Video and digital multimedia aggregator

• US 8,621,521 B2
• Filed: 07/09/2012
• Issued: 12/31/2013
• 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:
  US13/544,423
• Publication Number:
  US 20120278312A1
• Time in Patent Office: 540 Days
• Field of Search: 725/9, 725/38, 725/53, 725/91, 707/706, 707/707
• US Class Current: 725/53
• 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 form comprising a first set of search criteria;

identifying a second set of search criteria;

modifying the form by appending the second set of search criteria to generate a modified form;

determining that search criteria in the modified form do not yield a predetermined number of results with respect to a content database; and

maintaining, at a server, an active search responsive to the determining that the search criteria in the modified form do not yield the predetermined number of results.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined number of results is one result.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring, at the server, for a change in content of the content database; and

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

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

separating results of the active search based on whether each result of the active search matches the first set of search criteria or the second set of search criteria.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

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

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

formatting the content acquired from the content database based on at least one of;

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

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

receiving first metadata associated with the content acquired from the content database;

determining that the first metadata matches second metadata associated with the active search; and

validating the content acquired from the content database in response to the determining that the first metadata matches the second metadata.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the content database is connected to the server via an internet.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the second set of search criteria is based at least in part on an indexing of metadata elements, and wherein the metadata elements are each assigned a vector quantity that describes that metadata element as a suggestion keyword associated with a particular content entity.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the vector quantity for at least one of the metadata elements is based on a word type, a part of speech, and a relative location or linkage in a thesaurus.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the second set of search criteria is based at least in part on historical data relevant to a user.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the active search generates results that comprise programming, scheduling, and availability information.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the active search generates a first indication of first results based on the first set of search criteria and a second indication of second results based on the second set of criteria, wherein the first indication is different from the second indication.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein at least one of the first and second indications comprises an audible prompt.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of search criteria comprises:

a search request initiation time;

a list of search request content types; and

a search request time limit.

16. A system comprising:

a server,

wherein the server is configured to;

receive a form comprising a first set of search criteria;

identify a second set of search criteria;

append the second set of search criteria to the form to generate a modified form;

determine that the first set of search criteria do not yield a predetermined number of results with respect to a content database; and

maintain an active search responsive to the determining that the first set of search criteria do not yield the predetermined number of results.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the predetermined number of results is one result.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the server is further configured to:

monitor for a change to content of the content database; and

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

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the server is further configured to:

separate results of the active search based on whether each result of the active search matches the first set of search criteria or the second set of search criteria.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the second set of search criteria is based at least in part on an indexing of metadata elements, and wherein the metadata elements are each assigned a vector quantity that describes that metadata element as a suggestion keyword associated with a particular content entity.