U.S. patent application number 11/324183 was filed with the patent office on 2007-07-05 for systems and methods for creating aggregations of episodes of series programming in order.
This patent application is currently assigned to United Video Properties, Inc.. Invention is credited to Charles Cordray.
Application Number | 20070154163 11/324183 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38224516 |
Filed Date | 2007-07-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070154163 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Cordray; Charles |
July 5, 2007 |
Systems and methods for creating aggregations of episodes of series
programming in order
Abstract
A viewer of an episode of a series such as a television series
may wish to access episodes of the series that the viewer missed
when they were originally broadcast. Interactive applications may
receive the viewer's indication of interest to record missed
episodes of the incomplete series, which may include instructions
regarding recording options for including the missed episodes in a
series aggregation. Interactive applications may identify the
episodes to be included in the series aggregation, and record the
missed episodes, which may then be stored and organized to create a
series aggregation, in the order that they were first broadcast
with episodes that the viewer may already have available.
Interactive applications may present the episodes of the series
aggregation in the order that they were originally broadcast, by
providing the viewer with options on how to access the
episodes.
Inventors: |
Cordray; Charles; (New York,
NY) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FISH & NEAVE IP GROUP;ROPES & GRAY LLP
1211 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS
NEW YORK
NY
10036-8704
US
|
Assignee: |
United Video Properties,
Inc.
|
Family ID: |
38224516 |
Appl. No.: |
11/324183 |
Filed: |
December 29, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
386/278 ;
348/E7.071; 386/299; 386/E5.043 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N 21/4755 20130101;
H04N 5/85 20130101; H04N 21/4332 20130101; H04N 5/781 20130101;
H04N 21/23106 20130101; H04N 5/765 20130101; H04N 9/8042 20130101;
H04N 21/26258 20130101; H04N 21/47211 20130101; H04N 21/4135
20130101; H04N 21/47214 20130101; H04N 21/6143 20130101; H04N 5/76
20130101; H04N 5/782 20130101; H04N 7/17318 20130101; H04N 21/6187
20130101; H04N 21/25891 20130101; H04N 21/4668 20130101; H04N
21/4147 20130101; H04N 9/7921 20130101; H04N 5/775 20130101; H04N
21/4334 20130101; H04N 21/6175 20130101; H04N 21/6168 20130101;
H04N 21/6193 20130101; H04N 21/23109 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
386/052 |
International
Class: |
H04N 5/93 20060101
H04N005/93 |
Claims
1. A method for presenting episodes of a series for a user,
comprising: receiving an indication of interest in episodes of a
series from a user; collecting the episodes of the series for
viewing by the user; organizing the episodes of the series in the
order in which they were originally made available; and presenting
the episodes of the series in the order in which they were
originally made available.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting the episodes of the
series comprises notifying the user when all episodes of the series
will be available for viewing in the order in which they were
originally made available.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting the episodes of the
series comprises: notifying the user when each episode of the
series will be available for viewing in the order in which they
were originally made available; and presenting a sequence of
episodes of the series, wherein the sequence of episodes includes
the beginning episodes of the series.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing the user
with a plurality of options for collecting the episodes of the
series, the plurality of options comprising at least: a first
option that does not require any additional payment and collects
the episodes of the series from free sources; and a second option
that does require additional payment and collects at least one
episode of the series from at least one of a plurality of different
media sources that are not free.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the plurality of different media
sources that are not free comprises at least two of: a broadcast
provider that is not free; a cable provider that is not free; a
satellite provider that is not free; a video-on-demand (VOD) server
that is not free; a pay-per-view provider; a DVD provider; the
Internet; the user's digital video recorder; and a telephone.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the indication of
interest in episodes of the series comprises automatically
receiving the indication of interest in episodes of the series for
a season, wherein the episodes of interest are in the season.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising notifying the user of
the status of the collecting of the episodes of the series.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein collecting the episodes of the
series comprises: identifying the episodes of the series to be
collected; identifying the episodes of the series that are already
available to the user; and identifying and recording the episodes
of the series that will be available for recording.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein: identifying the episodes of the
series to be collected comprises including the identified episodes
in a list of missed episodes; identifying the episodes of the
series that are already available to the user comprises removing
the episodes that are already available from the list of missed
episodes; and identifying and recording the episodes of the series
that will be available for recording further comprises removing the
recorded episodes from the list of missed episodes.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein collecting the episodes of the
series for viewing by the user comprises collecting the episodes of
the series out of the order in which they were originally made
available for viewing by the user.
11. A system for presenting episodes of a series for a user,
comprising: an interactive media guidance application implemented
at least partially on control circuitry configured to: collect
episodes of a series for viewing by a user; and organize the
episodes of the series in the order in which they were originally
made available so that they may be viewed by the user in the order
in which they were originally made available.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein the control circuitry is
further configured to: receive an indication of interest in
episodes of a series from a user; and present the episodes of the
series in the order in which they were originally made
available.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein presenting the episodes of the
series comprises notifying the user when all episodes of the series
will be available for viewing in the order in which they were
originally made available.
14. The system of claim 12, wherein presenting the episodes of the
series comprises: notifying the user when each episode of the
series will be available for viewing in the order in which they
were originally made available; and presenting a sequence of
episodes of the series, wherein the sequence of episodes includes
the beginning episodes of the series.
15. The system of claim 11, wherein the control circuitry is
further configured to provide the user with a plurality of options
for collecting the episodes of the series, the plurality of options
comprising at least: a first option that does not require any
additional payment and collects the episodes of the series from
free sources; and a second option that does require additional
payment and collects at least one episode of the series from at
least one of a plurality of different media sources that are not
free.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein the plurality of different
media sources that are not free comprises at least two of: a
broadcast provider that is not free; a cable provider that is not
free; a satellite provider that is not free; a video-on-demand
(VOD) server that is not free; a pay-per-view provider; a DVD
provider; the Internet; the user's digital video recorder; and a
telephone.
17. The system of claim 12, wherein receiving the indication of
interest in episodes of the series comprises automatically
receiving the indication of interest in episodes of the series for
a season, wherein the episodes of interest are in the season.
18. The system of claim 11, wherein the control circuitry is
further configured to notify the user of the status of the
collecting of the episodes of the series.
19. The system of claim 11, wherein collecting the episodes of the
series comprises: identifying the episodes of the series to be
collected; identifying the episodes of the series that are already
available to the user; and identifying and recording the episodes
of the series that will be available for recording.
20. The system of claim 19, wherein: identifying the episodes of
the series to be collected comprises including the identified
episodes in a list of missed episodes; identifying the episodes of
the series that are already available to the user comprises
removing the episodes that are already available from the list of
missed episodes; and identifying and recording the episodes of the
series that will be available for recording further comprises
removing the recorded episodes from the list of missed
episodes.
21. The system of claim 11, wherein collecting the episodes of the
series for viewing by the user comprises collecting the episodes of
the series out of the order in which they were originally made
available for viewing by the user.
22. A method for presenting episodes of a series for a user,
comprising: receiving an indication of interest in episodes of a
series from a user; in response to the indication, transmitting to
a remote server a request to collect the episodes of the series for
viewing by the user and to organize the episodes of the series in
the order in which they were originally made available; receiving
from the remote server data indicating the collected and organized
episodes; and presenting the episodes of the series in the order in
which they were originally made available.
23. The method of claim 22, wherein presenting the episodes of the
series comprises notifying the user when all episodes of the series
will be available for viewing in the order in which they were
originally made available.
24. The method of claim 22, wherein presenting the episodes of the
series comprises: notifying the user when each episode of the
series will be available for viewing in the order in which they
were originally made available; and presenting a sequence of
episodes of the series, wherein the sequence of episodes includes
the beginning episodes of the series.
25. The method of claim 22, further comprising providing the user
with a plurality of options for collecting the episodes of the
series, the plurality of options comprising at least: a first
option that does not require any additional payment and collects
the episodes of the series from free sources; and a second option
that does require additional payment and collects at least one
episode of the series from at least one of a plurality of different
media sources that are not free.
26. The method of claim 25, wherein the plurality of different
media sources that are not free comprises at least two of: a
broadcast provider that is not free; a cable provider that is not
free; a satellite provider that is not free; a video-on-demand
(VOD) server that is not free; a pay-per-view provider; a DVD
provider; the Internet; the user's digital video recorder; and a
telephone.
27. The method of claim 22, wherein receiving the indication of
interest in episodes of the series comprises automatically
receiving the indication of interest in episodes of the series for
a season, wherein the episodes of interest are in the season.
28. The method of claim 22, further comprising notifying the user
of the status of the collecting of the episodes of the series.
29. The method of claim 22, wherein collecting the episodes of the
series comprises: identifying the episodes of the series to be
collected; identifying the episodes of the series that are already
available to the user; and identifying and recording the episodes
of the series that will be available for recording.
30. The method of claim 29, wherein: identifying the episodes of
the series to be collected comprises including the identified
episodes in a list of missed episodes; identifying the episodes of
the series that are already available to the user comprises
removing the episodes that are already available from the list of
missed episodes; and identifying and recording the episodes of the
series that will be available for recording further comprises
removing the recorded episodes from the list of missed
episodes.
31. The method of claim 22, wherein collecting the episodes of the
series for viewing by the user comprises collecting the episodes of
the series out of the order in which they were originally made
available for viewing by the user.
32. A system for presenting episodes of a series for a user,
comprising: an interactive media guidance application implemented
at least partially on control circuitry configured to: receive an
indication of interest in episodes of a series from a user; in
response to the indication, transmit to a remote server a request
to collect the episodes of the series for viewing by the user and
to organize the episodes of the series in the order in which they
were originally made available; receive from the remote server data
indicating the collected and organized episodes; and present the
episodes of the series in the order in which they were originally
made available.
33. The system of claim 32, wherein presenting the episodes of the
series comprises notifying the user when all episodes of the series
will be available for viewing in the order in which they were
originally made available.
34. The system of claim 32, wherein presenting the episodes of the
series comprises: notifying the user when each episode of the
series will be available for viewing in the order in which they
were originally made available; and presenting a sequence of
episodes of the series, wherein the sequence of episodes includes
the beginning episodes of the series.
35. The system of claim 32, wherein the control circuitry is
further configured to provide the user with a plurality of options
for collecting the episodes of the series, the plurality of options
comprising at least: a first option that does not require any
additional payment and collects the episodes of the series from
free sources; and a second option that does require additional
payment and collects at least one episode of the series from at
least one of a plurality of different media sources that are not
free.
36. The system of claim 35, wherein the plurality of different
media sources that are not free comprises at least two of: a
broadcast provider that is not free; a cable provider that is not
free; a satellite provider that is not free; a video-on-demand
(VOD) server that is not free; a pay-per-view provider; a DVD
provider; the Internet; the user's digital video recorder; and a
telephone.
37. The system of claim 32, wherein receiving the indication of
interest in episodes of the series comprises automatically
receiving the indication of interest in episodes of the series for
a season, wherein the episodes of interest are in the season.
38. The system of claim 32, wherein the control circuitry is
further configured to notify the user of the status of the
collecting of the episodes of the series.
39. The system of claim 32, wherein collecting the episodes of the
series comprises: identifying the episodes of the series to be
collected; identifying the episodes of the series that are already
available to the user; and identifying and recording the episodes
of the series that will be available for recording.
40. The system of claim 39, wherein: identifying the episodes of
the series to be collected comprises including the identified
episodes in a list of missed episodes; identifying the episodes of
the series that are already available to the user comprises
removing the episodes that are already available from the list of
missed episodes; and identifying and recording the episodes of the
series that will be available for recording further comprises
removing the recorded episodes from the list of missed
episodes.
41. The system of claim 32, wherein collecting the episodes of the
series for viewing by the user comprises collecting the episodes of
the series out of the order in which they were originally made
available for viewing by the user.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to interactive media guidance systems
and more particularly to interactive media guidance systems that
record media presented as episodes in a series, such as episodes of
a television program series, any other program series, or any other
type of series. This invention is an improvement on the basic
series recording functionality that exists today (sometimes called
a "Season Pass"). Series recording functionality relates to a user
selecting to record a program that is part of a series. When the
user selects to record a program that is part of a series, a media
guidance system automatically schedules to record each episode of
the series that is aired or will record "new" episodes of the
series that are aired for the first time.
[0002] When users of an interactive media guidance system discover
a series late (such as late in the season of a television program
series), or miss viewing or recording some or all episodes of a
series (within a season or one or more seasons of an entire
series), it is often difficult for users to access or to view the
episodes of the series in episode order or to capture the repeats
(i.e., re-runs) of episodes that were not originally recorded.
While many, most, or all episodes of a series may become available
over time (as re-runs), not all episodes may be available at once
or in the order that they were presented in the series. For
example, a television program series may be in syndication, but not
all episodes of the television program series may be available at
one time, and some episodes may never be re-run.
[0003] Some media content may be episodic content. Episodic content
typically is self-contained within each episode and does not
include a common storyline with other episodes of the media
content. For example, episodes of the series "Seinfeld" are
typically episodic. Viewers may watch one episode without watching
all of the previous episodes in the series to understand the story.
However, other media content may be serial in nature. Serial
programming is any programming containing a temporal component,
such as a recommended order of viewing. Serial programming may
share themes and/or plot sequences with other episodes in the
series.
[0004] An example of serial programming includes episodes of the
series "24." A user who watches an episode of the series "24" out
of sequence may not recognize or understand certain characters,
themes, or plot elements that were introduced in previous unwatched
episodes. This often causes the viewer to be confused or to lose
interest in the media content. To comprehend episodes of serial
programming fully, other related programming must typically be
watched prior to watching the serial programming, or the serial
programming must be watched in the order that it was originally
presented.
[0005] Thus, for serial series, while the sequence for future
viewing is particularly important, re-runs of episodes of the
series will not always be available in the sequence that they were
originally presented. Sequence may be important for some episodic
series as well. For example, a user who watches some episodes of
the series "Seinfeld" out of sequence may not recognize or
understand certain characters, themes, or plot elements that were
introduced in previous unwatched episodes. Even when television
programs are in re-runs in their original season, not all episodes
are necessarily provided, and the episodes that are provided may
not be provided in sequence. Viewers may also simply miss an
episode or series of episodes.
[0006] It is therefore desirable to provide systems and methods
that may allow users to record some or all episodes of a series
conveniently and thereby to view the episodes of a series in
order.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] In accordance with the principles of the present invention,
an interactive media guidance application is provided that may
present, in the order that the episodes were originally presented,
a desired group of episodes of a past or current series. This
desired group of episodes will be referred to herein as a "series
aggregation." As will be described in greater detail below, the
series aggregation is created by collecting (e.g., compiling or
recording from a remote server, an on-demand server, any other
suitable server, a recording device, broadcast, or any other
suitable source) episodes out of the order in which they were
originally presented and may present the episodes of the series
aggregation in the order in which they were originally presented.
The series aggregation may be episodes from one or more seasons of
a series, a user- or application-selection of episodes of a series,
or any other desired group of episodes.
[0008] One or more episodes within a series aggregation may already
be recorded on a recording device, may already be available
on-demand from a server, or may already be available through any
other suitable means. Episodes that are not already recorded on a
recording device, already available on-demand from a server, or
already available through any other suitable means will be referred
to herein as missed episodes, regardless of whether the user has
previously watched or recorded the episode. In some embodiments, no
episodes of a series aggregation will have been recorded, available
on-demand from a server, or available through any other suitable
means prior to a user indicating a desire to create a series
aggregation--i.e., in this case all episodes may be considered
missed episodes.
[0009] The media guidance application may receive a user's
instruction to record missed episodes of a series aggregation. In
one embodiment, user's instructions may simply be a user requesting
the media guidance application to record missed episodes of a
series aggregation using either a text or voice entry. For example,
a user may simply call a toll-free number and instruct the media
guidance application to record missed episodes of a series
aggregation by saying, "Create series aggregation of The Sopranos
Season One." In another embodiment, the media guidance application
may be an online website, in which the titles and seasons of
various media are offered as prompts, and the user may select from
menus of available media. In response to the user's instruction,
the media guidance application may query one or more media sources
for the missed episodes and record them. The media guidance
application may organize the missed episodes in order with the
episodes that the user has already recorded (if any have been
recorded) or that are already available (e.g. on-demand from a
server) to create an aggregation of episodes that allows the user
to watch episodes of the series in order (i.e., a series
aggregation).
[0010] In some embodiments, the media guidance application may wait
until all of the episodes of a series aggregation have been
recorded before prompting the user to playback the episodes in
order. In other embodiments, the media guidance application may
prompt the user to begin watching episodes after a predefined
number of sequential episodes has been recorded (e.g., the first
three episodes of a series aggregation).
[0011] As indicated above, the series aggregation may be for a past
series or a current series. In a past series, all missed episodes
in the series aggregation have already been originally presented
(e.g., broadcast, premiered via video-on-demand, etc.). When
creating a series aggregation for a past series, all missed
episodes to be recorded are considered re-runs or repeats of the
original presentation of the program.
[0012] By convention, numbering of episodes may be in the order
that the episodes were originally presented. For example, episode
1.1 may be the first episode in the first season of the series (or
series aggregation) that was originally presented, episode 1.2 may
be the next or second episode in the first season of the series
that was originally presented, and so on until the last episode in
the first season of the series that was originally presented.
Episode 2.1 may then be the first episode in the second season of
the series, episode 2.2 may be the next or second episode in the
second season, and so on until the last episode in the second
season of the series, and the last episode in the last season of
the series. Thus, episodes may be identified as x.y, where x is the
season number, and y is the episode number in season x.
[0013] For a current series, the series aggregation may include
originally presented episodes, but may also include original
presentations of one or more episodes that will occur in the
future. For example, a season of a program may include 23 episodes.
Episodes 1.1-1.11 may have already been originally presented,
episode 1.12 is currently being originally presented (i.e.,
broadcasted), and episodes 1.13-1.23 will be originally presented
in the future. At the current time, the media guidance application
may receive a user's instruction to create a series aggregation for
this program. To create this series aggregation, the media guidance
application may record episodes 1.1-1.11 in the manner in which the
media guidance application records missed episodes (described
below). If episode 1.12 is currently being presented, the media
guidance application may record this program if it is available for
recording or may treat this program as a missed episode if the user
did not tune to the program in time to capture the whole program as
a recording. Episodes 1.13-1.23 may be recorded when they are
originally presented in the future. Episodes 1.13-1.23 may still be
considered missed episodes and the description of missed episodes
herein may apply equally to episodes of a program that are
originally presented in the future. Episodes of a series that are
originally presented in the future may be considered a missed
episode because a user may not watch a series aggregation until
episodes in a series aggregation have been recorded. Thus, the
original presentation of these episodes will be missed by the
user.
[0014] Until all episodes of a series aggregation have been
recorded, the series aggregation may be considered an incomplete
series or an incomplete series aggregation. When recording missed
episodes of an incomplete series aggregation, the media guidance
application may record, in some embodiments, only missed episodes.
In other embodiments, the media guidance application may also
record non-missed episodes when it is desirable to replace a copy
of an episode that the user has recorded (e.g., to replace a
standard-definition copy with a high-definition one).
[0015] The media guidance application may record missed episodes of
an incomplete series aggregation from any accessible source of
media (although in some embodiments only certain predefined sources
may be used). For example, the media guidance application may
determine whether missed episodes will be provided as television
programs over the user's broadcast, cable or satellite delivery
system, Internet, Internet protocol television (IPTV) or any other
means, and may schedule the missed episodes for recording. The
media guidance application may, for example, query a
video-on-demand (VOD) server in the user's television delivery
system or another on-demand media server (such as a website), and
record missed episodes on demand.
[0016] The media guidance application may also, for example,
provide the user with an option to wait for the series aggregation
to be available after the episodes are available from the user's
"free" sources, or to pay a certain amount of money immediately to
get the series aggregation on-demand, on a DVD, or any other
suitable option. The media guidance application may also, for
example, provide the user with information on how long the user
would have to wait until the episodes are available from the user's
"free" sources, so that the user can make a decision whether to pay
a certain amount of money immediately to get the series aggregation
on-demand, on a DVD, or any other suitable option. Also, the media
guidance application may make the decision whether to get the
series aggregation on-demand, on a DVD, or any other suitable
option automatically based on user preferences. For example, the
user may set the media guidance application always to pay a certain
amount of money immediately to get the series aggregation
on-demand, on a DVD, or any other suitable option, when the user
would have to wait more than three months or any other user-defined
time until the episodes are available from the user's "free"
sources.
[0017] Missed episodes may be recorded using any suitable approach.
In some embodiments, a missed episode may be recorded when it
becomes available to the media guidance application. For example,
an episode of a series may be recorded when it is broadcast, or may
be downloaded immediately if available on demand. The episode may
be recorded on the user's equipment or on a remote recording device
(e.g., a remote server) for the user. In other embodiments,
identifiers such as unique resource identifiers, episode
identification numbers or universal resource locators (URLs) may be
stored by the media guidance application. The media guidance
application may retrieve the actual episode from the appropriate
source when the user instructs the application to play the episode
back.
[0018] In some embodiments, the interactive media guidance
application may provide a display having options the user may
select to indicate how the user wishes to view missed episodes. The
options may include, for example: setting alerts for when an entire
series is available from a media provider or across different media
providers accessible to the user's equipment; aggregating episodes
of a series; accessing episodes on-demand; obtaining a DVD of
episodes; purchasing episodes via PPV if available; and downloading
episodes of a series that are new to the user.
[0019] Further features of the invention, its nature, and various
advantages will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and
the following detailed description of the preferred
embodiments.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] FIG. 1A shows an illustrative flow diagram for creating a
series aggregation of missed episodes of a series in accordance
with one embodiment of the present invention.
[0021] FIG. 1B shows an illustrative flow diagram for collecting
episodes of a series to be included in a series aggregation in
accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 2 is a diagram of one embodiment of an episode list
data structure in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention.
[0023] FIG. 3 is a diagram of one embodiment of a missed episode
identifier list data structure in accordance with one embodiment of
the present invention.
[0024] FIG. 4 is a diagram of one embodiment of a recorded episode
identifier list data structure in accordance with one embodiment of
the present invention.
[0025] FIG. 5 shows an illustrative program listings display screen
in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
[0026] FIG. 6 shows an illustrative program information display
screen for a program that a user selected to be recorded in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
[0027] FIG. 7 shows an illustrative series aggregation setup
display screen in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention.
[0028] FIG. 8 shows an illustrative manual series aggregation setup
display screen in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention.
[0029] FIG. 9 shows an illustrative advanced series aggregation
setup display screen in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention.
[0030] FIG. 10 shows an illustrative series aggregation list
display screen in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention.
[0031] FIG. 11 shows an illustrative priority display screen in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
[0032] FIG. 12A shows an illustrative notification display screen
for a complete series aggregation in accordance with one embodiment
of the present invention.
[0033] FIG. 12B shows an illustrative notification display screen
for an incomplete series aggregation in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention.
[0034] FIG. 13 shows an illustrative display screen with series
aggregation options in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention.
[0035] FIG. 14 is a diagram of an illustrative interactive media
guidance system in accordance with the present invention.
[0036] FIG. 15 is a diagram of illustrative user television
equipment in accordance with the present invention.
[0037] FIG. 16 is a diagram of additional illustrative user
television equipment in accordance with the present invention.
[0038] FIG. 17 is a diagram of an illustrative remote control in
accordance with the present invention.
[0039] FIG. 18 is a diagram of illustrative user computer equipment
in accordance with the present invention.
[0040] FIG. 19 is a generalized diagram of illustrative user
equipment in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0041] The amount of media available to users in any given media
delivery system can be substantial. Consequently, many users desire
a form of media guidance, an interface that allows users to
efficiently navigate media selections and easily identify media
that they may desire. An application which provides such guidance
is referred to herein as an interactive media guidance application
or, sometimes, a media guidance application or a guidance
application.
[0042] Interactive media guidance applications may take various
forms depending on the media for which they provide guidance. One
typical type of media guidance application is an interactive
television program guide. Interactive television program guides are
well-known guidance applications that, among other things, allow
users to navigate among and to locate television programming
viewing choices and, in some systems, digital music choices. The
television programming (and music programming) may be provided via
traditional broadcast, cable, satellite, Internet, IPTV or any
other means. The programming may be provided on a subscription
basis (sometimes referred to as premium programming), as
pay-per-view programs, or on-demand such as in video-on-demand
(VOD) systems. The providers of the different types of programming
may be referred to herein as media sources.
[0043] With the advent of the Internet, mobile computing, and
high-speed wireless networks, users are able to access media on
personal computers (PCs) and devices on which they traditionally
could not. Non-television-centric platforms (i.e., platforms that
distribute media with equipment not part of the user's broadcast,
cable or satellite television-delivery network) allow users to
navigate among and locate desirable video clips, full motion videos
(which may include television programs), images, music files, and
other suitable media. Consequently, media guidance is also
necessary on modern non-television-centric platforms. For example,
media guidance applications may be provided as online applications
(i.e., provided on a web-site), or as stand-alone applications or
clients on hand-held computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs),
or cellular telephones. In some systems, users may control
equipment remotely via a media guidance application. For example,
users may access an online media guide and set recordings or other
settings on their in-home equipment. This may be accomplished by
the online guide controlling the user's equipment directly or via
another media guide that runs on the user's equipment. Remote
access of interactive media guidance applications is discussed in
greater detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/246,392,
filed Oct. 7, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference
herein in its entirety.
[0044] For purposes of illustration, the present invention will be
described herein as relating to television-centric approaches, but
this is not meant to limit the invention. For example, the present
invention may be applied to presenting in the order originally
presented other types of media, such as audio series or on-demand
media series (e.g., web sites that only make available one episode
or a subset of episodes of a series at a time).
[0045] An illustrative interactive media guidance system in
accordance with the present invention will be described herein,
e.g., in connection with FIGS. 14-19. Where appropriate, references
to an illustrative media guidance system as it relates to the
present invention will also appear in connection with the
description of the processes, data structures, and display screens,
e.g., in connection with FIGS. 1-13.
[0046] A media guidance application in accordance with the present
invention is provided that presents, in the order that the episodes
were originally presented, a desired group of episodes of a past or
current series (i.e., a series aggregation). The creation of a
series aggregation may be desirable when a user of an interactive
media guidance system discovers a series late (such as late in the
season of a television program series or after the season of a
television program series has completed), or misses viewing or
recording some episodes of a series. For a program that is a serial
series, the sequence for future viewing is particularly important,
but re-runs of episodes of the series will not always be available
in the sequence that they were presented. The creation of a series
aggregation, such that the media guidance application collects
(i.e., compiles or records from a remote server, an on-demand
server, any other suitable server, a recording device, broadcast,
or any other suitable source) a desired group of episodes, enables
a user to view the episodes in the order in which they were
originally presented.
[0047] The series aggregation may be episodes from one or more
seasons of a television program series, a user or application
selection of episodes of a series, or any other desired group of
episodes. The selection of episodes of a series may be a subset of
episodes that are a sequence of episodes within a season (e.g.,
television program series "The Sopranos," episodes 3.4-3.16), a
sequence of episodes within more than one season (e.g., "The
Sopranos," episode 4.16 through episode 5.2), non-sequential
episodes of one or more seasons (e.g., "The Sopranos," episodes
1.1, 1.4, 1.5, and 1.7), a special sequence of episodes (e.g., all
the first and/or last episodes of each season of "The Sopranos"),
or any other desired subset of episodes of a series within one or
multiple seasons.
[0048] Once all episodes of a series aggregation have been
recorded, the series aggregation may be considered a complete
series aggregation. Until all episodes of a series aggregation have
been recorded, the series aggregation may be considered an
incomplete series aggregation. The general term "series
aggregation" may be referred to herein as either a complete or
incomplete series aggregation or both, where appropriate. The
general term "series aggregation" is not meant to be limited to a
complete or incomplete series aggregation, unless described as
such.
[0049] FIG. 1A shows illustrative process 100 for creating a series
aggregation that may be used in accordance with some embodiments of
the present invention. At step 102, an interactive media guidance
application may receive an indication of interest from a user to
create a series aggregation of selected episodes of a series. In
one embodiment, user's instructions may simply be a user requesting
the media guidance application to record missed episodes of a
series aggregation using either a text or voice entry. For example,
user equipment device may include a user microphone. A user may
simply instruct the media guidance application to record missed
episodes of a series aggregation by saying into the microphone,
"Create series aggregation of The Sopranos Season One."
[0050] In an alternate embodiment, user equipment device may
include a keyboard, remote control, or other suitable device for
free text entry or for making choices among presented options, such
as a remote control for a menu or a mouse for PC navigation. A user
may simply instruct the media guidance application to record missed
episodes of a series aggregation by entering free text to a display
screen using the keyboard, remote control, or other suitable
device. Systems and methods for receiving a user instruction to
create a series aggregation are discussed in greater detail below,
e.g., in connection with the display screens of FIGS. 5-11 and the
data structure of FIGS. 2-4.
[0051] At step 104, episodes of the selected series to be included
in the series aggregation may be collected. Episodes may be
collected by the media guidance application by compiling or
recording them from a remote server, an on-demand server, any other
suitable server, a recording device, broadcast, or any other
suitable source. After episodes are collected by the media guidance
application at step 104, then process 100 may proceed to step
106.
[0052] At step 106, the episodes of the complete series aggregation
may be organized and displayed in the order in which they were
originally presented. The media guidance application may also
inform the user that the series aggregation is complete by
displaying a list of all episodes in the series aggregation in the
order in which each episode was originally presented. Informing the
user when the series aggregation is complete and displaying the
series aggregation may be performed in various ways and will be
discussed below in greater detail, e.g., in connection with a
further description of step 116 and FIGS. 2-4.
[0053] FIG. 1B shows illustrative substeps of step 104 for
collecting episodes of a series to be included in a series
aggregation that may be used in accordance with other embodiments
of the present invention. At step 108, episodes of the series to be
included in the series aggregation may be identified based on the
user's instruction. The episodes identified in step 108 may include
all the episodes of the series aggregation. The episodes identified
may be, for example, all episodes of a season of a program series.
For illustration of the invention, a season of a program series
"The Sopranos" may be discussed herein as the desired group of
episodes for a series aggregation. This is not meant, however, to
limit the invention to only this desired group of episodes of this
program. In this illustrative example, it will also be assumed that
there are 23 episodes in the season of the program series "The
Sopranos."
[0054] At step 110, the interactive media guidance application may
identify episodes of the series aggregation that are already
available to the user. An episode may be identified as available to
the user if it is found located in a storage device in a home
network and/or other local or remote storage devices that have
recorded programs available to the user. All episodes that have
been recorded that are available to the user may be used to
complete the series aggregation and in some embodiments it may not
be necessary to record these episodes again as part of creating the
series aggregation. Further details regarding storage devices and
recording episodes on storage devices are discussed in greater
detail below, for example in connection with the system description
in FIGS. 14-19.
[0055] At step 112 shown in FIG. 1B those episodes that are
currently considered missed episodes that are available for
recording may be identified. An available missed episode may be an
episode of the series aggregation that needs to be recorded to
complete the series aggregation and that may be known to be
available from one or more queried media sources currently or at
some known time in the future. Further systems and methods for
querying one or more media sources to determine availability of
programming will be discussed in greater detail below, e.g., in
connection with FIGS. 2-4 and 14-19. Examples of the one or more
sources from which the media guidance application may acquire and
record missed episodes include traditional broadcast, cable, or
satellite programming media sources and subscription-based media
sources or purchase-based media sources, pay-per-view, VOD,
Internet downloads, DVD providers, IPTV or any other type of media
source.
[0056] At step 114 shown in FIG. 1B, the media guidance application
may record missed episodes that have been identified as available
in step 112 (described below). At decision block 116 a
determination may be made whether the series aggregation is
complete. The series aggregation may be considered complete if all
episodes of the series aggregation have been recorded for the user
based on the performance of steps 110, 112, and 114.
[0057] If the series aggregation is determined to be complete at
decision block 116, then process 100 shown in FIG. 1A may proceed
to step 106. If the series aggregation is determined to be
incomplete at decision block 116 shown in FIG. 1B, then process 100
shown in FIG. 1A may return to step 112 shown in FIG. 1B to further
identify missed episodes that are available for recording.
[0058] In practice, one or more steps shown in process 100 of FIG.
1A may be combined with other steps, performed in any suitable
order, modified, performed in parallel--e.g., simultaneously or
substantially simultaneously--or deleted. For example, in one
embodiment, step 110 shown in FIG. 1B may be deleted if it is
desirable for the media guidance application to acquire all
episodes of the series aggregation, regardless of whether some
episodes are already available. In other embodiments, step 110 may
be bypassed if the media guidance application determines that no
episodes are already available to the user.
[0059] In some embodiments, the return to step 112 from decision
block 116 when a determination is made that the series aggregation
is complete may be modified. For example, in some embodiments the
return to step 112 may occur continuously until missed episodes are
identified as being available for recording. In other embodiments,
the return to step 112 may occur at a predetermined time interval
(e.g., every 10 minutes, every 30 minutes, every hour, every 12
hours, once a day, etc.). The return to step 112 may occur based on
an event, such as when the media guidance application receives new
program data information. When the media guidance application
receives new program data information, this may indicate that more
missed episodes may become available shortly in the future that
were not available previously.
[0060] In some embodiments, recording missed episodes at step 114
may involve setting up an episode of the series aggregation for
recording, and recording the episode at a later time. Therefore,
the actual recording of the episode may occur after reaching
decision block 116 because the episode may not be broadcast until
some future time. In this embodiment, the determination of whether
a series aggregation is complete at decision block 116 may involve
determining if all episodes are already recorded or scheduled for
recording. If this test is satisfied, process 100 shown in FIG. 1A
may still proceed to step 106, but the media guidance application
may not inform a user that the series aggregation is complete yet
because some episodes have not been recorded, because these
episodes may not be broadcast until some future time (i.e., the
series aggregation is incomplete). In this embodiment all missed
episodes have been identified as available currently or at some
future time and are being currently recorded or will be recorded at
some known future time. In other embodiments, the media guidance
application may present the series aggregation, but may inform the
user that the series aggregation is incomplete. In another example,
a user may access an incomplete series aggregation at any step in
process 100. For example, it may be desirable to access the series
aggregation after step 110 shown in FIG. 1B when the episodes
already available to the user have been identified.
[0061] A complete or incomplete series aggregation may be accessed
by displaying a list of all episodes in the series aggregation,
where the episodes are displayed in the order in which each episode
was originally presented. As described above, in some embodiments,
the media guidance application may inform a user that a series
aggregation is complete at step 106 shown in FIG. 1A. In other
embodiments, the media guidance application may display an
incomplete series aggregation. When an incomplete series
aggregation is displayed, the media guidance application may
indicate which of the episodes have been recorded, which episodes
are scheduled for recording, and which episodes are not available
for recording (see, e.g., FIG. 10). In some embodiments, when an
incomplete series aggregation is provided, only those episodes that
have been recorded may be displayed. In other embodiments, only
those episodes that have been recorded may be displayed with the
episodes scheduled for recording or the episodes that are not
available for recording. In some embodiments it may be desirable to
display the missed episodes.
[0062] It may be desirable to access an incomplete series
aggregation if a part of a specified sequence of episodes of the
series aggregation has been recorded. For example, if episodes
2.1-2.3 and episodes 2.7-2.10 of "The Sopranos" are available, the
media guidance application may begin to present the series
aggregation. In this example, the user may watch episodes 2.1-2.3
and in the interim time in which the user is watching the episodes,
the media guidance application may find that one or more of
episodes 2.4-2.6 and 2.11-2.23 have become available and may be
recorded. The media guidance application would essentially begin
presenting an incomplete series aggregation from the beginning and
fill in the gaps of the later missing episodes (i.e., complete the
series aggregation) as the user is watching the beginning
episodes.
[0063] It will be appreciated that other specified sequences of
incomplete series aggregations may be accessed prior to completion.
For example, continuing the same example, in some embodiments, the
user may begin watching at episode 2.7 and watch episodes 2.7-2.10,
while the media guidance application gathers the remaining episodes
of the series aggregation from episode 2.11 onward. This may be
desirable because the media guidance application may monitor a
viewer's viewing history and be aware that the user has viewed or
played episodes 2.1-2.6 previously. Systems and methods for
monitoring viewing histories to determine programming that has been
viewed or played is discussed in greater detail in connection with
Ellis et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/374,043, filed
Aug. 13, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,898,762, Ellis et al., U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 10/105,128, filed Feb. 21, 2002, and
Cordray et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed
______ (Attorney Docket No. UV-377A), which are hereby incorporated
by reference herein in their entireties, and below in connection
with FIGS. 3, 4 and 9.
[0064] In embodiments where a series aggregation is incomplete, a
user may be provided with an opportunity to access and purchase, if
necessary, missed episodes on-demand (e.g., video on-demand or
VOD), from pay-per-view (PPV), from a DVD, downloading via the
Internet, or in any other manner of accessing episodes other than
from a broadcast media source. This embodiment may be desirable to
a user if one or more episodes of a series aggregation are not
available, or are available from a broadcast media source, but at a
time in the future that is not desirable to the user. The time in
the future may not be desirable to the user because the user would
like to watch those one or more episodes of the series aggregation
sooner than the time in the future when the program may be recorded
by the user's recording device. For example, the system may prompt
the user with, "You have all but three episodes, and those three
are available for purchase at $1.99 each. Buy now?" or "The system
has been searching for two missing episodes for more than 90 days.
Would you like to watch the series anyway, while we continue
looking?" In some embodiments the user may be provided with the
opportunity to record or acquire the remaining missed episodes from
VOD, PPV, DVD, the Internet or any other manner aside from a
broadcast media source. This may be desirable if a user wants to
expedite creating the series aggregation. In some embodiments the
user may be provided a choice between continuing to create the
series aggregation from a broadcast media source (without
additional payment) or acquiring some or all of the remaining
missed episodes from one or more of the other media sources
provided above (which may require payment). In some embodiments the
user could get periodic updates on when the remaining missed
episodes may be available and whether they may be acquired from
other media sources for a payment.
[0065] The media guidance application may organize all episodes of
the series aggregation at step 106 shown in FIG. 1A, and any other
time the user accesses an incomplete series aggregation, present
the status of a series aggregation. The organization of all
episodes of the series aggregation may involve both providing a
display screen showing the series aggregation and/or gathering
information and/or the episodes themselves from the recording
device or devices where the episodes of the series aggregation are
stored. Information used in organizing the series aggregation may
be stored in a local or remote database or any other storage means.
The information in one or more of these databases may be in any
suitable data management format, environment, or application, for
example, a relational database format, an object oriented database
format, a data warehouse, a data directory, a knowledge management
system, or any other suitable device, environment or application
for storing and indexing related information. For purposes of
illustration of the invention a data structure will be described to
organize the information necessary for providing the series
aggregation but any format, environment, or application may be
utilized. Exemplary data structures for organizing episodes of a
series aggregation will be described below, for example, in
connection with FIGS. 2-4.
[0066] FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of series aggregation
information that is organized into illustrative data structure 200.
Although not shown, data structure 200 may include an identifier
for the series aggregation that allows user equipment to recognize
that the data structure contains series aggregation identifiers,
thereby allowing the user equipment or other devices to correctly
parse the data structure. It will be appreciated that multiple
series aggregations may be created by the media guidance
application and thus multiple instances of data structure 200
corresponding to each series aggregation may be needed.
[0067] Data structure 200 may include field 202 that may include
all episodes of a series aggregation. Field 202 may include a list
of episodes of the series aggregation and may identify each episode
using episode identifiers. Field 202 may be populated with a list
of episode identifiers in response to a user's indication of
interest to create a series aggregation, as in step 102 of process
100 of FIG. 1. Episode identifiers for a series aggregation may be
acquired from one or more of a service provider, data source,
programming source, television distribution facility, or any other
data provider, server, or media source (referred to herein
collectively as the media sources). Episode identifiers will be
discussed in further detail below in connection with FIGS. 3 and 4.
Field 202 may be organized in the form of a linked list of episode
identifiers, an array of episode identifiers, a table of episode
identifiers, or any other organization scheme of episode
identifiers. It will be appreciated that all fields in data
structures of FIGS. 2-4 may be organized using any organization
scheme. Field 204 may include all episodes recorded of the series
aggregation. Field 206 may include all missed episodes of the
series aggregation. Field 208 may include all missed episodes of
the series aggregation that are available and/or scheduled for
recording. Field 210 may include all missed episodes of the series
aggregation that are unavailable.
[0068] The types of features that can be specified by the series
aggregation information of data structure 200 may be more specific
or less specific depending on the particular implementation. For
example, data structure 200 may include a field of other episodes
in a series that relate to a series aggregation. Looking back to
"The Sopranos" example, if the series aggregation for the data
structure is for season 1 of "The Sopranos", this field may include
episode identifiers for episodes in seasons 2-4 (i.e., episodes not
in the series aggregation). This may be desirable to a user to
enable a user to have episodic information for seasons or other
groups of episodes for which a user is not currently creating a
series aggregation.
[0069] When data structure 200 is created or instantiated for a
series aggregation, field 204 may be empty because the media
guidance application may not yet be aware of any episode available
to a user. Field 206 may include all episodes of the series
aggregation because the media guidance application considers all
episodes when data structure 200 is created as missed episodes at
this point in the process (i.e., step 108 shown in FIG. 1B). Field
208 may also be empty because the media guidance application may
not have scheduled any episodes for recording yet or identified any
episodes as being available yet. Initially, like field 206, field
210 may include all episodes of the series aggregation because the
media guidance application may not have queried yet media sources
to see if episodes are available.
[0070] When episodes are identified as available to the user (i.e.,
previously recorded) at step 110 shown in FIG. 1B, episode
identifiers (i.e., unique program IDs) for those episodes may be
added to field 204. When an episode identifier is added to field
204, it may be removed from field 206 and 210 because the episode
is no longer considered a missed episode or unavailable. In order
to determine if an episode is available to a user the media
guidance application may acquire episode identifiers for the
episodes on the user's storage device (local or remote). The media
guidance application may then compare the episode identifiers
acquired from the user's storage device with those episode
identifiers in field 206 to determine whether the episodes on the
user's storage device are needed for the series aggregation. As
will be described in further detail below, for example, in
connection with the system description in FIGS. 14-19, episode
identifiers may be stored with the episode on a user's storage
device at the time of recording. The episode identifiers may be
included in the program guide data for each episode or program and
may be available for storage with the episode or in a separate
storage location. In other embodiments, episode identifiers may be
acquired from one or more of the media sources after the episode is
stored on the user's storage device.
[0071] When episodes are identified as available for recording at
step 112 shown in FIG. 1B, episode identifiers for those episodes
may be added to field 208 shown in FIG. 2 and removed from field
210. At step 112 shown in FIG. 1B, episode identifiers may be
acquired as part of program information data when querying when one
or more of the media sources. The episode identifiers acquired as
part of the program information data in step 112 may be stored as a
separate field in data structure 200 shown in FIG. 2 or may be
stored in a separate location in the user's storage device.
Episodes may be identified as available for recording if an episode
identifier from the program information data matches an episode
identifier in field 210. It is in response to this determination or
match that the episode identifier for the matched episode is added
to field 208 and removed from field 210.
[0072] In some embodiments, field 208 may include two separate
fields: (1) one field for those episodes that may be available for
recording, but not scheduled for recording; and (2) one field for
those episodes that may be available for recording and scheduled
for recording. Episodes may be available for recording, but not
scheduled for recording if the episode does not meet certain
qualifications. For example, an episode may not be in a desired
format (e.g., a user only wants to schedule high-definition
programs to be included in the series aggregation and not
standard-definition programs). In an embodiment where only one of
the described fields is utilized in field 208, an episode may only
be added to field 208 if it meets all qualifications. In an
embodiment where two fields are utilized for field 208, the media
guidance application may be able to inform the user of episodes
that do not meet all the user or system-specified qualifications.
This may be beneficial to a user because a user may choose to
record an episode not meeting all of the user's qualifications in
order to expedite completion of a series aggregation.
[0073] Another example of episodes available but not scheduled for
recording may be episodes discussed above, such as premium
episodes, like on-demand episodes, pay-per-view (PPV) episodes, DVD
episodes, etc. An episode may also be available but not scheduled
for recording if a scheduling conflict arises in recording
programs. Conflict in scheduling series aggregation episodes and
how these conflicts are resolved are discussed in greater detail
below, e.g., in connection with FIG. 11.
[0074] When episodes are recorded at step 114, episode identifiers
may first be added to field 208 to indicate they are scheduled for
recording and then when they are recorded they may be added to
field 204 and removed from field 206 and 208. When a determination
is made as to whether a series aggregation is complete at decision
block 116 shown in FIG. 1B, the media guidance application may
compare the identifiers in fields 202 and 204 shown in FIG. 2 to
determine if they are the same because this may indicate that all
episodes of the series aggregation have been recorded.
Alternatively, the media guidance application may determine if
field 206 is empty because this may indicate that there are no
missed episodes. When a determination is made that a series
aggregation is complete at decision block 116 shown in FIG. 1B, the
media guidance application may automatically create a DVD locally.
For example, once the season of "The Sopranos" has been recorded
locally, the media guidance application may automatically create
one or more DVDs for long-term storage, with or without additional
payment.
[0075] FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of information for a missed
episode that is organized into illustrative data structure 300.
Data structure 300 may be included as episode identifiers or
entries in fields 206, 208, and 210 of data structure 200 of FIG.
2. Field 302 may include an episode identifier for a missed episode
of the series aggregation that data structure 300 represents.
Episode identifiers may be implemented in any number of ways,
including: episode or program identification numbers that include
either separately or together with the episode identifier a season
identifier; identification by the name of the program, season
number of the program, and episode number of the program; or any
other implementation of identifying a specific episode of a series
aggregation. The episode identifier in field 302 of data structure
300 allows user equipment to recognize that the data structure
contains episode identifiers, thereby allowing the user equipment
or other devices to correctly parse the data structure.
[0076] Field 304 may include information regarding the date, time,
and channel a missed episode may be available. The particular
broadcast (i.e., by date, time and channel) referred to in field
304 may be the next available broadcast that meets the user- or
media guidance application-specified qualifications. In some
embodiments, an episode may be available on different dates, times,
and channels so field 304 may include a list of entries for the
missed episode. Including a list of entries for missed episodes in
field 304 may be beneficial for the following reasons. In one
example, if a scheduling conflict occurs, having multiple available
times to record a program may be beneficial to resolve the
conflict. In addition, some of the episodes that match the missed
episode identifier may have different characteristics and may be
more or less desirable depending on various media guidance
application settings. For example, if an episode is available in
multiple formats (e.g., high-definition and standard-definition),
one of these formats may be more desirable to the user than the
others.
[0077] In some embodiments there may be no entries in field 304
indicating that the missed episode is unavailable. In this
situation, data structure 200 may be used as an identifier in
fields 206 and 210. If there are entries in field 304 indicating
that the missed episode is available, data structure 200 may be
used as an identifier in fields 206 and 208. In some embodiments,
field 304 may indicate if a program is available on-demand and thus
the date and time aspects of this field may not be necessary.
Additionally, field 304 may also indicate if a particular episode
is available for purchase or free of charge.
[0078] Field 306 may indicate the one or media sources from which
the missed episode is available. If there are multiple matches in
field 304 for an episode, field 306 may include corresponding
information for each entry in field 304. The media sources may
include a broadcast provider, satellite provider, cable provider,
VOD provider, PPV provider, DVD provider such as Netflix,
Blockbuster or any other DVD provider, Internet provider, any
server, or any other provider of media. Each entry in field 306 may
include an identifier to the media source that can provide (through
broadcast transmission, downloading, mail, etc.) the episode to the
user. The identifier to the media source may include an identifier
or other information that indicates where the episode is available
at that media source to enable acquisition of the episode.
[0079] Field 308 may include format information for each entry in
field 304. As mentioned above, episodes may be transmitted in
standard-definition, high-definition, or in any other available
format. Different formats of programming are discussed in greater
detail below in connection with the system diagrams of FIGS. 14-19.
Various other episode-specific information may also be included as
a field in data structure 300. Entries in field 308 may correspond
with those entries in field 304. Field 310 may include one or more
users or the user equipment's history of a missed episode. For
example, as discussed above, the media guidance application may
monitor a viewer's viewing history to determine if a viewer has
viewed or played an episode. As will be discussed below in greater
detail in connection with FIG. 9, the media guidance application
may receive an instruction from the user to not record episodes
viewed or played previously with the series aggregation. In this
embodiment, this episode may be constructively considered
"recorded" and its episode identifier may be removed from field 206
and added to field 204 even though the episode may not actually be
recorded. Other approaches for resolving this problem using the
data structures may be implemented, but, generally speaking, this
approach may enable the series aggregation to be completed in
accordance with the user's settings (i.e., to not record episodes
the user has already viewed or played).
[0080] The types of features that can be specified by the series
aggregation information of data structure 300 may be more specific
or less specific depending on the particular implementation.
[0081] FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of information for a recorded
episode that is organized into illustrative data structure 400.
Data structure 400 may be included as episode identifiers or
entries in field 402 of data structure 400 of FIG. 4. Field 402 may
include an episode identifier for a recorded episode of the series
aggregation that data structure 400 represents. The episode
identifier in field 402 of data structure 400 allows user equipment
to recognize that the data structure contains episode identifiers,
thereby allowing the user equipment or other devices to correctly
parse the data structure. Field 404 may include information
regarding the media source in which the episode of the series
aggregation is stored. For example, the episode may be stored on a
storage device on a home network, on a local server, on a remote
server, or any other storage device. Storage of episodes will be
discussed in greater detail below in connection with FIGS. 14-19.
The information about where the episode is stored on the media
source may include an identifier or other information that
indicates where the episode is available at that media source.
Fields 406 and 408 are similar to fields 308 and 310 of data
structure 300 and their description applies equally to data
structure 400.
[0082] As described above at step 116 of process 100 of FIG. 1, for
example, the media guidance application can inform a user that a
series aggregation is complete. Further details regarding the use
of data structures 200, 300, and 400 in accessing a series
aggregation when it is complete are discussed in further detail
below in connection with FIG. 10. The types of features that can be
specified by the series aggregation information of data structure
400 may be more specific or less specific depending on the
particular implementation.
[0083] FIGS. 5-13 show illustrative display screens that may be
used to implement the systems and methods of the present invention.
Some of these illustrative display screens (e.g., FIGS. 5-11)
provide a user with an opportunity to create a series aggregation.
FIG. 5 shows illustrative program listings display screen 500 that
displays program listings. Various solutions for displaying program
listings are found in Ellis, U.S. patent application Ser. No.
09/157,256, filed Sep. 17, 1998, which is hereby incorporated by
reference herein in its entirety. Display screen 500 provides grid
guide 501 providing program listings from various sources.
[0084] Display screen 500 includes program listings organized by
channel, time, or any other suitable category. Display screen 500
includes program listing 504 as an exemplary program listing.
Program listing 504 includes scheduled aggregation icon 506 to
indicate that an episode that is identified in that listing is
scheduled to be recorded as part of a series aggregation. Scheduled
aggregation icon 506 may be displayed for a particular episode, for
example, when a user has selected that episode to be included as
part of a series aggregation at step 102 shown in FIG. 1. A program
listing may include a canceled aggregation priority icon 508 to
indicate that the episode that was scheduled to be part of a series
aggregation may not be recorded due to a conflict that the media
guidance application resolved by canceling the scheduled recording
based on aggregation priorities. Various icons may be included as
part of display screen 500 to indicate an episode's status as part
of a series aggregation by accessing program guide information
and/or the data structures of, e.g., FIGS. 2-4. Aggregation
priorities are discussed in more detail below, e.g., in connection
with FIG. 11.
[0085] In response to a user selection of a remote control INFO
button when highlight window 502 is over program listing 504, a
media guidance application may display an information display
screen such as information display screen 600 shown in FIG. 6.
Information display screen 600 may also be displayed in response to
a user selection of a remote control INFO button while the user is
watching a program, from any other display screen, or at any other
time. Information display screen 600 includes title display 602 and
may include program video (not shown) for a program that is
currently airing on a tuned channel. Information display screen 600
also includes scheduled to be aggregated icon 604 that indicates
that the episode is part of a series aggregation. Scheduled to be
aggregated icon 604 may be displayed as a result of step 108 shown
in FIG. 1B and may be similar to icon 506 of FIG. 5.
[0086] The media guidance application may provide a user with
related program guide options in information display screen 600.
Related program guide options may include aggregate series option
606, remind option, lock option, other air times option, and other
suitable program guide options. Examples of some of these and other
options are illustratively shown in Rudnick et al., U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 09/356,268, filed Jul. 16, 1999, and Ellis et
al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/105,128, filed Feb. 21,
2002, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their
entirety.
[0087] At step 102 shown in FIG. 1A, the media guidance application
may receive a user's indication of interest to create a series
aggregation of selected episodes of a series by selecting
"Aggregate" option 606. The media guidance application may also
receive a user's instruction to record missed episodes of a program
series by selecting an "Aggregate" button on a user interface
(e.g., remote control), described in more detail below, e.g., in
connection with FIGS. 17-19. In response to the user selecting an
"Aggregate" button on a user interface, the media guidance
application may display a series aggregation setup display screen
such as series aggregation setup display screen 700 shown in FIG.
7.
[0088] FIG. 7 includes options that provide the user with the
ability to set or to modify settings for series aggregations. For
example, advanced setup option 702, season setup option 704, manual
setup option 706, alert user option 708, cancel option 710, and
save setup option 714 may be provided in display screen 700. Other
options may be shown if desired. In some embodiments the options in
display screen 700 may be displayed as an overlay over the screen
from which the user selected to create the series aggregation
(e.g., while watching a TV program, from a grid guide, a search
results display screen, etc.).
[0089] A user may move highlight window 712 over any of these
options and press a remote control OK button to select the option.
For example, in response to a user selection of season setup option
702, the media guidance application may allow the user to select
which season or seasons should be included in a series aggregation
(see step 102 of FIG. 1). The season or seasons selected may
identify the episodes of the selected series to be included in the
series aggregation as shown, for example, in step 108 of FIG.
1B.
[0090] A user may also select to search for an episode. For
example, the media guidance application may allow the user to
select to search descriptions, reviews or any other information
using a keyword or keywords. The media guidance application may
also make available collateral material about a series or episode
that the user is searching for. The user may also select to search
for episodes or series that might be of interest. For example, the
media guidance application may, in response to a user selection to
set up a series aggregation for a season of "Seinfeld", display a
display screen which may inform the user, "If you like Seinfeld,
you may also like Curb Your Enthusiasm."
[0091] In response to a user selection of manual setup option 704,
the media guidance application may display a manual setup display
screen which may allow a user to select manually which episodes to
be included in a series aggregation (see step 102 of FIG. 1). An
illustrative manual setup display screen will be discussed in
further detail below, e.g., in connection with FIG. 8. The episodes
selected may also identify the episodes of the selected series to
be included in the series aggregation as shown, for example, in
step 108 of FIG. 1B.
[0092] In response to a user selection of advanced setup option
702, the media guidance application may display an advanced series
aggregation setup display screen, which will be discussed in
further detail below, e.g., in connection with FIG. 9. In response
to a user selection of alert user option 708, the media guidance
application may allow a user to select when to be alerted by the
media guidance application with respect to the progress of
completing the series aggregation. For example, the user may select
to be alerted when the series aggregation is complete (e.g., all
episodes within a series aggregation have been recorded), when a
user-selected number of episodes in the sequence of episodes have
been recorded where the sequence of episodes recorded enables a
user to begin accessing the series aggregation (e.g., the first
three episodes of the series aggregation, the first six episodes of
the series aggregation, the seventh through twelfth episodes where
the users viewing history indicates that the user has previously
viewed episodes 1-6, etc.), or at any other suitable time. Various
alert options and display screens will be discussed in further
detail below in connection with FIGS. 12A-12B. In some embodiments
presenting episodes of the series aggregation as in step 106 shown
in FIG. 1A may allow the user to view the series aggregation.
[0093] In response to a user selection of save setup option 714,
the media guidance application may save the settings that the user
selected for the series aggregation. Using a series aggregation may
invoke process 100 from FIG. 1 and the creation of data structure
200 and other necessary information, for example, data structures
200 and 300 saving the settings may also involve saving the series
aggregation that the user selected (including the associated data
structure 200) as part of the user's profile information. This may
be useful in a multi-user environment, for example, if a user's
profile information is used in connection with advanced series
aggregation options discussed further below, e.g., in connection
with FIG. 10. Finally, in response to a user selection of cancel
option 710, a media guidance application may exit to the previously
displayed display screen, such as information display screen 600
shown in FIG. 6 without creating a series aggregation.
[0094] It will be appreciated that the options provided in display
screen 700 are merely illustrative and one or more options may be
added or removed. For example, all of the advanced options from
FIG. 9 may be included in display screen 700. In addition, one or
more or all options may be removed such that certain options may be
selected by default. For example, in one embodiment, option 702 may
be the only option provided in display screen 700 (which may appear
simply as an overlay) and may allow the user to select one of the
pre-determined groupings of episodes (e.g., a particular season).
In another embodiment, no options may be included and the media
guidance application may determine which season (or other desired
grouping of episodes) is associated with the selected program and
create the series aggregation based on the default grouping.
Default options may be set for creating a series aggregation and
may include any one or more of the options provided in FIGS. 7 and
9.
[0095] In response to a user selection of manual setup option 706
shown in FIG. 7, the media guidance application may display a
manual series aggregation setup display screen such as manual
series aggregation setup display screen 800 shown in FIG. 8. FIG. 8
includes episode listings such as listing 802. Listing 802 includes
icon 804 to indicate that a particular episode may have already
been recorded as part of the series aggregation, or as part of a
one-time recording that may be selected to be included as part of
the series aggregation.
[0096] Manual series aggregation display screen 800 also includes
delete this episode option 806 that may provide a user with the
ability to delete the episode from memory or storage devices that
may be provided for storage. The media guidance application may
provide the user with the ability to move highlight window 808 over
delete this episode option 806 to select to delete the particular
listed episode that is associated with the delete this episode
option 806. Option 810 may be included adjacent to a listing that
may provide a user with the ability to record the episode as part
of the series aggregation. Through display screen 800, the media
guidance application may receive a user instruction to select
particular episodes of one or more seasons of a series to be
recorded as part of a series aggregation or to be included as part
of a series aggregation if the episode is already recorded.
[0097] In response to a user selection of advanced setup option 704
shown in FIG. 7, the media guidance application may display an
advanced series aggregation setup display screen such as advanced
series aggregation setup display screen 900 shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 9
includes advanced series aggregation options that provide the user
with the ability to set or to modify settings for series
aggregations. For example, aggregation priority option 902,
channels to aggregate option 904, see all episodes option 906, days
to aggregate option 908, time to aggregate option 910, aggregate
episodes viewed before option 912, format option 914, and save
setup option 916 may be provided. Other options may be shown if
desired.
[0098] Advanced series aggregation setup display screen 900
includes aggregation priority option 902 for a user to set the
aggregation priority for a series aggregation. Aggregation priority
may be set to high priority, medium priority, low priority, or any
other suitable priority. In another embodiment, a media guidance
application may provide a user with the ability to move highlight
window 918 over aggregation priority option 902 and to press a
remote control "OK" button. The media guidance application may then
provide the user with a series aggregation priority order display
screen. An illustrative series aggregation priority order display
screen will be discussed further in detail below, e.g., in
connection with FIG. 11. Essentially, aggregation priority may
allow the media guidance application to prioritize recordings of
episodes as compared between different series aggregations, among
episodes of a series aggregation, as compared to other recordings
set-up (regular series recording, one-time recording, etc.), or
many other prioritization.
[0099] Advanced series aggregation setup display screen 900 shown
in FIG. 9 includes channels to aggregate option 904 for a user to
set to record series aggregations from "free" channels, premium
channels, on-demand channels, "pay-per-view" channels, or any other
combination of channels. The series aggregation channel selections
may also include, for example, the original channel for the program
that was used to set the series aggregation, all possible channels,
a user-selected selection of channels, a specific type of channel,
such as broadcast or premium channel, or any other suitable
selection of channels.
[0100] Advanced series aggregation setup display screen 900
includes see all episodes option 906 for a user to see a list of
all episodes in a series aggregation. In response to a user
selection of see all episodes option 906, the media guidance
application may display a series aggregation list display screen
that lists all episodes that the user has selected to be included
in a series aggregation. The list of all episodes can include
episodes from all available media sources. An illustrative series
aggregation list display screen will be discussed further, e.g., in
connection with FIG. 10.
[0101] Advanced series aggregation setup display screen 900 shown
in FIG. 9 includes days to aggregate option 908 for a user to set
to record series aggregations only on specific days. A user may
select a specific day, all days, or any other suitable combination
of days.
[0102] Advanced series aggregation setup display screen 900
includes time to aggregate option 910 for a user to set to record
series aggregations only at specific times. The user may select to
record the episodes during prime time, late night, early morning,
daytime, same time of day as the selected episode, or any other
time or combination of times. By default if the user does not
select a time, the media guidance application may choose to record
only episodes that air at times of day that a user does not
typically watch television.
[0103] Advanced series aggregation setup display screen 900
includes aggregate episodes viewed before option 912 for a user to
set to record or not to record episodes that have been viewed
before. The media guidance application may maintain a history of
all episodes viewed by a particular user to make this
determination. This determination may be part of the instructions
received from the user to create a series aggregation of a selected
series at step 102 shown in FIG. 1. This is discussed in greater
detail above in connection with FIGS. 1, 3, and 4.
[0104] Advanced series aggregation setup display screen 900
includes format option 914 for a user to set to record standard
definition, high definition, or any other format for episodes of a
series aggregation.
[0105] Finally, advanced series aggregation setup display screen
900 includes save setup option 916 for a user to save the settings
that the user selects in advanced series aggregation setup display
screen 900.
[0106] As stated above, advanced series aggregation setup display
screen 900 includes see all episodes option 906 for a user to see a
list of all episodes in a series aggregation. In response to a
selection of see all episodes option 906, the media guidance
application may display a series aggregation list display screen
such as series aggregation list display screen 1000 shown in FIG.
10. The media guidance application may display series aggregation
list display screen 1000 on a platform that is different from the
main television platform or other device where the aggregation
occurs. For example, the media guidance application may display
series aggregation list display screen 1000 on an Internet browser,
cellular telephone or any other suitable device where the user may
set up and schedule different series aggregations. The media
guidance application may also create the aggregation on any
suitable device. Finally, the media guidance application may
display the series aggregation on any suitable device. With
reference now to FIG. 10, series aggregation list display screen
1000 may list all episodes that are in the series aggregation, and
may include episodes that have not been scheduled to be recorded,
episodes that have been recorded, or episodes that have been
scheduled to be recorded. Series aggregation list display screen
1000 includes episode listings such as listing 1002 that may
include episode descriptions and any other information for episodes
in a series aggregation.
[0107] In order to provide access to a series aggregation, the
media guidance application may access data structure 200 from FIG.
2. Data structure 200 provides the three categories of episodes
described above for episodes that are included in a series
aggregation: episodes recorded (i.e., field 202 of FIG. 2 and icon
1004 of FIG. 10); episodes that are scheduled for recording (i.e.,
field 208 of FIG. 2 and icon 1010 of FIG. 10); and episodes that
are unavailable for recording (i.e., field 210 of FIG. 2 and icon
1014 of FIG. 10). When providing display screen 1000 of FIG. 10,
the media guidance application may reference data structure 200 of
FIG. 2 to provide information necessary to access the series
aggregation.
[0108] Icon 1004 may be included in a listing to indicate that a
particular episode may have already been recorded as part of the
series aggregation or was already recorded by the user upon
selecting to create the series aggregation. Regardless, each
episode that has icon 1004 and as part of its listing 1002 may be
included in field 204 of data structure 200 in indicating it is
stored as part of the series aggregation. Series aggregation list
display screen 1000 may also include delete this episode option
1006 that may provide a user with the ability to delete the episode
from memory or storage devices. The media guidance application may
provide the user with the ability to move highlight window 1008
over the delete this episode option 1006 to select to delete the
particular listed episode that is associated with the delete this
episode option 1006.
[0109] Icon 1010 may be included in a listing to indicate that a
particular episode may be scheduled to be recorded as part of the
series aggregation. Icon 1010 may be similar to icon 506 and 604 or
FIGS. 5 and 6, respectively, and may be related to field 208 or
data structure 200 of FIG. 2. Series aggregation list display
screen 1000 may also include cancel this aggregation option 1012
that may provide a user with the ability to cancel the recording of
the episode as part of the series aggregation for an episode that
is associated with option 1012.
[0110] Icon 1014 may be included in a listing to indicate that a
particular episode may not be scheduled to be recorded as part of
the series aggregation because, for example, the episode is not
scheduled to be available in the foreseeable future from a
broadcast media source. Series aggregation list display screen 1000
may also include order this episode option 1016 that may provide a
user with the ability to order the episode on-demand, on a DVD, on
pay-per-view, or in any other suitable way. For example, if an
episode is not scheduled to be available in the foreseeable future,
the media guidance application may provide the user with the
opportunity to select to order the episode on-demand, on a DVD, on
pay-per-view, or in any other suitable way to avoid waiting for the
episode to be available from a broadcast media source. These
options may be provided in display screen 1000 or in a separate
display screen. In some embodiments some episodes may only be
available from a broadcast media source. In this embodiment, order
this option 1016 may not be provided because it is only available
for free from the broadcast media source. In some embodiments, the
media guidance application may provide a user with information that
a particular episode will be available for free in a certain number
of days, so that the user may decide if he or she wants to pay
money to get it sooner. In this embodiment, get this sooner option
1022 may be provided. To make the determination of whether the
episode may be available sooner for an additional payment, the
media guidance application may need to search a remote database. In
response to selecting get this sooner option 1022, the media
guidance application may provide the user with a series aggregation
options display screen discussed further in detail below, e.g., in
connection with FIG. 13.
[0111] A user may also select an individual listing 1002 to see a
program information screen 600 shown in FIG. 6 for that episode.
The individual episode may be deleted from the memory or storage
devices that may be provided as storage from information screen 600
shown in FIG. 6. The media guidance application may also display
additional information on information screen 600 about the
highlighted episode or about all episodes on series aggregation
list display screen 1000 shown in FIG. 10. The information may
include a series episode title, an episodic description, guest
actors or any other information of interest. The information may be
found as a field in data structures, such as data structure 300 and
400.
[0112] Additional aggregation option 1018 may be included in series
aggregation list display screen 1000. A user may select additional
aggregation options 1018 to set up additional series aggregations
that may be related to the series aggregation listed in display
screen 1000. For example, if the series aggregation listed in
display screen 1000 is the first season of "The Sopranos", a user
selection of additional aggregation option 1018 may allow the user
to select to create a series aggregation of the second season of
"The Sopranos", a program related to "The Sopranos" such as "Joey"
in which the same actor from "The Sopranos" stars, or any other
related program. As described above, this information of related
groups of episodes to the selected series aggregation may be
included as a field of data structure 200.
[0113] See all episodes option 1020 may also be included in series
aggregation list display screen 1000. A user may select the see all
episodes option 1020 to see a list of all the episodes in the
series that may be selected to be included as part of a series
aggregation. For example, if the series aggregation listed in
display screen 1000 is the first season of "The Sopranos", a user
selection of see all episodes option 1020 may allow the user to see
a list of all the episodes of "The Sopranos".
[0114] In response to selecting aggregation priority option 902,
the media guidance application may provide the user with a series
aggregation priority order display screen such as series
aggregation priority order display screen 1100 shown in FIG.
11.
[0115] With reference now to FIG. 11, series aggregation priority
order display screen 1100 displays series aggregation listings for
series aggregations, such as listing 1102. Listings may be
displayed in the priority order that series aggregations in one
series are given over series aggregations in another series. One
listing may be displayed for each scheduled series aggregation. The
media guidance application may allow the user to move highlight
window 1104 over a listing and to use remote control navigation
buttons to move the listing up or down. The priority order in
display screen 1100 may be used by the media guidance application
to determine the priority of individual series aggregations with
respect to all aggregations.
[0116] An embodiment relating to priority of individual episodes
with respect to episodes within the same series aggregation may be
provided. For example, a user may desire to record the episodes
that were originally broadcast earlier in the series before the
episodes that were originally broadcast later in the series. For
example, it may be desirable to record episode 4.2 before episode
4.10 if a conflict exists because it may be necessary to view
episode 4.2 before episode 4.10. This embodiment would also present
the series aggregation sooner while still presenting the episodes
in the order that they were originally presented.
[0117] FIGS. 12A and 12B show illustrative alerts for series
aggregation display screens 1200 and 1202. Display screens 1200 and
1202 can be delivered to any device, such as a telephone, e-mail,
SMS or any other suitable device. Display screen 1200 may provide
an alert indicating that a series aggregation is complete. Display
screen 1200 may provide the user with options regarding viewing the
series aggregation in a display screen, such as in a display screen
similar to display screen 1000 of FIG. 10. As indicated in display
screen 1200, the alert may appear as an overlay of a grid guide.
This is merely provided for illustration and alerts may appear in
some other display screen or manner including, for example, over
television programming, in a login screen in response to logging
into the media guidance application, in a welcome display screen in
response to turning on television or other user equipment, etc.
[0118] Display screen 1202 of FIG. 12B may provide an alert
indicating that a series aggregation is incomplete. The alert in
display screen 1202 may be provided in similar display screens like
the alert in display screen 1200. The alert for an incomplete
series aggregation may appear in display screen 1202 when a
specified sequence of episodes of a series aggregation has been
recorded (e.g. episodes 5.1-5.3--i.e., one beginning episode of a
series aggregation). Further details and embodiments are discussed
hereinabove, for example, in connection with step 116 of FIG. 1.
Display screen 1202 may provide the user with options regarding
viewing the series aggregation in a display screen, such as in a
display screen similar to display screen 1000 of FIG. 10.
[0119] In response to selecting get this sooner option 1022, the
media guidance application may provide the user with a series
aggregation options display screen such as series aggregation
options display screen 1300 shown in FIG. 13. Display screen 1300
shows an illustrative display screen for providing various options
to view episodes of a series that have already been broadcast.
Display screen 1300 provides several options from which a user may
select to view episodes of a series. Display screen 1300 may also
include a program listing including information on channel, time,
actors, or any other suitable information.
[0120] Display screen 1300 includes access episodes of a series
on-demand option 1304. A user may select this option to indicate a
desire to access episodes of the series on-demand, for example,
from a video-on-demand server. In response to selecting this
option, the media guidance application may display a display screen
that may include episodes of the series that may be accessed
on-demand.
[0121] Display screen 1300 includes receive episodes of a series on
a DVD option 1306. A user may select this option to indicate a
desire to receive a DVD with episodes of the series. In response to
a user selection of this option, the media guidance application may
send a DVD to the user with episodes of the series. The user's
address may be acquired from the user profile information. The user
may then be able to view the episodes of the series.
[0122] Display screen 1300 includes purchase episodes of a series
option 1308. A user may select this option to indicate a desire to
purchase episodes of a series, for example, on pay-per-view through
a pay-per-view provider. In response to a user selection of this
option, the media guidance application may provide the user with
various payment options, or may collect payment using user profile
information. The user may then be able to view the episodes of the
series. Options 1304 and 1306 may or may not require payment.
[0123] Display screen 1300 includes download episodes of a series
option 1310. A user may select this option to indicate a desire to
download episodes of a series, for example, to user equipment
device from the Internet. In response to selecting option 1310, the
media guidance application may download episodes of the series to
user equipment device from the Internet.
[0124] Display screen 1300 includes create series aggregation
option 1312. In response to selecting option 1312, the media
guidance application may display series aggregation setup display
screen 700 shown in FIG. 7 to create a series aggregation. Creating
a series aggregation may then follow the process as set forth in
process 100 of FIG. 1. After completing the process 100, the user
may then be able to view the episodes of the series.
[0125] An illustrative interactive media guidance system 1400 in
accordance with the present invention is shown in FIG. 14. System
1400 is intended to illustrate a number of approaches by which
media of various types, and guidance for such media, may be
provided to (and accessed by) end-users. The present invention,
however, may be applied in systems employing any one or a subset of
these approaches, or in systems employing other approaches for
delivering media and providing media guidance.
[0126] The first approach represents a typical television-centric
system in which users may access television (and in some systems
music) programming. This is the approach described herein, but
other approaches may be contemplated by the present invention. The
television-centric approach includes programming sources 1402 and
distribution facility 1404. Media such as television programming
and digital music is provided from programming sources 1402 to
distribution facility 1404, using communications path 1406.
Communications path 1406 may be a satellite path, a fiber-optic
path, a cable path, or any other suitable wired or wireless
communications path or combination of such paths.
[0127] Programming sources 1402 (or media sources) may be any
suitable sources of television and music programming, such as
television broadcasters (e.g., NBC, ABC, and HBO) or other
television or music production studios. Programming sources 1402
may provide television programming in a variety of formats in high
definition and standard definition, such as, for example, 1080p,
1080i, 720p, 480p, 480i, and any other suitable format.
[0128] Distribution facility 1404 may be a cable system headend, a
satellite television distribution facility, a television
broadcaster, or any other suitable facility for distributing video
media (e.g., television programs, video-on-demand programs,
pay-per-view programs) and audio media (e.g., music programming and
music clips) to the equipment of subscribers of the corresponding
cable, satellite, Internet or IPTV system. In some approaches,
distribution facility 1404 may also distribute series program
episodes and other media to users, such as video and audio clips,
web pages, and interactive applications, that may be offered to
subscribers of a given cable, satellite, Internet or IPTV system.
Distribution facility 1404 may be any of the one or more media
sources described herein, such as VOD provider, broadcast provider,
Internet provider, or any other media source. There are typically
numerous television distribution facilities 1404 in system 1400,
but only one is shown in FIG. 14 to avoid overcomplicating the
drawing.
[0129] Distribution facility 1404 may be connected to various user
equipment devices 1408, 1410, and 1412. Such user equipment devices
may be located, for example, in the homes of users. User equipment
devices may include user television equipment 1410, user computer
equipment 1412, or any other type of user equipment suitable for
accessing media. User equipment 1108 may be any type of user
equipment (e.g., user television equipment, user computer
equipment, cellular phones, handheld video players, gaming
platforms, etc.) and, for simplicity, user equipment devices may be
referred to generally as user equipment 1408.
[0130] User equipment devices 1408, 1410, and 1412 may receive
media (such as television, music, web pages, etc.), series program
episodes, and other data from distribution facility 1404 over
communications paths, such as communications paths 1414, 1416, and
1418, respectively. User equipment devices 1408, 1410, 1412 may
also transmit signals to distribution facility 1404 over paths
1414, 1416, and 1418, respectively. Paths 1414, 1416, and 1418 may
be cables or other wired connections, free-space connections (e.g.,
for broadcast or other wireless signals), satellite links, or any
other suitable link or combination of links.
[0131] A second approach illustrated in FIG. 14 by which media and
media guidance are provided to end users is a
non-television-centric approach. In this approach media such as
video (which may include television programming), audio, images,
web pages, or a suitable combination thereof, are provided to
equipment of a plurality of users (e.g., user equipment 1408, user
television equipment 1410, and user computer equipment 1412) by
server 1430 via communications network 1426. This approach is
non-television-centric because media (e.g., television programming)
is provided by and delivered at least partially, and sometimes
exclusively, via equipment that have not traditionally been
primarily focused on the television viewing experience. For
example, episodes desired by a user to be in a series aggregation
may be provided by the Internet. Non-television-centric equipment
is playing a larger role in the television viewing experience.
[0132] In some embodiments for this approach, communications
network 1426 is the Internet. Thus a missed episode desired by a
user to be included in a series aggregation may be downloaded from
the Internet. Server 1430 may provide for example a web site that
is accessible to the user's equipment and provides an online
guidance application for the user. In such approaches, the user's
equipment may be, for example, a PC or a hand-held device such as a
PDA or web-enabled cellular telephone that incorporates a web
browser. In other embodiments, server 1430 uses the Internet as a
transmission medium but does not use the Web. In such approaches,
the user's equipment may run a client application that enables the
user to access media. In still other approaches, communications
network 1426 is a private communications network, such as a
cellular phone network, that does not include the Internet.
[0133] In yet other approaches, communications network 1426
includes a private communications network and the Internet. For
example, a cellular telephone or other mobile-device service
provider may provide Internet access to its subscribers via a
private communications network, or may provide media such as video
clips or television programs to its subscribers via the Internet
and its own network.
[0134] The aforementioned approaches for providing media may, in
some embodiments, be combined. For example, a distribution facility
1404 may provide a television-centric media delivery system, while
also providing users' equipment (e.g., 1408, 1410 and 1412) with
access to other non-television-centric delivery systems provided by
server 1430. For example, a user's equipment may include a
web-enabled set-top box or a television enabled PC. Distribution
facility 1404 may, in addition to television and music programming,
provide the user with Internet access whereby the user may access
server 1430 via communications network 1426. Distribution facility
1404 may communicate with communications network 1426 over any
suitable path 1434, such as a wired path, a cable path, fiber-optic
path, satellite path, or combination of such paths.
[0135] Media guidance applications may be provided using any
approach suitable for the type of media and distribution system for
which the applications are used. Media guidance applications may
be, for example, stand-alone applications implemented on users'
equipment. In other embodiments, media guidance applications may be
client-server applications where only the client resides on the
users' equipment. For example, media guidance applications may be
implemented partially as a client application on control circuitry
on a user's equipment (e.g., control circuitry 1902 of FIG. 19
discussed below), and partially on a remote server as a server
application (e.g., server 1440 of FIG. 14 discussed below). The
control circuitry may be configured to receive an indication of
interest from a user to create a series aggregation of selected
episodes of a series. The control circuitry may then transmit the
indication to a remote server. The remote server may then collect
episodes of the series, and organize the episodes in the order in
which they were originally made available. The control circuitry
may then receive from the remote server data indicating the
collected and organized episodes.
[0136] In still other embodiments, guidance applications may be
provided as web sites accessed by a browser implemented on the
users' equipment. In such online embodiments, control circuitry may
transmit the indication of interest as, for example, a POST
command, and the data indicating the collected and organized
episodes may be received in a web page. Whatever the chosen
implementation, the guidance application will require information
about the media for which it is providing guidance. For example,
titles or names of media, brief descriptions, episode identifiers,
or other information may be necessary to allow users to navigate
among and find desired media selections.
[0137] In some television-centric embodiments, for example, the
guidance application may be a stand-alone interactive television
program guide that receives program guide data via a data feed
(e.g., a continuous feed, trickle feed, or data in the vertical
blanking interval of a channel). Data source 1420 in system 1400
may include a program listings database that is used to provide the
user with television program-related information such as scheduled
broadcast times, titles, channels, ratings information (e.g.,
parental ratings and critic's ratings), detailed title
descriptions, genre or category information (e.g., sports, news,
movies, etc.), program format (e.g., standard definition, high
definition), episode identifiers (such as those used in data
structures 300 and 400 of FIGS. 3 and 4, respectively), and
information on actors and actresses. Data source 1420 may also be
used to provide series program episodes, advertisements (e.g.,
program guide advertisements and advertisements for other
interactive television applications), real-time data such as sports
scores, stock quotes, news data, and weather data, application data
for one or more media guidance applications or other interactive
applications, and any other suitable data for use by system 1400 in
display screens 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1100, 1200, 1300, or
any other display screen. As another example, data source 1420 may
provide data indicating the types of information that may be
included in interactive media guidance overlays (e.g., at the
request of the user, absent user modification, etc.). The
interactive media guidance application may query one or more media
sources to perform step 108 shown in FIG. 1 by querying data from
data source 1420 shown in FIG. 14, programming sources 1402,
servers or other equipment, such as server 1430, service providers
such as service provider 1442, distribution facility 1404, a device
in the home network 1413, user equipment 1408, 1410 or 1412, or any
other suitable media source.
[0138] Program guide data, including episode identifiers (such as
those of data structures 300 and 400 of FIGS. 3 and 4,
respectively), may be provided to user equipment, including user
equipment located on home network 1413, using any suitable
approach. For example, program schedule data and other data may be
provided to the user equipment on a television channel sideband, in
the vertical blanking interval of a television channel, using an
in-band digital signal, using an out-of-band digital signal, or by
any other suitable data transmission technique. Program schedule
data and other data may be provided to user equipment on multiple
analog or digital television channels. Program schedule data and
other data may be provided to the user equipment with any suitable
frequency (e.g., continuously, daily, in response to a request from
user equipment, etc.). The frequency by which data is provided may,
if desired, be linked to the querying of media sources for
information regarding missed episodes (see, e.g., steps 112 and 114
of FIG. 1B).
[0139] In some television-centric embodiments, guidance data from
data source 1420 may be provided to users' equipment using a
client-server approach. For example, a guidance application client
residing on the user's equipment may initiate sessions with server
1440 to obtain guidance data when needed. In some embodiments, the
guidance application may initiate sessions with server 1440 via a
home network server (e.g., a server located in home network 1413
that supports the user equipment devices located in home network
1413).
[0140] There may be multiple data sources (such as data source
1420) in system 1400, although only one data source is shown in
FIG. 14 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. For example, a
separate data source may be associated with each of a plurality of
television broadcasters and may provide data that is specific to
those broadcasters (e.g., advertisements for future programming of
the broadcasters, logo data for displaying broadcasters' logos in
program guide display screens, etc.). Data source 1420 and any
other system components of FIG. 14 may be provided using equipment
at one or more locations. Systems components are drawn as single
boxes in FIG. 14 to avoid overcomplicating the drawings.
[0141] Data source 1420 may provide data including episode
identifiers (such as those of data structures 300 and 400 of FIGS.
3 and 4) to distribution facility 1404 over communications path
1422 for distribution to the associated user equipment and home
network 1413 (discussed below) over paths 1414, 1416, 1418, and
1419 (e.g., when data source 1420 is located at a main facility).
Communications path 1422 may be any suitable communications path
such as a satellite communications path or other wireless path, a
fiber-optic or other wired communications path, a path that
supports Internet communications, or other suitable path or
combination of such paths.
[0142] In some television-centric and non-television centric
approaches, data source 1420 may provide guidance data directly to
user equipment 1408 over path 1424, communications network 1426,
and path 1428 (e.g., when data source 1420 is located at a facility
such as one of programming sources 1402). In some embodiments of
the present invention, data source 1420 may provide guidance data
directly to user equipment located on home network 1413 (discussed
below) over path 1424, communications network 1426, and path 1439
(e.g., when data source 1420 is located at a facility such as one
of programming sources 1402). Paths 1424, 1428, and 1439 may be
wired paths such as telephone lines, cable paths, fiber-optic
paths, satellite paths, wireless paths, any other suitable paths or
a combination of such paths. Communications network 1426 may be any
suitable communications network, such as the Internet, the public
switched telephone network, or a packet-based network.
[0143] User equipment devices, including user equipment devices
located on home network 1413 (discussed below), such as user
television equipment and personal computers, may use the program
schedule data and other interactive media guidance application data
to display program listings and other information (e.g.,
information on series programs, digital music) for the user. An
interactive television program guide application or other suitable
interactive media guidance application may be used to display the
information on the user's display (e.g., in one or more overlays
that are displayed on top of video for a given television channel,
such as display screens 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1100, 1200,
1300, or any other display screen). Interactive displays may be
generated and displayed for the user using any suitable approach.
In one suitable approach, distribution facility 1404, server 1430,
or another facility, may generate application display screens and
may transmit the display screens to user equipment for display. In
another suitable approach, user equipment may store data for use in
one or more interactive displays (e.g., program schedule data,
advertisements, logos, series program episodes, etc.), and an
interactive media guidance application implemented at least
partially on the user equipment may generate the interactive
displays based on instructions received from distribution facility
1404, server 1430 or another facility. In some embodiments of the
present invention, user equipment may store only the data that is
used to generate the interactive television displays (e.g., storing
series program episode information, storing logo data for a
particular television broadcaster only if the logo is to be
included in one or more interactive television displays). In some
embodiments of the present invention, user equipment may store data
that is not necessarily used to generate the interactive television
displays (e.g., storing advertisements associated with a particular
television broadcaster that may or may not be displayed depending
on, for example, the outcome of negotiations with the television
broadcaster). Any other suitable approach or combination of
approaches may be used to generate and display interactive overlays
for the user, such as display screens 500, 600, 700, 800, 900,
1000, 1100, 1200, 1300, or any other display screen.
[0144] In still other embodiments, interactive media guidance
applications (television-centric and non-television centric) may be
provided online as, for example, websites. For example, server 1430
may provide an online interactive television program guide. As
another example, user equipment 1408 may be a mobile device, such
as a cellular telephone or personal digital assistant (PDA). The
mobile device may be web-enabled to allow the user to access an
online guidance application (which may be modified from its
original version to make it appropriate for a cellular phone).
Alternatively, the mobile device may have an applet that
communicates with server 1430 to obtain guidance data via the
Internet.
[0145] Server 1430 may receive program schedule data and other data
(e.g., series program episode information) from data source 1420
via communications path 1424, communications network 1426, and
communications path 1432 or via another suitable path or
combination of paths. Path 1432 may be a satellite path,
fiber-optic path, wired path, or any other path or combination of
paths. User equipment 1408 may access the online interactive media
guidance application and other sources from server 1430 via
communications path 1428. User equipment 1408 may also access the
application and other services on server 1430 via communications
path 1414, distribution facility 1404, and communications path
1434. For example, a cable modem or other suitable equipment may be
used by user equipment 1408 to communicate with distribution
facility 1404.
[0146] User equipment such as user television equipment 1410, user
computer equipment 1412, and user equipment located on home network
1413 may access the online interactive media guidance application
and server 1430 using similar arrangements. Episodes to be included
in a series aggregation may be accessed through such arrangements
as well. User television equipment 1410 may access the online
interactive media guidance application and server 1430 using
communications path 1436 or using path 1416, distribution facility
1404, and path 1434. User computer equipment 1412 may access the
online interactive media guidance application and server 1430 using
communications path 1438 or using path 1418, distribution facility
1404, and path 1434. User equipment located on home network 1413
may access the online media guidance application and server 1430
using communications path 1439 or using path 1419, distribution
facility 1404, and path 1434. Paths 1436, 1438, and 1439 may be any
suitable paths such as wired paths, cable paths, fiber-optic paths,
wireless paths, satellite paths, or a combination of such
paths.
[0147] In some embodiments, system 1400 may support other
interactive applications in addition to the interactive media
guidance applications. Such applications may be implemented using
any suitable approach. For example, the interactive applications
may be implemented locally on the user equipment or in a
distributed fashion (e.g., using a client-server architecture in
which the user equipment serves at least partly, and for at least
some of the time, as the client and a server, such as server 1440
at distribution facility 1404, server 1430, or other suitable
equipment acts as the server). Other distributed architectures may
also be used if desired. Moreover, some or all of the features of
the interactive applications of system 1400 (including the media
guidance application) may be provided using operating system
software or middleware software. Such operating system software and
middleware may be used instead of or in combination with
application-level software. In yet other approaches, interactive
applications may also be supported by servers or other suitable
equipment at one or more service providers such as service provider
1442. Regardless of the particular arrangement used, the software
that supports these features may be referred to as an application
or applications.
[0148] For example, an interactive application such as a home
shopping service may be supported by a service provider such as
service provider 1442 that has sales representatives, order
fulfillment facilities, account maintenance facilities, and other
equipment for supporting interactive home shopping features. A home
shopping application that is implemented using the user equipment
may be used to access the service provider to provide such features
to the user. The user equipment may access service provider 1442
via distribution facility 1404 and communications path 1444 or via
communications network 1426 and communications path 1446.
Communications paths such as paths 1444 and 1446 may be any
suitable paths such as wired paths, cable paths, fiber-optic paths,
satellite paths, or a combination of such paths.
[0149] Another example of an interactive application is a home
banking application. A home banking service may be supported using
personnel at facilities such as service provider 1442. An
interactive home banking application that is implemented using the
user equipment may access the home banking service via distribution
facility 1404 and communications path 1444 or via communications
network 1426 and communications path 1446.
[0150] If desired, an interactive media guidance application such
as a network-based video recorder or a video-on-demand application
may be supported using server 1440, server 1430, a home network
server, or equipment at service provider 1442. Video-on-demand
content and video recorded using a network-based video recorder
arrangement may be stored on server 1440 or server 1430 or a home
network server or at service provider 1442 and may be provided to
the user equipment when requested by users. An interactive
television program guide, for example, may be used to support the
functions of a personal video recorder (sometimes called a digital
video recorder) that is implemented using user equipment 1408.
Illustrative equipment that may be used to support personal video
recorder functions include specialized personal video recorder
devices, integrated receiver decoders (IRDs), set-top boxes with
integrated or external hard drives, or personal computers with
video recording capabilities.
[0151] Interactive applications such as media guidance applications
(e.g., interactive television program guide applications and
video-on-demand applications), home shopping applications, home
banking applications, game applications, and other applications
(e.g., applications related to e-mail and chat or other
communications functions, etc.) may be provided as separate
applications that are accessed through a navigation shell
application (i.e., a menu application with menu options
corresponding to the applications). The features of such
applications may be combined. For example, games, video-on-demand
services, home shopping services, network-based video recorder
functions, personal video recorder functions, navigational
functions, program guide functions, communications functions, and
other suitable functions may be provided using one application or
any other suitable number of applications. The one or more
applications may display various overlays on user equipment
including, for example, interactive television information on top
of video for a given television channel.
[0152] Interactive television program guide applications, home
banking applications, home shopping applications, network-based
video recorder and personal video recorder applications,
video-on-demand applications, gaming applications, communications
applications, and navigational applications are only a few
illustrative examples of the types of interactive media guidance
and other applications that may be supported by system 1400. Other
suitable interactive applications that may be supported include
news services, web browsing and other Internet services, and
interactive wagering services (e.g., for wagering on horse races,
sporting events, and the like). Interactive television overlays
that are displayed by these applications may also be customized in
accordance with the present invention.
[0153] Users may have multiple types of user equipment by which
they access media and obtain media guidance. For example, some
users may have home networks that are accessed by in-home and
mobile devices. As shown in FIG. 14, home network 1413 communicates
with distribution facility 1404 and server 1430 over paths 1419 and
1439 (and, in the case of server 1430, communications network
1426). Such home networks 1413 may be located, for example, in
homes of users or distributed, for example, among homes of users.
Home networks 1413 may each include a plurality of interconnected
user equipment devices, such as, for example user equipment devices
1408, 1410 and 1412. In some embodiments, users may control in-home
devices via a media guidance application implemented on a remote
device. For example, users may access an online media guidance
application on a website via a personal computer at their office,
or a mobile device such as a PDA or web-enabled cellular telephone.
The user may set settings (e.g., recordings, reminders, or other
settings) on the online guidance application to control the user's
in-home equipment. The online guide may control the user's
equipment directly, or by communicating with a media guidance
application on the user's in-home equipment.
[0154] FIGS. 15-19 show illustrative arrangements for user
equipment. An illustrative set-top box-based arrangement for user
equipment 1410 is shown in FIG. 15. User television equipment 1410
may be stand-alone or a part of home network 1413 (FIG. 14). User
television equipment 1410 may include a recording device 1506 shown
in FIG. 15 such as a digital video recorder (e.g., a personal video
recorder (PVR)) that uses a hard disk or other storage for
recording episodes. Recording device 1506 may alternatively be a
digital video disc recorder, compact disc recorder, video recording
device, video recorder, or other suitable recording device (not
shown). Equipment 1410 may also include a television 1508. In some
embodiments, such as when a user selects to create a series
aggregation from high-definition channels, television 1208 may be
HDTV-capable. Input/output 1502 may be connected to communications
paths such as paths 1516 and 1536 (FIG. 15). Input/output functions
may be provided by one or more wires or communications paths, but
are shown as a single path in FIG. 15 to avoid overcomplicating the
drawing. Television programming, program guide data, episode
identifiers (such as those of data structures 300 and 400 of FIGS.
3 and 4), and any other suitable interactive media guidance
application data or other data may be received using input/output
1502. Commands and requests and other data generated as a result of
user interactions with the interactive media guidance application
may also be transmitted over input/output 1502.
[0155] Set-top box 1504 may be any suitable analog or digital
set-top box (e.g., a cable set-top box). Set-top box 1504 may
contain an analog tuner for tuning to a desired analog television
channel (e.g., a channel comprising television programming,
interactive television data, or both, to display video for an
analog television channel when a user selects to create a series
aggregation from an analog television channel), and multiple other
tuners may also be provided. Set-top box 1504 may also contain
digital decoding circuitry for receiving digital television
channels (e.g., channels comprising television or music
programming, interactive television data, series program episode
data, etc.). Set-top box 1504 may also contain a high-definition
television tuner for receiving and processing high-definition
television channels. Analog, digital, and high-definition channels
may be handled together if desired. Multiple tuners may be provided
(e.g., to handle simultaneous watch and record functions or
picture-in-picture (PIP) functions). Box 1504 may be an integrated
receiver decoder (IRD) that handles satellite television. If
desired, box 1504 may have circuitry for handling cable,
over-the-air broadcast, and satellite content.
[0156] Set-top box 1504 may be configured to output media, such as
television programs, in a preferred format. Because television
programs may be received in a variety of formats, set-top box 1504
may contain scaler circuitry for upconverting and downconverting
television programs into the preferred output format used by
set-top box 1504. For example, set-top box 1504 may be configured
to output television programs in 720p. In this example, the scaler
circuitry may upconvert standard-definition television programs
having 480 lines of vertical resolution to 720p format and
downconvert certain high-definition television programs having 1080
lines of vertical resolution to 720p format.
[0157] Box 1504 may include a storage device (e.g., a digital
storage device such as a hard disk drive) for providing recording
capabilities. Box 1504 may also be connected to a recording device
1506 such as a video recording device, personal video recorder,
optical disc recorder, or other device or devices with storage
capabilities. In some embodiments, box 1504 may be configured to
record either standard-definition television programs or
high-definition television programs. In some embodiments, box 1504
may be configured to record both standard-definition television
programs and high-definition television programs.
[0158] Set-top box 1504 contains a processor (e.g., a
microcontroller or microprocessor or the like) that is used to
execute software applications. Set-top box 1504 may contain memory
such as random-access memory for use when executing applications
and/or recording episodes for a series aggregation. Nonvolatile
memory may also be used (e.g., to launch a boot-up routine and
other instructions). Hard disk storage in box 1504 or in recording
device 1506 may be used to back up data and to otherwise support
larger databases (e.g., program guide databases or other
interactive television application databases) and storage
requirements than may be supported using random-access memory
approaches. Hard disk storage in box 1504 or in recording device
1506 may also be used to store and back up program guide settings
or saved user preferences, such as user preferences that may be
saved after a user selects (e.g. options shown in FIGS. 7 and 9),
and to record episodes in a series aggregation.
[0159] Set-top box 1504 may have infrared (IR) or other
communications circuitry for communicating with a remote control or
wireless keyboard. Set-top box 1504 may also have dedicated buttons
and a front-panel display. The front-panel display may, for
example, be used to display the current channel to which the
set-top box is tuned.
[0160] Set-top box 1504 may also have communications circuitry such
as a cable modem, an integrated services digital network (ISDN)
modem, a digital subscriber line (DSL) modem, a telephone modem, or
a wireless modem for communications with other equipment. Such
communications may involve the Internet or any other suitable
communications networks or paths. If desired, the components of
set-top box 1504 may be integrated into other user equipment (e.g.,
a television or video recording device, video recorder or other
recording device).
[0161] Recording device 1506 may be used to record videos provided
by set-top box 1504. For example, if set-top box 1504 is tuned to a
given television channel, the video signal for that television
channel may be passed to recording device 1506 for recording on a
videocassette, compact disc, digital video disk, or internal hard
drive or other storage device. In some embodiments, recording
device 1506 may be configured to record either standard-definition
television programs or high-definition television programs. In some
embodiments, recording device 1506 may be configured to record
standard-definition television programs and/or high-definition
television programs depending on what a user may select at option
914 shown in FIG. 9. Recording device 1506 may have communications
circuitry such as a cable modem, an ISDN modem, a DSL modem, or a
telephone modem for communications with other equipment. Such
communications may involve the Internet or any other suitable
communications networks or paths, such as when a missed episode
desired by the user to be included in a series aggregation may be
downloaded from the Internet. The components of recording device
1506 may be integrated into other user equipment (e.g., a
television, stereo equipment, etc.).
[0162] Recording device 1506 may be controlled using a remote
control or other suitable user interface. If desired, video
recorder functions such as start, stop, record and other functions
for device 1506 may be controlled by set-top box 1504. For example,
set-top box 1504 may control recording device 1506 using infrared
commands directed toward the remote control inputs of recording
device 1506 or set-top box 1504 may control recording device 1506
using other wired or wireless communications paths between box 1504
and device 1506.
[0163] The output of recording device 1506 may be provided to
television 1508 for display to the user. In some embodiments,
television 1508 may be capable of displaying high-definition
programming (i.e., HDTV-capable). If desired, multiple recording
devices 1506 may be used for multiple aggregations or no recording
device 1506 may be used. If recording device 1506 is not present or
is not being actively used, the video signals from set-top box 1504
may be provided directly to television 1508. Any suitable
television or monitor may be used to display the video. For
example, if the video is in a high-definition format, an
HDTV-capable television or monitor is required to display the
video. In the equipment of FIG. 15 and the other equipment of
system 1400 (FIG. 14), the audio associated with various video
items is typically distributed with those video items and is
generally played back to the user as the videos are played. In some
embodiments, the audio may be distributed to a receiver (not
shown), which processes and outputs the audio via external speakers
(not shown).
[0164] Another illustrative arrangement for user television
equipment 1410 (FIG. 14) is shown in FIG. 16. User television
equipment 1410 may be stand-alone or a part of home network 1413
(FIG. 14). In the example of FIG. 16, user television equipment
1410 includes a recording device 1602 such as a digital video
recorder (e.g., a personal video recorder (PVR)) that uses a hard
disk or other storage for recording video or missed episodes
desired by a user to be in a series aggregation, for example, at
step 108 shown in FIG. 1. Recording device 1602 may alternatively
be a digital video disc recorder, compact disc recorder, video
recording device, video recorder, or other suitable recording
device. Equipment 1410 of FIG. 16 may also include a television
1604. In some embodiments, television 1604 may be HDTV-capable.
Input/output 1606 may be connected to communications paths such as
paths 1416 and 1436 (FIG. 14). Television programming, program
schedule data, and other data (e.g., advertisement data, data
indicating one or more television channels for which the display of
an overlay is to be customized, episode identifiers (such as those
of data structures 300 and 400 of FIGS. 3 and 4), etc.) may be
received using input/output 1606. Commands and requests and other
data received from the user through a remote control may be
transmitted over input/output 1606.
[0165] Recording device 1602 may contain at least one analog tuner
for tuning to a desired analog television channel (e.g., to display
video for a given television channel to a user, to receive program
guide data and other data) and multiple other tuners may also be
provided. Recording device 1602 may also contain digital decoding
circuitry for receiving digital television programming, music
programming, program guide data, and other data on one or more
digital channels. Recording device 1602 may also contain circuitry
for receiving high-definition television channels, for example, if
a user has selected to create a series aggregation from
high-definition channels through option 914 shown in FIG. 9. If
desired, recording device 1602 may contain circuitry for handling
analog, digital, and high-definition channels. Recording device
1602 also contains a processor (e.g., a microcontroller or
microprocessor or the like) that is used to execute software
applications. Recording device 1602 may contain memory such as
random-access memory for use when executing applications.
Nonvolatile memory may also be used to store a boot-up routine or
other instructions. The hard disk and other storage in recording
device 1602 may be used to support databases (e.g., program guide
databases, series aggregation information databases or other
interactive television application databases). The hard disk or
other storage in recording device 1602 may also be used to record
video such as television programs or video-on-demand content or
other content provided to recording device 1602 over input/output
1606. Recording device 1602 may also store series aggregation
information and episode identifiers for episodes that are part of a
series aggregation, such as data structures 200, 300, and 400 of
FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Episode identifiers such as those
in data structure 400 of FIG. 4 may be stored on recording device
1602 with its corresponding episode or as part of a separate
storage database such as series aggregation information
databases.
[0166] Recording device 1602 may have IR communications circuitry
or other suitable communications circuitry for communicating with a
remote control. Recording device 1602 may also have dedicated
buttons and a front-panel display. The front-panel display may, for
example, be used to display the current channel to which the
recording device is tuned.
[0167] Recording device 1602 may also have communications circuitry
such as a cable modem, an ISDN modem, a DSL modem, a telephone
modem, or a wireless modem for communications with other equipment.
Such communications may involve the Internet or other suitable
communications networks or paths.
[0168] If desired, recording device 1302 may include a satellite
receiver or other equipment that has wireless communications
circuitry for receiving satellite signals.
[0169] Recording device 1602 of FIG. 16 or recording device 1506 of
FIG. 15 may record new video while previously recorded video is
being played back on television 1604 or 1508. This allows users to
view video while episodes are being recorded in accordance with
aggregation priorities set at option 902 shown in FIG. 9. Users may
also press a pause button during normal television viewing. When
the pause button is pressed, the current television program is
stored on the hard disk of digital video recorder 1602. When the
user presses play, the recorded video may be played back. This
arrangement allows the user to pause and to resume television
viewing seamlessly. Recording devices 1602 and 1506 may also be
used to present a previously-recorded program while simultaneously
recording a new program.
[0170] The set-top box arrangement of FIG. 15 and the personal
video recorder with a built-in set-top box arrangement of FIG. 16
are merely illustrative. Other arrangements may be used if desired.
For example, user television equipment may be based on a WebTV box,
a personal computer television (PC/TV), or any other suitable
television equipment arrangement. If desired, the functions of
components such as set-top box 1504, recording device 1602, a WebTV
box, or PC/TV or the like may be integrated into a television or
personal computer or other suitable device.
[0171] An illustrative remote control 1700 for operating user
television equipment 1410 (FIG. 14) or suitable user computer
equipment 1412 is shown in FIG. 17. Remote control 1700 is only
illustrative and any other suitable user input interface may be
used to operate user equipment (e.g., a mouse, trackball, keypad,
keyboard, touch screen, voice recognition system, etc.). Remote
control 1700 may have function keys 1702 and other keys 1704 such
as keypad keys, power on/off keys, pause, stop, fast-forward and
reverse keys. Volume up and down keys 1706 may be used for
adjusting the volume of the audio portion of a video. Channel up
and down keys 1708 may be used to change television channels and to
access content on virtual channels. Cursor keys 1710 may be used to
navigate on-screen menus or interactive displays, such as those
shown in FIGS. 5-13. For example, cursor keys 1410 may be used to
position an on-screen cursor, indicator, or highlight (sometimes
all generically referred to herein as a highlight or highlight
region) to indicate interest in a particular option (e.g., 902-619,
FIG. 9) or other item on a display screen that is displayed by the
interactive television application.
[0172] OK key 1712 (sometimes called a select or enter key) may be
used to select on-screen options that the user has highlighted. In
one embodiment, the OK key 1712 can be used to indicate interest in
changing the order of priority for series aggregations. For
example, when an aggregation priority option (902, FIG. 9) appears
on a display screen, a user can press the OK key 1712 shown in FIG.
17 to indicate interest in changing the order of priority for
series aggregations. In response, an interactive screen such as
that shown in FIG. 10 can appear.
[0173] Keys 1702 may include RECORD key 1714 for initiating
recordings. MENU button 1716 may be used to direct an interactive
media guidance application to display a menu on the user's display
screen (e.g., on television 1508 or 1604 or on a suitable monitor
or computer display). INFO button 1718 may be used to direct an
interactive media guidance application to display an information
display screen. For example, when a user presses INFO key 1718
while video for a given television channel is displayed for the
user, an interactive television program guide may display a
FLIP/BROWSE overlay including program schedule information for the
current program on the given television channel on top of the
video. As another example, when a particular program listing in an
interactive television program listings display screen is
highlighted, the user pressing INFO button 1718 may cause an
interactive television program guide to provide additional program
information associated with that program listing (e.g., a program
description, actor information, schedule information, etc.).
[0174] AGGREGATE button 1720 may be used to indicate a desire to
create a series aggregation. For example, a user may use AGGREGATE
button 1720 or on-screen options to establish series aggregation
settings for the interactive media guidance application. The series
aggregation settings may be any of the settings provided in series
aggregation setup display screen 700 shown in FIG. 7 or any other
suitable settings (e.g., display screen 900 of FIG. 9). AGGREGATE
button 1720 may be selected when, for example, a program is being
viewed. AGGREGATE button 1720 may also be selected when, for
example, program information display screen 600 shown in FIG. 6 is
displayed. AGGREGATE button 1720 may also be selected when, for
example, program listings display screen 500 shown in FIG. 5 is
displayed. Once AGGREGATE button 1720 has been selected, the
interactive media guidance application may display series
aggregation setup display screen 700 shown in FIG. 7 and allow the
user to be set up the series aggregation.
[0175] EXIT button 1722 may be used to exit the interactive media
guidance application or to exit a portion of the interactive media
guidance application (e.g., to cause an interactive television
program guide to remove a FLIP, BROWSE, or other interactive
television overlay from the display screen). In one example, EXIT
button 1722 can be associated with an exit option in a series
aggregation setup display screen (e.g., 700, FIG. 7). GUIDE button
1724 may be used to invoke an interactive television program guide
(e.g., a program guide menu screen, program listings screen, or
other program guide screen).
[0176] The keys shown in FIG. 17 are merely illustrative. Other
keys or buttons may be provided if desired. For example, a music
button may be used to access music with the interactive media
guidance application. An edit button may be used to edit stored
content (e.g., to remove commercials, remove portions of a video,
etc.). Alphanumeric buttons may be used to enter alphanumeric
characters. A last or back button may be used to browse backward in
the interactive media guidance application (e.g., to return to a
previous channel, web page, or other display screen). Video
recorder function buttons such as a play button, pause button, stop
button, rewind button, fast-forward button, and record button, may
be used to control video recorder functions (local or
network-based) in system 1400 (FIG. 14). A help key may be used to
invoke help functions such as context-sensitive on-screen help
functions.
[0177] Illustrative user computer equipment 1412 (FIG. 14) is shown
in FIG. 18. User computer equipment 1412 may be stand-alone or a
part of home network 1413 (FIG. 14). In the arrangement of FIG. 18,
personal computer unit 1802 may be controlled by the user using
keyboard 1804 and/or other suitable user input device such as a
trackball, mouse, touch pad, touch screen, voice recognition
system, or a remote control, such as remote control 1700 of FIG.
17. Video content, such as television programming or web pages
having video elements, and interactive media guidance application
display screens may be displayed on monitor 1506. Television and
music programming, media guidance application data (e.g.,
television program guide data), video-on-demand content, video
recordings played back from a network-based video recorder, and
other data may be received from paths 1418 and 1438 (FIG. 14) using
input/output 1808. User commands and other information generated as
a result of user interactions through a remote control with the
interactive media guidance application and system 1400 (FIG. 14)
may also be transmitted over input/output 1808.
[0178] Personal computer unit 1802 may contain a television or
video card, such as a television tuner card, for decoding analog,
digital, and high-definition television channels and for handling
streaming video content. Multiple video cards (e.g., tuner cards)
may be provided if desired. An illustrative television tuner card
that may be used may contain an analog television tuner for tuning
to a given analog channel, digital decoding circuitry for filtering
out a desired digital television or music channel from a packetized
digital data stream, and a high-definition television tuner for
tuning to a high-definition channel, for use, for example, when a
user selects to create a series aggregation from high-definition
channels in option 914 shown in FIG. 9. Any suitable card or
components in computer unit 1802 may be used to handle video and
other content delivered via input/output line 1808 if desired.
[0179] Personal computer unit 1802 may contain one or more
processors (e.g., microprocessors) that are used to run the
interactive media guidance application or a portion of the
interactive media guidance application.
[0180] Personal computer unit 1802 may include a hard drive, a
recordable DVD drive, a recordable CD drive, or other suitable
storage device or devices that stores video, program guide data,
and other content such as missed episodes desired by a user to be
in a series aggregation. The interactive media guidance application
and personal computer unit 1802 may use a storage device or devices
to, for example, provide the functions of a personal video
recorder.
[0181] User equipment, such as user equipment 1408, user television
equipment 1410, user computer equipment 1412, and user equipment
located on home network 1413 (FIG. 14), may be used with network
equipment such as server 1430, server 1440, a home network server,
and equipment at service providers such as service provider 1442 of
FIG. 14 to provide network-based video recording functions. Video
recording functions may be provided by storing copies of television
programs and other video content on a remote server (e.g., server
1430 or server 1440 or a home network server) or other
network-based equipment, such as equipment at a service provider
such as service provider 1442.
[0182] Video recordings may be made in response to user commands
that are entered at user equipment 1408 or user equipment located
on home network 1413 (FIG. 14). In a personal video recorder
arrangement, the interactive media guidance application may be used
to record video locally on the user equipment in response to the
user commands. In a network-based video recorder arrangement, the
interactive media guidance application may be used to record video
or to make virtual recordings (described below) on network
equipment such as server 1430, server 1440, a home network server,
or equipment at service provider 1442 in response to the user
commands. The user commands may be provided to the network
equipment over the communications paths shown in FIG. 14. The
personal video recorder arrangement and the network-based video
recorder arrangement can support functions such as fast-forward,
rewind, pause, play, and record.
[0183] To avoid unnecessary duplication in a network-based video
recorder environment, system 1400 may provide network-based video
recording capabilities by using virtual copies or recordings. With
this approach, each user may be provided with a personal area on
the network that contains a list of that user's recordings. The
video content need only be stored once (or a relatively small
number of times) on the network equipment, even though a large
number of users may have that video content listed as one of their
recordings in their network-based video recorder personal area.
Personal settings or any other suitable data may be stored in a
user's personal area on the network.
[0184] The user television equipment and user computer equipment
arrangements described above are merely illustrative. A more
generalized embodiment of illustrative user equipment 1408, 1410,
and 1412 (FIG. 14) and user equipment located on home network 1413
(FIG. 14) is shown in FIG. 19. Control circuitry 1902 is connected
to input/output 1604. Input/output 1904 may be connected to one or
more communications paths such as paths 1414, 1416, 1418, 1428,
1436, and 1438 of FIG. 14. Media (e.g., television programming,
music programming, other video and audio, and web pages) may be
received via input/output 1904 (e.g., from programming sources
1402, servers or other equipment, such as server 1430, service
providers such as service provider 1442, distribution facility
1404, etc.). Interactive media guidance application data, such as
program schedule or series program episode information for an
interactive television program guide, may be received from data
source 1420 via input/output 1904. Input/output 1904 may also be
used to receive data from data source 1420 for other interactive
television applications. The user may use control circuitry 1902 to
send and receive commands, requests, and other suitable data (e.g.,
series program episode information) using input/output 1904.
[0185] Control circuitry 1902 may be based on any suitable
processing circuitry 1906 such as processing circuitry based on one
or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal
processors, programmable logic devices, etc. In some embodiments,
control circuitry 1902 executes instructions for an interactive
media guidance application or other interactive application (e.g.,
web browser) from memory. In client-server based embodiments,
control circuitry 1902 may include communications circuitry
suitable for communicating with a guidance application server, such
as server 1440 of FIG. 14.
[0186] Memory (e.g., random-access memory and read-only memory),
hard drives, optical drives, or any other suitable memory or
storage devices may be provided as storage 1908 that is part of
control circuitry 1902. Tuning circuitry such as one or more analog
tuners, one or more MPEG-2 decoders or other digital video
circuitry, high-definition tuners, or any other suitable tuning or
video circuits or combinations of such circuits may also be
included as part of circuitry 1902, for use, for example, when a
user desires to replace a standard-definition format of an episode
recorded on user equipment device with a high-definition format of
the same episode. Encoding circuitry (e.g., for converting
over-the-air, analog, or digital signals to MPEG signals for
storage) may also be provided. The tuning and encoding circuitry
may be used by the user equipment to receive and to display, to
play, or to record a particular television or music channel or
other desired audio and video content (e.g., video-on-demand
content or requested network-based or local video recorder
playback). Television programming and other video and on-screen
options and information (e.g., interactive screens of FIGS. 5-13)
may be displayed on display 1910. Display 1910 may be a monitor, a
television, or any other suitable equipment for displaying visual
images. In some embodiments, display 1910 may be HDTV-capable.
Speakers 1912 may be provided as part of a television or may be
stand-alone units. Digital music and the audio component of videos
displayed on display 1910 may be played through speakers 1912. In
some embodiments, the audio may be distributed to a receiver (not
shown), which processes and outputs the audio via speakers
1912.
[0187] A user may control the control circuitry 1902 using user
input interface 1914. User input interface 1914 may be any suitable
user interface, such as a mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard, touch
screen, touch pad, voice recognition interface, or a remote
control.
[0188] Peripheral device 1918 may also be connected to processing
circuitry 1906 over communications path 1916. Peripheral devices
may include cellular phones, personal data assistants, handheld
media players, and any other suitable peripheral device.
Communications path 1916 may include for example, USB cables, IEEE
1394 cables, or wireless paths (e.g., Bluetooth, infrared).
Processing circuitry 1906 may provide content and data to
peripheral device 1918.
[0189] It should be understood by one skilled in the art that media
guidance applications may also record the episodes in formats that
are suitable for display by peripheral devices connected to user
equipment devices without departing from the scope of the present
invention. The user equipment devices may transfer the suitable
formats of the content to the peripheral devices to which they are
connected.
[0190] In some embodiments, the media guidance application may
adjust the format of recorded episodes based on the capabilities of
the user equipment device accessing the episodes. For example, the
display format of some media may be different when played back by a
laptop computer, I-Video device, media player, mobile phone,
personal digital assistant (PDA), or BlackBerry.TM.. In some
embodiments, the media guidance application may record missed
episodes in the highest definition format available, and may
translate the display format into a smaller size or resolution
appropriate for the accessing device.
[0191] The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of
this invention and various modifications can be made by those
skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of
the invention. The embodiments described herein are presented for
purposes of illustration and not of limitation, and the invention
is limited only by the claims which follow.
* * * * *