Interactive program manager and methods for presenting program content

• US 9,544,648 B2
• Filed: 11/13/2015
• Issued: 01/10/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/08/2006
• 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: Malik, Dale
• Primary Examiner(s): TITCOMB, WILLIAM D
• Application Number:
  US14/941,265
• Publication Number:
  US 20160073163A1
• Time in Patent Office: 424 Days
• Field of Search: 715/841
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4122 additional display device, e.g. video projector digital output for controlling a plurality of local displays G06F3/1423
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/466 Learning process for intelligent management, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies services using the results of monitoring in broadcast systems H04H60/61
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4667 Processing of monitored end-user data, e.g. trend analysis based on the log file of viewer selections
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4668 for recommending content, e.g. movies
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47205 for manipulating displayed content, e.g. interacting with MPEG-4 objects, editing locally
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4826 using recommendation lists, e.g. of programs or channels sorted out according to their score
• 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 21/4884 for displaying subtitles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/814 comprising emergency warnings arrangements specially adapted for emergency or urgency in broadcast systems H04H20/59; arrangements for providing alarms, notifications, alerts to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A method includes sending, from a media device to a display device, first content associated with a first channel of a plurality of channels. The method includes analyzing, at the media device, data of a program guide based on a profile to identify content of interest, the content of interest associated with a second channel of the plurality of channels. The method includes sending an indicator from the media device to the display device in response to identifying the content of interest. The method also includes, in response to user input indicating selection of the indicator, sending selectable options associated with presentation of second content, where the second content is associated with the content of interest.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

sending, from a media device to a display device, first content associated with a first channel of a plurality of channels;

analyzing, at the media device, data of a program guide based on a profile to identify content of interest, wherein the content of interest is associated with a second channel of the plurality of channels;

sending an indicator from the media device to the display device in response to identifying the content of interest; and

in response to user input indicating selection of the indicator, sending selectable options associated with presentation of second content, the second content associated with the content of interest.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the selectable options include a first option to enable presentation of the first content as a main display.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the selectable options include a second option to enable presentation of media content from the second channel as a picture-in-picture display.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the selectable options include a second option to enable closed-caption data associated with the second channel to overlay the main display.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the selectable options include a second option to record media content from the second channel.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the profile comprises a user profile associated with a particular user, a user profile associated with the media device, or both.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the selectable options include a first option to enable presentation of media content from the second channel as a main display.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the selectable options include a second option to enable presentation of the first content as a picture-in-picture display.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the selectable options include a second option to enable closed-caption data associated with the first content to overlay the main display.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the selectable options include a second option to record the first content.

11. A system comprising:

a processor of a media device; and

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

sending first content associated with a first channel of a plurality of channels to a display device;

identifying content of interest based on a profile, wherein the content of interest is associated with a second channel of the plurality of channels;

sending a notification indicator to the display device in response to identifying the content of interest; and

in response to user input responsive to the notification indicator, processing second content associated with the content of interest in accordance with an option selected from a menu.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein identifying the content of interest includes analyzing data of a program guide to find the content of interest based on the profile.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the profile identifies an indicator mode for the notification indicator.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the indicator mode identifies a visual mode, an audio mode, or both.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the menu includes options associated with a main display, a picture-in-picture display, an alert from a data source, closed-caption data, data representations associated with uniform resource locator addresses, or combinations thereof.

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

sending first content associated with a first channel of a plurality of channels to a display device;

identifying content of interest that is determined, based on a profile, to be of interest to a particular user, the content of interest associated with a second channel of the plurality of channels;

in response to identifying the content of interest, sending an indicator to the display device; and

in response to user input indicating selection of the indicator, processing second content associated with the content of interest in accordance with an option selected from a menu.

17. The computer-readable storage device of claim 16, wherein processing the second content associated with the content of interest includes recording media content associated with the second channel.

18. The computer-readable storage device of claim 16, wherein processing the second content associated with the content of interest includes overlaying closed-caption content of media content associated with the second channel on the first content.

19. The computer-readable storage device of claim 16, wherein processing the second content associated with the content of interest includes sending media content associated with the second channel to the display device as a main display.

20. The computer-readable storage device of claim 16, wherein processing the second content associated with the content of interest includes sending media content associated with the second channel to the display device as picture-in-picture content in association with the first content.