Thematic grouping of program segments

• US 20070174276A1
• Filed: 01/24/2006
• Published: 07/26/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Sbc Knowledge Ventures, L.P.
• Inventors: Sullivan, Marc, Jeff, Brandt
• Application Number:
  US11/339,223
• Publication Number:
  US 20070174276A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• 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 21/4825 using a list of items to be played back in a given order, e.g. playlists
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/858 Linking data to content, e.g. by linking an URL to a video object, by creating a hotspot
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8205 involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the colour video signal

Abstract

Program segments are grouped by theme. A program includes different program segments, each program segment being associated with at least one theme indicated by associated metadata. The program is queried to determine whether the program segments include a particular theme. Each of the program segments that have the particular theme are grouped together.

Claims

1. A system to group digital video recording program segments by theme, the system comprising:

a program having more than two program segments, each program segment being associated with at least one theme indicated by associated metadata; and

a search module to search through each of the program segments using the associated metadata to group together the program segments that have a searched-for theme.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the program includes a recorded program, wherein playback viewing includes contiguous viewing of the grouped together program segments that have the searched-for theme and the recorded program remains unchanged during the playback viewing.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the program segments that have the searched-for theme are excluded from a segment playback.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the segment playback includes each of the remaining program segments after the program segments that have the searched-for theme are excluded.

5. A system to group digital video recording program segments by theme, the system comprising:

a database including a program having two or more different program segments other than advertisement segments, each program segment being associated with at least one theme indicated by associated metadata; and

a search module to search through each of the program segments using the associated metadata and to group together the program segments that have a searched-for theme.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the program includes one of a program previously recorded using a digital video recorder and a program to be recorded using the digital video recorder.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the program includes the previously recorded program, the system further comprising a display device to view the recorded program in a playback viewing wherein the program segments with the searched-for theme are contiguously viewed, wherein the recorded program remains unchanged during the playback viewing.

8. The system of claim 6 wherein the program includes the program to be recorded, wherein the program segments with the searched-for theme are recorded contiguously using the digital video recorder.

9. The system of claim 6 wherein the program includes the program to be recorded, wherein the program segments of the program are recorded in an original format using the digital video recorder, the system further comprising a display device to view the recorded program in a playback viewing wherein the program segments with the searched-for theme are grouped together during the playback viewing.

10. The system of claim 5 wherein there are multiple programs, each having two or more different program segments other than advertisement segments, the search module to search through each of the program segments of each of the multiple programs using the associated metadata to group together the program segments that have the searched-for theme.

11. The system of claim 5 wherein the search module includes a time-sensitive flag to search for the program segments broadcast within a specific time period.

12. The system of claim 5 wherein a tag separating the program segments within the program is designated by at least one from a group of content provider, an outside database, a digital video recorder, and a user.

13. The system of claim 5 wherein the at least one theme indicated by the associated metadata of each program segment is provided by at least one from a group including a content provider, an outside database, a digital video recorder, and a user.

14. The system of claim 5 wherein the program segments that have the searched-for theme are excluded from a segment playback.

15. A method to group digital video recording program segments by theme, the method comprising:

querying a program having two or more different program segments other than advertisement segments, each program segment being associated with at least one theme indicated by associated metadata, wherein the query is to determine whether the two or more different program segments other than advertisement segments include a particular theme; and

grouping together each of the program segments that have the particular theme in a playback mode.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising rearranging playback of the program segments, wherein the program segments having the particular theme are played uninterrupted by the program segments having a theme other than the particular theme.

17. The method of claim 15 further comprising querying multiple programs to search for the particular theme, each of the multiple programs having two or more different program segments other than advertisement segments, the search module to search through each of the program segments of each of the multiple programs using the associated metadata to group together the program segments that have the searched-for theme.

18. A system to group digital video recording program segments by theme, the system comprising:

first means for querying a program having two or more different program segments other than advertisement segments, each program segment being associated with at least one theme indicated by associated metadata, wherein the query is to search whether the two or more different program segments other than advertisement segments include a particular theme; and

second means for grouping together each of the program segments that have the particular theme in a playback mode.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the first means is for querying multiple programs to search for the particular theme, each of the multiple programs having two or more different program segments other than advertisement segments, the first means for querying through each of the program segments of each of the multiple programs using the associated metadata to group together the program segments that have the searched-for theme.

20. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon data representing sequences of instructions to group digital video recording program segments by theme, the sequences of instructions, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to:

query a program having two or more different program segments other than advertisement segments, each program segment being associated with at least one theme indicated by associated metadata, wherein the query is to determine whether the two or more different program segments other than advertisement segments include a particular theme; and

group together each of the program segments that have the particular theme in a playback mode.

21. A system to associate thematic metadata with digital video recording program segments, the system comprising:

a segment metadata generator to generate metadata corresponding to particular program segments of a broadcast program, wherein each program segment includes the metadata with a particular theme; and

a segment metadata associator to associate the generated metadata with the particular program segments to generate metadata-segment association information, wherein the metadata-segment association information is to be delivered to a device to group the particular program segments by the theme.

22. The system of claim 21 including a content provider of the broadcast program.