Identification and recording of program sub-segments

• US 8,959,567 B1
• Filed: 08/16/2004
• Issued: 02/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/15/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Shen, Kevin, Daney, David, Schmidt, Johannes, Francis, Stephen S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bruckart, Benjamin R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bantamoi, Anthony
• Application Number:
  US10/919,803
• Time in Patent Office: 3,837 Days
• Field of Search: 725/142, 386/46, 386 68- 70, 386/83, 386/240, 358/908
• US Class Current: 725/142
• 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 21/47214 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 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8549 Creating video summaries, e.g. movie trailer retrieval in video databases by using presentations in form of a video summary G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/79 Processing of colour television signals in connection with recording

Abstract

Techniques are provided for identifying and recording program segments and sub-segments for later playback and use. In general, in one aspect, the invention features a method of recording a sub-segment of a broadcast program. The method includes receiving a user input of one or more user specified parameters, identifying a program sub-segment starting point within a program using data in a broadcast stream, and identifying a program sub-segment ending point within a program. The method also includes storing a program sub-segment and presenting the program sub-segment to a user.

Claims

1. A method of digitally recording a sub-segment of a broadcast program segment, comprising:

receiving a user input of one or more user specified parameters to identify a portion of said program segment to be recorded;

monitoring at least one broadcast stream for said one or more parameters;

recording a program segment based on the one or more user specified parameters;

identifying a sub-segment starting point within the recorded program segment using data in a broadcast stream;

identifying a sub-segment ending point within the recorded program segment;

storing the program sub-segment from said starting point to said ending point;

monitoring for an update of the stored program sub-segment;

determining whether the stored program sub-segment has been retrieved prior to the broadcast of an updated program sub-segment;

automatically recording the updated program sub-segment and replacing the stored program sub-segment with the recorded updated program sub-segment, in response to determining that the stored program sub-segment has not been retrieved prior to the broadcast of the updated program sub-segment; and

providing the stored program sub-segment, if a user retrieves the stored program sub-segment prior to the broadcast of the updated program sub-segment.

2. The method of claim 1, where identifying a program sub-segment starting point further comprises searching for one or more keywords in a closed-caption stream of the program.

3. The method of claim 1, where identifying a sub-segment starting point further comprises searching for one or more keywords in an audio stream of the program.

4. The method of claim 1, where identifying a sub-segment starting point further comprises searching for a particular video frame in the program.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that a user specified parameter is present in a plurality of broadcast streams broadcast at a same time; and

recording each of the plurality of broadcast streams.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that a user specified parameter is present in a plurality of broadcast streams broadcast at a same time; and

selecting only one of the broadcast streams to record based on a user specified rule.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing an alert to the user in response to identifying one or more of the user specified parameters in the broadcast program segment.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the providing an alert comprises one of turning on a television or sending a communication to the user.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the providing an alert further comprises:

turning on the television, and

presenting the sub-segment for viewing.

10. A computer program product, tangibly stored on a machine-readable storage device, for storing a sub-segment of a program segment, comprising instructions operable to cause a programmable processor to:

receive a user input of one or more user specified parameters to identify a portion of said program segment to be recorded;

monitor at least one broadcast stream for said one or more parameters;

record a program segment based on the one or more user specified parameters;

identify a sub-segment starting point within the recorded program segment using data in a broadcast stream;

identify a sub-segment ending point within the program segment;

store the program sub-segment from said starting point to said ending point;

monitor for an update of the stored program sub-segment;

determine whether the stored program sub-segment has been retrieved prior to the broadcast of the updated program sub-segment;

automatically record the updated program sub-segment and replace the stored program sub-segment with the recorded updated program sub-segment, in response to determining that the stored program sub-segment has not been retrieved prior to the broadcast of the updated program sub-segment; and

provide the stored program sub-segment, if a user retrieves the stored program sub-segment prior to the broadcast of the updated program sub-segment.

11. The computer program product of claim 10, further including instructions to cause the processor to:

determine that a user specified parameter is present in a plurality of broadcast streams broadcast at a same time; and

select each of the plurality of broadcast streams to record.

12. The computer program product of claim 10, further including instructions to cause the processor to:

determine that a user specified parameter is present in a plurality of broadcast streams broadcast at a same time; and

select only one of the broadcast streams to record based on a user specified rule.

13. An apparatus, comprising:

an input operable to receive a user input;

a memory operable to store one or more program segments or sub-segments;

a controller including one or more engines operable to monitor one or more broadcasts and identify particular program segments, said controller configured to;

receive a user input of one or more user specified parameters to identify a portion of said segment to be recorded;

monitor at least one broadcast stream for said one or more parameters;

record a program segment based on the one or more user specified parameters;

identify a sub-segment starting point within the recorded program segment using data in a broadcast stream;

identify a sub-segment ending point within the recorded program segment;

store the program sub-segment from said starting point to said ending point;

monitor for an update of the stored program sub-segment;

determine whether the stored program sub-segment has been retrieved prior to the broadcast of the updated program sub-segment;

automatically record the updated program sub-segment and replace the stored program sub-segment with the recorded updated program sub-segment in response to determining that the stored program segment has not been retrieved prior to the broadcast of the updated program sub-segment; and

provide the stored program sub-segment, if a user retrieves the stored program sub-segment prior to the broadcast of the updated program sub-segment.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said controller is further configured to:

determine that a user specified parameter is present stream in a plurality of broadcast streams broadcast at a same time, and

select each of the plurality of broadcast streams to record.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said controller is further configured to:

determine that a user specified parameter is present in a plurality of broadcast streams broadcast at a same time, and

select only one of said broadcast streams to record based on a user specified rule.