System and method of proactively recording to a digital video recorder for data analysis

• US 8,914,829 B2
• Filed: 09/14/2009
• Issued: 12/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: White, Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Flynn, Nathan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Marandi, James R
• Application Number:
  US12/558,990
• Publication Number:
  US 20110067078A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,919 Days
• US Class Current: 725/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25 Management operations performed by the server for facilitating the content distribution or administrating data related to end-users or client devices, e.g. end-user or client device authentication, learning user preferences for recommending movies maintenance or administration in data networks H04L41/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4668 for recommending content, e.g. movies
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/22 Negotiating communication rate

Abstract

An Internet Protocol television (IPTV) system includes a selector module adapted to select content items based upon metadata information associated with the content items, send the content items to a respective set-top box, direct each respective set-top box to record the content item and analyze content information associated with the content item to create an index of the content information, and receive from the set-top boxes the indices of the content information. A method includes selecting a content item based upon metadata information associated with the content item, sending the content item to a set-top box on an IPTV network, directing the set-top box to record the content item, and directing the set-top box to analyze content information associated with the content item to create an index of the content information in response to recording the content item.

Claims

1. A server device, comprising:

a memory storing computer instructions; and

a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor, responsive to executing the computer instructions, performs operation comprising;

receiving an indicator of interest related to a subject from a user of a first set-top box;

searching metadata directed to the subject among a plurality of content items;

selecting from the plurality of content items based upon related metadata information associated with the subject when no metadata information matches the subject among the plurality of content items as a selected plurality of content items, wherein the selected plurality of content items include related metadata information associated with the subject;

determining whether a set-top box of a plurality of set-top boxes has available data analysis content storage space, wherein the data analysis content storage space comprises a portion of storage of a digital video recorder of the set-top box reserved for use by the server for data analysis;

responsive to determining that a respective set-top box has available data analysis content storage space as an available set-top box, transmitting each particular content item of the selected plurality of content items to a respective available set-top box;

directing each respective available set-top box to;

record the particular content item;

search the particular content item in a real-time stream for an instance matching the subject; and

create an index of content information comprising the instance matching the subject; and

receiving from the available set-top box the index of the content information to decide if the particular content item is of interest to a personalization profile associated with the user of the first set-top box.

2. The server device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise sending an instruction to a first particular set-top box, based upon information in the index of the content information that the particular content item is not of interest to the personalization profile.

3. The server device of claim 2, wherein, in response to receiving the instruction, the first particular set-top box erases the particular content item.

4. The server device of claim 2, wherein the operations further comprise:

making a determination that the index of the content information does not include a term that meets an indexing criterion; and

transmitting the instruction to the first particular set-top box in response to making the determination.

5. The server device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

making a determination that the index of the content information includes a term that meets an indexing criterion; and

transmitting a recommendation to equipment of a user of a second particular set-top box in response to making the determination.

6. The server device of claim 1, wherein the search of the content information associated with the particular content item comprises analyzing closed-caption information.

7. A set-top box device, comprising:

a memory storing computer instructions; and

a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor, responsive to executing the computer instructions, performs operations comprising;

determining whether the set-top box device has available data analysis content storage space, wherein the data analysis content storage space comprises a portion of a memory of the set-top box reserved for use by a television network for data analysis;

receiving, responsive to determining that the set-top box has available data analysis content storage space, a content item from the television network;

determining a search term related to a user of the set-top box;

searching metadata associated with the content item to determine if the metadata matches the search term, wherein responsive to the metadata not matching the search term, determining if the metadata is relevant to the search term;

searching for content information in a real time stream of the content item for an instance matching the search term, responsive to determining that the metadata does not match the search term;

creating an index of the content information according to the instance matching the search term;

transmitting the index of the content information to an analyzer module of the television network; and

determining if the content item is of interest to a personalization profile associated with the set-top box.

8. The set-top box device of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise:

generating an instruction if the determining determines that the content item is not of interest; and

erasing the content item in response to receiving the instruction.

9. The set-top box device of claim 8, further comprising a selector module, wherein the selector module comprises a data analysis module adapted to send the instruction in response to receiving the index of the content information.

10. The set-top box device of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise providing a recommendation to view the content item from a recommendation module responsive to the recommendation module determining that the index of the content information includes a term that meets an indexing criterion.

11. The set-top box of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise receiving an instruction from a recommendation module responsive to determining that the index of the content information does include a term that meets an indexing criterion.

12. The set-top box device of claim 11, wherein the analyzer module includes the recommendation module.

13. The set-top box device of claim 7, wherein the searching of the content information associated with the content item comprises analyzing closed-caption information, and

wherein the television network enables video-on-demand services.

14. A method, comprising:

selecting, by a system comprising a processor, a content item based upon metadata information associated with the content item;

determining whether a first set-top box, coupled to a television network, has available data analysis content storage space, wherein the data analysis content storage space comprises a portion of storage of a digital video recorder of the first set-top box reserved for use by the television network for data analysis;

sending, by the system, if the first set-top box has the data analysis content storage space, the content item to the first set-top box;

directing, by the system, the first set-top box to record the content item;

directing, by the system, the first set-top box to search metadata associated with the content item for an instance matching a search term;

directing, by the system, responsive to the metadata not matching the search term, the first set-top box to search, in a real-time stream, content information associated with the content item for an instance matching the search term to create an index of the content information; and

receiving, by the system, the index of the content information from the first set-top box to decide if the content item is of interest to a personalization profile associated with one of the first set-top boxes.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising sending, by the system, an instruction to the first set-top box to erase the content item, based upon the index of the content information when the content item is not of interest to the personalization profile.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

making a determination, by the system, that the index includes a term that meets an indexing criterion; and

sending, by the system, a recommendation to equipment of a user of a second set-top box in response to making the determination.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the recommendation is sent from a recommendation module in the television network that is remote from the second set-top box.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

making, by the system, a determination that the index does not include a term that meets an indexing criterion; and

sending, by the system, an instruction to the first set-top box in response to making the determination.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the searching of the content information comprises analyzing a closed captioning track of the content information.