System and method for bypassing an emergency alert break-in for a television program

• US 9,078,044 B2
• Filed: 01/06/2014
• Issued: 07/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Howarter, Jamie, Ceballos, Douglas
• Primary Examiner(s): SALCE, JASON P
• Application Number:
  US14/148,486
• Publication Number:
  US 20140130086A1
• Time in Patent Office: 547 Days
• Field of Search: 725/33
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 27/008 with transmission via TV or radio broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/106 Receiver-side switching
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/59 for emergency or urgency
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/76 Wired systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/78 CATV [Community Antenna Television] systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/27 Arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/37 for identifying segments of broadcast information, e.g. scenes or extracting programme ID
• 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 21/443 OS processes, e.g. booting an STB, implementing a Java virtual machine in an STB or power management in an STB
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4583 Automatically resolving scheduling conflicts, e.g. when a recording by reservation has been programmed for two programs in the same time slot
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• 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 5/781 on disks or drums

Abstract

Embodiments of the disclosed invention include a system and a method for bypassing an emergency alert break-in for a recorded event. For example, in one embodiment, a set top box is disclosed that includes a memory component for storing computer executable instructions; a communication interface for receiving media content data from a cable service provider; a decoder module for decoding the received media content data; an emergency alert break-in monitoring module for identifying an emergency alert break-in from the received data; a digital video recorder controller module for determining whether the identified emergency alert break-in affects a recording of a program on a recorded channel; and an emergency alert break-in bypass module for bypassing the identified emergency alert break-in for enabling the digital video recorder controller module to record the program without the identified emergency alert break-in.

Claims

1. A set top box for bypassing an emergency alert break-in for media content, the set top box comprising:

a memory component for storing computer executable instructions;

a communication interface for receiving media content data comprising a television program;

an emergency alert break-in monitoring module for identifying an emergency alert break-in from the received media content data; and

an emergency alert break-in bypass module for bypassing the identified emergency alert break-in for enabling the set top box to receive the television program without the identified emergency alert break-in by requesting, in response to a determination to bypass the emergency alert break-in, the television program from an Internet television source, and responsive to receiving at least a portion of the television program from the Internet television source, replacing at least a portion of the media content data with the at least a portion of the television program received from the Internet television source.

2. The set top box of claim 1, further comprising a digital video recorder that stores the media content data and replaces the at least a portion of the media content data with the television program received from the Internet television source when saving a recording of the program.

3. The set top box of claim 1, further comprising a data storage unit for storing a data structure that includes data indicating the Internet television source for the television program.

4. The set top box of claim 3, wherein the data storage unit stores user preferences associated with the recording of the program.

5. The set top box of claim 4, wherein the user preferences associated with the recording of the program are different from user preferences associated with the recording of a second program.

6. The set top box of claim 4, wherein the emergency alert break-in bypass module retrieves the user preferences associated with the recording of the program to determine whether to bypass the identified emergency alert break-in for recording of the program.

7. The set top box of claim 1, wherein the Internet television source is a website associated with a network broadcasting the program.

8. The set top box of claim 1, wherein the media content data is received from a television service provider.

9. The set top box of claim 8, wherein the television service provider is a cable television provider.

10. The set top box of claim 1, wherein the television program is a regularly scheduled program, and the request for the television program is transmitted to the Internet television source is performed after the regularly scheduled program has terminated.

11. A method executed by a set top box for bypassing an emergency alert break-in for media content, the method comprising:

receiving media content data with a set top box, the media content data comprising a television program;

identifying an emergency alert break-in from the received media content data;

requesting, in response to a determination to bypass the emergency alert break-in, the television program from an Internet television source;

responsive to receiving at least a portion of the television program from the Internet television source, replacing at least a portion of the media content data with the at least a portion of the television program received from the Internet television source to bypass the emergency alert break-in.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

recording the media content data with a digital video recorder; and

replacing the at least a portion of the media content data with the television program received from the Internet television source when saving a recording of the program.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

storing, on a data storage unit, a data structure including data indicating the Internet television source for the television program.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

storing, on the data storage unit, user preferences associated with the recording of the program.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the user preferences associated with the recording of the program are different from user preferences associated with the recording of a second program.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

retrieving the user preferences associated with the recording of the program; and

determining whether to bypass recording of the emergency alert break-in on a channel associated with the recording setting based on the user preferences.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the Internet television source is a website associated with a network broadcasting the regularly scheduled program.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein receiving the media content data comprises receiving the media content data from a television service provider.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the television service provider is a cable television provider.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein the television program is a regularly scheduled program, and the request for the television program is transmitted to the Internet television source is performed after the regularly scheduled program has terminated.