Personal video recorder E-mail alerts and status

• US 8,667,549 B2
• Filed: 04/28/2009
• Issued: 03/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Reneris, Kenneth S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Beliveau, Scott
• Assistant Examiner(s): Huerta, Alexander Q
• Application Number:
  US12/431,177
• Publication Number:
  US 20100272414A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,771 Days
• Field of Search: 725 37- 61, 725/86, 725/89, 725/107, 725/121
• US Class Current: 725/121
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1881 with schedule organisation, e.g. priority, sequence management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1895 for short real-time information, e.g. alarms, notifications, alerts, updates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• 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 21/44226 on social networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4583 Automatically resolving scheduling conflicts, e.g. when a recording by reservation has been programmed for two programs in the same time slot
• 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 21/4667 Processing of monitored end-user data, e.g. trend analysis based on the log file of viewer selections
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4668 for recommending content, e.g. movies
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• 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 21/4882 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 21/6547 comprising parameters, e.g. for client setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape

Abstract

A web-based service which provides a notification such an email to a user to facilitate managing the recording of broadcast content using a personal video recorder (PVR). The user can agree to participate in the service in exchange for emails which can provide information such as a summary of programs recorded over a few days, missed recordings, and scheduling conflicts. The notification can include targeted recommendations, targeted advertising and information about recording habits of members of a social network of the user. A notification can be provided on an urgent basis if program schedule conflicts or hardware or software problems with the user'"'"'s equipment are detected. The user'"'"'s equipment can include a PC-based PVR, or a PC which communicates with a separate PVR device. PC-related information such as events thrown can also be reported up to the web service.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for providing information regarding broadcast video content, comprising:

receiving, at a server, via a network connection, a first report of information from a standalone computer, where the first report of information is received according to a reporting schedule, and where the standalone computer manages and communicates locally with a standalone video recorder which records broadcast video content, the first report of information identifying;

broadcast video content which has been scheduled to be recorded or has been recorded, a health status of the standalone computer and a health status of the standalone video recorder;

storing the first report of information at the server;

accessing, at the server, notification settings associated with a user of the standalone computer and the standalone video recorder; and

based on the first report of information and the notification settings, providing a routine notification to the user according to a notification schedule, the routine notification provides;

a summary of recording operations for the broadcast video content, the health status of the standalone video recorder and the health status of the standalone video recorder;

receiving at the server, via the network connection, a second report of information from the standalone computer, the second report of information is received on an urgent basis and at a time which is not according to the reporting schedule, the second report of information identifies an urgent problem regarding at least one of the health status of the standalone computer or the health status of the standalone video recorder; and

based on the second report, providing an urgent notification to the user at a time which is not according to the notification schedule, the urgent notification identifies the urgent problem regarding the at least one of the health status of the standalone computer or the health status of the standalone video recorder.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the second report of information—

indicates that the urgent problem is with the standalone computer.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein:

the urgent problem is regarding the health status of the standalone computer and comprises an event which is thrown by the standalone computer.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein:

the urgent problem is regarding the standalone computer and comprises a disk error of the standalone computer.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein:

the urgent problem is regarding the standalone computer and comprises a software update of the standalone computer.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein:

the urgent problem is regarding the standalone computer and comprises a restart of an operating system of the standalone computer.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the urgent notification is sent to the user by a communication mode which is selected based on a degree of urgency of the urgent notification, wherein a less urgent notification comprises an immediate email and a more urgent notification comprises a cell phone text message.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the first report of information identifies broadcast video content which the user requested to be recorded; and

the method further comprising accessing broadcast video content scheduling information to detect a scheduling conflicts; and

providing an urgent notification to the user at a time which differs from the notification schedule when a scheduling conflict is detected.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the second report of information indicates that the urgent problem is with the standalone.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the first report of information identifies broadcast video content which has been recorded by multiple video recording devices; and

the routine notification provides a unified summary of the broadcast video content which has been recorded by the multiple video recording devices.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the urgent notification comprises a suggested action for the user, the suggested action comprises at least one of the user checking the network connection or the user checking the standalone computer to ensure it is turned on.

12. A computer-implemented method for providing information regarding broadcast video content, comprising:

receiving, at a server, user instructions which identify notification settings in a web-based notification service;

creating an account for the user in response to the user instructions;

receiving, at the server, via a network connection, a first report of information from a standalone computer, where the standalone computer manages and communicates locally with a standalone video recorder which records broadcast video content, the first report of information identifying;

broadcast video content which been scheduled to record or has been recorded, a health status of the standalone computer and a health status of the standalone video recorder;

accessing the notification settings at the server; and

based on the first report of information and the notification settings, providing a routine notification to the user which provides;

a summary of recording operations of the broadcast video content, the health status of the standalone video recorder and the health status of the standalone video recorder;

receiving, at the server, via the network connection, an identifier of a problem regarding at least one of the standalone computer and the standalone video recorder;

determining a suggested action to resolve the problem; and

providing an urgent notification to the user which provides a description of the problem and the suggested action to resolve the problem, the problem comprises at least one of a disk error, a software update, a restart of an operating system or a failure of a tuner device.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, further comprising:

assigning a level of importance to the problem; and

indicating the level of importance in the urgent notification.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein:

the identifier comprises an identifier of an event, and the urgent notification indicates a date and time the event was set by an operating system of the standalone computer in an event log which is maintained by the standalone computer.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein:

the urgent notification is sent to the user by a communication mode which is selected based on a degree of urgency of the urgent notification.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein:

the problem comprises the disk error; and

the suggested action to resolve the problem comprises running at least one of an anti-virus utility or a disk defragmentation utility.

17. A computer readable storage device having computer readable software embodied thereon for programming a processor to perform a method for providing information regarding user premises equipment which records broadcast video content, the method comprising:

at an operating system of the user premises equipment, setting an event when a problem occurs at the user premises equipment, the user premises equipment participates in a web-based notification service, the user premises equipment comprises a standalone computer and a standalone video recorder which communicate with one another via a local communication link, the standalone video recorder tunes a broadcast video content signal and the standalone computer manages the standalone video recorder;

maintaining an identifier of the event in a log;

transmitting, to a server in the web-based notification service, according to a reporting schedule, via a network connection, information from the user premises equipment which identifies broadcast video content which has been scheduled to be recorded or has been recorded by the user premises equipment; and

transmitting, to the server, at a time which differs from the reporting schedule, via the network connection, information from the user premises equipment which identifies the event, the event triggers a notification process to a user of the user premises equipment, the notification process provides a notification to the user which identifies the problem and which indicates whether the problem is associated with the standalone video recorder or the standalone computer.