Method and apparatus to provide a personalized channel

• US 8,943,540 B2
• Filed: 07/18/2008
• Issued: 01/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Traw, Brendan, Bridges, Bruce D., Balogh, Stephen P., Connelly, Jay H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kumar, Pankaj
• Assistant Examiner(s): BROWN, RUEBEN M
• Application Number:
  US12/175,909
• Publication Number:
  US 20090037958A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,384 Days
• Field of Search: 725/26, 725/28, 725/46, 725/132, 725/140, 725/152, 713/2
• US Class Current: 725/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/252 Processing of multiple end-users' preferences to derive collaborative data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2668 Creating a channel for a dedicated end-user group, e.g. insertion of targeted commercials based on end-user profiles information retrieval from the Internet by querying with filtering and personalisation G06F16/9535; arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast H04H20/10; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/063
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/442 Monitoring of processes or resources, e.g. detecting the failure of a recording device, monitoring the downstream bandwidth, the number of times a movie has been viewed, the storage space available from the internal hard disk arrangements for monitoring broadcast services or broadcast-related services H04H60/29; arrangements for identifying or recognising characteristics with a direct linkage to broadcast information H04H60/35; monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; monitoring in wireless networks H04W24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• 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 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4586 Content update operation triggered locally, e.g. by comparing the version of software modules in a DVB carousel to the version stored locally deployment, distribution, installation, update of software G06F8/65; error detection or correction of the data by redundancy during software upgrading G06F11/1433; arrangements for updating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/25
• 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 21/6112 involving terrestrial transmission, e.g. DVB-T
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6582 Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38
• 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

Abstract

A method and apparatus for automatically delivering data files (e.g. television and movies) via a personalized channel to a user, that are based on a user'"'"'s profile and viewing habits, are provided. A client receives meta-data broadcasts from a server system that includes descriptions of a plurality of data files currently being broadcasted or to be broadcast by the server system. In response to a content rating table that is based on a user'"'"'s profile and viewing habits, a data file is automatically selected. The selected data file is displayed on a personalized channel on a display device to the user. The selected data file can be, for example, a currently broadcasting data file or a data file stored in a cache memory of the client. Thus, the user only needs to tune to his or her personalized channel to view personalized content.

Claims

1. A method implemented by a client terminal, comprising:

receiving meta-data broadcast from a server system at the client terminal, the meta-data including descriptions of a plurality of programs currently being broadcasted by the server system;

rating previously broadcasted programs based on meta-data associated with the previously broadcasted programs, respectively, at the client terminal, in response to a content rating table, wherein the content rating table includes at least a rating value and a rating type for broadcasted programs, wherein the rating value is the combination of a relevance value and a believability factor, the relevance value corresponding to a likelihood that a user will want to watch the previously broadcasted program based on the descriptions of the meta-data and the believability factor is a weighting factor corresponding to the accuracy of past relevance value determinations, and the rating type indicates whether the rating value was generated explicitly based upon prior explicit input from the user or implicitly generated without prior explicit input from the user;

storing previously broadcasted programs meeting a pre-determined ranking threshold in a storage device at the client terminal to create a plurality of stored previously broadcast programs;

comparing the rankings of the plurality of stored previously broadcast programs to determine a best stored program at the client terminal;

rating currently broadcasted programs being received at the client terminal in response to the content rating table;

comparing the rankings of currently broadcasted programs to determine a best currently broadcasted program at the client terminal;

comparing the rankings of the best currently broadcasted program and the best stored program at the client terminal;

selecting either the best currently broadcasted program or the best stored program determined to have the highest ranking; and

displaying the selected best currently broadcasted program or the best stored program automatically on a personalized channel on a display device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the best currently broadcasted program is automatically selected.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein if neither a best currently broadcasted data file or a best stored program is selected then the currently broadcasted program with the highest ranking is selected.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the meta-data comprise at least one of video information, graphical information, audio information, multi-media information or textual information.

5. A client terminal, comprising:

a processor having circuitry to execute instructions;

a communications interface coupled to the processor, the communications interface coupled to receive programs currently being broadcasted and meta-data from a server system; and

a storage device coupled to the processor, the storage device having sequences of instructions stored therein, which when executed by the processor cause the processor to;

rate previously broadcasted programs based on meta-data associated with the previously broadcasted programs, respectively, in response to a content rating table, wherein the content rating table includes at least a rating value and a rating type for broadcasted programs, wherein the rating value is the combination of a relevance value and a believability factor, the relevance value corresponding to a likelihood that a user will want to watch the previously broadcasted program based on the descriptions of the meta-data and the believability factor is a weighting factor corresponding to the accuracy of past relevance value determinations, and the rating type indicates whether the rating value was generated explicitly based upon prior explicit input from the user or implicitly generated without prior explicit input from the user;

store previously broadcasted programs meeting a pre-determined ranking threshold in the storage device to create a plurality of stored previously broadcast programs;

compare the rankings of the plurality of stored previously broadcast programs to determine a best stored program;

rate currently broadcasted programs being received at the client terminal in response to the content rating table;

compare the rankings of currently broadcasted programs to determine a best currently broadcasted program;

compare the rankings of the best currently broadcasted program and the best stored program at the client terminal;

select either the best currently broadcasted program or the best stored program determined to have the highest ranking; and

display the selected best currently broadcasted program or the best stored program automatically on a personalized channel on a display device.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the best currently broadcasted program is automatically selected.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein if neither a best currently broadcasted program or a best stored program is selected then the currently broadcasted program with the highest ranking is selected.

8. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the meta-data comprise at least one of video information, graphical information, audio information, multi-media information or textual information.

9. A machine-readable non-transitory medium of a storage device having instructions tangibly stored thereon executed by a processor of a client terminal to cause the processor to:

receive meta-data broadcast from a server system at the client terminal, the meta-data including descriptions of a plurality of programs currently being broadcasted by the server system;

rate previously broadcasted programs based on meta-data associated with the previously broadcasted programs, respectively, in response to a content rating table, wherein the content rating table includes at least a rating value and a rating type for broadcasted programs, wherein the rating value is the combination of a relevance value and a believability factor, the relevance value corresponding to a likelihood that a user will want to watch the previously broadcasted program based on the descriptions of the meta-data and the believability factor is a weighting factor corresponding to the accuracy of past relevance value determinations, and the rating type indicates whether the rating value was generated explicitly based upon prior explicit input from the user or implicitly generated without prior explicit input from the user;

store previously broadcasted programs meeting a pre-determined ranking threshold in a storage device at the client terminal to create a plurality of stored previously broadcast programs;

compare the rankings of the plurality of stored previously broadcast programs to determine a best stored program;

rate currently broadcasted programs being received at the client terminal in response to the content rating table;

compare the rankings of currently broadcasted programs to determine a best currently broadcasted program;

compare the rankings of the best currently broadcasted program and the best stored program;

select either the best currently broadcasted program or the best stored program determined to have the highest ranking; and

display the selected best currently broadcasted program or the best stored program automatically on a personalized channel on a display device.

10. The machine-readable non-transitory medium of claim 9 wherein the best currently broadcasted program is automatically selected.

11. The machine-readable non-transitory medium of claim 10 wherein if neither a best currently broadcast program or a best stored program is selected then the currently broadcasted program with the highest ranking is selected.