Providing content related to an item in an interactive data scroll

• US 8,667,526 B2
• Filed: 06/09/2008
• Issued: 03/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Afram, Andrew J, Morley, D. Beau, Moon, Hannah Y
• Primary Examiner(s): Lonsberry, Hunter B
• Assistant Examiner(s): Alata, Yassin
• Application Number:
  US12/135,826
• Publication Number:
  US 20090307721A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,094 Days
• Field of Search: 725/24, 725 32- 61, 725/68, 725/85, 725/100, 725/131, 725135-136, 725/139, 725/151, 715716-722, 715/774, 715821-822, 715/827
• US Class Current: 725/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234318 by decomposing into objects, e.g. MPEG-4 objects
• 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 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44012 involving rendering scenes according to scene graphs, e.g. MPEG-4 scene graphs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A system may present video content with a data scroll on a video display device. The data scroll may include data scroll items that are automatically and consecutively presented on the video display device. Each of the data scroll items may include information associated with a particular topic. The system may receive a selection of a softkey corresponding to one of the data scroll items, retrieve, in response to receiving the selection of the softkey, additional content corresponding to the particular topic associated with the one of the data scroll items, and present the additional content on the video display device.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

providing, by a network device, video content with a data scroll for display on a video display device,

the data scroll including a plurality of data scroll items that are automatically and consecutively presented on the video display device with the video content,

each of the plurality of data scroll items including information identifying a particular topic of a respective additional content,

a background color of each of the plurality of data scroll items, displayed on the video display device, being different and matching a color of a corresponding softkey of a plurality of softkeys of a remote control,

the background color of a first one of the plurality of data scroll items matching the color of the first softkey,

the first one of the plurality of data scroll items including;

information identifying the particular topic, of a first additional content, identified by the first one of the plurality of data scroll items,

a first icon identifying the first softkey, and

a second icon identifying a type of content of the first additional content, the second icon being different than the first icon,

the background color of a second one of the plurality of data scroll items matching the color of a second softkey of the plurality of softkeys of the remote control,

the second softkey being different than the first softkey,

the second one of the plurality of data scroll items including;

information identifying the particular topic, of a second additional content different than the first additional content, identified by the second one of the plurality of data scroll items, and

a third icon identifying the second softkey, the third icon being different than the first icon and the second icon;

detecting, by the network device, selection of the first softkey corresponding to the first one of the plurality of data scroll items;

retrieving, by the network device and based on detecting the selection of the first softkey, the first additional content of the particular topic identified by the first one of the plurality of data scroll items,

the second additional content, of the particular topic identified by the second one of the plurality of data scroll items, being retrieved when the second softkey is selected; and

providing, by the network device, the first additional content for display on the video display device,

providing the first additional content for display on the video display device including;

providing, without the video content, the first additional content for display on the video display device with the second one of the plurality of data scroll items and a third one of the plurality of data scroll items.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the video content in a video stream; and

receiving the data scroll within the video stream.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the video content in a video stream; and

receiving the first additional content within the video stream.

4. The method of claim 3, where retrieving the first additional content includes:

extracting the first additional content from within the video stream.

5. The method of claim 1, where retrieving the first additional content includes:

associating an address with the first one of the plurality of data scroll items; and

retrieving the first additional content using the address.

6. The method of claim 1, where retrieving the first additional content includes:

associating an Internet feed with the first one of the plurality of data scroll items; and

retrieving the first additional content using the Internet feed.

7. The method of claim 1,

further comprising:

determining whether a period of time has expired since providing the first additional content for display; and

automatically returning to providing the video content for display, without the first additional content, after expiration of the period of time.

8. The method of claim 1,

where the video content is associated with a video broadcast, and

where the method further comprises at least one of:

returning, after providing the first additional content for display, to providing the video content for display at a last position within the video broadcast that was provided prior to providing the first additional content;

or

returning, after providing the first additional content for display, to providing the video content for display at a pre-selected position within the video broadcast.

9. The method of claim 1,

where the first additional content includes advertisement information associated with a particular product or service, and

where the method further comprises:

determining that a purchase has occurred in connection with the particular product or service; and

returning to providing the video content for display upon determining that the purchase has occurred.

10. A device, comprising:

a receiver to receive video content; and

a processor to;

present the video content on a video display device,

present a data scroll on the video display device concurrently with the video content,

the data scroll including a plurality of data scroll items that are consecutively presented horizontally or vertically on the video display device,

each of the plurality of data scroll items including information identifying a particular topic of a respective additional content,

each of the plurality of data scroll items, presented on the video display device, including an icon identifying a different one of a plurality of softkeys on a remote control,

a background color of each of the plurality of data scroll items, displayed on the video display device, being different and matching a color of a corresponding softkey of the plurality of softkeys of the remote control,

associate a first softkey, of the plurality of softkeys, with a first one of the plurality of data scroll items,

the background color of the first one of the plurality of data scroll items matching a color of the first softkey,

the first one of the plurality of data scroll items including;

information identifying the particular topic, of a first additional content, identified by the first one of the plurality of data scroll items,

a first icon identifying the first softkey,

a second icon identifying a type of content of the first additional content of the particular topic identified by the first one of the plurality of data scroll items, the second icon being different than the first icon,

associate a second softkey, of the plurality of softkeys, with a second one of the plurality of data scroll items,

the second softkey being different than the first softkey,

the background color of the second one of the plurality of data scroll items matching a color of the second softkey,

the second one of the plurality of data scroll items including;

information identifying the particular topic, of a second additional content different than the first additional content,

identified by the second one of the plurality of data scroll items, and

a third icon identifying the second softkey, the third icon being different than the first icon and the second icon,

detect selection of the first softkey corresponding to the first one of the plurality of data scroll items or selection of the second softkey corresponding to the second one of the plurality of data scroll items,

selectively obtain;

the first additional content when the selection of the first softkey is detected, or

the second additional content when the selection of the second softkey is obtained, and

selectively present the first additional content or the second additional content on the video display device,

when selectively presenting the first additional content or the second additional content, the processor is to;

present, without the video content, the first additional content on the video display device with at least a third one of the plurality of data scroll items, or

present, without the video content, the second additional content on the video display device with the at least a third one of the plurality of data scroll items.

11. The device of claim 10, where a shape, of the first icon, matches a shape of the first softkey, and

where a shape, of the third icon, matches a shape of the second softkey,

the shape of the second softkey being different than the shape of the first softkey.

12. The device of claim 11, where the second icon indicates that the type of content, of the first additional content, corresponds to text content.

13. The device of claim 10, where the processor is further to:

obtain the video content from the receiver, and

overlay the data scroll on the video content.

14. The device of claim 10, where the video content is associated with a particular channel of a video stream, and

where, when obtaining the first additional content, the processor is to:

associate content on another channel of the video stream with the first one of the plurality of data scroll items, and

change to the other channel to retrieve the first additional content.

15. The device of claim 10, where the processor is further to:

receive, after presenting the first additional content, an instruction to return to the video content, and

return to presenting the video content on the video display device based on receiving the instruction.

16. The device of claim 10, where the video content is associated with a video broadcast;

and

where the processor is further to return, after presenting the first additional content, to presenting the video content, on the video display device, at a current position within the video broadcast.

17. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions, the instructions comprising:

one or more instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to receive a video stream,

the video stream including video content and a data scroll,

the data scroll including a plurality of data scroll items,

each of the plurality of data scroll items including information identifying a particular topic of a respective additional content,

a background color of each of the plurality of data scroll items, displayed on the video display device, being different and matching a color of a corresponding softkey of a plurality of softkeys of a remote control;

one or more instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to provide the video content and the data scroll for display simultaneously on a video display device,

a first data scroll item, of the plurality of data scroll items, including;

information identifying the particular topic, of a first additional content, identified by the first data scroll item,

a first icon identifying a first one of the plurality of softkeys, and

a second icon, different than the first icon, identifying a type of content of the first additional content,

the background color of the first data scroll item matching a color of the first one of the plurality of softkeys, and

a second data scroll item, of the plurality of data scroll items, including;

information identifying the particular topic, of a second additional content different than the first additional content, identified by the second data scroll item, and

a third icon identifying a second one of the plurality of softkeys,

the second one of the plurality of softkeys being different than the first one of the plurality of softkeys,

the third icon being different than the first icon and the second icon,

the background color of the second data scroll item matching a color of the second one of the plurality of softkeys;

one or more instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to associate the first one of the plurality of softkeys with the first data scroll item;

one or more instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to associate the second one of the plurality of softkeys with the second data scroll item;

one or more instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to detect selection of the first one of the plurality of softkeys corresponding to the first data scroll item or selection of the second one of the plurality of softkeys corresponding to the second data scroll item;

one or more instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to selectively extract;

the first additional content, from the video stream, when the selection of the first one of the plurality of softkeys is detected, or

the second additional content, from the video stream, when the selection of the second one of the plurality of softkeys is detected; and

one or more instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to selectively provide the first additional content or the second additional content, for display on the video display device, with one or more of the plurality of data scroll items,

the one or more instructions to selectively provide the first additional content or the second additional content include;

one or more instructions to provide, without the video content, the first additional content on the video display device with at least a third one of the plurality of data scroll items, or

one or more instructions to provide, without the video content, the second additional content on the video display device with the at least a third one of the plurality of data scroll items.

22. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, where the second data scroll item further includes a fourth icon that identifies a type of content of the second additional content,

where the fourth icon is different than the first icon, the second icon, and the third icon, and

where the type of content, of the first additional content, is different than the type of content of the second additional content.

23. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 22, where the second icon indicates that the type of content, of the first additional content, corresponds to one of text content or video content, and

where the fourth icon indicates that the type of content, of the second additional content, corresponds to a different one of the text content or the video content.

24. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, where the first additional content and the second additional content include news content, and

where the second icon indicates that the type of content, of the first additional content, corresponds to text content.

18. A method, comprising:

presenting, by a network device, television content with a data scroll on a video display device to a user,

the data scroll including a plurality of data scroll items that are consecutively presented on the video display device,

each of the data scroll items including different advertisement information identifying a respective particular product or service,

a background color of each of the plurality of data scroll items, displayed on the video display device, being different and matching a color of a corresponding softkey of a plurality of softkeys of a remote control;

detecting, by the network device, selection of a first softkey, of the plurality of softkeys, corresponding to a first data scroll item of the plurality of data scroll items or selection of a second softkey, of the plurality of softkeys, corresponding to a second data scroll item of the plurality of data scroll items,

the second softkey being different than the first softkey,

the background color of the first data scroll item matching a color of the first softkey,

the background color of the second data scroll item matching a color of the second softkey,

the first data scroll item including;

first advertisement information identifying a first additional advertisement content for a first particular product or service identified by the first advertisement information, and

an icon identifying the first softkey, and the second data scroll item including;

second advertisement information identifying a second additional advertisement content for a second particular product or service identified by the second advertisement information,

the second advertisement additional content being different than the first additional advertisement content,

the second particular product or service being different than the first particular product or service, and

an icon identifying the second softkey;

selectively retrieving by the network device;

the first additional advertisement content when the selection of the first softkey is detected, or;

the second additional advertisement content when the selection of the second softkey is detected; and

selectively presenting, by the network device, the first additional advertisement content or the second additional advertisement content on the video display device,

selectively presenting the first additional content or the second additional content including;

presenting, without the television content, the first additional advertisement content on the video display device with at least a third one of the plurality of data scroll items, or

presenting, without the television content, the second additional advertisement content on the video display device with the at least a third one of the plurality of data scroll items.

19. The method of claim 18,

further comprising:

determining that a purchase has occurred in connection with the first particular product or service associated with the first data scroll item; and

automatically returning to presenting the television content, without further presenting the first additional advertisement content, upon determining that the purchase has occurred.

20. The method of claim 18, where the television content is associated with a particular channel of a video stream;

and

where selectively retrieving the first additional advertisement content or the second additional advertisement content includes;

associating content on another channel of the video stream with the first data scroll item, and

automatically changing to the other channel to retrieve the first additional advertisement content.

21. The method of claim 18, where the first advertisement information or the second advertisement information is based on at least one of:

information identifying one or more advertisement preferences of the user, or

information identifying behavior of the user, with respect to advertisements, over a period of time, and

where the first particular product or service, associated with the first data scroll item, corresponds to a product or service currently presented within the television content.