorder;

a data stream associated with a particular television program and provided to the programmable hardware device, the data stream including program content data associated with the particular television program and including index data corresponding to the program content data of the particular television program, wherein the index data includes one of a plurality of program format codes; and

a database accessible by the device and including a look up table of the plurality of program format codes with a corresponding plurality of program format types, each program format type associated with a specific division of program content material, wherein the one of the plurality of program format codes is associated with a corresponding program format type of the plurality of program format types of the index data, wherein the database periodically updates to newer versions of the plurality of program format codes and the corresponding plurality of program format types via the IPTV content provider,

wherein the specific division of program content material includes chapter points segmenting the video program content material of the particular television program, and

wherein the chapter points are determined by using a computer program of the set top box and are inserted at a beginning of the particular television program and at an end of the particular television program, wherein the chapter points are inserted at a beginning of a commercial advertisement group and at an end of the commercial advertisement group.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the chapter points are inserted at a beginning of a segment of the particular television program and at an end of the segment.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein there are more than two segments for the particular television program.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the particular television program is selected from a television programming group of a drama, a movie, a situation comedy, a news program, a feature presentation, a special event, a sports program, and a variety show, wherein there is a program format type of the plurality of program format types associated with each member of the television programming group and with each time length of the particular television program.

5. A method to process video program content material in which the video program content material is provided by an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) content provider, the method comprising:

receiving a data stream from the IPTV content provider, the data stream including program content data associated with a particular television program and including index data corresponding to the program content data of the particular television program, wherein the index data includes one of a plurality of program format codes;

accessing a database to determine a program format type of the particular television program, the database including the plurality of program format codes and including a corresponding plurality of program format types, wherein each program format type is associated with a specific division of program content material;

determining, utilizing a set top box computer program, chapter points of the particular television program in response to the associated specific division of program content material of a program format type corresponding to the one of the plurality of program format codes; and

inserting the chapter points at a beginning of the particular television program, at an end of the particular television program, at a beginning of a commercial advertisement group, and at an end of the commercial advertisement group,

wherein the database is periodically updated with the plurality of program format codes and the corresponding plurality of program format types via the IPTV content provider.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising determining the program format type corresponding to the one of the plurality of program format codes.

7. The method of claim 5 further comprising using a blackframe method to determine the chapter points.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein the chapter points are inserted at a beginning of a segment of the particular television program and at an end of the segment.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein there are more than two segments for the particular television program.

10. The method of claim 5 wherein the particular television program is selected from a television programming group of a drama, a movie, a situation comedy, a news program, a feature presentation, a special event, a sports program, and a variety show, wherein there is a program format type of the plurality of program format types associated with each member of the television programming group and with each time length of the particular television program.