Systems and methods for operating a set top box
Features of various implementations are used to control operation of a second electronic device from a first electronic device using indirect control methods and optical character recognition. In some implementations, communication between a primary set-top box and a supplemental set-top box is configured in order to avoid the need for one or more provider-specific APIs. For example, one aspect of the disclosure is a method of identifying commands that can be used to control one or more features of a primary set-top box (e.g., DVR or VOD features) by a supplemental set-top box issuing commands to the primary set-top box via a wireless (e.g., IR) transmitter, and then using optical character recognition to identify the outcomes of those commands as displayed on a primary TV display or secondary display.
1. A computer-implemented method comprising:
at a first electronic device coupled to a display and a second electronic device, the first electronic device including one or more processors and memory:
transmitting a first command sequence to the second electronic device;
determining, based on captured display data provided by the second electronic device, whether the first command sequence was performed correctly by the second electronic device by transmitting a fingerprint of the captured display data to a server system and receiving, from the server system, the determination as to whether the first command sequence was performed correctly by the second electronic device;
in response to determining that the first command sequence was not performed correctly by the second electronic device, transmitting a second command sequence to the second electronic device; and
in response to determining that the second command sequence was performed correctly by the second electronic device, identifying a command set that includes the second command sequence as a correct command set for the second electronic device.
2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the first command sequence and the second command sequence are trial command sequences that are not known to be correct for the second electronic device.
3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising capturing the display data provided by the second electronic device in response to transmitting the first command sequence to the second electronic device.
4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , further comprising generating a fingerprint of displayed user interface elements from the captured display data.
5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4 , further comprising comparing the generated fingerprint with one or more fingerprints corresponding to a known media program, wherein the first command sequence is determined to not be performed correctly on the second electronic device based on the comparing.
6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the second electronic device provides a plurality of features and wherein the method further comprises selecting the second command sequence from a database of command sequences based on a device type of the second electronic device and the plurality of features of the second electronic device.
7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the determination as to whether the first command sequence was performed correctly by the second electronic device is based on whether the captured display data corresponds to expected media content.
8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the first electronic device further includes a microphone and wherein the method further comprises capturing, via the microphone, outputted audio content provided by the second electronic device.
9. A computer-implemented method comprising:
at a first electronic device coupled to a display and a second electronic device, the first electronic device including one or more processors and memory:
transmitting a first command sequence to the second electronic device;
determining, based on captured audio content provided by the second electronic device, that the first command sequence was not performed correctly by the second electronic device by comparing an audio fingerprint generated from the captured audio content to one or more fingerprints for expected content;
in response to determining that the first command sequence was not performed correctly by the second electronic device, transmitting a second command sequence to the second electronic device; and
in response to determining that the second command sequence was performed correctly by the second electronic device, identifying a command set that includes the second command sequence as a correct command set for the second electronic device.
10. An electronic device comprising:
a memory; and
a hardware processor that, when executing computer-executable instructions stored in the memory:
transmits a first command sequence to the second electronic device;
determines, based on captured display data provided by the second electronic device, whether the first command sequence was performed correctly by the second electronic device by transmitting a fingerprint of the captured display data to a server system and receiving, from the server system, the determination as to whether the first command sequence was performed correctly by the second electronic device;
in response to determining that the first command sequence was not performed correctly by the second electronic device, transmits a second command sequence to the second electronic device; and
in response to determining that the second command sequence was performed correctly by the second electronic device, identifies a command set that includes the second command sequence as a correct command set for the second electronic device.
11. The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the first command sequence and the second command sequence are trial command sequences that are not known to be correct for the second electronic device.
12. The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the hardware processor also captures the display data provided by the second electronic device in response to transmitting the first command sequence to the second electronic device.
13. The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein the hardware processor also generates a fingerprint of displayed user interface elements from the captured display data.
14. The electronic device of claim 13 , wherein the hardware processor also compares the generated fingerprint with one or more fingerprints corresponding to a known media program, wherein the first command sequence is determined to not be performed correctly on the second electronic device based on the comparing.
15. The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the second electronic device provides a plurality of features and wherein the hardware processor also selects the second command sequence from a database of command sequences based on a device type of the second electronic device and the plurality of features of the second electronic device.
16. The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the determination as to whether the first command sequence was performed correctly by the second electronic device is based on whether the captured display data corresponds to expected media content.
17. The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the first electronic device further includes a microphone and wherein the hardware processor also captures, via the microphone, outputted audio content provided by the second electronic device.
18. An electronic device comprising:
a memory; and
a hardware processor that, when executing computer-executable instructions stored in the memory:
transmits a first command sequence to the second electronic device;
determining, based on captured audio content provided by the second electronic device, that the first command sequence was not performed correctly by the second electronic device by comparing an audio fingerprint generated from the captured audio content to one or more fingerprints for expected content;
in response to determining that the first command sequence was not performed correctly by the second electronic device, transmits a second command sequence to the second electronic device; and
in response to determining that the second command sequence was performed correctly by the second electronic device, identifies a command set that includes the second command sequence as a correct command set for the second electronic device.
19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing computer executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method, the method comprising:
transmitting a first command sequence to the second electronic device;
determining, based on captured display data provided by the second electronic device, whether the first command sequence was performed correctly by the second electronic device by transmitting a fingerprint of the captured display data to a server system and receiving, from the server system, the determination as to whether the first command sequence was performed correctly by the second electronic device;
in response to determining that the first command sequence was not performed correctly by the second electronic device, transmitting a second command sequence to the second electronic device; and
in response to determining that the second command sequence was performed correctly by the second electronic device, identifying a command set that includes the second command sequence as a correct command set for the second electronic device.