WO2018140053A1 - Systèmes et procédés pour permettre un partage de réglages entre des applications sur la base d'une distance relative de placement d'icône d'application - Google Patents

Systèmes et procédés pour permettre un partage de réglages entre des applications sur la base d'une distance relative de placement d'icône d'application Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2018140053A1
WO2018140053A1 PCT/US2017/015598 US2017015598W WO2018140053A1 WO 2018140053 A1 WO2018140053 A1 WO 2018140053A1 US 2017015598 W US2017015598 W US 2017015598W WO 2018140053 A1 WO2018140053 A1 WO 2018140053A1
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WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
icon
application
settings
zone
distance
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2017/015598
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Michael Mccarty
Glen E. Roe
Timothy Andrew HOLMES
Original Assignee
Rovi Guides, Inc.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Rovi Guides, Inc. filed Critical Rovi Guides, Inc.
Priority to PCT/US2017/015598 priority Critical patent/WO2018140053A1/fr
Publication of WO2018140053A1 publication Critical patent/WO2018140053A1/fr

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F9/00—Arrangements for program control, e.g. control units
    • G06F9/06—Arrangements for program control, e.g. control units using stored programs, i.e. using an internal store of processing equipment to receive or retain programs
    • G06F9/44—Arrangements for executing specific programs
    • G06F9/445—Program loading or initiating
    • G06F9/44505—Configuring for program initiating, e.g. using registry, configuration files
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F9/00—Arrangements for program control, e.g. control units
    • G06F9/06—Arrangements for program control, e.g. control units using stored programs, i.e. using an internal store of processing equipment to receive or retain programs
    • G06F9/44—Arrangements for executing specific programs
    • G06F9/451—Execution arrangements for user interfaces
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/47—End-user applications
    • H04N21/482—End-user interface for program selection

Definitions

  • Systems and methods are provided herein for modifying what settings are shared between applications based on user modification of a relative distance between icons associated with the applications. For example, a relationship describing which settings one application is permitted to share with another application may be graphically illustrated.
  • One manner of graphically illustrating the relationship might be to place an icon corresponding to an application in question in the center of a circle, and to illustrate which settings are shared by the application in question with other applications by placing icons corresponding to the other applications at different radial distances from the center of the circle.
  • Each radial distance, or each range of radial distances may represent different settings that are shared. A shorter radial distance may indicate that more settings are shared, and a longer radial distance may indicate that fewer settings are shared.
  • the user may modify the settings that are shared by the application in question with the other applications by moving the icons corresponding to the other applications to closer or farther radial distances from the application in question.
  • a media guidance application may retrieve information comprising data about settings associated with a first application. For example, the media guidance application may retrieve information that indicates what settings (e.g., what personal information) a first application (e.g., an application for consuming videos) shares with another application. The media guidance application may determine, from the information, first settings that are shared by the first application with a second application.
  • a first application e.g., an application for consuming videos
  • the media guidance application may determine a first distance for graphically representing the first settings that are shared, and may generate for display a first icon corresponding to the first application and a second icon corresponding to the second application, where the first icon and the second icon are separated by the first distance.
  • the first distance may be determined based on an algorithm that attributes one or more distances to the settings that the first application shares with the second application. The algorithm may be used to compute a distance adequate for graphically representing what settings are shared by the first application with the second application.
  • the media guidance application may receive user input to move the second icon to a second distance from the first icon. For example, a user may drag and drop the second icon closer to the first icon.
  • the media guidance application may retrieve indicia of second settings that should be shared by the first application with an application whose corresponding icon is at the second distance from the first icon. For example, the media guidance application may determine that the indicia indicates that when an icon is placed at a certain distance from the first application, that distance signifies that a specific set of settings are to be shared by the first application with the second application. Accordingly, the media guidance application may modify the first settings that are shared to conform to the second settings.
  • the first distance comprises a first zone including a first range of distances from the first icon
  • the second distance comprises a second zone including a second range of distances from the second icon.
  • the amount of settings shared may be displayed graphically using concentric shapes, such as concentric rings or squares.
  • the center shape may include an icon corresponding to the first icon, and each concentric ring (i.e., each zone) emanating therefrom may represent a next lower level of settings that are shared between the first application and the second application.
  • Generating for display the first icon and the second icon, where the first icon is separated from the second icon by the first distance may, for example, comprise generating for display the second icon within the first zone, and receiving user input to move the second icon to the second distance from the first icon may comprise receiving user input to move the second icon to the second zone.
  • the first application shares the first settings with each application with a corresponding icon located in the first zone, and the first application shares the second settings with each application with a corresponding icon located in the second zone. All icons located in a given zone may have a same level of settings shared from the first application and the other icons in that given zone.
  • the media guidance application may determine whether a third application that corresponds to a third icon that is within the first zone has not been accessed for a threshold period of time. For example, a user may have neglected accessing the third application for a long period of time.
  • the media guidance application may automatically move the third icon to the second zone, and may automatically replace a sharing of the first settings from the first application to the third application with a sharing of the second settings from the first application to the third application.
  • the media guidance application may determine whether a third application that corresponds to a third icon that is within the second zone has been accessed, by a user, with a threshold frequency. For example, the media guidance application may determine whether the user has frequently accessed the third application. In response to determining that the third application has been accessed with the threshold frequency, the media guidance application may prompt the user with a selectable option to increase the settings shared between the first application and the third application. For example, the media guidance application may suggest that further settings be shared from the first application to the third application in order to increase the user's enjoyment of the third application.
  • the media guidance application may move the third icon to the first zone, and may replace a sharing of the second settings from the first application to the third application with a sharing of the first settings from the first application to the third application.
  • the media guidance application when the media guidance is generating for display the first icon and the second icon, the media guidance application generates for display the first icon at a center point, and generates for display a plurality of concentric rings around the center point.
  • the concentric rings may delineate a plurality of zones comprising the first zone and the second zone, and the zone closest to the ring may represent a highest relative level of sharing as compared to the zone farthest from the ring.
  • the second zone includes a first sub-zone and a second sub-zone.
  • the media guidance application may determine whether the user input to move the second icon to the second distance from the first icon includes user input to move the second icon to the first sub-zone or the second sub-zone.
  • the media guidance application may share settings that are equivalent to the second settings between the second application and other applications that have icons in the first sub-zone.
  • the media guidance application may refrain from sharing settings that are equivalent to the second settings between the second application and the other applications that have icons in the first sub-zone.
  • the media guidance application may receive a user input to modify which specific settings form the second settings.
  • the media guidance application may modify the settings that the first application shares with each application that has a corresponding icon in the second zone in accordance with the user input to modify which specific settings comprise the second settings. For example, this may enable the user to modify settings shared between the first application and all other applications that are in the second zone simply by modifying the settings that are associated with the second zone.
  • the media guidance application may, when retrieving indicia of second settings that should be shared by the first application with an application whose corresponding icon is at the second distance from the first icon, retrieve settings that were shared between the first application and a third application when a third icon corresponding to the third application was at the second distance from the first icon.
  • the media guidance application may determine the second settings based on the settings that were shared between the first application and the third application.
  • the media guidance application may receive a user request to toggle to viewing how settings are shared between the second application and other applications.
  • the media guidance application may generate for display icons for applications that are at distances representative of which settings are shared between the second application and the other applications, where the icon corresponding to the first application is at the second distance from the second application.
  • FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a user interface that may be used to edit which settings are shared between applications, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;
  • FIG. 2 shows an illustrative embodiment of a display screen that may be used to provide media guidance application listings and other media guidance information, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;
  • FIG. 3 shows another illustrative embodiment of a display screen that may be used to provide media guidance application listings, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure
  • FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an illustrative user equipment (UE) device in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure
  • FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an illustrative media system in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.
  • FIG. 6 depicts an illustrative flowchart of a process for generating for display a user interface that enables a user to view and adjust settings that are shared between applications, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure
  • FIG. 7 depicts an illustrative flowchart of a process for automatically adjusting settings based on a user's frequency of interaction with a given application, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.
  • FIG. 8 depicts an illustrative flowchart of a process for causing settings to be shared among various applications in an efficient manner, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.
  • FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a user interface that may be used to edit which settings are shared between applications, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.
  • FIG. 1 depicts user interface 100 that includes zones 110, 120, and 130, which are formed by a plurality of concentric circles.
  • a media guidance application may generate for display user interface 100.
  • Concentric circles are used for illustrative purposes only, and may be replaced by any concentric shapes, or non-concentric shapes, that form zones in which icons can be placed.
  • Icon 102 is at the center of the concentric circles.
  • Icons 112 and 114 are within zone 110.
  • Icons 122, 124, and 126 are within zone 120.
  • Icons 132 and 134 are within zone 130.
  • Legend 150 describes which settings are shared by an application corresponding to icon 102 with other applications, such as applications corresponding to icons depicted by user interface 100 (e.g., icons 122 and 132). Each row of legend 150 corresponds to a different zone of user interface 100. Legend 150 is depicted as a stand-alone legend for illustrative purposes only. The manner in which the settings associated with any given zone are illustrated in FIG. 1 is also illustrative, and these associations may be depicted in any manner, such as including the information for any given row of legend 150 within the actual zone, instead of using a legend, or in any other manner. Legend 150 may be interactive, whereby a user can add or remove settings that are shared for a given zone (e.g., by deleting, adding, dragging and dropping, etc. any given setting).
  • a media guidance application may retrieve information comprising data about settings associated with a first application.
  • the term "settings" refers to any facet of an application that is adjustable by a user, and/or is personal to a user.
  • a setting may include parental controls set by a user, a user's profile information, any tracked interaction between the user and the device (e.g., a viewing history of the user), purchase information (e.g., stored credit card information), cookies, login information, or any other information that is adjustable by the user and/or personal to the user.
  • the media guidance application may perform this retrieval of information when the media guidance application detects a user request to view on user interface 100 a graphical representation of what settings associated with an application corresponding to icon 102 are shared with other applications. For example, a user may interact with icon 102 to request the graphical representation of user interface 100. When such a request is made, the media guidance application may retrieve information that indicates what settings (e.g., what personal information or other profile information) the application corresponding to icon 102 shares with other applications. The information may be retrieved from a database. The database may be located locally or remotely from the device on which user interface 100 is displayed, and may store entries indicating what settings are shared between applications. The media guidance application may determine, from the information, first settings that are shared by the first application with a second application. Functionality of the media guidance application, control circuitry, remote devices, and communications networks are described in further detail below with respect to FIGS. 4-7.
  • the media guidance application may determine a first distance for graphically representing the first settings that are shared between the application corresponding to icon 102, and the second application.
  • icon 102 corresponds to an application designed by the company TiVo (hereafter, the "TiVo application"), and the application aids in media guidance and consumption.
  • the media guidance application may determine a first distance for graphically representing settings shared between the TiVo application and another application, such as an application designed by the company Hulu. (hereafter, the "Hulu application”), an application that aids in over-the-top (OTT) video streaming, which corresponds to icon 114.
  • Hulu application an application designed by the company Hulu.
  • the media guidance application may determine the first distance by retrieving the first distance from the database. For example, the media guidance application may compare the first settings that are shared between the TiVo application and the Hulu application to data of entries of a database, where each entry corresponds a distance to settings. The media guidance application may determine the first distance by locating an entry that has settings that match the first settings, and may retrieve the first distance by retrieving the first distance from the entry that has settings that match the first settings.
  • the entries of the database that correspond distances to settings may be stored in their first instance by the media guidance application.
  • the entries may be caused to be stored based on user input that defines the entries, or based on automatic defining of the entries by the media guidance application. For example, if a user defines a certain distance as corresponding to a certain level of sharing of settings from an application corresponding to icon 102 to an application with an icon at the certain distance, the media guidance application may update the entries to include an updated entry that corresponds to the user's input. Manners in which users may relocate icons and/or redefine settings are described in further detail below.
  • the first distance may be determined based on an algorithm that attributes one or more distances to the settings that the first application shares with the second application.
  • an editor or front-end user may determine that some settings (e.g., personal information, such as a birth date, or purchase information such as a credit card number) are particularly important, and that other settings (e.g., video consumption history) are not particularly important, and may assign or cause to be assigned weights to the settings.
  • the algorithm may compute a distance adequate for graphically representing what settings are shared by the first application with the second application based on the weights.
  • the algorithm may be any known algorithm, such as a weighted sum of units, and may be selected by the editor of the media guidance application and/or the user.
  • the media guidance application may generate for display a first icon corresponding to the first application and a second icon corresponding to the second application, where the first icon and the second icon are separated by the first distance. For example, the media guidance application may generate for display icon 114 in zone 110, as illustrated in FIG. 1.
  • the media guidance application may receive user input to move the second icon to a second distance from the first icon. For example, a user may drag and drop the second icon closer to the first icon by tapping, clicking, or otherwise selecting the second icon in a manner described below with respect to various user input interfaces, and dragging the second icon to the second distance. Any other known manner of relocating an icon on a user interface may be implemented here to cause the second icon to move to the second distance, such as selecting the second icon and then selecting a point of user interface 100 at the second distance.
  • the media guidance application may retrieve indicia of second settings that should be shared by the first application with an application whose corresponding icon is at the second distance from the first icon. For example, the user input may cause icon 114 to move to zone 120.
  • the media guidance application may determine that the indicia indicates that when an icon is placed at a certain distance from the first application, that distance signifies that a specific set of settings are to be shared by the first application with the second application.
  • the indicia may be retrieved in a similar manner to that described above with respect to determining the first settings.
  • a similar database with entries that correspond entries to distances may be utilized to retrieve the indicia, where an entry corresponding to the second distance is located, and the settings are determined from the entry. Accordingly, the media guidance application may modify the first settings that are shared to conform to the second settings.
  • the first distance comprises a first zone including a first range of distances from the first icon (e.g., the range of distances within zone 110), and the second distance comprises a second zone including a second range of distances from the second icon (e.g., zone 120).
  • the amount of settings shared may be displayed graphically using concentric shapes, such as concentric rings or squares, such as the concentric rings used in FIG. 1.
  • the center shape may include an icon corresponding to the first icon (e.g., icon 102), and each concentric ring (i.e., each zone) emanating therefrom may represent a next lower level of settings that are shared between the first application and the second application.
  • Generating for display the first icon (icon 102) and the second icon (icon 114), where the first icon is separated from the second icon by the first distance may, for example, comprise generating for display the second icon within the first zone (zone 110), and receiving user input to move the second icon to the second distance from the first icon may comprise receiving user input to move the second icon to the second zone (zone 110).
  • Zones and concentric shapes, as illustrated in FIG. 1, are merely illustrative.
  • the media guidance application may use the naked distance itself, as opposed to the zone in which the distance falls, to determine the settings.
  • the media guidance application may access entries that reflect naked distances, rather than zones in which distances fall, to determine therefrom corresponding settings.
  • user interface 100 may be used to determine an amount of a singular setting that is shared between applications.
  • user interface 100 may reflect an amount of personal information shared between the first application and various other applications, and, as an icon is moved farther away from icon 102, that icon will have less information shared with it based on the distance itself (or, based on the zone in which the distance falls).
  • the first application shares the first settings with each application with a corresponding icon located in the first zone, and the first application shares the second settings with each application with a corresponding icon located in the second zone.
  • All icons located in a given zone may have a same level of settings shared from the first application and the other icons in that given zone.
  • icon 112 shares zone 110 with icon 114.
  • the application corresponding to icon 112 will also have the second settings shared with them from the TiVo application corresponding to icon 102.
  • icon 122, icon 124, and icon 126 share zone 120, and will thus have their corresponding applications have the same second settings shared with them from the TiVo application corresponding to icon 102.
  • the media guidance application may determine whether a third application that corresponds to a third icon that is within the first zone has not been accessed for a threshold period of time. For example, a user may have neglected accessing the IMDb application corresponding to icon 124, which may have previously been in zone 110, for a long period of time.
  • the threshold period of time may be stored at a database and retrieved by the media guidance application therefrom. The threshold period may be set or adjusted by an editor of the media guidance application or by the user.
  • the media guidance application may automatically move icon 124 to the second zone, such as zone 120, and may automatically replace a sharing of the first settings from the first application to the third application with a sharing of the second settings from the first application to the third application. In this way, applications that a user may have forgotten about will have less information about the user.
  • the media guidance application may continue to cause the third icon to move to further zones from icon 102 (e.g., to zone 130, and then to farther zones or to a final zone signifying no sharing at all), thus eventually causing the application corresponding to icon 124 (the IMDb application) to have no information shared with it by the TiVo application corresponding to icon 102.
  • the media guidance application may determine whether an application that corresponds to an icon that is within a zone farther away from icon 102 than zone 110 has been accessed, by a user, with a threshold frequency. For example, the media guidance application may determine whether the user has frequently accessed the ABC application (an application enabling a user to access OTT content from the news source ABC) corresponding to icon 132 in zone 130, which has relatively few settings shared with it by the TiVo application corresponding to icon 102. In response to determining that the ABC application has been accessed with the threshold frequency, the media guidance application may automatically move icon 132 to zone 120, which equates to a larger sharing of settings from the TiVo application to the ABC application.
  • the threshold frequency the media guidance application may automatically move icon 132 to zone 120, which equates to a larger sharing of settings from the TiVo application to the ABC application.
  • the media guidance application may prompt the user with a selectable option to increase the settings shared between the TiVo application and the ABC application. For example, the media guidance application may suggest in the prompt that further settings be shared from the TiVo application to the ABC application in order to increase the user's enjoyment of the ABC application.
  • the prompt may enable the user to select certain ones of the various settings, and/or may enable the user to select the suggested settings all at once.
  • the media guidance application may move the third icon to a zone that corresponds with those settings. For example, if the settings selected by the user correspond to settings shared by the TiVo application with application whose icons are in zone 110, the media guidance application may replace a sharing of the second settings from the first application to the third application with a sharing of the first settings from the first application to the third application.
  • zones may include sub-zones.
  • zone 120 includes a first sub-zone and a second sub-zone, where the first sub-zone is above divider 140, and the second sub-zone is below divider 140.
  • the first sub-zone and the second sub-zone may cause different manners of sharing to occur between the applications associated with the icons in the sub-zones, and between icon 102 and those icons in those sub-zones.
  • the first sub-zone or the second sub-zone may have a setting associated with it where, when an icon is placed in that sub-zone, the settings of the application associated with that icon are reciprocally shared with the TiVo application corresponding to icon 102, whereas when an icon is placed in a different sub-zone, no reciprocal sharing is performed.
  • applications corresponding to icons in zone 120 above divider 140 may share personal information and viewing history (as indicated in legend 150) with the TiVo application corresponding to icon 102, the same way that the TiVo application shares those settings with the applications corresponding to icon 122 and 124.
  • Applications corresponding to icons below divider 140 in zone 120 i.e., the Facebook application corresponding to icon 126) may not reciprocally share settings with the TiVo application that the TiVo application shares with them.
  • the icons in the different sub-zone may inter-share, with each other, in addition to with the TiVo application, their settings. While two sub-zones are illustrated in user interface 100, any number of sub-zones may be implemented in user interface 100 in any given zone, and the manner in which different settings are shared for a given sub-zone may be assigned or edited by an editor of the media guidance application or by the user. For example, the applications corresponding to icon 122 and 124, which are above divider 140 in zone 120, may share with one another the same information that they are sharing with TiVo 102.
  • a user uses the service of IMDb (corresponding to icon 124) to look up information about an actor in a particular movie
  • this information may be shared with the Netflix, an OTT video streaming provider that corresponds to icon 122, to recommend that movie or a similar movie for viewing to the user, based on the sharing of information.
  • Such sharing may, for example, only be permitted for applications corresponding to icons in a particular subzone, and thus applications corresponding to icons in zone 120 below divider 140 may not similarly share settings.
  • the media guidance application may receive a user input to modify which specific settings form settings for a particular zone.
  • the media guidance application may receive user input of additional settings that are to be associated with a given zone.
  • the user input include a user dragging and dropping names of settings or topics of settings into a zone, or into a corresponding row of legend 150.
  • the user may type a name of a setting into a zone or into a corresponding row of legend 150 in order to modify what settings are shared between applications.
  • the user may delete a setting, or may drag a setting away, from a zone or a row in legend 150. Any manner of adjusting settings may be performed.
  • the user may adjust the second settings associated with zone 120.
  • the media guidance application may modify the settings that the first application shares with icons 122, 124, and 126, in accordance with the user input to modify which specific settings comprise the second settings. For example, this may enable the user to modify settings shared between the TiVo application corresponding to icon 102 and all other applications that are in zone 120 simply by modifying the settings that are associated with the second zone.
  • the media guidance application may, when retrieving indicia of second settings that should be shared by the first application with an application whose corresponding icon is at the second distance from the first icon, retrieve settings that were shared between the first application and a third application when a third icon corresponding to the third application was at the second distance from the first icon.
  • the media guidance application may determine the second settings based on the settings that were shared between the first application and the third application. As described above, these historical settings may be caused to be databased as a user moves an icon and assigns various settings to a given distance.
  • the media guidance application may receive a user request to toggle to viewing how settings are shared between the second application and other applications.
  • the user request may be received by way of any user input, such as a user selection of the icon itself on user interface 100.
  • the media guidance application may cause the selected icon to be placed at the center of user interface 100, where icon 102 is placed.
  • each zone of user interface 100 may have icons placed at distances representative of which settings are shared between the selected application and the other applications. The icon corresponding to the TiVo application would thus be placed at the second distance from the second application if settings were reciprocally shared between the TiVo application and the selected application.
  • icon 134 would be placed at the center of user interface 100, and icon 102 would be placed in zone 130 if settings were reciprocally shared, or placed in a different zone if the settings shared between the Windows Media Player application and TiVo differ from those shared by TiVo with the Windows Media Player application.
  • the amount of content available to users in any given content delivery system can be substantial. Consequently, many users desire a form of media guidance through an interface that allows users to efficiently navigate content selections and easily identify content that they may desire.
  • An application that provides 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 content for which they provide guidance.
  • One typical type of media guidance application is an interactive television program guide.
  • Interactive television program guides (sometimes referred to as electronic program guides) are well-known guidance applications that, among other things, allow users to navigate among and locate many types of content or media assets.
  • Interactive media guidance applications may generate graphical user interface screens that enable a user to navigate among, locate and select content.
  • the terms “media asset” and “content” should be understood to mean an electronically consumable user asset, such as television programming, as well as pay-per-view programs, on-demand programs (as in video-on-demand (VOD) systems), Internet content (e.g., streaming content, downloadable content, Webcasts, etc.), video clips, audio, content information, pictures, rotating images, documents, playlists, websites, articles, books, electronic books, blogs, chat sessions, social media, applications, games, and/or any other media or multimedia and/or combination of the same.
  • Guidance applications also allow users to navigate among and locate content.
  • multimedia should be understood to mean content that utilizes at least two different content forms described above, for example, text, audio, images, video, or interactivity content forms. Content may be recorded, played, displayed or accessed by user equipment devices, but can also be part of a live performance.
  • Computer readable media includes any media capable of storing data.
  • the computer readable media may be transitory, including, but not limited to, propagating electrical or electromagnetic signals, or may be non-transitory including, but not limited to, volatile and non-volatile computer memory or storage devices such as a hard disk, floppy disk, USB drive, DVD, CD, media cards, register memory, processor caches, Random Access Memory (“RAM”), etc.
  • RAM Random Access Memory
  • the phrase "user equipment device,” “user equipment,” “user device,” “electronic device,” “electronic equipment,” “media equipment device,” or “media device” should be understood to mean any device for accessing the content described above, such as a television, a Smart TV, a set-top box, an integrated receiver decoder (IRD) for handling satellite television, a digital storage device, a digital media receiver (DMR), a digital media adapter (DMA), a streaming media device, a DVD player, a DVD recorder, a connected DVD, a local media server, a BLU-RAY player, a BLU-
  • IRD integrated receiver decoder
  • the RAY recorder may have a front facing screen and a rear facing screen, multiple front screens, or multiple angled screens.
  • the user equipment device may have a front facing camera and/or a rear facing camera.
  • media guidance may be available on these devices, as well.
  • the guidance provided may be for content available only through a television, for content available only through one or more of other types of user equipment devices, or for content available both through a television and one or more of the other types of user equipment devices.
  • the media guidance applications may be provided as on-line applications (i.e., provided on a web-site), or as stand-alone applications or clients on user equipment devices. Various devices and platforms that may implement media guidance applications are described in more detail below.
  • the phrase "media guidance data” or “guidance data” should be understood to mean any data related to content or data used in operating the guidance application.
  • the guidance data may include program information, guidance application settings, user preferences, user profile information, media listings, media-related information (e.g., broadcast times, broadcast channels, titles, descriptions, ratings information (e.g., parental control ratings, critic's ratings, etc.), genre or category information, actor information, logo data for broadcasters' or providers' logos, etc.), media format (e.g., standard definition, high definition, 3D, etc.), on-demand information, blogs, websites, and any other type of guidance data that is helpful for a user to navigate among and locate desired content selections.
  • media-related information e.g., broadcast times, broadcast channels, titles, descriptions, ratings information (e.g., parental control ratings, critic's ratings, etc.), genre or category information, actor information, logo data for broadcasters' or providers' logos, etc.
  • ratings information e.g., parental control ratings, critic's
  • FIGS. 2-3 show illustrative display screens that may be used to provide media guidance data.
  • the display screens shown in FIGS. 2-3 may be implemented on any suitable user equipment device or platform. While the displays of FIGS. 2-3 are illustrated as full screen displays, they may also be fully or partially overlaid over content being displayed.
  • a user may indicate a desire to access content information by selecting a selectable option provided in a display screen (e.g., a menu option, a listings option, an icon, a hyperlink, etc.) or pressing a dedicated button (e.g., a GUIDE button) on a remote control or other user input interface or device.
  • a selectable option provided in a display screen
  • a dedicated button e.g., a GUIDE button
  • the media guidance application may provide a display screen with media guidance data organized in one of several ways, such as by time and channel in a grid, by time, by channel, by source, by content type, by category (e.g., movies, sports, news, children, or other categories of programming), or other predefined, user-defined, or other
  • FIG. 2 shows illustrative grid of a program listings display 200 arranged by time and channel that also enables access to different types of content in a single display.
  • Display 200 may include grid 202 with: (1) a column of channel/content type identifiers 204, where each channel/content type identifier (which is a cell in the column) identifies a different channel or content type available; and (2) a row of time identifiers 206, where each time identifier (which is a cell in the row) identifies a time block of programming.
  • Grid 202 also includes cells of program listings, such as program listing 208, where each listing provides the title of the program provided on the listing's associated channel and time.
  • a user can select program listings by moving highlight region 210.
  • Information relating to the program listing selected by highlight region 210 may be provided in program information region 212.
  • Region 212 may include, for example, the program title, the program description, the time the program is provided (if applicable), the channel the program is on (if applicable), the program's rating, and other desired information.
  • Non-linear programming may include content from different content sources including on-demand content (e.g., VOD), Internet content (e.g., streaming media, downloadable media, etc.), locally stored content (e.g., content stored on any user equipment device described above or other storage device), or other time- independent content.
  • on-demand content e.g., VOD
  • Internet content e.g., streaming media, downloadable media, etc.
  • locally stored content e.g., content stored on any user equipment device described above or other storage device
  • On-demand content may include movies or any other content provided by a particular content provider (e.g., HBO On Demand providing "The Sopranos” and "Curb Your Enthusiasm”).
  • HBO ON DEMAND is a service mark owned by Time Warner Company L.P. et al. and THE SOPRANOS and CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM are trademarks owned by the Home Box Office, Inc.
  • Internet content may include web events, such as a chat session or Webcast, or content available on-demand as streaming content or downloadable content through an Internet web site or other Internet access (e.g. FTP).
  • web events such as a chat session or Webcast
  • content available on-demand as streaming content or downloadable content through an Internet web site or other Internet access (e.g. FTP).
  • Grid 202 may provide media guidance data for non-linear programming including on-demand listing 214, recorded content listing 216, and Internet content listing 218.
  • a display combining media guidance data for content from different types of content sources is sometimes referred to as a "mixed-media" display.
  • Various permutations of the types of media guidance data that may be displayed that are different than display 200 may be based on user selection or guidance application definition (e.g., a display of only recorded and broadcast listings, only on-demand and broadcast listings, etc.).
  • listings 214, 216, and 218 are shown as spanning the entire time block displayed in grid 202 to indicate that selection of these listings may provide access to a display dedicated to on-demand listings, recorded listings, or Internet listings, respectively.
  • listings for these content types may be included directly in grid 202.
  • Additional media guidance data may be displayed in response to the user selecting one of the navigational icons 220. (Pressing an arrow key on a user input device may affect the display in a similar manner as selecting navigational icons 220.)
  • Display 200 may also include video region 222, and options region 226.
  • Video region 222 may allow the user to view and/or preview programs that are currently available, will be available, or were available to the user.
  • the content of video region 222 may correspond to, or be independent from, one of the listings displayed in grid 202.
  • Grid displays including a video region are sometimes referred to as picture-in-guide (PIG) displays.
  • PIG displays may be included in other media guidance application display screens of the embodiments described herein.
  • Options region 226 may allow the user to access different types of content, media guidance application displays, and/or media guidance application features. Options region 226 may be part of display 200 (and other display screens described herein), or may be invoked by a user by selecting an on-screen option or pressing a dedicated or assignable button on a user input device. The selectable options within options region 226 may concern features related to program listings in grid 202 or may include options available from a main menu display. Features related to program listings may include searching for other air times or ways of receiving a program, recording a program, enabling series recording of a program, setting program and/or channel as a favorite, purchasing a program, or other features.
  • Options available from a main menu display may include search options, VOD options, parental control options, Internet options, cloud-based options, device synchronization options, second screen device options, options to access various types of media guidance data displays, options to subscribe to a premium service, options to edit a user's profile, options to access a browse overlay, or other options.
  • the media guidance application may be personalized based on a user's preferences.
  • a personalized media guidance application allows a user to customize displays and features to create a personalized "experience" with the media guidance application. This personalized experience may be created by allowing a user to input these customizations and/or by the media guidance application monitoring user activity to determine various user preferences. Users may access their personalized guidance application by logging in or otherwise identifying themselves to the guidance application. Customization of the media guidance application may be made in accordance with a user profile.
  • the customizations may include varying presentation schemes (e.g., color scheme of displays, font size of text, etc.), aspects of content listings displayed (e.g., only HDTV or only 3D programming, user-specified broadcast channels based on favorite channel selections, re-ordering the display of channels, recommended content, etc.), desired recording features (e.g., recording or series recordings for particular users, recording quality, etc.), parental control settings, customized presentation of Internet content (e.g., presentation of social media content, e-mail, electronically delivered articles, etc.) and other desired customizations.
  • presentation schemes e.g., color scheme of displays, font size of text, etc.
  • aspects of content listings displayed e.g., only HDTV or only 3D programming, user-specified broadcast channels based on favorite channel selections, re-ordering the display of channels, recommended content, etc.
  • desired recording features e.g., recording or series recordings for particular users, recording quality, etc.
  • parental control settings e.g., customized presentation of Internet content (
  • the media guidance application may allow a user to provide user profile information or may automatically compile user profile information.
  • the media guidance application may, for example, monitor the content the user accesses and/or other interactions the user may have with the guidance application.
  • the media guidance application may obtain all or part of other user profiles that are related to a particular user (e.g., from other web sites on the Internet the user accesses, such as www.Tivo.com, from other media guidance applications the user accesses, from other interactive applications the user accesses, from another user equipment device of the user, etc.), and/or obtain information about the user from other sources that the media guidance application may access.
  • a user can be provided with a unified guidance application experience across the user's different user equipment devices. This type of user experience is described in greater detail below in connection with FIG. 5.
  • Video mosaic display 300 includes selectable options 302 for content information organized based on content type, genre, and/or other organization criteria.
  • television listings option 304 is selected, thus providing listings 306, 308, 310, and 312 as broadcast program listings.
  • the listings may provide graphical images including cover art, still images from the content, video clip previews, live video from the content, or other types of content that indicate to a user the content being described by the media guidance data in the listing.
  • Each of the graphical listings may also be accompanied by text to provide further information about the content associated with the listing.
  • listing 308 may include more than one portion, including media portion 314 and text portion 316.
  • Media portion 314 and/or text portion 316 may be selectable to view content in full-screen or to view information related to the content displayed in media portion 314 (e.g., to view listings for the channel that the video is displayed on).
  • the listings in display 300 are of different sizes (i.e., listing 306 is larger than listings 308, 310, and 312), but if desired, all the listings may be the same size.
  • Listings may be of different sizes or graphically accentuated to indicate degrees of interest to the user or to emphasize certain content, as desired by the content provider or based on user preferences.
  • Various systems and methods for graphically accentuating content listings are discussed in, for example, Yates, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0153885, filed November 12, 2009, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
  • FIG. 4 shows a generalized embodiment of illustrative user equipment device 400. More specific implementations of user equipment devices are discussed below in connection with FIG. 5.
  • User equipment device 400 may receive content and data via input/output (hereinafter "I/O") path 402.
  • I/O path 402 may provide content (e.g., broadcast programming, on-demand programming, Internet content, content available over a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN), and/or other content) and data to control circuitry 404, which includes processing circuitry 406 and storage 408.
  • content e.g., broadcast programming, on-demand programming, Internet content, content available over a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN), and/or other content
  • Control circuitry 404 may be used to send and receive commands, requests, and other suitable data using I/O path 402.
  • I/O path 402 may connect control circuitry 404 (and specifically processing circuitry 406) to one or more communications paths (described below). I/O functions may be provided by one or more of these communications paths, but are shown as a single path in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.
  • Control circuitry 404 may be based on any suitable processing circuitry such as processing circuitry 406. As referred to herein, processing circuitry should be understood to mean circuitry based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices, field- programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits
  • control circuitry 404 executes instructions for a media guidance application stored in memory (i.e., storage 408). Specifically, control circuitry 404 may be instructed by the media guidance application to perform the functions discussed above and below. For example, the media guidance application may provide instructions to control circuitry 404 to generate the media guidance displays. In some implementations, any action performed by control circuitry 404 may be based on instructions received from the media guidance application.
  • control circuitry 404 may include communications circuitry suitable for communicating with a guidance application server or other networks or servers.
  • the instructions for carrying out the above mentioned functionality may be stored on the guidance application server.
  • Communications circuitry may include a cable modem, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) modem, a digital subscriber line (DSL) modem, a telephone modem, Ethernet card, or a wireless modem for communications with other equipment, or any other suitable communications circuitry.
  • ISDN integrated services digital network
  • DSL digital subscriber line
  • communications may involve the Internet or any other suitable communications networks or paths (which is described in more detail in connection with FIG. 5).
  • communications circuitry may include circuitry that enables peer-to-peer communication of user equipment devices, or communication of user equipment devices in locations remote from each other (described in more detail below).
  • Memory may be an electronic storage device provided as storage 408 that is part of control circuitry 404.
  • the phrase "electronic storage device” or “storage device” should be understood to mean any device for storing electronic data, computer software, or firmware, such as random-access memory, read-only memory, hard drives, optical drives, digital video disc (DVD) recorders, compact disc (CD) recorders, BLU-RAY disc (BD) recorders, BLU- RAY 3D disc recorders, digital video recorders (DVR, sometimes called a personal video recorder, or PVR), solid state devices, quantum storage devices, gaming consoles, gaming media, or any other suitable fixed or removable storage devices, and/or any combination of the same.
  • Storage 408 may be used to store various types of content described herein as well as media guidance data described above. Nonvolatile memory may also be used (e.g., to launch a boot-up routine and other instructions).
  • Cloud-based storage described in relation to FIG. 5, may be used to supplement storage 408 or instead of storage 408.
  • Control circuitry 404 may include video generating circuitry and tuning circuitry, such as one or more analog tuners, one or more MPEG-2 decoders or other digital decoding circuitry, high-definition tuners, or any other suitable tuning or video circuits or combinations of such circuits. Encoding circuitry (e.g., for converting over-the-air, analog, or digital signals to MPEG signals for storage) may also be provided. Control circuitry 404 may also include scaler circuitry for upconverting and downconverting content into the preferred output format of the user equipment 400. Circuitry 404 may also include digital-to-analog converter circuitry and analog-to-digital converter circuitry for converting between digital and analog signals.
  • Encoding circuitry e.g., for converting over-the-air, analog, or digital signals to MPEG signals for storage
  • Control circuitry 404 may also include scaler circuitry for upconverting and downconverting content into the preferred output format of the user equipment 400. Circuitry 404 may also include digital-to-analog converter circuitry and analog-
  • the tuning and encoding circuitry may be used by the user equipment device to receive and to display, to play, or to record content.
  • the tuning and encoding circuitry may also be used to receive guidance data.
  • the circuitry described herein, including for example, the tuning, video generating, encoding, decoding, encrypting, decrypting, scaler, and analog/digital circuitry may be implemented using software running on one or more general purpose or specialized processors. Multiple tuners may be provided to handle simultaneous tuning functions (e.g., watch and record functions, picture-in-picture (PIP) functions, multiple-tuner recording, etc.). If storage 408 is provided as a separate device from user equipment 400, the tuning and encoding circuitry (including multiple tuners) may be associated with storage 408.
  • PIP picture-in-picture
  • a user may send instructions to control circuitry 404 using user input interface 410.
  • User input interface 410 may be any suitable user interface, such as a remote control, mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard, touch screen, touchpad, stylus input, joystick, voice recognition interface, or other user input interfaces.
  • Display 412 may be provided as a stand-alone device or integrated with other elements of user equipment device 400.
  • display 412 may be a touchscreen or touch-sensitive display. In such circumstances, user input interface 410 may be integrated with or combined with display 412.
  • Display 412 may be one or more of a monitor, a television, a liquid crystal display (LCD) for a mobile device, amorphous silicon display, low temperature poly silicon display, electronic ink display, electrophoretic display, active matrix display, electro-wetting display, electrofluidic display, cathode ray tube display, light-emitting diode display, electroluminescent display, plasma display panel, high-performance addressing display, thin-film transistor display, organic light-emitting diode display, surface- conduction electron-emitter display (SED), laser television, carbon nanotubes, quantum dot display, interferometric modulator display, or any other suitable equipment for displaying visual images.
  • display 412 may be HDTV-capable.
  • display 412 may be a 3D display, and the interactive media guidance application and any suitable content may be displayed in 3D.
  • a video card or graphics card may generate the output to the display 412.
  • the video card may offer various functions such as accelerated rendering of 3D scenes and 2D graphics, MPEG-2/MPEG-4 decoding, TV output, or the ability to connect multiple monitors.
  • the video card may be any processing circuitry described above in relation to control circuitry 404.
  • the video card may be integrated with the control circuitry 404.
  • Speakers 414 may be provided as integrated with other elements of user equipment device 400 or may be stand-alone units. The audio component of videos and other content displayed on display 412 may be played through speakers 414.
  • the audio may be distributed to a receiver (not shown), which processes and outputs the audio via speakers 414.
  • the guidance application may be implemented using any suitable architecture. For example, it may be a stand-alone application wholly- implemented on user equipment device 400. In such an approach, instructions of the application are stored locally (e.g., in storage 408), and data for use by the application is downloaded on a periodic basis (e.g., from an out-of-band feed, from an Internet resource, or using another suitable approach). Control circuitry 404 may retrieve instructions of the application from storage 408 and process the instructions to generate any of the displays discussed herein. Based on the processed instructions, control circuitry 404 may determine what action to perform when input is received from input interface 410. For example, movement of a cursor on a display up/down may be indicated by the processed instructions when input interface 410 indicates that an up/down button was selected.
  • the media guidance application is a client-server based application.
  • Data for use by a thick or thin client implemented on user equipment device 400 is retrieved on-demand by issuing requests to a server remote to the user equipment device 400.
  • control circuitry 404 runs a web browser that interprets web pages provided by a remote server.
  • the remote server may store the instructions for the application in a storage device.
  • the remote server may process the stored instructions using circuitry (e.g., control circuitry 404) and generate the displays discussed above and below.
  • the client device may receive the displays generated by the remote server and may display the content of the displays locally on equipment device 400.
  • Equipment device 400 may receive inputs from the user via input interface 410 and transmit those inputs to the remote server for processing and generating the corresponding displays. For example, equipment device 400 may transmit a communication to the remote server indicating that an up/down button was selected via input interface 410.
  • the remote server may process instructions in accordance with that input and generate a display of the application corresponding to the input (e.g., a display that moves a cursor up/down). The generated display is then transmitted to equipment device 400 for presentation to the user.
  • the media guidance application is downloaded and interpreted or otherwise run by an interpreter or virtual machine (run by control circuitry 404).
  • the guidance application may be encoded in the ETV Binary Interchange Format (EBIF), received by control circuitry 404 as part of a suitable feed, and interpreted by a user agent running on control circuitry 404.
  • EBIF ETV Binary Interchange Format
  • the guidance application may be an EBIF application.
  • the guidance application may be defined by a series of JAVA-based files that are received and run by a local virtual machine or other suitable middleware executed by control circuitry 404.
  • the guidance application may be, for example, encoded and transmitted in an MPEG-2 object carousel with the MPEG audio and video packets of a program.
  • User equipment device 400 of FIG. 4 can be implemented in system 500 of FIG. 5 as user television equipment 502, user computer equipment 504, wireless user communications device 506, or any other type of user equipment suitable for accessing content, such as a non-portable gaming machine.
  • these devices may be referred to herein collectively as user equipment or user equipment devices, and may be substantially similar to user equipment devices described above.
  • User equipment devices, on which a media guidance application may be implemented, may function as a standalone device or may be part of a network of devices. Various network configurations of devices may be implemented and are discussed in more detail below.
  • a user equipment device utilizing at least some of the system features described above in connection with FIG. 4 may not be classified solely as user television equipment 502, user computer equipment 504, or a wireless user communications device 506.
  • user television equipment 502 may, like some user computer equipment 504, be Internet-enabled allowing for access to Internet content
  • user computer equipment 504 may, like some television equipment 502, include a tuner allowing for access to television programming.
  • the media guidance application may have the same layout on various different types of user equipment or may be tailored to the display capabilities of the user equipment.
  • the guidance application may be provided as a web site accessed by a web browser.
  • the guidance application may be scaled down for wireless user communications devices 506.
  • system 500 there is typically more than one of each type of user equipment device but only one of each is shown in FIG. 5 to avoid
  • each user may utilize more than one type of user equipment device and also more than one of each type of user equipment device.
  • a user equipment device may be referred to as a "second screen device.”
  • a second screen device may supplement content presented on a first user equipment device.
  • the content presented on the second screen device may be any suitable content that supplements the content presented on the first device.
  • the second screen device provides an interface for adjusting settings and display preferences of the first device.
  • the second screen device is configured for interacting with other second screen devices or for interacting with a social network.
  • the second screen device can be located in the same room as the first device, a different room from the first device but in the same house or building, or in a different building from the first device.
  • the user may also set various settings to maintain consistent media guidance application settings across in-home devices and remote devices. Settings include those described herein, as well as channel and program favorites, programming preferences that the guidance application utilizes to make
  • the same channel would appear as a favorite on the user's in-home devices (e.g., user television equipment and user computer equipment) as well as the user's mobile devices, if desired. Therefore, changes made on one user equipment device can change the guidance experience on another user equipment device, regardless of whether they are the same or a different type of user equipment device. In addition, the changes made may be based on settings input by a user, as well as user activity monitored by the guidance application.
  • the user equipment devices may be coupled to communications network 514.
  • user television equipment 502, user computer equipment 504, and wireless user communications device 506 are coupled to communications network 514 via communications paths 508, 510, and 512, respectively.
  • Communications network 514 may be one or more networks including the Internet, a mobile phone network, mobile voice or data network (e.g., a 4G or LTE network), cable network, public switched telephone network, or other types of communications network or combinations of communications networks.
  • Paths 508, 510, and 512 may separately or together include one or more communications paths, such as, a satellite path, a fiber-optic path, a cable path, a path that supports Internet communications (e.g., IPTV), free-space connections (e.g., for broadcast or other wireless signals), or any other suitable wired or wireless communications path or combination of such paths.
  • Path 512 is drawn with dotted lines to indicate that in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG.
  • paths 508 and 510 are drawn as solid lines to indicate they are wired paths (although these paths may be wireless paths, if desired). Communications with the user equipment devices may be provided by one or more of these communications paths, but are shown as a single path in FIG. 5 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.
  • System 500 includes content source 516 and media guidance data source 518 coupled to communications network 514 via communication paths 520 and 522, respectively. Paths 520 and 522 may include any of the communication paths described above in connection with paths 508, 510, and 512.
  • Communications with the content source 516 and media guidance data source 518 may be exchanged over one or more communications paths, but are shown as a single path in FIG. 5 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.
  • content source 516 and media guidance data source 518 may be integrated as one source device.
  • sources 516 and 518 may communicate directly with user equipment devices 502, 504, and 506 via communication paths (not shown) such as those described above in connection with paths 508, 510, and 512.
  • Content source 516 may include one or more types of content distribution equipment including a television distribution facility, cable system headend, satellite distribution facility, programming sources (e.g., television broadcasters, such as NBC, ABC, HBO, etc.), intermediate distribution facilities and/or servers, Internet providers, on-demand media servers, and other content providers.
  • programming sources e.g., television broadcasters, such as NBC, ABC, HBO, etc.
  • intermediate distribution facilities and/or servers Internet providers, on-demand media servers, and other content providers.
  • NBC is a trademark owned by the National Broadcasting Company, Inc.
  • ABC is a trademark owned by the American Broadcasting Company, Inc.
  • HBO is a trademark owned by the Home Box Office, Inc.
  • Content source 516 may be the originator of content (e.g., a television broadcaster, a Webcast provider, etc.) or may not be the originator of content (e.g., an on-demand content provider, an Internet provider of content of broadcast programs for downloading, etc.).
  • Content source 516 may include cable sources, satellite providers, on-demand providers, Internet providers, over-the-top content providers, or other providers of content.
  • Content source 516 may also include a remote media server used to store different types of content (including video content selected by a user), in a location remote from any of the user equipment devices.
  • Media guidance data source 518 may provide media guidance data, such as the media guidance data described above.
  • Media guidance data may be provided to the user equipment devices using any suitable approach.
  • the guidance application may be a stand-alone interactive television program guide that receives program guide data via a data feed (e.g., a continuous feed or trickle feed).
  • Program schedule data and other guidance data may be provided to the user equipment on a television channel sideband, using an in-band digital signal, using an out-of-band digital signal, or by any other suitable data transmission technique.
  • Program schedule data and other media guidance data may be provided to user equipment on multiple analog or digital television channels.
  • guidance data from media guidance data source 518 may be provided to users' equipment using a client-server approach.
  • a user equipment device may pull media guidance data from a server, or a server may push media guidance data to a user equipment device.
  • a guidance application client residing on the user's equipment may initiate sessions with source 518 to obtain guidance data when needed, e.g., when the guidance data is out of date or when the user equipment device receives a request from the user to receive data.
  • Media guidance may be provided to the user equipment with any suitable frequency (e.g., continuously, daily, a user-specified period of time, a system-specified period of time, in response to a request from user equipment, etc.).
  • Media guidance data source 518 may provide user equipment devices 502, 504, and 506 the media guidance application itself or software updates for the media guidance application.
  • the media guidance data may include viewer data.
  • the viewer data may include current and/or historical user activity information (e.g., what content the user typically watches, what times of day the user watches content, whether the user interacts with a social network, at what times the user interacts with a social network to post information, what types of content the user typically watches (e.g., pay TV or free TV), mood, brain activity information, etc.).
  • the media guidance data may also include subscription data.
  • the subscription data may identify to which sources or services a given user subscribes and/or to which sources or services the given user has previously subscribed but later terminated access (e.g., whether the user subscribes to premium channels, whether the user has added a premium level of services, whether the user has increased Internet speed).
  • the viewer data and/or the subscription data may identify patterns of a given user for a period of more than one year.
  • the media guidance data may include a model (e.g., a survivor model) used for generating a score that indicates a likelihood a given user will terminate access to a service/source.
  • the media guidance application may process the viewer data with the subscription data using the model to generate a value or score that indicates a likelihood of whether the given user will terminate access to a particular service or source.
  • a higher score may indicate a higher level of confidence that the user will terminate access to a particular service or source.
  • the media guidance application may generate promotions that entice the user to keep the particular service or source indicated by the score as one to which the user will likely terminate access.
  • Media guidance applications may be, for example, stand-alone applications implemented on user equipment devices.
  • the media guidance application may be implemented as software or a set of executable instructions which may be stored in storage 408, and executed by control circuitry 404 of a user equipment device 400.
  • media guidance applications may be client-server applications where only a client application resides on the user equipment device, and server application resides on a remote server.
  • media guidance applications may be implemented partially as a client application on control circuitry 404 of user equipment device 400 and partially on a remote server as a server application (e.g., media guidance data source 518) running on control circuitry of the remote server.
  • the media guidance application may instruct the control circuitry to generate the guidance application displays and transmit the generated displays to the user equipment devices.
  • the server application may instruct the control circuitry of the media guidance data source 518 to transmit data for storage on the user equipment.
  • the client application may instruct control circuitry of the receiving user equipment to generate the guidance application displays.
  • Content and/or media guidance data delivered to user equipment devices 502, 504, and 506 may be over-the-top (OTT) content.
  • OTT content delivery allows Internet-enabled user devices, including any user equipment device described above, to receive content that is transferred over the Internet, including any content described above, in addition to content received over cable or satellite connections.
  • OTT content is delivered via an Internet connection provided by an Internet service provider (ISP), but a third party distributes the content.
  • ISP Internet service provider
  • the ISP may not be responsible for the viewing abilities, copyrights, or redistribution of the content, and may only transfer IP packets provided by the OTT content provider.
  • Examples of OTT content providers include YOUTUBE, ETFLIX, and HULU, which provide audio and video via IP packets.
  • OTT content providers may additionally or alternatively provide media guidance data described above.
  • providers of OTT content can distribute media guidance
  • applications e.g., web-based applications or cloud-based applications
  • the content can be displayed by media guidance applications stored on the user equipment device.
  • Media guidance system 500 is intended to illustrate a number of approaches, or network configurations, by which user equipment devices and sources of content and guidance data may communicate with each other for the purpose of accessing content and providing media guidance.
  • the embodiments described herein may be applied in any one or a subset of these approaches, or in a system employing other approaches for delivering content and providing media guidance.
  • the following four approaches provide specific illustrations of the generalized example of FIG. 5.
  • user equipment devices may communicate with each other within a home network.
  • User equipment devices can communicate with each other directly via short-range point-to-point communication schemes described above, via indirect paths through a hub or other similar device provided on a home network, or via communications network 514.
  • Each of the multiple individuals in a single home may operate different user equipment devices on the home network.
  • Different types of user equipment devices in a home network may also communicate with each other to transmit content. For example, a user may transmit content from user computer equipment to a portable video player or portable music player.
  • users may have multiple types of user equipment by which they access content and obtain media guidance.
  • some users may have home networks that are accessed by in-home and mobile devices.
  • Users may control in-home devices via a media guidance application implemented on a remote device.
  • users may access an online media guidance application on a website via a personal computer at their office, or a mobile device such as a PDA or web-enabled mobile telephone.
  • the user may set various settings (e.g., recordings, reminders, or other settings) on the online guidance application to control the user's in-home equipment.
  • the online guide may control the user's equipment directly, or by communicating with a media guidance application on the user's in-home equipment.
  • users of user equipment devices inside and outside a home can use their media guidance application to communicate directly with content source 516 to access content.
  • users of user television equipment 502 and user computer equipment 504 may access the media guidance application to navigate among and locate desirable content.
  • Users may also access the media guidance application outside of the home using wireless user communications devices 506 to navigate among and locate desirable content.
  • user equipment devices may operate in a cloud computing environment to access cloud services.
  • cloud computing environment various types of computing services for content sharing, storage or distribution (e.g., video sharing sites or social networking sites) are provided by a collection of network-accessible computing and storage resources, referred to as "the cloud.”
  • the cloud can include a collection of server computing devices, which may be located centrally or at distributed locations, that provide cloud-based services to various types of users and devices connected via a network such as the Internet via communications network 514.
  • These cloud resources may include one or more content sources 516 and one or more media guidance data sources 518.
  • the remote computing sites may include other user equipment devices, such as user television equipment 502, user computer equipment 504, and wireless user communications device 506.
  • the other user equipment devices may provide access to a stored copy of a video or a streamed video.
  • user equipment devices may operate in a peer-to-peer manner without communicating with a central server.
  • the cloud provides access to services, such as content storage, content sharing, or social networking services, among other examples, as well as access to any content described above, for user equipment devices.
  • Services can be provided in the cloud through cloud computing service providers, or through other providers of online services.
  • the cloud-based services can include a content storage service, a content sharing site, a social networking site, or other services via which user-sourced content is distributed for viewing by others on connected devices.
  • These cloud-based services may allow a user equipment device to store content to the cloud and to receive content from the cloud rather than storing content locally and accessing locally-stored content.
  • a user may use various content capture devices, such as camcorders, digital cameras with video mode, audio recorders, mobile phones, and handheld computing devices, to record content.
  • the user can upload content to a content storage service on the cloud either directly, for example, from user computer equipment 504 or wireless user communications device 506 having content capture feature.
  • the user can first transfer the content to a user equipment device, such as user computer equipment 504.
  • the user equipment device storing the content uploads the content to the cloud using a data transmission service on communications network 514.
  • the user equipment device itself is a cloud resource, and other user equipment devices can access the content directly from the user equipment device on which the user stored the content.
  • Cloud resources may be accessed by a user equipment device using, for example, a web browser, a media guidance application, a desktop application, a mobile application, and/or any combination of access applications of the same.
  • the user equipment device may be a cloud client that relies on cloud computing for application delivery, or the user equipment device may have some functionality without access to cloud resources.
  • some applications running on the user equipment device may be cloud applications, i.e., applications delivered as a service over the Internet, while other applications may be stored and run on the user equipment device.
  • a user device may receive content from multiple cloud resources simultaneously. For example, a user device can stream audio from one cloud resource while downloading content from a second cloud resource. Or a user device can download content from multiple cloud resources for more efficient downloading.
  • user equipment devices can use cloud resources for processing operations such as the processing operations performed by processing circuitry described in relation to FIG. 4.
  • FIG. 6 depicts an illustrative flowchart of a process for generating for display a user interface that enables a user to view and adjust settings that are shared between applications, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.
  • Process 600 may be executed by control circuitry 404 (e.g., in a manner instructed to control circuitry 404 by the media guidance application).
  • Control circuitry 404 may be part of user equipment (e.g., which may have any or all of the functionality of user television equipment 502, user computer equipment 504, and/or wireless communications device 506), or of a remote server separated from the user equipment by way of communications network 514.
  • user equipment e.g., which may have any or all of the functionality of user television equipment 502, user computer equipment 504, and/or wireless communications device 506
  • remote server separated from the user equipment by way of communications network 514.
  • Process 600 begins at 602, where control circuitry 404 retrieves information comprising data about settings associated with a first application. For example, control circuitry 404 may retrieve the information from media guidance data source 518 by way of communications network 514. Alternatively, control circuitry 404 may retrieve the information from storage 408. At 604, control circuitry 404 determines, from the information, first settings that are shared by the first application with a second application. At 606, control circuitry 404 determines a first distance for graphically representing (e.g., on user interface 100) the first settings that are shared.
  • control circuitry 404 generates for display (e.g., on display 412) a first icon corresponding to the first application (e.g., icon 102) and a second icon corresponding to the second application (e.g., icon 114), where the first icon and the second icon are separated by the first distance (e.g., the distance illustrated in FIG. 1 between icon 102 and zone 110).
  • control circuitry 404 receives user input (e.g., by way of user input interface 410) to move the second icon (e.g., icon 114) to a second distance from the first icon (e.g., to zone 120, as illustrated in FIG. 1).
  • control circuitry 404 retrieves indicia of second settings that should be shared by the first application with an application whose corresponding icon is at the second distance from the first icon. For example, the indicia may be retrieved from media guidance data source 518 or form storage 408.
  • control circuitry 404 modifies the first settings that are shared to conform to the second settings. For example, control circuitry may adjust settings of the first and/or second applications stored in 408 or 518 to reflect the modification.
  • FIG. 7 depicts an illustrative flowchart of a process for automatically adjusting settings based on a user's frequency of interaction with a given application, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.
  • Process 700 begins at 702, where control circuitry 404 determines whether a third application that corresponds to an icon (e.g., icon 124) has been accessed, by a user, with a threshold frequency. Control circuitry 404 may retrieve the threshold, as well as the frequency of access, from storage 408 and/or media guidance data source 518. If the icon was accessed with the threshold frequency, process 700 continues to 704. If not, process 700 continues directly to 708.
  • a third application that corresponds to an icon (e.g., icon 124) has been accessed, by a user, with a threshold frequency.
  • Control circuitry 404 may retrieve the threshold, as well as the frequency of access, from storage 408 and/or media guidance data source 518. If the icon was accessed with the threshold frequency, process 700 continues to 704. If not, process
  • control circuitry 404 prompts the user (e.g., using display 410) with a selectable option to increase the settings shared between the first application (e.g., the TiVo application) and the third application (e.g., the IMDb application).
  • control circuitry 404 moves the third icon to the a corresponding zone closer to icon 102 (e.g., zone 110), and replaces a sharing of the second settings from the first application to the third application with a sharing of the first settings from the first application to the third application.
  • control circuitry 404 determines whether the third application (e.g., the IMDb application) that corresponds to the third icon (e.g., icon 124) that is within the first zone not been accessed for a threshold period of time.
  • the threshold period of time may be accessed by control circuitry 404 from storage 408 or media guidance data source 518.
  • Process 700 may continue, periodically, intermittently, or on any other schedule if control circuitry 404 determines that the threshold period of time has not lapsed since the time the third application was last accessed.
  • control circuitry 404 causes process 700 to continue to 710, where control circuitry 404 automatically moves the third icon to a next farther zone from the zone in which the icon corresponding to the third application was sitting. For example, icon 124 will be moved from zone 120 to zone 130.
  • control circuitry 404 automatically replaces a sharing of the first settings from the first application (e.g., the TiVo application) to the third application (e.g., the IMDb application) with a sharing of the second settings from the first application to the third application.
  • the first application e.g., the TiVo application
  • the third application e.g., the IMDb application
  • FIG. 8 depicts an illustrative flowchart of a process for causing settings to be shared among various applications in an efficient manner, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.
  • control circuitry 404 determines whether the user input to move the second icon to the second distance from the first icon includes an instruction to move the second icon to the first sub-zone, or to the second sub-zone. For example, if icon 114 is dragged and dropped from zone 110 to zone 120, control circuitry 404 determines whether it was dropped above or below divider 140.
  • Process 800 continues to 804 when control circuitry determines that the icon was moved to the first sub-zone, and otherwise continues to 806.
  • control circuitry 404 shares settings that are equivalent to the second settings between the second application and other applications that have icons in the first sub-zone.
  • the settings that the TiVo application shares with the Hulu application are shared by the Hulu application with the other applications with icons in zone 120 above divider 140, such as IMDb and Netflix, which are associated with icons 124 and 122, respectively.
  • control circuitry 404 refrains from sharing settings that are equivalent to the second settings between the second application and the other applications that have icons in the same sub-zone. For example, if icon 114 were moved into zone 120 below divider 140, the Hulu application would not share settings with the Facebook application (associated with icon 126, which is below divider 140 in zone 120) notwithstanding that the icons for these applications are in a same zone or subzone.
  • Each element of process 800 is described in further detail above with respect to FIG. 1, and the further description is applicable to any element of process 800 to which the further description corresponds.
  • processes 600-800 or any step thereof could be performed on, or provided by, any of the devices shown in FIGS. 1-5.
  • any of processes 600-800 may be executed by control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) as instructed by control circuitry implemented on user equipment 502, 504, 506 (FIG. 5), and/or a user equipment for selecting a recommendation.
  • control circuitry 404 FIG. 4
  • control circuitry implemented on user equipment 502, 504, 506 FIG. 5
  • one or more steps of processes 600-800 may be incorporated into or combined with one or more steps of any other process or embodiment.
  • each of FIGS. 6-8 may be used with any other embodiment of this disclosure.
  • the steps and descriptions described in relation to FIGS. 6-8 may be done in alternative orders or in parallel to further the purposes of this disclosure.
  • each of these steps may be performed in any order or in parallel or substantially simultaneously to reduce lag or increase the speed of the system or method.
  • any of the devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 1-5 could be used to perform one or more of the steps in FIGS. 6-8.
  • a computer program product that includes a computer-usable and/or readable medium.
  • a computer-usable medium may consist of a read-only memory device, such as a CD-ROM disk or conventional ROM device, or a random access memory, such as a hard drive device or a computer diskette, having a computer-readable program code stored thereon.
  • methods, techniques, and processes involved in the present disclosure may be executed using processing circuitry. For instance, determining a zone (e.g., zone 110) of user interface 100 may be performed, e.g., by processing circuitry 406 of FIG. 4.
  • the processing circuitry may be a general purpose processor, a customized integrated circuit (e.g., an ASIC), or a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) within user equipment 400, media content source 516, or media guidance data source 518.
  • a profile as described herein, may be stored in, and retrieved from, storage 408 of FIG. 4, or media guidance data source 518 of FIG. 5.
  • processing circuitry, or a computer program may update which settings are shared between applications, stored within storage 408 of FIG. 4 or media guidance data source 518 of FIG. 5.

Abstract

L'invention concerne des systèmes et des procédés permettant de déterminer des réglages qui sont partagés entre une première application et une seconde application, et de déterminer une première distance pour représenter graphiquement les réglages qui sont partagés. Les systèmes et les procédés peuvent générer pour afficher une première icône correspondant à la première application et une seconde icône correspondant à la seconde application, la première icône et la seconde icône étant séparées par la première distance. Les systèmes et les procédés peuvent recevoir une intervention d'utilisateur pour déplacer la seconde icône à une seconde distance de la première icône, et, en réponse à la réception de l'intervention d'utilisateur, peut modifier les réglages qui sont partagés entre la première application et la seconde application.
PCT/US2017/015598 2017-01-30 2017-01-30 Systèmes et procédés pour permettre un partage de réglages entre des applications sur la base d'une distance relative de placement d'icône d'application WO2018140053A1 (fr)

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