U.S. patent application number 15/070889 was filed with the patent office on 2016-07-07 for system and method for providing content over a television network.
The applicant listed for this patent is AT&T INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY I, LP. Invention is credited to David Feng-Lin Chen, ANTHONY A. HAEUSER, CHRISTOPHER A. LEE, MARY MCCARTHY, SCOTT ALAN PETTIT.
Application Number | 20160198242 15/070889 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38264922 |
Filed Date | 2016-07-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160198242 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chen; David Feng-Lin ; et
al. |
July 7, 2016 |
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING CONTENT OVER A TELEVISION
NETWORK
Abstract
The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37
C.F.R. .sctn.1.72(b), requiring an abstract that will allow the
reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure.
It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to
interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition,
in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various
features are grouped together in a single embodiment for the
purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure
is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the
claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly
recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect,
inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single
disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are hereby
incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim
standing on its own as a separate embodiment
Inventors: |
Chen; David Feng-Lin;
(FREMONT, CA) ; HAEUSER; ANTHONY A.; (Aurora,
IL) ; MCCARTHY; MARY; (Frisco, TX) ; PETTIT;
SCOTT ALAN; (San Antonio, TX) ; LEE; CHRISTOPHER
A.; (San Antonio, TX) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
AT&T INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY I, LP |
Atlanta |
GA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
38264922 |
Appl. No.: |
15/070889 |
Filed: |
March 15, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
11335288 |
Jan 19, 2006 |
9294729 |
|
|
15070889 |
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
725/25 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N 21/2547 20130101;
H04N 21/2668 20130101; H04N 21/25875 20130101; H04N 21/237
20130101; H04N 21/8126 20130101; H04N 21/25866 20130101; H04N
7/17318 20130101; H04N 21/25891 20130101; H04N 21/4751 20130101;
H04N 21/47202 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04N 21/81 20060101
H04N021/81; H04N 21/237 20060101 H04N021/237; H04N 21/2668 20060101
H04N021/2668; H04N 21/258 20060101 H04N021/258 |
Claims
1-20. (canceled)
21. A system comprising: a server having access to a remote desktop
application; and a memory that stores executable instructions that,
when executed by the server, facilitate performance of operations,
comprising: launching the remote desktop application in response to
detecting a user request to access web content provided by a
service partner, wherein the remote desktop application accesses
first and second user account information, wherein the first user
account information is associated with a media services account for
providing a media service to a user over a network, and wherein the
second user account information is associated with a service
partner account for providing a web content service to the user by
the service partner, and wherein the remote desktop application
associates the service partner account with the media services
account to invoke the web content service over the network, wherein
the user request does not provide the second user account
information.
22. The system of claim 21, wherein the media service comprises a
television service.
23. The system of claim 21, wherein the operations further comprise
authenticating the service partner account based on the second user
account information.
24. The system of claim 21, wherein the detecting of the user
request to access the web content is based on a user selection of a
set top box channel, and wherein the user request indicates the
selected set top box channel.
25. The system of claim 24, wherein the operations further comprise
receiving an authentication of the media services account from the
set top box prior to associating the media services account with
the service partner account.
26. The system of claim 24, wherein the launching of the remote
desktop application comprises mapping the set top box channel to a
remote desktop universal resource locator.
27. The system of claim 21, wherein the web content includes an
interactive web page and wherein the operation further comprise
enabling the user to interact with interactive web content of the
web content.
28. The system of claim 21, wherein the second user account
information identifies a plurality of partner accounts the user has
established with a plurality of service partners for providing web
content.
29. The system of claim 28, wherein each of the plurality of
partner accounts is associated with a respective set top box
channel.
30. A machine-readable storage medium, comprising executable
instructions that, when executed by a processor, facilitate
performance of operations, comprising: launching a remote desktop
application in response to detecting a user request to access web
content provided by a service partner, wherein the remote desktop
application accesses first and second user account information,
wherein the first user account information is associated with a
media services account for providing a media service to a user over
a network, and wherein the second user account information is
associated with a service partner account for providing a web
content service to the user by the service partner, and wherein the
remote desktop application associates the service partner account
with the media services account to invoke the web content service
over the network, wherein the user request does not indicate the
service partner account.
31. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 30, wherein the
web content service generates redrawn web content graphics based on
the web content, and wherein the web content service provides the
redrawn web content graphics to a set top box associated with the
user over the network.
32. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 30, wherein the
media service comprises a television service.
33. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 30, wherein the
operations further comprise authenticating the service partner
account based on the second user account information.
34. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 30, wherein the
detecting of the user request to access the web content is based on
a user selection of a set top box channel, and wherein the user
request indicates the selected set top box channel.
35. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 34, wherein the
operations further comprise receiving an authentication of the
media services account from the set top box prior to associating
the media services account with the service partner account.
36. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 34, wherein the
launching of the remote desktop application comprises mapping the
set top box channel to a remote desktop universal resource
locator.
37. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 30, wherein the
web content includes an interactive web page and wherein the
operation further comprise enabling the user to interact with
interactive web content of the web content.
38. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 30, wherein the
second user account information identifies a plurality of partner
accounts the user has established with a plurality of service
partners for providing web content, and wherein each of the
plurality of partner accounts is associated with a respective set
top box channel.
39. A method comprising: detecting, by a system including a
processor, a user request to access web content provided by a
service partner; and launching, by the system, a remote desktop
application in response to the detecting of the user request,
wherein the remote desktop application accesses first and second
user account information, wherein the first user account
information is associated with a media services account for
providing a media service to a user over a network, and wherein the
second user account information is associated with a service
partner account for providing a web content service to the user by
the service partner, and wherein the remote desktop application
associates the service partner account with the media services
account to invoke the web content service over the network, wherein
the user request does not indicate the service partner account.
40. The method of claim 39, wherein the web content service
generates redrawn web content graphics based on the web content,
and wherein the web content service provides the redrawn web
content graphics to a set top box associated with the user over the
network.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of and claims priority to
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/335,288, filed Jan. 19, 2006,
entitled "System and Method for Providing Content Over a Television
Network". The contents of each of the foregoing is/are hereby
incorporated by reference into this application as if set forth
herein in full.
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0002] The present disclosure relates to the provision content over
a television network.
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0003] Television services such as Internet Protocol Television
(IPTV), cable television service, or satellite television service
are provided by service providers with whom customers establish an
account for the service. A large number of television channels are
delivered to a customer premise device, such a set top box, over a
television network established by the service provider. Such
networks operate in conjunction with the Internet and have access
to various content providers, such as providers of Internet access,
financial information, weather information, sports information,
etc. IPTV is capable of delivering interactive television services
to customers from these various content providers, also referred to
herein as "partners" of the service provider. Individual customers
typically establish separate accounts with certain of these content
providers to obtain customer specific information. Often, customers
can specify the content they wish to receive and the format
therefor. For example, information about particular stocks or an
investment portfolio, sports information about certain teams, photo
albums created by the customer with the content provider via the
web, product ordering, etc. Often, customers are required to log in
for each such service and provide other personal information such
as credit cards, telephone numbers, etc.
[0004] In the television environment, a limited capability exists
for the customers to authenticate customer identity for each such
service. The form factor of current television systems, however,
does not support customer data entry via remote control devices.
Thus, difficulties associated with the input of customer
identities, such as a log-on, password, and credit card information
can become a barrier to adapting multiple interactive television
applications and/or to exploiting the interactive television
potential.
[0005] Thus, there is a need for an improved system and method for
providing content over a television network from content
providers.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] For detailed understanding of the present invention,
references should be made to the following detailed description of
an exemplary embodiment, taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings, in which like elements have been given like numerals,
wherein:
[0007] FIG. 1 is a functional diagram of an exemplary network for
providing television services according to one embodiment of the
present disclosure;
[0008] FIG. 2 is an exemplary screen shot that shows a bar that
provides icons that might be clicked to obtain a particular content
over the network of FIG. 1;
[0009] FIG. 3 is an exemplary screen shot that appears when a
channel specific to a content provider is clicked on a
television;
[0010] FIG. 4 is an exemplary system architecture that may be
utilized to implement the delivery of contents from multiple
content providers by automatically associating multiple customer
accounts according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0011] FIG. 5 shows a flow chart of an exemplary method according
to one aspect of the present disclosure; and
[0012] FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the
form of a computer system within which a set of instructions, when
executed, may cause the machine to perform any one or more of the
methodologies discussed herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] In view of the above, the present invention through one or
more of its various aspects and/or embodiments is presented to
provide one or more advantages, such as those noted below.
[0014] The present disclosure, in one aspect, provides a method for
delivering content over a television network that includes
receiving an input that corresponds to a master account,
associating the master account with at least one additional account
that relates to provision of content from a content provider and
providing the content over the television network. In another
aspect, the disclosure provides a computer program which includes
instructions that may be executed by a computer, wherein the
computer program contains an instruction to receive an input
relating to a master account for provision of a television service,
an instruction to associate the master account with at least one
additional account that relates to provision of content from a
content provider and an instruction to provide the television
service and the content from the content provider over a television
network. The present disclosure, yet in another aspect, provides a
system for providing content over a television network. The system
includes a database that stores a master account and at least one
additional account relating to the provision of content from a
content provider. The server executes instructions contained in a
computer program that includes an instruction to associate the
master account with the at least one additional account and an
instruction to provide the content from the content provider over a
television network.
[0015] The present disclosure, in an another aspect, provides a
system and method that automatically associates a first or master
account (which may be a television account) of a customer relating
to the provision of a television service with one or more customer
accounts established for services from third party or other content
providers, and delivers the television service and the contents
from such content providers over a television network. In one
aspect, the system provides such contents without requiring the
customer to identify or input customer accounts, when the customer
requests such services via the television. The system, in another
aspect, provides a seamless access to multiple TV applications
without a log-in by the customer. In another aspect, the system
provides a backend solution, transparent to the customer, that
links the master account, such as the customer television account,
with the customer accounts in other domains, such as broadband
internet service, voice service including Voice over Internet
Protocol (VoIP), a wireless service, and other third party
services, and can pass along account information, upon receiving an
input, such as a one touch customer approval input to the third
parties. For the purpose of this disclosure, the term "content" is
used in a broad sense to mean any information provided over a
network, including video, voice and data. The term "television
service" means a content provided over any television network The
term "master account" means any account or identifier that is
associated with the provision of a content. A master account may be
an account set up to provide a television service to a customer.
The master account may be associated with sub-accounts. For
example, two accounts for a customer may relate to or be associated
with a master or primary account, for example, one for each set top
box, wherein each sub-account may receive the same or different
content in response to an input for each subaccount.
[0016] In another aspect, the present disclosure enables a customer
to order products or services via a single click on a television
icon using the master account information passed along to the
selected vendors. In another aspect, the present disclosure
provides an interactive television service method that includes
storing a master account relating to the provision of a television
service (a television account), storing one or more accounts of the
customer that correspond to content provided by third parties or
partners, and automatically associating the master account with the
partner accounts when the customer requests such contents via a
television and providing access to such third party content over
the television. The method may send a video content in the form of
a viewable bar to the television that includes one or more icons,
such as "Go interactive," which may be clicked by the customer via
a remote control to request a content provided pursuant to a
particular account. The partner content may be personalized by the
customer. For example, it may include personalized financial
information, personal sports information, photo albums created by
the customer over the Internet that resides with a content provider
and interactive game service that enables the customer to play
games with others over the television, etc.
[0017] In another aspect, the present disclosure provides a
computer program embedded in a computer readable medium that is
executable by a processor or server. The computer program includes
an instruction to automatically associate or correlate a master or
first account with one or more additional accounts that relate to
the provision of content by content providers, and an instruction
that delivers to a customer device or provides access via the
customer device to the contents from content providers upon
receiving an input from the customer. The input may be initiated by
a click on a television that sends a request via the set top
box.
[0018] The present disclosure, in another aspect, provides a system
that includes a database that stores customer information,
including a master or television account and at least one customer
account relating to a TV application (content) provided by a
content provider (partner). The system further includes a server
that executes instructions contained in a computer program. The
computer program includes an instruction to automatically associate
the master account with the partner accounts upon receiving an
input from a customer device and instructions to provide the
customer the television service and access to the contents from the
partners.
[0019] In another aspect, the disclosure provides a television
network which may be an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV)
network, a cable television network or a satellite television
network. The network includes a backbone (or network) that includes
a server and a customer database. The backbone is coupled to each
of the partner systems. The network provides television services
that includes a number of channels provided to each subscriber or
customers and may provide additional channels that provide content
specific to the customers, each such channel may have an associated
account with the service provider or a third party partner. When a
customer provides an input such as by clicking on a "Go
Interactive" icon on the television screen or a selected button on
a remote control, the STB sends a message to the servers in the
backbone, which automatically associates the master account with
the partner accounts and provides content to a customer device over
the television network.
[0020] FIG. 1 shows a high level functional diagram of a network
100 for providing IPTV services according to one embodiment of the
present disclosure. The network 100 is shown to include a backbone
110 that may be coupled to the Internet 140 via one or more
routers, such as a router 112. The backbone also may include a
variety of servers, routers and transport links. The backbone 110
is shown coupled to a live television content provider 114, that
may include multiple television channels, such as commonly
delivered over television networks. The backbone 110 also is shown
to include Video-on-Demand (VOD) servers 116 that provide
Video-on-Demand to customers. The backbone 114 is shown coupled via
a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) to a customer gateway, such as a
modem 130, which may be coupled to a set-top-box (STB) 132 that is
connected to a television (TV) 134. The STB may act as a control
interface for the TV 134 and may be accessed by remote control
138.
[0021] Alternatively, the transmission of the television services
and other contents may be delivered to the STB 132 via a satellite
device 136 over a link 137. The network 100 is further shown
coupled to systems of a number of content providers, (also referred
herein as partners) over the Internet 140. For example, the
backbone 110 is shown coupled to an internet service provider
"Yahoo" 150 via routers 152 and 154, and a link 153; a financial
content provider 156 via routers 158 and 160, and a link 159; a
photo content provider 162 that provides photo albums stored by the
customer over the internet via routers 164 and 166, and a link 165.
Similarly, the backbone 110 may be coupled to or have access to any
other partner content provider (generally designated by number
145), such as an interactive gaming service that enables a customer
to play games against other players via a television, and a gaming
service that enables a customer to bet online and settle accounts.
The network 100 also may provide access to a variety of other
servers, such as multimedia services 170, data centers that provide
billing services, etc.
[0022] Still referring to FIG. 1, the backbone network 110 includes
an auto-account association system 180 that includes one or more
servers 182, a database 184 that stores customer information and a
set of computer programs 186 which contains instructions that are
executed by the server 182 to perform the methods and functions
described herein. The customer information stored in the database
184 may include a master account, such as the television account,
for the customer that is assigned by the IPTV service provider. The
master account may be an IP address, an identifier associated with
the STB 132, or any other suitable identifier. In addition, the
database 182 stores customer account numbers or identifiers that
the customer has set up with partner content providers. In
addition, the customer information may include account numbers for
other relevant domains, such as broadband and voice, including
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), credit card numbers that may
be charged for interactive activity by the customer, such as for
buying merchandise, downloading videos, settling accounts, etc. A
customer may set up accounts with the partners and provide to the
television service providers for entry into the database 184 or may
enter via the web such information into the database 184.
Additionally, customers may predefine or set up preferences for
each of the partner accounts. For example, the customer may specify
or create a home page with the financial service provider 160 that
is specific to the customer, which may include information of
certain stocks and investment portfolio information of the
customer. Similarly, the sports information may specify preferences
such as statistics or other information about certain teams or a
request for receiving news about a particular team. In general,
each account may have personalized content that the partner or
content provider is set up to deliver to the customer.
[0023] In one aspect, when a customer turns on a television, the
backbone network 110 provides an on-screen indication or icon, such
as "go interactive," if the customer clicks on "go-interactive,"
the STB sends a signal to the system 180, which automatically
correlates or associates the master account with the partner
accounts. For example, assume the customer has an account for an
on-line service, such as "Yahoo" on-line service, which account
already is stored in the database 184. The system 180 automatically
associates the master account with the Yahoo account and may
deliver video indication on the television that identifies
personalized on-line services for that customer.
[0024] FIG. 2 shows an exemplary television screen shot that shows
weather 202, finance 204, and sports 206 as examples of services in
the form sometimes referred to as an LBar that are associated with
the customer's Yahoo account. The customer may simply click any of
these icons and receive the corresponding personalized content.
[0025] In another aspect, the IPTV system 100 may utilize a
dedicated channel for a particular partner service. For example,
channel #302 may be reserved for Yahoo, channel #303 for
interactive sports information, channel #304 for financial
information, #305 interactive games, etc. In such a case, when the
customer clicks on a particular channel, for example, channel #305,
the system 180 automatically associates the master account with the
appropriate partner account, retrieves the information from the
partner system and delivers it to the customer STB 132. FIG. 3
shows an exemplary television screen shot that is displayed when a
channel that corresponds an account with a content provider is
clicked, such as a photo channel
[0026] FIG. 4 shows an exemplary system architecture that may be
utilized to implement the methods of the present disclosure. A user
402, within a home or other customer premise, is shown watching a
television to which a set top box (STB) 404 is coupled. The user
402 may execute a client application at customer premises, such as
a home or office, associated with the user 402. The set top box 404
selects a channel or an icon in accordance with the user input, and
if the channel or icon selection indicates that the user desires to
access interactive television (ITV), maps the channel to a Remote
Desktop Protocol (RDP) application uniform resource locator (URL).
In response, a terminal server controller 406 creates a terminal
server session within a terminal server 408. An RDP Application
Launcher 410 associated with the terminal server 408 launches any
of several RDP applications, including a browser that transmits a
product ID to a target URL via a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP)
message. In general, an RDP Application enables applications run on
a remote application server and display on a TV using remote desk
top protocol. The same protocol is used on terminal server 408.
[0027] The RDP application launcher 410 may launch an application
that is accessible by the user 402 (or by the client application
that the user 402 is running at a customer premises). RDP
application launcher may run windows type applications through
Remote Desktop Protocol. Also RDP application launcher can redraw
graphics between a client (e.g. an STB) and a server. The RDP
application launcher 410 may also authenticate and identify the
user 402 based upon a user identification received from the set top
box 404.
[0028] The RDP application launcher 410 may provide any number of
network services to the user 402. For example, the RDP application
launcher 410 may provide access to an STB-independent network DVR
that a customer 402 has updated via a cell phone. Video images that
the user 402 has captured via a cellular telephone and uploaded to
the master account via a cellular network may be accessible via an
RDP application launched by the RDP application launcher 410. The
RDP application launcher 410 may also launch IPTV network
services.
[0029] The system 400 includes a subsystem or a server system that
includes a server 412 that has associated application programs,
such as iGate available from third parties, an associated EAI
(Enterprise Application Interface) service 414 and a database 416.
The data base 416 stores the television account (master account)
and all relevant account information about the customers, including
partner accounts, credit card, and other information such as
address, telephone and billing information. The server 412 is
coupled to systems of each of the partner (partner's service), such
as partner service 418. Thus, in one aspect of the present
configurations, iGate may act as a central point for automatically
associating the master account with the partner accounts and for
providing the contents from the various partner services 418.
Within an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) network, the iGate
412, in one aspect, creates a reverse-proxy that simulates the
user, in accordance with an SAML (Security Assertion Markup
Language) message from an enterprise application interface (EAI)
service 414. In general, SAML is an XML-based framework for
communicating user authentication, entitlement, and attribute
information. SAML allows entities to make associations regarding
the identity, attributes, and entitlements of a subject (the entity
may be a person) to other entities, such as a partner company or
another enterprise application. The SAML message from the EAI
service 414 includes a Primary Member ID and a Product ID, both of
which are retrieved from an iGate LDAP (Lightweight Directory
Access Protocol) database 416. The iGate 412 may obtain a
preferences file from the iGate LDAP database 416 that can be used
automatically to associate the user 402 (or the client application)
with the master account based upon master account information
obtained from the database 416.
[0030] The preferences file may also be used to establish an
association between the user 402 and a third-party that is selected
from a predetermined set of partner's service 418. In response to
the user identification, the iGate 412 may automatically associate
the master account with the partner's service 418, in response to
the request that is received from the user 402 via the RDP
application launcher 410. The iGate 412 may establish a path or
connection to the partner's service 418, which may be a website
having a URL. The iGate 412 may also provide the user 402 with
access to the partner's service 418 via the master account. The
partner RDP may send a SOAP message that requests SAML assertion
and the iGate may send a SOAP message response with the SAML
assertion to the Partner RDP. In general, SOAP is a lightweight
protocol for exchange of information in a decentralized,
distributed environment. It is an XML-based protocol that includes
an envelope that defines a framework for describing what is in a
message and how to process it, a set of encoding rules for
expressing instances of application-defined datatypes, and a
convention for presenting remote procedure calls and responses. The
iGate receives from the partner's RDP 418 an HTTP response with
personalized page associated with the customer account. The iGate
also receives EAI authentication from the RDP application launcher
and redirects the EAI authentication service. The iGate returns the
content received from the partner RDP to the RDP application
launcher 410, which converts it into a display form and sends it on
to the customer device 404.
[0031] The partner's service 418 may be hosted outside of the IPTV
network. The partner service's 418 may be, for example, a MyYahoo
stock account, a MyYahoo weather account, a favorite Disney Online
game, a cable television news channel, and/or banks online bill
payment website. The partner's service 418 may be accessible from
outside the IPTV network, and may be accessible from machines other
than the EAI service 414.
[0032] By providing the user 402 with access to the partner's
service 418 via the master account, the iGate 412 can also
facilitate television commerce by providing transactional billing
and fulfillment between the partner's service 418 and the user 402.
The user 402 may engage in a commercial transaction associated with
the partner's service 418. Although the system 400 is described
using a particular architecture, the system may utilize any
suitable system or architecture that performs the functions and
methods described herein.
[0033] FIG. 5 shows a flow chart of an exemplary method 500
according to one aspect of the present disclosure. As shown in
block 502, a master account of a customer is stored in a database
associated with the provision of a television service. The master
account may be any suitable identifier, such as an IP address, STB
identification number, SIP URI, etc. The method also stores in a
database (Block 504) one or more account numbers or identifiers of
the customer (partner accounts) with various content providers,
each such account being recognizable by a corresponding partner
system that delivers content upon authentication of the account. As
shown in block 506, the method establishes communication between
the TV network and each of the partner systems in a manner that the
network can obtain content from the partner systems that may be
specific to a customer upon sending information relating to the
account of the customer with the partner. Upon receiving an
identifier from a customer device, partner accounts are
automatically correlated with the master account without requiring
the customer to enter the partner accounts, as shown in block 508.
The contents from the partner systems is retrieved by
authenticating or sending the partner accounts to the corresponding
partner systems (block 510), and delivering to the customer premise
over the television network (block 512).
[0034] As described above, the system and method of the present
disclosure provides a backend auto-account association process that
may be transparent to customers as it links customers' TV accounts
(and viewing experience) with their accounts in other relevant
domains, such as broadband, voice, wireless and can also pass along
account information (which may be done by a one touch or click
approval) to other parties for purpose of obtaining contents from
such partners, including transactional billing. The auto-account
association allows a TV customer to access on the television
predefined broadband preferences (such as Yahoo weather, sports,
finance, etc.) by a single touch of a remote device without the
need to enter the broadband account user name and password. The
system and method automatically handles the account association.
Additionally, the system enables interactivity, such as playing
games against others online, programming a digital video recorder
via a telephone without specifying set top box identification,
viewing bills, voice services and on-TV caller ID associated with
the customers VoIP account. For example, the system may
automatically associate the master account with an account for a
wireless service, such as a cellular telephone account and provide
on a TV channel or through an icon on the TV selected information
about the cellular phone account (partner account), without
requiring the customer to enter any account relating to the
cellular telephone, such as the telephone number. The information
provided for display on the TV may include telephone billing
information, call log (received and called calls), voice
information message, address book that may be stored in a network
database, etc. Auto-account association also can leverage network
infrastructure for seamless linking of broadband and voice accounts
outside of a television reference, so that a customer may check web
settings on a wireless device without the need to log on or
authenticate. As noted earlier, auto-account association also can
enable customers to order items through the television via a single
click using their television account information passed along to
the relevant vendors. Additionally, auto account association can
enable customers to wager on television, and settle accounts
through customer information associated with such accounts stored
in a database. Also, it will be obvious that in addition to
simplified user experience, the auto-account association allows
bundling of a variety of services over the television, including
broadband and voice services.
[0035] The methods and the computer programs described herein,
including account association and provision of content over a
television network may be implemented by a computer system, such as
an exemplary system shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic
representation of a machine in the form of a computer system 600
within which a set of instructions, when executed, may cause the
machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed
herein. In some embodiments, the machine operates as a standalone
device. In some embodiments, the machine may be connected (e.g.,
using a network) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the
machine may operate in the capacity of a server or a client user
machine in server-client user network environment, or as a peer
machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The
machine may comprise a server computer, a client user computer, a
personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a
Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a mobile
device, a palmtop computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer,
a personal digital assistant, a communications device, a wireless
telephone, a land-line telephone, a control system, a camera, a
scanner, a facsimile machine, a printer, a pager, a personal
trusted device, a web appliance, a network router, switch or
bridge, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions
(sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that
machine. It will be understood that a device of the present
invention includes broadly any electronic device that provides
voice, video or data communication. Further, while a single machine
is illustrated, the term "machine" shall also be taken to include
any collection of machines that individually or jointly execute a
set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more
of the methodologies discussed herein.
[0036] The computer system 600 may include a processor 602 (e.g., a
central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or
both), a main memory 604 and a static memory 606, which communicate
with each other via a bus 608. The computer system 600 may further
include a video display unit 650 (e.g., a liquid crystal display
(LCD), a flat panel, a solid state display, or a cathode ray tube
(CRT)). The computer system 600 may include an input device 612
(e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device 614 (e.g., a mouse), a
disk drive unit 616, a signal generation device 618 (e.g., a
speaker or remote control) and a network interface device 620.
[0037] The disk drive unit 616 may include a machine-readable
medium 622 on which is stored one or more sets of instructions
(e.g., software 624) embodying any one or more of the methodologies
or functions described herein, including those methods illustrated
in herein above. The instructions 624 may also reside, completely
or at least partially, within the main memory 604, the static
memory 606, and/or within the processor 602 during execution
thereof by the computer system 600. The main memory 604 and the
processor 602 also may constitute machine-readable media. Dedicated
hardware implementations including, but not limited to, application
specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays and other
hardware devices can likewise be constructed to implement the
methods described herein. Applications that may include the
apparatus and systems of various embodiments broadly include a
variety of electronic and computer systems. Some embodiments
implement functions in two or more specific interconnected hardware
modules or devices with related control and data signals
communicated between and through the modules, or as portions of an
application-specific integrated circuit. Thus, the example system
is applicable to software, firmware, and hardware
implementations.
[0038] In accordance with various embodiments of the present
invention, the methods described herein are intended for operation
as software programs running on a computer processor. Furthermore,
software implementations can include, but not limited to,
distributed processing or component/object distributed processing,
parallel processing, or virtual machine processing can also be
constructed to implement the methods described herein.
[0039] The present invention contemplates a machine readable medium
containing instructions 624, or that which receives and executes
instructions 624 from a propagated signal so that a device
connected to a network environment 626 can send or receive voice,
video or data, and to communicate over the network 626 using the
instructions 624. The instructions 624 may further be transmitted
or received over a network 626 via the network interface device
medium 622 is shown in an example embodiment to be a single medium,
the term "machine-readable medium" should be taken to include a
single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed
database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one
or more sets of instructions. The term "machine-readable medium"
shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable of
storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution
by the machine and that cause the machine to perform any one or
more of the methodologies of the present invention. The term
"machine-readable medium" shall accordingly be taken to include,
but not be limited to: solid-state memories such as a memory card
or other package that houses one or more read-only (non-volatile)
memories, random access memories, or other re-writable (volatile)
memories; magneto-optical or optical medium such as a disk or tape;
and carrier wave signals such as a signal embodying computer
instructions in a transmission medium; and/or a digital file
attachment to e-mail or other self-contained information archive or
set of archives is considered a distribution medium equivalent to a
tangible storage medium. Accordingly, the invention is considered
to include any one or more of a machine-readable medium or a
distribution medium, as listed herein and including art-recognized
equivalents and successor media, in which the software
implementations herein are stored.
[0040] Although the present specification describes components and
functions implemented in the embodiments with reference to
particular standards and protocols, the invention is not limited to
such standards and protocols. Each of the standards for Internet
and other packet switched network transmission (e.g., TCP/IP,
UDP/IP, HTML, HTTP) represent examples of the state of the art.
Such standards are periodically superseded by faster or more
efficient equivalents having essentially the same functions.
Accordingly, replacement standards and protocols having the same
functions are considered equivalents.
[0041] The illustrations of embodiments described herein are
intended to provide a general understanding of the structure of
various embodiments, and they are not intended to serve as a
complete description of all the elements and features of apparatus
and systems that might make use of the structures described herein.
Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the
art upon reviewing the above description. Other embodiments may be
utilized and derived therefrom, such that structural and logical
substitutions and changes may be made without departing from the
scope of this disclosure. Figures are merely representational and
may not be drawn to scale. Certain proportions thereof may be
exaggerated, while others may be minimized. Accordingly, the
specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative
rather than a restrictive sense.
[0042] Such embodiments of the inventive subject matter may be
referred to herein, individually and/or collectively, by the term
"invention" merely for convenience and without intending to
voluntarily limit the scope of this application to any single
invention or inventive concept if more than one is in fact
disclosed. Thus, although specific embodiments have been
illustrated and described herein, it should be appreciated that any
arrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose may be
substituted for the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is
intended to cover any and all adaptations or variations of various
embodiments. Combinations of the above embodiments, and other
embodiments not specifically described herein, will be apparent to
those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description.
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