Systems and methods for providing a scan

• US 8,387,089 B1
• Filed: 05/08/2006
• Issued: 02/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Kunkel, Gerard, Radloff, Jon P., Ellis, Michael D., Craner, Michael L., Iyer, Rajeshwari B., Jakubowski, Andrzej
• Primary Examiner(s): SCHNURR, JOHN R
• Application Number:
  US11/431,128
• Time in Patent Office: 2,486 Days
• Field of Search: 348/732, 725/37, 725/38, 725/39, 725/44, 725/45, 725/46, 725/52
• US Class Current: 725/38
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4263 involving specific tuning arrangements, e.g. two tuners
• 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 21/432 Content retrieval operation from a local storage medium, e.g. hard-disk details of retrieval of video data and associated meta data in video databases G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4383 Accessing a communication channel
• 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 21/462 Content or additional data management, e.g. creating a master electronic program guide from data received from the Internet and a Head-end, controlling the complexity of a video stream by scaling the resolution or bit-rate based on the client capabilities
• 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 21/47208 for requesting near-video-on-demand content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47211 for requesting pay-per-view content payment schemes payment architectures or payment protocols G06Q20/00, G07F
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• 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 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/783 Adaptations for reproducing at a rate different from the recording rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8205 involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the colour video signal

Abstract

Systems and methods for a video scan are provided. The scan may be dynamically interactive and a function of characteristics of the programs in the scan (e.g., commercial breaks or the end of a program approaching) The scan may simultaneously display multiple scan windows for a plurality of programs, for example in a scan wizard. The scan wizard allows the user to simultaneously view a scan window and an information panel, select criteria for the scan from a criteria panel, and control the scan using a scan control panel. The scan may allow the user to record a program displayed in the scan without interrupting the scan (e.g., by using an additional tuner). The scan may display, within the scan interface, trick-play functions for appropriate scanned programs (e.g., recorded, cached and on-demand programs). The user may select and perform trick-play functions for a scanned program without exiting the scan mode.

Claims

1. A method for providing a video scan, comprising:

identifying programs for a video scan;

automatically sequentially displaying video of the identified programs in an order defined by a scan sequence where the video of each identified program is displayed for a scan length;

receiving a user request while displaying a first video of the scan sequence;

removing, in response to the received user request, the displayed first video from the scan sequence; and

displaying a second video in the scan sequence, wherein the second video is displayed after the first video in the scan sequence.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a user request to hold; and

in response to receiving the user request to hold, increasing the scan duration.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the received user request is a user request to skip forward; and

the method further comprises, in response to receiving the user request to skip forward, removing the skipped video from the scan sequence.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a user request to skip backward; and

in response to receiving the user request to skip backward, increasing the scan length for the previously displayed video.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining whether a particular program in the scan sequence is substantially at or approaching a commercial break; and

in response to determining that the particular program in the scan sequence is substantially at or approaching a commercial break, skipping the video of the particular program in the scan sequence.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the programs comprise at least one of recorded programs and on-demand programs.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the programs include at least one of purchased pay-per-view programs and programs for which the user has set a reminder.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining criteria for the video scan; and

wherein identifying programs for the video scan comprises identifying programs related to the determined criteria.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein determining criteria for the video scan comprises receiving a user selection of criteria for the video scan.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein receiving a user selection of criteria for the video scan comprises receiving a user selection of at least one node in a tree structure display of criteria.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein determining criteria for the video scan comprises receiving a user selection of the favorites criteria.

12. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

receiving a user indication of a proximity threshold; and

wherein identifying programs for the video scan comprises identifying the programs that are related to the determined criteria and that satisfy the proximity threshold.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising simultaneously displaying a video window for the scanned programs, selectable criteria for selecting the programs, and scan instruction buttons.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the scan instruction buttons further comprise at least three of start/hold, skip backward, skip forward, tune, info, zoom and setting buttons.

15. The method claim of claim 1 wherein identifying programs for a video scan further comprises identifying programs from available programs for a video scan based on titles of the programs.

16. The method claim of claim 1 wherein automatically sequentially displaying the video of the identified programs comprises displaying the video of at least two identified programs received from a same content source.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein automatically sequentially displaying the video of the identified programs comprises sequentially displaying the video of two programs without directing a tuner to change channels.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising modifying the scan length of the second video.

19. A system for providing a video scan, comprising a display device and control circuitry, the control circuitry configured to:

identify programs for a video scan;

direct the display device to automatically sequentially display video of the identified programs in an order defined by a scan sequence where the video of each identified program is displayed for a scan length; and

receive a user request while displaying a first video of the scan sequence;

remove, in response to the received user request, the displayed first video from the scan sequence; and

display a second video in the scan sequence, wherein the second video is displayed after the first video in the scan sequence.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

receive a user request to hold; and

in response to receiving the user request to hold, increase the scan duration.

21. The system of claim 19 wherein:

the received user request is a user request to skip forward; and

the control circuitry is further configured to, in response to receiving the user request to skip forward, remove the skipped video from the scan sequence.

22. The system of claim 19 wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

receive a user request to skip backward; and

in response to receiving the user request to skip backward, increase the scan length for the previously displayed video.

23. The system of claim 19 wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

determine whether a particular program in the scan sequence is substantially at or approaching a commercial break; and

in response to determining that the particular program in the scan sequence is substantially at or approaching a commercial break, skip the video of the particular program in the scan sequence.

24. The system of claim 19, wherein the programs comprise at least one of recorded programs and on-demand programs.

25. The system of claim 19, wherein the programs include at least one of purchased pay-per-view programs and programs for which the user has set a reminder.

26. The system of claim 19 wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

determine criteria for the video scan; and

identify programs related to the determined criteria.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to receive a user selection of criteria for the scan.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to receive a user selection of at least one node in a tree structure display of criteria.

29. The system of claim 26, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to receive a user selection of the favorites criteria.

30. The method of claim 26 wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

receive a user indication of a proximity threshold; and

identify the programs that are related to the determined criteria and that satisfy the proximity threshold.

31. The system of claim 19, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to direct the display device to simultaneously display a video window for the scanned programs, selectable criteria for selecting the programs, and scan instruction buttons.

32. The system of claim 23 wherein the scan instruction buttons further comprise at least three of start/hold, skip backward, skip forward, tune, info, zoom and setting buttons.

33. The system of claim 19, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to modify the scan length of the second video.

34. A method for providing a video scan, comprising:

identifying programs for a video scan;

automatically sequentially displaying video of the identified programs in an order defined by a scan sequence where the video of each identified program is displayed for a scan length;

receiving a user request while displaying a first video of the scan sequence; and

modifying, in response to the received user request, the scan length of a second video of the scan sequence without modifying the scan length of the displayed first video.

35. A system for providing a video scan, comprising a display device and control circuitry, the control circuitry configured to:

identify programs for a video scan;

direct the display device to automatically sequentially display video of the identified programs in an order defined by a scan sequence where the video of each identified program is displayed for a scan length; and

receive a user request while displaying a first video of the scan sequence; and

modify, in response to the received user request, the scan length of a second video of the scan sequence without modifying the scan length of the displayed first video.