U.S. patent application number 10/726126 was filed with the patent office on 2004-06-10 for methods and systems for notifying clients concerning electronic presentations.
Invention is credited to Omoigui, Nosakhare D..
Application Number | 20040111747 10/726126 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 31188776 |
Filed Date | 2004-06-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040111747 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Omoigui, Nosakhare D. |
June 10, 2004 |
Methods and systems for notifying clients concerning electronic
presentations
Abstract
Methods and systems for enabling users to register for
notifications pertaining to electronic presentations of interest
are described. The inventive methods and systems enable users to
monitor many different electronic presentations without physically
connecting to them for continuous play. Users can opt to monitor
for the occurrence of an electronic presentation itself, or for
events that might occur within various electronic presentations.
The events can be monitored live through the use of meta
information that is generated as the electronic broadcast is about
to be, or is being broadcast. The meta information can be generated
manually or automatically.
Inventors: |
Omoigui, Nosakhare D.;
(Redmond, WA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LEE & HAYES PLLC
421 W RIVERSIDE AVENUE SUITE 500
SPOKANE
WA
99201
|
Family ID: |
31188776 |
Appl. No.: |
10/726126 |
Filed: |
December 2, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10726126 |
Dec 2, 2003 |
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09465533 |
Dec 16, 1999 |
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6694352 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
725/58 ;
707/999.104; 707/999.107; 709/206 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 69/329 20130101;
H04L 29/06 20130101; H04L 67/325 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
725/058 ;
709/206; 707/104.1 |
International
Class: |
G06F 013/00; G06F
007/00; G06F 015/16; G06F 003/00; H04N 005/445 |
Claims
1. A method comprising: receiving source information from at least
one source of one or more television programs, the source
information describing one or more broadcast events that can occur
during a time period within which television programs are
broadcast; evaluating the source information against user
information that gives an indication of broadcast events that are
of interest to a user; and making one or more broadcast events
available to one or more users if, as a result of said evaluating,
it appears that the one or more users would be interested in said
one or more broadcast events.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more broadcast events do
not pertain to information associated with the television
programs.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of making comprises
displaying one or more broadcast events for a user.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of making comprises
recording one or more broadcast events for a user.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein said acts are performed by a
television set.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein said acts are performed by a
set-top box.
7. A method comprising: receiving source information from at least
one source of one or more television programs, the source
information describing one or more broadcast events that can occur
during a time period within which the television programs are
broadcast; evaluating the source information against user
information that gives an indication of broadcast events that are
of interest to a user; and making one or more broadcast events
available to one or more users if, as a result of said evaluating,
it appears that the one or more users would be interested in said
one or more broadcast events, said act of making being performed
independent of whether a user is operating a television on which
the television programs can be played.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein one or more broadcast events do
not pertain to information associated with the television
programs.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein said act of making comprises
recording one or more broadcast events for a user.
10. The method of claim 7, wherein said acts are performed by a
television set.
11. The method of claim 7, wherein said acts are performed by a
set-top box.
12. A method comprising: receiving user information from a user,
the user information describing one or more broadcast events that
can occur during a time period in which television programs are
broadcast; receiving source information from one or more sources of
television programs; evaluating the source information to determine
whether any of the one or more broadcast events that have been
specified by a user occur; and if one or more broadcast events
occur, making an occurring broadcast event available for a user to
watch.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein said act of making comprises
generating and sending a notification to the user.
14. The method of claim 12, wherein said act of making comprises
recording an occurring broadcast event.
15. The method of claim 12, wherein said acts of receiving source
information, evaluating and making occur independent of whether a
television on which programs can be played is turned on for playing
programs.
16. The method of claim 12, wherein said acts of receiving source
information, evaluating and making are performed by a
television.
17. The method of claim 12, wherein said acts of receiving,
evaluating and making are performed by a set top box.
18. The method of claim 12, wherein said acts of receiving source
information, evaluating and making are performed relative to a
television program that the user is not currently watching.
19. The method of claim 12, wherein said acts of receiving source
information, evaluating and making are performed relative to a
television program that the user is not currently watching and
during a time period when a different television program is playing
on a television.
20. A method comprising: receiving source information from at least
one source of one or more television programs, the source
information describing one or more subjects that can occur during a
time period within which the television programs are broadcast;
evaluating the source information against user information that
gives an indication of subjects that are of interest to a user; and
making one or more subjects available to one or more users if, as a
result of said evaluating, it appears that the one or more users
would be interested in said one or more subjects.
21. The method of claim 20, wherein said one or more subjects do
not pertain to subjects presented in the television programs.
22. The method of claim 20, wherein said one or more subjects
comprise subjects presented outside of the television programs.
23. The method of claim 20, wherein said act of making comprises
displaying information associated with one or more subjects for a
user.
24. The method of claim 20, wherein said act of making comprises
recording information associated with one or more subjects for a
user.
25. The method of claim 20, wherein said acts are performed by a
television set.
26. The method of claim 20, wherein said acts are performed by a
set-top box.
27. A method comprising: receiving source information from at least
one source of one or more television programs, the source
information describing one or more subjects that can occur during a
time period within which the television programs are broadcast;
evaluating the source information against user information that
gives an indication of subjects that are of interest to a user; and
making one or more subjects available to one or more users if, as a
result of said evaluating, it appears that the one or more users
would be interested in said one or more subjects, said act of
making being performed independent of whether a user is watching a
television program as it is being broadcast.
28. The method of claim 27, wherein said one or more subjects do
not pertain to information presented by the television program.
29. The method of claim 27, wherein said act of making comprises
recording information associated with one or more subjects for a
user.
30. The method of claim 27, wherein said acts are performed by a
television set.
31. The method of claim 27, wherein said acts are performed by a
set-top box.
32. A method comprising: receiving user information from a user,
the user information describing one or more subjects that can occur
during a time period in which television programs are broadcast;
receiving source information from a source of television programs;
evaluating the source information to determine whether any of the
one or more subjects that have been specified by a user occur; and
in an event one or more subjects occur, making information
associated with an occurring subject available for a user to
watch.
33. The method of claim 32, wherein said act of making comprises
generating and sending a notification to the user.
34. The method of claim 32, wherein said act of making comprises
recording information associated with said one or more
subjects.
35. The method of claim 32, wherein said acts of receiving source
information, evaluating and making occur independent of whether a
user is watching television programs.
36. The method of claim 32, wherein said acts of receiving source
information, evaluating and making are performed by a
television.
37. The method of claim 32, wherein said acts of receiving,
evaluating and making are performed by a set top box.
38. The method of claim 32, wherein said acts of receiving source
information, evaluating and making are performed relative to a
television program that the user is not currently watching.
39. The method of claim 32, wherein said acts of receiving source
information, evaluating and making are performed relative to a
television program that the user is not currently watching and
during a time period when a different television program is running
on a television.
Description
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation of and claims priority to
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/465,533, filed on Dec. 16,
1999, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference
herein.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present invention relates to interactive entertainment
systems, such as interactive television or interactive computing
network systems, and to electronic program guides which operate in
conjunction with these systems. In particular, the invention
relates to methods and systems for notifying clients concerning
electronic presentations that are being or are about to be
broadcast.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Television viewers are very familiar with printed
programming schedules that appear in daily newspapers or weekly
magazines, such as TV Guide.RTM.. The printed program guide lists
the various television shows in relation to their scheduled viewing
time on a day-to-day basis.
[0004] Cable TV systems often include a channel with a video
broadcast of the printed program guide. The cable channel is
dedicated to displaying listings of programs available on the
different available channels. The listings are commonly arranged in
a grid. Each column of the grid represents a particular time slot,
such as 4:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Each row represents a particular
broadcast or cable channel, such as ABC, PBS, or ESPN. The various
scheduled programs or shows are arranged within the rows and
columns, indicating the channels and times at which they can be
found. The grid is continuously scrolled vertically so that a
viewer can scan a continuously refreshing set of programs within
three or four time slots.
[0005] Newer, interactive cable distribution systems feature
electronic program guides (EPGs) which function somewhat similar to
the broadcast program listing channels described above. Rather than
scrolling automatically, however, an EPG allows a viewer to use a
remote control device to scroll as desired both horizontally and
vertically through a program grid. This functionality utilizes the
two-way communications capabilities of interactive cable
systems.
[0006] The EPG is typically implemented in software which runs on a
set-top box (STB) connected between a TV and a cable system home
entry line. When scrolling to a new column or row, the set-top box
inserts the appropriate programming information into each new row
or column. This information is either cached at the STB, or
requested from the cable system's headend.
[0007] Printed programming schedules, video broadcasts of
programming schedules and EPGs all suffer a drawback in that a user
who is interested in viewing a particular program must be diligent
in monitoring for the program of interest so that they do not miss
it. For example, a user must physically review printed or broadcast
programming schedules, as well as EPGs in order to find a
particular program of interest and the time when it is going to be
broadcast. They must then be diligent in remembering when the show
is being broadcast so that they can view it. Typically, and because
programming guides change regularly (e.g. weekly or monthly), users
must continuously consult the new programming guides to see what
shows have been scheduled for subsequent time periods. Having to
regularly and diligently consult programming guides can be
inconvenient for users and can take them away from activities where
their time might be more productively spent.
[0008] This problem is not, however, confined to the world of
television. Specifically, there are other media over which
"programs" of interest or, more broadly, "electronic presentations"
are broadcast. For example, electronic presentations can be
broadcast over a network such as the Internet and viewed on client
viewing devices such as personal computers. An example of such an
electronic presentation includes, without limitation, streaming
multimedia broadcasts (e.g. audio, video, graphical, etc.). With a
wide variety of sources of electronic presentations, it can become
a daunting task for a user to sift through all of the potential
presentations to find the ones that they want to view.
[0009] In addition, many times a user will want only to view
certain events within a particular presentation and not the whole
presentation itself. Yet, in order to view the events of interest,
a user must typically monitor the entire presentation or at least a
large portion of it. For example, a user might only be interested,
when watching a football game, in viewing third downs, touchdowns,
half time and end-of-game shows. As another example, a user might
be interested in a particular streaming multimedia conference of
CEOs of high tech companies, but may only want to hear Bill Gates
speak. If the user does not know specifically when Bill Gates is to
speak, then they may have to watch a good portion of the
presentation. As can be appreciated, having to watch an entire
presentation in order to view only those portions of particular
interest is wasteful.
[0010] Accordingly, this invention arose out of concerns associated
with improving the user experience insofar as being able to
efficiently select and view one or more electronic
presentations.
SUMMARY
[0011] Methods and systems for enabling users to register for
notifications pertaining to electronic presentations of interest
are described. The inventive methods and systems enable users to
monitor many different electronic presentations without physically
connecting to them for continuous play. Users can opt to monitor
for the occurrence of an electronic presentation itself, or for
events that might occur within various electronic presentations.
The events can be monitored live through the use of meta
information that is generated as the electronic broadcast is about
to be, or is being broadcast. The meta information can be generated
manually or automatically.
[0012] In one aspect, one or more notification servers are provided
that link various sources of electronic presentations and client
processing devices that are operated by users. The notification
server(s) manages one or more databases. The databases are used to
maintain and update user information that describes electronic
presentations that may be of particular interest to a user, as well
as source information (meta information) that describes aspects of
the electronic presentation that the source is broadcasting. The
meta information can be received fairly continuously throughout the
broadcast of a presentation so that the source information that is
maintained by the notification server can be updated. An
analysis/search engine uses the source information to search the
user information to identify users that have registered for
notifications related to the current source information. If a user
is found to have registered for a notification associated with the
current source information, the notification server generates and
sends such a notification. The user, once notified, can opt to
connect directly to the source of the electronic presentation so
that they can received a continuous feed of the presentation.
[0013] The user information that is registered with the
notification server can include many different types of data
including topical data that can describe topics of interest, key
word data that describes key words of interest, and names of
particular individuals to name just a few. Thus, a user is not
required to register for notifications based only upon the name of
a particular presentation.
[0014] Other aspects of the invention include unique user
interfaces that enable users to both register for the notifications
and track the electronic presentations that are currently being
monitored by the notification server.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] FIG. 1 is a diagram that illustrates a network system and
environment in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
[0016] FIG. 2 shows a general example of a computer that can be
used in implementation of one or more embodiments of the
invention.
[0017] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary notification
server, source and database in more detail.
[0018] FIG. 4 is a diagram of an exemplary user information
database in more detail.
[0019] FIG. 5 is a diagram of an exemplary live content database in
more detail.
[0020] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram that describes steps in a method in
accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
[0021] FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an exemplary user interface in
accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
[0022] FIG. 8 is a diagram of a display that can be rendered on a
client processing device using the user interface of FIG. 7.
[0023] FIG. 9 is a diagram of another display that can be rendered
on a client processing device using the user interface of FIG.
7.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0024] Exemplary Network Structure
[0025] Principles of the invention described below can be
implemented in connection with any suitable network that can enable
source and user information to be collected and processed as
described below. It is to be appreciated that the described
embodiment constitutes but one example and is not intended to limit
the invention to the specifically illustrated architecture.
[0026] FIG. 1 shows a network system 10 in the form of a
client/server system in accordance with one embodiment of the
invention. Generally, system 10 includes one or more client
processing devices 12 that are used by users or viewers, one or
more notification servers 14, and one or more sources 16 of
electronic presentations. The client processing devices 12,
notification servers 14, and source 16 communicate with each other
over a data communications network. The illustrated communications
network is a public network such as the Internet. The data
communications network can also include local-area networks and/or
private wide-area networks, and can include both wired and wireless
sections. Client processing devices 12, server 14, and sources 16
can communicate with one another via any of a wide variety of known
protocols.
[0027] In the context of this document, the terms "client" and
"client processing device" are intended to include, without
limitation, any form of television set, enhanced television set
(e.g. interactive TV or set-top box), computer or personal
computer, or any other type of computing device such as a hand-held
machine. The term "user" refers to an individual or entity that
uses a client processing device. The term "source" is intended to
include, without limitation, any source that can produce an
electronic presentation that can be run or viewed on any of the
exemplary client processing devices. In addition, the term
"electronic presentation" is intended to include any and all types
of electronic presentations that are capable of being run or
displayed on the exemplary client processing devices described
above. Some examples include, among others, television programs,
multimedia streaming presentations, and the like.
[0028] Client processing devices 12 are configured to generate user
information that is provided by a user. The user information gives
an indication of electronic presentations that might be of
particular interest to a particular user. The user information
might also be gathered by consulting a database that contains user
information such as user occupation, client processing device
location, and the like. The user information can include a wide
variety of information such as the titles or names of particular
electronic presentations, as well as key words or subjects that
might be of interest to a particular user. For example, a user on a
client device might be interested in viewing any electronic
presentations that discuss or are related to Bill Gates. In this
instance the user information might just include "Bill Gates" as a
subject. The user might alternately be interested in electronic
presentations that deal only with Beluga whales. In this instance
the user information might include "Beluga whales" as a subject.
Alternately, and in the case of passively gathered user information
(that is, user information that is not directly input by a user for
the purpose of determining desirable electronic presentations),
there might be a database that contains information about various
users or client device locations. For example, a user might be a
software developer and might be interested in electronic
presentations having to do with developer conferences. Further, it
might be known that a certain client device is located in the Green
Bay Wis. area. In that case, the user of the client device might be
interested in receiving notifications about Packer games. The user
information, whether provided by the user or ascertained about the
user, is collected and managed by notification server 14 in one or
more databases 18.
[0029] As sources 16 are about to begin broadcasting, or during
broadcasting of their particular electronic presentations, source
information about the respective electronic presentations is sent
to and received by the notification server 14. The source
information is preferably not the actual continuous play broadcast
of the presentation, but rather describes one or more aspects of a
particular "live" electronic presentation. This source information
can be maintained in database 18 and used as the basis of a search
of all of the registered user information. The notification server
14 evaluates the source information against the user information
and generates a notification when it appears that an electronic
presentation includes information of interest to a user. In the
described embodiment, the source information includes so-called
meta information which is essentially any type of information that
relates to a particular electronic presentation. Meta information
can have many forms. For example, meta information can include the
title or name of a presentation and statements about the content of
the presentation. Meta information can also include audio, visual,
graphic or other types of information that can be derived from an
electronic presentation. For example, scene changes in a particular
electronic presentation can be detected and rendered into meta
information that conveys the fact that a scene has changed. The
meta information can also include captured images of the electronic
broadcasts themselves. Other examples of meta information are given
below. The meta information can be rendered or generated manually
or automatically. In the manual case, an individual might observe a
broadcast and type information about the broadcast into an encoder
(e.g. "Bill Gates is speaking"). Alternately, various devices can
be used to automatically collect meta information, e.g.
screen-capturing software might intermittently capture images of a
presentation and provide them to the server 14 for display for
users who have registered for them.
[0030] In the described embodiment, notification server 14 receives
both the user and the source information and, if appropriate,
places it into a database 18. For example, in many instances it
will be advantageous to place the source information in the
database. In other instances, source information might just be
cached during searching. From there, the notification server 14 is
able to evaluate the source information and the user information
and ascertain whether any of the users need to be notified about
electronic presentations for which they have registered. An
exemplary notification server and database are described in more
detail in connection with FIG. 3 below.
[0031] Exemplary Computer System
[0032] Preliminarily, FIG. 2 shows a general example of a computer
130 that can be used in accordance with the invention. The
computer, or aspects thereof, can be used to implement the sources,
notification servers and the client processing devices.
[0033] Computer 130 includes one or more processors or processing
units 132, a system memory 134, and a bus 136 that couples various
system components including the system memory 134 to processors
132. The bus 136 represents one or more of any of several types of
bus structures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a
peripheral bus, an accelerated graphics port, and a processor or
local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. The system
memory 134 includes read only memory (ROM) 138 and random access
memory (RAM) 140. A basic input/output system (BIOS) 142,
containing the basic routines that help to transfer information
between elements within computer 130, such as during start-up, is
stored in ROM 138.
[0034] Computer 130 further includes a hard disk drive 144 for
reading from and writing to a hard disk (not shown), a magnetic
disk drive 146 for reading from and writing to a removable magnetic
disk 148, and an optical disk drive 150 for reading from or writing
to a removable optical disk 152 such as a CD ROM or other optical
media. The hard disk drive 144, magnetic disk drive 146, and
optical disk drive 150 are connected to the bus 136 by an SCSI
interface 154 or some other appropriate interface. The drives and
their associated computer-readable media provide nonvolatile
storage of computer-readable instructions, data structures, program
modules and other data for computer 130. Although the exemplary
environment described herein employs a hard disk, a removable
magnetic disk 148 and a removable optical disk 152, it should be
appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of
computer-readable media which can store data that is accessible by
a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital
video disks, random access memories (RAMs), read only memories
(ROMs), and the like, may also be used in the exemplary operating
environment.
[0035] A number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk
144, magnetic disk 148, optical disk 152, ROM 138, or RAM 140,
including an operating system 158, one or more application programs
160, other program modules 162, and program data 164. A user may
enter commands and information into computer 130 through input
devices such as a keyboard 166 and a pointing device 168. Other
input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, joystick, game
pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like. These and other input
devices are connected to the processing unit 132 through an
interface 170 that is coupled to the bus 136. A monitor 172 or
other type of display device is also connected to the bus 136 via
an interface, such as a video adapter 174. In addition to the
monitor, personal computers typically include other peripheral
output devices (not shown) such as speakers and printers.
[0036] Computer 130 commonly operates in a networked environment
using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as
a remote computer 176. The remote computer 176 may be another
personal computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device
or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of
the elements described above relative to computer 130, although
only a memory storage device 178 has been illustrated in FIG. 2.
The logical connections depicted in FIG. 2 include a local area
network (LAN) 180 and a wide area network (WAN) 182. Such
networking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide
computer networks, intranets, and the Internet.
[0037] When used in a LAN networking environment, computer 130 is
connected to the local network 180 through a network interface or
adapter 184. When used in a WAN networking environment, computer
130 typically includes a modem 186 or other means for establishing
communications over the wide area network 182, such as the
Internet. The modem 186, which may be internal or external, is
connected to the bus 136 via a serial port interface 156. In a
networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the
personal computer 130, or portions thereof, may be stored in the
remote memory storage device. It will be appreciated that the
network connections shown are exemplary and other means of
establishing a communications link between the computers may be
used.
[0038] Generally, the data processors of computer 130 are
programmed by means of instructions stored at different times in
the various computer-readable storage media of the computer.
Programs and operating systems are typically distributed, for
example, on floppy disks or CD-ROMs. From there, they are installed
or loaded into the secondary memory of a computer. At execution,
they are loaded at least partially into the computer's primary
electronic memory. The invention described herein includes these
and other various types of computer-readable storage media when
such media contain instructions or programs for implementing the
steps described below in conjunction with a microprocessor or other
data processor. The invention also includes the computer itself
when programmed according to the methods and techniques described
below.
[0039] For purposes of illustration, programs and other executable
program components such as the operating system are illustrated
herein as discrete blocks, although it is recognized that such
programs and components reside at various times in different
storage components of the computer, and are executed by the data
processor(s) of the computer.
[0040] Encoders and Notification Server
[0041] FIG. 3 shows an exemplary notification server 14, source 16,
and database 18 in more detail. Notification server 14 includes one
or more registration interfaces 20, an analysis/search engine 22
and a database controller 24 that controls and maintains database
18. Source 16 includes, in this example, an encoder 26.
[0042] It will be appreciated that encoder 26 can be a separate,
non-integral component of the source. Encoder 26 receives live
content or presentations in the form of different media streams 17.
Encoders 26 can be dedicated media servers, or alternatively other
more general-purpose computer systems. These media streams 17 can
be individual media streams (e.g., audio, video, graphical, etc.),
or alternatively can be composite media streams including two or
more of such individual streams. The media streams 17 can be
provided to the encoders on a "live" basis from other data source
components through dedicated communications channels or through the
Internet itself. The encoder can also be a human being who is
observing an electronic presentation and rendering meta information
about the presentation.
[0043] Encoders 26 coordinate the streaming of the live content to
other components on the network that request the content or
notifications thereof, such as client processing device 12. It is
to be appreciated that although the media streams are referred to
as being "live", there may be a delay (e.g., between one second and
thirty seconds) between the time of the actual event and the time
the media streams reach the encoder(s).
[0044] There are various standards for streaming media content and
composite media streams. "Advanced Streaming Format" (ASF) is an
example of such a standard, including both accepted versions of the
standard and proposed standards for future adoption. ASF specifies
the way in which multimedia content is stored, streamed, and
presented by the tools, servers, and clients of various multimedia
vendors. ASF provides benefits such as local and network playback,
extensible media types, component download, scalable media types,
prioritization of streams, multiple language support, environment
independence, rich inter-stream relationships, and expandability.
Further details about ASF are available from Microsoft Corporation
of Redmond, Wash.
[0045] Encoders 26 can transmit any type of presentation over the
network. This includes the source information that is used by the
notification server 14. Examples of such presentations include
audio/video presentations (e.g., television broadcasts or
presentations from a "NetShow.TM." server (available from Microsoft
Corp. of Redmond, Wash.)), video-only presentations, audio-only
presentations, graphical or animated presentations, etc.
[0046] Registration interface 20 is configured, in this example, to
enable collection of both user information and source information.
The collected user information is stored in database 18 in a user
information database portion 28 that can be designated for holding
only user information. The source information is collected and can
be stored in database 18 in a live content portion 30. The live
content portion 30 holds all of the source information that might
be associated with a particular electronic presentation.
[0047] Analysis/Search engine 22 performs all of the analysis and
searching that is necessary to enable appropriate notifications to
be generated and sent to a user. For example, as meta information
arrives from one or more of the sources 16, the database 18 is
updated and a search is conducted to identify all of the users, if
any, who have registered for notifications. If a particular user is
found to have registered for a notification when source information
of a particular type is detected, then an appropriate notification
is generated and sent to the user or client processing device that
requested the notification.
[0048] Exemplary Client Information Database
[0049] FIG. 4 illustrates entries in an exemplary user information
database, such as database 28 (FIG. 3) generally at 200. In the
illustrated example, four fields are provided, i.e. a client ID
field 202, a title field 204, a subject field 206, and a
descriptive information field 208. It is to be understood that this
constitutes but one example of possible entries in a user
information database. Other entries are, of course, possible.
[0050] The user information database enables a user to register for
notifications for different electronic presentations that might be
broadcast by one or more sources, and/or notifications about
particular events that might occur within one or more electronic
presentations.
[0051] The client ID field 202 holds the identification of each
client processing device or user. The identification is used when a
notification is to be sent to a user. The identification can be a
URL, email address, or any other suitable type of identification
that enables notification server 14 to send a notification to a
particular client processing device or user. In the present
example, there are four users or clients who have registered for
notifications. The clients are numbered 1 through 4.
[0052] The title field 204 holds a title of the electronic
presentation that has been indicated by a user to be of interest.
In the present example, clients or users 1, 2 and 4 have registered
for notifications regarding specific titled electronic
presentations. Specifically, client of user 1 has registered for
notifications regarding the Microsoft company meeting; client or
user 2 has registered for notifications regarding the Seahawks
football game; and client or user 4 has registered for
notifications regarding the MTV Countdown of popular songs. Client
or user 3 has not registered for any notifications that are
associated with a particular titled electronic presentation. A good
reason for this is that client or user 3 might not know the title
of a specific electronic presentation that contains information of
interest, as will become apparent just below.
[0053] The subject field 206 holds the subject of an electronic
presentation that may be of interest to a user. The subject field
gives a user the flexibility to register for notifications for
certain subjects while not necessarily requiring the user to know
the specific title of the electronic presentation. In the present
example, client or user 3 has registered for notifications
associated with the subject of an electronic presentation. Client 3
has registered for notifications regarding any electronic
presentation that deals with "Beluga whales". The electronic
presentations can come from any source. By registering for
notifications dealing with a subject and not specifically a titled
presentation, client 3 will be notified when Beluga whales are the
topic on any of the sources monitored by the notification
server.
[0054] The descriptive information field 208 holds information that
has been specified by a user as being of interest to the user. By
entering specific information in the descriptive information field,
a user will be notified when the specified events occur within the
specified electronic presentation. This can be in addition to an
initial notification that the electronic presentation is being
broadcast. For example, client or user 1 has registered for
notifications regarding the Microsoft company meeting. When the
Microsoft company meeting is broadcast, a user or client will
typically be notified of the start of the meeting. In addition,
client 1 has indicated that they are only interested in
notifications when Steve Ballmer is talking. Thus, a notification
will be generated to the client or user when Steve Ballmer is
talking. Similarly, client 2 has registered for notifications
regarding the Seahawks games. Client 2 is only interested, however,
in notifications associated with the events described in the
Descriptive Information field 208, i.e. first downs, touchdowns,
halftime, and end of game. Accordingly, notification server 14 will
monitor the meta information that is provided by the source of the
Seahawks game and generate an appropriate notification to client or
user 2 on the occurrence of the specified events. Client or user 4,
while being interested in the MTV Countdown of popular songs, is
only interested in the top two songs. Accordingly, client or user 4
has specified information in the Descriptive Information field 208
that will result in notifications only for the number 1 and 2
songs.
[0055] Exemplary Live Content Database
[0056] FIG. 5 illustrates entries in an exemplary live content
database, such as database 30 (FIG. 3) generally at 210. The live
content database 210 maintains current, up-to-the-minute
information on electronic presentations that are about to be or are
being broadcast by various sources. The live content information
that is managed in this database comes from or is associated with
all of the many sources that are monitored by the notification
server 14. In the illustrated example, four fields are provided,
i.e. a name/title field 212, a source field 214, a topic field 216,
and a descriptive information field 218. It is to be understood
that this constitutes but one example of possible entries in a live
content database. Other entries are, of course, possible.
[0057] The name/title field 212 includes the name or title of the
current electronic presentation that is being broadcast by a
source. In the illustrated example, four different sources are
being monitored for electronic broadcasts that include the
Microsoft company meeting, Wild Planet, the American League
Championship game, and the MTV Countdown. As these electronic
presentations are being broadcast, meta information is regularly
received by the notification server 14 that describes what is
taking place during the broadcast. This information is used to
continuously update the database so that client notifications can
be sent in a timely manner.
[0058] The source field 214 identifies the sources from which the
electronic presentations can be obtained.
[0059] The topic field 216 identifies the current topic of the
electronic presentation. For example, the topic currently being
discussed at the Microsoft company meeting is "Windows". Similarly,
the current topic of the Wild Planet show is "lions".
[0060] The descriptive information field 218 includes information
that describes the content of the corresponding presentation. This
information can include one or more key words describing the
presentation. For example, the descriptive information describing
the Microsoft company meeting indicates that "Bill Gates is
talking". Similarly, the descriptive information for the Wild
Planet broadcast indicates that "migration habits" and "hunting"
are currently being discussed. The descriptive information can
include any information that describes a current broadcast
including a summary or abstract of the presentation, or a textual
transcript of the presentation.
[0061] The data or information for descriptive information field
218 can be generated manually or automatically. Manual generation
refers to an individual (e.g., the presentation author) creating
the data. For example, the author may write a summary or a list of
key words for the presentation and provide them to server (either
directly or via an encoder 26).
[0062] Automatic generation refers to one of the components, such
as an encoder 26 or server 14, using any of a variety of mechanisms
to generate data describing the presentation as the presentation
occurs. For example, a conventional key word generation process may
be employed to identify key words from the presentation. This may
be carried out by an encoder 26, server 14, or some other component
coupled to the network. By way of another example, closed
captioning information may be used as the data, or a conventional
speech-to-text conversion process may be used to convert audio data
into text data.
[0063] The information maintained in the live content database 30
is used by analysis/search engine 22 (FIG. 3) to evaluate and
search user information from users of the client processing devices
12 (FIG. 1). A user provides, as part of his or her user
information, a set of criteria and which fields the criteria should
be applied to. Examples of such criteria were given above in
connection with FIG. 4. The user can provide such criteria via any
of a wide variety of conventional input mechanisms, such as a
graphical user interface (GUI), an example of which is discussed
below. In the illustrated example, the user is able to search any
of the fields in live content database 30. Analysis/search engine
22 compares the user-provided criteria to each entry (entries
212-218) in the database 30, or vice versa, to determine whether
the electronic presentation corresponding to the entry satisfies
the user criteria. Any of a variety of conventional searching
algorithms and methodologies can be used. For example, any entry
with at least one word matching one of the user criteria may
satisfy the search request, or, an entry may be required to include
every word in the search criteria in order to satisfy the search
request, etc.
[0064] Information regarding electronic presentations that
satisfies any of the user-specified criteria is provided to the
client processing device 12 of the user that placed the request.
Such information may be the entire entry from database 30 (e.g. one
or more of the row entries of FIG. 5), or alternatively, a selected
portion (e.g., the title field 212 and source field 214 for the
entry). The source field 214 is provided to the client processing
device to allow the user to subsequently request is the
presentation, for example via the client processing device, from
the appropriate source or encoder. In the illustrated example, the
data in source field 214 can comprise a uniform resource locator
(URL) that identifies a particular presentation available from a
particular encoder. A user can accordingly click a link to the URL
and be automatically connected to the presentation.
[0065] Information from each entry that satisfies the user criteria
is provided to the user and, if multiple entries satisfy each
criteria, then the user can select one or more presentations based
on this information. Alternatively, server 14 may rank the entries
based on how well they match the user criteria and return
information for only the highest ranking entry (or entries) to the
user.
[0066] In Operation
[0067] FIG. 6 shows a flow diagram that describes steps in a
notification method in accordance with the described embodiment.
Step 300 receives user information from one or more users. The user
information gives an indication of electronic presentations that
might be of particular interest to a user. The user information can
be collected in any number of ways. For example, users can
interface with a suitable notification server 14 (FIG. 1) using a
client processing device. With the client processing device, a user
can enter various criteria upon which notifications are to take
place. Alternately, there might be a database that maintains a
collection of information about particular users, e.g. user
occupation, geographical location, user viewing habits, that form
the criteria upon which notifications take place. Step 302 uses the
user information to build a user information database 28 (FIG.
3).
[0068] Step 304 monitors one or more sources of electronic
presentations. Monitoring can take place in any suitable way. In
the described embodiment, monitoring takes place through the use of
a network, such as the Internet, that connects the sources and one
or more notifications servers together. In the illustrated example,
source information is developed pertaining to the electronic
presentations that are currently being broadcast (or are about to
be broadcast) by the sources. The source information can be
received directly from a source or, alternately, from an encoder
that is associated with a source. Examples of the various types of
source information that can be received are given above.
[0069] Step 306 determines whether any source information is
received. In the described example, source information can be
received when a broadcast is about to begin, as well as throughout
the broadcast itself. The source information that is received
during the source's broadcast of an electronic presentation can
describe various events that can occur within a particular
presentation. Examples of such events were given above in
connection with FIG. 5. When source information is received, step
308 evaluates the source information against the user information.
The source information can, for example, be compared against the
user information to determine whether any of the users need to be
notified regarding one or more of the electronic presentations. If,
as a result of the evaluation of step 308, it appears that one or
more users need to be notified (step 310), then step 312 generates
and sends an appropriate notification. Any suitable notifications
can be used. The notifications contain an indication that a
particular electronic presentation that is being broadcast might
contain information of interest to the client. For example, a small
icon or flashing bulb might pop up on a client processing device.
Additionally, notifications can be sent via email, facsimile or
pager to name just a few. The function of the notification is to
attempt to inform a user that an electronic presentation has been
found that might be of potential interest to the user. In one
aspect of the invention, and in the event that a user does not
receive the notification or, has opted to record a particular
presentation, an electronic presentation that is the subject of a
notification can be automatically recorded for a user for
subsequent viewing.
[0070] In this way, information that is generated before, during
and concerning various electronic presentations from a number of
different sources can be monitored. The generated information is
processed to determine whether any of a number of different users
would be interested in viewing at least a portion of a particular
electronic presentation. In the described embodiment, the generated
information is processed by one or more notification servers 14
that compare the generated information with user information
provided by one or more users. The information concerning the
various electronic presentations can be periodically updated and
subsequently used to search the user information. Thus, users can
be continuously updated on a number of different electronic
presentations without having to physically connect to the sources
of the electronic presentations for continuous play. This is
advantageous and constitutes a much desired improvement over
previous systems and methods for a number of reasons. First, a user
can monitor many different electronic presentations on various
media (e.g. television, client/server computer system etc.) without
having to physically view each or any of them. This means that
users have a much greater breadth in the number of shows that can
be monitored. In addition, once the user information database is
established, a user can go about their business and forget that
they have even registered for notifications. The notifications are
automatically generated and sent to the user thereby alleviating
the monitoring burden from the user. Furthermore, the granularity
at which the notifications are generated are at a level that the
user can truly isolate events of interest and be notified only when
those events occur, e.g. events within a particular electronic
presentation. Other advantages will be apparent to those of skill
in the art.
[0071] User Interfaces
[0072] In one implementation, one or more user interfaces are
provided and advantageously interface with a user. The user
interfaces are configured to allow a user to both provide user
information to the notification server, and to allow the
notification server to provide information, such as monitored
source information, to a user or client processing device. The
information exchange protocol that is employed can comprise any
suitable protocol that is capable of establishing communication and
information exchange between the client processing devices 12 and
the notification server(s) 14. One protocol that has been
particularly useful in the context of a network such as the
Internet is one based upon Extensible Markup Language (XML).
Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a meta-markup language that
provides a format for describing structured data. XML is similar to
HTML in that it is a tag-based language. XML is a derivative of
Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) that provides a uniform
method for describing and exchanging structured data in an open,
text-based format. XML utilizes the concepts of elements and
namespaces. Compared to HTML, which is a display-oriented markup
language, XML is a general-purpose language used to represent
structured data without including information that describes how to
format the data for display. More recently, XML has emerged as a
desired protocol for communication between client/server
systems.
[0073] FIG. 7 shows an exemplary user interface unit generally at
400. User interface unit 400 can comprise an integral part of a
client processing device 12, or can be separate from the client
processing device. The illustrated interface unit 400 includes a
processor 402, volatile memory 404, and program memory 406. The
user interface unit has a receiver (not shown) for receiving source
information from the notification server 14. That is, as the
notification server evaluates the source information that it
receives, it generates, when appropriate, notifications for the
various client processing devices. When the server sends the
notifications, the notifications can be received by the user
interface unit and rendered into a display for the user to view. In
one implementation, the client processing device runs an operating
system 408 which supports multiple applications. The operating
system 408 is stored in memory and executes on the processor 402.
The operating system can advantageously be a multitasking operating
system which allows simultaneous execution of multiple
applications. The operating system 408 employs a graphical user
interface windowing environment which presents the applications or
documents in specially delineated areas of a display screen called
"windows."One exemplary operating system is a Windows.RTM. brand
operating system sold by Microsoft Corporation, such as
Windows.RTM. 95 or Windows.RTM. NT or other derivative versions of
Windows.RTM.. However, other operating systems which provide
windowing environments can be employed, such as the Macintosh
operating system from Apple Computer, Inc. and the OS/2 operating
system from IBM.
[0074] Registration Interface
[0075] An input application 410 is stored in the program memory 406
and executes on the processor to render a user display or
registration interface that enables a user to input information of
interest that can be used by the notification server 14 to build
and maintain its user information database 28. This information can
also be used by the notification server to conduct the appropriate
searches when it receives the source information as described
above. It will be appreciated that the input application 410 may
also be a monitoring application that monitors a user's viewing
habits and provides information to the notification server
pertaining the viewing habits. This can allow the notification
server to maintain statistics on a user's viewing habits so that
the user can be notified, when appropriate, of electronic
presentations that conform to their established viewing habits.
[0076] FIG. 8 shows an exemplary registration interface 414 that
can be rendered by input application 410 and displayed on a client
processing device 12. The interface 414 presents a number of
different selection fields that enable a user to select one or more
electronic presentations for which monitoring will take place. In
the illustrated example, the selection fields include a title field
416, a subject field 418, and a descriptive information field 420.
Other fields are possible. These fields allow a user to enter
information that pertains to electronic presentations in which they
might be interested. For example, a user can enter a title of a
particular program in the title field 416. Alternately or in
addition, a user can enter a subject in the subject field 418.
Alternately or in addition, a user can enter descriptive
information in the descriptive information field 420. This
information corresponds to the fields that are defined for the
client information database discussed above in connection with FIG.
4.
[0077] A notification method field 422 can also be provided to give
the user the ability to select the type of notification that they
are to receive. In the illustrated example, there are four types of
notification that the user can select, i.e. email, fax, pager, and
other. These selections can reference additional fields so that the
appropriate information can be entered by the user. Once all of the
information has been entered by a user, they can simply click the
"send" button which sends the information to the notification
server 14. In one implementation, the client information is bundled
up as an XML data packet that it sent to and processed by the
notification server 14. The notification server can then go about
the process of entering the information into the user information
database (FIGS. 3 and 4).
[0078] Monitoring Interface
[0079] When all of the user information has been collected and
stored for a particular user, the notification server 14 can then
begin to monitor the source information for the particular
electronic presentations that have been specified by the user. When
the notification server 14 detects an electronic presentation that
fits with user-registered information, it generates and sends a
notification to the appropriate client processing device or user.
The client processing device or user interface can then take the
notification and render it into information that is displayed for
the user.
[0080] FIG. 7 shows a monitoring table application 412 stored in
the program memory 306. The monitoring table application executes
on the processor to control the information that is ultimately
displayed for a user on their client processing device. The
information that is displayed gives indicia that is associated with
electronic presentations that have been selected by a user and that
are currently being broadcast by a source. The monitoring
application 412 enables indicia to be displayed for a user without
requiring that the selected electronic presentations be
continuously played for the user. In this way, selected electronic
presentations are automatically monitored and notifications are
generated, when appropriate, when certain presentations or portions
thereof are broadcast. The monitoring application 412 can interface
with other applications in order to receive and manage the
information that is to be displayed for the user. These other
applications can be stored in the program memory 406 and can
include various text, graphics, and image-capturing applications to
name just a few.
[0081] FIG. 9 shows an exemplary monitoring table interface 424
that can be rendered by monitoring table application 412 and
displayed on a client processing device 12. The monitoring table
interface 424 presents a number of fields that enable a user to be
informed on the status of electronic presentations for which they
have registered for notification. In the illustrated example, a
title field 426 holds the title of one or more electronic
presentations for which a user has registered. An events field 428
holds indicia of events that can occur within one or more of the
electronic presentations. This indicia can be textual, graphic,
audio and/or visual to name just a few. An image field 430 is
provided for holding captured images of an event that can occur
within one or more of the electronic presentations. For example, an
encoder can take a picture of a particular event and form a JPEG
image of the picture. The JPEG image can then be pushed to the
notification server which, in turn, can provide the image to those
clients that have registered for a presentation that is associated
with the image. The JPEG image can be displayed in the image field
430 so that a user can keep updated on the status of the
presentation without being physically connected to the source of
the presentation for continuous viewing.
[0082] In addition, a number of tabs 432 are provided and enable a
user to click through various information displays. In the
illustrated example, four such tabs are provided and include a
"Now" tab, a "Rec." tab (for "Recorded), a "Future"tab, and a
"Reg." tab ( for "Registered"). The "Now" tab enables a user to
access what is currently being monitored by the notification server
14. This might include all of the electronic presentations that are
being monitored, in addition to the ones that are the subject of
the current user's registrations. The "Rec." tab allows a user to
access a list of electronic presentations that might have been
recorded for the user. For example, if a user notification is sent
to a user, but is not acknowledged, the user may have set a default
"record" setting that provides for the presentation to be recorded
for future viewing. The "Future" tab allows a user to access a list
of presentations/events that have been registered for by the user
for some time in the future. The user can then be given the
opportunity to edit their choices such as by unregistering for
certain presentations or events, or by changing the parameters
associated with one or more presentation or event. The "Reg." tab
allows a user to access a list of presentations and events that
they are currently registered for, and which are currently being
broadcast. In the present example, two presentations for which the
user has registered are currently being broadcast, i.e. Wild Planet
and MTV Countdown. In the case of the Wild Planet presentation, the
current event is "lions" and their migration habits. Recall that in
the FIG. 4 example, the user registered for notification in such an
instance where Beluga whales were the topic of the Wild Planet
presentation. In this instance, no notification would be generated
and sent to the user by the notification server 14. With respect to
the MTV Countdown presentation, the "event" field indicates that
the countdown is currently on the No. 6 song and that Madonna is
artist. When the countdown reaches the number 2 song, a
notification will be generated and sent by the notification server
to the user. This can be the case even though the user may have
their user interface 424 pulled up.
[0083] Various aspects of the invention provide an interactive,
robust user tool that enables a user to register for notifications
pertaining to many different electronic presentations that can
originate from many different sources. Users can adjust the
granularity at which the notifications occur by registering for
certain events that might occur during an electronic presentation.
Novel use of real time meta information (source information) is
made to enable various electronic presentations to be monitored
live or in real time so that timely notifications can be sent to
those users who have registered for certain events. Users can thus
have many different electronic presentations monitored without
having to physically connect to the sources for continuous play.
Source information can include information that is pulled from
various sources or information that is pushed from various
sources.
[0084] Although the invention has been described in language
specific to structural features and/or methodological steps, it is
to be understood that the invention defined in the appended claims
is not necessarily limited to the specific features or steps
described. Rather, the specific features and steps are disclosed as
preferred forms of implementing the claimed invention.
* * * * *