Method of enhancing media content and a media enhancement system

• US 8,046,813 B2
• Filed: 03/03/2009
• Issued: 10/25/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Rovi Technologies Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Portulim Foundation LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Rothschild, Leigh M.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN BA, HOANG VU A
• Application Number:
  US12/380,701
• Publication Number:
  US 20090172744A1
• Time in Patent Office: 966 Days
• Field of Search: 725/60, 725/112, 725/113, 715/719, 348/513
• US Class Current: 725/113
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42646 for reading from or writing on a non-volatile solid state storage medium, e.g. DVD, CD-ROM
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4325 by playing back content from the storage medium reproduction of recorded television signals H04N5/76; reproduction of recorded television signals H04N9/79
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/434 Disassembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. demultiplexing audio and video streams, extraction of additional data from a video stream; Remultiplexing of multiplex streams; Extraction or processing of SI; Disassembling of packetised elementary stream demultiplexing of data packets for data networks, e.g. RTP/UDP H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4725 using interactive regions of the image, e.g. hot spots details of information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47815 Electronic shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6587 Control parameters, e.g. trick play commands, viewpoint selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8133 specifically related to the content, e.g. biography of the actors in a movie, detailed information about an article seen in a video program
• 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 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape

Abstract

A media enhancement system and method, the system including a media player structured to deliver a media selection to a user and an enhancement registry associated with the media selection and including time data and/or other data associated with the media selection and a communicative link to additional materials. A user interface is further provided and operatively associated with the media player to receive a user input during delivery of the media selection by the media player, the media player further structured to identify a corresponding time marker of the media selection at a time that corresponds receipt of the user input. Finally, an activation assembly is provided to access the enhancement registry and to correspondingly activate the communicative link for delivery of the additional materials to the user.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

generating, with a remote server, an enhancement registry for a media selection, wherein the enhancement registry includes time data associated with corresponding time points during playback of the media selection, frame location data associated with specific locations of frames of the media selection, and at least one communicative link to additional materials, wherein each of the at least one communicative link is associated with distinct time data and frame location data of the media selection;

receiving a selection via an interface of a media player used to play the media selection;

identifying, by an activation assembly stored on a storage medium and executed by a processor, a time of receipt of the selection and a location marker of the media selection that corresponds to the selection;

correlating, by the activation assembly, the identified time of receipt with the time data and the identified location marker with the frame location data to identify a communicative link associated with the selection; and

activating, by the activation assembly, the communicative link in response to the selection.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising retrieving, by the activation assembly, the additional materials to be provided to a user.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the additional materials include information materials.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the additional materials include e-commerce materials.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the e-commerce materials are structured to facilitate a purchase of products or services.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the additional materials over-ride delivery of the media selection.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising stopping playback of the media selection, by the activation assembly, before activating the communicative link.

8. A system comprising:

a media player stored on a first storage medium, wherein the media player, if executed by a first processor, is configured to deliver a media selection;

an enhancement registry stored on a second storage medium and associated with the media selection, wherein the enhancement registry includes time data associated with corresponding time points during playback of the media selection, frame location data associated with specific locations of frames of the media selection, and at least one communicative link to additional materials, wherein each of the at least one communicative link is associated with distinct time data and frame location data of the media selection;

an interface operatively associated with the media player and configured to receive a selection during delivery of the media selection by the media player, wherein the interface is also configured to identify a time marker associated with the media selection and corresponding to a time of receipt of the selection and to identify a location marker of the media selection; and

an activation assembly stored on a third storage medium and executed by a second processor, wherein the activation assembly is configured to correlate the time marker with the time data and the location marker with the frame location data to identify one of the at least one communicative link, wherein the activation assembly is also configured to activate the identified communicative link for delivery of the additional materials in response to the selection.

9. The system recited in claim 8, further comprising a remote network, wherein the additional materials are accessible from the remote network.

10. The system recited in claim 8, wherein the enhancement registry is stored remotely from the media player.

11. The system recited in claim 8, wherein the media player is configured to communicate the time marker and the location marker to a remote server, and wherein the remote server includes the activation assembly.

12. The system recited in claim 11, wherein the at least one communicative link is maintained by the remote server.

13. The system recited in claim 8, wherein the additional materials are configured to be selectively delivered.

14. The system recited in claim 8, wherein the additional materials include informational material.

15. The system recited in claim 8, wherein the additional materials include e-commerce materials.

16. The system recited in claim 15, wherein the e-commerce materials are structured to facilitate a remote purchase.

17. The system recited in claim 8, wherein the enhancement registry is stored on the media player.

18. The system recited in claim 8, wherein the additional materials are stored on the media player.

19. The system recited in claim 8, wherein the first storage medium, the second storage medium, and the third storage medium comprise the same storage medium.

20. The system recited in claim 8, wherein the first processor and the second processor comprise the same processor.

21. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions comprising:

instructions for storing, an enhancement registry for a media selection, wherein the enhancement registry includes time data associated with corresponding time points during playback of the media selection, frame location data associated with specific locations of framse of the media selection, and at least one communicative link to additional materials, wherein each of the at least one communicative link is associated with distinct time data and frame location data of the media selection;

instructions for processing a selection received from an interface of a media player, wherein the selection includes an identifier of the media selection, a time marker corresponding to a time of receipt of the selection and a location marker of the media selection that corresponds to the selection;

instructions for correlating the time marker with the time data and the location marker with the frame location data to identify a communicative link; and

instructions for activating, the identified communicative link in response to the selection.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21, further comprising instructions for retrieving the additional materials.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium tangible computer-readable medium of claim 22, wherein the additional materials include information materials.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 22, wherein the additional materials include e-commerce materials.

25. A system comprising:

means for storing an enhancement registry that is associated with a media selection, wherein the enhancement registry includes time data associated with time points during playback of the media selection, frame location data associated with specific locations of the media selection, and at least one communicative link to additional materials, wherein each of the at least one communicative link is associated with distinct time data and frame location data; and

means for processing a selection received through an interface of a media player, wherein the selection includes an identifier identifying the media selection, a time marker identifying a time of receipt of the selection, and a location marker of the media selection that corresponds to the selection; and

means for correlating the time marker with the time data and the location marker with the frame location data to identify one of the at least one communicative link and to activate the identified communicative link for delivery of the additional materials.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the additional materials include information materials.

27. The system of claim 25, wherein the additional materials include e-commerce materials.

28. The system of claim 25, wherein the media selection is contained on a media storage medium disposed in the media player.

29. The system of claim 25, further comprising means for delivering the media selection from a remote transmission source.

30. The system recited in claim 25, further comprising means for generating the enhancement registry.

31. The system recited in claim 25, wherein the additional materials are stored on the media player.

32. The system recited in claim 25, wherein the additional materials are stored on a server.