Preview-based content monitoring and blocking system

• US 8,701,137 B2
• Filed: 04/29/2010
• Issued: 04/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Concert Technology Corporation
• Original Assignee: Eloy Technology, LLC (Concert Technology Corporation)
• Inventors: Katpelly, Ravi Reddy, Amidon, Christopher M., Kandekar, Kunal
• Primary Examiner(s): EKPO, NNENNA NGOZI
• Application Number:
  US12/769,691
• Publication Number:
  US 20120117221A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,447 Days
• Field of Search: 725/25, 725/27, 725/28, 725/30, 725/29, 725/34, 725/46
• US Class Current: 725/25
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/10527 Audio or video recording; Data buffering arrangements G11B20/12 - G11B20/18 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/10537 Audio or video recording
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4135 external recorder interface circuits between an apparatus for recording television signals and a television receiver H04N5/775
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4325 by playing back content from the storage medium reproduction of recorded television signals H04N5/76; reproduction of recorded television signals H04N9/79
• 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 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4363 Adapting the video stream to a specific local network, e.g. a Bluetooth® network
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44016 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for substituting a video clip
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440218 by transcoding between formats or standards, e.g. from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 conversion of standards in analogue television systems H04N7/01
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4542 Blocking scenes or portions of the received content, e.g. censoring scenes
• 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 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 9/7921 for more than one processing mode

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for enabling an administrator to monitor and control usage of media content in a locale. In one embodiment, the locale includes one or more media devices that have access to media content from one or more local and/or remote content sources. Usage data defining usage of the media content by a user is obtained. A pattern including two or more media segments consumed by the user is detected based on the usage data and one or more predefined pattern detection rules. The administrator is then enabled to review the pattern and choose whether to block usage. Usage of at least one of the media segments included in the pattern is then blocked at the one or more media devices at the locale in response to the administrator choosing to block usage of the at least one of the media segments included in the pattern.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

obtaining usage data defining usage of media content accessible to one or more media devices at a locale by a user;

detecting a pattern including two or more media segments in the media content consumed by the user based on the usage data and one or more predefined pattern detection rules, wherein the one or more predefined pattern detection rules comprise one or more pattern detection rules that state that a pattern is to be detected when two or more media segments that satisfy at least one defined criterion are consumed by the user at least a predefined threshold amount;

enabling an administrator of the one or more media devices to review the pattern; and

blocking usage of at least one of the two or more media segments included in the pattern at the one or more media devices at the locale in response to the administrator choosing to block usage of the at least one of the two or more media segments.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the pattern is indicative of the user consuming media content of interest to the administrator.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the predefined threshold amount includes a predefined threshold number of times that each media segment in the pattern is to be consumed by the user.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the predefined threshold amount includes a predefined threshold total number of times consumed for all media segments in the pattern.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one defined criterion comprises at least one criterion defining requisite content of the two or more media segments.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one defined criterion comprises at least one criterion based on metadata describing media items of which the two or more media segments are part.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one defined criterion comprises at least one criterion based on contextual data describing a context in which the two or more media items are consumed by the user.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more predefined pattern detection rules comprise one or more pattern detection rules that state that a pattern is to be detected when usage of the two or more media segments by the user is different than usage in the past by the user of at least one of a group consisting of:

the two or more media segments or other media segments similar to the two or more media segments.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein enabling the administrator of the one or more media devices to review the pattern comprises providing the two or more media segments included in the pattern to the administrator for review.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein providing the two or more media segments included in the pattern to the administrator for review comprises providing the two or more media segments included in the pattern to a mobile device of the administrator such that the administrator is enabled to review the two or more media segments at the mobile device.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein providing the two or more media segments included in the pattern to the administrator for review comprises providing the two or more media segments included in the pattern to one of the one or more media devices at the locale for review by the administrator.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein enabling the administrator of the one or more media devices to review the pattern comprises providing metadata describing content of the two or more media segments included in the pattern to the administrator for review.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein providing the metadata describing the content of the two or more media segments included in the pattern to the administrator for review comprises providing the metadata describing the content of the two or more media segments included in the pattern to a mobile device of the administrator such that the administrator is enabled to review the metadata describing the content of the two or more media segments at the mobile device.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein enabling the administrator of the one or more media devices to review the pattern comprises:

providing a first subset of the two or more media segments included in the pattern to the administrator for review; and

providing metadata describing content of a second subset of the two or more media segments included in the pattern to the administrator for review.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein blocking usage of the at least one of the two or more media segments comprises blocking usage of all of the two or more media segments included in the pattern at the one or more media devices at the locale in response to the administrator choosing to block the pattern.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein blocking usage of the at least one of the two or more media segments comprises blocking usage of one or more select media segments from the two or more media segments included in the pattern at the one or more media devices at the locale in response to the administrator choosing to block the one or more select media segments.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein blocking usage of the at least one of the two or more media segments comprises blocking usage of the at least one of the two or more media segments at the one or more media devices at the locale only for the user.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein blocking usage of the at least one of the two or more media segments comprises blocking usage of the at least one of the two or more media segments at the one or more media devices at the locale for all users including the user.

19. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

identifying one or more additional media segments of the media content accessible to the one or more media devices that are similar to the at least one of the two or more media segments for which usage is blocked at the one or more media devices; and

blocking usage of at least one of the one or more additional media segments at the one or more media devices.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising:

enabling the administrator of the one or more media devices to review, for each additional media segment of the one or more additional media segments, the additional media segment and metadata describing content of the additional media segment;

wherein blocking usage of the at least one of the one or more additional media segments at the one or more media devices comprises blocking usage of the at least one of the one or more additional media segments in response to the administrator choosing to block usage of the at least one of the one or more additional media segments.

21. The method of claim 19 wherein the one or more additional media segments that are similar to the at least one of the two or more media segments for which usage is blocked at the one or more media devices are one or more media segments of the media content accessible to the one or more media devices having metadata that matches metadata describing content of the at least one of the two or more media segments for which usage is blocked to at least a predefined threshold degree.

22. The method of claim 19 wherein the one or more additional media segments that are similar to the at least one of the two or more media segments for which usage is blocked at the one or more media devices are one or more media segments of the media content accessible to the one or more media devices having metadata that matches at least one reason provided by the administrator for blocking usage of the at least one of the one or more media segments.

23. A device comprising:

a communication interface; and

a controller associated with the communication interface and adapted to;

obtain usage data defining usage of media content accessible to one or more media devices at a locale by a user;

detect a pattern including two or more media segments in the media content consumed by the user based on the usage data and one or more predefined pattern detection rules, wherein the one or more predefined pattern detection rules comprise one or more pattern detection rules that state that a pattern is to be detected when two or more media segments that satisfy at least one defined criterion are consumed by the user at least a predefined threshold amount;

enable an administrator of the one or more media devices to review the pattern; and

block usage of at least one of the two or more media segments included in the pattern at the one or more media devices at the locale in response to the administrator choosing to block usage of the at least one of the two or media segments.

24. A computer-readable medium storing software for instructing a controller of a device to:

obtain usage data defining usage of media content accessible to one or more media devices at a locale by a user;

detect a pattern including two or more media segments in the media content consumed by the user based on the usage data and one or more predefined pattern detection rules, wherein the one or more predefined pattern detection rules comprise one or more pattern detection rules that state that a pattern is to be detected when two or more media segments that satisfy at least one defined criterion are consumed by the user at least a predefined threshold amount;

enable an administrator of the one or more media devices to review the pattern; and

block usage of at least one of the two or more media segments included in the pattern at the one or more media devices at the locale in response to the administrator choosing to block usage of the at least one of the two or media segments,

wherein the computer-readable medium is not a signal.

25. A computer-implemented method comprising:

obtaining usage data defining usage of media content accessible to one or more media devices at a locale by a user;

identifying one or more media segments that contain media content of interest to an administrator based on the usage data, the one or more media segments satisfying at least one defined criterion and consumed by the user at least a predefined threshold amount;

enabling the administrator of the one or more media devices to review, for each media segment of the one or more media segments, at least one of a group consisting of;

the media segment and metadata describing content of the media segment;

blocking usage of at least one of the one or more media segments at the one or more media devices at the locale in response to the administrator choosing to block usage of the at least one of the one or more media segments;

identifying one or more additional media segments of the media content accessible to the one or more media devices that are similar to the at least one of the one or more media segments for which usage is blocked at the one or more media devices and that are not future instances of the at least one of the one or more media segments; and

blocking usage of at least one of the one or more additional media segments at the one or more media devices.