IP Library › Granted Patent US 8,381,249
Granted Patent B2
US 8,381,249 · App. 11/641,976 · Granted Feb 19, 2013

Systems and methods for acquiring, categorizing and delivering media in interactive media guidance applications

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 8,381,249
App. No.
11/641,976
Granted
Feb 19, 2013
Kind
B2
Abstract

Systems and methods are discussed for providing guidance for Internet-delivered media. In some embodiments, information on available media on the Internet is gathered. The information is associated with existing media guidance data. The associations enable a media guidance application to identify relevant online media and to display listings in a user-friendly way. A user interface for an online media guidance application is also provided. The user interface allows a user to narrow down the large amount of Internet-delivered media in a systematic way according to criteria that interests a user.

Claims (152)

1. A method for providing guidance for videos on the Internet, comprising:

accessing a plurality of Internet sites to identify videos provided by the Internet sites;

storing metadata from the Internet sites for each of the identified videos;

associating guidance application data from a guidance application database with the metadata for each of the identified videos;

generating a media display indicating to a user each video of a subset of the identified videos, wherein the media display includes the guidance application data associated with each indicated video;

in response to the user selecting a first category from a plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories, displaying a first window in which a first plurality of selectable criteria elements of the first category are displayed simultaneously with the media display, wherein:

the plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories are arranged according to a first pre-selected user preference, wherein the first pre-selected user preference is customized by the user in advance of the displaying of the first window;

in response to the user selecting a second category from the plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories, displaying a second window in which a second plurality of selectable criteria elements of the second category are displayed simultaneously with the media display, wherein:

the displayed second plurality of selectable criteria elements are limited in response to a selected criteria element of the first plurality of selectable criteria elements; and

the subset of the videos indicated in the media display are selected according to the criteria element of the first plurality of selectable criteria elements that is selected by the user and a criteria element of the second plurality of selectable criteria elements that is selected by the user; and

in response to the user selecting said criteria element of the second plurality of selectable criteria elements, displaying a third window in which one or more recommended videos from the plurality of accessed Internet sites is displayed simultaneously with the media display, wherein:

the one or more recommended videos is selected according to a second pre-selected user preference.

2. The method defined in claim 1 wherein the Internet sites comprise web sites.

3. The method defined in claim 1 further comprising closing the first window of selectable criteria elements in response to the user selecting the second of a plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories.

4. The method defined in claim 1 wherein:

the method further comprises receiving a user's selection of the selectable criteria element of the first criteria category; and

limiting the criteria elements of the second window to criteria elements met by videos that also meet the criteria element of the first category selected by the user.

5. The method defined in claim 1 wherein the indicated videos are arranged in a video mosaic.

6. The method defined in claim 5 wherein the indicated videos of the mosaic change as the user selects criteria elements.

7. The method defined in claim 5 wherein:

the media display indicates each video using a frame from each video; and

the method further comprises redirecting the user to the Internet site that provides the video of the selected frame in response to the user selecting a frame.

8. The method defined in claim 1 further comprising displaying the number of videos meeting the criteria elements selected by the user.

9. The method defined in claim 1 wherein the criteria categories comprise genre, channel and video title.

10. The method defined in claim 1 wherein the guidance application data of the display comprises program descriptions, editorial comments, media content related to the videos, or links to Internet sites providing media content related to the indicated videos.

11. The method defined in claim 1 wherein the display is provided by an interactive program guide.

12. A system for providing guidance for videos on the Internet, comprising:

communication circuitry;

storage; and

processing circuitry configured to:

access a plurality of Internet sites using the communication circuitry to identify videos provided by the Internet sites;

store metadata from the Internet sites in the storage for each of the identified videos;

associate guidance application data from a guidance application database with the metadata for each of the identified videos;

generate a media display indicating each video of a subset of the identified videos, wherein the media display includes the guidance application data associated with each indicated video;

in response to the user selecting a first category from a plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories, display a first window in which a first plurality of selectable criteria elements of the first category are displayed simultaneously with the media display, wherein:

the plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories are arranged according to a first pre-selected user preference, wherein the first pre-selected user preference is customized by the user in advance of the displaying of the first window;

in response to the user selecting a second category from the plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories, display a second window in which a second plurality of selectable criteria elements of the second category are displayed simultaneously with the media display, wherein:

the displayed second plurality of selectable criteria elements are limited in response to a selected criteria element of the first plurality of selectable criteria elements; and

the subset of the videos indicated in the media display are selected according to the criteria element of the first plurality of selectable criteria elements that is selected by the user and a criteria element of the second plurality of selectable criteria elements that is selected by the user; and

in response to the user selecting said criteria element of the second plurality of selectable criteria elements, display a third window in which one or more recommended videos from the plurality of accessed Internet sites is displayed simultaneously with the media display, wherein:

the one or more recommended videos is selected according to a second pre-selected user preference.

13. The system defined in claim 12 wherein the Internet sites comprise web sites.

14. The system defined in claim 12 further comprising closing the first window of selectable criteria elements in response to the user selecting the second of a plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories.

15. The system defined in claim 12 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

receive a user's selection of the selectable criteria element of the first criteria category; and

limit the criteria elements of the second window to criteria elements met by videos that also meet the criteria element of the first category selected by the user.

16. The system defined in claim 12 wherein the indicated videos are arranged in a video mosaic.

17. The system defined in claim 16 wherein the indicated videos of the mosaic change as the user selects criteria elements.

18. The system defined in claim 16 wherein:

the display indicates each video using a frame from each video; and

the processing circuitry is further configured to redirect the user to the Internet site that provides the video of a frame in response to the user selecting the frame.

19. The system defined in claim 12 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to display the number of videos meeting the criteria elements selected by the user.

20. The system defined in claim 12 wherein the criteria categories comprise genre, channel and video title.

21. The system defined in claim 12 wherein the guidance application data of the display comprises program descriptions, editorial comments, media content related to the videos, or links to Internet sites providing media content related to the indicated videos.

22. The system defined in claim 12 wherein the processing circuitry is configured by instructions of an interactive program guide.

23. The method defined in claim 1 further comprising:

allowing the user to select at least two different criteria elements of the first plurality of selectable criteria elements;

wherein the subset of the videos indicated in the media display are selected according to the at least two different criteria elements selected by the user.

24. The method defined in claim 1 further comprising:

displaying the plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories in a list; and

allowing the user to select the first and second categories from the list.

25. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories are arranged in an order according to a profile of the user.

26. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the first and second windows are hidden from display; and

the first and second windows are revealed as a result of the user selection of the respective first and second categories.

27. The system defined in claim 12 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

allow the user to select at least two different criteria elements of the first plurality of selectable criteria elements;

wherein the subset of the videos indicated in the media display are selected according to the at least two different criteria elements selected by the user.

28. The system defined in claim 12 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

display the plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories in a list; and

allow the user to select the first and second categories from the list.

29. The system of claim 12 , wherein the plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories are arranged in an order according to a profile of the user.

30. The system of claim 12 , wherein:

the first and second windows are hidden from display; and

the first and second windows are revealed as a result of the user selection of the respective first and second categories.

31. A method for providing guidance for videos on the Internet, comprising:

accessing a plurality of Internet sites to identify videos provided by the Internet sites;

storing metadata from the Internet sites for each of the identified videos;

associating guidance application data from a guidance application database with the metadata for each of the identified videos;

generating a media display indicating to a user each video of a subset of the identified videos, wherein the media display includes the guidance application data associated with each indicated video;

in response to the user selecting a first category from a plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories, displaying a first window in which a first plurality of selectable criteria elements of the first category are displayed simultaneously with the media display, wherein:

the plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories are arranged according to a pre-selected user preference, wherein the pre-selected user preference is customized by the user in advance of the displaying of the first window;

in response to the user selecting a second category from the plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories, displaying a second window in which a second plurality of selectable criteria elements of the second category are displayed simultaneously with the media display, wherein:

the displayed second plurality of selectable criteria elements are limited in response to a selected criteria element of the first plurality of selectable criteria elements; and

the subset of the videos indicated in the media display are selected according to the criteria element of the first plurality of selectable criteria elements that is selected by the user and a criteria element of the second plurality of selectable criteria elements that is selected by the user; and

in response to the user selecting said criteria element of the second plurality of selectable criteria elements, displaying a third window in which one or more recommended videos from the plurality of accessed Internet sites is displayed simultaneously with the media display, wherein:

the one or more recommended videos is selected according to said criteria element of the first plurality of selectable criteria elements and said criteria element of the second plurality of selectable criteria elements.

32. A method for providing guidance for videos on the Internet, comprising:

accessing a plurality of Internet sites to identify videos provided by the Internet sites;

storing metadata from the Internet sites for each of the identified videos;

associating guidance application data from a guidance application database with the metadata for each of the identified videos;

generating a media display indicating to a user each video of a subset of the identified videos, wherein the media display includes the guidance application data associated with each indicated video;

in response to the user selecting a first category from a plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories, displaying a first window in which a first plurality of selectable criteria elements of the first category are displayed simultaneously with the media display, wherein:

the plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories are arranged according to a first pre-selected user preference, wherein the first pre-selected user preference is customized by the user in advance of the displaying of the first window; and

in response to the user selecting a second category from the plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories, displaying a second window in which a second plurality of selectable criteria elements of the second category are displayed simultaneously with the media display, wherein:

the displayed second plurality of selectable criteria elements are limited in response to a selected criteria element of the first plurality of selectable criteria elements; and

the subset of the videos indicated in the media display are selected according to the criteria element of the first plurality of selectable criteria elements that is selected by the user and a criteria element of the second plurality of selectable criteria elements that is selected by the user, wherein:

the selected subset of videos indicated in the media display is further limited by a second pre-selected user preference.

33. A method for providing guidance for videos on the Internet, comprising:

accessing a plurality of Internet sites to identify videos provided by the Internet sites;

storing metadata from the Internet sites for each of the identified videos;

associating guidance application data from a guidance application database with the metadata for each of the identified videos;

generating a media display indicating to a user each video of a subset of the identified videos, wherein the media display includes the guidance application data associated with each indicated video;

in response to the user selecting a first category from a plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories, displaying a first window in which a first plurality of selectable criteria elements of the first category are displayed simultaneously with the media display, wherein:

the plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories are arranged according to a pre-selected user preference, wherein the pre-selected user preference is customized by the user in advance of the displaying of the first window; and

in response to the user selecting a second category from the plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories, displaying a second window in which a second plurality of selectable criteria elements of the second category are displayed simultaneously with the media display, wherein:

the displayed second plurality of selectable criteria elements are limited in response to a selected criteria element of the first plurality of selectable criteria elements; and

the subset of the videos indicated in the media display are selected according to the criteria element of the first plurality of selectable criteria elements that is selected by the user and a criteria element of the second plurality of selectable criteria elements that is selected by the user, wherein:

the selected subset of videos indicated in the media display is further limited by a specified range of video lengths or a specified date range.

34. A system for providing guidance for videos on the Internet, comprising:

communication circuitry;

storage; and

processing circuitry configured to:

access a plurality of Internet sites using the communication circuitry to identify videos provided by the Internet sites;

store metadata from the Internet sites in the storage for each of the identified videos;

associate guidance application data from a guidance application database with the metadata for each of the identified videos;

generate a media display indicating each video of a subset of the identified videos, wherein the media display includes the guidance application data associated with each indicated video;

in response to the user selecting a first category from a plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories, display a first window in which a first plurality of selectable criteria elements of the first category are displayed simultaneously with the media display, wherein:

the plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories are arranged according to a pre-selected user preference, wherein the pre-selected user preference is customized by the user in advance of the displaying of the first window;

in response to the user selecting a second category from the plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories, display a second window in which a second plurality of selectable criteria elements of the second category are displayed simultaneously with the media display, wherein:

the displayed second plurality of selectable criteria elements are limited in response to a selected criteria element of the first plurality of selectable criteria elements; and

the subset of the videos indicated in the media display are selected according to the criteria element of the first plurality of selectable criteria elements that is selected by the user and a criteria element of the second plurality of selectable criteria elements that is selected by the user; and

in response to the user selecting said criteria element of the second plurality of selectable criteria elements, display a third window in which one or more recommended videos from the plurality of accessed Internet sites is displayed simultaneously with the media display, wherein:

the one or more recommended videos is selected according to said criteria element of the first plurality of selectable criteria elements and said criteria element of the second plurality of selectable criteria elements.

35. A system for providing guidance for videos on the Internet, comprising:

communication circuitry;

storage; and

processing circuitry configured to:

access a plurality of Internet sites using the communication circuitry to identify videos provided by the Internet sites;

store metadata from the Internet sites in the storage for each of the identified videos;

associate guidance application data from a guidance application database with the metadata for each of the identified videos;

generate a media display indicating each video of a subset of the identified videos, wherein the media display includes the guidance application data associated with each indicated video;

in response to the user selecting a first category from a plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories, display a first window in which a first plurality of selectable criteria elements of the first category are displayed simultaneously with the media display, wherein:

the plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories are arranged according to a first pre-selected user preference, wherein the first pre-selected user preference is customized by the user in advance of the displaying of the first window; and

in response to the user selecting a second category from the plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories, display a second window in which a second plurality of selectable criteria elements of the second category are displayed simultaneously with the media display, wherein:

the displayed second plurality of selectable criteria elements are limited in response to a selected criteria element of the first plurality of selectable criteria elements; and

the subset of the videos indicated in the media display are selected according to the criteria element of the first plurality of selectable criteria elements that is selected by the user and a criteria element of the second plurality of selectable criteria elements that is selected by the user, wherein:

the selected subset of videos indicated in the media display is further limited by a second pre-selected user preference.

36. A system for providing guidance for videos on the Internet, comprising:

communication circuitry;

storage; and

processing circuitry configured to:

access a plurality of Internet sites using the communication circuitry to identify videos provided by the Internet sites;

store metadata from the Internet sites in the storage for each of the identified videos;

associate guidance application data from a guidance application database with the metadata for each of the identified videos;

generate a media display indicating each video of a subset of the identified videos, wherein the media display includes the guidance application data associated with each indicated video;

in response to the user selecting a first category from a plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories, display a first window in which a first plurality of selectable criteria elements of the first category are displayed simultaneously with the media display, wherein:

the plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories are arranged according to a pre-selected user preference, wherein the pre-selected user preference is customized by the user in advance of the displaying of the first window; and

in response to the user selecting a second category from the plurality of scope narrowing criteria categories, display a second window in which a second plurality of selectable criteria elements of the second category are displayed simultaneously with the media display, wherein:

the displayed second plurality of selectable criteria elements are limited in response to a selected criteria element of the first plurality of selectable criteria elements; and

the subset of the videos indicated in the media display are selected according to the criteria element of the first plurality of selectable criteria elements that is selected by the user and a criteria element of the second plurality of selectable criteria elements that is selected by the user, wherein:

the selected subset of videos indicated in the media display is further limited by a specified range of video lengths or a specified date range.

Assignments (16)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Oct 2, 2024
From: ROVI GUIDES, INC.
To: ADEIA GUIDES INC.
Reel/Frame 069085/0198 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jun 5, 2020
From: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC.
To: ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION; ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION; ROVI GUIDES, INC.; TIVO SOLUTIONS, INC.; VEVEO, INC.
Reel/Frame 053481/0790 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jun 5, 2020
From: HPS INVESTMENT PARTNERS, LLC
To: ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION; ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION; ROVI GUIDES, INC.; TIVO SOLUTIONS, INC.; VEVEO, INC.
Reel/Frame 053458/0749 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jun 1, 2020
From: ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION; ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION; ROVI GUIDES, INC.; TIVO SOLUTIONS INC.; VEVEO, INC.; INVENSAS CORPORATION; INVENSAS BONDING TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; TESSERA, INC.; TESSERA ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DTS, INC.; PHORUS, INC.; IBIQUITY DIGITAL CORPORATION
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.
Reel/Frame 053468/0001 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Nov 25, 2019
From: ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION; ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION; ROVI GUIDES, INC.; TIVO SOLUTIONS, INC.; VEVEO, INC.
To: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 051110/0006 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENT RIGHTS Recorded Nov 25, 2019
From: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: APTIV DIGITAL INC.; GEMSTAR DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION; INDEX SYSTEMS INC.; ROVI GUIDES, INC.; ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION; ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION; SONIC SOLUTIONS LLC; STARSIGHT TELECAST, INC.; UNITED VIDEO PROPERTIES, INC.; VEVEO, INC.
Reel/Frame 051145/0090 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Nov 22, 2019
From: ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION; ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION; ROVI GUIDES, INC.; TIVO SOLUTIONS, INC.; VEVEO, INC.
To: HPS INVESTMENT PARTNERS, LLC, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 051143/0468 →
MERGER Recorded Jan 13, 2015
From: TV GUIDE, INC.
To: ROVI GUIDES, INC.
Reel/Frame 034698/0134 →
MERGER Recorded Jan 13, 2015
From: UNITED VIDEO PROPERTIES, INC.
To: UV CORP.
Reel/Frame 034760/0037 →
MERGER Recorded Jan 13, 2015
From: UV CORP.
To: TV GUIDE, INC.
Reel/Frame 034760/0100 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Jul 24, 2014
From: APTIV DIGITAL, INC.; GEMSTAR DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION; INDEX SYSTEMS INC.; ROVI GUIDES, INC.; ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION; ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION; SONIC SOLUTIONS LLC; STARSIGHT TELECAST, INC.; UNITED VIDEO PROPERTIES, INC.; VEVEO, INC.
To: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 033407/0035 →
PATENT RELEASE Recorded Jul 24, 2014
From: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: ALL MEDIA GUIDE, LLC; APTIV DIGITAL, INC.; GEMSTAR DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION; INDEX SYSTEMS INC.; ROVI CORPORATION; ROVI GUIDES, INC.; ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION; ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION; STARSIGHT TELECAST, INC.; TV GUIDE INTERNATIONAL, INC.; UNITED VIDEO PROPERTIES, INC.
Reel/Frame 033396/0001 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Sep 13, 2011
From: APTIV DIGITAL, INC., A DELAWARE CORPORATION; GEMSTAR DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, A CALIFORNIA CORPORATION; INDEX SYSTEMS INC, A BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS COMPANY; ROVI CORPORATION, A DELAWARE CORPORATION; ROVI GUIDES, INC., A DELAWARE CORPORATION; ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION, A DELAWARE CORPORATION; ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, A DELAWARE CORPORATION; STARSIGHT TELECAST, INC., A CALIFORNIA CORPORATION; UNITED VIDEO PROPERTIES, INC., A DELAWARE CORPORATION
To: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 027039/0168 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Oct 29, 2010
From: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A. (A NATIONAL ASSOCIATION)
To: ALL MEDIA GUIDE, LLC; APTIV DIGITAL, INC.; GEMSTAR DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION; INDEX SYSTEMS INC.; ODS PROPERTIES, INC.; ROVI DATA SOLUTIONS, INC. (FORMERLY KNOWN AS TV GUIDE DATA SOLUTIONS, INC.); ROVI GUIDES, INC. (FORMERLY KNOWN AS GEMSTAR-TV GUIDE INTERNATIONAL, INC.); ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION (FORMERLY KNOWN AS MACROVISION CORPORATION); ROVI SOLUTIONS LIMITED (FORMERLY KNOWN AS MACROVISION EUROPE LIMITED); ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION; STARSIGHT TELECAST, INC.; TV GUIDE, INC.; TV GUIDE ONLINE, LLC; UNITED VIDEO PROPERTIES, INC.
Reel/Frame 025222/0731 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded May 15, 2008
From: APTIV DIGITAL, INC.; GEMSTAR DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION; GEMSTAR-TV GUIDE INTERNATIONAL, INC.; INDEX SYSTEMS INC; MACROVISION CORPORATION; ODS PROPERTIES, INC.; STARSIGHT TELECAST, INC.; TV GUIDE ONLINE, LLC; UNITED VIDEO PROPERTIES, INC.
To: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.
Reel/Frame 020986/0074 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 18, 2006
From: RASANEN, KIRSTEN; BRYANT, JAY S.
To: UNITED VIDEO PROPERTIES, INC.
Reel/Frame 018706/0483 →