Systems and methods for digital library channel creation

• US 9,686,575 B2
• Filed: 07/02/2014
• Issued: 06/20/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Disney Enterprises Incorporated (The Walt Disney Company)
• Original Assignee: Disney Enterprises Incorporated (The Walt Disney Company)
• Inventors: Eatedali, Josiah, Arana, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Bui, Kieu Oanh T
• Application Number:
  US14/322,471
• Publication Number:
  US 20160007066A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,084 Days
• Field of Search: 725 46, 725 52, 725 55
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/4387 by the use of playlists
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26258 for generating a list of items to be played back in a given order, e.g. playlist, or scheduling item distribution according to such list retrieval of multimedia data based on playlists G06F16/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2668 Creating a channel for a dedicated end-user group, e.g. insertion of targeted commercials based on end-user profiles information retrieval from the Internet by querying with filtering and personalisation G06F16/9535; arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast H04H20/10; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/063
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4325 by playing back content from the storage medium reproduction of recorded television signals H04N5/76; reproduction of recorded television signals H04N9/79
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/433 Content storage operation, e.g. storage operation in response to a pause request, caching operations
• 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 21/47217 for controlling playback functions for recorded or on-demand content, e.g. using progress bars, mode or play-point indicators or bookmarks specific graphical features in visual interfaces H04N21/4312
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4755 for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4825 using a list of items to be played back in a given order, e.g. playlists
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/632 using a connection between clients on a wide area network, e.g. setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet for retrieving video segments from the hard-disk of other client devices broadcast-related systems characterised by transmission among terminal devices H04H60/80; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP

Abstract

The present disclosure provides for systems and methods for digital library channel creation. The disclosed methods and systems utilize a user'"'"'s digital media library to create and/or simulate one or more broadcast channels for viewing by the user. Channels may be created randomly or according to particular preferences set by the user. In a further aspect, the disclosed methods and systems allow users to broadcast or share their channels with other users.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

populating a digital library channel with a plurality of digital media assets from a user'"'"'s digital media library arranged in a particular order and scheduled to play on a user device at scheduled times, wherein, for each of the plurality of digital media assets, the respective scheduled time corresponds to a particular time of day at which the digital media asset is scheduled to begin playback from a beginning point of the digital media asset, the plurality of digital media assets and scheduled times defining a simulated broadcast schedule; and

presenting a current digital media asset according to the simulated broadcast schedule.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving one or more digital library channel settings on the user device, wherein the plurality of digital media assets populating the digital library channel are selected according to the one or more digital library channel settings.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more digital library channel settings are pre-loaded by a service provider.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more digital library channel settings are one or more user-specified digital library channel settings.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more digital library channel settings comprise at least one of the following:

genre settings, franchise settings, studio settings, actor/actress settings, director settings, and/or quality rating settings.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting the current digital media asset according to the simulated broadcast schedule comprises playing the current digital media asset from a point within the current digital media asset that is not a beginning point of the current digital media asset.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

presenting an option to view the current digital media asset from the beginning point of the current digital media asset;

receiving a command to play the current digital media asset from the beginning point of the current digital media asset; and

playing the current digital media asset from the beginning point of the current digital media asset.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting digital library channel information to a second user;

accessing a digital library associated with the second user;

determining whether the current digital media asset is in the digital library associated with the second user; and

if the current digital media asset is contained in the digital library associated with the second user, playing the current digital media asset, or

if the current digital media asset is not contained in the digital library associated with the second user, offering the second user an opportunity to acquire the current digital media asset.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting the current digital media asset comprises broadcasting the digital library channel on the user'"'"'s local home network at all times.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting the current digital media asset comprises broadcasting the digital library channel on the user'"'"'s local home network using a user datagram protocol.

11. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

receiving user input that generates an altered version of the current digital media asset presented according to the simulated broadcast schedule; and

responsive to the user input, presenting the altered version of the current digital media asset separately from the current digital media asset presented according to the simulated broadcast schedule.

12. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising an instruction set configured to cause a computing device to perform:

populating a digital library channel with a plurality of digital media assets from a user'"'"'s digital media library arranged in a particular order and scheduled to play on a user device at scheduled times, wherein, for each of the plurality of digital media assets, the respective scheduled time corresponds to a particular time of day at which the digital media asset is scheduled to begin playback from a beginning point of the digital media asset, the plurality of digital media assets and scheduled times defining a simulated broadcast schedule; and

presenting a current digital media asset according to the simulated broadcast schedule.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the instruction set is further configured to cause a computing device to perform:

receiving one or more digital library channel settings on a user device, wherein the plurality of digital media assets populating the digital library channel are selected according to the one or more digital library channel settings.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the digital library channel settings are pre-loaded by a service provider.

15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the one or more digital library channel settings are one or more user-specified digital library channel settings.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the one or more digital library channel settings comprise at least one of the following:

genre settings, franchise settings, studio settings, actor/actress settings, director settings, and/or quality rating settings.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein presenting the current digital media asset according to the simulated broadcast schedule comprises playing the current digital media asset from a point within the current digital media asset that is not a beginning point of the current digital media asset.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein the instruction set is further configured to cause a computing device to perform:

presenting an option to view the current digital media asset from a beginning point of the current digital media asset;

receiving a commend to play the current digital media content from the beginning point of the current digital media asset; and

playing the current digital media asset from the beginning point of the current digital media asset.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the instruction set is further configured to cause a computing device to perform:

transmitting digital library channel information to a second user;

accessing a digital library associated with the second user;

determining whether the current digital media asset is in the digital library associated with the second user; and

if the current digital media asset is contained in the digital library associated with the second user, playing the current digital media asset, or

if the current digital media asset is not contained in the digital library associated with the second user, offering the second user an opportunity to acquire the current digital media asset.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein presenting the current digital media asset comprises broadcasting the digital library channel on the user'"'"'s local home network at all times using a user datagram protocol.