IP Library Granted Patent US 11,622,162
Granted Patent B2
US 11,622,162 · App. 17/470,428 · Granted Apr 4, 2023

Determining points of interest in a content item

Inventors: Galen Trevor Gattis (Sunnyvale, CA); Leslie Chapman (Philadelphia, PA); Hong Kwon (Sunnyvale, CA); Jennifer Metz (Haverford, PA)
Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications, LLC
H04N21/8455H04L51/52H04N21/2353H04N21/2407H04N21/26258H04N21/4725H04N21/4788H04N21/4825H04N21/8456
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,622,162
App. No.
17/470,428
Granted
Apr 4, 2023
Kind
B2
Abstract

Aspects discussed herein relate to systems, apparatuses, and methods to identify points of interest of viewers of a content item concurrently being transmitted in a linear stream to the viewers. A point of interest may refer to a segment of the content item that caused a surge in user reactions. During a subsequent transmission of the content item, identified points of interests may be displayed to the viewer. The viewer may select the point of interest in the content item to begin playback of the point of interest in the content item.

Claims (56)

1. A method comprising:

sending, by a computing device, a content item;

determining a plurality of messages that relate to the content item and that were sent, by a plurality of users associated with the content item, to one or more service providers;

determining a quantity of one or more messages of the plurality of messages;

determining, based on the quantity satisfying a threshold, a segment of the content item associated with a point of interest; and

causing, during playback of the content item, output of an indication of the segment associated with the point of interest, wherein the indication of the segment is overlaid on the content item.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

during playback of the segment, causing output of one or more messages, of the plurality of messages, relating to the segment.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

during playback of the segment, causing output of a message, of the plurality of messages, at a time of the segment corresponding to when the message was sent by a user.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining the segment comprises:

determining one or more attributes of the point of interest; and

storing, in a memory, the one or more attributes of the point of interest and one or more messages of the plurality of messages.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the indication comprises a user-selectable icon, of a playback timeline associated with the content item, representing the point of interest.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

modifying, based on user input, a start time of the segment.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining the segment comprises:

determining, based on comparing content of the plurality of messages with captioning data of the content item, a start time of the segment.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the indication visually distinguishes a duration of the segment from a duration of the content item.

9. An apparatus comprising:

one or more processors; and

memory storing computer executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to:

send a content item;

determine a plurality of messages that relate to the content item and that were sent, by a plurality of users associated with the content item, to one or more service providers;

determine a quantity of one or more messages of the plurality of messages;

determine, based on the quantity satisfying a threshold, a segment of the content item associated with a point of interest; and

cause, during playback of the content item, output of an indication of the segment associated with the point of interest, wherein the indication of the segment is overlaid on the content item.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to:

during playback of the segment, cause output of a message, of the plurality of messages, at a time of the segment corresponding to when the message was sent by a user.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to determine the segment by causing:

determining one or more attributes of the point of interest; and

storing, in a memory, the one or more attributes of the point of interest and one or more messages of the plurality of messages.

12. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the indication comprises a user-selectable icon, of a playback timeline associated with the content item, representing the point of interest.

13. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to:

modify, based on input from a user, a start time of the segment.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to modify the start time of the segment by causing:

determining, for each of one or more users of the plurality of users, a time to which the user at least rewound or fast-forwarded the segment; and

setting the start time to an average of the determined times.

15. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to determine the segment by causing:

determining, based on comparing content of the plurality of messages with captioning data of the content item, a start time of the segment.

16. One or more non-transitory computer readable media storing instructions that, when executed cause:

sending a content item;

determining a plurality of messages that relate to the content item and that were sent, by a plurality of users associated with the content item, to one or more service providers;

determining a quantity of one or more messages of the plurality of messages;

determining, based on the quantity satisfying a threshold, a segment of the content item associated with a point of interest; and

causing, during playback of the content item, output of an indication of the segment associated with the point of interest, wherein the indication of the segment is overlaid on the content item.

17. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media of claim 16 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause:

during playback of the segment, causing output of a message, of the plurality of messages, at a time of the segment corresponding to when the message was sent by a user.

18. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media of claim 16 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause determining the segment by causing:

determining one or more attributes of the point of interest; and

storing, in a memory, the one or more attributes of the point of interest and one or more messages of the plurality of messages.

19. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media of claim 16 , wherein the indication comprises a user-selectable icon, of a playback timeline associated with the content item, representing the point of interest.

20. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media of claim 16 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause:

modifying, based on user input, a start time of the segment.

21. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media of claim 16 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause determining the segment by causing:

determining, based on comparing content of the plurality of messages with captioning data of the content item, a start time of the segment.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 29, 2022
From: GATTIS, GALEN T; KWON, HONG; METZ, JENNIFER; CHAPMAN, LESLIE
To: COMCAST CABLE COMMUNICATIONS, LLC
Reel/Frame 060349/0028 →
Continuity (2)
Continuation 15060438 · Mar 3, 2016
Related Publication 20210409838A1 · Dec 30, 2021