Presenting media guidance search results based on relevancy
Systems and methods for presenting search results based on relevancy in an interactive media guidance application are disclosed. After performing a user-initiated or automatic search for media content, the interactive media guidance application determines which of the hits are most relevant to the user. The guidance application then displays, or visually identifies, the relevant items. Some embodiments employ using different display arrangements based on the number of relevant items. Some embodiments display the relevant items in recommendation lists or hot lists.
1 . A method for limiting search results based on relevancy in an interactive media guidance application, comprising:
searching a database of media guidance application data for items matching search criteria;
determining whether items matching the search criteria meet a relevancy threshold; and
generating a display having, from among the matching items only those matching items determined to meet or exceed the relevancy threshold.
2 . The method defined in claim 1 wherein:
the search criteria includes key words;
each item matching the search criteria includes a plurality of words; and
the relevancy threshold comprises a defined percentage of the number of words in the item that match the key words.
3 . The method defined in claim 1 further comprising determining the relevancy threshold based on personalization data for a user of the interactive media guidance application.
4 . The method defined in claim 3 wherein the method further comprises generating the user personalization data from express user media preferences.
5 . The method defined in claim 3 wherein the method further comprises generating the user personalization data by monitoring user interactions with the interactive media guidance application.
6 . The method defined in claim 1 further comprising:
determining whether the number of items meeting the relevancy threshold meets a minimum number; and
in response determining that the number of items meeting the relevancy threshold is less than the minimum number, incrementally decreasing the relevancy threshold until the number of items meeting the relevancy threshold meets the minimum number.
7 . The method defined in claim 1 further comprising selecting the relevancy threshold from a plurality of relevancy thresholds based on the time of day, wherein each threshold of the plurality is associated with a different time of day.
8 . The method defined in claim 1 wherein generating the display comprises sorting the items in the display by relevance.
9 . The method defined in claim 1 wherein the relevancy threshold is defined in programming instructions of an interactive media guidance application.
10 . The method defined in claim 1 wherein the relevancy threshold is specified in data received by an interactive media guidance application.
11 . The method defined in claim 1 wherein the items searched for are program titles, program listings, program descriptions, or words in metadata describing scenes in a program.
12 . The method defined in claim 1 wherein the search criteria are received from a user.
13 . The method defined in claim 1 wherein the search criteria are generated by the interactive media guidance application based on personalization data for a user of the interactive media guidance application.
14 . The method defined in claim 1 wherein generating the display comprises representing the items using text, graphics, or video.
15 . The method defined in claim 1 wherein generating the display comprises generating the display having the displayed items displayed as a list, graphic mosaic, or video mosaic
16 . The method defined in claim 1 wherein the interactive media guidance application is an interactive television program guide.
17 . A method for limiting search results in an interactive television program guide, comprising:
receiving search criteria input by a user using a user input interface;
searching a program guide database for programs matching the search criteria;
determining which of the matching programs would be relevant to the user; and
generating a search results display having only the relevant results.
18 . An interactive media guidance system for limiting search results based on relevancy comprising processing circuitry configured to:
search a database of media guidance application data for items matching search criteria;
determine whether items matching the search criteria meet a relevancy threshold; and
generate a display comprising, from among the matching items, only those matching items determined to meet or exceed the relevancy threshold.
19 . The system defined in claim 18 wherein:
the search criteria includes key words;
each item matching the search criteria includes a plurality of words; and
the relevancy threshold comprises a defined percentage of the number of words in the item that match the key words.
20 . The system defined in claim 18 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to determine the relevancy threshold based on personalization data for a user of the interactive media guidance application.
21 . The system defined in claim 20 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to generate the user personalization data from express user media preferences.
22 . The system defined in claim 20 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to generate the user personalization data by monitoring user interactions with the interactive media guidance application.
23 . The system defined in claim 18 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
determine whether the number of items meeting the relevancy threshold meets a minimum number; and
in response determining that the number of items meeting the relevancy threshold is less than the minimum number, incrementally decrease the relevancy threshold until the number of items meeting the relevancy threshold meets the minimum number.
24 . The system defined in claim 18 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to select the relevancy threshold from a plurality of relevancy thresholds based on the time of day, wherein each threshold of the plurality is associated with a different time of day.
25 . The system defined in claim 18 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to sort by relevance the matching items of the display.
26 . The system defined in claim 18 wherein the relevancy threshold is defined in programming instructions of an interactive media guidance application implemented at least partially on the processing circuitry.
27 . The system defined in claim 18 wherein the relevancy threshold is specified in data received by the processing circuitry.
28 . The system defined in claim 18 wherein the items searched for are program titles, program listings, program descriptions, or words in metadata describing scenes in a program.
29 . The system defined in claim 18 wherein the search criteria are received by the processing circuitry from a user input interface device.
30 . The system defined in claim 18 wherein the search criteria are generated by the processing circuitry based on personalization data for a user of the interactive media guidance application.
31 . The system defined in claim 18 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to represent the displayed items using text, graphics, or video.
32 . The system defined in claim 18 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to generate the display having the displayed items displayed as a list, graphic mosaic, or video mosaic.
33 . The system defined in claim 18 further comprising an interactive television program guide implemented at least partially on the processing circuitry, wherein the program guide contains programming logic for configuring the processing circuitry.
34 . An interactive television program guide system comprising processing circuitry configured to:
receive search criteria input by a user using a user input device;
search a program guide database for programs matching the search criteria;
determine which of the matching programs would be relevant to the user; and
generate a search results display comprising only the relevant results.