KR101489315B1 - Systems and methods for recording popular media in an interactive media delivery system - Google Patents

Abstract

In many aspects, a system and method for recording popular media between a subset of users in an interactive media delivery system using an interactive media guidance application is provided. Systems and methods for recording popular media are generally concerned with determining and selecting popular media based on popularity criteria.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a system and a method for recording popular media in an interactive media delivery system,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to media systems, and more particularly, to interactive media delivery systems that use interactive media guidance applications to record popular media in an interactive media delivery system. record system.

Television programs, pay-per-view (PPV) programs, near-video-on-demand (NVOD) programs, video- Video and audio media such as -delivered video, digitally transmitted music, promotional material, or other types of media are typically distributed to viewers over wired and wireless networks.

Viewers and listeners of such media typically record such media on a video cassette, audio cassette, optical disk, hard disk drive, and other storage media. Products have been developed that allow users to manage their viewing experience and record media with unprecedented flexibility. Personal video recorders (PVRs), such as those provided by TIVO ^TM , record programs on hard disk drives or other digital storage devices. The user can schedule the program for recording and then play them back. These systems also record what the user is watching in real time and allow the user to pause the real time program, for example, when the user has to leave the room. The user can resume watching the program when he returns to where he left off, or even fast forward through the ad until the program reaches the point where it is currently being served. The user may also rewind the program. The user can also record any other media while viewing or listening to any media.

Audience measurement techniques have long been used to provide information to system providers (e.g., television service companies) that want to know about their programs and the validity of the advertisements. Real-time access metering techniques for measuring user access and providing information about the number of user accesses to users of recordable media due to various ways that users can access the media, such as recording media or playing media It was proposed. Such real-time access measurement techniques are described in US patent application Ser. No. 09 / 823,705, filed March 30, 2001, Berezowski et al., Which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The present invention seeks to provide a system and method for recording popular media in an interactive media delivery system using an interactive media guidance application.

In accordance with the principles of the present invention, a system and method for recording popular media content using an interactive media guidance application is provided. The various embodiments described herein generally record currently available programs that meet the most popular currently available programs or popularity thresholds. The ability to review automatically recorded popular or automatically recorded programs provides users with the ability to view others in the community.

The recording is performed under the control of a suitable application such as an interactive media guidance application running on the user's equipment. Alternatively, the recording may be performed remotely on the server, for example, by a guided application server application. In this embodiment, the popular program may be recorded in a space associated with a user on the server, or may be recorded in a shared space used by all users. In some embodiments, a user may individually access each recorded program. In another embodiment, recorded programs may be viewed as adjacent as in a playlist.

The popularity may be determined based on any suitable criteria. For example, popularity can be based simply on the number of users currently viewing the program. Alternatively, the popularity may be based on the number of scheduled recordings, plays, or other accesses to the program. The change in popularity can be detected at the program boundary. In this case, the entire program is recorded. Alternatively, the popularity can be determined in succession, so that a portion of the program (i.e., a "clip") is recorded. As used herein, "program" or "programming" is also intended to refer to a portion of a program. In some embodiments, the guide application running on the user's equipment determines which program is the most popular or which program meets the minimum popularity threshold, based on popularity information provided by the server. In another embodiment, a server that is remote to the user's equipment determines popularity and provides identifier data that represents only the most popular programs or programs that meet a minimum threshold.

To avoid filling up a user's storage device (e.g., a personal video recorder), a set amount of storage space may be dedicated to the recording of popular currently available programs. If that amount of space is used, the previously recorded program may be over-written to record more recent and / or more popular programs. The amount of space can correspond to the amount of time, for example two hours of video. If desired, date time can be specified by programming logic or user input to limit when the recording occurs (e.g., recording popular programs only at 6-8 pm).

Records may be limited by user-supplied or system-defined criteria. For example, the media guidance application may only record popular programs that meet the criteria in response to user input that defines or is based on monitored user behavior definitions, genres, or other criteria. The popularity record may be limited by user supplied or system generated demographic criteria to limit the recording to popular ones among the user subset.

For clarity and without limitation, systems and methods are often described in connection with recording video-based media content (sometimes simply referred to herein as "programs"), such as television programs, VOD programs, ≪ / RTI > It is understood, however, that the system and method of the present invention may be applied to any other suitable type of media content, including audio-based media content such as digitally transmitted music.

According to the present invention, a system and method for recording popular media in an interactive media delivery system using an interactive media guidance application can be provided.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the drawings.
Figures 1 and 2 illustrate an exemplary display that may be used to provide a list of interactive media guide applications according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 3 illustrates an exemplary user equipment device in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4 is a drawing of an exemplary cross-platform interactive media system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 5 is a drawing of an exemplary system environment used to determine popular programs in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 6 illustrates an exemplary interactive media guidance application display that may be used to set options for recording popular programs in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
7 illustrates an exemplary display for turning on or off the recording of a popular program in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 8 illustrates an exemplary display for dedicated space on a storage device for writing popular programs, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 9 illustrates an exemplary display for setting a defined time period in which popular programs are determined and recorded in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 10 illustrates an exemplary display that may be used to set popularity criteria in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 11 illustrates an exemplary display that may be used to select a subset of users of an interactive media delivery system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 12 illustrates an exemplary display that may be used to exclude a program that does not fit the user preferences from selection for recording in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
13 is an exemplary display that may be used to display information, such as a list of recorded programs, a popularity level of a recorded program, and statistics for a user of a recorded program in a selected user interval, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention / RTI >
Figures 14-19 are exemplary process flow diagrams of steps involved in recording a popular program in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention.

The amount of media available to users in any given media delivery system may be significant. As a result, many users want a form of media guidance through an interface that allows users to efficiently navigate media selections to easily identify the media they may want. An application providing such guidance is referred to herein as an interactive media guidance application, or sometimes a media guidance application or a guidance application.

Interactive media guidance applications may take various forms depending on the media providing the guidance. One common type of media guidance application is an interactive television program guide. The interactive television program guide (sometimes referred to as an electronic program guide) may include, among other things, a conventional television program (provided via conventional broadcast, cable, satellite, internet or other means) Including on-demand programs (such as in a Video on Demand (VOD) system), Internet content (e.g., streaming media, downloadable media, webcasts, etc.), and other types of media or video content Lt; / RTI > is a known guide application that allows to browse media content of a type and locate its location. The guide application also allows the user to search for and locate content associated with video content including, for example, video clips, articles, advertisements, chat sessions, games, and the like.

With the advent of the Internet, mobile computing, and high-speed wireless networks, users have become increasingly sophisticated in the use of mobile devices, such as personal computers (PCs) and handheld computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), cell phones, Devices are accessing the media. On this device, users can search for and locate the same media available on the television. As a result, media guidance is also needed in these devices. The provided guidance may be for media content available only via television, for media content available only through one or more of these devices, or for media content available through both one or more of these devices and television Lt; / RTI > The media guidance application may be provided as a standalone application or client on a handheld computer, PDA, mobile television, or other mobile device, or as an online application (i.e., provided on a web site). A variety of devices and platforms capable of implementing media guidance applications are described in greater detail below.

One of the functions of the media guide application is to provide media listings and media information to users, along with allowing users to record the program and view the archived program. Figures 1, 2 and 6-13 illustrate exemplary displays that may be used to provide media guidance, and more specifically, media listing and recording options. The displays shown in Figures 1, 2 and 6-13 may be implemented on any suitable device or platform. Although the displays of Figures 1, 2 and 6-13 are represented by full screen displays, these displays may also be completely or partially covering the media content being displayed. The user may select a selectable option (e.g., a menu option, a list option, an icon, a hyperlink, etc.) provided on the display, or press a dedicated button (e.g., a GUIDE button) on the remote control or other user input interface or device It is possible to display that the user desires to access the media information. In response to the user's display, the media guidance application may be provided in one of several ways, e.g., in a grid-like manner by time and channel, by time, by channel, by media type, by category (e.g., Such as news, children, or other program categories, recording priorities, recording order, or other predefined, user-defined or other clearance criteria.

Figure 1 shows an exemplary grid program listing display 100 that also allows access to different types of media content in a single display and is sorted by time and channel. The display 100 may include a grid 102 that includes (1) a column 104 of channels / media type identifiers (each channel / media type identifier (which is a cell in the column) Or media type), and (2) a row of time identifiers 106 (each time identifier (which is a cell in a row) identifies a time block of the program). Grid 102 also includes cells of program listings, such as program listings 108, where each list provides the title of the program provided at the associated channel and time of the list. Other information and indicators may also be included in the grid cells. Using the user input device, the user can move the highlight area 110 to select a program list. Information on the program list selected by the highlight area 110 may be provided in the program information area 112. [ The region 112 may include, for example, a program title, a program description, a time when the program is provided (if applicable), a channel on which the program is broadcast (if applicable), a rating of the program, Conflicts, or any other desired information such as any desired information.

In addition to providing access to linear programs provided in accordance with schedules, the media guidance application also provides access to non-linear programs that are not provided in accordance with schedules. Non-linear programs may include, but are not limited to, on demand media content (e.g., VOD), Internet content (e.g., streaming media, downloadable media, etc.), locally stored media content , Video cassettes, video content stored on a compact disc (CD), or the like), or other non-time sensitive media content. On-demand content may include both movies and original media content provided by a particular media provider (e.g., HBO On Demand provides "The Sopranos" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm"). HBO ON DEMAND is a Time Warner Company L.P. And THE SOPRANOS and CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM are registered trademarks of Home Box Office, Inc. It is a trademark of ownership. Internet content may include content that is available upon request as a streaming or downloadable media via a web event, such as a chat session or webcast, or via an Internet website or other Internet access (e.g., FTP). Non-linear program content may also include digital image and text based information, digital music and other audio content.

The grid 102 may provide a list of nonlinear programs, including an on-demand list 114, a recorded media list 116, and an Internet content list 118. A display that combines listings for content from different types of media sources is sometimes referred to as a "mixed media" display. The various permutations of the list of types that can be displayed differently from the display 100 include user selection or guiding application definitions (e.g., display listing enumerated popular programs, such as the display shown in Figure 13, , Etc.). As illustrated, the lists 114,116, and 118 may include a grid (102) to indicate that the selection of these lists may provide access to a display dedicated to an on-demand list, a recorded list, ≪ / RTI > is shown across the entire time block displayed in the display. In other embodiments, a list of these media types may be included directly in the grid 102. Additional lists may be displayed in response to the user selecting one of the search icons 120. [ (Pressing the arrow key on the user input device can affect the display in a manner similar to selecting the navigation icon 120.)

The display 100 may also include a video area 122, an advertisement area 124, and an optional area 126. [ The video area 122 may allow a user to view and / or preview a program that is currently available, available, or available to the user. The content of the video area 122 may correspond to or be independent of one of the listings displayed in the grid 102. A lattice display that includes a video area is sometimes referred to as a picture-in-guide (PIG) display. PIG displays and their functions are described in more detail in U.S. Patent No. 6,564,378, issued to Satterfield et al. On May 13, 2003, and U.S. Patent No. 6,239,794, issued to Yuen et al, on May 29, 2001, The entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. A PIG display may be included in another media guidance application display of the present invention.

The ad 124 may provide an advertisement for the media content that is currently viewable, will be visible in the future, or is never viewable, depending on the access rights of the viewer (e.g., in the case of a subscription program) Or may correspond to, or be unrelated to, one or more of the media lists in the grid 102. The advertisement 124 may also be for a product or service associated with or unrelated to the media content displayed in the grid 102. The advertisement 124 may be selectable, may provide future information about the media content, may provide information about the product or service, may enable the purchase of the media content, product or service, Provide media content related to the advertisement, and so on. The ad 124 may be targeted based on the user's profile / preference, the monitored user behavior, the type of display provided, or any other suitable targeted advertising base.

Although the ad 124 is shown in a rectangular or banner shape, the ad may be provided in any suitable size, shape, or position in the guide application display. For example, the advertisement 124 may be provided in a rectangular shape horizontally adjacent to the grid 102. This is sometimes referred to as panel advertisement. In addition, the advertisement may cover the media content or the guide application display or may be embedded within the display. The ad may also include text, images, rotating images, video clips, or other types of media content. The advertisements may be stored in user equipment having a guiding application, in a database connected to the user equipment, at a remote location (including a streaming media server), or other storage means or a combination of these locations. The provision of advertisements in the media guidance application is described, for example, in U.S. Patent Application No. 10 / 347,673 to Knudson et al., Filed January 17, 2003, Ward, III, et al., Filed June 29, 2004 U.S. Patent No. 6,756,997, and U.S. Patent No. 6,388,714, Schein, et al., Issued May 14, 2002, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. It will be appreciated that advertisements may be included in other media guidance application displays of the present invention.

Option area 126 may allow a user to access different types of media content, media guide application displays, and / or media guide application features. Option area 126 may be part of display 100 (and other displays of the invention), or may be called by the user by selecting an on-screen option or by pressing a dedicated or assignable button on the user input device. Selectable options in the option area 126 may relate to features associated with program listings in the grid 102, or may include options available from the main menu display. Features related to the program list may include, but are not limited to, retrieving other broadcast times or a method of receiving the program, a method of recording the program, a method of enabling the series recording of the program, a method of modifying the recording priority of the program, The manner in which the channel is set to be enjoyed, the manner in which the program is purchased, or other features. Options available from the main menu display include search options, VOD options, parental control options, access to various types of list displays, subscription to premium services, editing of user profiles, access to browse overlays, or other options .

The media guidance application may be personalized based on the user's preferences. The personalized media guide application allows the user to customize the display and features to create a personalized "experience" as a media guide application. This personalized experience can be generated by allowing the user to enter such customization and / or by monitoring the user behavior so that the media guidance application determines various user preferences. The user can access the personalized guide application by logging in or identifying the guide application. Customization of the media guide application can be done according to the user profile. This customization may include various presentation methods (e.g., color scheme of the display, font size of the text, etc.), aspects of the displayed media content list (e.g., HDTV programs only, recorded popular programs, (E.g., based on a customized broadcast channel, reordering the display of channels, recommended media content, etc.), desired recording characteristics (e.g., recording or series recording for a particular user, popular program recording, recording quality, , Recording and cropping options, etc.), parental control settings, and other desired customization.

The media guidance application can allow a user to provide user profile information or automatically compile user profile information. The media guidance application may, for example, monitor the media the user is accessing and / or other interactions that the user may have as a guide application. In addition, the media guidance application may also be able to retrieve (e.g., from another web site on the Internet, accessed by a user, such as www.tvguide.com, from another media guidance application that the user accesses, (E.g., from a user's handheld device, etc.), and / or from other sources that the media guidance application can access Information can be obtained. As a result, the user can be provided with an integrated guidance application experience across different devices of the user. This type of user experience is discussed in more detail below with respect to FIG. Additional personalized media guidance application features are described in U. S. Patent Application Serial No. 11 / 179,410 to Ellis et al., Filed July 11, 2005, U.S. Patent Application No. 09 / 437,304, Boyer et al, filed November 9, , And U. S. Patent Application No. 10 / 105,128, Ellis et al, filed February 21,2002, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Another display configuration that provides media guidance is shown in FIG. Video mosaic display 200 includes selectable options 202 for organized media content information based on media type, genre, and / or other clearance criteria. In the display 200, a television list option 204 is selected, thus providing listings 206, 208, 210, 212 as a list of broadcast programs. 1, the list on the display 200 is not limited to simple text (e.g., a program title) and icons that describe the media. Rather, in the display 200, the listings may include cover art, still images from the media content, video clip previews, live video from the media content, or other types of media that inform the user of the media content described by the listing To provide a graphical image. Each of the list of graphics may also be accompanied by text to provide additional information about the media content associated with the list. For example, list 208 may include more than one portion, including media portion 214 and text portion 216. The media portion 214 and / or the text portion 216 may be used to view the video full screen or to view a list of programs associated with the video displayed in the media portion 214 (e.g., (E.g., to view a list).

The list within the display 200 is different in size (i.e., the list 206 is larger than the lists 208, 210, 212), but if desired, all the lists may be the same size. The lists may be of different sizes or graphically emphasized to indicate a user's interest or to emphasize certain content as desired by the media provider or based on user preferences. Various systems and methods for graphically highlighting media listings are described, for example, in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 11 / 324,202, filed December 29, 2005, by Yates, Are incorporated herein by reference.

The user may access the media content and media guidance application (also described below and its display) from one or more of his user equipment devices. FIG. 3 illustrates a generalized embodiment of an exemplary user equipment device 300. A more specific implementation of the user equipment device is described below with respect to FIG. The user equipment device 300 may receive media content and data via an input / output (hereinafter "I / O") path 302. I / O path 302 may provide media content (e.g., a broadcast program, an on demand program, Internet content, and other video or audio) and data to control circuitry 304, Includes a processing circuit 306 and a storage device 308. The control circuitry 304 directs the recording of information by redirecting the space on the storage device (e.g., storage device 308) and directs display of information on the display device (e.g., display 312) Can be used. The control circuitry 304 may be used to send and receive commands, requests, and other appropriate data using the I / O path 302. The I / O path 302 may connect the control circuit 304 (specifically, the processing circuit 306) to one or more communication paths (discussed below). The I / O functionality may be provided by one or more of these communication paths, but is illustrated in FIG. 3 by one path to avoid overly complicating the drawing.

The control circuitry 304 may be based on any suitable processing circuitry 306, such as processing circuitry based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices, and the like. In some embodiments, control circuitry 304 executes instructions for a media guidance application stored in memory (i.e., storage device 308). In a client-server based embodiment, the control circuitry 304 may comprise communication circuitry suitable for communicating with a guiding application server, a remote recording server, or other network or server. The communication circuitry may include a cable modem for communicating with other equipment, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) modem, a digital subscriber line (DSL) modem, a telephone modem, or a wireless modem. Such communication may involve the Internet or any other suitable communication network or path (which will be described in more detail with respect to FIG. 4). In addition, the communication circuitry may include circuitry that enables peer-to-peer communication of user equipment devices, or communication of user equipment devices in remote locations (described in greater detail below).

A hard disk, an optical drive, or any other suitable fixed or mobile storage device (e.g., a DVD recorder, a CD recorder, a video recorder, A cassette recorder, or other suitable recording device) may be provided as a storage device 308 that is part of the control circuitry 304. The storage device 308 may include one or more of the above types of storage devices. For example, the user equipment device 300 may include a DVR (sometimes referred to as a personal video recorder (PVR)) and a hard drive for a DVD recorder as an auxiliary storage device. The storage device 308 may be any of various types of media and presentation application data described herein, including program information, guide application settings, user preferences or profile information, popularity information, or other data used to operate the guide application Lt; / RTI > Non-volatile memory may also be used (e.g., to boot up boot-up routines and other commands).

The control circuitry 304 may include one or more analog tuners, one or more MPEG (e.g., MPEG-2, MPEG-4) decoders or other digital decoding circuitry, high resolution tuners, or any other suitable tuning or video circuitry, Such as a combination of a video signal and a video signal. An encoding circuit (for example, for converting an analog or digital signal to an MPEG signal for storage during a broadcast) may also be provided. The control circuitry 304 may also include scaler circuitry that upconverts and downconverts the media to a desired output format of the user equipment 300. The circuit 304 may also include a digital-to-analog converter circuit and an analog-to-digital converter circuit for effecting conversion between the digital signal and the analog signal. Tuning, encoding, and decoding circuits may be used by the user equipment to receive, display, play, or record media content. The tuning and encoding circuitry can also be used to receive the guidance data. For example, the circuitry described herein, including tuning, video generation, encoding, decoding, scaler, and analog / digital circuitry, may be implemented using software running on one or more general purpose or special purpose processors . A number of tuners may be provided to handle simultaneous tuning functions (e.g., viewing and recording functions, picture-in-picture (PIP) functions, multi-tuner recording, etc.). When the storage device 308 is provided as a separate device from the user equipment 300, a tuning and encoding circuitry (including a plurality of tuners) may be associated with the storage device 308.

The user may control the control circuit 304 using the user input interface 310. [ The user input interface 310 may be any suitable user interface such as a remote control, a mouse, a trackball, a keypad, a keyboard, a touch screen, a touchpad, a stylus input, a joystick, a voice recognition interface, The display 312 may be provided as a stand-alone device or integrated into other elements of the user equipment device 300. Display 312 may be one or more of a monitor, a television, a liquid crystal display (LCD) for a mobile device, or any other device suitable for displaying a visual image. In some embodiments, the display 312 may support HDTV. The speaker 314 may be provided integrally with other elements of the user equipment device 300, or it may be a stand-alone unit. The audio components of the video and other media content displayed on the display 312 may be played back via the speaker 314. In some embodiments, the audio may be distributed to a receiver (not shown) that processes the audio and outputs it via the speaker 314.

The user equipment device 300 of Figure 3 accesses media such as user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, wireless user communication device 406, or a non-portable game machine in system 400 of Figure 4 But may be embodied as any other type of user equipment as appropriate. For simplicity, these devices may be collectively referred to herein as user equipment or user equipment devices. The user equipment device in which the media guidance application is implemented may function as a stand-alone device, or it may be part of a network of devices. Various network configurations of devices may be implemented, as will be described in more detail below.

User television equipment 402 may include a set top box, an integrated receiver decoder (IRD) for processing satellite television, a television set, a digital storage device, a DVD recorder, a video cassette recorder (VCR), a local media server, . One or more of these devices, if desired, can be integrated into a single device. The user computer equipment 404 may include a PC, a laptop, a tablet, a WebTV box, a personal computer television (PC / TV), a PC media server, a PC media center, WEBTV is a trademark owned by Microsoft Corporation. The wireless user communication device 406 may include a PDA, a mobile phone, a portable video player, a portable music player, a portable gaming device, or other wireless device.

It should be noted that with the advent of the integration of video into television tuner cards for PCs, WebTV, and other user equipment devices, the boundaries became ambiguous when trying to classify the devices into one of these devices. In fact, each of user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, and wireless user communication device 406 may utilize at least some of the system features described above with respect to FIG. 3, Flexibility with respect to the type of media content that is possible. For example, the user television equipment 402 may support the Internet to enable access to Internet content, while the user computer equipment 404 may include a tuner to enable access to the television program. The media guidance application may also have the same layout on various different types of user equipment, or may be tailored to the display capabilities of the user equipment. For example, on a user's computer equipment, the guide application may be provided as a website accessed by a web browser. In another example, the guide application may be scaled down for wireless user communication devices.

In system 400, although there are typically more than one type of user equipment device of each type, only one type of each is shown in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating the drawings. In addition, each user may have more than one type of user equipment device (e.g., the user may have a television set and a computer), and also more than one type of user equipment A device (e.g., a user may have a PDA and mobile phone and / or multiple television sets).

The user can also set various settings to maintain consistent media guide application settings across in-home and remote devices. The settings include the preferences set forth herein, as well as favorite channels and programs, program preferences used by the guide application to make program recommendations, display preferences, and other desirable guide settings. For example, if a user sets up a channel as being favorite on his website www.tvguide.com in his or her own personal computer at his office, for example, the same channel may be placed in the user's home devices (e.g., User television equipment, and user computer equipment), as well as being preferred by the user's mobile devices, if desired. Thus, changes made on one user equipment device can change the guidance experience on another user equipment device, regardless of whether the devices are the same or different types of user equipment devices. In addition, these changes may also be based on the user behavior monitored by the guidance application as well as the settings entered by the user.

The user equipment device may be coupled to the communication network 414. That is, user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, and wireless user communication device 406 are coupled to communication network 414 via communication paths 408, 410, 412, respectively. The communication network 414 may be one or more of a wide variety of communication networks including a combination of the Internet, a mobile telephone network, a mobile device (e.g., Blackberry) network, a cable network, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) Network. BLACKBERRY is a registered trademark of Research In Motion Limited Corp. It is a service mark of ownership. The paths 408, 410 and 412 may be used individually or collectively to provide a path for supporting a satellite path, a fiber optic path, a cable path, a path for Internet communication (e.g., IPTV), a free space connection , Or any other suitable wired or wireless communication path, or a combination of such paths). Path 412 is shown in phantom to indicate that it is a radio path in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 4, and paths 408 and 410 are shown in solid lines to indicate a wired path (although, if desired, The path may be a wireless path). Communication with the user equipment device may be provided by one or more of these communication paths, but is depicted in FIG. 4 as one path to avoid unduly complicating the drawing.

Although communication paths between user equipment devices are not shown, these devices may be connected to a USB cable, an IEEE 1394 cable, a wireless path (e. G., Bluetooth, infrared, Other short-range point-to-point communication paths such as IEEE 802.11x, etc.), or other short-range communication over a wired or wireless path. BLUETOOTH is a Bluetooth SIG, INC. It is the certification mark of ownership. The user equipment devices may also communicate directly with each other through an indirect path through the communication network 414. [

The system 400 includes a media content source 416 and a media guidance data source 418 coupled to the communication network 414 via communication paths 420 and 422, respectively. Paths 420 and 422 may include any of the communication paths described above with respect to paths 408, 410, and 412. Communication with the media content source 416 and the media guidance data source 418 may be exchanged over one or more communication paths, but is illustrated in FIG. 4 as a single path to avoid over-complicating the drawing. In addition, although there may be more than one media content source 416 and media guidance data source 418, respectively, only one is shown in FIG. 4 to avoid making the drawings overly complex. (Each of these different types of sources is described below.) If desired, the media content source 416 and the media guidance data source 418 may be integrated as a single source device. Although the communication between the sources 416 and 418 and the user equipment devices 402,404 and 406 is shown as communicating through the communication network 414, in some embodiments, the sources 416 and 418 are coupled to the paths 408 and 410 404, 406 via communication paths (not shown), such as those described above, in connection with wireless communication devices 412, 412.

The media content source 416 may be a television distribution facility, a cable system headend, a satellite distribution facility, a program source (e.g., a television station such as NBC, ABC, HBO, etc.), an intermediate distribution facility and / Media servers, and other media content providers. NBC is a National Broadcasting Company, Inc. ABC is a trademark owned by ABC, INC. HBO is a trademark owned by Home Box Office, Inc. It is a trademark of ownership. The media content source 416 may be the creator of the media content (e.g., a television station, a webcast provider, etc.), or may not be the creator of the media content (e.g., Program provider of video content to the Internet, etc). The media content source 416 may include a cable source, a satellite provider, an on-demand provider, an Internet provider, or other media content provider. The media content source 416 may also include a remote media server used to store different types of media content (including video content selected by the user) at a location remote from any of the user equipment devices. have. Popular programs may be recorded in a space associated with a user on a remote media server or in a shared space used by all users. A system and method for remotely storing media content and providing remotely stored media content to user equipment is described in greater detail in U. S. Patent Application Serial No. 09 / 332,244, filed June 11, 1999, by Ellis et al. The entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The media guidance data source 418 may include media listings, media related information (e.g., broadcast time, broadcast channel, media title, media description, rating information (e.g., parental control rating, (E.g., category information, actor information, logo data for the broadcast station or provider's logo, etc.), media format (e.g., standard definition, high resolution, etc.), advertising information (e.g., text, images, media clips, And may provide media guidance data such as on-demand information, popularity information, and any other type of guide data that helps the user to navigate and locate the media selection desired.

The media guidance application data may be provided to the user equipment device using any suitable approach. In some embodiments, the guiding application is an independent conversation that receives program guide data through a data feed (e.g., continuous feed, trickle feed, or data within the vertical blanking interval of the channel) Type television program guide. Program schedule data, popularity information, and other announcement data may be transmitted over the television channel sideband, in the vertical blanking interval of the television channel, using an in-band digital signal, using an out-of-band digital signal, or any other suitable data transmission Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > user equipment. ≪ / RTI > Program schedule data, popularity information, and other announcement data may be provided to the user equipment via multiple analog or digital television channels. The program schedule data, popularity information, and other guidance data may be provided to the user equipment at any suitable frequency (e.g., continuously, daily, user specified period, system designation period, in response to a request from the user equipment, . In some approaches, the announcement data from the media guidance data source 418 may be provided to the user equipment using a client-server approach. For example, a guiding application client residing on a user's equipment may initiate a session with source 418 to obtain guiding data when needed. The media guidance data source 418 may provide the user equipment device 402, 404, 406 with a software update for the media guidance application itself or the media guidance application.

The media guidance application may be, for example, a standalone application implemented on a user equipment device. In other embodiments, the media guidance application may be a client-server application, in which case only the client resides on the user equipment device. For example, the media guidance application may be implemented as a client application on a control circuit 304 (Fig. 3) of the user equipment device 300, and some may be implemented as a server application Data source 418). The guide application display may be generated by the media guide data source 418 and transmitted to the user equipment device. The media guidance data source 418 may also transmit data for storage on the user equipment and the user equipment then generates a guiding application display based on the instructions processed by the control circuitry.

The media guidance system 400 is intended to represent a number of approaches or network configurations in which user equipment devices and sources of media content and announcement data can communicate with each other to access media and provide media guidance. The present invention may be applied to any of these approaches, or to some approaches, or to systems employing other approaches for delivering media and providing media guidance. The following three approaches provide specific examples of the generalized example of FIG.

In one approach, user equipment devices can communicate with each other within a home network. The user equipment device may communicate directly with each other via the short-range point-to-point communication scheme described above, communicate indirectly via a hub or other similar device provided on the home network, or communicate via the communication network 414 . Each of a plurality of individuals in one home can operate different user equipment devices on the home network. As a result, it may be desirable for various media guidance information or settings to be conveyed between different user equipment devices. For example, as described in more detail in U. S. Patent Application No. 11 / 179,410 to Ellis, et al., Filed July 11, 2005, a user may have a consistent media guide application setting May be desirable. Different types of user equipment devices in the home network may also communicate with each other to transmit media content. For example, a user can transfer media content from a user's computer equipment to a portable video player or a portable music player.

In a second approach, a user may have multiple types of user equipment accessing media content and obtaining media guidance. For example, some users may have a home network accessed by an in-home device and a mobile device. The user can control the home device through the media guidance application implemented on the remote device. For example, a user may access an online media guidance application on a web site via a personal computer in his or her office or via a mobile device such as a PDA or web enabled mobile phone. The user can set various settings (e.g., record, reminder, or other settings) on the on-line guide application to control the equipment in the user's home. The online guide can control the user equipment either directly or by communicating with the media guide application on the user's home appliance. Various systems and methods for user equipment devices to communicate when the user equipment devices are at a remote location are described, for example, in US Patent Application No. 10 / 927,814 to Ellis et al., Filed August 26, 2004 , The entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

In a third approach, a user of a user equipment device, both inside and outside the home, can communicate directly with the media content source 416 to access media content using his or her media guidance application. Specifically, within the home, a user of the user television equipment 402 and user computer equipment 404 may access the media guidance application to search for and locate desired media content. The user can also access the media guidance application outside the home using the wireless user communication device 406 to search for and locate the desired media content.

While the description of the media content focuses on the video content, it will be appreciated that the principles of media guidance can be applied to other types of media content, such as music, images, and the like.

5 illustrates a diagram of a system that may be used to determine a popular program in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In particular, FIG. 5 shows the devices of the users of the interactive media delivery system connected to the remote server 502 via the communications network 508. The control circuitry of the remote server 502 includes a processing circuit 504 and a storage device 506. The control circuitry of the remote server 502 can be used to send and receive commands, requests, and other appropriate data, direct the recording of information by dedicated space on the storage device, and direct the display of information on the display device . The control circuitry of the remote server 502 may be based on any suitable processing circuitry 504, such as a processing circuit based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices, and the like. In some embodiments, the control circuitry of remote server 502 executes instructions for a media guidance application stored in memory (i.e., storage 506). The user equipment may include a user television equipment 402 (FIG. 4), a user computer equipment 404 (FIG. 4), or a wireless user communication device 406 (FIG. The user equipment is described with reference to Fig. The remote server 502 may be part of the media guidance data source 418 (FIG. 4). Which receives data indicative of the user's program selection from a user's equipment (e.g., user equipment 510-540 in FIG. 5) that is connected through communication network 508 (FIG. 5). Based on this data, the popularity program is determined. For example, user equipment 510 may obtain input from user 1 through user input interface 310 (FIG. 3) to record popular programs between users 2 through N. [ User equipment 510 sends user input to remote server 502 (FIG. 5). In one embodiment, the remote server 502 processes data representing a program selection of users 2 through N to generate identifier data representative of the popular media and transmits the identifier data to the user equipment 510 (e.g., 16 and 19). In another embodiment, user equipment 510 receives popularity information, such as data indicative of program selections of users 2 through N, from remote server 502 and processes the information to generate identifier data representing the popular media ( For example, with reference to Figures 15 and 18). The popularity information may also be provided by a third party (e.g., Nielsen) that tracks user activity. A popular program between users 2 through N may also be determined by sampling a subset of users (e.g., statistical sampling indicating the program selection of users 3 through N-1) and then deducing from the sample. Any suitable sampling and reasoning algorithm / technique may be used. Sampling / inferencing may be performed, for example, by a remote server 502 control circuit under control of a guiding application server application command or by a third party (e.g., Nielsen).

6 illustrates an exemplary dialogue that may be used to set an option to record a popular program that may be displayed on a display 312 (Fig. 3) of a user equipment device or media device 402, 404, 406 Type media guidance application display. The options may be set based on, for example, system generated inputs, such as a user guide data feed, or user input, and an appropriate warning message may be displayed if any settings are inadequate. 6 illustrates a header area 601 having a header identifier area 604 and a description area 605, an option selection area 603, and a video area (not shown) that can be used to display video, 602 (sometimes referred to as a "PIG" area). In the interactive media guidance application, the display area may use scrolling to display additional information. Box 616 displays the current time. In the example of FIG. 6, the header area 601 represents the functional category ("General Settings") in which the interactive media guidance application is currently located. The option selection area 603 includes an option area 608 and a detail area 610. [ Option area 608 displays the available options under the functional category and displays the available sub options under that option when the option is highlighted. The detail area 610 displays the status of the option when the option is highlighted at 608 and displays the details of the option at 608 when the option is selected. The description area 605 displays a description of the highlighted option. If an option to record a popular program is set based on user input, the user may enter information via the user input interface 310 (FIG. 3). It may be possible to highlight the option at 608, for example, by navigating through the user input interface 310 (FIG. 3) until the desired option is highlighted on the display 312 (FIG. 3). When the desired option is highlighted, it may be possible to select an option at 608, for example by pressing a select button (shown at 612) on the user input interface 310 (Fig. 3). In the example of FIG. 6, the option "Record Popular Programs" 606 under the function category "General settings" is highlighted in the option area 608. Thus, the option area 608 displays available sub-options under "Record Popular Programs ", the detail area 610 displays the status of the sub-options, and the description area 605 is displayed in the & ≪ / RTI > For example, it may be possible to exit the display 600 by pressing an exit button (denoted 614) on the user input interface 310. Any other suitable option may be included in option area 608. [ For example, "Pop-Up Alerts" may be included as a sub-option under "Record Popular Programs" and listed under "Display Results" in area 608. If "Pop-Up Alerts" is turned on, it will notify the current viewer / user that, for example, another program on another channel has just met a popularity criterion and has the option to tune to that channel or record the program Will pop up a display that you provide to the viewer / user. For example, "Pop-Up Alerts" can be set to display a pop-up alert when 20% of current viewers in postal code 91030 are viewing a comedy show. Popular criteria for "Pop-Up Alerts" may be set using a display similar to the "Set Popularity Criteria" display (the "Set Popularity Criteria" display is described in connection with FIG. 10).

Figure 7 illustrates an exemplary interactive media guidance application display that may be used to turn on and off the recording of popular programs option. This display may be displayed on the user equipment device or on the display 312 (Figure 3) of media devices 402, 404, 406 (Figure 4). Specifically, FIG. 7 shows an exemplary interactive media guidance application display 700 that is displayed after the "On / Off" suboption of "Record Popular Programs" in FIG. 6 is highlighted and selected. The description area 705 shows a description of the selected option. The option area 608 represents the selected option 706. The detail area 710 indicates the setting ("ON" or "OFF") for the selected option. Turning on the "Record Popular Programs" option may be accomplished by, for example, pressing a select button 612 on the user input interface 310 (Fig. 3). In the example of FIG. 7, a search is made through the user input interface 310 (FIG. 3) until the desired setting ("OFF") is highlighted on the display 700 and then the user input interface 310 Quot; Record Popular Programs "option by selecting a setting by pressing a select button (denoted 612) on the display.

Figure 8 illustrates an exemplary interactive media guidance application display that can be used to redirect space on a storage device to writing popular programs. The storage device may be any of a number of storage media including, but not limited to, 308 (FIG. 3) in the user's equipment, 506 (FIG. 5) in the server remote from the user's equipment or any number of storage media including optical drives, hard disk drives, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > and / or < / RTI > This display may be displayed on the user equipment device or on the display 312 (Figure 3) of media devices 402, 404, 406 (Figure 4). Specifically, FIG. 8 shows an exemplary interactive media guidance application display 800 that is displayed after the "Allocate Storage Space" suboption of "Record Popular Programs" in FIG. 6 is highlighted and selected. The description area 805 shows a description of the selected option. The option area 608 represents the selected option (806). The detail area 810 shows the available settings for the selected option. In the example of FIG. 8, the detail area 810 indicates that 80% of the total storage capacity of the storage device is available for recording popular programs, and indicates to the user 1 < RTI ID = 0.0 > 80 < / RTI > If the "Allocate Storage Space" option is set based on user input, the user may enter information via the user input interface 310 (FIG. 3). For example, the search feature of the user input interface 310 (FIG. 3) is used to highlight the available settings 818 and the number '3''0' using the user input interface 310 (FIG. 3) And by pressing a select button 612 on the user input interface 310 (Fig. 3), it is possible to devote 30% of the total storage capacity to recording a popular program. The amount of storage device that is allocated may be expressed in a manner other than the ratio of the total capacity of the storage device. For example, the amount of storage to be allocated may be expressed using physical size (e.g., 2 GB or 500 MB), write length (e.g., 2 hours), or any other suitable approach. If an inappropriate assignment is entered (e.g., the desired space is greater than the available space), the interactive media guidance application may display an appropriate warning message on display 312 (FIG. 3). Although the description of Figure 8 refers to the option being set by the user, the system (e.g., interactive media guidance application, user equipment device 300 (Figure 3) or remote server 502 (Figure 5) May automatically set the option by dedicating an appropriate amount of space to the record based on the available space in the storage device. A storage device having a dedicated space may be within a user's equipment (e.g., storage 308 in FIG. 3) or within a server (e.g., storage 506 in FIG. 5) . The dedicated space at 506 may be in a shared space associated with a user or used by all users. Writing popular media can overwrite previously recorded media when the dedicated space is full.

Figure 9 shows an exemplary interactive media guidance application display that may be used to set the start and end times of a defined period during which a popular program is determined and recorded. This display may be displayed on the user equipment device or on the display 312 (Figure 3) of media devices 402, 404, 406 (Figure 4). Specifically, FIG. 9 shows an exemplary interactive media guidance application display 900 that is displayed after the "Set Time Period" suboption of "Record Popular Programs" in FIG. 6 is highlighted and selected. The description area 905 shows a description of the selected option. The option area 608 represents the selected option 906. Details area 910 shows the available settings for the selected option. For example, using the navigation features of the user input interface 310 (FIG. 3), highlight the available settings 918 and use the user input interface 310 (FIG. 3) to set the desired date and time By inputting, it is possible to set the start time. Setting the end time follows a similar procedure. And accepts the settings immediately entered by pressing the select button 612 on the user input interface 310 (FIG. 3). Other ways of defining the time period may be presented by the interactive media guidance application, for example, as long as the user's television is turned off or as long as the "Record Popular Programs" option is turned on. In the example of FIG. 9, the detail area 910 indicates that the start time is set to 9:00 am on July 31, 2007, and the end time is set to 8:00 pm on August 1, 2007. If an inappropriate time period is entered (e.g., the end time occurs before the start time), the interactive media guidance application may display an appropriate warning message on display 312 (FIG. 3). As the "Set Time Period" option detects a change in popularity at a program boundary instead of continuously determining popularity (e.g., when the recording of a popular program is started, The entirety of which is recorded before it is made available). Although the description of FIG. 9 refers to the option as being set by the user, the system can also automatically set a suitable defined period of time (e.g., every week, every time the user television is turned off, As long as this is turned on continuously).

Figure 10 illustrates an exemplary interactive media guidance application display that may be used to set popularity criteria used to determine popular programs. This display may be displayed on the user equipment device or on the display 312 (Figure 3) of media devices 402, 404, 406 (Figure 4). Specifically, FIG. 10 shows an exemplary interactive media guidance application display 1000 that is displayed after the "Set Popularity Criteria" suboption of "Record Popular Programs" in FIG. 6 is highlighted and selected. The description area 1005 shows a description of the selected option. The option area 608 represents the selected option 1006. Details area 1010 shows the available settings for the selected option. In the example of FIG. 10, the popularity of the program may be determined based on the number of users of the interactive media delivery system that are scheduled to view / use the program or to record / record / record the program, Can be determined. Considering the number of users scheduled to record the program, it provides an advance indication of the popularity of the program, enables determination of the popular program before it is seen, and so recording can begin at the beginning of the program. The "Set Popularity Criteria" option may allow popularity to be determined based on additional criteria (e.g., only popular programs from a particular genre). For example, highlighting the available settings 1018 using the search features of the user input interface 310 (FIG. 3) and viewing / using the program using the user input interface 310 (FIG. 3) By checking the appropriate box for the users and pressing the select button 612 on the user input interface 310 (FIG. 3), the popularity criterion is set to the most popular based on the number of users viewing / using the program (E.g., the largest number of users). User equipment 300 (FIG. 3) or remote server 502 (FIG. 5) may determine the most popular program (described with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16). In another embodiment, the user may set a popularity threshold as a popularity criterion. For example, if the number of users viewing / using the program meets or exceeds 50% of the current users of the interactive media delivery system, or if the number of users watching / using the program exceeds 100,000 If so, the program is determined to be popular. In the example of FIG. 10, the detail area 1010 shows the popularity threshold setting for the ratio. If more than one program simultaneously meets the popularity threshold (e.g., a program with 40% popularity, a program with 30% popularity, and a program with 25% popularity, the popularity threshold is set at 25%) ), The ability to simultaneously record these programs may be limited by the number of tuners or other constraints in user equipment 300 (FIG. 3). In this case, the most popular program is selected for recording (e.g., if the user equipment 300 (FIG. 3) has one tuner available for recording, a program with 40% popularity is recorded). User equipment 300 (FIG. 3) or remote server 502 (FIG. 5) may determine a popular program based on the popularity threshold (described with reference to FIGS. 18 and 19). Although the description of FIG. 10 refers to the option as being set by the user, the system can automatically set the option (e.g., based on the monitored user behavior, etc.). For example, if the monitored user behavior shows that the user likes the sitcom comedy genre, the system may set the option to record only popular sitcoms.

Figure 11 illustrates an exemplary interactive media guidance application that may be used to define a subset of users of an interactive media delivery system in which the popularity of the program is determined. This display may be displayed on the user equipment device or on the display 312 (Figure 3) of media devices 402, 404, 406 (Figure 4). Specifically, FIG. 11 shows an exemplary interactive media guidance application display 1100 that is displayed after the "Define User Segment" suboption of "Record Popular Programs" in FIG. 6 is highlighted and selected. The description area 1105 shows a description of the selected option. The option area 608 represents the selected option 1106. Details area 1110 shows the available settings for the selected option. In the example of FIG. 11, the search feature of the user input interface 310 (FIG. 3) is used to highlight the available setting "5-digit zip code", check the box next to "5-digit zip code" By entering the "10020" zip code using the user input interface 310 (FIG. 3), it is possible to select all the users of the interactive media delivery system (the popularity of the program among them is determined) Lt; / RTI > The "10020" zip code may also be selected from the drop down box 1112. Selecting other criteria, such as population standards, follows a similar process, and different criteria can be combined. The criteria selected in the detail area 1110 represent all users who have subscribed to the 10020 zip code and the premium channel lineup within New York City of all ages. And accepts these settings by pressing a select button 612 on the user input interface 310 (Fig. 3). Other suitable criteria, such as user gender, degree of user revenue, or home language used at home, may be used if such information is available. Although the description of FIG. 11 refers to the option as being set by the user, the system can automatically set the option (e.g. based on the monitored user behavior, etc.). For example, if the user is living in zip code 10020, the system can select all users in zip code 10020.

Figure 12 illustrates an exemplary interactive media guidance application display that may be used to exclude a program from selection for recording. For example, a non-sports user may exclude the Super Bowl, a program that is likely to be popular by the most popular criteria, from the selection for recording. This exclusion display may be displayed on the display 312 (Figure 3) of the user equipment device or media device 402, 404, 406 (Figure 4). The processing circuitry of the user equipment or remote server may be configured to exclude the program from the selection for recording (e.g., under control of an instruction of the interactive media application).

Specifically, FIG. 12 shows an exemplary interactive media guidance application display 1200 that is displayed after the "Exclusions" suboption of "Record Popular Programs" in FIG. 6 is highlighted and selected. The description area 1205 shows a description of the selected option. The option area 608 represents the selected option 1206. Details area 1210 represents the available settings for the selected option. The size, shape, layout, and contents of the cells in the detail area 1210 may be similar to those of the grid 102 of FIG. Area 1210 includes cells of program listings, such as a program listing 1212 for "SportsCenter ". SPORTSCENTER is a trademark owned by ESPN. A non-sports user may use the navigation features of the user input interface 310 (FIG. 3) to highlight 1212 and to select a selection button 612 on the user input interface 310 (FIG. 3) ), You can exclude SportsCenter from your selection for recording. Additional programs may be excluded using similar procedures. The "Exclusions" option may allow the program to be excluded based on additional criteria (e.g., not all programs from a particular genre, etc.). Although the description of FIG. 12 refers to the option as being set by the user, the system can automatically set the option (e.g., based on the monitored user behavior, etc.). For example, if the monitored user behavior indicates that the user does not like the soap opera genre, the system may set the option to exclude all soap operas as indicated by the user guide data feed.

13 illustrates an exemplary interactive media guidance application display that may be used to display information about selected recorded user subsets of recorded programs and interactive media delivery systems and to play back the recorded programs. This display may be displayed on the user equipment device or on the display 312 (Figure 3) of media devices 402, 404, 406 (Figure 4). Specifically, FIG. 13 shows an exemplary interactive media guidance application display 1300 that is displayed after the "Display Results" suboption of "Record Popular Programs" in FIG. 6 is highlighted and selected. The description area 1305 shows a description of the selected option. The option area 608 represents the selected option 1306. The detail area 1310 represents the information provided by the selected option and reflects the results of the settings shown in Figures 8-12. Additional information may also be displayed if available (e.g., popularity of recorded programs among all users of an interactive media delivery system). The information may be displayed in any suitable format. For example, the detail area 1310 may simply represent a list of recorded programs. The user can use the search features (e.g., remote control) of the user input interface 310 of FIG. 3 to highlight the program from the list and to display the information info) button.

In the example of FIG. 13, the "Recorded Programs" display area 1312 lists the recorded programs according to the popularity criterion to be set. Two programs are shown at 1312, and additional recorded programs can be viewed using the right scroll bar. The program currently being recorded may also be displayed, an indicator to show that the recording is in progress, and an option to view these programs in life may be provided. By highlighting the program using the search features of the user input interface 310 (FIG. 3), the popularity statistics 1316 of the highlighted program, the statistics 1318 for the viewer / user of the highlighted program in the selected user subset, And statistics (e.g., population, neighborhood) 1320 for the selected user subset. Other information such as other user population information may also be displayed. Information about a user, such as a population, may be provided voluntarily by the user when the user subscribes to the interactive media delivery system and stored in the remote server storage device 506 (FIG. 5). Popularity statistics can be obtained when decisions of popular programs are made. For example, when the remote server 502 is making the determination of the most popular program between users 2 to N at the request of user 1, the remote server 502 sends the user equipment 2 (520 to 540)). ≪ / RTI > Based on this information, the server processing circuit 504 (FIG. 5) may count the number of users using a particular program. The remote server 502 can also track the total number of times a user has accessed a particular program or the total time the user has spent on the program by communicating with the user's equipment via the communication network 508 (Figure 8) . The remote server 502 (FIG. 5) synthesizes the data of these individual pieces to obtain popularity statistics for the program.

In the example of FIG. 13, the first program 1314 is shown from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm on July 31, 2007, on Channel 3. The program recorded 1 hour and 37 minutes (ie, the program met the popularity criteria for 1 hour and 37 minutes). The second program 1315 appears to be from 7:30 pm to 8 pm on July 31, 2007 on Channel 5, and thus overlaps with the last 30 minutes of the first program. 23 minutes of the second program was recorded (i.e., the program met the popularity criteria for 23 minutes). After the start of the second program at 7:30 pm, the program gets the viewers / users and becomes more popular than the first program, so that recording for the second program is started and recording for the first program is stopped, I missed the last 23 minutes of the first program. The information provided by 1300 may provide the user that other people in the community are watching and may help the user to catch the programs the neighbors are most watching. To play back the recorded program, the user may press a play button on the remote control that is part of the user input interface 310 (Fig. 3) when the program is highlighted at 1310. [ To play back all recorded programs, the user can select the "Play List" button 1340 (FIG. 13).

Figures 14-19 are exemplary process flow diagrams of steps involved in determining and recording popular media. The steps of FIGS. 14-19 may be performed by or under the direction of remote server 502 (FIG. 5) control circuitry or user equipment 300 (FIG. 3) control circuitry. Specifically, FIG. 14 illustrates a process 1400 for determining and recording the most popular media among at least one user subset of the interactive media delivery system. Process 1400 may occur in the environment shown in FIG. Step 1402 redirects the space on the storage device to recording the most popular media between the user subsets of the interactive media delivery system. The space may be dedicated by user equipment processing circuitry 306 (FIG. 3) or remote server processing circuitry 504 (FIG. 5) and may be utilized by user equipment storage device 308 (FIG. 3) or remote server storage device 506 (Fig. 5). The dedicated space at 506 may be associated with the user. Step 1404 determines the most popular media in the interactive media delivery system for the defined time period and selects the most popular media for recording. Depending on the media delivery technique used, selecting the media for recording may include tuning to an analogue channel or decoding the digital signal, e.g., via the communications network 414 (FIG. 4). Step 1406 indicates that the other media is selected when the other media becomes the most popular during the defined period. Step 1408 records at least a portion of the selected most popular media in a dedicated space. Steps 1402, 1404, 1406, 1408 may be performed by remote server 502 (FIG. 5) or user equipment 300 (FIG. 3).

FIG. 15 illustrates a process for determining the most popular media, implemented in user equipment 510 (FIG. 5). At step 1502, the user equipment 510 (FIG. 5) establishes criteria for recording the most popular media among the user subsets (e.g., users 2 through N) of the interactive media delivery system. Setting the criteria for recording popular media is described above. The control circuit 304 (FIG. 3) obtains the recording criteria and reallocates space on the user equipment storage 308 (FIG. 3) or remote server storage 506 (FIG. 5). User equipment 510 (FIG. 5) transmits criteria to remote server 502 via communication network 508 (FIG. 5) (step 1504). The remote server 502 receives the input and the processing circuit 504 interprets the input (FIG. 5). The processing circuitry 504 sends a request for information indicating media selection to the devices 520 through 540 of users 2 through N over the communication network 508 and sends a request to the user 2 through N 508 Lt; / RTI > Depending on the criteria set for the "Set Popularity Criteria" option (described in connection with FIG. 10), this information may include, for example, the media currently being viewed or used by users 2 through N, A recording medium, a user 2 to N scheduled to record, or a combination thereof. The remote server 502 may process this popularity information prior to transmission to the user equipment 510 via the communication network 508 (FIG. 5). The user equipment 510 receives the information (step 1506) and stores it in the storage device 308 (FIG. 3). Using this information, the user equipment 510 processing circuitry 306 may, for example, count the number of users for each media (e.g., under the control of an interactive media guidance application command) Step 1508) selects the media with the most users to record (step 1510) and determines the most popular media. The user equipment 510 starts recording after selection is made (step 1514). Step 1512 shows continued searching for the most popular media that may change over time.

Figure 16 illustrates an embodiment in which the process of determining the most popular media is implemented in the remote server 502 (Figure 5). At step 1602, the remote server 502 sends an input to the communications network 508 to record the most popular media between a user subset (e.g., users 2 through N) (Figure 5) of the interactive media delivery system, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > 510 < / RTI > The remote server 502 sends a request for information indicating media selection to the devices 520 through 540 of users 2 through N (step 1604) via the communication network 508, (520) to (540), and stores it in 506 (FIG. 5) (step 1606). Depending on the criteria set for the "Set Popularity Criteria" option (described with reference to FIG. 10), this information may include, for example, the media currently being viewed or used by users 2 through N, A recording medium, a user 2 to N scheduled to record, or a combination thereof. The remote server 502 may process this information to generate identifier data representing the most popular media. The remote server processing circuitry 504 may, for example, count (step 1608) the number of users for each piece of media (e.g., under control of the instruction of the guiding application server application) (Step 1610), and generates identifier data. The remote server 502 transmits the identifier data to the user equipment 510 via the communication network 508 (FIG. 5) (step 1614). The user equipment 510 starts recording after receiving the identifier data. Step 1612 shows continued searching for the most popular media that may change over time.

17 illustrates a process 1700 for determining and recording popular media meeting a minimum popularity threshold between at least one user subset of an interactive media delivery system. Process 1700 may occur in the environment shown in FIG. Step 1702 determines the media that meets the minimum popularity threshold between at least one user subset of the interactive media delivery system and selects such media for recording. Depending on the media delivery technique used, selecting the media for recording may involve tuning to an analogue channel or decoding a digital signal. Step 1704 shows that the other media is selected if the other media satisfies the threshold. Step 1706 records at least a portion of the selected popular media. Steps 1702, 1704, and 1706 may be performed by remote server 502 (FIG. 5) or user equipment 300 (FIG. 3).

FIG. 18 illustrates a process for determining popular media that meets the minimum popularity threshold, implemented in user equipment 510 (FIG. 5). At step 1802, the user equipment 510 (FIG. 5) receives a criterion for recording popular media meeting a minimum popularity threshold between a user subset (e.g., users 2 through N) of the interactive media delivery system Setting. User equipment 510 (FIG. 5) transmits criteria to remote server 502 via communication network 508 (FIG. 5) (step 1804). The remote server 502 receives the input and the processing circuit 502 interprets the input (FIG. 5). The processing circuitry 504 sends a request for information indicating media selection to the devices 520 through 540 of users 2 through N over the communication network 508 and sends a request to the user 2 through N 508 Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > 520 < / RTI > Depending on the criteria set for the "Set Popularity Criteria" option (described with reference to FIG. 10), this information may include, for example, the media currently being viewed or used by users 2 through N, A recording medium, a user 2 to N scheduled to record, or a combination thereof. The user equipment 510 receives the information (step 1806) and stores it in 308 (FIG. 3). With this information, the user equipment 510 processing circuitry 306 determines the media that meets the minimum popularity threshold (e.g., under control of an interactive media guidance application command). For example, if the minimum popularity threshold is 50% of all current users of the interactive media delivery system and there are 100,000 users using the current system, the user equipment 510 may determine the number of users for each media (Step 1808), compares the number of users for each media to a threshold (50,000 users) (step 1810), and selects media with at least 50,000 users for recording (step 1812). User equipment 510 begins recording after selection is made (step 1816). Step 1814 indicates that the process continues to find popular media that meet the minimum threshold that may change over time.

FIG. 19 illustrates an embodiment in which the process of determining popular media meeting the minimum popularity threshold is implemented in the remote server 502 (FIG. 5). 5) from the user equipment 510 (FIG. 5) via the communications network 508 (FIG. 5) to a user subset of the interactive media delivery system 2 to N). ≪ RTI ID = 0.0 > [0034] < / RTI > The remote server 502 (FIG. 5) receives the write request and the processing circuit 504 (FIG. 5) interprets it. The processing circuit 504 sends a request for information indicative of media selection to the devices 520 through 540 of users 2 through N over the communication network 508 (step 1904) (520) 540 and stores it at 506 (step 1906) (Fig. 5). Depending on the criteria set for the "Set Popularity Criteria" option (described in connection with FIG. 10), this information may include, for example, the media currently viewed or used by users 2 through N, The media being played, the media that the users 2 through N have scheduled to record, or a combination thereof. The remote server 502 may process this information to generate identifier data representing popular media. The remote server processing circuitry 504 generates identifier data (e.g., under the control of the instruction of the guiding application server application). For example, if the minimum popularity threshold is 50% of all current users of the interactive media delivery system and there are 100,000 users currently using the system, the number of users for each media is counted (step < RTI ID = 1908), the number of users for each media is compared against the threshold (step 1910), and the media used by at least 50,000 users is selected for recording (step 1912), and identifier data is generated. The remote server 502 sends the identifier data to the user equipment 510 via the communication network 508 (FIG. 5) (step 1916). The user equipment 510 starts recording after receiving the identifier data. Step 1914 indicates that the process continues to search for popular media that meet the minimum threshold that may change over time.

The order in which the steps of the method are performed is purely illustrative in nature. In fact, the steps may be performed in any order or concurrently, unless otherwise indicated by this disclosure. The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. Accordingly, the foregoing embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative rather than limiting on the invention.

300: user equipment device
304: Control circuit
306: Processing circuit
308: Storage device
310: User input interface
312: Display
314: Speaker
502: remote server
504: Processing circuit
506: Storage device
508: Communication network

Claims (126)

A method for recording popular media in an allocated space on a storage device in an interactive media delivery system,
Dedicating space on the storage device to recording the most popular media among at least one subset of users of the interactive media delivery system;
During the defined period, the most popular media in the interactive media delivery system is determined and the most popular media is selected for recording;
And recording at least a portion of the selected most popular media in the dedicated space,
Wherein the different media is selected each time another media becomes most popular during the defined period. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the most popular media comprises identifying the media that the most users are viewing or using in the interactive media delivery system. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the most popular media comprises identifying the media in which the most users have recorded or scored the record in the interactive media delivery system. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the most popular media is performed by a server remote from the user's equipment,
The method comprises:
Receive data representative of a user's media selection from the user's equipment;
Processing the data to generate identifier data representing the most popular media;
And transmitting the identifier data to the user's equipment. 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the user's equipment starts recording upon receipt of the identifier data from the server. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the most popular media comprises:
Receive popularity information from a remote server;
And processing the popularity information to generate identifier data representing the most popular media. The method according to claim 1, further comprising excluding the most popular media that does not fit the user preference from selection for recording. The method of claim 1, wherein the media is a television program, video-on-demand (VOD), Internet-delivered video, or digitally transmitted music. The method according to claim 1, wherein the defined period is defined by a user. The method according to claim 1, wherein the storage device is within the user's equipment. The method according to claim 1, wherein the storage device is in a server remote from the user's equipment, and the dedicated space is associated with a user. The method of claim 1, wherein recording at least a portion of the selected most popular media comprises overwriting previously recorded media when the dedicated space is full. The method according to claim 1, wherein selecting the media for recording comprises tuning to an analogue channel or decoding a digital signal. The method according to claim 1,
The determination of the most popular media,
Determine the most popular media among the subset of users in the interactive media delivery system;
Selecting the most popular media among the subset of users,
Wherein recording at least a portion of the selected most popular media comprises recording the selected most popular media for a subset of the users. The method according to claim 1, wherein the subset of users is defined by a zip code, a geographical area, a pseudo channel lineup, a city, a state or a state, depending on the user population. 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising displaying population or neighbor information for the subset of users. 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising displaying the most popular media for the subset of users. The method according to claim 1, further comprising displaying information on a popularity level of the recorded media. 19. The method of claim 18 wherein the popularity level is selected from the group consisting of a total number of users of the media, users of the media as a ratio of the total number of persons in the subset of users, total number of accesses to the media, And a total amount of time. The method according to claim 1, further comprising displaying on the interactive media guidance application an option to record the most popular media. 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the interactive media guidance application is implemented on a user's equipment including the storage device, the processor, the memory, and the user interface control device. A system for recording popular media in an allocated space on a storage device in an interactive media delivery system,
A control circuit and a storage device,
The media on the storage device being dedicated to recording the most popular media among at least one subset of users of the interactive media delivery system;
During the defined period, the most popular media in the interactive media delivery system is determined and the most popular media is selected for recording;
And to instruct the storage device to record at least a portion of the selected most popular media in the dedicated space,
Wherein the other media is selected each time the other media becomes most popular during the defined period. 23. The recording system of claim 22, wherein the control circuit is further configured to identify the media that the most users are viewing or using in the interactive media delivery system. 23. The system of claim 22, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to identify media that have been recorded or scheduled for recording by the most users in an interactive media delivery system. 23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the control circuit is remote from the user's equipment,
Receive data representative of a user's media selection from the user's equipment;
Processing the data to generate identifier data representing the most popular media;
And to transmit the identifier data to the user's equipment. 23. The system of claim 22, wherein the user's equipment initiates recording upon receipt of the identifier data from a server. 23. The control circuit according to claim 22,
Receive popularity information from a remote server;
And processing the popularity information to generate identifier data representing the most popular media. 23. The recording system of claim 22, wherein the control circuit is further configured to exclude the most popular media that does not fit the user preference from selection for recording. 23. The system of claim 22, wherein the media is a television program, video on demand (VOD), internet delivery video, or digitally transmitted music. 23. The system of claim 22, wherein the defined time period is defined by a user. 23. The system of claim 22, wherein the storage device is within the user's equipment. 23. The system of claim 22, wherein the storage device is within a server remote from the user's equipment, and wherein the dedicated space is associated with a user. 23. The system of claim 22, wherein the control circuit is further configured to instruct the storage device to overwrite previously recorded media if the dedicated space is full. 23. The recording system of claim 22, wherein the control circuit is further configured to tune to an analog channel or to decode a digital signal. 23. The control circuit according to claim 22,
Determine the most popular media among the subset of users in the interactive media delivery system;
Selecting the most popular media among the subset of users;
And to instruct the storage device to record the selected most popular media for a subset of the users. 23. The system of claim 22, wherein the subset of users is defined by a zip code, a geographic area, a pseudo-channel lineup, a city, a state or a state, depending on the user population. 37. The system of claim 36, further comprising a display device, wherein the control circuit is further configured to instruct the display device to display population or neighbor information for the subset of users. 37. The system of claim 36, further comprising a display device, wherein the control circuit is further configured to instruct the display device to display the most popular media for the subset of users. 23. The system of claim 22, further comprising a display device, wherein the control circuit is further configured to instruct the display device to display information about the popularity level of the recorded media. 41. The system of claim 39, wherein the popularity level is selected from the group consisting of a total number of users of the media, users of the media as a ratio of the total number of persons in the subset of users, total number of accesses to the media, And a total amount of time. 23. The system of claim 22, further comprising a display device, wherein the control circuit is further configured to instruct the display device to display an option to record the most popular media in an interactive media guide application. . 42. The system of claim 41, wherein the interactive media guidance application is implemented on a user's equipment including the storage device, the processor, the memory, and the user interface control device. A system for recording popular media in an allocated space on a storage device in an interactive media delivery system,
A recording system for popular media, comprising respective means for performing the respective steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 21. delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete A method for recording popular media on a storage device in an interactive media delivery system,
Determining a medium that meets a minimum popularity threshold between at least a subset of users of the interactive media delivery system and selecting such media for recording and, whenever the other media meets the threshold, Other media selected -;
And recording at least a portion of the selected popular media. 65. The method of claim 64, further comprising selecting the most popular media for recording if more than one media at a given time meets the threshold. 65. The method of claim 64, wherein the popularity threshold comprises a number representing a percentage of users in an interactive media delivery system for viewing or using the media for the media to be selected for recording. 65. The method of claim 64, wherein the popularity threshold comprises a number indicating a percentage of users in an interactive media delivery system that is scheduled to record or write media for the media to be selected for recording. Way. 65. The method of claim 64, wherein determining the media meeting the minimum popularity threshold is performed by a server remote from the user's equipment,
Receive data representative of a user's media selection from the user's equipment;
Processing the data to generate identifier data representing popular media;
And transmitting the identifier data to the user's equipment. 69. The method of claim 68, wherein the user's equipment initiates recording upon receipt of the identifier data from a server. 65. The method of claim 64, wherein determining the media meeting the minimum popularity threshold comprises:
Receive popularity information from a remote server;
And processing the popularity information to generate identifier data representative of the popular media. 65. The method of claim 64, further comprising excluding popular media that does not fit user preferences from selection for recording. 65. The method of claim 64, wherein the media is a television program, video on demand (VOD), internet delivery video, or digitally transmitted music. 65. The method of claim 64, wherein the storage device is within the user's equipment. 65. The method of claim 64, wherein the storage device is within a server remote from the user's equipment. 65. The method of claim 64, further comprising: redirecting the space on the storage device to the recording of the selected popular media, wherein recording at least a portion of the selected popular media includes overwriting the previously recorded media if the dedicated space is full The method comprising the steps < RTI ID = 0.0 > of: < / RTI > 65. The method of claim 64, wherein selecting the media for recording comprises tuning to an analogue channel or decoding a digital signal. 65. The method of claim 64,
Determining the popular media may include,
Determining a popular media meeting the threshold between a subset of users in the interactive media delivery system;
Selecting the popular media among the subset of users,
Wherein recording at least a portion of the selected popular media comprises recording the selected popular media for a subset of the users. 65. The method of claim 64, wherein the subset of users is defined by a zip code, a geographic area, a pseudo-channel lineup, a city, a state or a state, depending on the user population. 83. The method of claim 78, further comprising displaying population or neighbor information for the subset of users. 83. The method of claim 78, further comprising displaying popular media for the subset of users. 65. The method of claim 64, further comprising displaying information about the popularity level of the recorded media. 83. The method of claim 81 wherein the popularity level is selected from the group consisting of a total number of users of the media, users of the media as a ratio of the total number of persons in a subset of users, total number of accesses to the media, And the amount of time. 65. The method of claim 64, further comprising displaying the option to record popular media in an interactive media guidance application. 83. The method of claim 83, wherein the interactive media guidance application is implemented on a user's equipment including the storage device, the processor, the memory, and the user interface control device. A system for recording popular media in an interactive media delivery system,
A control circuit and a storage device,
Determining a medium that meets a minimum popularity threshold between at least one subset of users of the interactive media delivery system and selecting the media for recording and selecting the other media whenever the other media meets the threshold -;
And to instruct the storage device to record at least a portion of the selected popular media. The recording system of claim 85, wherein the control circuit is further configured to select the most popular media for recording if more than one media at a given time meets the threshold. 83. The system of claim 85, wherein the popularity threshold comprises a number representing a percentage of users in an interactive media delivery system for viewing or using the media for the media to be selected for recording. 84. The method of claim 85, wherein the popularity threshold comprises a number indicating a percentage of users in an interactive media delivery system that is scheduled to record or write media for the media to be selected for recording. system. 83. The system of claim 85, wherein the control circuit is at a server remote from the user's equipment,
Receive data representative of a user's media selection from the user's equipment;
Processing the data to generate identifier data representing popular media;
And to transmit the identifier data to the user's equipment. The recording system of claim 89, wherein the user's equipment initiates recording upon receipt of the identifier data from a server. The control circuit according to claim 85,
Receive popularity information from a remote server;
And to process the popularity information to generate identifier data representative of the popular media. The recording system of claim 85, wherein the control circuit is further configured to exclude popular media that does not fit the user preference from selection for recording. 83. The system of claim 85, wherein the media is a television program, video on demand (VOD), internet delivery video, or digitally transmitted music. 83. The system of claim 85, wherein the storage device is within the user's equipment. The recording system of claim 85, wherein the storage device is within a server remote from the user's equipment. The control circuit according to claim 85,
Dedicated space on the storage device for writing the selected popular media;
And to instruct the storage device to overwrite the previously recorded media if the dedicated space is full. 83. The system of claim 85, wherein the control circuit is further configured to tune to an analog channel or to decode a digital signal. The control circuit according to claim 85,
Determining a popular media meeting the threshold between a subset of users in the interactive media delivery system;
Selecting the popular media among the subset of users;
And to instruct the storage device to record the selected popular media for a subset of the users. The recording system of claim 85, wherein the subset of users is defined by a zip code, a geographical area, a pseudo channel lineup, a city, a state or a state, depending on the user population. The recording system of claim 99, further comprising a display device, wherein the control circuit is further configured to instruct the display device to display population or neighbor information for the subset of users. The popular system of claim 99, further comprising a display device, wherein the control circuit is further configured to instruct the display device to display popular media for the subset of users. 83. The system of claim 85, further comprising a display device, wherein the control circuit is further configured to instruct the display device to display information about the popularity level of the recorded media. 101. The method of claim 102 wherein the popularity level is selected from the group consisting of a total number of users of the media, users of the media as a ratio of the total number of persons in the subset of users, total number of accesses to the media, And a total amount of time. 98. The system of claim 85, further comprising a display device, wherein the control circuit is further configured to instruct the display device to display an option to record popular media in an interactive media guidance application. 105. The system of claim 104, wherein the interactive media guidance application is implemented on a user's equipment including the storage device, the processor, the memory, and the user interface control device. A system for recording popular media in a storage device in an interactive media delivery system,
A recording system of popular media, comprising respective means for performing the respective steps of the method according to any one of claims 64 to 84. delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete

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