U.S. patent application number 14/142375 was filed with the patent office on 2014-04-24 for identifying instances of media programming available from different content sources.
The applicant listed for this patent is Ryan Case, Frank Conway, Sean Curtis, Deepak Jhalani, David Charles Lankford. Invention is credited to Ryan Case, Frank Conway, Sean Curtis, Deepak Jhalani, David Charles Lankford.
Application Number | 20140115634 14/142375 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 47069016 |
Filed Date | 2014-04-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140115634 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Curtis; Sean ; et
al. |
April 24, 2014 |
IDENTIFYING INSTANCES OF MEDIA PROGRAMMING AVAILABLE FROM DIFFERENT
CONTENT SOURCES
Abstract
Systems and methods are provided for identifying instances of
media programming available within a media distribution system. An
exemplary method involves searching a listing of media programming
available from a first content source using search criteria
indicative of a desired media program to identify an instance of
the desired media program available from the first content source,
obtaining a target program identifier associated with the desired
media program from that instance, identifying another instance of
the desired media program in a second listing of media programming
available from another content source using the target program
identifier, and providing a combined search result that indicates
availability of the desired media program from the content
sources.
Inventors: |
Curtis; Sean; (Rockville
Center, NY) ; Conway; Frank; (Hoboken, NJ) ;
Lankford; David Charles; (New York, NY) ; Jhalani;
Deepak; (Jersey City, NJ) ; Case; Ryan;
(Brooklyn, NY) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Curtis; Sean
Conway; Frank
Lankford; David Charles
Jhalani; Deepak
Case; Ryan |
Rockville Center
Hoboken
New York
Jersey City
Brooklyn |
NY
NJ
NY
NJ
NY |
US
US
US
US
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
47069016 |
Appl. No.: |
14/142375 |
Filed: |
December 27, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
13098192 |
Apr 29, 2011 |
8646013 |
|
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14142375 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
725/49 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N 21/4828 20130101;
H04N 21/47202 20130101; H04N 21/4147 20130101; H04N 21/4622
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
725/49 |
International
Class: |
H04N 21/462 20060101
H04N021/462; H04N 21/472 20060101 H04N021/472; H04N 21/482 20060101
H04N021/482 |
Claims
1. A server comprising: a memory having stored therein a first
listing of media programs available from a first content source and
a second listing of media programs available from a second content
source; and a processor coupled to the memory, the processor being
configured to receive search criteria indicative of a desired media
program, identify a first media data object in the first listing
corresponding to a first instance of the desired media program
available from the first content source, obtain a program
identifier from the first media data object, identify a second
media data object in the second listing corresponding to a second
instance of the desired media program available from the second
content source, and provide a combined search result indicating
availability of the desired media program from the first content
source and the second content source.
2. The server of claim 1, wherein the first content source is a
digital video recorder.
3. The server of claim 2, wherein the processor obtains the first
listing of media programs from the digital video recorder and
stores the first listing in the memory.
4. The server of claim 2, wherein the second content source is
selected from a group consisting of an online programming source
and an on-demand programming source.
5. The server of claim 1, the server being coupled to a network,
wherein: the first content source is a media device coupled to the
network; and the second content source is selected from a group
consisting of an online programming source coupled to the network
and an on-demand programming source coupled to the network.
6. The server of claim 5, wherein the processor obtains the first
listing of media programs from the media device, stores the first
listing in the memory, obtains the second listing of media programs
from an associating server coupled to the network, and stores the
second listing in the memory.
7. The server of claim 1, wherein the first content source is a
broadcast source.
8. The server of claim 7, wherein the processor obtains the first
listing of media programs from a program guide and stores the first
listing in the memory.
9. The server of claim 7, wherein the second content source is
selected from a group consisting of an online programming source
and an on-demand programming source.
10. The server of claim 1, the server being coupled to a network,
wherein the processor obtains the second listing of media programs
from an associating server coupled to the network, the associating
server being configured to format each media data object of the
second listing to include a respective program identifier
associated with the respective media program corresponding to the
respective media data object.
11. A method executable by a processing system to identify
instances of a desired media program available within a media
distribution system, the method comprising: searching, by the
processing system, a first listing of media programming available
from a first content source using search criteria indicative of the
desired media program to identify a first instance of the desired
media program available from the first content source; obtaining,
by the processing system, a target program identifier associated
with the desired media program from the first instance;
identifying, by the processing system, a second instance of the
desired media program in a second listing of media programming
available from a second content source using the target program
identifier, the second content source being different from the
first content source; and providing, by the processing system, a
combined search result that indicates availability of the desired
media program from the first content source and the second content
source.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the processing system is a host
server communicating with a client device over a network, the
search criteria being provided by a user of the client device,
wherein the method further comprises receiving, by the host server,
the search criteria from the client device.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein providing the combined search
result comprises displaying a graphical representation of the
combined search result in an application on the client device.
14. The method of claim 11, further comprising: obtaining, by an
associating server communicating with the processing system, a
plurality of media data objects, each media data object
corresponding to a media program available from the second content
source; determining, by the associating server, for each media data
object, a respective program identifier associated with its
corresponding media program; and formatting, by the associating
server, each media data object to include a field having a value
equal to the respective program identifier, resulting in a
plurality of formatted media data objects, wherein identifying the
second instance comprises searching, by the processing system, the
plurality of formatted media data objects for a formatted media
data object having the value for the field equal to the target
program identifier.
15. The method of claim 14, further comprising: obtaining, by a
receiving server communicating with the associating server, a first
plurality of media data objects from a first online programming
source and a second plurality of media data objects from a second
online programming source; and uniformly formatting, by the
receiving server, each media data object of the first plurality and
the second plurality, resulting in the plurality of media data
objects obtained by the associating server.
16. A method of identifying instances of a desired media program
available within a media distribution system, the method
comprising: searching a first listing of media programming
available from a first content source in the media distribution
system using search criteria indicative of the desired media
program to identify a first media data object corresponding to a
first instance of the desired media program available from the
first content source, the first media data object having a target
program identifier associated therewith; obtaining the target
program identifier associated with the desired media program from
the first media data object corresponding to the first instance of
the desired media program; obtaining a second media data object
corresponding to the desired media program available from a second
content source in the media distribution system, the second content
source being different from the first content source; formatting
the second media data object to include the target program
identifier to associate the second media data object with the
desired media program; in response to identifying the first media
data object based on the search criteria: obtaining the target
program identifier from the first media data object; and
identifying the second media data object corresponding to a second
instance of the desired media program in a second listing of media
programming available from the second content source using the
target program identifier; and providing a combined search result
that indicates availability of the first instance of the desired
media program from the first content source and availability of the
second instance of the desired media program from the second
content source.
17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: determining the
second media data object corresponds to the desired media program
based on one or more metadata fields of the second media data
object; and obtaining the target program identifier associated with
the desired media program from a database maintaining associations
between program identifiers and media programs prior to formatting
the second media data object.
18. The method of claim 16, further comprising: receiving, by a
host server, the search criteria from a client device coupled to
the host server over a network; and obtaining, by the host server,
stored media programming available from a media device coupled to
the network, wherein searching the first listing comprises
identifying, by the host server, the first media data object in the
stored media programming available from the media device using the
search criteria.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein obtaining the second media data
object comprises obtaining, by an associating server coupled to the
host server over the network, the second media data object from an
online programming source or an on-demand programming source, the
associating server formatting the second media data object to
include the target program identifier and providing the second
media data object to the host server.
20. The method of claim 16, further comprising: receiving, by a
host server coupled to a network, the search criteria from a client
device coupled to the network; and obtaining, by the host server,
upcoming media programming available from a broadcast source,
wherein: searching comprises identifying, by the host server, the
first media data object in the upcoming media programming available
from the broadcast source using the search criteria; and obtaining
the second media data object comprises obtaining, by an associating
server coupled to the host server over the network, the second
media data object from an online programming source or an on-demand
programming source, the associating server formatting the second
media data object to include the target program identifier and
providing the second media data object to the host server.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 13/098,192, filed Apr. 29, 2011.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The following discussion generally relates to providing
combined search results that identify instances of media
programming satisfying received search criteria that are available
from various content sources in a media distribution system.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Media content can now be received from any number of
different sources. Broadcast television content, for example, can
typically be received at set-top box (STB) or other receiver that
receives a direct broadcast satellite (DBS), cable and/or
terrestrial broadcast signal, and such received content may also be
stored in a personal or digital video recorder (DVR) or the like
for viewing at a later time ("time shifting"). Live or recorded
content can also be "placeshifted" over the Internet or another
network to allow viewing at remote locations away from the viewer's
primary television set. In addition to the wide variety of options
in viewing broadcast media content, even more content is
increasingly becoming available "on demand" from any number of file
based or streaming sources, including various network-based
services that provide access to a wealth of on-demand
programming.
[0004] As content becomes available from a multitude of sources,
however, it can be increasingly difficult to locate related
programming from different sources. Typically, different content
sources provide media content using different techniques and/or
formats. For example, each content provider may use a different
format when providing metadata that describes the media content
being made available by that respective content provider. Due to
the wide variety of formats and content sources, locating related
programming from different content sources can be a significant
challenge. For example, if a viewer wishes to locate a particular
program or episode, an online media distribution service may need
to conduct separate searches of broadcast program guides, on-demand
libraries, online video libraries, DVR contents and/or the like to
try and find the desired program using the search criteria provided
by the view. The wealth of content available and the variety of the
metadata formats used by the various content sources further
complicates such searches.
[0005] As a result, it is now desirable to create systems and
methods for managing related media content from various content
sources. Other desirable features and characteristics may also
become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the
appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings and this background section.
BRIEF SUMMARY
[0006] According to various exemplary embodiments, systems and
methods are presented for identifying instances of media
programming available within a media distribution system. In one
embodiment, a server includes a memory having stored therein a
first listing of media programs available from a first content
source, such as a user's digital video recorder, and a second
listing of media programs available from a second content source,
such as an on-demand or online programming source. The server also
includes a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor
receives search criteria indicative of a desired media program and
identifies a media data object in the first listing corresponding
to an instance of the desired media program that is available from
the first content source. The processor obtains a program
identifier from the identified media data object, identifies a
second media data object in the second listing corresponding to
another instance of the desired media program that is available
from the second content source, and provides a combined search
result that indicates availability of the desired media program
from the first content source and the second content source.
[0007] In other embodiments, a media distribution system is
provided that includes an associating server and a host server
coupled to the associating server over a network. The associating
server is configured to format each media data object of a
plurality of media data objects received from a content source,
such as an on-demand or online programming source, to include a
respective program identifier associated with a respective media
program corresponding to that respective media data object. The
host server obtains the plurality of associated media data objects
from the associating server, and receives search criteria
indicative of a desired media program. The host server determines a
target program identifier associated with the desired media
program, and identifies a first media data object corresponding to
the desired media program from the plurality of associated media
data objects using the target program identifier.
[0008] In another embodiment, a method that is executable by a
processing system is provided for identifying instances of a
desired media program available within a media distribution system.
The method involves searching a first listing of media programming
available from a first content source using search criteria
indicative of the desired media program to identify a first
instance of the desired media program available from the first
content source, obtaining a target program identifier associated
with the desired media program from the first instance, identifying
a second instance of the desired media program in a second listing
of media programming available from a second content source using
the target program identifier, and providing a combined search
result that indicates availability of the desired media program
from the first content source and the second content source.
[0009] Another embodiment of identifying instances of media
programming available within a media distribution system involves
obtaining a first media data object corresponding to a first media
program available from a first content source in the media
distribution system, formatting the first media data object to
include a first identifier to associate the first media data object
with the first media program, and searching media programming
available from a second content source in the media distribution
system using search criteria indicative of the first media program
to identify a second media data object corresponding to the first
media program available from the second content source, wherein the
second media data object has the first identifier associated
therewith. In response to identifying the second media data object
based on the search criteria, the method continues by obtaining the
first identifier from the second media data object, identifying the
first media data object from media programming available from the
first content source using the first identifier, and providing a
combined search result that indicates availability of the first
media program from the first content source and the second content
source.
[0010] Various embodiments, aspects and other features are
described in more detail below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES
[0011] Exemplary embodiments will hereinafter be described in
conjunction with the following drawing figures, wherein like
numerals denote like elements, and
[0012] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary media distribution
system;
[0013] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an exemplary formatting process
suitable for use with the media distribution system of FIG. 1;
[0014] FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an exemplary associating process
suitable for use with the media distribution system of FIG. 1;
[0015] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary search process
suitable for use with the media distribution system of FIG. 1;
and
[0016] FIG. 5 is an exemplary user interface display illustrating
the results of the search process of FIG. 4 in accordance with one
embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] The following detailed description of the invention is
merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the
invention or the application and uses of the invention.
Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any theory
presented in the preceding background or the following detailed
description.
[0018] Embodiments of the subject matter described herein generally
relate to identifying instances of a desired media program matching
user-specified search criteria that are available from multiple
different content sources within a media distribution system. As
described in greater detail below, in an exemplary embodiment, a
processing system, such as a host server, receives the search
criteria provided by a user or viewer that is indicative of the
desired media program from a client device communicating with the
host server over a network. The host server searches for the search
criteria in media programming available from a first content source
in the media distribution system, such as the user's digital video
recorder (DVR) or a broadcast source (e.g., using an electronic
program guide), to identify an instance of the desired media
program available from that content source. After identifying the
desired media program from the first content source, the host
server determines or otherwise obtains, from the identified
instance of the desired media program available from the first
content source, a target program identifier that is associated with
or otherwise corresponds to the desired media program. The host
server then utilizes that target program identifier to identify
additional instances of the desired media program that are
available from other content sources in the media distribution
system, such as, for example, online programming sources and/or
on-demand programming sources, and provides a combined search
result to the user/viewer that indicates availability of the
desired media program from various content sources within the media
distribution system.
[0019] In accordance with one or more embodiments, a receiving
server receives media data objects indicative of media programs
available from online programming sources and formats the media
data objects using a uniform format. An associating server then
receives the uniformly formatted media data objects and formats
them again to include, for each uniformly formatted media data
object, one or more identifiers associated with the respective
media program that media data object corresponds to. As described
in greater detail below, for each media data object obtained by the
associating server, the associating server determines the
identifiers associated with its corresponding media program by
matching one or more fields of metadata of the media data object to
corresponding fields of metadata of a record in a database of media
programs. The associating server then obtains the values for the
identifiers from the matching record in the database and formats
the media data object to include identifier fields having the
obtained values, thereby associating each media object with a media
program record in the database. The host server identifies
instances of the desired media program available from the online
programming sources by searching the associated media data objects
obtained from the associating server and identifying those media
data objects having values for their identifier fields that are
equal to or otherwise match the target program identifier(s).
[0020] FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a media
distribution system 100 for distributing media programs (or media
content) from any number of content sources. As used herein, "media
program" (or "program"), "media content" (or "content), or variants
thereof should be understood as referring to any audio, video,
audio/visual or other programming in any streaming, file-based or
other format. In various embodiments, media distribution system 100
distributes television, movie and/or other audiovisual programs in
any digital format, such as MPEG, Windows Media, Adobe Flash,
Quicktime, Real Media, H.264 and/or the like, over a network 106
for presentation to a user (or viewer) on a media playback device
104 (or client device), such as a desktop or notebook computer,
mobile telephone, personal digital assistant, video game player,
portable media player and/or any other device capable of receiving
media programs via a network 106 and of rendering audio and/or
visual content. The exemplary media distribution system 100 of FIG.
1 includes a host server 102 (or host) that communicates or
otherwise interacts with the client device 104 (or client) over
network 106 to provide a combined search result that identifies
instances of media programs satisfying search criteria provided by
a user of the client 104 that are available from different content
sources within the media distribution system 100, such as, for
example, instances of a desired media program stored by a media
device 108 (e.g., on DVR 110), instances of the desired media
program available from a broadcast source 112, instances of the
desired media program available from an on-demand programming
source 114, and/or instances of the desired media program available
from one or more online programming sources 116.
[0021] In an exemplary embodiment, the media distribution system
100 includes a receiving server 118 that receives, via network 106,
data and/or information 160 pertaining to media programming
available from the online programming sources 116, formats the
received data into a uniform format, and provides the formatted
data 170 to an associating server 120. The associating server 120
receives, via network 106, the uniformly formatted data 170 from
the receiving server 118 along with data and/or information 172
pertaining to media programming available from the on-demand
programming source 114. For each instance of media programming
received by the associating server 120, the associating server 120
determines one or more identifiers that may be used by the media
distribution system 100 to uniquely identify its associated media
program and formats the data object for that respective instance of
the media program into another format that includes one or more
fields having values equal to the those identifiers. In this
manner, the associating server 120 associates each instance of
media programming received from receiving server 118 and/or
on-demand source 114 with one or more identifiers used by the media
distribution system 100 to obtain associated data 180 that may be
provided to the host 102. The host 102 receives, via network 106,
the associated data 180 from the associating server 120 along with
data and/or information 184 pertaining to media programs stored by
the media device 108 and data and/or information 182 pertaining to
media programming available from the broadcast source 112 (e.g.,
using electronic program guide 122). In response to receiving
search criteria from the client 104 indicative of a desired media
program, the host 102 identifies an instance of the desired media
program that is available from one content source within the media
distribution system 100 (e.g., the DVR 110 or broadcast source
112), and then utilizes one or more identifiers associated with
that instance of the desired media program to identify additional
instances of the desired media program that are available from
other content sources within the media distribution system 100
(e.g., on-demand programming source 114, online programming sources
116, or the like).
[0022] The client 104 may be any device, component, module,
hardware, software application and/or the like that is capable of
communicating with the host 102 over network 106. To that end, many
different types of clients 104 may be implemented with any sort of
general or special purpose hardware, software and/or firmware. In
some embodiments, client 104 may be a conventional personal
computer, portable computer, workstation and/or other computing
system. In still other embodiments, some types of clients 104 may
include personal digital assistants, video game players, mobile
telephones, network appliances, remote controls, networked displays
and/or any other devices capable of communicating on network
106.
[0023] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, client 104 executes any
sort of conventional browser or other application 105 that is
compatible with standard Internet, world wide web (WWW),
transmission control protocol and/or internet protocol (TCP/IP),
and/or other formats. Such browsers 105 are typically capable of
displaying active or other documents formatted in accordance with
published protocols (e.g., hypertext markup language (HTML),
extensible markup language (XML), and/or the like). Many browsers
105 are also capable of executing "plugin" applications, applets or
the like. Such plugins may be formatted in accordance with ActiveX,
JAVA and/or any number of other formats. A number of commonly used
web browsers are available for a number of different computing
platforms, and the subject matter described herein is not limited
to any particular browser application.
[0024] In some embodiments, client 104 further includes a media
player application 107. This media player 107 may be a standalone
player, or the media player 107 may be implemented as a plugin or
other applet that runs within browser 105 as desired. In some
embodiments, media player 107 is initially obtained from a
networked host, such as host 102. The media player 107 may be
retrieved on an as-needed basis in some embodiments, or may be
stored at client 104 for subsequent execution. Some embodiments may
not provide media viewing directly on client 104; such clients 104
may nevertheless be able to interact with host 102 to search for
particular programming, to select programs to record, to change
preferences, or to take other actions related to media device 108
as desired.
[0025] The network 106 is any digital or other communications
network capable of transmitting messages between senders (e.g.,
client 104) and receivers (e.g., host 102). In various embodiments,
network 106 includes any number of public or private data
connections, links or networks supporting any number of
communications protocols. Network 106 may include the Internet, for
example, or any other network. Such networks may be based upon
TCP/IP or other conventional protocols, although other embodiments
may use any type of alternate or successor protocols, as desired.
In various embodiments, network 106 may also incorporate a wireless
and/or wired telephone network, such as a cellular communications
network for communicating with mobile phones, personal digital
assistants, and/or the like. Various embodiments of network 106 may
also incorporate any sort of wireless or wired local area networks,
such as one or more IEEE 802.3 and/or IEEE 802.11 networks.
[0026] In the illustrated embodiment, the host 102 generally
represents one or more servers or another network host capable of
interacting with a client 104 to facilitate communications between
the client 104 and the media device 108 associated with the user or
operator of the client 104 via the host 102, and also, to provide
information to the client 104 regarding media programming available
from various content sources within the media distribution system
100, such as, for example, broadcast sources 112, on-demand sources
114, online programming sources 116, or like, along with the user's
DVR 110, as described in greater detail below. The host 102 may be
implemented with a server computer system or data processing system
that is based upon any processor, architecture and/or operating
system, and will typically be implemented using any sort of
conventional processing hardware 130, memory 132 and input/output
features 134. Various embodiments may be implemented using
dedicated or shared hardware servers; other implementations may
make use of virtual server features as part of a "cloud computing"
service, such as any of the cloud computing services provided by
any number of providers. Although FIG. 1 shows a single host 102
for convenience, many practical embodiments of media distribution
system 100 may provide a cluster or other collection of multiple
hosts 102 to support any desired number of simultaneous connections
to multiple clients 104 and/or multiple media devices 108. This
cluster may also incorporate appropriate routing, load balancing,
access and security mechanisms and or any number of other features.
In various embodiments, each host 102 is an actual or virtual
computer system executing an operating system 136 in conjunction
with the processing hardware 130, memory 132 and/or I/O features
134 to provide a computing core that is capable of executing a
portal application 138, as well as any number of daemons,
processes, applications or other instance modules as desired. For
example, a portal application 138 could execute as a daemon on host
102, with connections to separate clients 104 being managed as
separate processes or instances that communicate with portal
application 138 using features provided by operating system
136.
[0027] In an exemplary embodiment, the portal application 138
receives or otherwise obtains search criteria provided by the user
and identifies instances of media programming satisfying the search
criteria that are available within the media distribution system
100. In this regard, the portal application 138 may include a
search engine configured to implement one or more search processes
using user-specified search criteria, such as search process 400
described in greater detail below in the context of FIG. 4. As set
forth below, the portal application 138 utilizes one or more
identifiers obtained from an identified instance of media
programming satisfying the search criteria that is available from
one content source to identify additional instances of that media
programming that are available from other content sources within
the media distribution system 100. For example, the portal
application 138 may identify a media program stored on the user's
DVR 110 that satisfies the user's search criteria, and using one or
more identifiers associated with the stored program, the portal
application 138 may identify additional instances of that media
program that are available from one or more other content sources
112, 114, 116 in the media distribution system 100. The portal
application 138 provides a combined search result to the user
(e.g., within browser 105) that indicates the availability of the
desired media program satisfying the search criteria from the
various content sources 110, 112, 114, 116 within the media
distribution system 100, as described in greater detail below in
the context of FIGS. 4-5.
[0028] In the illustrated embodiment, the media device 108 is any
component, hardware and/or the like capable of receiving and
processing media content. In some embodiments, media device 108 is
a set-top box (STB) or similar system that is able to receive
television programming and/or to record certain programs that can
be viewed on a display device 140, such as a television, monitor,
liquid crystal display (LCD), light emitting diode (LED) display,
plasma display, or the like. Exemplary embodiments of media device
108 will therefore include a receiver interface 142 for receiving
satellite, cable and/or broadcast programming signals from
broadcast sources 112, as well as a data storage medium 110 (e.g.,
a hard disk, flash memory, or another suitable non-volatile data
storage element) to support a digital video recorder (DVR) feature
and/or functionality, a display interface 144 for providing imagery
to the display device 140, and a controller 146 that directs the
operations of the media device 108 as appropriate. For convenience,
but without limitation, the data storage medium 110 is
alternatively referred to herein as a DVR. Media device 108 may
also include an interface 148 to network 106 and/or an input/output
interface 150 to a remote control or other device for providing
user inputs to media device 108, as appropriate.
[0029] The components in media device 108 may be provided within a
common chassis or housing as shown in FIG. 1, although equivalent
embodiments may implement media device 108 with any number of
inter-connected but discrete components or systems. For example, in
some embodiments, the media device 108 may be realized as a
combination of a STB and a placeshifting device, wherein some
features of the media device 108 (e.g., the DVR 110, the receiver
142, the display interface 144, and/or I/Os 150) are implemented by
the STB and other features of the media device 108 (e.g., the
network interface 148) are implemented by the placeshifting device,
wherein the placeshifting device works in conjunction with the STB
to shift the viewing experience from a home television (e.g.,
display device 140) to a viewing display on the client device 104
(e.g., media player application 107) that is accessed via network
106. Examples of placeshifting devices that may be used in some
embodiments of media device 108 could include any of the various
SLINGBOX products available from Sling Media of Foster City,
Calif., although other products or servers could be used in other
embodiments. Many different types of placeshifting devices are
generally capable of receiving media content from an external
source, such as any sort of DVR or STB, cable or satellite
programming source, DVD player, and/or the like. In other
embodiments, placeshifting features are incorporated within the
same device that provides content-receiving or other capabilities.
Media device 108 may be a hybrid DVR and/or receiver, for example,
that also provides transcoding and placeshifting features. Examples
of conventional placeshifting functions, features, systems and
structures are described in United States Patent Publication No.
2006/0095471, although the features described herein could be
equivalently applied with any number of other techniques and
structures in addition to those described in that particular
publication. It should be appreciated that FIG. 1 depicts merely
one exemplary embodiment of a media device 108, and in practice,
the media device 108 may be logically and physically implemented in
any manner to suit the needs of a particular embodiment.
[0030] In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, media
device 108 is capable of receiving digital broadcast satellite
(DBS) signals transmitted from a broadcast source 112, such as a
satellite, using an antenna 152 that provides received signals to
the receiver 142. Equivalent embodiments, however, could receive
programming at receiver 142 from any sort of cable connection,
broadcast source, removable media, network service, external device
and/or the like. The DVR 110 feature stores recorded programming
(e.g., broadcast programming received via receiver 142) on a hard
disk drive, memory, a networked server, or other storage medium as
appropriate in response to user/viewer programming instructions,
wherein the recorded programming may be subsequently viewed on
display device 140 or client device 104 via network 106. Content
stored in DVR 110 may be any sort of file-based programming or
other content that is accessible to media device 108. In various
embodiments, in addition to storing broadcast programming, the DVR
110 may also store programming received from another source within
the media distribution system 100, such as, for example,
programming downloaded from a video on-demand server. Additionally,
content in DVR 110 may be stored in any sort of compressed or
uncompressed format, as desired, and may be encoded or transcoded
as desired for effective receipt, storage, retrieval and
playing.
[0031] Controller 146 is any sort of hardware, software and/or
firmware capable of directing the operations of media device 108.
In various embodiments, controller 146 includes software or
firmware logic residing in memory and executing on any sort of
processor, such as any sort of microprocessor, microcontroller,
digital signal processor or the like. In various embodiments, the
controller 146 is based upon a "system on a chip" (SoC)
implementation that incorporates a hybrid microcontroller with
memory, input/output and other features to perform the various
signal processing and other actions of media device 108. Other
embodiments may implement controller 146 and/or the other features
of media device 108 with any number of discrete and/or integrated
processing components (e.g., any sort of microprocessor or
microcontroller), memories, input/output features and/or other
features as desired.
[0032] In an exemplary embodiment, a user of the client 104 is able
to connect to the portal application 138 supported by host 102 via
the network 106, for example, by directing a browser 105 or similar
program to a URL or other address associated with host 102 and/or
portal application 138. After the user is successfully
authenticated by the portal application 138, the host 102 and/or
portal application 138 establishes a connection to the media device
108 that is associated with the user. This connection is used to
obtain information about programming stored at the media device
108, such as, for example, a listing of the programs stored on DVR
110. Although not illustrated in FIG. 1, the media distribution
system 100 may employ one or more intermediate messaging servers
adapted to facilitate communications between the host 102 and the
media device 108 to establish a direct connection that is not
interfered with by firewalls or other security mechanisms that may
be implemented by the network 106 and/or media device 108.
[0033] In the illustrated embodiment, the online programming
sources 116 generally represent providers of media programs for
consumption over network 106, and in various embodiments, the
online programming sources 116 may include studios or other content
creators, syndicators or other content distributors, television
networks, production houses, web or other network-based
distributors, and/or any number of other sources as desired. Each
online programming source 116 may be implemented or realized using
any combination of devices, components, modules, servers, hardware,
software applications and/or the like that is capable of providing
information pertaining to the media programs provided by the
respective online programming source 116. In an exemplary
embodiment, each online programming source 116 provides a listing
of media programs available from the respective online programming
source 116 (e.g., by publishing a data feed 160 or making available
one or more folders that includes a listing of media programs). For
each respective media program available from the online programming
source 116, the data feed 160 includes a corresponding media data
object representative of the respective media program that includes
fields for metadata and/or other information pertaining to the
respective media program, such as, for example, the primary title
or series title of the media program, a secondary title or episode
title of the media program, actors and/or actresses featured in the
media program, and/or other descriptive information, along with
other attributes pertaining to the media program, such as runtimes,
ad points, bit rates and/or frame rates, sampling rates, and/or
resource location information (e.g., a URL or IP address where the
media program can be streamed and/or downloaded from). In practice,
each online programming source 116 may provide media data objects
in a different format than other online programming sources 116.
For example, one online programming source 116 may provide media
data objects in the Media RSS (MRSS) format, another online
programming source 116 may provide media data objects in XML
format, and yet another online programming source 116 may provide
media data objects in a comma-separated values (CSV) format.
[0034] In an exemplary embodiment, the on-demand programming source
114 generally represents a provider of media programs for
consumption over network 106 on a pay-per-view basis (although some
media programs provided by the on-demand programming source 114 may
be free), and may be realized as any combination of devices,
components, modules, servers, hardware, software applications
and/or the like that is capable of providing information pertaining
to the media programs provided by the on-demand programming source
114. As described above, the on-demand programming source 114
provides a data feed 172 that includes a listing of media programs
available on a pay-per-view basis from the on-demand programming
source 114, wherein for each respective media program available
from the on-demand programming source 114, the data feed 172
includes a corresponding media data object representative of the
respective media program that includes fields for metadata and/or
other descriptive information pertaining to the respective media
program along with other attributes pertaining to the media program
(e.g., pricing and/or availability information). In some
embodiments, the on-demand programming source 114 provides media
data objects in a format that is different from the formats used by
the online programming sources 116. For example, the on-demand
programming source 114 may provide media data objects in the XML
format while the online programming sources 116 provide media data
objects in the MRSS format. In other embodiments, the on-demand
programming source 114 may provide media data objects in the same
format as the online programming sources 116.
[0035] Still referring to FIG. 1, in an exemplary embodiment, the
media distribution system 100 includes an electronic program guide
122, which may be realized as a server, a database, or another
device operating on the network 106 that maintains information
pertaining to current and/or future broadcasts (or airings) of
media programs that are available to be received from broadcast
source 112 (e.g., by media device 108 via receiver 142). Such
program guides are available from Tribune Media Services and many
other suppliers as appropriate. Additionally, the media
distribution system 100 includes a media program database 124 that
includes verified or validated metadata and/or other descriptive
information for a vast array of media programs. For example, the
media program database 124 may contain metadata and/or other
descriptive information pertaining to substantially all of the
media programs that may be available from one or more content
sources within media distribution system 100 (e.g., information
pertaining to any media programs that have previously been aired by
a broadcast source 112, along information pertaining to any movie
that has been presented in theaters, made available on-demand, or
released for individual use (e.g., on digital video disc (DVD) or
the like)). Such metadata databases are available from Tribune
Media Services and many other suppliers as appropriate. For each
media program having a record (or entry) in the media program
database 124, the media program database 124 maintains a media data
object that includes fields of metadata associated with that media
program along with fields of program identifiers that may be used
to identify that media program record, as described in greater
detail below. In an exemplary embodiment, the program guide 122 and
the media program database 124 are cooperatively configured such
that the program guide 122 and the media program database 124 use
the same program identifiers to uniquely identify each media
program.
[0036] In the illustrated embodiment, the receiving server 118 is
configured to obtain or otherwise receive the data feeds 160
provided by the online programming sources 116, uniformly format
the data objects provided by the online programming sources 116
into a common format, and provide a data feed 170 containing the
uniformly formatted media data objects to the associating server
120, as described in greater detail below in the context of FIG. 2.
The associating server 120 is configured to obtain or otherwise
receive the uniformly formatted data feed 170 provided by the
receiving server 118 along with the data feed 172 provided by the
on-demand programming source 114, format the media data objects
provided by the on-demand programming source 114 and/or receiving
server 118 to include, for each media data object, fields for the
program identifiers used by media program database 124 to identify
its associated media program, and provide one or more data feeds
180 that contain associated media data objects corresponding to
online media programs available from online programming sources 116
and on-demand media programs available from on-demand programming
source 114, as described in greater detail below in the context of
FIG. 3. The host 102 obtains or otherwise receives the associated
data objects provided by the associating server 120, and utilizes
the program identifiers to identify instances of a desired media
program that are available from the online programming sources 116
and/or on-demand source 114, as described in greater detail below
in the context of FIG. 4.
[0037] In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1, the receiving
server 118, the associating server 120, and the host 102 are each
realized as discrete components in the media distribution system
100. In this regard, the receiving server 118 may be realized as
one or more servers, devices, components, modules, hardware,
software applications, or the like operating on the network 106 to
perform the functionality described herein, and the associating
server 120 may be realized as a separate arrangement of one or more
servers, devices, components, modules, hardware, software
applications, or the like operating on the network 106 to perform
the functionality described herein. It should be noted, however,
that in other embodiments, the receiving server 118 may be
integrated with and/or otherwise implemented using the same
hardware as associating server 120 and/or host 102, and likewise,
the associating server 120 may be integrated with and/or otherwise
implemented using the same hardware as host 102. For example, the
host 102, receiving server 118, and associating server 120 may each
be implemented as a virtual server that shares hardware resources
with and/or operates on the same physical hardware as the other
virtual servers.
[0038] Referring now to FIG. 2, in an exemplary embodiment, a media
distribution system 100 may be configured to perform a formatting
process 200 and additional tasks, functions, and operations
described below. The various tasks may be performed by software,
hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. For illustrative
purposes, the following description may refer to elements mentioned
above in connection with FIG. 1. In practice, the tasks, functions,
and operations may be performed by different elements of the media
distribution system 100. That said, in exemplary embodiments, the
formatting process 200 is performed by the receiving server 118. It
should be appreciated that any number of additional or alternative
tasks may be included, and may be incorporated into a more
comprehensive procedure or process having additional functionality
not described in detail herein.
[0039] Referring to FIG. 2, and with continued reference to FIG. 1,
the formatting process 200 begins by obtaining media data objects
corresponding to media programs available from one or more content
sources within a media distribution system (task 202). In an
exemplary embodiment, the receiving server 118 obtains, from each
online programming source 116 within the media distribution system
100, media data objects corresponding to media programs that have
been recently provided or otherwise made available by the
respective online programming source 116. For example, each online
programming source 116 may publish a data feed 160 (or a folder)
that contains media data objects corresponding to all of the media
programs that are currently available for consumption from that
online programming source 116. For each respective online
programming source 116, the receiving server 118 accesses or
otherwise monitors its data feed 160 (or folder), identifies
recently added media data objects, and downloads or otherwise
obtains those media data objects from the respective online
programming source 116. In this regard, the receiving server 118
may periodically poll the data feeds 160 (or folders) provided by
the online programming sources 116 at regular intervals and use the
timestamps of the media data objects made available by the online
programming sources 116 to identify or otherwise determine those
media data objects that have been recently made available by a
respective online programming source 116 in the time period after
the preceding polling of that respective online programming source
116. For each online programming source 116, the receiving server
118 may compile a list or other data structure that consists of the
all of the media data objects obtained from that online programming
source 116.
[0040] In an exemplary embodiment, after obtaining media data
objects corresponding to available media programs, the formatting
process 200 continues by uniformly formatting each of the obtained
media data objects (task 204). As described above, each online
programming source 116 may provide media data objects that are
formatted in accordance with a different formatting standard (e.g.,
XML, MRSS, CSV, and the like). For each online programming source
116, the receiving server 118 may execute one or more scripts
determine or otherwise identify the particular format that is used
by that respective online programming source 116. After determining
the format used by an individual online programming source 116, the
receiving server 118 executes one or more additional scripts to
parse the data structure of media data objects obtained from that
online programming source 116, and for each obtained media data
object, convert that media data object from the format used by that
online programming source 116 to a uniform format used for all of
the media data objects obtained from the online programming sources
116. For example, in accordance with one embodiment, the receiving
server 118 formats all of the media data objects received from the
online programming sources 116 into the MRSS format, wherein for
online programming sources 116 providing media data objects in a
format other than the MRSS format, the receiving server 118
executes one or more scripts that map or otherwise translate the
fields of metadata for the media data objects provided by those
online programming sources 116 to the appropriate locations of
those fields in corresponding MRSS media data objects.
[0041] After uniformly formatting the obtained media data objects,
the formatting process 200 continues by aggregating or otherwise
combining the uniformly formatted media data objects to create a
single data feed of uniformly formatted media data objects (task
206). For example, after converting each obtained media data object
from each online programming source 116 into the uniform format,
the receiving server 118 may concatenate or otherwise combine the
data structures of uniformly formatted media data objects to create
a single data feed 170 of uniformly formatted media data objects.
In this regard, all of the media data objects in the data feed 170
have the same format. As described in greater detail below, the
data feed 170 is made available or otherwise provided to the
associating server 120 for subsequent data management and/or
processing.
[0042] Referring now to FIG. 3, in an exemplary embodiment, a media
distribution system 100 may be configured to perform an associating
process 300 and additional tasks, functions, and operations
described below. The various tasks may be performed by software,
hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. For illustrative
purposes, the following description may refer to elements mentioned
above in connection with FIG. 1. In practice, the tasks, functions,
and operations may be performed by different elements of the media
distribution system 100. That said, in exemplary embodiments, the
associating process 300 is performed by the associating server 120.
It should be appreciated that any number of additional or
alternative tasks may be included, and may be incorporated into a
more comprehensive procedure or process having additional
functionality not described in detail herein.
[0043] Referring to FIG. 3, and with continued reference to FIGS.
1-2, the associating process 300 begins by obtaining media data
objects corresponding to media programs available from one or more
content sources within a media distribution system (task 302). In
an exemplary embodiment, the associating server 120 obtains, from
receiving server 118, uniformly formatted media data objects
corresponding to media programs that have been recently provided or
otherwise made available by the online programming sources 116. As
described above, the receiving server 118 creates and publishes a
data feed 170 that contains media data objects corresponding to
media programs available from online programming sources 116 that
are in a uniform format. The associating server 120 accesses or
otherwise monitors the data feed 170, identifies the recently added
media data objects, and downloads or otherwise obtains those media
data objects from the receiving server 118. As described above, the
associating server 120 may periodically access the data feed 170 at
regular intervals and use timestamps to identify or otherwise
determine those media data objects that have been added to the data
feed 170 in the time period after the preceding polling of the data
feed 170. The associating server 120 downloads the identified media
data objects from the data feed 170 and maintains a list or other
data structure that consists of the media data objects obtained
from the receiving server 118 and/or data feed 170. In an exemplary
embodiment, the on-demand programming source 114 also provides a
data feed 172 (or publishes a folder) that contains media data
objects corresponding to all of the media programs that are
currently available from on-demand programming source 114, wherein
the associating server 120 accesses or otherwise monitors the data
feed 172, identifies the recently added media data objects,
downloads or otherwise obtains those media data objects from the
on-demand programming source 114, and maintains a list or other
data structure that consists of the media data objects obtained
from the on-demand programming source 114 and/or data feed 172 in a
similar manner as described above for receiving server 118 and/or
data feed 170.
[0044] In an exemplary embodiment, the associating process 300
continues by determining or otherwise identifying, for each newly
obtained media data object, one or more program identifiers
associated with the media program corresponding to that respective
media data object, and formats that media data object into a
different format that includes fields for the program identifiers
associated with its associated media program (tasks 304, 306). In
this regard, each media program has a set of one or more program
identifiers that are unique to that media program, such that each
media program may be distinguished from other media programs and
uniquely identified based on those program identifiers. As
described above, in an exemplary embodiment, the program
identifiers are used by the media program database 124 to index
media programs and associate metadata and/or other descriptive
information with the appropriate media programs. For example, for
each media program, the media program database 124 includes a media
data object having fields for the metadata and/or descriptive
information for that media program along with one or more fields
corresponding to the program identifiers for that media program,
wherein the combination of values for those program identifier
fields are unique to that media program.
[0045] In an exemplary embodiment, the associating server 120
analyzes one or more metadata fields of each newly obtained media
data object from receiving server 118 and/or on-demand programming
source 114 to match that respective media data object to its
associated media program in the media program database 124. For
example, for an individual media data object obtained from
receiving server 118, the associating server 120 may obtain a
subset of the metadata associated with that media data object
(e.g., a series title, an episode title, a lead actor/actress, or
the like) and perform one or more algorithms to match that subset
of metadata to the metadata associated with an individual media
data object in the media program database 124. After matching the
subset of the metadata for the obtained media data object to an
individual media data object in the media program database 124, the
associating server 120 formats the obtained media data object into
a different format to include one or more program identifier
fields, obtains the values of the program identifier fields of the
matching media data object in the media program database 124, and
substitutes or otherwise utilizes the obtained values for the
program identifier fields of the matching media data object in
media program database 124 as the values for the program identifier
fields of the newly formatted media data object. In this manner,
the obtained media data objects are associated with the metadata
and/or descriptive information for its associated media program
that is maintained by the media program database 124 based on the
values of its program identifier fields. In addition to program
identifier fields, the associating server 120 may format the
obtained media data object to include additional identifier fields
(e.g., genre identifier fields), obtain the values of those
additional identifier fields from the matching media data object in
the media program database 124, and substitute or otherwise utilize
the obtained values as the values for those identifier fields of
the obtained media data object. In an exemplary embodiment, the
associating server 120 repeats the steps of obtaining a subset of
metadata associated with an obtained media data object, matching
that subset of metadata to metadata associated with an individual
media data object in the media program database 124, and formatting
the obtained media data object into a different format that
includes one or more program identifier fields corresponding the
matching media data object in media program database 124 for each
media data object obtained from data feed 170 (or receiving server
118) and for each media object obtained from data feed 172 (or
on-demand programming source 114). It should be noted that by
virtue of the media data objects provided by data feed 170 being
uniformly formatted, the associating server 120 may more readily
identify and obtain values of the desired metadata fields to be
used to match the obtained media data objects to records in the
media program database 124 when matching media data objects from
data feed 170 to records in media program database 124.
[0046] In an exemplary embodiment, the associating process 300
continues by creating one or more data feeds containing associated
media data objects (task 308). In this regard, the associating
server 120 combines the associated media data objects obtained from
the data feeds 170, 172 and/or content sources 114, 116 to create
data feeds 180 of media data objects that are associated with
records in media program database 124. For example, the associating
server 120 may provide one data feed containing media data objects
corresponding to media programs available from online programming
sources 116 and another data feed containing media data objects
available from the on-demand programming source 114. Additionally,
the associating server may provide a data feed containing media
data objects corresponding to the media programs maintained in the
program database 124. As described in greater detail below, the
data feeds 180 are made available or otherwise provided to the host
server 102. In this manner, each media data object provided to the
host 102 from the associating server 120 includes one or more
program identifier fields that associate it with the record for its
associated media program in the media program database 124, and by
virtue of the same program identifiers being used by the media
program database 124 and program guide 122 as described above in
the context of FIG. 1, each media data object provided to the host
102 from the associating server 120 is also associated with
instances of its associated media program available from broadcast
sources 112 and/or the user's DVR 110. As set forth below, the host
server 102 utilizes the program identifier fields to identify
instances of media programs satisfying user-specified search
criteria that are available from different sources within the media
distribution system 100 rather than searching each respective
content source using the search criteria in an attempt to match the
search criteria to the metadata of the media data objects provided
by each respective content source.
[0047] Referring now to FIG. 4, in an exemplary embodiment, a media
distribution system 100 may be configured to perform a search
process 400 and additional tasks, functions, and operations
described below. The various tasks may be performed by software,
hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. For illustrative
purposes, the following description may refer to elements mentioned
above in connection with FIG. 1. In practice, the tasks, functions,
and operations may be performed by different elements of the media
distribution system 100. That said, in exemplary embodiments, the
search process 400 is performed by the host server 102 and/or
portal application 138. It should be appreciated that any number of
additional or alternative tasks may be included, and may be
incorporated into a more comprehensive procedure or process having
additional functionality not described in detail herein.
[0048] Referring to FIG. 4, and with continued reference to FIGS.
1-3, the search process 400 begins by receiving or otherwise
obtaining searchable information pertaining to the various media
programs available from the various content sources within a media
distribution system (task 402). In an exemplary embodiment, the
host server 102 obtains, from associating server 120, the
associated media data objects corresponding to media programs that
are provided or otherwise made available by the on-demand
programming source 114 and/or online programming sources 116. For
example, the host server 102 may access or otherwise monitor the
data feeds 180, identify recently added media data objects in the
various data feeds 180, download or otherwise obtain those media
data objects from the associating server 120, and store the
downloaded media data objects locally (e.g., in memory 132) to
create local representations of the data feeds 180 that mirror or
otherwise contain all of the media data objects of data feeds 180.
In a similar manner as described above, the host server 102 may
periodically access the data feeds 180 at regular intervals and use
timestamps to identify or otherwise determine those media data
objects that have been modified or added to the data feeds 180 in
the time period after the preceding polling of the data feeds 180.
The host server 102 downloads the identified media data objects
from the data feeds 180 and maintains, in memory 132, lists or
other data structures that consists of the media data objects
obtained from the associating server 120 and/or data feeds 180. In
this manner, the host server 102 obtains and maintains listings of
media data objects provided by the online programming sources 116
and on-demand programming source 114, wherein the fields of
metadata and/or other descriptive information of the media data
objects provide searchable information pertaining to the media
programs available from the online programming sources 116 and
on-demand programming source 114. In the illustrated embodiment,
the program guide 122 also provides a data feed 182 (or publishes a
folder) that contains media data objects corresponding to all of
the media programs that are either currently available from
broadcast sources 112 or will be available from broadcast sources
112 within a predetermined amount of time (e.g., within the next
two weeks). Likewise, the host server 102 accesses or otherwise
monitors the data feed 182 (or folder), identifies the recently
added media data objects, downloads or otherwise obtains those
media data objects from the program guide 122 and/or data feed 182,
and stores or otherwise maintains (e.g., in memory 132) a listing
of media data objects provided by the program guide 122, wherein
the fields of metadata and/or other descriptive information of the
media data objects provide searchable information pertaining to the
media programs available from the broadcast source 112.
[0049] In an exemplary embodiment, the host server 102 also obtains
a listing of the stored media programs on the user's DVR 110 and/or
media device 108. For example, after the portal application 138
successfully authenticates the user, the host 102 and/or portal
application 138 establishes a connection to the media device 108
that is associated with the user, downloads or otherwise obtains
media data objects corresponding to the media programs stored at
the media device 108 and/or DVR 110, and stores or otherwise
maintains (e.g., in memory 132) the downloaded media data objects
to create a local representations of the stored media programs on
the media device 108 and/or DVR 110. Thus, after a user has been
authenticated by the portal application 138, the host 102 and/or
portal application 138 will have obtained or otherwise have access
to a listing of media data objects from media device 108 and/or DVR
110 corresponding to the user's stored media programs, in addition
to the listing of media data objects from program guide 122
corresponding to media programs that are or will be available from
broadcast source 112, the listing of media data objects from
associating server 120 corresponding to media programs that are
available from on-demand programming source 114, and the listings
of media data objects from associating server 120 corresponding to
media programs that are available from online programming sources
116.
[0050] In an exemplary embodiment, the search process 400 continues
by receiving search criteria from the user (task 404). For example,
the portal application 138 may provide or otherwise display on the
client 104 (e.g., within browser 105) a graphical user interface
element, such as a text box, adapted to receive user input
indicative of desired search criteria. Subsequently, the user of
the client device 104 may provide desired search criteria, which
typically includes one or more pieces of metadata that are
indicative of a desired media program, such as, for example, a
movie title, a television series title, an episode title, an
actor/actress name, or the like.
[0051] After receiving search criteria, the search process 400
continues by identifying a media data object satisfying the
received search criteria (task 406). In this regard, the portal
application 138 searches for a media data object that matches (or
most closely matches) the search criteria. For example, as
described above, the media distribution system 100 of FIG. 1
includes a media program database 124 that that includes verified
or validated metadata for substantially every media program that
could possibly be provided by one of the content sources in the
media distribution system 100. In such embodiments, the portal
application 138 may access the local representation of the data
feed 180 obtained from associating server 120 corresponding to the
media program database 124, and perform various searching logic and
algorithms to match a media data object in the media program
database 124 to the search criteria. In other embodiments, the
portal application 138 may search a content source within the media
distribution system 100 that is likely to have higher quality
metadata associated with its media data objects, such as the DVR
110 or program guide 122. In yet other embodiments, the user may
identify a desired content source (e.g., DVR 110) to be searched.
In such embodiments, the portal application 138 may initially
access the local representation of the media data objects obtained
from media device 108 and/or DVR 110 corresponding to the user's
stored media programs, and perform various searching logic and
algorithms to match a media data object obtained from the media
device 108 and/or DVR 110 to the search criteria. If the portal
application 138 fails to identify a media data object matching the
search criteria from a desired (or default) content source, the
portal application 138 may proceed by searching for a media data
object matching the search criteria from the media program database
124 or another content source within the media distribution system
100 that is most likely to have a media data object matching the
search criteria.
[0052] In response to identifying a media data object satisfying
the received search criteria from a first content source in the
media distribution system, the search process 400 continues by
obtaining the program identifiers associated with the matching
media data object and identifying associated media data objects
available from other content sources in the media distribution
system using the obtained program identifiers (tasks 408, 410). As
described above, in an exemplary embodiment, each media program has
a set of one or more program identifiers that may be utilized by
the media program database 124 and/or program guide 122 to uniquely
identify that media program, and each media data object
corresponding to media programs available from on-demand
programming source 114 and online programming sources 116 obtained
from the associating server 120 includes the program identifiers
corresponding to its associated media program by virtue of the
associating process 300 described above. In this regard, in
response to identifying a media data object satisfying the search
criteria, the portal application 138 and/or host server 102
determines target program identifiers for searching the other
content sources in the media distribution system 100 by obtaining
the program identifiers of the matching media data object, and
performs various searching logic and algorithms on the media data
objects corresponding to media programs available from the other
content sources in the media distribution system 100 to identify
instances of media programs having values for the program
identifier fields that match the target program identifiers that
are available from other content sources within the media
distribution system 100. For example, in response to identifying a
media data object in the media program database 124 having metadata
that satisfies or otherwise matches the search criteria, the portal
application 138 and/or host server 102 obtains the program
identifiers of the matching media data object for use as target
program identifiers, and performs various searching logic and
algorithms on the media data objects corresponding to media
programs available from the other content sources 110, 112, 114,
116 in the media distribution system 100 to identify media data
objects having values for the program identifier fields equal to
the target program identifiers. In this manner, the portal
application 138 and/or host server 102 may expeditiously identify
all of the instances of the desired media program satisfying the
user's search criteria that are available from the various content
sources 110, 112, 114, 116 within the media distribution system 100
without having to search for the search criteria the metadata
fields of the media data objects provided by each respective
content source 110, 112, 114, 116.
[0053] For example, if the user searches for "Citizen Kane", the
portal application 138 and/or host server 102 identifies the media
data object in media program database 124 having a title field that
matches "Citizen Kane" and obtains the values for the program
identifiers for that matching media data object. The portal
application 138 and/or host 102 searches the listing of media data
objects obtained from program guide 122 for any media data objects
having values for their program identifier fields that are equal to
the values obtained for the "Citizen Kane" object in media program
database 124 to identify any current or future airings of "Citizen
Kane" that may be viewed and/or recorded from broadcast source 112.
Likewise, the portal application 138 searches the listing of media
data objects obtained from DVR 110 for any media data objects
having values for their program identifier fields that are equal to
the values obtained for the "Citizen Kane" object in media program
database 124 to identify any instances of "Citizen Kane" that are
stored on the user's DVR 110, searches the listing of media data
objects obtained from on-demand programming source 114 for any
media data objects having values for their program identifier
fields that are equal to the values obtained for the "Citizen Kane"
object in media program database 124 to identify any instances of
"Citizen Kane" that are available on-demand, and searches the
listing of media data objects obtained from online programming
sources 116 for any media data objects having values for their
program identifier fields that are equal to the values obtained for
the "Citizen Kane" object in media program database 124 to identify
any instances of "Citizen Kane" that are available online.
[0054] Referring again to FIG. 4, and with continued reference to
FIGS. 1-3, the search process 400 continues by aggregating or
otherwise combining the media data objects available from various
content sources in the media distribution system that satisfy the
search criteria to obtain a combined search result and providing
the combined search result to the user (tasks 412, 414). In this
regard, the portal application 138 and/or host server 102 may
create an aggregate listing of media data objects satisfying the
search criteria by concatenating or otherwise combining the
associated media data objects identified from the various content
sources in the media distribution system 100 with the initially
matched media data object. After the portal application 138 and/or
host server 102 has searched each of the content sources 110, 112,
114, 116 in the media distribution system 100, the portal
application 138 and/or host server 102 presents or otherwise
displays the combined search result on the client device 104 (e.g.,
within browser 105). In this regard, the portal application 138 may
redirect to or otherwise present a web page within browser 105 that
visually presents each instance the media program satisfying the
search criteria in association with the respective content source
that instance of the media program is available from. For example,
the portal application 138 may display a webpage that lists
instances of "Citizen Kane" available on the user's DVR 110 and/or
media device 108, followed by any current or upcoming airings of
"Citizen Kane" that will be available from broadcast source 112,
followed by on-demand offerings of "Citizen Kane" available from
on-demand programming source 114 and/or any online offerings of
"Citizen Kane" available from online programming sources 116. It
should be appreciated that the presentation of the instances of
matching media programs may be performed in a variety of different
manners, and the matching media programs available from the content
sources within the media distribution system 100 may be ordered in
various ways (e.g., to suit the preferences of the user).
Accordingly, the subject matter described herein is not intended to
be limited to any particular manner of presenting the combined
search results to the user.
[0055] Referring to FIG. 5, and with continued reference to FIGS.
1-4, user interface display 500 that may be presented by the portal
application 138 (e.g., within browser 105) that includes a
graphical representation of a combined search result 502 for a
particular media program, such as television series "Series Title
A." As described above, to obtain the combined search result 502,
the portal application 138 and/or host server 102 may initially
search the local representation of the data feed 180 corresponding
to media program database 124 for a media data object having
metadata (e.g., a series title field) matching or otherwise
corresponding to "Series Title A" and obtains the values for the
program identifiers for that matching media data object. Using the
values for the program identifiers corresponding to "Series Title
A", the portal application 138 searches the listing of media data
objects available from the user's DVR 110, online programming
sources 116, on-demand programming source 114, and broadcast source
112 (e.g., using media data objects obtained from program guide
122) to identify any media data objects having values for their
program identifier fields that are equal to the target program
identifier values obtained from the "Series Title A" object in
media program database 124. The portal application 138 aggregates
all the instances of media data objects associated with the "Series
Title A" object in media program database 124, and presents or
otherwise displays the combined search result 502 on the client
device 104 (e.g., within browser 105). As illustrated, the portal
application 138 may present instances of "Series Title A" that are
recorded on DVR 110 in a first region 504 of the display 500,
present instances of "Series Title A" available from broadcast
source 112 in a second region 506 of the display 500, present
instances of "Series Title A" available from an online programming
source 116 in a third region 508 of the display 500, and present
instances of "Series Title A" available on-demand from on-demand
programming source 114 in a fourth region 510 of the display 500.
As noted above, the combined search result may be presented in a
variety of different manners, and the subject matter described
herein is not intended to be limited to any particular manner of
presenting combined search results to the user.
[0056] A user may utilize the combined search result 502 to make a
determination as to the manner in which he/she would like to view
the desired media program. For example, in some situations, the
user may desire to view a stored recording of the "Series Title A"
from the user's DVR 110, in which case, the user may interact with
the media device 108 and/or DVR 110 over the network 106 using
graphical user interface elements 512 displayed by the portal
application 138 to indicate a desire to placeshift and view a
stored instance of "Series Title A" on the client device 104. In
response to a user indicating a desire to play an episode of
"Series Title A", the portal application 138 creates a
placeshifting session by establishing a connection between the
client device 104 and the media device 108 to stream or otherwise
present the recorded episode on the DVR 110 and/or media device 108
to the user within media player 107. In other situations, the user
may desire to record an upcoming airing of an episode of "Series
Title A" on the user's DVR 110, in which case, the user may
interact with the media device 108 and/or DVR 110 over the network
106 using graphical user interface elements 514 displayed by the
portal application 138 to indicate a desire to record an upcoming
episode of "Series Title A" on the user's DVR 110. In response to a
user indicating a desire to record an upcoming episode of "Series
Title A", the portal application 138 communicates with the media
device 108 and/or DVR 110 to schedule a recording of the selected
airing. In yet other situations, the user may desire to view the
desired media program from a online programming source 116 or the
on-demand programming source 114, in which case, the user may
utilize graphical user interface elements 516, 518 presented by the
portal application 138 to interact with the desired content source
114, 116 and establish a connection between the client device 104
and the desired content source 114, 116 for streaming or otherwise
view the desired media program within media player 107.
[0057] The general systems, structures and techniques described
above may be inter-combined, enhanced, modified and/or otherwise
implemented to provide any number of different features. In
particular, the term "exemplary" is used herein to represent one
example, instance or illustration that may have any number of
alternates. Any implementation described herein as "exemplary"
should not necessarily be construed as preferred or advantageous
over other implementations.
[0058] Techniques and technologies may be described herein in terms
of functional and/or logical block components, and with reference
to symbolic representations of operations, processing tasks, and
functions that may be performed by various computing components or
devices. It should be appreciated that the various block components
shown in the figures may be realized by any number of hardware,
software, and/or firmware components configured to perform the
specified functions. For example, an embodiment of a system or a
component may employ various integrated circuit components, e.g.,
memory elements, digital signal processing elements, logic
elements, look-up tables, or the like, which may carry out a
variety of functions under the control of one or more
microprocessors or other control devices. Furthermore, the
connecting lines shown in the various figures contained herein are
intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and/or
physical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted
that many alternative or additional functional relationships or
physical connections may be present in an embodiment of the subject
matter. In addition, certain terminology may also be used herein
for the purpose of reference only, and thus are not intended to be
limiting. For example, terms such as "first," "second" and other
such numerical terms referring to structures do not imply a
sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context.
[0059] While several exemplary embodiments have been presented in
the foregoing detailed description, it should be appreciated that a
vast number of alternate but equivalent variations exist, and the
examples presented herein are not intended to limit the scope,
applicability, or configuration of the invention in any way. To the
contrary, various changes may be made in the function and
arrangement of the various features described herein without
departing from the scope of the claims and their legal
equivalents.
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