System and method for presenting information
System and method for presenting information. In one embodiment, viewers watching behavior and/or searching habits may be tracked and used to develop a viewer profile. This view profile may then be used to target advertisements, information and/or future programming options to the viewer. Commercial items may also be targeted to the individual user based on such television viewing and/or searching habits.
1 . A method comprising:
receiving a plurality of viewer requests;
displaying content on a display device in response to at least one of said plurality of viewer requests;
communicating data representative of said plurality of viewer requests to a remote server over a network;
maintaining a viewer profile; and
updating said viewer profile based on said plurality of viewer requests.
2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving, using a client-side device coupled to said display device, broadcast content from a broadcast source and non-broadcast content over said network.
3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein said client-side device is a set-top box, the method further comprising providing a video signal to said display device by said set-top box representative of said broadcast content and said non-broadcast content.
4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising associating a client-side device, coupled to said display device, with said viewer profile using a unique identification code.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said maintaining said viewer profile comprises maintaining said viewer profile in a global viewer database stored on said remote server, said viewer profile usable to customize content that is to be provided to said client-side device.
6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining a plurality of content options based on said viewer profile; and
presenting one or more of said plurality of content options on said display device.
7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein said plurality of content options includes at least one of advertisements, commercial offers, current programming information and future programming information.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said plurality of viewer requests include one or more of a set of search criteria, broadcast content viewed, non-broadcast content requested, content selected for recording, channel changing activities, and volume adjustments.
9 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
monitoring said plurality of viewer requests by a client-side device;
transmitting data representative of said plurality of viewer requests to said remote server; and
updating said viewer profile based on said data representative of the plurality of viewer requests.
10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising submitting one or more search criteria to a client-side device using a search-enabled remote control.
11 . The method of claim 10 , displaying one or more search results on a display portion of said search-enabled remote control, wherein said one or more search results are based on said one or more search criteria.
12 . An apparatus comprising:
a processor;
an input means coupled to said processor; and
a memory coupled to said processor, said memory to include instructions sequences to cause the processor to,
process a plurality of viewer requests entered using said input means, and
transmit said plurality of viewer requests to a remote server over a network, wherein said plurality of viewer requests are used to update a viewer profile.
13 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein said apparatus is a set top box that receives broadcast content from a broadcast source and non-broadcast content over said network.
14 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein said memory further includes instructions sequences to cause the processor to provide a video signal to the display device representative of said broadcast content and said non-broadcast content.
15 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein said memory further includes instructions sequences to cause the processor to associate said viewer profile to a unique identification code.
16 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein said remote server maintains said viewer profile in a global viewer database, said viewer profile usable to customize content that is to be provided to said apparatus.
17 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein said remote server is to determine a plurality of content options based on said viewer profile, and to transmit one or more of said plurality of content options to said apparatus for display on said display device.
18 . The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein said plurality of content options includes at least one of advertisements, commercial offers, current programming information and future programming information.
19 . The apparatus of claim 21 , wherein said plurality of viewer requests includes one or more of a set of search criteria, broadcast content viewed, non-broadcast content requested, content selected for recording, channel changing activities, and volume adjustments.
20 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein said memory further includes instruction sequences to cause said processor to monitor said plurality of viewer requests and transmit data representative of said plurality of viewer requests to said remote server, wherein said remote server is to update said viewer profile based on said plurality of viewer requests.
21 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein said viewer profile is a dynamic representation of a viewer's viewing preferences which is updated based on said plurality of viewer requests.
22 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein said memory further includes instruction sequences to cause said processor to receive one or more search criteria from a search-enabled remote control.
23 . The apparatus of claim 22 , wherein said search-enabled remote control includes a display portion to display one or more results based on said one or more search criteria.
24 . A computer program product comprising:
a computer usable medium having computer program code embodied therein to display information, the computer program product having:
computer readable program code to receive a plurality of viewer requests;
computer readable program code to display content on a display device in response to at least one of said plurality of viewer requests;
computer readable program code to communicate data representative of said plurality of viewer requests to a remote server over a network;
computer readable program code to maintain a viewer profile; and
computer readable program code to update said viewer profile based on said plurality of viewer requests.
25 . The computer program product of claim 24 , further comprising computer readable program code to receive, using a client-side device coupled to said display device, broadcast content from a broadcast source and non-broadcast content over said network.
26 . The computer program product of claim 25 , wherein said client-side device is a set-top box, and the computer program product further includes computer readable program code to provide a video signal to said display device by said set-top box representative of said broadcast content and said non-broadcast content.
27 . The computer program product of claim 24 , further comprising computer readable program code to associate a client-side device, coupled to said display device, with said viewer profile using a unique identification code.
28 . The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein said computer readable program code to maintain said viewer profile comprises computer readable program code to maintain said viewer profile in a global viewer database stored on said remote server, said viewer profile usable to customize content that is to be provided to said client-side device.
29 . The computer program product of claim 24 , further comprising:
computer readable program code to determine a plurality of content options based on said viewer profile, and
computer readable program code to present one or more of said plurality of content options on said display device.
30 . The computer program product of claim 29 , wherein said plurality of content options includes at least one of advertisements, commercial offers, current programming information and future programming information.
31 . The computer program product of claim 24 , wherein said plurality of viewer requests include one or more of a set of search criteria, broadcast content viewed, non-broadcast content requested, content selected for recording, channel changing activities, and volume adjustments.
32 . The computer program product of claim 31 , further comprising:
computer readable program code to monitor said plurality of viewer requests by a client-side device,
computer readable program code to transmit data representative of said plurality of viewer requests to said remote server, and
computer readable program code to update said viewer profile based on said data representative of the plurality of viewer requests.
33 . The computer program product of claim 24 , further comprising computer readable program code to submit one or more search criteria to a client-side device using a search-enabled remote control.
34 . The computer program product of claim 33 , further comprising computer readable program code to display one or more search results on a display portion of said search-enabled remote control, wherein said one or more search results are based on said one or more search criteria.