阅读说明：本技术 多媒体传输系统中管理多媒体资源状态变化的系统和方法 (System and method for managing multimedia resource state change in multimedia transmission system ) 是由 T·戴伊 于 2006-12-12 设计创作，主要内容包括：本公开涉及多媒体传输系统中管理多媒体资源状态变化的系统和方法。公开了检测多媒体传输系统中多媒体资源状态变化,并采取措施使多媒体资源在状态变化后可用的系统和方法。那么,多媒体资源可以在状态变化之前本地记录在用户的数字视频记录器上(DVR)。可替代地,用户可以关注等同资源,例如,视频点播(VOD)。用户可以接收通知,该通知可以显示在TV和计算机监视器上或以电子邮件或短消息形式发送到例如移动电话的远程装置。用户可以购买资源和/或开始记录资源。状态可以是例如资源截止或源状态或资源格式的变化。(The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for managing multimedia asset state changes in a multimedia transmission system. Systems and methods are disclosed for detecting a state change of a multimedia asset in a multimedia transmission system and taking steps to make the multimedia asset available after the state change. Then the multimedia asset can be recorded locally on the user's Digital Video Recorder (DVR) prior to the status change. Alternatively, the user may be interested in equivalent resources, such as Video On Demand (VOD). The user may receive notifications that may be displayed on the TV and computer monitor or sent to a remote device, such as a mobile phone, in the form of an email or short message. The user may purchase the asset and/or begin recording the asset. The state may be, for example, a resource cutoff or a change in source state or resource format.)

1. A method for monitoring a status of a media asset, the method comprising:

selecting a media asset, wherein the selected media asset is available for viewing by a user;

presenting the selected media asset to the user;

after determining that the user has finished viewing the media asset, detecting that the user has further interest in the media asset, wherein the further interest in the media asset by the user is detected based on the user tagging the media asset;

monitoring a state of the media asset for a change in state in response to the detecting; and

in response to detecting a change in the status of the media asset, checking whether the media asset has been recorded.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring whether the user views a complete media asset.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, further comprising monitoring a status of the selected media asset for a change in status during presentation of the media asset.

4. The method of claim 1 or 2, further comprising checking for an impending change in the status of the media asset upon detecting that the user has further interest.

5. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein monitoring the status of the media asset comprises monitoring a change in a source or expiration date of the media asset.

6. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein selecting the media asset comprises receiving a user selection of the media asset.

7. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the user's further interest in the media resource is detected based on the user marking the media resource as a collection.

8. A system for managing a media transport network, the system comprising:

means for selecting a media asset, wherein the selected media asset is available for viewing by a user;

means for presenting the selected media asset to the user;

means for detecting that the user has further interest in the media asset after determining that the user has finished viewing the media asset, wherein the further interest in the media asset by the user is detected based on the user tagging the media asset;

means for monitoring a state of the media asset for a change in state in response to the detecting; and

means for checking whether the media asset has been recorded in response to detecting a change in the status of the media asset.

9. The system of claim 8, further comprising:

means for monitoring whether the user views a complete media asset.

10. The system of claim 8 or 9, further comprising means for monitoring the status of the selected media asset for changes in status during presentation of the media asset.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to managing the transmission of multimedia assets to a user before the status of the multimedia assets in a multimedia transmission system changes. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems and methods for notifying users of resource status changes and/or locally recording resources before the status of the resources changes or before the resources at the resource provider become unavailable.

Background

Content transmission networks (e.g., cable, satellite, internet) have been developed that transmit various multimedia assets for viewing or interaction from remote sources to user devices. Multimedia assets include live programming, network play, pay-per-view (PPV) events, and/or VOD content. Sometimes, a user may choose to record a multimedia asset locally on the user's device (e.g., on a VCR or Digital Video Recorder (DVR)). Live transmissions are typically viewed and/or recorded at a predetermined time set by the broadcast station, however, VOD content may be viewed and recorded at any user-specified time prior to the expiration time of the VOD content. PPV programs also have expiration dates and may be viewed and/or recorded before the expiration/day of the resources on the origin server.

Recording a multimedia asset requires tuning a tuner associated with the user equipment to a channel in which the multimedia asset is available. Recording additional multimedia assets on the same device at the same time may require an additional tuner. If the device does not have an additional tuner, the user may have to forgo recording of the additional multimedia asset.

The state of the multimedia asset may change over time. For example, broadcast programs may be migrated to VOD or network play, or PPV content may be migrated to VOD. For example, HBOs may remove resources from their scheduled programming on a daily basis, but make the content available for an additional amount of time at VOD. Another state change may be a change in the expiration time/date of the resource. The expiration date/time of the asset is typically listed in an interactive multimedia guidance application, such as an Interactive Program Guide (IPG). The user may not always be concerned about a change in status that could result in the user being unable to view and/or record the asset. However, existing systems lack an integrated approach to monitoring the status of multimedia assets and timely notifying users of changes in status that may have an impact on them.

Disclosure of Invention

In accordance with the principles of the present invention, problems in the prior art are solved by methods and apparatus for determining when a state of a selected multimedia asset changes.

In one embodiment, the present invention is a method and apparatus for notifying a user of a change in the status of a multimedia asset. The invention relates to selecting a multimedia resource and monitoring the status of the resource during a notification that can be set by a user. If the status changes before the notification period expires, the user is notified.

In one embodiment, the multimedia asset may be recorded locally prior to the state change. Recording may be initiated by the user or automatically scheduled by the system. In one or more of these embodiments, the state change may be automatically monitored by the interactive multimedia guidance application, which may also prompt the device to automatically record the asset. The user may also be notified by a message displayed on a television monitor, computer monitor, mobile phone, PDA, or the like.

In some of the embodiments described above, resources may become available on different sources. Then the resource need not be recorded locally, but the user can still be notified of the change.

In some embodiments, the user may have already seen at least a portion of the selected multimedia asset before being notified of the state change, in which case only the remainder of the selected asset needs to be recorded locally before the state change.

In some of the embodiments described above, the recording capacity of the local recording device may be checked prior to recording the multimedia asset. The asset is only recorded when the recording capacity is sufficient to record the multimedia asset. If there is insufficient recording capacity, deletion criteria may be applied to identify stored content that may be deleted from the local recording device.

Other aspects of the invention relate to methods and apparatus for adjusting scheduling conflicts when locally recording a plurality of multimedia assets on a local recording device.

Drawings

The above and other features of the present invention, as well as the inherent and various advantages thereof, will become more apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for providing multimedia assets according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an exemplary process for scheduling a locally recorded multimedia asset according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a screen display of a "last chance" notification;

FIG. 4 is a schematic process flow diagram of one embodiment of the present invention for setting a notification window;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of an exemplary process for managing the local recording capacity for recording multimedia assets in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; and

fig. 6 is a schematic flow chart of preventing scheduling conflicts when recording multimedia assets.

Detailed Description

The disclosed systems and methods relate to taking action when the state of a multimedia asset is about to change, and optionally locally recording the multimedia asset before the state change takes effect. The status may be monitored by an interactive multimedia guide application, such as an Interactive Program Guide (IPG).

Fig. 1 shows an exemplary interactive multimedia transmission system 100 according to one embodiment of the invention. User device 110 receives content in the form of signals from multimedia sources 120a, 120b, 120c over communication path 122. In practice there may be multiple multimedia sources 120a, 120b, 120c and user devices 110, but only three multimedia sources and one user device are shown in fig. 1 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.

Multimedia sources 120a, 120b, 120c may be any suitable media source, such as a cable system headend, a satellite multimedia distribution facility, a multimedia broadcast facility, a pay-per-view (PPV) server, a gaming service provider (e.g., for online gaming), or any other suitable facility and or system for generating and distributing content. Multimedia source 120c is depicted as an on-demand server (e.g., a VOD server). Multimedia sources 120a, 120b, 120c may be configured to communicate signals over any suitable communication path 122, including, for example, a satellite path, a fiber optic path, a cable path, an internet path, or any other suitable wired or wireless path. The signal may carry any suitable content, such as television programming, games, music, news, web services, or any other suitable content. In some embodiments, multimedia sources 120a, 120b, 120c may include control circuitry for executing instructions of an interactive multimedia guidance application, such as client/server or server-side instructions of an online interactive multimedia guidance application.

User equipment 110 may comprise any device suitable for providing an interactive multimedia experience. User equipment 110 may include television equipment such as a television set, a set-top box, a recording device, a video player, a user input device (e.g., a remote control, a keyboard, a mouse, a touchpad, a touch screen, and/or a voice recognition interface), or any other device suitable for providing an interactive multimedia experience. For example, the user device 110 may include a DCT2000, 2500, 5100, 6208, or 6412 set top box provided by Motorola, inc. In some embodiments, user device 110 may comprise a computer device, such as a personal computer with a television card (PCTV). In some embodiments, user equipment 110 may include a gaming system, a portable electronic device (such as a portable DVD player), a portable gaming device, a cellular telephone, a PDA, a music player (e.g., an MP3 player), or any other suitable portable or stationary device.

In the example of fig. 1, user equipment 110 includes at least control circuitry 118, display device 112, recording device 114, and user input device 116, which may be implemented as separate devices or as a combination of devices. An interactive multimedia guidance application, such as an Interactive Program Guide (IPG), may be implemented in user equipment 110 for displaying content delivered from multimedia sources 120a, 120b, 120c on display 112 over path 122 and providing interactive multimedia guidance application functionality, such as a grid listing of available resources. In addition, website content 121, such as streaming audio and video, may be transmitted to user device 110 over, for example, the Internet.

Display device 112 may be any suitable device, such as a television monitor, a computer monitor, or a display incorporated into user equipment 110 (e.g., a cellular telephone or music player display). The display device 112 may also be configured to provide audio output.

Control circuitry 118 is adapted to receive input from input device 116 and execute instructions of the interactive multimedia guidance application. Control circuitry 118 may include one or more tuners (e.g., analog or digital tuners), encoders and decoders, processors (e.g., Motorola68000 home processors), memory (e.g., RAM and hard disks), communication circuitry (e.g., cable modem circuitry), input/output circuitry (e.g., graphics circuitry), connections to various devices of user equipment 110, and any other components for providing analog or digital multimedia program production, program recording, and interactive multimedia guidance functionality. In some embodiments, control circuitry 118 may be included as part of one of the devices of user equipment 110, such as display device 112 or any other device (e.g., a set-top box, a television, and a video player).

In some embodiments, the interactive multimedia guidance application may provide functionality to the user in a client/server approach. There may be one server per instance of user equipment 110, multiple instances of user equipment 110, or a single server may serve as a proxy server for each instance of user equipment 110.

Any suitable number of users may have devices (e.g., user device 110) connected to multimedia sources 120a, 120b, 120c and one or more data sources 124a, 124 b. But for clarity of the drawing only a single user's device is shown. The devices of multiple users may be connected to media sources 120a, 120b, 120c, web site content 121, and data sources 124a, 124b using a cable television network, a Local Area Network (LAN), a wireless network, or any other suitable means or combination thereof. In some implementations, the devices of multiple users may be connected to each other using any suitable means.

User device 110 may receive interactive multimedia guidance application data from one or more data sources 124a, 124 b. The data sources 124a, 124b may provide data for a particular type of content or a particular type of application. For example, one data source 124a may provide data for non-on-demand assets (e.g., non-pay or pay-per-view programs) and another data source 124b may provide data for on-demand assets (e.g., VOD programs). Alternatively, for example, a single data source may provide both types of data. For example, one of the data sources 124b or an additional data source (not shown) may also provide data for an Interactive Program Guide (IPG). Another data source 124a, 124b or a separate data source (not shown) may provide, for example, data for another interactive application (e.g., a home shopping application). In some embodiments, data sources 124a, 124b or additional data sources (not shown) may provide data to the interactive multimedia guidance application using a client/server approach. There may be one server per data source, one server for all data sources, or in some embodiments, a single server may communicate between the user device 110 and the various data sources 124a, 124b as a proxy server. In some embodiments, data sources 124a, 124b may provide data as an online interactive multimedia guidance application. In such embodiments, data sources 124a, 124b may include control circuitry for executing instructions of an online multimedia guidance application.

Fig. 1 shows media sources 120a, 120b, 120c and data sources 124a, 124b as separate elements. In practice, their functionality may be combined and provided from a single system at a single facility or multiple systems at multiple facilities. For example, one media source 120b and data source 124b may be combined to provide VOD content and associated VOD data.

In one embodiment, the interactive multimedia guidance application may be implemented as a stand-alone application in a set-top box that is part of user equipment 110. The interactive program guide may be downloaded periodically (e.g., daily or weekly) from a data source (e.g., data sources 124a, 124b) and the application operates according to the downloaded programming information until the next update.

In another embodiment, the interactive multimedia guidance application may be a client/server application, with the server represented by, for example, a server on a cable headend, and the client represented by user equipment 110, a personal computer, a mobile phone, a PDA, or the like. In this case, the client polls the server to update the programming information.

The interactive multimedia guidance application may also be implemented as a web browser capable of accessing a web page containing programming information and possibly multimedia resources.

For clarity, the following discussion may often describe embodiments in which the interactive multimedia guidance application is an Interactive Program Guide (IPG). However, it should be understood that the functionality discussed and discussed below may be applied to any interactive multimedia guidance application. The following discussion will occasionally describe certain embodiments as responses to expiration dates. However, it should be understood that the embodiments may react to any change in the status of a multimedia asset, such as a change in the media source providing the multimedia asset, a change in the multimedia availability time window, a change in the format of the multimedia asset, and the like.

The following flow charts are used to illustrate methods implemented in some embodiments of the invention. Although these examples focus on alternatively available content via a VOD server delivery mechanism, the present invention is equally applicable to alternatively available content via a PPV channel or internet delivery mechanism. Although the present invention has broad application to multimedia assets, including video/audio programming, interactive content, games and applications as previously described; for clarity, video/audio resources are provided in the examples below.

Fig. 2 is a flow diagram of an exemplary process 200 for locally recording a multimedia asset before the asset becomes unavailable. Process 200 begins at step 202. In step 204, the user may select a multimedia asset, such as a broadcast program, VOD content, or PPV program. Alternatively or additionally, the system may also select a multimedia asset without user input, for example, based on the user's viewing history, user profile, or an agent tailored based on user preferences, all of which may interact with the interactive multimedia guidance application.

In step 206, the interactive multimedia guidance application will check the status of the multimedia asset on the origin server, such as a time window during which the asset is still available for viewing. In step 206, the interactive multimedia guidance application may determine, for example, a time at which the asset will become available as VOD content. The user may select an option to view/record on a Graphical User Interface (GUI). In one embodiment, the user may view the multimedia asset immediately and the process 200 moves to step 216. Alternatively, if the user schedules the multimedia asset for later viewing and/or recording, the process 200 may move to step 208.

If the user is watching VOD immediately, at step 216, the system monitors whether the user is watching the entire content, at step 218. If the system determines in step 218 that the user has finished viewing the multimedia asset, then the system determines in step 220 whether the user is still interested in the asset, e.g., whether the user has listed the asset in a "favorite". If, at step 220, no further interest is detected by the user, then the process 200 ends at step 228. The resource will still be accessible to the user unless a state change is effected that causes the resource to become inaccessible. However, the system may stop monitoring the resource status on the origin server. On the other hand, if the system determines in step 218 that the user is not finished viewing the multimedia asset, process 200 will move to step 206 where the system continues to monitor the status of the asset on the origin server in step 210.

If at step 220 it is determined that the user has continued interest in the multimedia asset, process 200 moves to step 210 to check if a change in the status of the multimedia asset is imminent. Likewise, process 200 moves from step 208, where the user has scheduled a future viewing/recording of the multimedia asset, to step 210 to check for an upcoming change in status. If no change in state is detected in step 210, the process 200 will move to step 206 to continue determining the state of the multimedia asset. Conversely, if a change in status is detected in step 210, indicating, for example, that the asset is to be moved to another channel or source, or that there is an expiration date on the source that is earlier than the original expiration date, then the process 200 moves to step 214 to check whether the asset has been locally recorded. If a local copy of the resource is available, no further action is taken and the process 200 ends at step 228.

Conversely, in step 214, if it is determined that the asset has not been locally recorded, process 200 moves to step 226 and/or step 222 (depending on the implementation) to automatically alert the user to the impending change in status (e.g., by displaying a "last chance notification" (LCN)) and/or automatically locally record the multimedia asset before the change in status takes effect. The LCN may thus enable a user to view and/or record the asset, or at least a portion of the asset, prior to a change in status. Local recording is subject to availability of sufficient storage capacity on the recording device 114 and resolution of scheduling conflicts with other scheduled recordings. If assets become available from another source, a different warning notification such as "now available on VOD" may be displayed so that local asset recording becomes unnecessary or at least may be deferred.

Fig. 3 schematically illustrates an exemplary "last chance" notification window 302 displayed on a TV monitor or computer screen 300. The exemplary message displayed in the notification window 302 notifies the user that the movie "philadephila" will no longer be available on the original source after 29/12/2005. The user may receive more information and/or focus on an alternative source of the asset, such as an alternative VOD or PPV channel, by pressing a "select" key on the remote control. It should be noted that the resources listed in the illustrative interactive multimedia guidance application may be rearranged to display more than one notification, such as a list of resource change status notifications during the notification period. The notification window may also include an active function (not shown) to allow a user to purchase resources and/or to locally record resources from the original source before the status of the resources on the source server changes.

It should be noted that in various embodiments, notification 302 may be: this is a notification of the "last chance" of watching a particular episode in a series in the next three months (e.g., note that this was the last movie X transmission in the next three months, or will be transmitted on a premium channel in the next three months). This is significant in areas where there is not always a possibility to order on a server. To this end, in one implementation, the interactive media guidance application may first search the local database listings to see when a program may be broadcast in the future. Such local databases are typically limited to two or three weeks of future program listings data. Thus, in other implementations, the application may interact with a wider remote database that includes manifests and calendars that are also playing in the future (e.g., three months in the future).

Further, other notification types and other options associated with notifications are possible in addition to the notification shown in FIG. 3. For example, in the content of the last chance notification related to the expiration of a piece of soprano episode on HBO, the user may be prompted to (1) record the program locally or (2) purchase all of the content commensurate with the episode value on DVD, the latter perhaps by clicking to a third party online retailer billing interface such as amazon.

Other variations and options for last chance notification include marketing pickup advertisements for programs related to purchases, such as Barnes and Nobel's culinary books whose recipes are taken in upcoming food channel programs, or peer-to-peer pickup advertisements such as hotkeys to jump away and enter discussion groups related to programs that will soon expire.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an illustrative process 400 for setting an alert period during which a user will be notified of a state change. The process 400 begins at step 402. In step 404, the user may enter an alert period specifying a time during which the user wishes to be notified of a state change. Since the user may only be interested in a subset of the available resources, in step 406 the system applies some metadata condition to make the number of resources included in the notification smaller. The metadata to be applied may be input by the user or may be automatically generated by the system based on, for example, user preferences and/or viewing habits. The metadata may include, for example, search strings or search masks applied to listings in the interactive media guidance application, and may include times/dates when programs are aired or available on another source (e.g., VOD or PPV), program categories, themes, actors, and other information available in a remote database accessible to the interactive media guidance application or interactive media guidance application. For example, a certain user may be interested in notifications of comedy programs. The combination of steps 404 and 406 may be referred to as a "setup". In step 408, the system creates a shorter listing based on the metadata conditions in the settings and monitors the status of the multimedia assets on the listing (e.g., by requesting program data from the interactive media guidance application). In step 410, the system sends a notification to the user for each resource identified in the shorter list. The notification may be displayed on display device 112; alternatively or additionally, e.g. an email notification or text message using Short Message Service (SMS) or the like may be sent to the mobile phone, PDA or similar device. This even allows the user to set a recording time for locally recording the asset to view the asset or to purchase the asset without doing so. The process 400 ends at step 412.

Fig. 5 is a flow diagram of an illustrative process 500 for determining whether local storage space is sufficient to record a selected resource. The process 500 begins at step 502. In step 504, the process 500 establishes a local recording session for the multimedia asset by first checking the available recording capacity. If, in step 506, it is determined that the storage capacity is sufficient, the process 500 moves to step 508 to locally record the asset. The process ends at step 508.

Conversely, if it is determined at step 506 that the recording capacity is insufficient to record the asset, the process 500 will check at step 510 if there are other stored assets that can be deleted. Criteria for deleting stored resources may include dynamic factors. Some examples of factors that are considered (whether dynamic or not) and criteria associated with such factors may include: indicia of storage resources as "archived" (which resources are less likely to be deleted), the time when the resources were last viewed, user direct and indirect input related to the resources, and/or the frequency with which the user accesses the storage resources. The assets targeted for deletion may include stored VOD assets or other recorded assets (e.g., pay-per-view or broadcast recorded assets). The recorded asset may also be deleted if the interactive multimedia guidance application indicates that the recorded asset is available in the future in an alternative source.

If, in step 512, the system determines that recording space is made available by removing outdated or low priority assets, the process 500 moves to step 516 and deletes one or more identified outdated assets and records the selected multimedia asset. Conversely, in step 512, if sufficient recording space cannot be provided, the process 500 moves to step 514 to notify the user that the selected multimedia asset cannot be recorded unless the user manually deletes one or more stored assets to make recording space available. The process 500 ends at step 518.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of an exemplary process 600 for resolving conflicts when two or more different multimedia assets schedule local recordings. The process 600 begins at step 602. In step 604, the system checks whether any resources other than the identified resource are scheduled for local recording. If no other resources are scheduled and thus there is no scheduling conflict, the process 600 proceeds to step 614 to locally record the selected multimedia resource and the process 600 ends at step 616.

Conversely, if, in step 604, it is determined that other multimedia assets are scheduled for local recording, the process 600 moves to step 608 and checks the scheduled recording time/date of the other assets. If, in step 610, it is determined that the scheduled recording times of the various multimedia assets do not conflict with each other, the process 600 moves to step 614 where the multimedia assets are recorded at their scheduled times. Conversely, in step 610, if it is determined that there is a scheduling conflict, the process 600 moves to step 612 to attempt to change the recording time in order to resolve the conflict. If the system is able to resolve the conflict, the multimedia asset is recorded at the changed time in step 614. The process 600 ends at step 616. If the conflict cannot be resolved, the user may be notified and intervention may be required.

It should be noted that the multimedia asset may be controlled in a distributed manner, in which case the recording and copying of the multimedia asset may be restricted. For example, an "on air" flag may be set in the asset to indicate that the content cannot be copied. Alternatively, the "copy not allowed" or "play once" flag may be set in a digital rights management protocol such as IEEE 13945C. More Information about IEEE 13945C is available from "Digital Transmission control Specification replacement 1.4(Information Version)" at 28.2.2005, available from Digital Transmission License Administrator (DTLA), 225B Cochrane Circle, Morgan Hill CA95037(USA), and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. It should be understood that certain embodiments of the invention will include: the steps of checking and consideration with various implementation algorithms, implicit content with respect to such distribution and copy protection, and security, encryption, and access control considerations.

The above-described embodiments of the present invention are presented for purposes of illustration and not of limitation, and the present invention is limited only by the claims that follow.