GB2476136A - Providing multimedia content in a transmission system - Google Patents

Providing multimedia content in a transmission system Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2476136A
GB2476136A GB1012171A GB201012171A GB2476136A GB 2476136 A GB2476136 A GB 2476136A GB 1012171 A GB1012171 A GB 1012171A GB 201012171 A GB201012171 A GB 201012171A GB 2476136 A GB2476136 A GB 2476136A
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GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
user
user input
broadcast channel
media elements
interactive content
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
GB1012171A
Other versions
GB2476136B (en
GB201012171D0 (en
Inventor
Keith Huang
Wesley Ng
Chan Pui Chi
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Starbucks HK Ltd
Original Assignee
Starbucks HK Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Starbucks HK Ltd filed Critical Starbucks HK Ltd
Priority to GB1012171.3A priority Critical patent/GB2476136B/en
Publication of GB201012171D0 publication Critical patent/GB201012171D0/en
Publication of GB2476136A publication Critical patent/GB2476136A/en
Priority to PCT/IB2011/053234 priority patent/WO2012011061A2/en
Priority to HK11113318.5A priority patent/HK1159369A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of GB2476136B publication Critical patent/GB2476136B/en
Active legal-status Critical Current
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical

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Classifications

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    • H04N21/65—Transmission of management data between client and server
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    • G06Q30/00—Commerce
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    • H04N21/431—Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering
    • H04N21/4312—Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
    • H04N21/4316—Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Multimedia (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Databases & Information Systems (AREA)
  • Human Computer Interaction (AREA)
  • Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • Finance (AREA)
  • Strategic Management (AREA)
  • Accounting & Taxation (AREA)
  • Development Economics (AREA)
  • Entrepreneurship & Innovation (AREA)
  • Game Theory and Decision Science (AREA)
  • Economics (AREA)
  • Marketing (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Graphics (AREA)
  • Computing Systems (AREA)
  • Computer Security & Cryptography (AREA)
  • Two-Way Televisions, Distribution Of Moving Picture Or The Like (AREA)

Abstract

A multimedia content transmission system (e.g. satellite, cable or Internet Protocol television) transmits a plurality of broadcast channels. A user of apparatus such as a home entertainment system (200) with a set-top-box (202) provides a first input on a device such as a remote control (218) selecting one of the broadcast channels and thereby sets a current broadcast channel setting. An interactive content screen 300 having image areas such as windows 308, 320 and 336 for displaying media elements is then generated in response to a second user input. The media elements are selected in dependence on the current channel setting. The media elements may be a preview of future programme recommendations 308 or video-on-demand (VOD) 320, allowing a user to provide a further input to set for recording or a reminder or VOD transmission. The media elements may relate to interactive services such as survey, game, quiz, poll, stock quote, ticketing or shopping services. The media elements may be information messages 336 relating to sports, politics, weather etc. The interactive content screen may be displayed on a separate multimedia system such as a phone, laptop or tablet computer.

Description

Improvements to providing multimedia content to a user
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system, apparatus, method and computer software for providing multimedia content to a user.
Background of the Invention
Systems for providing multimedia content such as television systems including satellite, cable and Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) are currently able to provide hundreds of channels for a user to view. The large number of channels makes it difficult for a user to select and watch multimedia content (i.e. TV programmes).
Increasing this difficulty is the inclusion of video-on-demand systems, which allow users to request and watch missed television programmes. Other content may also be made available to the user through the multimedia systems.
This may include interactive content such as surveys or polls.
Currently, many television system providers offer on screen Electronic Programme Guides (EPGs). The user may press a button and be presented with a list of programmes grouped by, for example, channel. Typically the programmes are presented in a table format, with the channel number along one axis and time on the other. Other formats can be used, for example, the user may view the upcoming programmes from only one channel. A limited search facility may be provided. A user may interact with the EPG to select and record programmes.
The problem with using an EPG is that the user may still be presented with a large number of programmes to search or scroll through. This may diminish the user's experience by making it difficult to search for desired content, and discouraging a user from searching for new content.
There is therefore a need for an improved system for providing multimedia content to the user.
Summary of the Tnvention
According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided apparatus for providing multimedia content, the apparatus comprising: a transmission system for transmitting multimedia content, the multimedia content comprising a plurality of broadcast channels, each broadcast channel comprising at least one video broadcast transmission, the multimedia content further comprising an interactive content screen which is provided by the transmission system in response to a request; a user input device, the user input device including a plurality of input means, the user input device including first input means preconfigured for use in selecting a broadcast channel from said plurality of broadcast channels and second input means preconfigured for use in selecting the interactive content screen; and a multimedia processing system comprising: a user input device interface for receiving user commands from the user input device; a transmission system interface for requesting and receiving multimedia content from the transmission system; and an output interface for providing images to a display device, wherein the apparatus is configured to: receive first user input from said first input means indicative of a broadcast channel selection, and thereby set a current broadcast channel setting; receive second user input from said second input means requesting that an interactive content screen is displayed; and in response to said second user input, to generate an interactive content screen to be displayed on said display device, the interactive content screen comprising media elements which are selected in dependence on the current broadcast channel setting.
By providing an interactive content screen based on user input received by a second input means preconfigured for use in selecting the interactive content screen, the user is more easily able to view the interactive content screen. Moreover, by selecting media elements for the interactive content screen based on the current broadcast channel setting the apparatus is able to provide a superior user experience, including providing previews of other programmes, messages related to the current programme or channel and interactive content related to the current programme or channel.
The media elements may be provided in an interactive content screen comprising a plurality of image areas, wherein a first of the image areas is used to display at least a first media element and a second of the image areas is used to display at least a second media element.
By providing first and second image areas to display respective first and second media elements the apparatus is able to provide the user with multiple media elements on a single screen, thereby provide, for example, both recommendations and interactive content.
The multimedia processing system may be configured to: select a broadcast channel which is different to, but related to, the current broadcast channel setting based on user input selecting a media element in said interactive content screen; and in response to said broadcast channel selection, request the different broadcast channel from the transmission system.
The apparatus enables the user to select a recommended programme on a different broadcast channel which the user may not otherwise have considered.
This increases the breadth of the content viewed by the user and therefore the user experience.
The multimedia processing system may be configured to: select a video-on-demand transmission which is related to the current broadcast channel setting based on user input selecting a media element in said interactive content screen; and in response to said video-on-demand transmission selection, request the selected video-on-demand transmission from the transmission system.
The apparatus enables the user to select a recommended video-on-demand transmission which the user may not otherwise have considered. This increases the breadth of the content viewed by the user and therefore the user expenence.
The multimedia processing system may be configured to: select an interactive application which is related to the current broadcast channel setting based on user input selecting a media element in said interactive content screen; and in response to said interactive application selection, request the selected interactive application from the transmission system.
Interactive applications are typically hard for the user to access. By providing a media element, selected based on the current broadcast channel setting, in the interactive content screen, the apparatus enables the user to more easily select an interactive application related to the current broadcast programme or channel and therefore improves the user experience. The interactive application may be, for example, a survey or poii related to the programme currently showing on the current broadcast channel, and therefore the user may view (and consequently be able to access) the survey/poll simply by using the second input means preconfigured for use in selecting the interactive content screen.
The apparatus may be configured to determine if at least one media element of a first type is available, and if at least one media element of the first type is available, to select a media element from the at least one media element of the first type; or, if no media element of the first type is available, to select a media element from at least one media element of a second type.
A certain type of media element, such as a media element relating to video-on-demand or an interactive application, may not be available all of the time. Therefore the apparatus is able to select a second type of media element when the first is not available, and advantageously will be able to provide a media element which the user can select, rather than, for example, a blank area of the display.
The apparatus may be configured to: identify a set of media elements from a plurality of media elements based on the current broadcast channel setting; and generate the interactive content screen to display said set of media elements sequentially in said interactive content screen.
The allows the apparatus to provide more than one media element in the same area of the display, and enables the apparatus to allow the user to, for example, browse the media elements.
At least one of the selected media elements may comprise a preview of a broadcast channel. At least one of the selected media elements may comprise a preview of a video-on-demand transmission. At least one of the selected media elements may comprise an interactive media element requesting a user input. At least one of the selected media elements may comprise one or more information messages.
Advantageously, the apparatus is able to provide different types of media element within the interactive content screen.
The at least one selected media element may comprise a preview of an upcoming video broadcast transmission, and wherein the multimedia processing system is configured, in response to a further user input, to record said upcoming video broadcast transmission when said upcoming video broadcast transmission is broadcast.
The at least one selected media element may comprise a preview of an upcoming broadcast transmission, and wherein the multimedia processing system is configured, in response to a further user input, to set a reminder for said upcoming broadcast transmission whereby to alert the user when the upcoming broadcast transmission is broadcast.
Advantageously, the apparatus is able to recommend, using the preview, an upcoming video broadcast transmission, and enable the user to easily select the video broadcast transmission for later viewing. Since the video broadcast transmission is transmitted in the future (relative to the selection) the apparatus may either set a reminder for the user to view the upcoming video broadcast transmission when it is broadcast, or the apparatus may record the upcoming video broadcast transmission so that the user may view the video broadcast transmission at a later time. This enables the user to easily view recommended content.
The at least one selected media element may comprise a preview of a video-on-demand transmission which may be provided by the transmission system on request; and wherein the multimedia processing system is configured, in response to a further user input, to request the video-on-demand transmission from the transmission system, and to generate an image based on the video-on-demand transmission.
Advantageously, the apparatus is able to recommend, using the preview, an video-on-demand transmission, and enable the user to easily select the video-on-demand transmission for immediate viewing.
The preview may be of a transmission which is associated with the current broadcast channel. Alternatively, the preview may be of a transmission which is associated with a further broadcast channel affiliated with the current broadcast channel.
The apparatus may provide previews of transmissions which are available on both the current broadcast channel or on an affiliated channel. An affiliated channel may be associated with the current broadcast channel, for example, by being provided by the same company, or through cross promotion agreements between two separate channels.
The at least one selected media element may comprise an interactive multimedia element requesting a user input, and wherein the multimedia processing system is configured to: receive at least one further user input; and send information in accordance with the at least one further user input to the transmission system as a user response.
Advantageously, the apparatus may provide the user with an interactive multimedia element within the interactive content screen. The user may provide a further user input providing, for example, an answer to a poll or survey which is sent to the transmission system as a response. This facilitates the user being asked, and providing an answer to, the poll or survey.
The at least one selected media element may comprise one or more information messages, and wherein the system is configured to: determine a genre based on the current broadcast channel setting; and select one or more media elements from a plurality of media elements based on the genre.
The genre may comprise at least one of: sports; politics; weather; geographic; natural history; science; technology; business; history; health; education; entertainment; celebrity affairs; religion; children's programmes; shopping; fantasy.
In this way, targeted information messages may be provided to the user, thereby increasing the relevance of the information messages provided to the user. For example, if the current broadcast channel is a sports channel, the messages may be sporting news messages.
The output interface of the multimedia processing system may be configured to provide first and second images to respective first and second display devices, and the apparatus may be configured to provide first images based on the video broadcast transmission corresponding to the current broadcast channel setting to the first display device, and to provide second images based on the generated interactive content screen to the second display device.
Advantageously the user may have multiple display devices, and may therefore be provided with the interactive content screen while still being able to view the current broadcast channel. Therefore the user does not have to break up their viewing of the current broadcast channel to view the interactive content screen.
The apparatus may be configured to store user preferences, and wherein the user preferences are used in the selection of media elements.
Advantageously, user preferences may be used in the selection of media elements to improve the selection of media elements so that they are more directed towards the user's wishes.
The apparatus may be configured to store a record of user viewing history, and wherein the record of user viewing history is used in the selection of media elements.
This enables the apparatus to improve the relevance of media elements provided in the interactive content screen by using the user's viewing history.
For example, if the user has a preference for a certain type of programme, as derivable from the user viewing history, then media elements previewing this type of programme may be preferentially selected.
The apparatus may be configured to store a record of media elements which have previously been selected to be displayed on the display device, and to filter the selected media elements using the record of media elements which have previously been selected to be displayed on the display device so as to give preference to media elements which have not previously been selected to be displayed on the display device.
This enables the apparatus to improve the relevance of media elements provided in the interactive content screen by using a record of media elements which have already been selected to reduce repetition. This enables a broader range of media elements to be provided to the user by the apparatus.
The apparatus may be configured to store a record of media elements which have received a user input selecting the media element in said interactive content screen, and to filter the selected media elements using the record of media elements which have received a user input so as to give preference to media elements which have a predetermined association with the media elements which have received a user input.
This enables the apparatus to improve the relevance of media elements provided in the interactive content screen by using a record of media elements which have been selected by the user. Therefore, the media elements selected for the interactive content screen may be those media elements which have an association with previously selected media elements, and therefore themselves have a greater probability of being selected.
The apparatus may comprise a plurality of multimedia processing systems, and wherein the apparatus is configured to store a record of user viewing history, and wherein the apparatus is configured to use a user viewing history associated with a first of the multimedia processing systems in selecting media elements for an interactive content screen to be displayed by a second multimedia processing system.
This enables the apparatus to use other users' viewing histories to improve the selection of media element. For example, if another user watches two different programmes, then the apparatus may use this to create an association between the two programmes, and therefore, when a user watches one of the two programmes, then the apparatus may provide a preview of the other of the two programmes in an interactive content screen.
The apparatus may comprise a plurality of multimedia processing systems, wherein the apparatus is configured to receive a user input from a first of the plurality of multimedia processing systems, and to select a media element for an interactive content screen to be displayed by a second of the plurality of multimedia processing systems based on said user input.
The apparatus may be configured such that the media element selection for one user, of the second of the plurality of multimedia processing systems, is influenced by user input from a different user, of the first of the plurality of multimedia processing systems.
This enables the different user to make a recommendation to the one user, thereby increasing the range of recommendations provided to the one user.
Equally, the different user may send a message or other form of media element to the one user, increasing the user experience.
The apparatus may be configured such that the media element selection for one user, of the second of the plurality of multimedia processing systems, is influenced by user input from said one user, of the first of the plurality of multimedia processing systems.
The one user may be the user of both multimedia processing systems and therefore the user input on one of the multimedia processing systems may influence the selection of media elements on the other multimedia processing system, thereby increasing the consistency of the selection of media elements.
The second multimedia processing system may comprise one of: a mobile telephone, smartphone, PDA, laptop, personal computer or tablet computer.
Advantageously, the transmission system may provide multimedia content to a plurality of different forms of multimedia processing systems, such as mobile telephones. The apparatus may therefore use user inputs on one of the multimedia processing systems to influence the selection of media content on another of the multimedia processing systems. This improves the relevancy and consistency of the selection of media elements.
According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a multimedia processing system comprising: a user input device, the user input device including a plurality of input means, the user input device including first input means preconfigured for use in selecting a broadcast channel from said plurality of broadcast channels and second input means preconfigured for use in selecting the interactive content screen; a transmission system interface for requesting and receiving multimedia content from at least one transmission system; and an output interface for providing images to a display device, the multimedia content comprising a plurality of broadcast channels, each broadcast channel comprising at least one video broadcast transmission, the multimedia content further comprising an interactive content screen which is provided by the transmission system in response to a request, wherein the multimedia processing system is configured to: receive first user input from said first input means indicative of a broadcast channel selection, and thereby set a current broadcast channel setting; receive second user input from said second input means requesting that an interactive content screen is displayed; and in response to said second user input, to generate an interactive content screen to be displayed on said display device, the interactive content screen comprising media elements which are selected in dependence on the current broadcast channel setting.
According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a method for providing multimedia content, the multimedia content comprising a plurality of broadcast channels, each broadcast channel comprising at least one video broadcast transmission, the multimedia content further comprising an interactive content screen which is provided by the transmission system in response to a request, the method comprising: receiving first user input from a first user input means indicative of a broadcast channel selection, and thereby set a current broadcast channel setting; receiving second user input from a second input means requesting that an interactive content screen is displayed; and in response to receiving the second user input, generating an interactive content screen to be displayed, the interactive content screen comprising media elements which are selected in dependence on the current broadcast channel setting.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention there is provided a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing computer readable instructions thereon for execution on a computing system to implement a method for providing multimedia content, the multimedia content comprising a plurality of broadcast channels, each broadcast channel comprising at least one video broadcast transmission, the multimedia content further comprising an interactive content screen which is provided by the transmission system in response to a request, the method comprising: receiving first user input from a first user input means indicative of a broadcast channel selection, and thereby set a current broadcast channel setting; receiving second user input from a second input means requesting that an interactive content screen is displayed; and in response to receiving the second user input, generating an interactive content screen to be displayed, the interactive content screen comprising media elements which are selected in dependence on the current broadcast channel setting.
Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention, given by way of example only, which is made with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a multimedia transmission system in which embodiments of the invention may be used; Figure 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a home entertainment system in which embodiments of the invention may be used; Figure 3 illustrates a graphical user interface in the form of an interactive content screen which may be shown in embodiments of the invention; Figure 4 illustrates a method according to embodiments of the invention; and Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a remote control which may be used in embodiments of the invention.
Detailed Description of the Invention
Apparatus forming a multimedia transmission system, in this embodiment an TPTV system 100, in which embodiments of the invention may be used will now be described with reference to Figure 1. Many of the components of the transmission system 100 are well known in the art and will consequently not be described in detail.
A set-top-box 102 which may be connected to a display device, sound system and/or a user input device (not shown in Figure 1) is connected to the transmission system 100, so as to request and receive multimedia content from the transmission system 100.
The set-top-box is connected to a proxy server 104 within the transmission system 100. The proxy server 104 provides a point of contact for the set-top-box 102 through which the set-top-box 102 may request and receive media from the transmission system 100. The proxy server 104 also serves to balance the load from set-top-boxes and as a first level cache for static images and pages provided to the set-top-box 102. The set-top-box 102 may be connected to proxy server 104 through a residential P network (not shown), including, for example, a broadband modem and router, or may be connected using a dedicated connection.
The proxy server 104 is connected to one or more web servers 1 06A, 106B and 106C. These web servers 106A, 106B and 106C handle all HTTP requests and responses from the set-top-box 102. The responses provided by the web servers 106A, 106B and 106C may be in any well known format such as image, video, HTML or other formatted text pages, or interactive content utilizing computer code such as JavaScript.
Connected to the web servers are one or more application servers 1 08A, 108B and 108C. The application servers 108A, 108B and 108C manage the service, interactive and business logic for each set-top-box session. The application servers 108A, 108B and 108C may have connections to a transaction API server 110 which manages all transactional calls from set-top-box, for example, VOD checkout, channel subscriptions, bill enquiry, etc. The transaction API server 110 may be connected to and supported by one or more backend servers 112 which manage the backend user profiles, subscriptions, billings and related business processes.
Content publishing system 114 provides content to the application servers 108A, 108B and 108C. The content publishing system 114 comprises a Message Bus which provides a communication bus connecting databases 116, data mart 118 and CMS databases 120. The message bus 122 is connected to the databases 116, data mart 118 and CMS databases 120 via a Content Targeting & Recommendation Engine 124.
The Content Targeting & Recommendation Engine 124 provides a business rules engine to target and recommend content base on viewing channels or customer profiles parameters. The Content Targeting & Recommendation Engine 124, may provide a search engine to improve quality and relevance of targeting result, filtering to make sure the content recommended are better organized and non-repetitive, recommendations deduced from the viewing habits of other users, for example, "people who watch this also watch", refining of recommendation rules by feedback loop of users' interest, for example by analyzing which recommendations are followed or selected by the user and which are not, and passing on suggestion from friends/peers.
The Content Targeting & Recommendation Engine 124 is connected to a scheduler 126 which triggers regular preparation of media elements base on data readiness or preset schedules.
The databases 116 provide published data in response to requests for media elements from the application servers 108A, 108B and 108C on readily formatted and targeted information from the Message Bus. The data mart 118 provides a centralized persistent storage of all active content data and the CMS database 120 provides persistent storage of all content metadata (valid, obsolete or draft) prepared by Content Management Systems 128.
The Content Management Systems 128 contains a Content Management Server 130 which provides a management system for the input of content data of media elements to the system, the content management server 132 is connected to one or more content delivery Servers 132 which deliver XML, CSV and other formatted media elements for other authorized systems.
A home entertainment system 200 in which embodiments of the invention may be utilized will now be described with reference to Figure 2. The home entertainment system 200 comprises a multimedia processing system such as set-top-box 202. The set-top-box 202 may be the same as set-top-box 102 in Figure 1 and have the same connection to a proxy server 104.
Set-top-box 202 comprises a number of internal modules, such as a processor 204, memory 206, non-volatile memory 208 and dedicated hardware, such as decoder 210. These modules are connected via bus 212.
An interface 214 is further connected to bus 212. The interface serves to provide a number of inputs and outputs for the set-top-box 202. These inputs may include an interface such as an infrared (TR) receiver 216 which may receive commands from a user input device such as remote control 218. A connection to a display device, such as television set 220 is provided, as is a connection to speakers 222. The display device and speaker connections may be provided as separate connections, or be provided in a single connection, using for example SCART or HDMI. Likewise the speakers and the display device may be separate, or one unit.
The interface has a connection to the multimedia network via network unit 224 which may be a modem or router within a domestic premise. Network connection may be dedicated to the set-top-box, may be shared between multiple set-top-boxes at the same premises, or be shared between the set-top-box and other network devices such as personal computers. The connection to network unit 224 may be wired or wireless.
The set-top-box 202 may be controlled by a user using the remote control 218. User commands may include commands to play, pause, fast forward, rewind, and/or stop the playback of multimedia content. Equally the user commands may include command to navigate and enable the selection of multimedia content to be viewed, and to interact with interactive content. The remote control 218 may be provided with one or more buttons enabling the navigation and selection of multimedia content. The remote control 218 may also have a further button, such as a "home" button, which signals to the set-top-box 202 that a content screen or interactive content screen is to be displayed.
The set top box may run an operating system stored on non-volatile memory 208. The operating system may define how the user interacts with the set-top-box 202.
The interface may request and receive multimedia content from the multimedia network via the connection to network unit 224. These communications may be made using an Internet Protocol (IP). The received multimedia content may be compressed and/or otherwise encoded, for example high bandwidth content such as audio and video may be encoded using a compression standard such as MPEG-4 or H.264. Received multimedia content may then be stored in non-volatile memory 208, buffered in memory 210 or directly decoded for displaying on display device 220. The multimedia content may be decoded by the processor 204, dedicated hardware such as the decoder 210 or a combination of the two. Decoded multimedia content may then be output to the display device 220 and/or the speakers 222.
The non-volatile memory208 of the set-top-box 202 may also store user information such as user preferences.
Overall the systems described in Figures 1 and 2 may be considered to comprise a transmission system, which provides multimedia content transmission to a multimedia processing system (the example being the set-top-box 202). The multimedia processing system may request multimedia content from the transmission system and receive multimedia content from the transmission system in response. In addition the multimedia processing system may provide responses to e.g. surveys or polls to the transmission system.
Different servers within the transmission system (such as the separate web servers 106A, 106B and 106C) may transmit different multimedia content to the set-top-box 202. Alternatively, a single server may be designated a particular set-top-box (or group of set-top-boxes). The decisions as to what content may be provided to the set-top-box may be likewise made in a single server or a plurality of servers.
The multimedia content may take many forms, such as audio, video, picture, textual, interactive content (content requiring a user input such as a survey, poll, or game), and/or any combination of these. Other forms of multimedia content will be apparent to the skilled person.
The multimedia content may be broadcast or multicast. In broadcast and multicast, there is a one-to-many association between source (transmission system) and multiple endpoints (multimedia processing systems). The multimedia content is provided by the transmission system in a scheduled manner and the multimedia processing system is only able select between receiving and not-receiving the multimedia content which is broadcast/multicast at that time. The broadcast/multicast multimedia content normally comprises an audio and/or video transmission or stream.
The multimedia content may be provided on-demand (also known as unicast). In unicast, there is a one-to-one association between the source (transmission system) and endpoint (multimedia processing system). This enables the multimedia processing system to request a particular element of multimedia content and be provided with that element upon request.
The multimedia content may be divided into channels. In a broadcast system, a channel refers to one or more video broadcast streams which are grouped. A user may select a channel and view/listen to the stream provided on that channel. If streams are grouped, the user may have a limited ability to select different streams to be provided with, for example, different audio languages and/or camera angles. Each broadcast channel transmits programmes (such as films or television shows) on the video broadcast streams. A programme may be defined by a start and end point at which the transmission of the programme occurs.
The channel may also provide video-on-demand (VOD) transmissions.
This may be used to allow a user to "catch up" on broadcast transmissions which they have missed, that is broadcast content which has already been transmitted.
In systems, such as the one described above, the channels may be provided with associated media elements or multimedia elements. These media elements may take a number of forms, a non-exhaustive list of examples is given below.
The media elements may provide recommendations in the form of previews of upcoming programmes or of programmes available as VOD. A preview may include a picture or short video clip previewing the programme along with information such as title, a short description, broadcast time and the like.
Another form of media element is interactive content such as surveys, games, quizzes, polls, stock quotes, ticketing, merchandise shopping, interactive advertising and/or other marketing content. This content requires the user to make at least one selection which may then be sent back to the transmission system. The interactive content is associated with the channel in that, for example, the channel may be currently broadcasting a stream (such as a talent show) in which the user may vote in a poll or survey. The interactive content associated with that channel enables the user to vote, and transmits the vote back to the fransmission system. Alternatively an advert shown in the broadcast stream may have an associated marketing message. The user may be able to interact with the marketing message to purchase the advertised goods or service.
Similar services may be provided with regards to ticketing, merchandise shopping, stock quotes and the like.
Messages, containing text and/or images may be provided in media elements associated with the channel. For example these messages may comprise news stories which are associated with the channel and/or the stream currently being broadcast on that channel. Service updates may be provided relating to the particular channel. Alternatively, information comprising details of the currently broadcast programme may be displayed, such as the actors in a film or television programme, or statistics for an ongoing sports event. A marketing message may be provided, in particular if a new product is being shown in the programme (such as through product placement), the marketing message may identify the product and where it is being sold.
If news stories are provided, they may be tailored by genre based on what is being broadcast on that particular channel and/or the channel type, that is the category or genre of the current broadcast. For example, if the channel is broadcasting sport, or is a dedicated sports channel, the news may be limited to sporting news. This may equally apply to: politics; weather; geographic; natural history; science; technology; business; history; health; education; entertainment; celebrity affairs; religion; children's programmes; shopping; and fantasy. Other categories may be used. If a children's channel/programme is being broadcast, the news may be replaced by, for example, educational messages.
In embodiments of the invention, the home entertainment system 200 including set-top-box 202 as described above in relation to Figure 2 may be used to display a interactive content screen or home screen which will now be described with reference to Figure 3.
The interactive content screen 300 may have a status line 302 displayed across the top of the screen. The status line may display information such as the date and time, the current temperature, relative humidity and other weather icon(s). Other information may be displayed.
At the top right hand corner of the interactive content screen the current broadcast channel setting may be displayed in box 303. Channel or service provider logos (not shown) may also be displayed in box 303.
Underneath the status line 302 may be displayed a menu line 304. This menu may be used (as described later) to change the screen. The menu may contain such menu headings as Guide, On Demand, Interactive and Settings.
The selected menu (in Figure 3 this is the Guide menu) may be displayed with chevrons "<" and ">" surrounding the heading, other indicia (such as a surrounding box, and/or colour change) may alternatively or additionally be used to show that that menu is selected.
Underneath the menu line 304, on the left hand side of the display, is provided a pull-down menu 306 relating to the selected menu heading in menu line 304. In the screen shown, the Guide menu is selected and the pull-down menu 306 shows a number of pull-down items including, in the embodiment shown, Full Guide 306A, All Channels 306B, Sports 306C and Programme Search 306D. The user may select one of these items.
To the right of the pull-down menu 306 are displayed three windows 308, 320 and 336, in three areas of the display. The areas may be distinct, as shown, or may be overlapped to give a three dimensional stacked effect. Other arrangements are possible. More or less than three windows may be displayed, in any desired configuration. Each window may be used to display different types of media element as described above. Each window may be provided with a number (in this case, 1, 2 and 3) in the top left hand corner, see boxes 310, 322 and 328. These boxes represent a numerical key on the remote control 218 which may be pressed by the user for the user to access the window.
The windows may be used to enable a user to discover new services and new content (which may not at that time be known to the user). Alternatively or additionally, the windows may be used to provide additional media connected to the known services, for example media connected with the current programme.
Each window 308, 320 and 336 has a title 312, 324 and 340 which indicates the type of media element displayed in the respective window. Tn the illustrated embodiment in Figure 3, the titles are "Recommendation", "VOD" (video-on-demand) and "Messages".
Depending on the type of media element displayed in the window, the window may contain one or more separate elements. For example, window 308 may show recommendations. In displaying such recommendations, the window may show a preview of programmes which are to be broadcast at a later date.
The window 308 may comprise a preview picture or video 314, a title 316 of the recommendation, and a start data and time 318, indicating when the programme previewed is being broadcast on the system.
Window 320 may show media elements related to the channel. These may include previews of available video-on-demand (VOD) streams (as shown in Figure 3). Alternatively interactive services such as polling services and/or survey services may be shown in this window.
VOD streams are available immediately on request, that is a user can select a VOD stream and it will immediately provided by the server system to the set-top-box 202. In showing available VOD streams, the window may comprise a preview picture or video 326 and a title 328.
An interactive media element such as a survey, game, quiz, poll, stock quote, ticketing, merchandise shopping, interactive advertising and/or other marketing content may be shown. The user may be invited to submit an answer, which, for example, may be selected using the arrow keys or a number on the numeric keypad.
Window 336 may show messages, for example news, interesting facts of service updates relating to the multimedia system as a whole. Consequently a message 342 may be displayed in the window 336.
Window 320 is also shown with a selection bar 330 at the bottom. This selection bar may be present on any of the windows 308, 320 and 336. The presence of the selection bar 330 indicates that more than one "page" is available, each page showing a different media element. For example, in the case of windows 308 and 320, this may mean that more than one preview is available. In the case of window 320, this may mean that more than one VOD, interactive element, or a mixture of the two is available. In the case of window 336, this may mean that more than one message is available.
The selection bar 330 may display a page number and page count, for example 1/3 as shown indicates that the window is the first of three. That is, there are three VOD previews available, and the first is being displayed. The user may select different pages as will be described in more detail later, the arrows 332 and 334 may be presented to indicate to the user that more pages are available and may be accessed by using e.g. the left and right arrows of the remote control 218.
Below the three windows 308, 320 and 336 a further window 344 may be displayed. This window may comprise a further number in box 346, in this case the number is 4. The user may access this window by pressing 4 on the remote control 218. The window 344 may have a title box 348 and below the title box 348, be divided into a number of boxes. In the embodiment shown, there are three boxes 350A, 350B and 350C. The window 344 may display electronic programme guide (EPG) information.
For example, the boxes 350A, 350B and 350C may show information on programmes being broadcast at that time, i.e. "now showing" information. As such, the title box 348 may display "Now Showing", and each box may contain a channel number 352A, 352B and 352C, a channel name 354A, 354B and 354C and the title of the programme 356A, 356B and 356C, showing on that channel.
The channels may be selected based on the selected broadcast channel setting, and include the programmes on the selected broadcast channel and affiliated channels. User preferences, such as favourite channels, may alternatively or additionally be used.
The window 344 may display upcoming programmes on the selected broadcast channel. As such, the title box 348 will showing "Upcoming on [Channel number or title]", and the boxes 350A, 350B and 350C may instead contain a programme title and a time.
An operation of the system as described in relation to Figures 1 and 2 50 as to display the interactive content screen described in relation to Figure 3 will now be described with reference to Figure 4. In Figure 4, the operations which are performed in the set-top-box are shown to the left of the dotted line, and those operations which are performed in the transmission system are shown to the right of the dotted line.
In step 402, the set-top-box 202 receives a user input indicative of a broadcast channel selection. That is, the user selects a broadcast channel using the remote control 218.
In step 404 the set-top-box 202 sets the current broadcast channel selection based on the user input. It will be understood that the selection may have been a historical selection, that is, the selection may have been made at an earlier date, and for example, when the set-top-box 202 is switched on, the historical selection may be used to set the current broadcast channel selection.
The historical selection may have been a selection of a default channel.
In step 406 the set-top-box 202 receives a user input requesting that an interactive content screen is displayed. This input may be generated by the remote control 218 in response to the user pressing a dedicated button such as the home button.
In step 408 the set-top-box 202 sends a request to transmission system.
The request indicates that the interactive content screen has been requested by the user. The request may contain an identification of the current broadcast channel selection. The request may contain ftirther information such as the identity of the set-top-box 202 and the identity of a user (should the set-top-box 202 allow for different user profiles to be operated through the set-top-box 202).
In step 410 the request from set-top-box is received by the transmission system 100. The request may be received by the proxy server 104 and passed to one or more servers within the transmission system 100.
In step 412 the transmission system selects one or more media elements in dependence on the current broadcast channel setting received in the request.
In optional step 414 the transmission system orders the selected media elements. This ordering may be performed using a randomizer such that the user is presented with a different selection and order of media elements when the interactive content screen is displayed. Alternatively or additionally, the transmission system may order the media elements such that high priority media elements are shown first. The prioritization may be defined may a number of factors, such as whether the media content is associated with the selected broadcast channel or an affiliated broadcast channel, whether the media element has been previously used or provided in an interactive content screen, or by using a time limit associated with the media element, wherein the media elements with a more recent time limit are selected in preference. The time limit may be defined, for example, by when a previewed programme is to be transmitted, or when a poll or survey closes.
In step 416 the transmission system sends the selected media elements to set-top-box.
In step 418 the set-top-box receives the selected media elements from transmission system.
In step 420 the set-top-box generates and displays the interactive content screen comprising selected media elements. As described above with reference to Figure 3, different types of selected media element may be presented in different windows, and on different pages, depending on e.g. their ordering from step 414.
A remote control, such as remote control 218 shown in Figure 2 will now be described with reference to Figure 5. Remote control 500 is provided with a transmitter (not shown), such as an infrared or RF transmitter so as to communicate a button being pressed to the set-top-box. In addition, the remote control 500 has a number of buttons which may be pressed by the user to request different operations from the system. The buttons and the associated operations will be described below.
Power button 502 enables the user to switch on and switch off the set-top-box.
Four navigation buttons, up 504A, right 504B, down 504C and left 504D are provided to allow the user to navigate through the interactive content screen as will be described in more detail below.
A selection button 506 allows the user to select elements on the interactive content screen, and a home button 508 allows the user to request the interactive content screen be displayed.
Four streaming control buttons 510 are provided to allow the user to, for example, fast forward, rewind, pause, play and stop a stream which is currently being displayed.
Finally ten numerical buttons, numbered 0 to 9, a cancel button and a text button are provided.
The user may access the interactive content screen by pressing the "home" button 508 on the remote control 500 while a programme is being displayed by the set-top-box. When the interactive content screen is first displayed, the default selection of "Guides" may be selected in the menu line 304. The user may navigate and select items in the interactive content screen by using the up, down, left and right arrows 504A, 504B, 504C and 504D, along with the select button 506 and/or the home button 508. The home button 508 enables the user to both request the interactive content screen when a video broadcast transmission is being displayed on a particular broadcast channel, and can be used as a back button to re-request the home screen, that is return to the initial, top level, interactive content screen, when the user has selected an element of the interactive content screen.
For example, with "Guides" selected, the user may press left and right to select the other menus available in the menu line, such as "On Demand", "Interactive" and "Settings". When different menu titles are selected, the pull-down menu 306 may change. A list of possible items for the pull-down menu 306 is provided below. The user may select any element in the pull down menu 306 by using the up and down arrows to scroll down the list, and selecting the element using the select button.
Under "Guide", the following pull-down menu items may be available: Full Guide; All Channels; Sports; and Search.
Under "On Demand", the following pull-down menu items may be available: Movie/Drama; Entertainment; Sports; Music; News/Info; Kids; Travel/Documentary; and Adult.
Under "Interactive", the following pull-down menu items may be available: now Record; Money Management; Football Interactive; Interactive Ad; now Ticketing; Movie Club; and Multi-Access Service.
Under "Settings", the following pull-down menu items may be available: Bill Enquiry; Language; Channels; Parental Lock; Channel Surfing; Change PN; Stock Quotes Enquiry; System Settings; Info Desk.
Alternatively, the user may select one of the windows 308, 320, 336 and 344 by pressing a corresponding numeric button 512 on the remote control 500.
For example the number key 1 may be used to select box 308 (which has a number 1 displayed in the top right corner in box 310).
When a particular window is selected it may be highlighted in some manner, by, for example, providing the window with a surrounding box, and/or by greying out (that is reducing the contrast of) the surrounding display areas, such as the other windows.
If the selected window has multiple pages (see above discussion of selection bar 330) the user may use the left button 504D and right button 504B to scroll between the pages. The order of the pages may be defined, for example the transmission system may provide the media elements with a priority order.
Alternatively the order may be random, the random order being selected by either the set-top-box or the transmission system. The user may press the select button 506 to select the particular media element shown on the page.
Alternatively the user may press the home button 508 to return to the top level interactive content screen, that is the screen without any particular window being selected.
By selecting a media element on a page, the user may interact with it.
For example, if the user selects a preview or a now showing element, the set-top-box may switch to the channel on which the programme associated with the preview or now showing element is being shown and start to display the programme. Alternatively if the preview is of a VOD stream, the set-top-box may request the VOD stream from the server and display it on the screen.
Alternatively, if the media element is a preview of an upcoming programme, the set-top-box may record the programme when it is broadcast, or set a reminder to alert the user when that programme is being broadcast. The user may be presented with a menu allowing these different selections.
If the user selects a message, such as the message shown in box 342, the set-top-box may display an associated message in the whole screen. For example if the message is a news story, and contains only a headline and first paragraph, the set-top-box may display the whole news story upon the user selecting the message.
If the media element is an interactive media element or interactive application, the user may be able to interact with the media element within the window, that is provide, for example, a yes/no answer by pressing a button on the remote control 218. Alternatively, in the user may select the interactive media element, and in response to this selection the set-top-box 202 may request and receive an interactive application from the transmission system and display it on the display.
Adaptations and Modifications The above embodiments are to be understood as illustrative examples of the invention. Further embodiments of the invention are envisaged.
For example, in the above embodiments it is assumed that a user is subscribed, that is has paid for and is entitled to receive, a selected channel.
However in certain embodiments the media element may form a preview or advertisement for a channel for which the user does not have a subscription. Tf the user subsequently selects the channel, the user may be presented with a short (i.e. 1 or 2 minutes) preview of, for example, the programme currently being broadcast on the channel. The user may then be prompted to sign up for the channel.
Multiple display devices may be connected to the multimedia processing system so as to be simultaneously viewed by a user. The interactive content screen described in relation to Figure 3, may be displayed (upon the user requesting the interactive content screen be displayed by pressing, for example, the home button on the remote control) on a second such display device while the broadcast channel is shown on the first display device 220. Alternatively, different forms of the interactive content screen may be displayed on difference display devices. For example, one interactive content screen may be provided with previews, and another with interactive content.
The second display device may comprise a dedicated screen mounted on the set-top-box or be comprised within a remote control device. Alternatively the second display device may be comprised within, for example, a laptop, tablet or further television which can be connected to set-top-box and may be provided with an appropriate software client installed.
The buttons of the remote control 500 are not limited to the described functionality, and may provide further functionality to the system during different operations. For example, when a particular channel is being viewed, the up and down buttons 504A and 504C may be used to change the volume and the left and right buttons 504B and 504D may be used to change the channel.
Equally the numeric buttons 521 may be used to directly select a particular channel, for example to select channel 123 the user would press 1, then 2, then 3, optionally followed by the select button 506.
The selection of the media elements based on the channel number setting may take the form of looking at the genre or type of the channel or current programme and selecting media elements based on this genre or type. For example, if the current channel setting is to a sports channel, then the selection of media elements may be made to select only sports related media elements.
Examples of genres may include: sports; politics; weather; geographic; natural history; science; technology; business; history; health; education; entertainment; celebrity affairs; religion; children's programmes; shopping; fantasy.
While the embodiments described above have the windows populated with media elements associated with the channel which was previously being viewed, this may not necessarily be the case. For example, one channel may have associated other channels (multiple channels from the same service provider), or have reached an arrangement of cross-advertising with another channel. In this case, media elements associated with that other channel (an affiliated channel) may be presented in the selected media elements.
In such cases, the order of presentation may be defined by the system so as to prioritize the media elements associated with the channel which was previously being viewed (that is, ordering the pages so these media elements are displayed first, i.e. with lower page numbers), over the affiliated media elements.
The set-top-box may identify the current broadcast channel selection in the request for the interactive content screen in step 408 in Figure 4.
Alternatively current broadcast channel selection may not be identified in the request and the transmission system may determine the current broadcast channel based on a stored record of the users viewing, that is the identity of the current broadcast channel is retrieved from a server within the transmission system.
The selection of the media elements performed in step 412 of Figure 4, and/or the ordering of the media elements in step 414 of Figure 4 may be performed in the multimedia processing system (that is set-top-box 202).
The selection of the media elements may be performed in one server of the transmission system, for example the content targeting and recommendation engine 124, and the identities of the media elements may then be provided to a further server which is responsible for providing the media elements to the set-top-box. Alternatively, the identities of the media elements may be provided to the set-top-box which is then configured to request the media elements from one or more servers in the system.
The transmission system may use other indicia when selecting the media elements. These other indicia may be stored in the content targeting and recommendation engine 124, or in a database connected to the content targeting and recommendation engine 124. The content targeting and recommendation engine 124 may use the stored indicia to select the media elements.
For example, the transmission system may establish a set of user preferences which are used to refine and adapt the selection of media elements.
The user may specify a preference to not be provided with interactive media elements. This preference will be used in the selection of media elements to refine the selection so that interactive media elements are not displayed in the interactive content screen.
The user may specify a preference for certain types of genres of programme. This preference may be used by the transmission system in the selection of media elements to preferentially select or give a higher priority to media content associated with the preferred type/genre of programme. The preferences may be entered by the user into the multimedia processing system during a set up procedure, and transmitted to the transmission system where they are stored. The preferences may be changeable by the user by accessing a preference menu through the interactive content screen (for example by scrolling to the "Settings" menu in the menu line 304), again the modified preferences may be transmitted to the transmission system and stored.
The transmission system may store a record of a user's past viewing history, that is, the programmes which have been previously viewed by the user.
This viewing history may be used to refine the selection of media elements by, for example, giving a higher priority to media elements associated with programmes which have previously been viewed. This association may be through genre or topic, cast, production studio, or any other indicia.
The transmission system may store a record of what media elements have already been displayed to the user in an interactive content screen. This stored record may be used to filter the selected media elements to, for example, remove or give a lower priority to those media elements which have already been displayed to the user in an interactive content screen, and equally to provide a higher preference to media elements which have not previously been provided in an interactive content screen. The filtering may therefore reduce the repetition of media elements in the interactive content screen and correspondingly increase the range and diversity of media elements presented to the user through the interactive content screens.
The transmission system may also refine the selection of media elements by using feedback on which media elements were selected or otherwise interacted with by the user. That is, based on a record of user selection of media elements, the transmission system may give preference to media elements which are similar to or associated with media elements which have previously been selected by the user. For example, if a user selects a first programme through a preview media element, then the transmission system may store a record of this selection. Tn a subsequent selection of media elements, the transmission system may use this stored record to refine the selection of media elements so that a media element previewing a second programme, similar to the first, will be given a higher priority in the selection of the media elements. Equally, should a user ignore, or otherwise not select a first programme through a preview media element, a subsequent selection of media elements may give a preview of a second programme (again similar to the first programme) a lower priority.
Similar techniques may be used for other types of media element. For example, if a user has shown no interest in interacting with (that is answering) polls or surveys then the transmission system may give such poiis and surveys a lower priority over alternative media elements.
The transmission system may use other users' selections and viewing habits to refine the selection of media elements. For example, if a first user watches a first and a second programme, then the transmission system may store an association between the first and second programme. Consequently if a second user watches the first programme, the transmission system may use the stored association to provide a media element recommending the second programme to the second user.
A user may be able to associate other users' accounts to their own account, in a way that one user may make recommendations to other users. A first user may make a recommendation using the first user's set-top-box. The recommendation may be made using inputs via the remote control. The transmission system may store this recommendation, and may use an association between the first user and a second user to provide an appropriate recommendation to the second user. The recommendation to the second user may be in the form of a preview, or alternatively may be displayed as a message to the second user.
A search engine may be incorporated into the transmission system to improve the relevance and quality of the selection of media elements. For example, a search engine within the transmission system may be used to search for and select media content based on, for example, a keyword or title. The keywords used in the search request may be derived from, for example, information on the current broadcast channel setting or current programme.
Other indicia may be used, these may include, but are not limited to, the identity of the user (if the set-top-box allows multiple users to each have their own profile), the time (for example multimedia elements associated with programmes suitable only for adults may not be shown before a certain time).
The selection and storage above have been described as occurring in the transmission system. In embodiments the storing and selection may be performed by the Content Targeting & Recommendation Engine 124.
Alternatively any other server or server system within the transmission system may be used. Alternatively, the set-top-box may perform all or part of the storing and selection.
The transmission system may allow a user to access multimedia content through other devices in addition to the set-top-box. For example, the user may be able to access multimedia content using a personal computer or laptop through a conventional internet connection. Equally a mobile device such as a mobile telephone, smartphone or PDA may be used to access multimedia content through a mobile telephone network. The user may be provided with login details to enable such access.
The transmission system may link users' viewing history from one device to another, that is, to link a user's viewing history associated with a mobile telephone to viewing history associated with a set-top-box. This association may be used to assist in selecting media elements for an interactive content screen.
While the above embodiments have been described with four windows, more or fewer windows may be shown in the interactive content screen. Each window may contain a different type of media element. Each window may be referenced by its own number, which corresponds to a single numeric button on the remote control device by which the window and its contents may be selected. The windows may be of different sizes, reflecting a differing priority of the content. For example media elements associated with the broadcast channel may be presented in a larger box, while media elements associated with an affiliated channel may be presented in a smaller box.
The use of a set-top-box is purely exemplary. As an alternative, the functionality of the set-top-box may be built into television terminal which includes an inbuilt display device, or provided by software installed on a general purpose computer, laptop or tablet computer. Equally the functionality of the set-top-box may be provided in a games console, DVD player, media player or the like. The remote control 218 may be replaced by any alternative device, such as buttons presented on the set-top-box itself, by a touch screen interface on a display, a mouse or keyboard for a computer or by a controller for a games console. The non-volatile memory 208 may be any form of suitable memory, including, but not limited to, flash memory and/or a hard disk.
The transmission system described above may be combined with other systems for providing multimedia content to a display. For example, a broadcast system, using terrestrial or satellite transmissions may be used to provide the broadcast streams to the set-top-box. Consequently, the set-top-box may be provided with a radio receiver capable of receiving and decoding such broadcast transmissions. When a user selects a broadcast stream via the interactive content screen, the set-top-box may tune the radio receiver to the desired transmission frequency/multiplex and decode the broadcast channel accordingly.
The set-top-box may provide a slideshow type functionality for the pages displayed in the windows of the interactive content screen. That is, the page shown in a given window may change after a set period of time such as 5 or 10 seconds. If such functionality is provided, the set-top-box may be configured to stop the slideshow of pages if the particular window is selected.
It is to be understood that any feature described in relation to any one embodiment may be used alone, or in combination with other features described, and may also be used in combination with one or more features of any other of the embodiments, or any combination of any other of the embodiments.
Furthermore, equivalents and modifications not described above may also be employed without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined in the accompanying claims.

Claims (32)

  1. Claims 1. Apparatus for providing multimedia content, the apparatus comprising: a transmission system for transmitting multimedia content, the multimedia content comprising a plurality of broadcast channels, each broadcast channel comprising at least one video broadcast transmission, the multimedia content further comprising an interactive content screen which is provided by the transmission system in response to a request; a user input device, the user input device including a plurality of input means, the user input device including first input means preconfigured for use in selecting a broadcast channel from said plurality of broadcast channels and second input means preconfigured for use in selecting the interactive content screen; and a multimedia processing system comprising: a user input device interface for receiving user commands from the user input device; a transmission system interface for requesting and receiving multimedia content from the transmission system; and an output interface for providing images to a display device, wherein the apparatus is configured to: receive first user input from said first input means indicative of a broadcast channel selection, and thereby set a current broadcast channel setting; receive second user input from said second input means requesting that an interactive content screen is displayed; and in response to said second user input, to generate an interactive content screen to be displayed on said display device, the interactive content screen comprising media elements which are selected in dependence on the current broadcast channel setting.
  2. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, where said media elements are provided in an interactive content screen comprising a plurality of image areas, wherein a first of the image areas is used to display at least a first media element and a second of the image areas is used to display at least a second media element.
  3. 3. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the multimedia processing system is configured to: select a broadcast channel which is different to, but related to, the current broadcast channel setting based on user input selecting a media element in said interactive content screen; and in response to said broadcast channel selection, request the different broadcast channel from the transmission system.
  4. 4. The apparatus of any of claims 1, 2 or 3, wherein the multimedia processing system is configured to: select a video-on-demand transmission which is related to the current broadcast channel setting based on user input selecting a media element in said interactive content screen; and in response to said video-on-demand transmission selection, request the selected video-on-demand transmission from the transmission system.
  5. 5. The apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein the multimedia processing system is configured to: select an interactive application which is related to the current broadcast channel setting based on user input selecting a media element in said interactive content screen; and in response to said interactive application selection, request the selected interactive application from the transmission system.
  6. 6. The apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein the apparatus is configured to determine if at least one media element of a first type is available, and if at least one media element of the first type is available, to select a media element from the at least one media element of the first type; or, if no media element of the first type is available, to select a media element from at least one media element of a second type.
  7. 7. The apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein the apparatus is configured to: identify a set of media elements from a plurality of media elements based on the current broadcast channel setting; and generate the interactive content screen to display said set of media elements sequentially in said interactive content screen.
  8. 8. The apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein at least one of the selected media elements comprises a preview of a broadcast channel.
  9. 9. The apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein at least one of the selected media elements comprises a preview of a video-on-demand transmission.
  10. 10. The apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein at least one of the selected media elements comprises an interactive media element requesting a user input.
  11. 11. The apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein at least one of the selected media elements comprises one or more information messages.
  12. 12. The apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one selected media element comprises a preview of an upcoming video broadcast transmission, and wherein the multimedia processing system is configured, in response to a further user input, to record said upcoming video broadcast transmission when said upcoming video broadcast transmission is broadcast.
  13. 13. The apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one selected media element comprises a preview of an upcoming broadcast transmission, and wherein the multimedia processing system is configured, in response to a further user input, to set a reminder for said upcoming broadcast transmission whereby to alert the user when the upcoming broadcast transmission is broadcast.
  14. 14. The apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one selected media element comprises a preview of a video-on-demand transmission which may be provided by the transmission system on request; and wherein the multimedia processing system is configured, in response to a further user input, to request the video-on-demand transmission from the transmission system, and to generate an image based on the video-on-demand transmission.
  15. 15. The apparatus of claim 13 or 14, wherein the preview is of a transmission which is associated with the current broadcast channel.
  16. 16. The apparatus of claim 13 or 14, wherein the preview is of a transmission which is associated with a further broadcast channel affiliated with the current broadcast channel.
  17. 17. The apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one selected media element comprises an interactive multimedia element requesting a user input, and wherein the multimedia processing system is configured to: receive at least one further user input; and send information in accordance with the at least one further user input to the transmission system as a user response.
  18. 18. The apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one selected media element comprises one or more information messages, and wherein the system is configured to: determine a genre based on the current broadcast channel setting; and select one or more media elements from a plurality of media elements based on the genre.
  19. 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the genre comprises at least one of: sports; politics; weather; geographic; natural history; science; technology; business; history; health; education; entertainment; celebrity affairs; religion; children's programmes; shopping; fantasy.
  20. 20. The apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein the output interface of the multimedia processing system is configured to provide first and second images to respective first and second display devices, and wherein the apparatus is configured to provide first images based on the video broadcast transmission corresponding to the current broadcast channel setting to the first display device, and to provide second images based on the generated interactive content screen to the second display device.
  21. 21. The apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein the apparatus is configured to store user preferences, and wherein the user preferences are used in the selection of media elements.
  22. 22. The apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein the apparatus is configured to store a record of user viewing history, and wherein the record of user viewing history is used in the selection of media elements.
  23. 23. The apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein the apparatus is configured to store a record of media elements which have previously been selected to be displayed on the display device, and to filter the selected media elements using the record of media elements which have previously been selected to be displayed on the display device so as to give preference to media elements which have not previously been selected to be displayed on the display device.
  24. 24. The apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein the apparatus is configured to store a record of media elements which have received a user input selecting the media element in said interactive content screen, and to filter the selected media elements using the record of media elements which have received a user input so as to give preference to media elements which have a predetermined association with the media elements which have received a user input.
  25. 25. The apparatus of any of the preceding claims, comprising a plurality of multimedia processing systems, and wherein the apparatus is configured to store a record of user viewing history, and wherein the apparatus is configured to use a user viewing history associated with a first of the multimedia processing systems in selecting media elements for an interactive content screen to be displayed by a second multimedia processing system.
  26. 26. The apparatus of any of the preceding claims, comprising a plurality of multimedia processing systems, wherein the apparatus is configured to receive a user input from a first of the plurality of multimedia processing systems, and to select a media element for an interactive content screen to be displayed by a second of the plurality of multimedia processing systems based on said user input.
  27. 27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the apparatus is configured such that the media element selection for one user, of the second of the plurality of multimedia processing systems, is influenced by user input from a different user, of the first of the plurality of multimedia processing systems.
  28. 28. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the apparatus is configured such that the media element selection for one user, of the second of the plurality of multimedia processing systems, is influenced by user input from said one user, of the first of the plurality of multimedia processing systems.
  29. 29. The apparatus of any one of claims 26 to 28, wherein the second multimedia processing system comprises one of: a mobile telephone, smartphone, PDA, laptop, personal computer or tablet computer.
  30. 30. A multimedia processing system comprising: a user input device, the user input device including a plurality of input means, the user input device including first input means preconfigured for use in selecting a broadcast channel from said plurality of broadcast channels and second input means preconfigured for use in selecting the interactive content screen; a transmission system interface for requesting and receiving multimedia content from at least one transmission system; and an output interface for providing images to a display device, the multimedia content comprising a plurality of broadcast channels, each broadcast channel comprising at least one video broadcast transmission, the multimedia content further comprising an interactive content screen which is provided by the transmission system in response to a request, wherein the multimedia processing system is configured to: receive first user input from said first input means indicative of a broadcast channel selection, and thereby set a current broadcast channel setting; receive second user input from said second input means requesting that an interactive content screen is displayed; and in response to said second user input, to generate an interactive content screen to be displayed on said display device, the interactive content screen comprising media elements which are selected in dependence on the current broadcast channel setting.
  31. 31. A method for providing multimedia content, the multimedia content comprising a plurality of broadcast channels, each broadcast channel comprising at least one video broadcast transmission, the multimedia content further comprising an interactive content screen which is provided by the transmission system in response to a request, the method comprising: receiving first user input from a first user input means indicative of a broadcast channel selection, and thereby set a current broadcast channel setting; receiving second user input from a second input means requesting that an interactive content screen is displayed; and in response to receiving the second user input, generating an interactive content screen to be displayed, the interactive content screen comprising media elements which are selected in dependence on the current broadcast channel setting.
  32. 32. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing computer readable instructions thereon for execution on a computing system to implement a method for providing multimedia content, the multimedia content comprising a plurality of broadcast channels, each broadcast channel comprising at least one video broadcast transmission, the multimedia content further comprising an interactive content screen which is provided by the transmission system in response to a request, the method comprising: receiving first user input from a first user input means indicative of a broadcast channel selection, and thereby set a current broadcast channel setting; receiving second user input from a second input means requesting that an interactive content screen is displayed; and in response to receiving the second user input, generating an interactive content screen to be displayed, the interactive content screen comprising media elements which are selected in dependence on the current broadcast channel setting.
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