Methods and apparatuses for video on demand (VOD) metadata organization

• US 8,073,862 B2
• Filed: 05/31/2005
• Issued: 12/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: CEVA Technologies, Inc. (CEVA Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Hillcrest Laboratories Incorporated (CEVA Incorporated)
• Inventors: Kamen, Yakov
• Primary Examiner(s): Vital, Pierre
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Loan T
• Application Number:
  US11/140,885
• Publication Number:
  US 20050278364A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,380 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/769
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2353 specifically adapted to content descriptors, e.g. coding, compressing or processing of metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26208 the scheduling operation being performed under constraints
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26283 for associating distribution time parameters to content, e.g. to generate electronic program guide data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26603 for automatically generating descriptors from content, e.g. when it is not made available by its provider, using content analysis techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A method and system for optimizing the transmission of VOD metadata is disclosed. VOD metadata can be filtered, processed and/or organized prior to being packetized for transmission to client devices. The filtering, processing and/or organization can, for example, be based on a time duration associated with VOD media items and/or by groups of information elements available within the sets of metadata.

Claims

1. A method for processing metadata associated with media items, comprising the steps of:

receiving a plurality of sets of metadata, each set of metadata having a plurality of information elements associated with a video on demand (VOD) media item, one of said plurality of information elements in each set of metadata being an end of an event demonstration period, wherein said end of said event demonstration period includes an individual end date up to which a VOD media item associated with a corresponding set of metadata is available for selection said VOD media item that is associated with said set of metadata being delivered to any client upon request, at any time prior to said end of said event demonstration period;

extracting subsets of the information elements from each of said sets of metadata, each subset including at least one information element corresponding to a same category of information wherein said extracted information elements include one of front data (F-data), back data (B-data) and dynamic data (D-data);

wherein F-data includes data that appears on higher level user interface screens, wherein B-data is more information about an event, wherein D-data includes information that can be changed without removing the event off of the list;

grouping said sets of metadata in different time classes depending on said end of said event demonstration period;

generating packets of metadata based on said grouping and the extracted subsets of information elements; and

loading said packets of metadata into a data carousel from which at least one of said packets is delivered to at least one client device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a user request from a user;

generating an optimization criterion based on said user request wherein said packets are generated using said optimization criterion.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

generating said packets using said extracted information elements, wherein said F-data corresponds to high level information that is initially requested by a user, said B-data corresponds to detailed information related to an event seen by said user in said high level information, and said D-data corresponds to information related to a price of each media item.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

forwarding said packets to the at least one client device.

11. The method of claim 2, wherein said optimization criterion specifies one or more categories of information for information elements among the plurality of information elements for each set of metadata, and

said generating of the packets includes filtering each set of metadata according to said optimization criterion.

5. A system for processing metadata associated with media items, the system comprising:

means for receiving a plurality of sets of metadata, each set of metadata having a plurality of information elements associated with a video on demand (VOD) media item, one of said plurality of information elements in each set of metadata being an end of an event demonstration period, wherein said end of said event demonstration period includes an individual end date up to which a VOD media item associated with a corresponding set of metadata is available for selection said VOD media item that is associated with said set of metadata being delivered to any client upon request, at any time prior to said end of said event demonstration period;

means for extracting subsets of the information elements from each of said sets of metadata, each subset including at least one information element corresponding to a same category of information wherein said extracted information elements include one of front data (F-data), back data (B-data) and dynamic data (D-data);

wherein F-data includes data that appears on higher level user interface screens, wherein B-data is more information about an event, wherein D-data includes information that can be changed without removing the event off of the list;

means for grouping said sets of metadata in different time classes depending on said end of said event demonstration period;

means for generating packets of metadata based on said grouping and using the extracted information elements; and

means for loading said packets of metadata into a data carousel from which at least one of said packets is delivered via a network to at least one client device.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein said end of said event demonstration period includes an individual end date up to which a VOD media item associated with a corresponding set of metadata is available for selection.

7. The system of claim 5, further comprising:

means for optimizing packets configured to receive a user request from a user and to generate the optimization criterion based on said user request, wherein said means for generating use said optimizing criterion to generate said packets.

8. The system of claim 5, further comprising:

mean for generating said packets using said extracted information elements, wherein said F-data corresponds to high level information that is initially requested by a user, said B-data corresponds to detailed information related to an event seen by said user in said high level information, and said D-data corresponds to information related to a price of each media item.

9. The system of claim 5, wherein said packets of metadata are forwarded to the at least one client device.

10. An apparatus for organizing VOD metadata associated with video on demand (VOD) media items, each VOD metadata having a plurality of information elements associated with a VOD media item, one of said plurality of information elements in each VOD metadata being an end of an event demonstration period, said VOD media item that is associated with said metadata being delivered to any client upon request, at any time prior to said end of said event demonstration period, the apparatus comprising:

an interface configured to receive the VOD metadata; and

a processing unit including at least one processor, and which operates as

(1) a filter configured to group a plurality of sets of metadata in a plurality of time classes based on an end of an event demonstration period; and

(2) a packet generator configured to extract subsets of information elements from each of the sets of metadata, each subset including at least one information element corresponding to a same category of information wherein the extracted information elements include one of front F-data, back B-data and dynamic D-data, and to generate packets of VOD metadata based on said time classes and the extracted subsets of information elements and to load said packets of VOD metadata into a data carousel from which at least one of said packets is delivered via a network to at least one client device;

wherein front data (F-data), back data (B-data) and dynamic data (D-data);

wherein F-data includes data that appears on higher level user interface screens, wherein B-data is more information about an event, wherein D-data includes information that can be changed without removing the event off of the list;

wherein the interface is further configured to receive users requests, and the processing unit is further configured to provide an optimization criterion based on said user requests, wherein said optimization criterion is used in generating said packets.