Community-based recommendation engine

• US 8,644,688 B2
• Filed: 09/11/2008
• Issued: 02/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: OpenTV, Inc. (Kudelski SA)
• Original Assignee: OpenTV, Inc. (Kudelski SA)
• Inventors: Fishman, Alex, Chai, Crx K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ingvoldstad, Bennett
• Application Number:
  US12/283,426
• Publication Number:
  US 20100064325A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,972 Days
• Field of Search: 725/61, 386291-299
• US Class Current: 386/299
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/252 Processing of multiple end-users' preferences to derive collaborative data
• 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 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44226 on social networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4438 Window management, e.g. event handling following interaction with the user interface
• 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 21/4661 Deriving a combined profile for a plurality of end-users of the same client, e.g. for family members within a home user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4668 for recommending content, e.g. movies
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• 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 21/4756 for rating content, e.g. scoring a recommended movie
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• 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 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17309 Transmission or handling of upstream communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A community-based recommendation engine is provided. In one example embodiment, a system to provide community-based recommendation engine comprises a recommendation detector and a decision module. The recommendation detector is configured to receive, at a viewer'"'"'s system, a recommendation for a content item from a contact of a viewer. The decision module may be configured to determine an action to be performed at the viewer'"'"'s system, based on the recommendation and on one or more rules, accept the recommendation as an instruction to perform the action, and initiate the action at the viewer'"'"'s system.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

maintaining profile data at a viewer device for each of a plurality of contacts of a viewer, the profile data including a trust level assigned to each contact of the plurality of contacts, the trust level being assigned by the viewer;

establishing, by the viewer, a plurality of rules that each indicate an action to be performed based on a combination of a trust level and a content rating, at least one of the plurality of rules indicating a specific contact of the plurality of contacts for which the combination of the trust level and the content rating apply;

receiving, at the viewer device, a recommendation for a content item, the recommendation including a contact identifier and a content rating;

accessing the profile data using the contact identifier to obtain a trust level for the contact associated with the contact identifier;

determining the action with respect to the recommendation for the content item to be performed at the viewer device based on the rule corresponding to the combination of the trust level and the content rating; and

initiating the action at the viewer device , the action including selectively accepting the recommendation as an instruction to perform an action at the viewer device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the action to be performed at the viewer device comprises initiating a recording process on the viewer device for the content item if no recording scheduling conflicts exits.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the content rating includes three or more content item ratings ranging from a low content item rating to a high content item rating, and the trust level includes a range of trust levels that include three or more trust levels ranging from a low trust level to a high trust level.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising causing a media interface to be displayed to the viewer to allow the viewer to define a trust level for each of the plurality of contacts.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the initiating of the action at the viewer device comprises causing the recommendation to be displayed to the viewer on a display screen associated with the viewer device.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the display screen is a television screen.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

receiving, at the viewer device , an instruction from the viewer to rate a content item displayed on the television screen;

receiving, at the viewer device , an instruction from the viewer to send a recommendation of the content item to another viewer device associated with the contact of the viewer; and

sending the recommendation including a content item identifier identifying the content displayed, an identifier to identify the viewer, and the content item rating to the other viewer device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the instruction to rate the content item includes receiving a communication from a remote control device associated with the viewer device in response to the viewer engaging one or more keys on the remote control device.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the content rating is determined by the contact.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the content rating is an aggregated rating determined at least from the plurality of contacts.

22. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

causing a contact name to be displayed in a display zone of a graphical user interface;

displaying at least three trust levels adjacent to the display zone;

monitoring user selection of a trust level;

assigning the selected trust level to the contact.

23. The method of claim 1, further comprising causing a pop-up menu to be displayed on a television screen when the recommendation is associated with a content item that is being broadcast when the recommendation is received by the viewer device.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein the recommendation is received via the Internet and the content item includes an Internet web page.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein the content rating is based on a rating by a contact and a community-based rating.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the user device is a set-top-box and the recommendation is treated as an instruction to record the content item based on the community-based rating.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein the viewer can share their profile with other contacts in a social network.

28. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing personal information of the plurality of contacts; and

allowing the viewer to navigate through the plurality of contacts to view the personal information, the personal information being determined by a permission level set by the contact.

29. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of contacts are arranged in groups and a recording action is performed based on an aggregation of content item ratings from contacts in an associated group.

9. A viewer device comprising:

a memory to store profile data for each of a plurality of contacts of a viewer, the profile data including a trust level assigned to each contact of the plurality of contacts, the trust level being assigned by the viewer;

at least one processor coupled to the memory;

a recommendation detector configured to receive, at the viewer device, using the at least one processor, a recommendation for a content item, the recommendation including a contact identifier and a content rating;

a contact evaluation module configured to access the profile data in the memory using the contact identifier to obtain a trust level for the contact;

a decision module configured to;

determine an action with respect to the recommendation for the content item to be performed at the viewer device based on a rule corresponding to a combination of the trust level and the content rating, the rule being included in a plurality of rules, established by the view, that each indicate an action to be performed based on the combination of the trust level and the content rating, at least one of the plurality of rules indicating a specific contact of the plurality of contacts for which the combination of the trust level and the content rating apply, and

initiate the action at the viewer device , the action including selectively accepting the recommendation as an instruction to perform an action at the viewer device.

10. The viewer device of claim 9, wherein the action performed at the viewer device comprises initiating a recording process on the viewer device for the content item and wherein the content item is recorded if no recording scheduling conflicts exits.

11. The viewer device of claim 10, wherein the content rating includes a range of trust levels that include three or more content item ratings ranging from a low content item rating to a high content item rating, and the trust level includes three or more trust levels ranging from a low trust level to a high trust level.

12. The viewer device of claim 9, wherein the recommendation is received from a set top box of the contact via the Internet.

13. The viewer device of claim 9, comprising a communications module to send a recommendation of a content item to a set top box associated with the contact of the viewer in response to an instruction from the viewer to rate the content item.

14. The viewer device of claim 9, comprising:

a display module to cause a media interface is to be displayed to the viewer to allow the viewer to define a trust level for each of the plurality of contacts; and

a communication module configured to

receive an instruction from the viewer to rate a content item ; and

send a recommendation including a content item identifier identifying the content item displayed and the content item rating to another viewer device.

15. The viewer device of claim 14, wherein the instruction to rate the content item is in response to the viewer engaging one or more keys on a remote control device.

16. The viewer device of claim 9, comprising a communications module to send the recommendation including a content item identifier identifying the content item displayed, an identifier to identify the viewer, and the content item rating to the other viewer device.

17. The viewer device of claim 9, wherein the decision module is configured to cause a real time notification of the received recommendation to be displayed on a display screen associated with the viewer device.

18. The viewer device of claim 17, wherein the display screen is a television screen.

19. A machine-readable non-transitory storage medium having instruction data to cause a machine to perform operations comprising:

maintaining profile data at a viewer device for each of a plurality of contacts of a viewer, the profile data including a trust level assigned to each contact of the plurality of contacts, the trust level being assigned by the viewer;

establishing, by the viewer, a plurality of rules that each indicate an action to be performed based on a combination of a trust level and a content rating, at least one of the plurality of rules indicating a specific contact of the plurality of contacts for which the combination of the trust level and the content rating apply;

receiving, at the viewer device, a recommendation for a content item, the recommendation including a contact identifier and a content rating;

accessing the profile data using the contact identifier to obtain a trust level for the contact associated with the contact identifier;

determining the action with respect to the recommendation for the content item to be performed at the viewer device based on the rule corresponding to the combination of the trust level and the content rating; and

initiating the action at the viewer device, the action including selectively accepting the recommendation as an instruction to perform an action at the viewer device.