Systems and methods to select media content

• US 8,527,877 B2
• Filed: 11/25/2008
• Issued: 09/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Wohlert, Randolph
• Primary Examiner(s): ITURRALDE, ENRIQUE W
• Application Number:
  US12/323,431
• Publication Number:
  US 20100131895A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,743 Days
• Field of Search: 715/716, 715719-722, 715727-731, 715/771, 715/772, 715853-855, 715/810, 715/833
• US Class Current: 715/716
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/10 Multimedia information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1059 End-user terminal functionalities specially adapted for real-time communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/756 adapting media to device capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/764 at the destination reformatting of additional data in video clients H04N21/4355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles

Abstract

Systems and methods to select media content are provided. A method includes dynamically selecting content items for presentation via a media player based on user media selection settings. The user media selection settings specify a proportion of a first category of media content to be presented and a proportion of at least one second category of media content to be presented. The at least one second category includes a user defined category. First media content is associated with the first category based on an intrinsic property of the first media content and second media content is associated with the user defined category based on a property that is not intrinsic to the second media content. The method also includes generating an output stream presenting the dynamically selected content items.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

dynamically selecting content items for presentation via a media player based on user media selection settings,

wherein the user media selection settings specify a first proportion of a first category of a plurality of categories of media content to be presented and a second proportion of at least one second category of the plurality of categories of media content,

wherein the at least one second category includes a user defined category, and

wherein first media content is associated with the first category based on an intrinsic property of the first media content,

associating, at a first time, second media content with the user defined category based on a second time at which the second media content was saved to a first storage location of the second media content, wherein the second media content is associated with the user defined category independent of the first time; and

moving the second media content to a second storage location in response to the second media content being assigned to a different category of media content, wherein the second media content is no longer associated with the first storage location after the second media content is moved.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second media content is further associated with the user defined category based on a universal resource identifier associated with the first storage location of the second media content.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising accessing a selected media content item of the selected content items from at least one of a remote memory via a network and from a local memory.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, when the selected media content item is not stored at the local memory, sending a first request for the selected media content item from the media player to a remote network element, wherein the request causes the remote network element to send a second request to a device associated with the local memory, wherein the second request causes the device to send the selected media content item to the remote network element, and wherein the remote network element sends the selected media content item to the media player.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving voting input from a plurality of users; and

determining the user media selection settings based on the voting input.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the plurality of users includes customers of a business, and wherein the user media selection settings are determined by analyzing the voting input to determine media preferences of customers that frequent the business during particular times and on particular days.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

determining first user media selection settings based on the analyzed voting input and associating the first user media selection settings with a first particular time and day; and

determining second user media selection settings based on the analyzed voting input and associating the second user media selection settings with a second particular time and day.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising determining a current time and day before dynamically selecting content items.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

after dynamically selecting the content items for presentation based on the first user media selection settings, determining a current time and day; and

when the current time and day is associated with the second user media selection settings, selecting subsequent content items for presentation based on the second user media selection settings.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a plurality of media storage locations that are accessible to the media player, wherein the plurality of media storage locations includes the first storage location of the second media content.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein moving the second media content further comprises deleting the second media content from the first storage location.

12. A system, comprising:

a media selection module comprising computer readable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations including;

dynamically selecting media content items for presentation based on user media selection settings, wherein the user media selection settings specify a first proportion of a first category of a plurality of categories of media content to be presented and a second proportion of at least one second category of the plurality of categories of media content, wherein the at least one second category includes a user defined category;

associating first media content with the first category based on an intrinsic property of the first media content; and

associating, at a first time, second media content with the user defined category based on a second time at which the second media content was saved to a storage location associated with the user defined category, wherein the second media content is associated with the user defined category independent of the first time; and

a media player configured to generate an output stream presenting the dynamically selected media content items.

13. The system of claim 12, further comprising a graphical user interface module configured to present a user interface display including a representation of a user media selection data using a plurality of adjustable display objects, wherein a first display object is associated with the first category and at least one second display object is associated with the at least one second category, and wherein a dimension of each of the plurality of display objects indicates the proportion of the respective category of media content to be dynamically selected.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the user interface display further comprises a list identifying previously presented media content items, wherein each of the identified previously presented media content items is presented in a first color corresponding to a second color of one of the plurality of adjustable display objects associated with the category of media content from which the identified previously presented media content item was selected.

15. The system of claim 13, further comprising a memory device interface to access the media content items selected by the media selection module, wherein the memory device interface accesses media content items that are available at a local memory from the local memory, and wherein the memory device interface accesses media content items that are not available at the local memory via a remote network element.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the media player is further configured to generate a user interface display including information representing the user media selection settings, wherein the first proportion and the second proportion are displayed using a plurality of adjustable bars, wherein each of the adjustable bars is associated with a different category of media content, wherein a length of each of the plurality of bars indicates a percentage of the associated category of media content to be presented, and wherein adjustment of the first proportion initiates an automatic adjustment of the second proportion such that a total percentage of the plurality of the categories of media content represented by the plurality of adjustable bars equals one hundred percent.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the storage location associated with the user defined category corresponds to a favorites folder.

18. A computer-readable storage device storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations, comprising:

dynamically selecting media content items for presentation based on user playlist settings,

wherein the user playlist settings specify a first proportion of a first category of a plurality of categories of media content to be presented and a second proportion of at least one second category of the plurality of categories of media content,

wherein the at least one second category includes a user defined category, and

wherein first media content is associated with the first category based on an intrinsic property of the first media content;

associating, at a first time, second media content with the user defined category based on a second time at which the second media content was saved to a storage location associated with the user defined category, wherein the second media content is associated with the user defined category independent of the first time; and

moving the second media content to a different storage location in response to the second media content being assigned to a different category of media content, wherein the second media content is no longer associated with an original storage location after the second media content is moved.