Video recording conflict management and user interface

• US 7,743,398 B2
• Filed: 08/13/2004
• Issued: 06/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: DeYonker, Aaron J., Taylor, Thomas H., Potrebic, Peter J., Fong, Jeffrey C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Beliveau; Scott
• Assistant Examiner(s): Huerta; Alexander Q
• Application Number:
  US10/918,847
• Publication Number:
  US 20060037047A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,139 Days
• Field of Search: 725 37- 39, 725 44- 46, 725/58, 386/83
• US Class Current: 725/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4583 Automatically resolving scheduling conflicts, e.g. when a recording by reservation has been programmed for two programs in the same time slot
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• 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 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 on discs or drums

Abstract

The present invention generally relates to conflict management resolution. Typically systems for resolving conflicts between television programs with coinciding broadcast schedules use preferences, a confusing and limited display, or a combination thereof. The present invention, on thee other hand, provides for determining time spans or time slices, that indicate the duration of the conflict, and uses these to determine the available recording options. These can then be displayed in a user friendly interface, that is easy to understand and simple to use. In addition, other example embodiments ensure that the various programs and/or available options are capable of being cycled through, regardless of preference settings.

Claims

1. In a entertainment system including a processor and system memory, the entertainment system also including a recording device configured to automatically record scheduled television programs and a plurality of tuners, a method implemented by the entertainment system for assisting a user in resolving multiple conflicts between desired recorded programs with coinciding broadcast times by presenting a full range of available recording options in an easily understandable user interface that gives the user more complete control over how conflicts are to be resolved, the method comprising acts of:

receiving a request to record a program during a future time span;

the processor identifying that a recording conflict exists, wherein there is a plurality of tuners, between the request to record the program and a first other program, and a third other program previously scheduled for recording at a coinciding broadcast time, based on the number of programs requested for recording exceeding the number of tuners in the plurality of tuners;

identifying a first time span for which the recording conflict exists based on scheduled broadcast time information for the program, the first other program, and the third other program, the broadcast time of the first program confined to the first time span, a portion of broadcast time for the program and the third program extending chronologically after the first time span;

identifying that a second recording conflict exists between the request to record the program and a second other program and the third other program scheduled for recording at a coinciding broadcast time, based on the number of programs requested for recording exceeding the number of tuners in the plurality of tuners;

identifying a second time span, for which the second recording conflict exists based on scheduled broadcast time information for the program, the second other program, and the third other program, the second time span chronologically after the first time span, the broadcast time of the second program confined to the second time span, a portion of broadcast time for the program and the third program extending chronologically before the second time span;

based on the identified first and second time spans, determining a full range of available recording options that will resolve the first and second recording conflicts, wherein the full range of available recording options includes at least one available recording option that selects for recording only a portion of at least one of the program, the first other program, the second other program, and the third other program;

in response to identifying the first and second recording conflicts in the first and second identified time spans, displaying the full range of available recording options, which will resolve the first and second recording conflicts, in a user interface for allowing a user to select one or more desired programs to record, the available recording options including the at least one recording option that selects for recording only a portion of at least one of the program, the first other program, the second other program, and the third other program;

receiving manual user input deselecting the first other program for recording;

in response to receiving, via the user interface, the manual user input deselecting the first other program for recording, automatically performing each of the following;

deselecting the first other program for recording to resolve the first recording conflict;

referring to a conflict resolution preference to determine that the second program is to be deselected for recording to resolve the second recording conflict, based on the deselecting of the first other program to resolve the first recording conflict; and

deselecting the second other program for recording to resolve the second recording conflict in response to the determination such that both the first and second conflicts are resolved in response to the user input deselecting the first other program; and

updating the display of the full range of available recording options in the user interface to indicate that, based on the manual user input deselecting the first other program, the second program was automatically deselected, wherein, after the deselection of the first other program and the deselection of the second other program, the first other program and the second other program remain displayed for future reselection in the user interface.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the available recording options are displayed in a grid-like fashion as rows and columns, wherein one or more of the rows correspond to a number of available tuners and the columns correspond to identified time spans for one or more conflicts.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more programs enabled for recording are identified by one or more of a highlighting, selected radio button or a marked check box.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein one or more programs disabled for recording are identified by one or more of an unselected radio button or no mark in a check box.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the available recording options are presented as a list.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more conflicting programs have alternative broadcasting schedules, and wherein the act of displaying further includes the alternative broadcasting schedules.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the available recording options are further based on the alternative broadcasting schedules.

8. The method of claim 6, further including acts of:

receiving user input selecting the alternative broadcasting schedules; and

automatically resolving the conflict based on the user input.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interface indicates an initial recording state of the available recording options, which indicates those programs that are currently enabled to be recorded, and wherein the initial recording state of each of the available recording options are based on priorities for recording programs, and wherein the priorities are based on one or more of a percentage of desired program recordings, a ranking of desired program recordings, an order for which the programs where selected for recording, genre of the content for the programs, whether the programs are repeatedly recorded, or whether there are alternative broadcast schedules for the programs.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that one or more alternative airings exist for one or more of the conflicting programs;

determining that the one or more alternative airings resolve the first and second recording conflicts, and that all conflicting programs may be recorded during the first time span, during the second time span, and during the one or more later time spans; and

wherein displaying the available recording options in the user interface further comprises simultaneously displaying;

the available recording options that resolve the first and second recording conflicts, the display enabling a user to select one or more programs enabled for recording and one or more programs disabled for recording;

at least one of the one or more alternative airings and that will resolve the first and second recording conflicts; and

an option which, when selected, automatically resolves the first and second recording conflicts in accordance with the displayed one or more alternative airings by scheduling the conflicting programs to be recorded during the first time span, during the second time span, and during the one or more later time spans.

11. In a entertainment system including a processor and system memory, the entertainment system also including a recording device configured to automatically record scheduled television programs and a plurality of tuners, a method implemented by the entertainment system for assisting a user in resolving multiple conflicts between desired recorded programs with coinciding broadcast times by presenting a full range of available recording options in an easily understandable user interface that gives the user more complete control over how conflicts are to be resolved, the method comprising:

an act of receiving a request to record a program during a future time span;

an act of identifying that a recording conflict exists, wherein there is a plurality of tuners, between the request to record the program and a first other program, and a third other program previously scheduled for recording at a coinciding broadcast time, based on the number of programs requested for recording exceeding the number of tuners in the plurality of tuners;

identifying a first time span for which the recording conflict exists based on scheduled broadcast time information for the program, the first other program, and the third other program, the broadcast time of the first program confined to the first time span, a portion of broadcast time for the program and the third program extending chronologically after the first time span;

identifying that a second recording conflict exists between the request to record the program and a second other program and the third other program scheduled for recording at a coinciding broadcast time, based on the number of programs requested for recording exceeding the number of tuners in the plurality of tuners;

identifying a second time span, for which the second recording conflict exists based on scheduled broadcast time information for the program, the second other program, and the third other program, the second time span chronologically after the first time span, the broadcast time of the second program confined to the second time span, a portion of broadcast time for the program and the third program extending chronologically before the second time span;

in response to identifying the first and second recording conflicts in the first and second identified time spans, a step for, in a user interface, presenting a user with a full range of available recording options that will resolve the recording conflicts in the first and second identified time spans, the available recording options including at least one recording option that selects for recording only a portion of at least one of the program, the first other program, the second other program, and the third other program;

receiving manual user input deselecting the first other program for recording;

in response to receiving, via the user interface, the manual user input deselecting the first other program for recording, automatically performing each of the following;

deselecting the first other program for recording to resolve the first recording conflict;

referring to a conflict resolution preference to determine that the second program is to be deselected for recording to resolve the second recording conflict, based on the deselecting of the first other program to resolve the first recording conflict; and

deselecting the second other program for recording to resolve the second recording conflict in response to the determination such that both the first and second conflicts are resolved in response to the user input deselecting the first other program; and

updating the full range of available recording options presented in the user interface to indicate, based on the manual user input deselecting the first other program, that the second program was automatically deselected, wherein, after the deselection of the first other program and the deselection of the second other program, the first other program and the second other program remain displayed for future reselection in the user interface.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the available recording options are displayed in a grid-like fashion as rows and columns, wherein one or more of the rows correspond to the number of available tuners and the columns correspond to identified time spans for one or more conflicts.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein at least one of the rows includes more than one program in conflict.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein a single user input is received that selects the at least one row that includes more than one program in conflict.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the available recording options are presented as a list.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the available recording options are displayed on separate user interfaces, and the user is prompted to indicate if they desire a current presented option.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein one or more conflicting programs have alternative broadcasting schedules, which are displayed to the user.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the available recording options are further based on the alternative broadcasting schedules.

19. The method of claim 17, further including acts of:

receiving user input selecting the alternative broadcasting schedules; and

automatically resolving the conflict based on the user input.

20. A computer program product for use in a entertainment system that includes a recording device configured to automatically record scheduled television programs and a plurality of tuners, the computer program product for implementing a method of assisting a user in resolving multiple conflicts between desired recorded programs with coinciding broadcast times by presenting a full range of available recording options in an easily understandable user interface that gives the user more complete control over how conflicts are to be resolved, the computer program product comprising one or more computer storage media having stored thereon computer executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the distributed computing system to perform the following:

receive a request to record a program during a future time span;

identify that a recording conflict exists, wherein there is a plurality of tuners, between the request to record the program and a first other program and a third other program previously scheduled for recording at a coinciding broadcast time, based on the number of programs requested for recording exceeding the number of tuners in the plurality of tuners;

identify a first time span for which the recording conflict exists based on scheduled broadcast time information for the program the first other program, and the third other program, the broadcast time of the first program confined to the first time span, a portion of the broadcast time for the program and the third program extending chronologically after the first time span;

identify that a second recording conflict exists between the request to record the program and a second other program and the third other program scheduled for recording at a coinciding broadcast time, based on the number of programs requested for recording exceeding the number of tuners in the plurality of tuners;

identify a second time span, for which the second recording conflict exists based on scheduled broadcast time information for the program, the second other program, and the third other program, the second time span chronologically after the first time span, the broadcast time of the second program confined to the second time span, a portion of broadcast time for the program and the third program extending chronologically before the second time span;

based on the identified first and second time spans, determine a full range of available recording options that will resolve the first and second recording conflicts, wherein the full range of available recording options includes at least one available recording option that selects for recording only a portion of at least one of the program, the first other program, the second other program, and the third other program;

in response to identifying the first and second recording conflicts in the first and second identified time spans, display the full range of available recording options, which will resolve the first and second recording conflicts, in a user interface for allowing a user to select one or more desired programs to record, the available recording options including the at least one recording option that selects for recording only a portion of at least one of the program, the first other program, the second other program, and the third other program;

receive manual user input deselecting the first other program for recording; and

in response to receiving, via the user interface, the manual user input deselecting the first other program for recording, perform each of the following;

deselect the first other program for recording to resolve the first recording conflict;

refer to a conflict resolution preference to determine that the second program is to be deselected for recording to resolve the second recording conflict, based on the deselecting of the first other program to resolve the first recording conflict;

deselect the second other program for recording to resolve the second recording conflict in response to the determination such that both the first and second conflicts are resolved in response to the user input deselecting the first other program; and

update the display of the full range of available recording options in the user interface to indicate, based on the manual user input deselecting the first other program, that the second program was automatically deselected, wherein, after the deselection of the first other program and the deselection of the second other program, the first other program and the second other program remain displayed for future reselection in the user interface.

21. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein the available recording options are displayed in a grid-like fashion as rows and columns, wherein one or more of the rows correspond to a number of available tuners and the columns correspond to identified time spans for one or more conflicts.

22. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein at least one of the rows includes more than one program in conflict.

23. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein a single user input is received that selects the at least one row that includes more than one program in conflict.

24. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein one or more programs enabled for recording are identified by one or more of a highlighting, selected radio button or a marked check box.

25. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein one or more programs disabled for recording are identified by one or more of an unselected radio button or no mark in a check box.

26. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein the available recording options are presented as a list.

27. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein the available recording options are displayed in separate user interfaces, and the user is prompted to indicate if they desire a current presented option.

28. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein one or more conflicting programs have alternative broadcasting schedules, and wherein the act of displaying further includes the alternative broadcasting schedules.

29. The computer program product of claim 28, further including computer executable instructions that:

receive user input selecting the alternative broadcasting schedules; and

automatically resolve the conflict based on the user input.