Digital video recorder for automatically recording an upcoming program that is being advertised

• US 9,210,368 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2004
• Issued: 12/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Stone, Christopher J.
• Primary Examiner(s): CHIO, TAT CHI
• Application Number:
  US11/024,043
• Publication Number:
  US 20060143658A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,997 Days
• Field of Search: 386/1, 386/34, 386/46, 386/83, 386/95, 386/125, 725/22, 725/39, 725/61, 725/58, 725/42, 725/136
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44218 Detecting physical presence or behaviour of the user, e.g. using sensors to detect if the user is leaving the room or changes his face expression during a TV program methods or arrangements for recognising human body or animal bodies or body parts G06V40/10; methods or arrangements for acquiring or recognising human faces, facial parts, facial sketches, facial expressions G06V40/16; methods or arrangements for recognising movements or behaviour G06V40/20; arrangements for identifying users in broadcast systems H04H60/45
• 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 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8405 represented by keywords
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A method and apparatus is provided for recording a program being advertised during a broadcast of another program. The method begins by receiving a user request to record the program being advertised in an advertisement appearing in a broadcast of the other program. The other program is embodied in a video signal received from an external broadcasting source. At least one prescribed keyword is identified in a locally stored segment of the video signal that contains the advertisement. The prescribed keyword(s) pertains to a time at which the program being advertised is to be broadcast. A recording session is established in accordance with the prescribed keyword(s) to record the program being advertised. Finally, the program being advertised is recorded during the established recording session.

Claims

1. A method for recording an advertised program that is advertised during a broadcast of a first program different from the advertised program, the method comprising:

receiving, during the broadcast of the first to a user, a request from the user to record a future broadcast of the advertised program, wherein the advertised program is advertised in an advertisement appearing in the broadcast of the first program, the first program being embodied in video data received from an external broadcasting source;

in response to receiving the request from the user, locally storing a video segment of the first program that was broadcast to the user, the video segment including a preceding segment broadcast to the user immediately prior to receiving the request and the video segment having a predefined duration that is less than a duration of the first program;

parsing the locally stored video segment to extract and identify at least one prescribed keyword;

determining, based on the at least one prescribed word, the future broadcast of the advertised program to record;

automatically establishing a recording session to record the future broadcast of the advertised program; and

recording the advertised program during the established recording session.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein parsing the locally stored video segment to extract and identify at least one prescribed keyword comprises extracting the at least one prescribed keyword from a closed caption portion of the locally stored video segment.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein parsing the locally stored video segment to extract and identify at least one prescribed keyword comprises extracting the at least one prescribed keyword from an image portion of the locally stored video segment.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein parsing the locally stored video segment to extract and identify at least one prescribed keyword comprises:

attempting to extract the at least one prescribed keyword from a closed caption portion of the locally stored video segment; and

in response to the at least one prescribed keyword not being available from the closed caption portion, extracting the at least one prescribed keyword from an audio data portion of the locally stored video segment.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein parsing the locally stored video segment to extract and identify at least one prescribed keyword comprises:

attempting to extract the at least one prescribed keyword from a closed caption portion of the locally stored video segment; and

if the at least one prescribed keyword is not available from the closed caption portion, attempting to extract the at least one prescribed keyword from an audio data portion of the locally stored video segment; and

if the at least one prescribed keyword is not available from the audio data portion, extracting the at least one prescribed keyword from an image portion of the locally stored video segment.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one prescribed keyword comprises a date and time of day at which the advertised program is to be broadcast.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

requesting the user to verify establishment of the recording session.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon one or more software programs which, when executed, implement the method of claim 1.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the video data is encoded according to a moving pictures experts group (MPEG) standard.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the advertised program is recorded on a hard disk drive.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the advertised program is recorded on an optical storage medium.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the locally stored video segment that contains the advertisement is stored in a buffer.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the prescribed keyword identifies a time at which the advertised program is scheduled to be broadcast.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to receiving the request from the user and in response to determining that the future broadcast of the advertised program to record, presenting data (i) identifying the future broadcast of the advertised program to the user and (ii) requesting verification of the advertised program; and

receiving, from the user, verification of the advertised program,

wherein the recording session is established in response to receiving the verification.

13. An apparatus for recording an advertised program that is advertised during a broadcast of a first program different from the advertised program, the apparatus comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium; and

a processor responsive to the computer-readable storage medium and to a software program, the software program, when loaded into the processor, operative to;

receive, during the broadcast of the first program to a user, a request from the user to record a future broadcast of the advertised program, wherein advertised program is advertised in an advertisement appearing in the broadcast of the first program, the first program being embodied in video data received from an external broadcasting source;

in response to receiving the request from the user, locally store a video segment of the first program that was broadcast to the user, the video segment including a preceding segment broadcast to the user immediately prior to receiving the request and the video segment having a predefined duration that is less than a duration of the first program;

parse the locally stored video segment to extract and identify at least one prescribed keyword;

determine, based on the at least one prescribed word, the future broadcast of the advertised program to record;

cause a recording session to be established to record the future broadcast of the advertised program; and

cause the advertised program to be recorded onto the computer-readable storage medium during the established recording session.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein parsing the locally stored video segment to extract and identify at least one prescribed keyword comprises extracting the at least one prescribed keyword from a closed caption portion of the locally stored video segment.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein parsing the locally stored video segment to extract and identify at least one prescribed keyword comprises:

attempting to extract the at least one prescribed keyword from a closed caption portion of the locally stored video segment; and

in response to the at least one prescribed keyword not being available from the closed caption portion, extracting the at least one prescribed keyword from an audio data portion of the locally stored video segment.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein parsing the locally stored video segment to extract and identify at least one prescribed keyword comprises:

attempting to extract the at least one prescribed keyword from a closed caption portion of the locally stored video segment; and

if the at least one prescribed keyword is not available from the closed caption portion, attempting to extract the at least one prescribed keyword from an audio data portion of the locally stored video segment; and

if the at least one prescribed keyword is not available from the audio data portion, extracting the at least one prescribed keyword from an image portion of the locally stored video segment.

17. An apparatus for recording an advertised program that is advertised during a broadcast of a first program different from the advertised program, the apparatus comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium; and

a processor responsive to the computer-readable storage medium and to a software program, the software program, when loaded into the processor, operative to;

receive, during the broadcast of the first program to a user, a request from the user to record a future broadcast of the advertised program, wherein the advertised program is advertised in an advertisement appearing in the broadcast of the first program, said first program being embodied in video data received from an external broadcasting source;

in response to receiving the request from the user, locally store a video segment of the first program that was broadcast to the user, the video segment including a preceding segment broadcast to the user immediately prior to receiving the request and the video segment having a predefined duration that is less than a duration of the first program;

parse the locally stored video segment to extract and identify at least one prescribed keyword;

determine, based on the at least one prescribed word, the future broadcast of the advertised program to record;

cause a recording session to be established to record the advertised program; and

cause the advertised program to be recorded onto the computer-readable storage medium during the established recording session.