Systems and methods for providing a scan

• US 8,787,736 B2
• Filed: 03/16/2011
• Issued: 07/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ROVI Guides Incorporated
• Inventors: Kunkel, Gerard, Radloff, Jon P., Ellis, Michael D., Craner, Michael L., Iyer, Rajeshwari B., Jakubowski, Andrzej
• Primary Examiner(s): Chevalier, Robert
• Application Number:
  US13/049,792
• Publication Number:
  US 20110164861A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,224 Days
• Field of Search: 386/343, 386/344, 386/350, 386/351, 386/353
• US Class Current: 386/343
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4263 involving specific tuning arrangements, e.g. two tuners
• 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 21/432 Content retrieval operation from a local storage medium, e.g. hard-disk details of retrieval of video data and associated meta data in video databases G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4383 Accessing a communication channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/462 Content or additional data management, e.g. creating a master electronic program guide from data received from the Internet and a Head-end, controlling the complexity of a video stream by scaling the resolution or bit-rate based on the client capabilities
• 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 21/47208 for requesting near-video-on-demand content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47211 for requesting pay-per-view content payment schemes payment architectures or payment protocols G06Q20/00, G07F
• 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 21/4755 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 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• 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 5/782 on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/783 Adaptations for reproducing at a rate different from the recording rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8205 involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the colour video signal

Abstract

Systems and methods for a video scan are provided. The scan may be dynamically interactive and a function of characteristics of the programs in the scan (e.g., commercial breaks or the end of a program approaching) The scan may simultaneously display multiple scan windows for a plurality of programs, for example in a scan wizard. The scan wizard allows the user to simultaneously view a scan window and an information panel, select criteria for the scan from a criteria panel, and control the scan using a scan control panel. The scan may allow the user to record a program displayed in the scan without interrupting the scan (e.g., by using an additional tuner). The scan may display, within the scan interface, trick-play functions for appropriate scanned programs (e.g., recorded, cached and on-demand programs). The user may select and perform trick-play functions for a scanned program without exiting the scan mode.

Claims

1. A method for providing a video scan, comprising:

identifying, with control circuitry, programs for a scan, wherein the scan comprises a scan sequence for automatically sequentially displaying the identified programs;

identifying, with the control circuitry, at least one identified program that is at a special location within the program, wherein the special location is one of substantially near the beginning of the program and substantially near the end of the program, and wherein the at least one identified program is assigned a first position in the scan sequence;

selecting a second position in the scan sequence for the at least one identified program based on whether the at least one identified program is substantially near the beginning of the program or substantially near the end of the program; and

moving the at least one identified program from the first position in the scan sequence to the second position in the scan sequence.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying at least one identified program that is at a special location within the program comprises determining whether a particular program in the scan sequence is within a given time of the end of the program;

and

in response to determining that the particular program in the scan sequence is within a given time of the end of the program, adding to the scan sequence, concurrently with or after the particular program, a screen with information related to the program to be shown after the particular program ends.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the information includes one of jacket art, a program description, a video clip, an audio clip, a webpage hyperlink, a webpage, and an advertisement.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining whether a particular program in the scan sequence is substantially at or approaching a commercial break; and

in response to determining that the particular program in the scan sequence is substantially at or approaching a commercial break, skipping the particular program in the scan sequence.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

defining a scan sequence for the identified programs such that the programs that are substantially near the end of the program are grouped at one of the beginning and the end of the scan sequence; and

automatically sequentially displaying the identified programs in the order defined by the scan sequence.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising:

determining whether a particular program in the scan sequence is substantially at or nearly approaching a commercial; and

in response to determining that the particular program in the scan sequence is substantially at or approaching a commercial, skipping the particular program in the scan sequence.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein substantially near the beginning or end of the program comprises within less than 5 minutes from the beginning or end of the program.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the identified programs comprise at least one of non-on-demand programs, recorded programs, and on-demand programs.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the identified programs include at least one of purchased pay-per-view programs and programs for which the user has set a reminder.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining criteria for the scan; and

wherein identifying programs for the scan comprises identifying programs related to the determined criteria.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein determining criteria for a scan comprises receiving a user selection of a criteria for the scan.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein receiving a user selection of criteria for the scan comprises receiving a user selection of at least one node in a tree structure display of criteria.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein determining criteria for the scan comprises receiving a user selection of the favorites criteria.

14. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

receiving a user indication of a proximity threshold; and

wherein identifying programs for the scan comprises identifying programs that are related to the determined criteria and that satisfy the proximity threshold.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

simultaneously displaying a video window for the scanned programs, selectable criteria for selecting programs for the scan, and scan instruction buttons.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the scan instruction buttons further comprise at least three of start/hold, skip backward, skip forward, tune, info, zoom and setting buttons.

17. The method of claim 1 further comprising displaying information about a program that is currently displayed in the scan window.

18. The method of claim 1 further comprising displaying information about programs in the scan sequence that are substantially near the beginning of the program, substantially near the end of the program, and substantially at or approaching a commercial break.

19. The method of claim 1 further comprising displaying information about programs that are not included in the scan sequence.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the programs that are not included in the scan sequence include programs that are substantially at or approaching a commercial break.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the moving is performed without user input.

36. The system of claim 20, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to direct the display device to simultaneously display a video window for the scanned programs, selectable criteria for selecting programs for the scan, and scan instruction buttons.

37. The system of claim 36 wherein the scan instruction buttons further comprise at least three of start/hold, skip backward, skip forward, tune, info, zoom and setting buttons.

38. The system of claim 20, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to display information about a program that is currently displayed in the scan window.

22. A system for providing a video scan, comprising a display device and control circuitry, the control circuitry configured to:

identify programs for a scan, wherein the scan comprises a scan sequence for automatically sequentially displaying the identified programs;

identify at least one identified program that is at a special location within the program, wherein the special location is one of substantially near the beginning of the program and substantially near the end of the program, and wherein the at least one identified program is assigned a first position in the scan sequence;

select a second position in the scan sequence for the at least one identified program based on whether the at least one identified program is substantially near the beginning of the program or substantially near the end of the program; and

move the at least one identified program from the first position in the scan sequence to the second position in the scan sequence.

23. The system of claim 22 wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

determine whether a particular program in the scan sequence is within a given time of the end of the program; and

in response to determining that the particular program in the scan sequence is within a given time of the end of the program, add to the scan sequence, concurrently with or after the particular program, a screen with information related to the program to be shown after the particular program ends.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the information includes one of jacket art, a program description, a video clip, an audio clip, a webpage hyperlink, a webpage, and an advertisement.

25. The system of claim 22, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

determine whether a particular program in the scan sequence is substantially at or approaching a commercial break; and

in response to determining that the particular program in the scan sequence is substantially at or approaching a commercial break, skip the particular program in the scan sequence.

26. The system of claim 22 wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

define a scan sequence for the identified programs such that the programs that are substantially near the end of the program are grouped at one of the beginning and the end of the scan sequence; and

direct the display device to automatically sequentially display the identified programs in the order defined by the scan sequence.

27. The system of claim 26 wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

determine whether a particular program in the scan sequence is substantially at or nearly approaching a commercial; and

in response to determining that the particular program in the scan sequence is substantially at or approaching a commercial, skip the particular program in the scan sequence.

28. The system of claim 22, wherein substantially near the beginning or end of the program comprises within less than 5 minutes from the beginning or end of the program.

29. The system of claim 22, wherein the identified programs comprise at least one of non-on-demand programs, recorded programs, and on-demand programs.

30. The system of claim 22, wherein the identified programs include at least one of purchased pay-per-view programs and programs for which the user has set a reminder.

31. The system of claim 22 wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

determine criteria for the scan; and

identify programs related to the determined criteria.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to receive a user selection of a criteria for the scan.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to receive a user selection of at least one node in a tree structure display of criteria.

34. The system of claim 31, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to receive a user selection of the favorites criteria.

35. The system of claim 31 wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

receive a user indication of a proximity threshold; and

identify programs that are related to the determined criteria and that satisfy the proximity threshold.

39. The system of claim 22, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to display information about programs in the scan sequence that are substantially near the beginning of the program, substantially near the end of the program, and substantially at or approaching a commercial break.

40. The system of claim 22, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to display information about programs that are not included in the scan sequence.

41. The system of claim 40, wherein the programs that are not included in the scan sequence include programs that are substantially at or approaching a commercial break.