DVR schedule collaboration methods and systems

• US 9,508,381 B2
• Filed: 09/10/2013
• Issued: 11/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Babu, Narendra B., Zaki, Syed Mohasin
• Primary Examiner(s): HARVEY, DAVID E
• Application Number:
  US14/023,431
• Publication Number:
  US 20150071621A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,176 Days
• Field of Search: 386/291
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/02 Control of operating function, e.g. switching from recording to reproducing

Abstract

An exemplary method includes a DVR schedule collaboration system 1) maintaining data representative of a plurality of DVR schedules associated with a plurality of users, 2) creating a master DVR schedule based on the plurality of DVR schedules, and 3) facilitating creation of a personal DVR schedule by a user in accordance with at least one of the master DVR schedule and one or more of the DVR schedules associated with the plurality of users. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

maintaining, by a digital video recording (“

DVR”

) schedule collaboration system, data representative of a plurality of DVR schedules associated with a plurality of users;

creating, by the DVR schedule collaboration system, a master DVR schedule based on the plurality of DVR schedules; and

facilitating, by the DVR schedule collaboration system, creation of a personal DVR schedule by a user in accordance with at least one of the master DVR schedule and one or more of the DVR schedules associated with the plurality of users, the personal DVR schedule comprising instructions for a DVR device associated with the user to record one or more media content programs during one or more time slots;

wherein the facilitating of the creation of the personal DVR schedule by the user comprises allowing the user to use the master DVR schedule as the personal DVR schedule by

presenting a selectable option within an interface that is presented to the user, and

designating, when the user selects the selectable option, the master DVR schedule as the personal DVR schedule by overwriting contents originally included in the personal DVR schedule with contents included in the master DVR schedule.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the maintaining of the data representative of the plurality of DVR schedules associated with the plurality of users comprises:

detecting that a particular user included in the plurality of users publishes a DVR schedule created by the particular user; and

including data representative of the DVR schedule created by the particular user in the data representative of the plurality of DVR schedules.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the maintaining of the data representative of the plurality of DVR schedules associated with the plurality of users comprises:

detecting that the user publishes the personal DVR schedule; and

including data representative of the personal DVR schedule in the data representative of the plurality of DVR schedules.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the maintaining of the data representative of the plurality of DVR schedules created by the plurality of users comprises:

detecting a modification by a particular user included in the plurality of users of a DVR schedule associated with the user and maintained by a DVR device associated with the particular user; and

updating, based on the modification, a DVR schedule associated with the user and included in the plurality of DVR schedules maintained by the DVR schedule collaboration system.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of DVR schedules include data specifying a plurality of media content programs selected by the users for recording during a plurality of time slots, and wherein the creating of the master DVR schedule based on the plurality of DVR schedules comprises:

identifying a most popular media content program included in the plurality of media content programs and associated with a first time slot included in the plurality of time slots; and

selecting the most popular media content program for inclusion in the master DVR schedule at the first time slot.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the identifying of the most popular media content program comprises:

identifying a media content program included in the plurality of media content programs that is most commonly specified in the plurality of DVR schedules; and

designating the media content program as the most popular media content program.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the creating of the master DVR schedule based on the plurality of DVR schedules further comprises:

identifying a next most popular media content program included in the plurality of media content programs and that is associated with a second time slot included in the plurality of time slots that does not overlap with the first time slot; and

selecting the next most popular media content program for inclusion in the master DVR schedule at the second time slot.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the DVR schedule collaboration system, user input representative of a media content attribute;

wherein the creating of the master DVR schedule comprises

identifying a plurality of media content programs that have the media content attribute, and

including the identified media content programs in the master DVR schedule.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the facilitating of the creation of the personal DVR schedule by the user further comprises allowing the user to use a particular DVR schedule included in the plurality of DVR schedules and associated with a particular user included in the plurality of users as the personal DVR schedule by

presenting an additional selectable option within the interface, and

designating, if the user selects the additional selectable option, the particular DVR schedule associated with the particular user as the personal DVR schedule.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising automatically updating, by the DVR schedule collaboration system, the personal DVR schedule in response to one or more updates made to at least one of the master DVR schedule and the one or more DVR schedules.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the DVR schedule collaboration system, input provided by the user and representative of one or more search terms;

identifying, by the DVR schedule collaboration system, one or more media content programs included in the master DVR schedule that are associated with the one or more search terms; and

presenting, by the DVR schedule collaboration system within the interface, information representative of the identified one or more media content programs.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the DVR schedule collaboration system, input provided by the user and representative of one or more search terms;

identifying, by the DVR schedule collaboration system, one or more media content programs included in the one or more DVR schedules and that are associated with the one or more search terms; and

presenting, by the DVR schedule collaboration system within the interface, information representative of the identified one or more media content programs.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the DVR schedule collaboration system, input provided by the user and representative of a request to follow a DVR schedule associated with a particular user included in the plurality of users;

providing, by the DVR schedule collaboration system in response to the request, the user with access to the DVR schedule.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of users are specified by the user.

15. The method of claim 1, embodied as computer-executable instructions on at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium.

16. A method comprising:

maintaining, by a digital video recording (“

DVR”

) schedule collaboration system, data representative of a plurality of DVR schedules associated with a plurality of users, the plurality of DVR schedules specifying a plurality of media content programs selected by the users for recording;

identifying, by the DVR schedule collaboration system based on a frequency of occurrence of each of the plurality of media content programs in the plurality of DVR schedules, a set of most popular media content programs included in the plurality of media content programs; and

including, by the DVR schedule collaboration system, the set of most popular media content programs in a master DVR schedule; and

facilitating, by the DVR schedule collaboration system, creation of a personal DVR schedule by a user in accordance with the master DVR schedule, the personal DVR schedule comprising instructions for a DVR device associated with the user to record one or more media content programs;

wherein the facilitating of the creation of the personal DVR schedule by the user comprises allowing the user to use the master DVR schedule as the personal DVR schedule by

presenting a selectable option within an interface that is presented to the user, and

designating, when the user selects the selectable option, the master DVR schedule as the personal DVR schedule by overwriting contents originally included in the personal DVR schedule with contents included in the master DVR schedule.

17. The method of claim 16, embodied as computer-executable instructions on at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium.

18. A system comprising:

a digital video recording (“

DVR”

) schedule management facility that

maintains data representative of a plurality of DVR schedules associated with a plurality of users, and

creates a master DVR schedule based on the plurality of DVR schedules; and

a personalization facility communicatively coupled to the DVR schedule management facility and that facilitates creation of a personal DVR schedule by a user in accordance with at least one of the master DVR schedule and one or more of the DVR schedules associated with the plurality of users, the personal DVR schedule comprising instructions for a DVR device associated with the user to record one or more media content programs during one or more time slots;

wherein the personalization facility facilitates the creation of the personal DVR schedule by the user by allowing the user to use the master DVR schedule as the personal DVR schedule by

presenting a selectable option within an interface that is presented to the user, and

designating, when the user selects the selectable option, the master DVR schedule as the personal DVR schedule by overwriting contents originally included in the personal DVR schedule with contents included in the master DVR schedule.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the personalization facility further facilitates the creation of the personal DVR schedule by the user by allowing the user to use a particular DVR schedule included in the plurality of DVR schedules and associated with a particular user included in the plurality of users as the personal DVR schedule by

presenting an additional selectable option within the interface, and

designating, if the user selects the additional selectable option, the particular DVR schedule associated with the particular user as the personal DVR schedule.