Method and apparatus to determine broadcast content and scheduling in a broadcast system

• US 8,108,542 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2010
• Issued: 01/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Connelly, Jay H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Blair, Douglas
• Application Number:
  US12/975,027
• Publication Number:
  US 20110093475A1
• Time in Patent Office: 406 Days
• Field of Search: 709/231, 725/9
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26258 for generating a list of items to be played back in a given order, e.g. playlist, or scheduling item distribution according to such list retrieval of multimedia data based on playlists G06F16/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2668 Creating a channel for a dedicated end-user group, e.g. insertion of targeted commercials based on end-user profiles information retrieval from the Internet by querying with filtering and personalisation G06F16/9535; arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast H04H20/10; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/063
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• 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 21/6582 Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38
• 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

A broadcast system, method and apparatus providing content on demand. In one embodiment, the disclosed broadcast system includes a server that broadcasts meta-data to a plurality of clients. The meta-data describes a plurality of data files that are to be broadcast or potentially broadcast later by the server. Each client receives the broadcasted meta-data from the server and updates and maintains a local meta-data table and a content rating table. Based on the meta-data, previous access habits of the user and optional user classifications, the client system selectively receives and/or stores the data files that are later broadcast by the server. In one embodiment, the client systems transmit back to the server ratings of each one of the data files described by the meta-data based on the user'"'"'s previously accessed data files and optional user classifications. The server then determines the data files to be broadcast and the broadcast schedule based on the ratings received from the clients.

Claims

1. A method performed by one or more computer systems coupled to a network, the method comprising:

receiving feedback from one or more client systems, the feedback relating to one or more files;

adjusting ratings of the one or more files based in part on the received feedback as well as on one or more relevance values and one or more believability factors;

automatically providing predicted information based on the adjusted ratings to a client system for display independent of a request from a user of the client system, wherein the predicted information comprises information that may be of interest to the user; and

providing accessibility to each data file in a set of data files associated with the predicted information, the set of data files transmittable from computers other than the one or more computer systems coupled to a network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the predicted information includes descriptions of each data file in the set of data files associated with the predicted information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the predicted information comprises titles of each data file in the set of data files associated with the predicted information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more files and the set of data files comprise one or more of video, audio, image, and text.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the providing predicted information is based on selecting files having higher ratings based on the adjusted ratings.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising combining ratings from multiple client systems to generate overall ratings list of the one or more files.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more relevance values comprise indicators of predictability of one or more users'"'"' file selection behavior, and wherein the one or more believability factors comprise weighting factors for the relevance values.

8. A method performed by one or more computer systems coupled to a network, the method comprising:

receiving feedback from one or more client systems, the feedback relating to one or more files;

adjusting ratings of the one or more files based in part on the received feedback as well as on predictability of one or more users'"'"' file selection behavior and weighting factors for the predictability;

automatically providing predicted information based on the adjusted ratings to a client system for display independent of a request from a user of the client system, wherein the predicted information comprises information that may be of interest to the user; and

providing accessibility to each data file in a set of data files associated with the predicted information, the set of data files transmittable from computers other than the one or more computer systems coupled to a network.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the predicted information includes descriptions of each data file in the set of data files associated with the predicted information.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the predicted information comprises titles of each data file in the set of data files associated with the predicted information.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the one or more files and the set of data files comprise one or more of video, audio, an image, and text.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the providing predicted information is based on selecting files having higher ratings based on the adjusted ratings.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising combining ratings from multiple client systems to generate an overall ratings list of the one or more files.

14. A computer system comprising:

one or more processors configured to;

receive feedback from one or more client systems, the feedback relating to one or more content;

adjust ratings of content based in part on the received feedback as well as on one or more relevance values and one or more believability factors;

automatically request to provide predicted results based on the adjusted ratings to a client system for display independent of a request from a user of the client system, wherein the predicted results comprise information that may be of interest to the user; and

request to provide accessibility to each content in a set of content associated with the predicted results.

15. The computer system of claim 14, wherein the predicted results comprise titles of each content in the set of content associated with the predicted results.

16. The computer system of claim 14, wherein the predicted results comprise descriptions of each content in the set of content associated with the predicted results.

17. The computer system of claim 14, wherein the one or more relevance values comprise indicators of predictability of one or more users'"'"' file selection behavior and the one or more believability factors comprise weighting factors for the relevance values.

18. The computer system of claim 14, wherein the one or more files and the set of content comprise one or more of video, audio, image, and text.

19. The computer system of claim 14, wherein to request to provide predicted results is based on selecting content having higher ratings based on the adjusted ratings.

20. The computer system of claim 14, wherein the one or more processors are also configured to:

transmit instructions to the client system, the instructions to command the client system to request predicted results independent of a request for predicted results from a user of the client system, the automatic request to occur in response to a request from the instructions performed by the client system.