KR20130131411A - Usage data feedback loop - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention tracks user navigation, consumption and / or behavior, and applies analytics to help shape future proposals for users (customized offers, incentives to purchase expensive products, recommendations, etc.) and report reporting data to service providers and studios. It is about providing. A method and system for providing viewing recommendations to a user is described. This includes collecting usage data related to the session of interaction by the user; Processing user data for the session; And providing feedback regarding the session. The session includes a number of stages that track the user's interaction. These include stages such as query stage, result stage, detail stage, selection stage, and confirmation stage.

Description

Usage Data Feedback Loop {USAGE DATA FEEDBACK LOOP}

Cross-reference to related application

This application claims the benefit of US Provisional Patent Application 61 / 459,986, filed December 22, 2010, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Technical field

The present invention generally relates to personalization features and, more particularly, to the collection of user data feedback to enhance personalization.

Traditional usage tracking on media devices tends to focus on the resulting content selection from a limited number of sources. These systems do not track the process of how the selected content is reached.

For example, the Nelson rating system only tracks which broadcast television shows are being watched. One limitation of this type of system is that it does not track or otherwise describe other types of media (DVR recording, VOD selection, Internet content, etc.) that can be selected and / or watched in place of broadcast television. Another limitation is that the system does not provide any insight as to how or why particular content is selected and / or viewed.

The present invention tracks user navigation, consumption and / or behavior, and applies analytics to assist users in forming future suggestions (customized offers, incentives to purchase expensive products, recommendations, etc.) and reporting data to service providers and studios. The idea is to provide.

In one embodiment, a method of providing viewing recommendations to a user is provided. The method includes collecting usage data about a session of interaction by a user, processing user data for the session, and providing feedback about the session. In some embodiments, the session includes a query stage, a results stage, a detail stage, a selection stage, and a confirmation stage.

According to yet another embodiment, a system for providing viewing recommendations to a user is provided. The system includes a front end and a back end. The front end is configured to collect usage data related to the session of interaction by the user. The back end is configured to process user data for the session and provide feedback about the session.

1 is a system diagram illustrating an overview of transmitting video and audio content to a home according to one embodiment;
2 is a system diagram showing more specific details of an exemplary set top box receiver;
3 depicts a touch panel control device in accordance with one embodiment;
4 is a flow diagram depicting an example process according to one embodiment;
5 is a system diagram depicting an collector system in accordance with one embodiment;
6 is a flow diagram depicting an example process according to one embodiment;
7 is a system diagram illustrating an overview of inter-working of a collecting module, according to one embodiment;
8 is a flow diagram depicting an example process according to one embodiment.

Referring now to FIG. 1, shown is a block diagram of one embodiment of a system 100 for delivering content to a home or end user. The content originates from a content source 102, such as a movie studio or a production studio. The content may be supplied in at least one of two forms. One form may be in the form of a broadcast content. The broadcast content is typically provided to the broadcast affiliate manager 104, which is a national broadcast service such as American Broadcasting Company (ABC), National Broadcasting Company (NBC), Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), and the like. The broadcast affiliate manager may collect and store the content and schedule the delivery of the content over the delivery network, shown as delivery network 1 106. Transmission network 1 106 may include satellite link transmissions from a national center to one or more local or regional centers. Transmission network 1 106 may also include local content transmission using local transmission systems, such as via public, satellite, or cable broadcasting. The locally transmitted content is provided to the in-home receiving device 108 of the user, in which case the content will be searched by the user. It should be appreciated that the receiving device 108 can take many forms and be embodied as a set top box / digital video recorder (DVR), gateway, modem, or the like. Moreover, the receiving device 108 can act as a gateway or entry point for a home network system that includes additional devices configured as client or peer devices in the home network.

The second type of content is referred to as special content. The special content may include premium content, pay-per-view, or other content that is not provided to the broadcast affiliate manager, such as content that is sent to a movie, video game, or other video element. In many cases, the special content may be the content requested by the user. The special content may be sent to the content manager 110. Content manager 110 may be, for example, a service provider such as an Internet website, broadcast service, or transport network service associated with a content provider. Content manager 110 may also incorporate Internet content into the delivery system. The content manager 110 may transmit content to the receiving device 108 of the user via a separate transport network, Transport network 2 112 may be a high speed broadband Internet type communication system. Content from broadcast affiliate manager 104 may also be transmitted using all or part of delivery network 2 112 and content from content manager 110 may use all or part of delivery network 1 106. It is important to note that it may be transmitted. In addition, a user may also obtain content directly from the Internet via delivery network 2 112 without the content necessarily being managed by content manager 110.

Several adaptations may be possible to utilize separately transmitted content. In one possible approach, special content is provided as an augmentation of the shipping content, providing alternative displays, purchasing and selling options, reinforcement materials, and the like. In another embodiment, the special content may completely replace any programming content provided as broadcast content. Finally, the special content may be completely separate from the broadcast content, or simply a media alternative that the user may choose to utilize. For example, the special content may be a library of movies that are not yet available as broadcast content.

Receiving device 108 may receive various types of content from one or both of delivery network 1 and delivery network 2. FIG. The receiving device 108 processes the content and provides separation of the content based on user preferences and commands. The receiving device 108 may also include a storage device, such as a hard drive or an optical disc drive, for recording and playing back audio and video content. More specific details and features of the operation of the receiving device 108 associated with the playback of the stored content will be described below with respect to FIG. 2. The processed content is provided to the display device 114. The display device 114 may be a conventional 2-D type display or alternatively may be an improved 3-D display.

The receiving device 108 may also be interfaced to a second screen, such as the touch screen control device 116. The touch screen control device 116 may be adapted to provide user control to the receiving device 108 and / or the display device 114. The touch screen device 116 may also display video content. The video content may be a graphical entry, such as a user interface entry, or it may be part of the video content transmitted to the display device 114. The touch screen control device 116 can be interfaced to the receiving device 108 using any known signal transmission system, such as infrared (red) or radio frequency (RF) communication and infra-red data association (IRDA). It may include standard protocols such as standard, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc., or any other proprietary protocol. The operation of the touch screen control device 116 will be described in more detail below. The receiving device 108 and the touch screen control device 116 constitute a front end.

In the example of FIG. 1, the system 100 also includes a back end that includes a server 118 and a usage database 120. The back end server 118 includes a personalization engine that analyzes the usage habits of the user and recommends based on those usage habits. The usage database 120 is where the usage habits for a user are stored. In some cases, the usage database 120 may be part of the back end server 118. In this example, the back-end server 118 (as well as the usage database 120) is connected to the system 100 and accessed via the transport network 2 (112).

Referring now to FIG. 2, shown is a block diagram of one embodiment of a receiving device 200. Receiving device 200 may operate similar to the receiving device described in FIG. 1 and may be included as part of a gateway device, modem, set-top box, or other similar communication device. The depicted device 200 may also be incorporated into other systems, including audio devices or display devices. In any case, the several components required for the complete operation of the system are not shown for brevity, and they are well known to those skilled in the art.

In the device 200 shown in FIG. 2, the content is received by the input signal receiver 202. The input signal receiver 202 is one of several known receiver circuits used to receive, demodulate and decode a signal provided over one of several possible networks, including over public, cable, satellite, Ethernet, fiber and telephone line networks. Can be. The desired input signal may be selected and retrieved by the input signal receiver 202 based on user input provided via the control interface or touch panel interface 222. The touch panel interface 222 may include an interface for a touch screen device. The touch panel interface 222 may also be adapted to interface with a cellular phone, tablet, mouse, high end remote,

The decoded output signal is provided to an input stream processor 204. The input stream processor 204 performs final signal selection and processing and includes the separation of video content from the audio content with respect to the content stream. The audio content is provided to the audio processor 206 for conversion from a received format such as a compressed digital signal to an analog waveform signal. The analog waveform signal is provided to the audio interface 208 and is further provided to the display device or audio amplifier. Alternatively, the audio interface 208 may provide a digital signal to an audio output device or display device using an alternative audio interface, such as a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) cable or a Sony / Philips Digital Interconnect Format (SPDIF) You may. The audio interface may also include amplifiers for driving one or more sets of speakers. The audio processor 206 also performs any conversion needed to store the audio signal.

The video output from the input stream processor 204 is provided to the video processor 210. The video signal may be in one of several formats. The video processor 210 provides conversion of video content as needed based on the input signal format. The video processor 210 also performs any conversion needed to store the video signal.

The storage device 212 stores the audio and video content received at the input. The storage device 212 is based on navigation commands such as commands received from the user interface 216 and / or the touch panel interface 222 under the control of the controller 214, such as fast forward (FF) and rewind (Rew) To enable later retrieval and playback of the content. The storage device 212 may be one or more high capacity integrated electronic memory such as a hard disk drive, static RAM (SRAM) or dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and may be a replaceable Or an optical disk storage system.

The converted video signal from the input or from the video processor 210 originating from the storage device 212 is provided to the display interface 218. Display interface 218 further provides a display signal to this type of display device. The display interface 218 may be an analog signal interface such as red-green-blue (RGB) or a digital interface such as HDMI. It should be appreciated that the display interface 218 will generate various screens for presenting the search results in a three dimensional grid as will be described in more detail below.

The controller 214 is connected to a number of components of the device 200, including an input stream processor 202, an audio processor 206, a video processor 210, a storage device 212 and a user interface 216, . The controller 214 manages the conversion process to convert the input stream signal to a signal for storage on a storage device or for display. The controller 214 also manages the retrieval and playback of stored content. Further, as will be described below, the controller 214 performs the search and the generation of the content and the generation and adjustment of the grid display representing the content, whether stored or transmitted over the delivery network as described above.

Controller 214 may include control memory 220 (e.g., RAM, SRAM, DRAM, ROM, programmable ROM (ROM), flash memory, electronically programmable ROM (EPROM) A volatile or non-volatile memory including an electronically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), etc.). The control memory 220 may store instructions for the controller 214. The control memory may also store a database of elements such as graphical elements containing content. The database can be stored as a pattern of graphic elements. Alternatively, the memory may store the graphic elements in an identified or grouped memory location and use an access or location table to identify memory locations for various portions of information related to the graphic element. Additional details related to storage of graphical elements will be described below. Moreover, implementations of control memory 220 may include several possible embodiments, such as more than one memory circuit coupled together or communicatively coupled to form a single memory device or alternatively a shared or common memory. Furthermore, the memory may be included with other circuits, such as part of a bus communication circuit in a larger circuit.

The user interface process of the present invention employs an input device that can be used to express functions such as fast forward, rewind, and the like. To illustrate this, the touch panel device 300 may be interfaced via the touch panel interface 222 and / or the user interface 216 of the receiving device 200 as shown in FIG. 3. The touch panel device 300 enables operation of the receiving device or set top box based on actions translated through the panel with commands for the set top box or other control device, and gestures or hand movements. In one embodiment, the touch panel 300 may simply serve as a navigation tool for navigating the grid display. In another embodiment, additionally, touch panel 300 will serve as a display device that allows the user to interact more directly with navigation through a grid display of content. The touch panel device may be included as part of a remote control device that contains more conventional control functions such as activator buttons. The touch panel 300 may also include at least one camera element.

4 depicts a flowchart 400 of a process involved in providing user data feedback as described herein. The process includes collecting or obtaining usage data (step 410), processing the usage data (step 420) and providing feedback (step 430). Each of these steps will be discussed in more detail below.

According to the first step of FIG. 4, data regarding the usage habits of the user is collected. The usage information can include information collected at the front end from the touch screen control device 116 and the receiving device 108. The type of information collected is the channel watched on the display device 114, the time the channel was watched, how long the channel was watched, the type of program on the channel, the information about the watched program (e.g., genre, director, actor, etc.) What was viewed on the touch screen control device 116 (eg, program guide, additional program information, website, application, etc.), at what time the content was viewed on the touch screen control device 116, and how long the content was viewed. Information about the content that was viewed or viewed (type of content, genre, etc.).

In addition there are other types of behavior and data that can be tracked. For example, the subscriber's migration behavior can be tracked from media source to media source and from media to media. Consider an example where a user is watching a television program transmitted from a network service provider such as Comcast. The user then changes the media selection to over the top media service provider (such as Netflix). The described system can track two media selections (TV shows, movies), sources of such media selections (Comcast, Netflix, etc.), and the time spent using / viewing each media selection.

These current examples are many network service providers, over the top services, personal media servers, broadcast sources, cable sources, satellite sources, IPTV sources, websites, online sources that supply media (such as Amazon, Emusic, ITunes, etc.). This provides meaningful information in that there are values for tracking below.

a. What sources exist for specific media choices

b. Track which source your media selection comes from

c. Tracking whether the media source being accessed was suggested by the system

d. Tracking whether a user purchases a media selection from a specific source (clickthrough)

e. Tracking whether a user went to a specific source to see media selections that were selected but not purchased

f. Track the amount of time users access / view media selections from specific sources

g. Tracking whether users are responsive to specific ads and their sources (local / network operators / over the top services / broadcasters, etc.)

h. Track which version of a particular media asset is selected and its source

a. Low resolution vs. high resolution / SD / HD

b. Bitrate of media assets

c. Regular version vs special features

d. How long has the "special feature" been accessed?

e. Are ads embedded or embedded in media assets selected?

i. Tracking how long it took to reach a specific media asset while tracking which application was used to select the media asset

a. Search engine

b. Electronic Program Guide (EPG)

c. Advertising

d. Recommend social networking from friends

In addition, it is anticipated that other attributes may be tracked and sent to the report, in which case such attributes may be grouped together. Such information may be collected and aggregated by an aggregator system as shown in FIG. 5.

The aggregate EAR file 500 contains the SpectrumCommon JAR module 510 and the aggregate WAR module 520. SpectrumCommon module JAR 510 is a shared module to obtain error codes, error messages and logging services. Aggregation module 520 is an internal API that aggregates customer usage data collected on the device and later the collected logs are used for reporting. The aggregated user data is then sent to the database 120 for storage and use in reporting generation.

Examples of attributes recorded for user activity logging include timestamps, house IDs, user IDs, device IDs, session IDs, application IDs, action types, as well as other parameters associated with the action type. This information is provided in log messages with the following format:

From here,

<Timestamp> 포맷은 "yyyy-mm-dd hh:mi:ss.millis"이다.

<Timestamp> format is "yyyy-mm-dd hh: mi: ss.millis".

<ActionType>은 RP_ACTION_TYPE 테이블 내 값 중 하나이다(값에 대한 데이터베이스 스키마 설계 섹션을 참조).

<ActionType> is one of the values in the RP_ACTION_TYPE table (see section Database schema design for values).

<MsgParams>는 문자 ";"에 의해 구분되는 메시지 특정 키 값 페어이다. 키 값 페어는 문자 ":"에 의해 구분된다.

<MsgParams> are message specific key value pairs separated by the character ";". Key value pairs are separated by the character ":".

An example of such a log message for an acquisition action would look like the following.

The aggregation module provides log messages in response to the following requests.

CollectUserData

CollectUserData

O Request: List of log messages

ㅇ Response: Boolean true value (even if web service processing failed)

Web service requests are parsed to extract individual log messages. Each individual log message is parsed to extract key value pairs of user information, device information, activity type, and activity type specific data. Each key value pair of data is stored in a database table. The current implementation processes and parses all log record data in each web service request before the web service response returns.

Database schema design

The reporting database schema design will be based on a modified Entity-Attribute-Value (EAV) model, also known as a "sparse matrix." This model will store each log message attribute value pair as a separate row in another table. This approach involves minor changes to the existing reporting database schema, such as removing the OFFER_ID and CONTENT_ID columns from the RP_LOG table.

The OFFER_ID and CONTENT_ID columns were removed because they are only used in the ACQUIRE message. These attributes will be added to the RP_INFORMATION table.

These tables should contain records for all key parameters (ID and NAME).

This table should contain records for all activity names such as ACQUIRE, SEARCH, VIEWCHANNEL, PLAY, FASTFORWARD, REVERSE, PAUSE, etc. The additional action name is TBD.

6 depicts the collection of user activity data by the aggregation system using CollectUserData operation 600. Here, the request 610 is made by the external web service client 620, which may be located in the back end server 118. The request is received by an aggregation skeleton 620 of the aggregation module located on the second screen 116 or receiving device 108. Collecting bone 630 responds with a Boolean value 640. An example of inter-working of the collecting module can be seen in FIG. 7.

7 shows a system 700 showing intercommunication by SpectrumCommon JAR 510 and aggregation WAR 520. SpectrumCommon module 510 provides logging services, error codes, and error messages to aggregation module 520. The aggregation interval 620 using the aggregation interface 710 receives the CollectUserData request 610 and parses it via LocalLog 730 and LocalLogList 720 for LogType 750 and LogListType 740. The response 640 to the CollectUserData request is then returned.

The following user activity may be logged for a Flash / Flex application.

DVR activity can also be logged. This includes:

● Press a key on the remote control

● DVR recording management

An example of a transaction using the CollectUserData JSON request is shown below.

An example of the CollectUserData JSON response is as follows:

One concept used in the collection of user data is "session". A "session" is a collection of actions by a user who has a particular interaction between a user and a device. For example, a session may include all the actions the user has taken to watch a particular piece of media. 8 provides a flowchart 800 of one example of a process that a session may include. In FIG. 8, there are five stages or steps for session 800. These stages are query 810, results 820, details 830, selection 840, and confirmation 850. Each of these stages will be discussed in more detail below.

The query stage 810 initiates a session. The query stage can be thought of as similar to the beginning of user interaction with a device where the user answers the question "What can I watch?". For example, the query may be a search on a particular topic, a request for a listing of a VOD proposal, a request for an EPG, or a request for a listing of a previously recorded program. Any such activity starts a session and is logged as part of the session.

In response to the query of the inquiry step (step 810), the user is provided with a result for review (step 820). The result may be the result of a search performed, a listing of available VOD proposals, an EPG, or a listing of previously recorded programs. The results may also include recommendations based on the user or device. In other embodiments, the provided results may be filtered based on the user or device. The results provided to the user are logged as part of the session. Based on the results provided, the user may make a new query to start a new session (step 810) or obtain additional details about the results provided (step 830).

The detailed step (step 830) involves the user being provided and reviewing additional information about the provided result (step 820). The additional information may be a plot summary, performer and crew listings, ratings, and the like. Additional information may also include trailers, video clips, and special promotional listings and offers. Additional information viewed by the user is also logged as part of the session. After reviewing additional information about the results, the user can then make a new query (step 810), review other results (step 820), or make a selection (step 840).

The selection step (step 840) includes the selection of content to be watched by the user. This may be the program currently playing, the VOD offer, the downloadable content, the previously recorded program, or the like. When the content is selected, the user is then notified of what is needed to watch the content, such as any pricing / purchasing information, as well as tuning a particular channel, starting a stream, starting a download, or playing from a recording. This selection is logged as part of the session. The user also has the option of a new query (step 810), return to results (step 820) or confirmation of content selection (step 850).

Confirmation (step 850) includes the actual acquisition of content, including purchases, tuning to channels, downloads, and the like. This is also the case when the user has agreed to the terms for viewing the selected content. Any agreement to the terms of acquisition and terms is logged as part of the session and ends the session.

Once usage data has been collected (step 410), the usage data is provided to a back end that can be processed (step 420) to build a user profile. The use of sessions allows for tracking of the path followed to reach content selection, not just content selection. Therefore, not only what query results, details, and acquisition requirements could prevent the selection and consumption of content, but also what queries, results, details and acquisition requirements result in the selection and consumption of content. By knowing what the user chooses to view and how the user has reached that choice, feedback can be provided to evaluate the effectiveness of search, recommendations, additional information and pricing in the selection of content by the user. May be step 430.

For example, acquisition requirements such as results and recommendations, additional information, and costs or rental terms can be adjusted in future sessions to enhance "buy" selection by the user. Similarly, this information can be used to enhance / improve the targeted advertisement including the special offer. Other possible uses for the techniques discussed herein include the following.

1. Decide where the choice should be shown to the user, ie if a media asset is offered at the bottom of the EPG banner ad, and a suggestion made by the personalization engine is more likely for the user to eventually purchase VOD programming. do.

2. Based on the tracking information, the order in which the results of the search are made is changed. For example, search results from IMDB may be affected more frequently by users than Amazon. Also, what is shown in the search results (based on the user's tendency, first show the movie title for the first user, then show the actor, then show the actor first and then the movie title for the second user).

3. The level of relevance in the content proposal, and also the type of content that appears to be attracted to the user to provide incentives to purchase expensive products ranging from premium programming (public channels) to tangible merchandise (Ferrari F-40 model vehicles) ( For example, an action movie with a car or an airplane, or a travel programming with a beach.

4. Trend in the purchase history of the content for the user and compare the other users in the peer group, for example, to track the reaction of both the user and the peer group to the marketing strategy. For example, a peer group in Beverly Hills may respond favorably to a $ 29.99 platinum tier programming package, while others else may be more interested in a $ 12.99 identical or minor modification package. The pricing effectiveness of the marketing strategy can also be measured on an individual basis.

A. The user searches for Iron Man. Currently not available, but the user can purchase the latest Spiderman movie for $ 30, rent a Hulk (circa 2008) for $ 6, or rent a Hulk (circa 2003) for $ 4. It is revealed that the proposal has been received. The user chooses to borrow Hulk (circa 2008). Purchase data is stored (along with other tracked data) that may indicate a user's inclination to watch a movie associated with an upcoming Avengers movie (circa 2012) rather than a purchase.

B. Track when users are more likely to borrow or buy. For example, the user's spending habits may indicate that the user is more likely to rent a movie 80% and is more likely to buy a TV episode 75%. This information can be used to form future suggestions for the user.

C. Track and analyze price resistance. Assist the content provider in understanding the user's decision (ie, was it the movie price or the time of day). The same movie is offered at different prices and at different times to assist the content provider in setting prices for the movie and understanding what caused the purchase.

5. Provides portals for bridging broadcast, VOD, over the top and user generated programming. As a result, it can provide industry-leading programming measurement capabilities and effectiveness across multiple sources of available content. In other words, research and preference engines will typically fall between services and applications that are not monitored (ie, users spend 20% of their time watching TNT, 30% watching Yahoo.com, and 50% watching Hulu.com). To consume).

6. Push the user to another source of the same content based on the user subscription. For example, User A may have a premium subscription ($ 150 / month) and User B may only have a basic subscription ($ 45 / month). If the desired content (eg, a recent movie) is available both on the premium movie channel and on the VOD, Spectrum will direct user A to the premium movie channel and user B to the VOD. This will at least reduce the risk of user A quitting premium subscription because the user is repeatedly directed to the VOD offer.

8. Methodology behind periodically reminding users of which movies and television shows are stored in a digital locker.

A. Consider the possibility that there may be a reminder that the content is available in the second person's digital locker (my wife has her own digital locker, and I want to access the content in that locker).

B. Make freely distributable content (such as home-grown movies, YouTube content, etc.) available through others' lockers.

9. Track when a user repeatedly rents a movie and offer the user the option to purchase the same movie or related movies.

A. Renting a movie is a less costly model until the user has borrowed more movies, and the user has paid for it a sufficient number of times to be uploaded to their digital lockers for free. Consider.

B. Also, consider borrowing the movie series: the idea of borrowing the first movie (Godfather I) is 5.00, (father II) is 3.00, and (father III) is 1.00. This option can also be applied to purchase the program as a series (3.00 for the first episode, 2.00 for the second episode, and 1.00 for the third episode).

10. Track the user's use of recommendations. For example, user A may be more likely to follow a 35% recommendation of a friend than a recommendation from a recommendation engine, and user B may be more likely to follow 40% of recommendations from a recommendation engine, unlike a friend's recommendation. The spectrum can track this behavior and use it to prioritize recommendations made to different users.

11. Explicit ratings ("4 ratings given by users") and implicit ratings (number of views, number of times a given scene is viewed, user recommends content to a friend) to decide what to recommend to the user. Number of times, etc.). For example, a user gives Rocky a 5 star rating but only sees Rocky once and never recommends the movie to a friend. The same user gives Twilight a two-star rating, but sees the entire movie three times, sees a particular scene in the movie nine times, and recommends the movie to ten friends. Based on this history, New Moon will be recommended to the user before recommending Rocky2.

A. The concept takes into account the idea that five-star movies may not actually be five stars in everything because people do not rate movies fairly. Therefore, the user must consider the actual interaction with the media asset separately from the explicit rating given to the asset.

B. Several different algorithms can be developed to determine ratings by using both explicit (what the user rated a media asset for) and implicit (how the user interacted with the media asset).

12. Track where and when a user watches a movie and use this contextual information to control what to suggest to the user from different rooms and at different points of view (for example, in the bedroom at 9 pm, Suggest several different recommendations for poetry).

A. The user can specify which device is where.

B. In addition, it defines what device it is. Set-top boxes, cell phones, iPads, computers and more.

Although the example described above focuses on the system, the present invention is also embodied in a computer program product that includes all the features enabling the implementation of the methods described herein, and which can perform these methods when loaded in a computer system Can be. A computer program or application in this context includes a system having an information processing capability that a) translates into another language, code or notation; b) any representation of any language, code or notation in a set of instructions intended to cause a particular function to be performed, either immediately or after any of the representations in another material form.

In addition, except as set forth in the claims below, the above description is intended by way of example only and is not intended to limit the invention in any way.

Claims (23)

A method of providing a viewing recommendation to a user, the method
Collecting usage data associated with the session of interaction by the user;
Processing the user data for the session; And
Providing feedback regarding the session. The method of claim 1, wherein the usage data is related to content viewed by the user. The method of claim 2, wherein the usage data associated with the content viewed by the user comprises: watched content; The time at which the content was viewed; How long the content has been viewed; The type of content viewed; Information about the content viewed; A source of the content; And at least one of what device was viewed on the device. The method of claim 1, wherein collecting user data is performed using an aggregation module. The method of claim 1, wherein the session is
Query stage;
Result stage;
Detail stage;
Selection stage; And
Comprising stages of the confirmation stage. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the query stage includes a search performed by the user. The method of claim 6, wherein user data associated with the query stage includes a topic of the search performed by the user. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the user data associated with the results stage includes data returned based on user input during the query stage. The method of claim 5, wherein the results stage comprises: a result of a search performed; Listing of Video on Demand offerings, listing of previously recorded programs; And providing one or more of the listings in the Electronic Program Guide (EPG). The method of claim 9, wherein the results are filtered based on the user and / or device. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the user data associated with the detail stage includes additional details regarding the data returned based on user input during the query stage. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the detail stages comprise: a plot outline; Performer and crew listings; Grading; trailer; Video clips; And providing one or more of a promotional listing and a suggestion. The method of claim 5, wherein the selection stage
Receiving a user selection of content to be viewed; And
Providing information about a requirement to view the content. The method of claim 13, wherein the information about the requirement to watch content includes pricing information. The method of claim 13, wherein the user data associated with the selection stage includes content selected by the user. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the confirmation stage comprises acquisition of content to be watched. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein acquiring the content comprises receiving a terms agreement by the user to acquire the content. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein user data associated with the confirmation stage comprises data relating to acquisition of the content. The method of claim 1, wherein providing feedback comprises generating a user profile. The method of claim 1, further comprising modifying data in the session based on the provided feedback. A system for providing a viewing recommendation to a user, the system
A front end configured to collect usage data related to a session of interaction by the user; And
A back end configured to process the user data for the session and provide feedback regarding the session. The system of claim 21, wherein the front end comprises a touch screen device. The server of claim 21, wherein the server is
Personalization engine; And
A system for providing viewing recommendations to a user, comprising a usage database.

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