KR20090064386A - Method, apparatus and system for personalized broadcast media reception - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention advantageously provides a method, apparatus and system for personalized broadcast media content including a user interface for enabling personalization, which provides efficient use of network bandwidth and minimizes receiver device battery usage. In one embodiment, a user profile is pre-defined on a receiving device to indicate the recording interests of the user. Individual clips to be broadcast are associated with flexible metadata tags, such that when content, particularly video programs, is broadcast, the receiver device selects individual programs to record based upon content tags matching the user interests indicated in the profile. The selection process can also consider viewing statistics.

Description

METHOD, APPARATUS AND SYSTEM FOR PERSONALIZED BROADCAST MEDIA RECEPTION}

The present invention generally relates to broadcast media systems and, more particularly, to methods, apparatus and systems for personalizing media content reception.

In the world of broadcast media, the Electronic Service Guide (ESG) contains information about television programs scheduled for broadcast. Typically, ESGs use descriptive data such as program names, synopsis, actors, directors, etc. for individual programs as well as the time, date, broadcast duration, and channel scheduled for broadcast. Or metadata. For example, DVB-H ESG provides a standardized ESG, which is built on a metadata description scheme such as TV-Anytime. TV-Anytime defines an XML scheme for describing metadata associated with a program. In the TV-Anytime metadata namespace, there is a list of predefined fields for describing the various attributes of a program. Example fields of TV-Anytime include "Title", "genre", "Synopsis", and "CreditsList". TV-anytime fields are in fact hierarchical. In TV-Time, there is also a "Keyword" field.

ESG data is typically stored on a receiver such as a Set-Top Box (STB) or Personal Video Recorder (PVR) after the data is broadcast or downloaded. For example, in a TiVO brand PVR, ESG data is downloaded over the Internet and stored locally on a PVR hard drive. The receiver device may provide ESG data to the user using a Graphical User Interface (GUI). Using the GUI, the user can browse a list of current or future broadcast programs. As such, by browsing the list of program names in the ESG data, the user can select the programs to write to local storage. The user can choose to record individual scheduled programs by program name and specific broadcast time / date / channel. When such individual selected program is broadcast, the PVR will record the combined video / audio content to the local repository so that the user can watch it at a later time.

More specifically, using the available features, the user can choose to record certain programs. For example, using the TiVO Season Pass feature, a user may choose to record all broadcasts of a particular program name on a particular channel. In addition, using the TiVO Wish List feature, the user can select the actor names, director names, or program names of interest to be recorded.

File Delivery over Unidirectional Transport (FLUTE) is a protocol for multicasting file delivery and can be used to transmit ESG data or content on a unidirectional network. The FLUTE protocol includes a File Description Table (FDT) that describes the attributes of the files to be transmitted.

In current consumer provisions, several mobile video services have been deployed, using cellular networks, such as Verizon VCast. Such devices may be connected to a bi-directional mobile network. When an individual user wants to watch a video on such a device, the user can browse a list of available clips. Once a particular clip is selected, a request is made to the server and the clip data is unicast to the user device over the cellular network. However, currently on such systems, there is a significant delay between the user selecting a clip and initiating playback of the clip. In addition, such mobile devices often have limited storage space.

As such, users of such devices can view personalized content on demand without user-perceived delays and view selected portions of the content for recording onto the storage device. There is a need to make it possible to personalize, which reduces storage space and battery life requirements.

Advantageously, in one embodiment, a method for personalized broadcast media reception comprising a user interface for enabling personalization of program recording, providing efficient use of network bandwidth and minimizing receiver device battery usage, By providing an apparatus and system, it addresses the deficiencies of the prior art.

In one embodiment of the invention, a method for customizing receipt of media content comprises at least a score of each of the media content using received media content identification information and user profile information. Determining whether enough space is available to record the media content if each score of the media content is greater than a threshold. Further, if there is not enough space available to record the media content, comparing the score of the media content with a previously recorded media content to accommodate the recording of the media content and lower than the media content. Removing previously recorded media content having a score.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, a receiving device for customizing reception of media content comprises: a content information analyzer for evaluating received media content identification information, memory means for storing the media content; And a content selection controller in communication with the content information analyzer to determine respective scores for the received media content identification information. In the receiving device of the present invention, if each score of the media content is higher than one threshold, it is determined whether sufficient space is available in the memory means for recording the media content, and if the memory for recording the media content is determined. If there is not enough space available in the means, in order to accommodate the recording of the media content, the score of the media content is compared to previously recorded media content in the memory means and a previously recorded score having a lower score than the media content. The media content is removed from the memory means.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, a system for customizing the reception of media content comprises a head-end device for including identification information in the media content to be transmitted, communication means for transmitting the media content. A network for providing media, a receiving device for receiving the media content, a user interface for enabling a user to recognize a preference for recording media content, and audio / for playing recorded media content. And a video playback device. In one embodiment of the invention, the receiver is a content information analyzer for evaluating the received media content information, determining a score for the received media content, and using the determined score above to determine a portion of the media content to record. It includes a content selection controller for.

The teachings of the present invention can be easily understood by paying attention to the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

1 is a high level block diagram of a broadcast video system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a high level block diagram of a user interface suitable for use in the broadcast video system of FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a flow diagram of a method to be performed at the head-end to personalize broadcast video recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 shows a flowchart of a method to be performed at a receiver to personalize broadcast video recording according to an embodiment of the present invention.

It is to be understood that the drawings are for the purpose of illustrating the concepts of the invention and do not need to be the only possible configuration for illustrating the invention. For ease of understanding, the same reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures.

The present invention advantageously provides a method, apparatus and system for personalized broadcast media reception. Although the invention will be described primarily in the context of a broadcast video network environment, certain embodiments of the invention should not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art and will be appreciated by the teachings of the present invention that the inventive concept may advantageously be applied in any environment for personalizing the reception of media content including audio and video images.

The functions of the various elements shown in the figures may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing software, combined with appropriate software. When provided by a processor, the functions may be provided by a plurality of individual processors, which may be a single dedicated processor, a single shared processor, or some of which may be shared. Also, the explicit use of the term "processor" or "controller" should not be interpreted as exclusively referring to hardware capable of executing software, and, implicitly, without limitation, digital signal processor ( "DSP": digital signal processor ("DSP") hardware, read-only memory ("ROM") for storing software, random access memory ("RAM"), and non-volatile storage storage).

For example, FIG. 1 shows a high level block diagram of a broadcast video system according to one embodiment of the invention. The broadcast video system 100 of FIG. 1 includes a head-end 110, a broadcast network 150, and a receiver 160 as shown. The head-end 110 of the broadcast video system 100 of FIG. 1 includes a clip input 115, a scheduler 120, an electronic service guide (ESG) generator 125 and a FLUTE server 130 as shown. It includes. Receiver 160 of broadcast video system 100 of FIG. 1 includes a receiving device (shown as a FLUTE receiver) 165, an information analyzer (shown as an ESG analyzer) 170, and a content selection controller 175 as shown. , Memory means (shown as a content storage device) 185, and an audio / video player 190. As shown in the broadcast video system 100 of FIG. 1, the receiver 160 further includes means 180 (eg, a user interface) for transferring the user profile to the content selection controller 175.

The broadcast video system 100 of FIG. 1 may be used for recording short-form content or for recording full-length television programs that are shorter than conventional broadcast television programs. . The term "clip" will be used herein to describe a particular piece of content. Various embodiments of the present invention make it possible to set up a profile indicating what type of content the user is interested in recording. As such, when the content that matches the profile is broadcast, the invention may be used without requiring any active participation in that portion of the user, for example, using a flexible selection method. The receiver of will automatically record the content. Subsequently, when the user is interested in watching the video, the receiver device provides a list of all content stored on the device, such as via a user interface (eg GUI) 180. The user then selects the clip for playback. Playback can then be started immediately without delay. According to various embodiments of the present invention, power usage may be reduced by not receiving clips that are not of interest to the user and thereby not to be recorded. Receiver 160 may enter a sleep mode to minimize battery usage when clips out of interest are broadcast, and may need to receive selected clips for recording or receive electronic service guide (ESG) updates. At that time, it can return to awake mode.

In the broadcast video system 100 of FIG. 1, at the head-end 110, one or more tags, such as keywords, each individual clip 115 as meta-data describing that particular clip 115. Is coupled to. However, it should be noted that, like a baseball game, there may be multiple clips corresponding to a particular event. More specifically, in the ESG generator 125 of the head-end 110, fixed in a predefined hierarchy corresponding to certain attributes (eg program name, director name, size field, etc.). An ESG schema is used that contains not only fields but also tags that do not follow any particular hierarchy. The ESG may also be extended to incorporate a timing field that corresponds to when the content was created rather than when the content was broadcast. Such ESG data (eg, identification information) is broadcast periodically to multiple receiver devices on any type of wired or wireless, unidirectional or bidirectional network, such as broadcast network 150 of FIG. 1. According to the invention, the identification information can be used to identify a clip (part of the media content), including the amount of space required in the memory means for storing that particular clip. In various embodiments of the invention, the broadcast network may comprise a cellular network and the receiver may comprise a mobile communication device. In one embodiment of the invention, in addition to or in place of metadata included in the ESG, metadata (identification information) is attached to the clip.

Once a clip and its associated tags are collected at the head-end, the clip is reserved for later broadcast by the scheduler 120. The ESG data to be broadcast is updated to include identification information for the newly added clip (e.g., the metadata of the clip and its scheduled broadcast time and channel, size field, etc.). Individual clips can be broadcast more than once. The ESG data to be broadcast is updated to include information for every time that individual clip is to be broadcast. In addition, various different clips may be added to the system. Each clip is broadcast at the scheduled time of that clip. The clips may be broadcast on the same network as the ESG data, or may be broadcast on different networks. That is, in the broadcast video system 100 of FIG. 1, although ESG data and various clips are shown to be broadcast by the FLUTE server 130 on the broadcast network, in an alternative embodiment of the invention, ESG data and content data Can be delivered to the receiver using a different communication channel or network. As shown in FIG. 1, the FLUTE server 130 may be used to broadcast the ESG data and / or the clip itself.

At receiver 160, an individual user pre-specifies the type of content preference that the user is interested in watching. This information is stored as a profile on that user's receiver device. This preference may be indicated as an interest item, which is similar to tags that are associated with the clip at the head-end. Alternatively, the preference can be a search query term, which allows for search combinations or negative search terms. In one embodiment of the invention, the means 180 for delivering the user profile to the content selection controller 175 is the user interface 180. The user interface 180 of the receiver 160 of the broadcast video system 100 of FIG. 1 is a wireless device, such as a wireless remote control, a pointing device, such as a mouse or trackball, voice. Recognition systems, touch screens, on-screen menus, buttons, knobs, and the like. In addition, the user interface 180 may be provided directly on the receiver 160 or on a remote panel or on a device.

For example, FIG. 2 illustrates a high level block diagram of a user interface 180 suitable for use in the broadcast video system 100 of FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As described above, the user interface 180 is provided for delivering a user profile to the content selection controller 175 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The user interface 180 of FIG. 2 may be a stand alone workstation that includes a control panel 200 with a screen or display 202, or a graphical user interface (GUI) on a computer. It can be implemented in software as The controls 210-226 may vary from actual knob / stick 210, keypad / keyboard 224, buttons 218-222, depending on the implementation of the user interface 180. , Virtual knob / stick and / or button 214, mouse 226, joystick 230, and the like.

Referring back to FIG. 1, receiver 160 receives ESG data periodically, for example via ESG analyzer 170, and stores the ESG data locally, such as in content storage device 185. After the updated ESG data is received, the content selection controller 175 of the receiver 160, based on matching the tags of the broadcast clip with the user's interest information defined by the user profile, Select which clips should be recorded locally. A more sophisticated scoring system may also be used to select which clip to record. The process of selecting whether a clip is to be recorded may be performed at any time after an ESG update is received, including a reference to a particular clip. For example, ESG data may be received before a particular clip is scheduled to be received, such that determining whether or not to record a clip may be made before receiving the clip. As such, power usage can be reduced by not receiving clips that will not be recorded. For example, during a time when a clip of interest is broadcast to minimize battery usage, receiver 160 may enter a pause mode and may return to standby mode when it is necessary to receive a selected clip for ESG update or recording. That is, in one embodiment according to the present invention, a receiver may use time information in the ESG to find out when to turn off and on. In the stop mode, the receiver can be functionally disabled. If the clip selected for recording is scheduled for broadcast, the receiver 160 is activated to receive the broadcast clip. To identify the selected clip, when the start of the broadcast of the selected clip is detected, for example by the FLUTE receiver 165 of the receiver 160, the receiver 160 starts recording the clip and stores the clip in local content. Store on device 185.

In one alternative embodiment of the invention, ESG data may be received at the same time as the content clip, such that determining whether or not to record the content may be made when the content is received. In this embodiment of the present invention, storage space is preserved by not recording content that is not preferred or not selected by the user.

In various examples, it is possible that the local content storage device 185 does not have enough available space to store the selected clip. The "Storage" field of the DVB-H ESG may be used to determine the size of the clip to be broadcast. If insufficient space is available in the local content storage device 185, the receiver 160 may decide not to record a new clip or may remove one or more clips already stored in the local storage. Typically the "save" field of the DVB-H ESG is in Mbytes, which is somewhat imprecise, so the actual size of the stored clips can be used instead to determine the available space in local storage. .

According to various embodiments of the present invention, to reduce battery usage, for example, the display screen (not shown) of the audio / video player 190 may be turned off during ESG and clip reception processing. In one embodiment of the invention, the display screen is only turned on when the user actively uses the audio / video player 190 to watch the clip.

In one embodiment of the present invention, active user participation in the video personalization process is only necessary when setting up the profile in advance, which may be performed once or updated as desired. Additional clip selection processing is performed automatically by the receiver 160. The profile can be set up in a number of different ways, either on the device itself or separately, eg, on a computer connected to the Internet. The user can select items of interest from a list provided to the user or can enter free text items of interest. An item of interest may be equivalent to a tag associated with a clip.

One embodiment of the process for selecting which clip to record is described in more detail below. For example, combining flexible tags with individual clips and user specified interest profiles allows for great flexibility. For example, a user A may be interested in baseball, and in particular, interested in the New York Yankees team. As such, in one embodiment, "Yankees" may have been stored as an item of interest in a profile on User A's receiver 160. Another user B may be interested in the Boston Red Sox. As such, in one embodiment, the “Red Sox” may have been stored as an item of interest in the profile of User B's receiver 160. The favorite team of third-party C is Kansas City Royals, who hopes to record items of interest, including Kansas City Royals, but User C is also a major league baseball team. I'm also interested in their highlights. As such, in one embodiment of the present invention, user C's profile will include items of interest for "Royals" and "MLB highlights."

For example, if a clip scheduled for broadcast includes a full base home run highlight during a match between the Yankees and the Red Sox, then the metadata for that clip would include the tags "Yankees", "Red Sox" and "MLB Highlights". Which is included in the ESG data. As such, when receivers of users A, B, and C receive ESG data describing the clip, the users will each have at least one item of interest that matches at least one clip associated with the clip. The receivers of A, B, and C will all choose to record the clip. That is, when the clip is broadcast, the clip will be recorded at all three receivers.

In accordance with the invention, matching the clip tags with the item of interest may be performed using an exact match, or for example as "MLB" matches "MLB highlight", or if For example, if the interest text is contained within another metadata associated with the clip, such as the synopsis of the clip, for example, if the interest text is contained somewhere within a clip tag, the interest and clip tag do not require exact matching. May be fitted. However, according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, if any of the profile interest items fit any of the clip tags, a more sophisticated matching scheme than the simple matching scheme described above in the way that the content is recorded. Is implemented. Search queries containing combinations and / or negative terms may also be used.

In one alternative embodiment of the invention, more flexible fit schemes may be implemented to score individual clips based on the user profile. For example, based on whether a new clip or existing clip has a higher score, relative scores may be used to determine whether a new clip to be broadcast should be recorded and whether one or more existing clips should be replaced in the repository. have. Based on the amount of space available in the local store, the size of the new clip and the clips with the lowest score present, one or more existing clips with the lowest score will be deleted. Individual clips will have different sizes, so existing clips with the lowest scores will be deleted as needed to make room for storing new clips. The scores of existing clips with the lowest score can be combined together to determine the total score of existing clips to be removed, such that the total score is the sum of the scores of the clips or the score of the clips. Is the average of these. The total score of the existing clips can be compared with the score of the new clip and if the score of the new clip is higher than the total score of the existing clips, the existing clips with the lowest score are deleted and the new clip is recorded.

When determining whether a new clip should be recorded at the cost of an already stored clip, the existing clip can be used to avoid the step of continually storing new clips and replacing old clips, which can use the battery life of the client device. A small bias can be given to their score. In such embodiments, in order for a new clip to be selected to be recorded, the score of the new clip must exceed the overall score of existing clips by one threshold.

Further, the score calculation may take into account the items of interest in the user profile, and each item of interest may be individually evaluated by the user when the profile is set up. Scoring may also take into account the age of a clip in the local store, such as, for example, that a particular clip is old over time and thus the score of a particular clip is lowered. In addition, the score calculation may take into account viewing statistics of the user, such as which content associated with particular tags was most frequently watched.

Subsequently, when the user wishes to watch a video on the device, the user interface 180 provides a list of clips recorded in the local repository. Such a list of clips may be provided in a variety of different ways, such as by grouping by tags or by score or by how recently the content was created or received. Combined groups of clips may be presented to the user together in the order in which they were created.

3 shows a flowchart of a method to be performed at the head-end to personalize broadcast video recording according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method 300 of FIG. 3 begins at step 302 where each tag is assigned to each clip to be broadcast. The method 300 then proceeds to step 304.

In step 304, the clips to be broadcast are scheduled for broadcast. The method 300 then proceeds to step 306.

In step 306, the ESG is configured and updated to include clips that are scheduled to be broadcast. In the ESG, descriptive data or metadata is stored for each individual clip, such as the program's name, synopsis, actor, director, as well as the scheduled time, date, broadcast length, and channel. The method 300 then proceeds to step 308.

In step 308, the ESG / identification information is broadcast to the intended receivers. The method 300 then ends.

4 shows a flowchart of a method to be performed in a receiver for personalizing broadcast video recording according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method 400 of FIG. 4 begins at step 402, where each ESG information is received for clips to be broadcast. The method 400 then proceeds to step 404.

In step 404, each ESG information for the new clip (s) is based on the user preference list and rank (ie, depending on how well each ESG information fits into one or more choices in the user preference list). Given scores). The method 400 then proceeds to step 406.

In step 406, it is determined whether the score for the new clip is higher than a predetermined threshold. That is, as described above, the threshold score or rating is determined to identify the clips that the user prefers to record. If the score of each clip is not higher than the predetermined threshold, the method 400 proceeds to step 416. If the score of each clip is above the predetermined threshold, the method 400 proceeds to step 408.

In step 408, it is determined whether the available space in the local storage is greater than or equal to the size of the new clip to be recorded. If there is not enough space to store the current clip to be recorded, the method 400 proceeds to step 410. If there is enough space in local storage to record the clip, the method 400 proceeds to step 414.

In step 410, the score of the new clip to be recorded is compared with all existing clips in local memory. If there are clips with lower scores in the local store, the method 400 proceeds to step 412. If there are no lower scored clips in the local store, the method 400 proceeds to step 416.

At step 412, clips with lower scores are removed to accommodate the recording of the new clip. In one embodiment of the invention, the clip with the lowest score in the local store is removed until there is enough space in the local store to record a new, higher scored clip. In one alternative embodiment of the invention, the clip with the lowest score having a size equal to or greater than the size of the new clip to be recorded is removed to accommodate the recording of the new clip. The method 400 then proceeds to step 414.

In step 414, each clip is identified as a clip to be received and recorded. The method 400 then proceeds to step 416.

In step 416, it is determined whether ESG information for any other new clips has been received. If no ESG information has been received for any other clips, the method 400 proceeds to step 418. If at least one other new clip has been received, the method 400 returns to step 404.

At step 418, method 400 ends.

While preferred embodiments of a method, apparatus and system for personalizing broadcast media reception (which are intended to be illustrative and not intended to be limiting) have been described, improvements and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art in light of the above teachings. It should be noted that it can be made. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope and spirit of the invention, as outlined by the appended claims, changes in the specific embodiments of the invention disclosed may be made. While the foregoing describes various embodiments of the invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof.

The present invention is generally applicable to broadcast media systems, and more specifically, to methods, apparatus and systems for personalizing media content reception.

Claims (33)

A method for customizing the receipt of media content, Determining each score for the media content using at least the received media content identification information; If each score of the media content is above a threshold, determining if enough space is available to record the media content; If not enough space is available to record the media content, compare the score of the media content with previously recorded media content and have a score lower than the media content to accommodate the recording of the media content. Removing the recorded media content. The method of claim 1, wherein the score of the media content is determined according to how closely the media content identification information matches one or more choices in a user preference list. The method of claim 2, wherein the score of the media content is determined by further considering a weight assigned to a particular type of media content. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the weight is determined by considering how often a particular type of media content is selected for recording. The method of claim 2, wherein the user preference list identifies user preferences for media content to be recorded. The method of claim 1, wherein the media content identification information is received prior to receipt of the media content. The method of claim 1, wherein if the score of the media content is not greater than a threshold, the media content is not received or recorded. The media of claim 1, wherein if enough space is available in memory to record the media content and the score of the media content is higher than a threshold, the media is removed without removing any previously recorded media content. Wherein content is recorded in the memory. The method of claim 1, wherein the media content identification information is received prior to broadcasting the media content. The method of claim 1, wherein the media content identification information is received with the media content. The method of claim 1, wherein the media content identification information comprises an electronic service guide. The method of claim 1, wherein the power consumption of the receiving device is reduced when it is determined that media content will not be recorded. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the receiving device is in a sleep mode. The method of claim 1, wherein the recorded content is grouped for display according to content identification information. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the content identification information includes tags and the recorded content is grouped for display according to tag grouping. A receiving device for customizing receipt of media content, A content information analyzer for evaluating received media content identification information; Memory means for storing media content; And A content selection controller in communication with the content information analyzer to determine respective scores for the received media content identification information, If the score of each media content is higher than the threshold, it is determined whether there is enough space available in the memory means for recording the media content and if there is not enough space available in the memory means for recording the media content Otherwise, the score of the media content is compared to previously recorded media content in the memory means and previously recorded media content with a score lower than the media content is removed from the memory means to accommodate the recording of the media content. Receiving device for customizing receipt of media content. 17. The receiving device of claim 16, comprising a user interface. The reception of media content in accordance with claim 17, wherein the user interface comprises at least one of a wireless remote control, a pointing device such as a mouse or trackball, a voice recognition system, a touch screen, menus, buttons, and knobs on the screen. Receiving device for customizing. 18. The receiving device of claim 17, wherein the user interface enables a user to identify preferences for recording the media content. 17. The receiving device of claim 16, comprising an audio / video playback device for playing recorded media content. The receiving device of claim 16, wherein the media content identification information comprises electronic service guide information. 22. The receiving device of claim 21, wherein the content information analyzer comprises an electronic service guide analyzer. The receiving device of claim 16, wherein if the respective score for media content is not higher than a threshold, the media content is not received by the receiving device. The receiving device of claim 23, wherein power consumption of the receiving device is reduced if media content is determined not to be received. 25. The receiving device of claim 24, wherein the receiving device is in a pause mode. 27. The receiving device of claim 25, wherein the recorded content is grouped for display in accordance with content identification information. 27. The receiving device of claim 26, wherein the content identification information comprises tags and the recorded content is grouped for display according to tag grouping. A system for customizing receipt of media content, A head-end device for including identification information in media content to be transmitted; A network for providing communication means for transmission of the media content; A receiving device for receiving the media content, A content information analyzer for evaluating received media content identification information; Memory means for storing media content; A content selection controller in communication with the content information analyzer to determine respective scores for the received media content identification information A receiving device comprising a; A user interface for enabling a user to identify a preference for recording of the media content; An audio / video playback device for playback of recorded media content, If each score of media content is higher than a threshold, it is determined whether there is enough free space in the memory means for recording the media content, and if there is enough space in the memory means for recording the media content If not available, the score of the media content is compared to previously recorded media content in the memory means and previously recorded media content with a score lower than the media content is stored in the memory to accommodate the recording of the media content. A system for customizing receipt of media content, removed from the means. 29. The system of claim 28, wherein said identification information includes electronic service guide information. 29. The system of claim 28, wherein said network comprises a broadcast network. 29. The system of claim 28, wherein the head-end device comprises an electronic service guide generator for generating identification information for the media content. 29. The system of claim 28, wherein the receiving device comprises a mobile communication device. 29. The system of claim 28 wherein the identification information comprises a size field and the amount of space required to record received media content is determined from the size field.

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