System and method to facilitate selection and programming of an associated audio/visual system

• US 6,968,364 B1
• Filed: 08/29/2000
• Issued: 11/22/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Wong, Curtis, Drucker, Steven
• Primary Examiner(s): El-Hady, Nabil
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lin, Kenny
• Application Number:
  US09/650,167
• Time in Patent Office: 1,911 Days
• Field of Search: 707/3, 707/104.1, 709/217, 709/208, 709/231, 348/460, 725/39, 725/92, 725/46, 725/61, 725/43, 725/135
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4668 for recommending content, e.g. movies
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6581 Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8352 involving content or source identification data, e.g. Unique Material Identifier [UMID]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

A system and method to facilitate selection and programming of at least one of audio and visual program are disclosed. A first computer is operative to connect to a second computer for filtering through a plurality of audio and/or visual programs based on selection criteria to provide a filtered representation of programs. A program from the filtered representation of programs may be selected at the first computer so as to cause a token indicative of the selected program to be assigned to a recipient operative to receive the token. The recipient may be a user at the first computer, a third computer, or an entertainment appliance. The token represents the selected program with sufficient particularity to program an entertainment system based on the token to record the program represented by the token.

Claims

1. A system to facilitate selection of at least one of an audio and visual program, comprising:

a first computer operative to connect to a second computer for filtering through a plurality of at least one of audio and visual programs based on selection criteria to provide a filtered representation of programs;

wherein a program from the filtered representation of programs is selectable at the first computer so as to cause a token indicative of the selected program to be assigned to a recipient, the token comprises an XML formatted packet of data with a schema that identifies the selected program to enable the recipient to program a recording system to record the program represented by the token in response to receiving the token by converting the token into scheduling data based in part on at least one of stored profile data of the recording system and program information, the scheduling data is in a format usable by the recording system.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first computer is operative to provide a signal to the second computer for selecting at least one program from the filtered representation of programs, at least one token for the selected at least one program being provided to the recipient in response to initiating a send process at the second computer.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the token is sent to the recipient as part of a message.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the message is a text email message, the token being operatively associated with the email message.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the token is an attachment to the email message.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein a message and the token are provided to the recipient from the second computer.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the recipient is provided the token from the second computer in response to the recipient connecting to the second computer.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein a message and the token are provided to the recipient from the first computer.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the recipient is provided the token from the first computer in response to the recipient connecting to the first computer.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the first computer is a server having an associated database including at least some of the plurality of programs, the server searching providing results including the programs substantially matching the selection criteria.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the token includes a universal program identifier for the program.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the selection criteria is provided at the first computer and employed by the second computer to provide the filtered representation of programs.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the selection criteria is established at the second computer and employed to provide the filtered representation of programs.

14. A system to facilitate selection of at least one of an audio and visual program, comprising:

a first computer programmed to provide a first signal to a second computer for instructing the second computer to sort through information related to a plurality of at least one of audio and visual programs, the first computer receiving a second signal from the second computer indicative of a filtered representation of programs, the first computer being operative to provide a third signal to the second computer for causing a message having an associated token to be assigned to a recipient;

wherein the token is a packet of data with a schema that comprises at least a globally unique identifier that identifies at least one of an audio and visual program of the filtered representation of programs so as to enable the recipient thereof to program a recording system based on the associated token to record the program identified by the token by translating the token into scheduling data based in part on at least one of stored profile data of the recording system and program information with a format usable by the recording system.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the first computer is further operative to send a fourth signal to the second computer for selecting a program from the filtered representation of programs, the token representing the selected program.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the message is a text email message, the token being operatively associated with the email message.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the token is an attachment of the email message.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the message and associated token are sent to the recipient from the second computer.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the message and associated token are sent to the recipient from the first computer.

20. The system of claim 14, wherein the second computer is a server having an associated database including at least some of the plurality of programs, the server searching the database in response to the first signal and providing a program results signal to the first computer for displaying selected programs at the first computer.

21. The system of claim 14, wherein the first signal further includes computer executable instructions indicative of program characteristics selected at the first computer, the filtered representation of programs including programs based on program characteristics.

22. The system of claim 14, wherein the first signal further includes computer executable instructions for instructing the second computer to provide the filtered representation of programs based on program criteria stored at the second computer.

23. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the steps comprising:

filtering through information at a server system in response to a request from a remote computer to provide a filtered representation of at least one of an audio and visual program content; and

assigning a message to a recipient, the message having an associated token based on the filtered representation, the token comprises transportable data with a unique identifier that represents a predetermined program, the token is converted into scheduling data based in part on at least one stored profile data of a recording system and program information in a format utilized to program the recording system based on the token to record the predetermined program.

24. The computer-readable medium of claim 23 having further computer-executable instructions for selecting a program from the filtered representation, the associated token representing the selected program.

25. The computer-readable medium of claim 23 having further computer-executable instructions for searching an associated database in response to the request and providing to the remote computer a signal for displaying the filtered representation at the first computer.

26. The computer-readable medium of claim 23 having further computer-executable instructions for sending the assigned message and associated token to the recipient.

27. The computer-readable medium of claim 26 having further computer-executable instructions for, prior to sending the message, associating the token with an email message addressed to the recipient.

28. The computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein the recipient is a first recipient, the computer readable medium having further computer-executable instructions for sending to a second recipient a second message having the associated token.

29. A method for facilitating programming of an associated device, the method comprising the steps of:

selecting at a remote computer a program from program information provided by a server system identifying at least one of an audio and visual program; and

assigning a message for receipt by a recipient, the message having a token that comprises an XML formatted packet of data with a schema that identifies the selected program and is converted into scheduling data based in part on at least one of stored profile data of the recording system and program information, the scheduling data is in a format employable by a recording system to program the recording system to record the program represented by the token.

30. The method of claim 29 further including filtering through the program information based on selection criteria provided from the remote computer.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the selected program is selected from the filtered information.

32. The method of claim 29 further including receiving a message at the remote computer having the requested token in response to the request.

33. The method of claim 29 further including sending the assigned message and associated token to the recipient.

34. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the steps of claim 29.