IP Library Granted Patent US 10,455,288
Granted Patent B2
US 10,455,288 · App. 15/813,773 · Granted Oct 22, 2019

Systems and methods for adjusting the priority of media assets scheduled to be recorded

Inventors: Michael K. McCarty (Agoura Hills, CA); Glen E. Roe (Simi Valley, CA)
Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc.
H04N21/4667G06F16/24578G06F16/735G06F16/7867H04N21/4334H04N21/4335H04N21/44222H04N21/4532H04N21/4755
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,455,288
App. No.
15/813,773
Granted
Oct 22, 2019
Kind
B2
Abstract

Systems and methods are described herein for adjusting the priority of media assets scheduled to be recorded to reflect the current behavior and interests of the user. For example, a household with young children may have scheduled recordings for the DVR with a wide variety of television shows of different genres (e.g., Children's Shows, Sports Games, and Crime Procedurals) and as the children grow up, the preference may gradually shift towards other types of shows. As this shift of interest happens over time, it can be difficult or impossible for the user to change the priority of each of the media assets of the scheduled recordings each time the interests of the user changes an incremental amount.

Claims (65)

1. A method for adjusting priority of media assets based on user searches, the method comprising:

receiving a search input from a user;

searching a database of search terms to identify a search term corresponding to the search input, wherein each search term of the database (a) is a previously received search input, and (b) has a corresponding preference level stored in the database;

in response to identifying the search term corresponding to the search input:

incrementing a counter associated with the identified search term, wherein the counter represents a frequency the identified search term has been received as a search input; and

updating the preference level stored in the database for the identified search term based on a value of the counter;

retrieving a list of media asset identifiers for media assets scheduled to be recorded, wherein each media asset identifier of the list has a priority;

determining whether the identified search term matches a media asset identifier of the retrieved list of media asset identifiers; and

in response to determining that the identified search term matches the media asset identifier, automatically setting the priority of the media asset identifier to the preference level of the identified search term.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein respective media assets corresponding to the media asset identifiers of the list are scheduled, by the user, to be recorded, and wherein automatically setting the priority of the media asset identifier to the preference level of the identified search term, further comprises:

determining an available storage capacity of a device comprising storage with respect to a given period;

determining an amount of the respective media assets of the retrieved list of media asset identifiers that the user has scheduled to be recorded that corresponds to the available storage capacity;

ranking the respective media assets of the retrieved list of media asset identifiers by order of priority;

identifying a number, less than or equal to the amount, of top media assets of the retrieved list of media asset identifiers based on the ranking;

retaining, for the given period, a scheduling of the top media assets of the retrieved list of media asset identifiers; and

unscheduling a remainder of the retrieved list of media asset identifiers for recording for the given period.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein updating the preference level stored in the database for the identified search term based on the value of the counter comprises:

ranking the database of search terms by a frequency of each respective entry of the database of search terms; and

assigning to each respective entry of the database of search terms the respective preference level, wherein each respective preference level reflects a respective ranking.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining whether the identified search term matches the media asset identifier of the retrieved list of media asset identifiers comprises:

determining a first media asset associated with the identified search term in the database of search terms;

identifying a second media asset associated with the media asset identifier;

retrieving first program guide data for the first media asset and second program guide data for the second media asset;

comparing the first program guide data with the second program guide data;

in response to determining that the first program guide data corresponds with the second program guide data, determining that the identified search term matches the media asset identifier.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein automatically setting the priority comprises increasing or decreasing the priority of the media asset identifier of the retrieved list of media assets based on the preference level of the identified search term.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein comparing the first program guide data with the second program guide data comprises determining whether the first program guide data and the second program guide data share at least one of: a set of keywords, a genre, a broadcast time, a person, and a title.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein each entry of the database of search terms comprises at least one of: keywords, program titles, and related people.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

notifying the user of potential changes to the retrieved list of media asset identifiers based on the set priority;

receiving user input that indicates approval or disapproval of the set priority; and

applying the set priority to the retrieved list of media asset identifiers based on the approval or disapproval of the user.

9. A system for adjusting priority of media assets based on user searches, the system comprising:

control circuitry configured to:

receive a search input from a user;

search a database of search terms to identify a search term corresponding to the search input, wherein each search term of the database (a) is a previously received search input, and (b) has a corresponding preference level stored in the database;

in response to identifying the search term corresponding to the search input:

increment a counter associated with the identified search term, wherein the counter represents a frequency the identified search term has been received as a search input; and

update the preference level stored in the database for the identified search term based on a value of the counter;

retrieve a list of media asset identifiers for media assets scheduled to be recorded, wherein each media asset identifier of the list has a priority;

determine whether the identified search term matches a media asset identifier of the retrieved list of media asset identifiers; and

in response to determining that the identified search term matches the media asset identifier, automatically set the priority of the media asset identifier to the preference level of the identified search term.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein respective media assets corresponding to the media asset identifiers of the list are scheduled, by the user, to be recorded, wherein the control circuitry is further configured when automatically setting the priority of the first media asset identifier to the preference level of the identified search term, to:

determine an available storage capacity of a device comprising storage with respect to a given period;

determine an amount of the respective media assets of the retrieved list of media asset identifiers that the user has scheduled to be recorded that corresponds to the available storage capacity;

rank the respective media assets of the retrieved list of media asset identifiers by order of priority;

identify a number, less than or equal to the amount, of top media assets of the retrieved list of media asset identifiers based on the ranking;

retain, for the given period, a scheduling of the top media assets of the retrieved list of media asset identifiers; and

unschedule a remainder of the retrieved list of media asset identifiers for recording for the given period.

11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured when updating the preference level stored in the database for the identified search term based on the value of the counter, to:

rank the database of search terms by a frequency of each respective entry of the database of search terms; and

assign to each respective entry of the database of search terms the respective preference level, wherein each respective preference level reflects a respective ranking.

12. The system of claim 9 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured when determining whether the identified search term matches the media asset identifier of the retrieved list of media asset identifiers, to:

determine a first media asset associated with the identified search term in the database of search terms;

identify a second media asset associated with the media asset identifier;

retrieve first program guide data for the first media asset and second program guide data for the second media asset;

compare the first program guide data with the second program guide data;

in response to determining that the first program guide data corresponds with the second program guide data, determine that the identified search term matches the media asset identifier.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured when automatically setting the priority to increase or decrease the priority of the media asset identifier of the retrieved list of media asset identifiers based on the preference level of the identified search term.

14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured when comparing the first program guide data with the second program guide data to determine whether the first program guide data and the second program guide data share at least one of: a set of keywords, a genre, a broadcast time, a person, and a title.

15. The system of claim 9 , wherein each entry of the database of search terms comprises at least one of: keywords, program titles, and related people.

16. The system of claim 9 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

notify the user of potential changes to the retrieved list of media asset identifiers based on the set priority;

receive user input that indicates approval or disapproval of the set priority; and

apply the set priority to the retrieved list of media asset identifiers based on the approval or disapproval of the user.

Assignments (7)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Oct 2, 2024
From: ROVI GUIDES, INC.
To: ADEIA GUIDES INC.
Reel/Frame 069085/0715 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 23, 2018
From: MCCARTY, MICHAEL K.; ROE, GLEN E.
To: ROVI GUIDES, INC.
Reel/Frame 045115/0582 →
Continuity (2)
Continuation 14870387 · Sep 30, 2015
Related Publication 20180132001A1 · May 10, 2018
Cited By (1)
US 12,706,121