System and method for recommending programming to television viewing communities

• US 7,895,625 B1
• Filed: 11/16/2004
• Issued: 02/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Time Warner Inc. (Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Time Warner Inc. (Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.)
• Inventors: Boccon-Gibod, Gilles, Bryan, David Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): Pendleton; Brian T
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEWIS, JONATHAN V
• Application Number:
  US10/990,223
• Time in Patent Office: 2,289 Days
• Field of Search: 725/86, 725/98
• US Class Current: 725/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/252 Processing of multiple end-users' preferences to derive collaborative data
• 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 21/4583 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 21/4661 Deriving a combined profile for a plurality of end-users of the same client, e.g. for family members within a home user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• 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 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4826 using recommendation lists, e.g. of programs or channels sorted out according to their score
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

Digital technology based consumer media devices have many desirable features, including the ability to easily find and watch television shows, and/or automatically record programs of interest. Disclosed is a system and method for allowing a group of television viewers to share program viewing information. This information, exchanged through various on-line community modalities (including Internet chat rooms, email, Internet Web Logs, and the like), can be used within a consumer media device, such as a Digital video Recorder to influence the decision process concerning which programs to record, buffer or view.

Claims

1. In a community of networked users, each user being associated with a respective consumer media device (CMD), wherein a first user is related through a chain of several intermediate users to a second user, the first and second users being separated by a degree of separation defined by the number of intermediate users in said chain between said first and second users, a method of presenting a program to the first user comprising:

receiving an electronic communication by the first user through the respective first CMD from the second user said communication including a recommendation from the second user, said first CMD having a program list listing programs to be viewed and/or recorded;

making a determination by said first CMD as to whether to present said program to said first user based on said degree of separation; and

updating said program list using said respective degree of separation.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of recording said program by a DVR.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic communication includes an e-mail sent by said second user through a respective second CMD.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic communication includes an e-mail sent by a peripheral e-mail client server connected to the respective CMD.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic communication includes a transmission of a program link posted on an electronic publishing site.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the electronic publishing site is a blog.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic communication includes a rating code.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising a list of CMDs with respective users for said first CMD, each CMD on said list having a respective degree of separation.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein said degree is incorporated into said list.

10. The method of claim 8 further comprising sending messages from said first CMD to CMDs on said list, receiving responses from said CMDs from said list and determining the degrees of separation based on said responses.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising incorporating in said messages a threshold for said degree of separation, wherein responses to messages between CMDs separated by at least said threshold are ignored.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising ignoring electronic signals from CMDs having a degree of separation exceeding a predetermined threshold.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein said degree of separation is one more than the number of intermediate users between any two respective users.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein said users are members of a buddy system with each user being a buddy of at least one other user.

15. A method for sharing a plurality of program links on a plurality of networked CMDs, said networked CMDs being associated with a corresponding group of users, any two user of said group being separated by a respective degree of separation defined by the number of intermediate users relating said users to each other, the method comprising:

publishing a list of program links on an electronic publishing site, each program link identifying a program to be broadcast;

downloading said list at one CMD as a local list; and

updating a program list at said CMD to include at least one program from said local list, said program list identifying programs to be viewed or recorded by said one CMD;

wherein said programs of said program list are graded based on recommendations from at least some of said users of said group and the respective degree of separation between said some of said users and the user of said one CMD.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the programming list is provided to one or more users who pay a fee.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein publication of program links occurs in a limited membership publishing site.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the limited membership publishing site is a chatroom open to members only.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein each program link is provided by a user selection.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the CMDs search a network to find published lists including recommendations from a user-specified person.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein each program link is provided by one or more experts.