Adaptive search result user interface

• US 9,037,999 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2009
• Issued: 05/19/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TiVo Solutions Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: TiVo Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Poniatowski, Robert, Glennon, Shelly, Sanford, Glen, Paluch, Kimberly, Schmidt, Margret
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Kieu
• Assistant Examiner(s): BASOM, BLAINE T
• Application Number:
  US12/650,538
• Publication Number:
  US 20100199219A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,966 Days
• Field of Search: 715/811, 715/825, 715/828, 715/835, 715/717, 715/719, 715/721, 725/39, 725/43
• US Class Current: 715/825
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/33 Querying
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/335 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles filtering in web context G06F16/9535, G06F16/9536
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739

Abstract

A method and apparatus for an adaptive search user interface is provided. The user interface allows for search results to be customized by the user. The user interface includes a discovery bar of multimedia content that includes additional media content, advertisements, and features that are recommended to users. The discovery bar of multimedia content is customizable based upon user command input. The user interface also includes methods and graphical interface in which to resolve recording conflicts.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

displaying a menu interface at a multimedia device, the menu interface comprising a first interface area, the first interface area comprising controls for selecting items, the menu interface further comprising a discovery interface area that is adjacent to the first interface area;

determining a context for the first interface area;

based at least in part on the determined context of the first interface area that is adjacent to the discovery interface area, identifying recommended items, each particular item of the recommended items linked to particular media content, the identifying comprising at least;

determining, for each group of two or more groups of one or more content sources, a respective number of items in the recommended items that are to originate from the group, each group of the two or more groups relating to a different type of content and having an assigned frequency, based at least partially on which the respective number of items for the group is determined;

selecting one or more items from a particular group of the two or more groups based on at least the determined context of the first interface area that is adjacent to the discovery interface area until the respective number of items that are to originate from the particular group has been reached; and

populating the recommended items with the one or more items selected from the particular group; and

generating the discovery interface area, the discovery interface area displaying at least a subset of the recommended items at a given point in time, the discovery interface area including a selectable image for each particular item in the subset of the recommended items.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the identifying further comprises determining a percentage chance that an item from the particular group would appear in the recommended items and determining the number of items that are to originate from the particular group based at least in part upon the percentage chance.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one group of one or more content sources comprises non-contextual content sources.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the respective number of items that are to originate from each group of the one two or more groups are further determined based at least in part upon command input that indicates a personalized preference with respect to a specified group of the one two or more groups.

5. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein displaying the recommended items comprises displaying images that correspond to the media content to which the recommended items are respectively linked.

6. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein a particular item of the recommended items is linked to a feed of media content or a collection of media content.

7. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

sending, to a server, a request from the multimedia device to at least one of;

generate the discovery interface area, or identify the recommended items, the request including at least one of the determined context, or information describing the first interface area; and

receiving, at the multimedia device, from the server, at least one of the discovery interface area or the recommended items.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising the multimedia device caching the discovery interface area offline in advance of receiving a request to display the first interface area.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first interface area is a navigable component of a content navigation system, the first interface area varying depending on user input, the first interface displaying at various times, depending on the user input, at least:

electronic programming guide information, a media content search interface, and a directory of local and/or downloadable media content.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first interface area displays a listing of content from a particular content source, wherein the two or more groups of one or more content sources include content sources other than the particular content source.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the two or more groups of one or more content sources include content sources selected from at least:

one or more broadcast media providers, one or more stored media sources, and one or more streaming media providers.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more items are selected based at least in part on demographic data or geographic data associated with the multimedia device.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one selectable image in the discovery interface area for an item in the subset of recommended items is displayed with a graphical indicator.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising in response to receiving user input selecting a particular selectable image for an item in the subset of recommended items, displaying a rollout area containing information related to the item.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, which when executed by one or more computing devices, cause:

displaying a menu interface at a multimedia device, the menu interface comprising a first interface area, the first interface area comprising controls for selecting items, the menu interface further comprising a discovery interface area that is adjacent to the first interface area;

determining a context for the first interface area;

based at least in part on the determined context of the first interface area that is adjacent to the discovery interface area, identifying recommended items, each particular item of the recommended items linked to particular media content, the identifying comprising at least;

determining, for each group of two or more groups of one or more content sources, a respective number of items in the recommended items that are to originate from the group, each group of the two or more groups relating to a different type of content and having an assigned frequency, based at least partially on which the respective number of items for the group is determined;

selecting one or more items from a particular group of the two or more groups based on at least the determined context of the first interface area that is adjacent to the discovery interface area until the respective number of items that are to originate from the particular group has been reached; and

populating the recommended items with the one or more items selected from the particular group; and

generating the discovery interface area, the discovery interface area displaying at least a subset of the recommended items at a given point in time, the discovery interface area including a selectable image for each particular item in the subset of the recommended items.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as recited in claim 15, wherein the identifying further comprises determining a percentage chance that an item from the particular group would appear in the recommended items and determining the number of items that are to originate from the particular group based at least in part upon the percentage chance.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as recited in claim 15, wherein at least one group of one or more content sources comprises non-contextual content sources.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as recited in claim 15, wherein the respective number of items that are to originate from each group of the two or more groups are further determined based at least in part upon command input that indicates a personalized preference with respect to a specified group of the two or more groups.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as recited in claim 15, wherein displaying the recommended items comprises displaying images that correspond to the media content to which the recommended items are respectively linked.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as recited in claim 15, wherein a particular item of the recommended items is linked to a feed of media content or a collection of media content.

21. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as recited in claim 15, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more computing devices, further cause:

sending, to a server, a request from the multimedia device to at least one of;

generate the discovery interface area, or identify the recommended items, the request including at least one of the determined context, or information describing the first menu interface area; and

receiving, at the multimedia device, from the server, at least one of the discovery interface area or the recommended items.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21, further comprising the multimedia device caching the discovery interface area offline in advance of receiving a request to display the first interface area.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the first interface area is a navigable component of a content navigation system, the first interface area varying depending on user input, the first interface displaying at various times, depending on the user input, at least:

electronic programming guide information, a media content search interface, and a directory of local and/or downloadable media content.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the first interface area displays a listing of content from a particular content source, wherein the two or more groups of one or more content sources include content sources other than the particular content source.

25. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the two or more groups of one or more content sources include content sources selected from at least:

one or more broadcast media providers, one or more stored media sources, and one or more streaming media providers.

26. An apparatus, comprising:

a display subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that displays a menu interface at a multimedia device, the menu interface comprising a first interface area, the first interface area comprising controls for selecting items, the menu interface further comprising a discovery interface area that is adjacent to the first interface area;

a context determination subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that determines a context for the first interface area;

a recommendation subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that, based at least in part on the determined context of the interface area that is adjacent to the discovery interface area, identifies recommended items, each particular item of the recommended items linked to particular media content, the identifying involving at least;

a determining subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that determines, for each group of two or more groups of one or more content sources, a respective number of items in the recommended items that are to originate from the group, each group of the two or more groups relating to a different type of content and having an assigned frequency, based at least partially on which the respective number of items for the group is determined;

a selecting subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that selects one or more items from a particular group of the one or more groups based at least on the determined context of the first interface area that is adjacent to the discovery interface area until the number of items that are to originate from the particular group has been reached; and

a population subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that populates the recommended items with the one or more items selected from the particular group; and

a graphical user interface generating subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that generates the discovery interface area, the discovery interface area displaying at least a subset of the recommended items at a given point in time, the discovery interface area including a selectable image for each particular item in the subset of the recommended items.

27. An apparatus as recited in claim 26, wherein the identifying further comprises determining a percentage chance that an item from the particular group would appear in the recommended items and determining the number of items that are to originate from the particular group based at least in part upon the percentage chance.

28. An apparatus as recited in claim 26, wherein at least one group of one or more content sources comprises non-contextual content sources.

29. An apparatus as recited in claim 26, wherein the respective number of items that are to originate from each group of the two or more groups are further determined based at least in part upon command input that indicates a personalized preference with respect to a specified group of the one or more groups.

30. An apparatus as recited in claim 26, wherein displaying the recommended items comprises displaying images that correspond to the media content to which the recommended items are respectively linked.

31. An apparatus as recited in claim 26, wherein a particular item of the recommended items is linked to a feed of media content or a collection of media content.

32. An apparatus as recited in claim 26, further comprising:

a sending subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that sends to a server, a request from the multimedia device to at least one of;

generate the discovery interface area, or identify the recommended items, the request including at least one of the determined context, or information describing the first menu interface area; and

a receiving subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that receives, from the server, at least one of the discovery interface area or the recommended items.

33. The apparatus as recited in claim 32, further comprising the multimedia device caching the discovery interface area offline in advance of receiving a request to display the first interface area.

34. The apparatus as recited in claim 26, wherein the first interface area is a navigable component of a content navigation system, the first interface area varying depending on user input, the first interface displaying at various times, depending on the user input, at least:

electronic programming guide information, a media content search interface, and a directory of local and/or downloadable media content.

35. The apparatus as recited in claim 26, wherein the first interface area displays a listing of content from a particular content source, wherein the two or more groups of one or more content sources include content sources other than the particular content source.

36. The apparatus as recited in claim 26, wherein the two or more groups of one or more content sources include content sources selected from at least:

one or more broadcast media providers, one or more stored media sources, and one or more streaming media providers.