ELECTRONIC PROGRAM GUIDE GENERATION APPARATUS, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS

• US 20090158341A1
• Filed: 12/17/2007
• Published: 06/18/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dish Technologies LLC (Dish Network Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Echostar Technologies LLC (Echostar Corporation)
• Inventors: Miller, Kerry Philip
• Granted Patent: US 9,055,260 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/46
• 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 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

Various embodiments determine electronic program guide information based on user viewing habits. One embodiment provides an electronic program guide generator that receives usage information that includes indications of a plurality of viewed channels, determines one or more channels of the plurality of viewed channels based on the received usage information, and provides indications of the determined one or more channels.

Claims

1. A method to determine electronic program guide information, the method comprising:

receiving usage information that includes indications of a plurality of video channels viewed via a set-top box operable to receive digital video programming via a broadcast network, the usage information including, for each of the plurality of video channels, a viewing time corresponding to the video channel;

determining one or more channels of the plurality of video channels based on the received usage information; and

providing to a presentation device communicatively coupled to the set-top box indications of the determined one or more channels as part of an electronic program guide.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining of the one or more channels is based at least in part on the total viewing time corresponding to each of the one or more channels, each total viewing time reflecting how long the corresponding channel was selected for viewing.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining of the one or more channels is based at least on part on one or more criteria, the criteria including at least one of total channel viewing time, channel viewing frequency, channel category, channel rating, and channel viewer identity.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the usage information includes one or more records, each record including at least one of a channel identifier, the corresponding viewing time, a viewing date, a viewing user identity, a channel content category, a channel rating, and a program identifier.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining of the one or more channels comprises selecting the one or more channels based on the viewing time corresponding to each of the one or more channels being not less than the viewing time corresponding to each of the plurality of video channels that is not one of the determined one or more channels.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

recording indications of video channels viewed via the set-top box.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the providing of the indications of the determined one or more channels comprises displaying the electronic program guide on the presentation device communicatively coupled to the set-top box.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

suggesting programming based on the usage information.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the suggested programming includes a suggested channel that is not one of the determined one or more channels, and further comprising:

determining the suggested channel based at least in part on similarity between the suggested channel and at least one of the determined one or more channels.

10. An apparatus that determines electronic program guide information, the apparatus comprising:

a video processing system operable to present video programming; and

an electronic program guide generator communicatively coupled to the video processing system, the electronic program guide generator operable to;

determine one or more channels of video programming of interest based on usage information that includes indications of previously viewed channels of video programming; and

provide indications of the determined one or more channels of video programming of interest to the video processing system.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the video processing system is further operable to present an electronic program guide that includes at least some of the indications of the programming of interest.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 further comprising an activity tracker, the activity tracker operable to:

receive an indication of a channel of video programming being presented by the video processing system;

record the indication of the channel as part of the usage information; and

provide the usage information to the electronic program guide generator.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the usage information includes a total viewing time corresponding to each of the previously viewed channels of video programming, each total viewing time reflecting how long the corresponding channel was selected for viewing.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the electronic program guide generator is further operable to determine the one or more channels of video programming of interest based on the total viewing time corresponding to at least some of the previously viewed channels of video programming.

15. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the electronic program guide generator includes instructions executed by the video processing system, and further comprising:

a memory communicatively coupled to the video processing system, the memory configured to store the electronic program guide generator.

16. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the apparatus is a receiving device configured to receive digital video programming via a satellite network.

17. A computer-readable medium whose contents enable a computing system to determine electronic program guide information, by performing a method comprising:

recording indications of a plurality of video channels selected for viewing by a user, the plurality of video channels including digital video programming received via a broadcast network;

determining one or more of the plurality of video channels based on the recorded indications;

generating an electronic programming guide that includes indications of the determined one or more video channels; and

transmitting the electronic program guide for presentation by a presentation device.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein the computer-readable medium is part of a receiving device operable to receive and present the digital video programming received via the broadcast network.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein the computer-readable medium is at least one of a memory in a computing device or a data transmission medium transmitting a generated signal containing the contents.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein the contents are instructions that when executed cause the computing system to perform the method.