Video and digital multimedia aggregator

• US 8,245,259 B2
• Filed: 08/16/2010
• Issued: 08/14/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Comcast IP Holdings I LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Comcast IP Holdings I LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: McCoskey, John S., Swart, William D., Asmussen, Michael L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Saltarelli, Dominic D
• Application Number:
  US12/856,830
• Publication Number:
  US 20100313215A1
• Time in Patent Office: 729 Days
• Field of Search: 725/53, 725/58, 725/91, 707/706, 707/707
• US Class Current: 725/91
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/242 Query formulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24578 using ranking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/7867 using information manually generated, e.g. tags, keywords, comments, title and artist information, manually generated time, location and usage information, user ratings
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/1078 Logging; Metering
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2187 Live feed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2343 involving reformatting operations of video signals for distribution or compliance with end-user requests or end-user device requirements video transcoding H04N19/40; media packet handling at the source H04L65/762
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23439 for generating different versions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25808 Management of client data terminal profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/303
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44204 Monitoring of content usage, e.g. the number of times a movie has been viewed, copied or the amount which has been watched monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; protecting generic digital content where the protection is independent of the precise nature of the content G06F21/10; arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services in broadcast systems H04H60/31
• 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 21/4668 for recommending content, e.g. movies
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4755 for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• 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 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• 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 21/812 : involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8355 : involving usage data, e.g. number of copies or viewings allowed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

The present invention utilizes an aggregator for searching, packaging and delivering content. The aggregator processes requests, searches, provides search results and acquires content. The aggregator, operating in a communications network, includes a request and results processing server, a search engine server coupled to the request and results processing server and a content acquisition server coupled to the request and results processing server. A request and results processing server receives a request for content, the search engine server searches for the content and the content acquisition program acquires content for delivery to the user. The request and results processing server includes a search request processor that receives information related to a user'"'"'s search request and provides the information to a search results form builder that creates an electronic search request.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a content search request;

determining that the content search request does not yield a matching result with respect to a content database;

maintaining, at a server, an active search responsive to determining that the content search request does not yield a matching result;

monitoring for a change made to the content database; and

determining that a match exists between the active search and the change made to the content database.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

acquiring content from the content database in response to determining that the match exists between the active search and the change made to the content database.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

formatting the acquired content based on at least one of;

a method of playback of the acquired content at a user terminal, a type associated with the acquired content, an indication as to whether the acquired content will be stored at the user terminal, and a type and bandwidth of a connection the user terminal has with the server.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

receiving metadata associated with the acquired content;

determining that the received metadata matches metadata associated with the active search; and

validating the acquired content in response to determining that the received metadata matches the metadata associated with the active search.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

retrieving administrative data related to a user; and

routing the retrieved administrative data to a terminal associated with the user.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a user search request form comprising a search request qualification,

wherein the search request qualification comprises;

a search request initiation time;

a list of search request content types; and

a search request time limit.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating suggested content related to the content search request; and

filtering the suggested content based on the suggested content having been selected at user terminals above a predetermined threshold.

8. A system comprising:

a server,

wherein the server is configured to;

receive a content search request;

determine that the content search request does not yield a matching result with respect to a content database;

maintain an active search responsive to determining that the content search request does not yield a matching result

monitor for a change made to the content database; and

determine that a match exists between the active search and the change made to the content database.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the server is further configured to acquire content from the content database responsive to determining that the match exists between the active search and the change made to the content database.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the server is further configured to store the acquired content in a plurality of formats.

11. The system of claim 8, further comprising:

a user terminal,

wherein the user terminal is configured to;

transmit a search request form to the server;

receive search results from the server in response to the search request form; and

display the search results based on a relevance of each of the search results to search criterion included in the search request form.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the user terminal is further configured to indicate to the server that a delivery of content from the server is to terminate, and wherein the server is configured to terminate the delivery of content to the user terminal in response to the indication.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the user terminal is further configured to:

receive a second search request form from a second user terminal;

transmit the second search request form to the server;

receive second search results from the server in response the second search request form; and

transmit the second search results to the second user terminal.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the server is further configured to:

implement a digital rights management (DRM) scheme,

wherein the DRM scheme specifies at least one of;

whether content can be stored on a user terminal, whether content can be copied, whether content can be forwarded to another user terminal, and whether content can be translated into a different format or coding scheme.

15. The system of claim 8, wherein the server is further configured to:

compress content; and

deliver the compressed content to a user terminal.

16. An apparatus comprising:

a processor; and

memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to;

receive a content search request;

determine that the content search request does not yield a matching result with respect to a content database;

maintain an active search responsive to determining that the content search request does not yield a matching result;

monitor for a change made to the content database; and

determine that a match exists between the active search and the change made to the content database.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the instructions include at least one instruction that, when executed by the processor, causes the apparatus to:

acquire content from the content database responsive to determining that the match exists between the active search and the change made to the content database.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the instructions include at least one instruction that, when executed by the processor, causes the apparatus to:

encrypt the acquired content; and

transmit the encrypted content to a user terminal.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein suggested content provided by the apparatus is based on calculating a vector quantity difference between a search criterion and an indexed database of suggestion keywords, determining those indexed keywords that fall within a predetermined range of relevance based on the calculated vector quantity difference, and weighing the indexed keywords that are determined to fall within the predetermined range of relevance based on at least one of a user'"'"'s past search criterion and previously downloaded content.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the instructions include at least one instruction that, when executed by the processor, causes the apparatus to:

acquire metadata associated with content provided by a content provider computer.