Smart phone as remote control device
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A hand-held communication device comprising:
- a processor having access to a computer readable medium including user agent instructions executable by the processor; and
a touch screen display;
wherein the user agent instructions include instructions for;
receiving video data from a server of a digital television network, wherein the video data is indicative of multimedia content being provided to a client via the digital television network;
displaying a remote control interface on the touch screen display, wherein the remote control interface includes;
a content pane for displaying the video data;
a command virtual control corresponding to a remote control command; and
a first virtual control for selecting a first set-top box associated with a client account and a second virtual control for selecting a second set-top box associated with the client account;
generating, responsive to detecting a user input via the command virtual control, the remote control command; and
sending the remote control command to the server of the digital television network for delivery, via the digital television network, to the client.
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Abstract
A communication device such as a smart phone is enabled for remotely controlling set-top boxes (STBs) over Internet protocol networks using an applet running on the communication device. Authentication from within a multimedia content distribution network may be achieved by verifying that a network identifier associated with the communication device is associated with an account that has granted access to the smart phone and that is associated with the controlled STB. A viewing pane on the communication device permits a user to remotely view content received on or available to the controlled STB.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A hand-held communication device comprising:
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a processor having access to a computer readable medium including user agent instructions executable by the processor; and a touch screen display; wherein the user agent instructions include instructions for; receiving video data from a server of a digital television network, wherein the video data is indicative of multimedia content being provided to a client via the digital television network; displaying a remote control interface on the touch screen display, wherein the remote control interface includes; a content pane for displaying the video data; a command virtual control corresponding to a remote control command; and a first virtual control for selecting a first set-top box associated with a client account and a second virtual control for selecting a second set-top box associated with the client account; generating, responsive to detecting a user input via the command virtual control, the remote control command; and sending the remote control command to the server of the digital television network for delivery, via the digital television network, to the client. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A digital television service suitable for use in a multimedia content distribution network, the digital television service comprising:
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providing digital television content to a set-top box; providing video data to a hand-held communication device configured to display the video data, wherein the video data is indicative of a portion of the digital television content being provided to the set-top box; responsive to receiving a remote control command from the hand-held communication device, controlling the set-top box based on the remote control command to control content being output from the set-top box; and sending, from a network server, history data indicative of a viewing history of the set-top box to the hand-held communication device, wherein the history data is displayable by the hand-held communication device. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of remotely managing content delivered to a client via a multimedia content distribution network, the method comprising:
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providing multimedia content to the client; providing video data to a smart phone, wherein the video data is indicative of the multimedia content being provided to the client; receiving a signal indicative of user input at the smart phone, the user input indicative of a remote control command; and controlling the client based on the remote control command to control content being displayed at the client, wherein the client comprises a first set-top box and a second set-top box both associated with a single user account for the multimedia content distribution network, and wherein controlling the client based on the remote control command includes controlling the first set-top box and the second set-top box based on the remote control command. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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Specification