Systems and methods to select media content

• US 9,501,478 B2
• Filed: 11/17/2011
• Issued: 11/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Wohlert, Randolph
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Tuyetlien T
• Application Number:
  US13/298,488
• Publication Number:
  US 20120066186A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,832 Days
• Field of Search: 715/716, 715719-722, 715727-731, 715/771, 715/772, 715853-855
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/435 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/4387 by the use of playlists
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46

Abstract

A method includes accessing, at a device, data identifying a plurality of categories of media content. The data includes a first value associated with a first category of the plurality of categories of media content and a second value associated with a second category of the plurality of categories of media content. The method also includes modifying the data to remove the first category in response to determining that the first value does not satisfy a threshold. The method further includes adjusting the second value after modifying the data to remove the first category.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

accessing, at a device, data identifying a plurality of categories of media content, wherein the data includes a value associated with each category, and wherein a particular value associated with a particular category specifies a percentage of media content items in a media playlist that corresponds to the particular category;

retrieving a threshold percentage applicable to each category of the plurality of categories;

receiving, at the device, user input indicating an increase in a first value associated with a first category of the plurality of categories;

modifying, at the device in response to the user input, the data to produce first modified data to increase the first value and to reduce a second value associated with a second category to a modified second value, wherein the second value is reduced to accommodate the increase to the first value; and

in response to a determination indicating that the modified second value is less than the threshold percentage;

modifying, at the device, the first modified data to produce second modified data to remove the second category; and

dynamically updating, at the device, media content items in the media playlist based on the second modified data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein modifying the data to increase the first value includes reducing a third value associated with a third category of the plurality of categories to accommodate the increase to the first value.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein modifying the first modified data to produce the second modified data includes increasing the third value in response to removing the first category.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending a listing of titles in the media playlist to a display device coupled to the device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a particular media content item of the media content items includes an audio file, a video file, or a combination thereof.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the device includes a mobile communication device, a digital audio player, a digital video recorder, a portable computing device, a desktop computing device, a set-top box, a compact disk player, a digital video disk player, a television, or a combination thereof.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to the determination indicating that the modified second value is greater than the threshold percentage, dynamically updating media content items in the media playlist based on the first modified data.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending a first indicator to a display device of currently playing media from the media playlist.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising sending a second indicator of particular media of the media playlist to be played next to the display device with the first indicator.

10. A device comprising:

a processor;

a memory including instructions executable by the processor to perform operations including;

accessing user preference data identifying a plurality of categories of media content, wherein the data includes a value associated with each category, and wherein a particular value associated with a particular category specifies a percentage of media content items in a media content playlist that corresponds to the particular category;

receiving user input to add an additional category to the playlist;

retrieving a threshold percentage applicable to each category of the plurality of categories;

modifying, in response to the user input, the user preference data to first modified user preference data to set a value associated with the additional category to an initial value and to reduce a first value associated with a first category to a modified first value, wherein the first value is reduced to accommodate the additional category; and

in response to a determination indicating that the first modified value is less than the threshold percentage;

modifying the first modified user preference data to second modified user preference data to remove the first category; and

dynamically updating media content items in the media playlist based on the second modified user preference data.

11. The device of claim 10, further comprising a display to present a user interface including a representation of the user preference data.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein the representation of the user preference data includes a plurality of adjustable objects.

13. The device of claim 11, wherein the representation of the user preference data includes a plurality of adjustable bars arranged in a bar graph configuration.

14. The device of claim 12, wherein each adjustable object of the plurality of adjustable objects is associated with a specific category of media content of the plurality of categories of media content.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein a first adjustable object is representative of the first value.

16. A computer-readable hardware device storing processor-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

accessing data identifying a plurality of categories of media content, wherein the data includes a value associated with each category, and wherein a particular value associated with a particular category specifies a percentage of media content items in a media playlist that corresponds to the particular category;

retrieving a threshold percentage applicable to each category of the plurality of categories;

receiving user input indicating an increase in a first value associated with a first category of the plurality of categories;

modifying, in response to the user input, the data to produce first modified data to increase the first value and to reduce a second value associated with a second category to produce a modified second value, wherein the second value is reduced to accommodate the increase to the first value; and

in response to a determination indicating that the modified second value is less than the threshold percentage;

modifying the first modified data to produce second modified data to remove the second category; and

dynamically updating media content items in the media playlist based on the second modified data.

17. The computer-readable hardware device of claim 16, wherein the operations further include receiving the data from a remote device via a network.

18. The computer-readable hardware device of claim 16, wherein the operations further include determining whether a time period associated with the data is active, wherein the data is scheduled to be used to generate the media playlist during the time period, and wherein the media playlist is generated based on the data in response to a particular determination that the time period is active.

19. The computer-readable hardware device of claim 16, wherein the operations further include adding a third category to the plurality of categories of media content in response to second user input, wherein the third category is associated with a third value.

20. The computer-readable hardware device of claim 19, wherein the operations further include prompting a user to input the third value prior to adding the third category.