U.S. patent application number 15/933727 was filed with the patent office on 2019-09-26 for systems and methods for prompting a user to view an important event in a media asset presented on a first device when the user i.
The applicant listed for this patent is Rovi Guides, Inc.. Invention is credited to Vikram Makam Gupta, Vishwas Sharadanagar Panchaksharaiah.
Application Number | 20190297388 15/933727 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 66001334 |
Filed Date | 2019-09-26 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20190297388 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Panchaksharaiah; Vishwas
Sharadanagar ; et al. |
September 26, 2019 |
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PROMPTING A USER TO VIEW AN IMPORTANT EVENT
IN A MEDIA ASSET PRESENTED ON A FIRST DEVICE WHEN THE USER IS
VIEWING ANOTHER MEDIA ASSET PRESENTED ON A SECOND DEVICE
Abstract
Systems and methods are described herein for a media guidance
application on a first device that detects a user's engagement with
a second media asset on second device, and alerts the user to an
important event in a first media asset presented on the first
device, thereby reminding the user to view the first media asset.
The media guidance application may determine when the next
important event will occur in the media asset and determine an
estimated amount of time required to play back the second media
asset. The media guidance application may adjust the estimated
amount of time based on advertisements and network conditions at
the second device. If the media guidance application determines
that the estimated amount of time is longer than the amount of time
before the next important event in the first media asset, the media
guidance application may generate an alert on the second
device.
Inventors: |
Panchaksharaiah; Vishwas
Sharadanagar; (Karnataka, IN) ; Gupta; Vikram
Makam; (Bangalore, IN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Rovi Guides, Inc. |
San Jose |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
66001334 |
Appl. No.: |
15/933727 |
Filed: |
March 23, 2018 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N 21/44213 20130101;
H04N 21/442 20130101; H04N 21/84 20130101; H04N 21/44222 20130101;
H04N 21/812 20130101; H04N 21/4532 20130101; H04N 21/4882 20130101;
H04N 21/4333 20130101; H04N 21/47214 20130101; H04N 21/4126
20130101; H04N 21/431 20130101; H04N 21/435 20130101; H04N 21/47217
20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04N 21/488 20060101
H04N021/488; H04N 21/435 20060101 H04N021/435; H04N 21/442 20060101
H04N021/442; H04N 21/45 20060101 H04N021/45; H04N 21/472 20060101
H04N021/472 |
Claims
1. (canceled)
2. A method comprising: generating for display, at a first device,
a first media asset; determining that a user has stopped viewing
the first media asset on the first device to view a second media
asset on a second device; determining a length of time required to
play back the second media asset on the second device; accessing
metadata of the first media asset; determining, based on the
metadata, a playback time of an important event in the first media
asset; determining a threshold amount of time until playback of the
important event based on the determined playback time and a current
playback time; comparing the threshold amount of time with the
determined length of time required to play back the second media
asset on the second device; determining, based on the comparing,
that the length of time required to play back the second media
asset on the second device is greater than the threshold amount of
time; and in response to determining that the length of time
required to play back the second media asset on the second device
is greater than the threshold amount of time, generating for
display, on the second device, an alert, the alert reminding the
user to view the media asset on the first device.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein determining that the user has
stopped viewing the first media asset on the first device to view
the second media asset on the second device comprises: determining,
by the first device, a state of the second device, the state of the
second device indicating whether there is user interaction with the
second device; in response to determining that the state of the
second device indicated user interaction with the second device,
determining a type of application associated with the user
interaction; and determining that the type of application is a
media asset presentation application.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein determining the length of time
required to play back the second media asset on the second device
comprises: accessing, by the first device, an asset memory of the
second device related to the second media asset; and determining,
from the asset memory, the length of the second media asset.
5. The method of claim 4, further comprising: accessing, by the
first device, a network interface of the second device through
which the second device is receiving the second media asset;
determining, from the network interface of the second device, the
download rate of the second media asset; determining a bitrate of
the second media asset; comparing the download rate of the second
media asset with the bitrate of the second media asset;
determining, based on the comparing, whether the download rate is
sufficient for uninterrupted playback of the second media asset; in
response to determining that the download rate is not sufficient
for uninterrupted playback of the second media asset, calculating
an estimated amount of additional time required for playback of the
second media asset; and combining the estimated amount of
additional time with the length of the second media asset.
6. The method of claim 4, further comprising: determining, from the
asset memory, a plurality of advertisement slots included in the
second media asset; accessing, by the first device, an application
memory related to an application of the second device in which the
second media asset is being played back; determining, from the
application memory, an average length of time of an advertisement
slot; calculating, based on the average length of time of an
advertisement slot, an estimated amount of additional time required
for playback of the plurality of advertisement slots; and combining
the estimated amount of additional time with the length of the
second media asset.
7. The method of claim 2, wherein determining the length of time
required to play back the second media asset on the second device
comprises: accessing, by the first device, an asset memory of the
second device related to the second media asset; identifying, from
the asset memory, a source of the second media asset; and
retrieving, from the source, the length of the second media
asset.
8. The method of claim 7, further comprising: accessing, by the
first device, a network interface of the second device through
which the second device is receiving the second media asset;
determining, from the network interface of the second device, the
download rate of the second media asset; determining a bitrate of
the second media asset; comparing the download rate of the second
media asset with the bitrate of the second media asset;
determining, based on the comparing, whether the download rate is
sufficient for uninterrupted playback of the second media asset; in
response to determining that the download rate is not sufficient
for uninterrupted playback of the second media asset, calculating
an estimated amount of additional time required for playback of the
second media asset; and combining the estimated amount of
additional time with the length of the second media asset.
9. The method of claim 7, further comprising: determining, from the
source, a plurality of advertisement slots included in the second
media asset; accessing, by the first device, an application memory
of the second device, an average length of time of an advertisement
slot; calculating, based on the average length of time of an
advertisement slot, an estimated amount of additional time required
for playback of the plurality of advertisement slots; and combining
the estimated amount of additional time with the length of the
second media asset.
10. The method of claim 2, wherein determining, based on the
metadata, a playback time of an important event in the media asset
comprises: accessing a database of playback times corresponding to
important events in the media asset; determining, based on the
current playback time of the media asset, the next important event
in the media asset in the database; and retrieving, from the
database, the playback time of the next important event.
11. The method of claim 2, wherein generating for display, on the
second device, the alert further comprises: calculating, based on
the playback time of the important event, an alert time, the alert
time being an earlier time than the playback time of the important
event; monitoring, by the first device, a real-time clock; and
determining, by the first device, based on the monitoring, that the
alert time has arrived.
12. A system comprising: a first device comprising control
circuitry configured to: generate for display, at a first device, a
first media asset; determine that a user has stopped viewing the
first media asset on the first device to view a second media asset
on a second device; determine a length of time required to play
back the second media asset on the second device; access metadata
of the first media asset; determine, based on the metadata, a
playback time of an important event in the first media asset;
determine a threshold amount of time until playback of the
important event based on the determined playback time and a current
playback time; compare the threshold amount of time with the
determined length of time required to play back the second media
asset on the second device; determine, based on the comparing, that
the length of time required to play back the second media asset on
the second device is greater than the threshold amount of time; and
in response to determining that the length of time required to play
back the second media asset on the second device is greater than
the threshold amount of time, generate for display, on the second
device, an alert, the alert reminding the user to view the media
asset on the first device.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein the control circuitry
configured to determine that the user has stopped viewing the first
media asset on the first device to view the second media asset on
the second device is further configured to: determine, by the first
device, a state of the second device, the state of the second
device indicating whether there is user interaction with the second
device; in response to determining that the state of the second
device indicated user interaction with the second device, determine
a type of application associated with the user interaction; and
determine that the type of application is a media asset
presentation application.
14. The system of claim 12, wherein the control circuitry
configured to determine the length of time required to play back
the second media asset on the second device is further configured
to: access, by the first device, an asset memory of the second
device related to the second media asset; and determine, from the
asset memory, the length of the second media asset.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein the control circuitry is
further configured to: access, by the first device, a network
interface of the second device through which the second device is
receiving the second media asset; determine, from the network
interface of the second device, the download rate of the second
media asset; determine a bitrate of the second media asset; compare
the download rate of the second media asset with the bitrate of the
second media asset; determine, based on the comparing, whether the
download rate is sufficient for uninterrupted playback of the
second media asset; in response to determining that the download
rate is not sufficient for uninterrupted playback of the second
media asset, calculate an estimated amount of additional time
required for playback of the second media asset; and combine the
estimated amount of additional time with the length of the second
media asset.
16. The system of claim 14, wherein the control circuitry is
further configured to: determine, from the asset memory, a
plurality of advertisement slots included in the second media
asset; access, by the first device, an application memory related
to an application of the second device in which the second media
asset is being played back; determine, from the application memory,
an average length of time of an advertisement slot; calculate,
based on the average length of time of an advertisement slot, an
estimated amount of additional time required for playback of the
plurality of advertisement slots; and combine the estimated amount
of additional time with the length of the second media asset.
17. The system of claim 12, wherein the control circuitry
configured to determine the length of time required to play back
the second media asset on the second device is further configured
to: access, by the first device, an asset memory of the second
device related to the second media asset; identify, from the asset
memory, a source of the second media asset; and retrieve, from the
source, the length of the second media asset.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein the control circuitry is
further configured to: access, by the first device, a network
interface of the second device through which the second device is
receiving the second media asset; determine, from the network
interface of the second device, the download rate of the second
media asset; determine a bitrate of the second media asset; compare
the download rate of the second media asset with the bitrate of the
second media asset; determine, based on the comparing, whether the
download rate is sufficient for uninterrupted playback of the
second media asset; in response to determining that the download
rate is not sufficient for uninterrupted playback of the second
media asset, calculate an estimated amount of additional time
required for playback of the second media asset; and combine the
estimated amount of additional time with the length of the second
media asset.
19. The system of claim 17, wherein the control circuitry is
further configured to: determine, from the source, a plurality of
advertisement slots included in the second media asset; access, by
the first device, an application memory of the second device, an
average length of time of an advertisement slot; calculate, based
on the average length of time of an advertisement slot, an
estimated amount of additional time required for playback of the
plurality of advertisement slots; and combine the estimated amount
of additional time with the length of the second media asset.
20. The system of claim 12, wherein the control circuitry
configured to determine, based on the metadata, a playback time of
an important event in the media asset is further configured to:
access a database of playback times corresponding to important
events in the media asset; determine, based on the current playback
time of the media asset, the next important event in the media
asset in the database; and retrieve, from the database, the
playback time of the next important event.
21. The system of claim 12, wherein the control circuitry
configured to generate for display, on the second device, the alert
further is further configured to: calculate, based on the playback
time of the important event, an alert time, the alert time being an
earlier time than the playback time of the important event;
monitor, by the first device, a real-time clock; and determine, by
the first device, based on the monitoring, that the alert time has
arrived.
22-51. (canceled)
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] There are many media devices available to users, each
capable of providing media content, as well as other content such
as social network content, messaging, and other interactive
content. Additionally, many of these devices alert users when new
content is available and/or when a message is received. This may
result in users watching a media asset on a first device becoming
distracted from the media asset on the first device by content or
messages on a second device. If a user becomes too distracted or
engrossed in the content provided by the second device, the user
may miss important parts of the media asset on the first
device.
SUMMARY
[0002] The advancement of digital transmission of media content has
increased the amount of data that can be transmitted. In
particular, media systems may transmit metadata that includes
detailed information about media content. This metadata may include
descriptions and tags to important events within the media asset.
While this information, by itself, is not useable for displaying to
a human user, computer processors can read and interpret this
information. However, while computer processors may read and
interpret this information, and generate media content for display
that may be useable by a human user (e.g., output media content on
a display screen in a human recognizable format), these systems
still fail to solve the aforementioned problem when implemented in
computer systems, because an alert generated by the computer
processor based on received metadata still fails to account for the
problems created when alerting a user in computer systems: (i) that
a user may be using a different device (and may not see an alert
output on that device); and (ii) that a user may be currently
consuming media content on the second device and may not wish, or
be able to, immediately end consumption of the media content on the
second device.
[0003] Accordingly, to overcome the problems created when alerting
a user in computer systems, systems and methods are described
herein for a media guidance application that detects, and responds
to, a user's engagement with a second media asset on the second
device while consuming media content on a first device.
Specifically, the media guidance application detects metadata
associated with the media content on the first device indicating an
important event is about to occur (e.g., a predetermined time in
the future based on the characteristics of the user and
circumstances of the user's use of the second device). In response,
the media guidance application transmits an instruction to generate
for display an alert on the second device the predetermined amount
of time before the important event in the media content on the
first device. Accordingly, the user may receive the alert even if
the user is not viewing the first device and will have enough time
to end his or her consumption of media content on the second device
prior to the important event on the first device.
[0004] For example, the media guidance application may determine
(e.g., using control circuitry on the first device) when the next
important event will occur in the media asset (e.g., via reading
and interpreting metadata received with the media asset) and
determine an estimated time required to play back the second media
asset on the second device based on the length of the second media
asset, advertisements within the second media asset, and network
conditions at the second device (e.g., via reading and interpreting
data received from the second device).
[0005] As an example, the user may be watching the movie "Star
Wars" on the first device. During the movie, the user may access a
second device to view a second media asset on a media presentation
application. The media guidance application may determine that the
media presentation application is in use on the second device, and
determine an amount of time required to play back the second media
asset. For example, the media guidance application may access a
media asset memory of the second device to determine the length of
the second media asset. The media guidance application may also
determine an amount of advertisement slots included in the second
media asset and estimate an amount of time required to play back
the advertisements by estimating the amount of time required for
each advertisement slot based on past advertisement lengths. The
media guidance application may determine when the next important
event in the movie occurs. For example, the media guidance
application may access metadata of the movie "Star Wars" and
determine that the next important event (e.g., the death of Obi-Wan
Kenobi at the hands of Darth Vader) will occur in five minutes. The
media guidance application may compare this time with the estimated
time required to play back the second media asset. If the estimated
amount of time is longer than five minutes, the media guidance
application may present an alert on the second device over five
minutes prior to the event, so that the user may end his or her
consumption on the second device prior to the important event.
Accordingly, the user is given a chance to both end his or her
consumption on the second device (and reminded not to start
consuming more content on the second device) and resume viewing the
media asset on the first device in order to not miss the important
event.
[0006] In some aspects, the media guidance application may generate
for display, at a first device, a media asset. For example, the
media guidance application may generate for display the movie "Star
Wars" on the first device. "Star Wars" may be generated for display
from a broadcast stream received at the first device, or from a
recording stored in a memory of the first device.
[0007] The media guidance application may determine that the user
has stopped viewing a media asset on the first device to access an
application on the second device. For example, the media guidance
application may reside on the first device and communicate with the
second device through a wired or wireless connection. The media
guidance application may receive data from the second device
indicating user input, an active application, or any other suitable
metric related to use of the second device. By communicating back
and forth, the two devices share information that helps estimate
usage times and determine when to alert the user.
[0008] The media guidance application may retrieve, from the second
device, an indication of an amount of content in the application.
For example, the media guidance application may, through the
connection with the second device, request from the second device a
summary of content available in the active application with which
the user is interacting. For example, if the user is interacting
with a Facebook.RTM. application, the media guidance application
may request from the second device an indication of an amount of
new content in the Facebook.RTM. application. Once again by
communicating back and forth, the two devices share information
that helps estimate usage times and determine when to alert the
user.
[0009] The media guidance application may retrieve, from the second
device, an indication of an average usage time for the application.
For example, the second device may maintain a log of applications
available on the second device, and the amount of time the user
interacts with each application. The media guidance application may
access the log on the second device and calculate an average time
that the user interacts with the application currently in use. For
example, the log may indicate that the last three times the user
accessed the Facebook.RTM. application, the user interacted with
the application for two minutes, three minutes, and one and a half
minutes, respectively. The media guidance application may calculate
an average usage time for the Facebook.RTM. application of two
minutes and ten seconds. The media guidance application may
calculate an estimated usage time for the application on the second
device based on the amount of content on the application and the
average usage time for the application. By calculating the average
usage time (or other appropriate estimation), the media guidance
application can give the user a likely amount of time to both end
his or her consumption on the second device and resume viewing the
media asset on the first device without missing the important
event.
[0010] The media guidance application may access metadata of the
media asset and determine, based on the metadata, a playback time
of an important event in the media asset. For example, the media
guidance application may search metadata of the media asset on the
first device for a metadata flag in the metadata indicating a time
of an important event in the media asset. For example, the metadata
may include data fields comprising an index of important events. As
another example, the metadata may include data fields indicating
the importance of the event represented in the current scene, or in
the next scene. By retrieving this information, the media guidance
application may identify upcoming important events.
[0011] The media guidance application may determine a threshold
amount of time until playback of the important event based on a
current playback time and the playback time of the important event.
For example, the metadata may include a timestamp of the important
event, or may include a relative amount of time from the current
playback time to the important event. The media guidance
application may calculate the amount of time between the current
playback time and the playback time of the important event. By
determining this threshold, the media guidance application may
identify upcoming important events prior to their occurrence.
[0012] The media guidance application may determine that the
estimated usage time is greater than the threshold amount of time.
For example, the media guidance application may compare the
threshold amount of time with the estimated usage time. For
example, the user may be using a social media application, and the
media guidance application may estimate the usage time as five
minutes. The media guidance application may also determine that the
threshold amount of time until the next important scene is three
minutes. The media guidance application may therefore determine
that the estimated usage time is greater than the threshold amount
of time. In response to determining that the estimated usage time
is greater than the threshold amount of time, the media guidance
application may generate for display on the second device an alert,
prompting the user to view the media asset on the first device. For
example, the media guidance application may instruct the second
device to display a pop-up message reminding the user to watch
"Star Wars" on the first device because an important scene is
coming soon. By using these thresholds, the media guidance
application can ensure that alerts are generated at an appropriate
time (e.g., prior to an important event, but not too far ahead of
the event such that the user's use of the second device is
unnecessarily restricted).
[0013] In some embodiments, the media guidance application may,
when retrieving the indication of the amount of content in the
application, access a memory of the second device related to the
application. For example, the media guidance application may access
a memory of the second device related to the Facebook.RTM.
application and extract an indication of the amount of new content
available. The media guidance application may determine, from the
memory, an amount of content added to the application within a
threshold amount of time. For example, the media guidance
application may analyze the memory of the second device related to
the Facebook.RTM. application and determine that an amount of
content has been added to the application in the last thirty
minutes. The media guidance application may retrieve, as the
indication of the amount of content in the application, the amount
of content added in the threshold amount of time. By using this
information about the amount of content in the application on the
device, the media guidance application may determine accurate
estimated usage times that are particular to both the application
and use of the application on that particular device.
[0014] In some embodiments, the media guidance application may,
when retrieving the indication of the average usage time for the
application, access a memory of the second device related to
application usage. For example, an application usage log of the
second device may also record an amount of content consumed in each
application each time the user interacted with the application. The
media guidance application may calculate an estimated usage time
based on the amount of new content detected in the application by
calculating, from the usage log, an average amount of usage time
per unit of content, and applying the average amount to the amount
of detected new content. The media guidance application may
retrieve, as the indication of the average usage time, the average
amount of time per unit of content. By using this information about
the usage of an application stored in the memory of the device, the
media guidance application may determine accurate estimated usage
times that are particular to both the application and use of the
application on that particular device.
[0015] In some embodiments, the media guidance application may,
when determining, based on metadata, a playback time of an
important event in the media asset, access a database of playback
times corresponding to important events in the media asset. The
playback times may be relative to the start of the media asset, or
may be actual times based on the time at which playback of the
media asset began. For example, a database for "Star Wars" may
indicate important events at ten minutes, twenty-five minutes,
fifty-three minutes, and eighty-four minutes from the start of the
movie. The media guidance application may determine, based on the
current playback time, the next important event in the media asset
in the database. For example, if the current playback time for
"Star Wars" is forty-seven minutes, the media guidance application
may determine that the next important event occurs at fifty-three
minutes, and retrieve fifty-three minutes as the playback time of
the next important event. By determining this threshold, the media
guidance application may identify upcoming important events prior
to their occurrence.
[0016] In some embodiments, the user may stop viewing the media
asset on the first device in response to a notification (e.g.,
specifically selected based on the circumstances) on the second
device. The media guidance application may identify an application
associated with the notification. For example, the media guidance
application may access a memory of the second device related to
notifications and determine which application generated the most
recent notification. The media guidance application may access a
database of applications that relates each application with an
application type indicating a level of importance to the user. For
example, an application with a type "GAME" may have low importance
to the user, while an application with a type "SOCIAL" may have
high importance to the user. The media guidance application may
retrieve from the database the type of the identified application
and determine the level of importance to the user. In response to
determining that the level of importance exceeds a threshold, the
media guidance application may pause the media asset on the first
device. For example, if the application has a type indicating high
importance to the user, the media guidance application may pause
the media asset. In response to the user completing use of the
application, the media guidance application may resume playback of
the media asset. For example, the media guidance application may
detect when the user has closed the application, or has otherwise
stopped interacting with the application, and resume playing the
media asset. By generating notifications specifically selected
based on the circumstances, the media guidance application may
present the user with information that may help tailor his or her
consumption on either device. For example, the notification may
include information that helps the user determine how important an
event is and/or whether or not he or she wishes to prematurely end
his or her consumption of content on the second device.
[0017] In some embodiments, when calculating the estimated usage
time for the application, the media guidance application may access
a memory of the second device related to application usage history
and identify a plurality of applications having an importance level
within a threshold difference of the importance level of the
identified application. The media guidance application may
calculate an average usage time for the plurality of applications
as an indication of average usage time for the identified
application. By using this information about the usage of an
application stored in the memory of the device, the media guidance
application may determine accurate estimated usage times that are
particular to both the application and use of the application on
that particular device.
[0018] In some embodiments, the user may stop viewing the media
asset on the first device in response to a plurality of
notifications on the second device and while the current playback
time of the media asset corresponds to an advertisement slot. The
media guidance application may calculate an estimated usage time
for the application associated with each notification of the
plurality of notifications. The media guidance application may
determine, based on metadata of the media asset, an amount of time
until the end of the advertisement slot. The media guidance
application may select a subset of notifications to present to the
user on the second device having a combined average usage time that
is less than the amount of time between the current playback time
and the end of the advertisement slot. The media guidance
application may present the subset of notifications on the second
device while simultaneously preventing display of the remainder of
the plurality of notifications. By using this information, the
media guidance application may determine estimated usage times that
are keyed to advertisements on the first device, the viewing of
which may not be desirable to the user.
[0019] In some embodiments, the media guidance application may
update the estimated usage time by detecting new content received
in the application while the user is interacting with the
application. For example, the user may be interacting with a
Facebook.RTM. application and new content items may become
available while the user is viewing other content in the
application. The media guidance application may add an amount of
time to the estimated usage time based on the amount of detected
new content. By using this information, the media guidance
application may continually update the estimated usage time based
on the actions of the user on the second device and the likelihood
that the estimated usage time may increase.
[0020] In some embodiments, to generate for display the alert on
the second device, the media guidance application may calculate an
alert time, based on the playback time of the important event. For
example, playback time of the important event may occur in five
minutes. The media guidance application may have a threshold alert
time of two minutes prior to an important event, and may calculate
the alert time to occur in three minutes. The media guidance
application may monitor a real-time clock to determine when the
alert time has arrived.
[0021] In some aspects, the media guidance application may
determine that a user has stopped viewing a first media asset on a
first device to access a second media asset on a second device. For
example, the user may be watching "Star Wars" on a first device,
and begin watching another media asset on YouTube.RTM. on a second
device. For example, the media guidance application may receive
data from the second device indicating an active media presentation
application, or any other suitable metric related to presentation
of media assets on the second device. Again, by communicating back
and forth, the two devices share information that helps estimate
usage times and determine when to alert the user.
[0022] The media guidance application may determine the length of
time required to play back the second media asset on the second
device. For example, the media guidance application may access
metadata of the second media asset to determine the duration of the
second media asset. Metadata of the second media asset may be
located on the second device. Again, by communicating back and
forth, the two devices share information that helps estimate usage
times and determine when to alert the user.
[0023] The media guidance application may access metadata of the
first media asset and determine, based on the metadata, a playback
time of an important event in the first media asset. For example,
the media guidance application may search metadata of the media
asset on the first device for a metadata flag in the metadata
indicating a time of an important event in the media asset. For
example, the metadata may include data fields comprising an index
of important events. As another example, the metadata may include
data fields indicating the importance of the event represented in
the current scene, or in the next scene. Again, by retrieving this
information, the media guidance application may identify upcoming
important events.
[0024] The media guidance application may determine a threshold
amount of time until playback of the important event based on a
current playback time and a playback time of the important event.
For example, the metadata may include a timestamp of the important
event, or may include a relative amount of time from the current
playback time to the important event. The media guidance
application may calculate the amount of time between the current
playback time and the playback time of the important event. By
determining this threshold, the media guidance application may
identify upcoming important events prior to their occurrence.
[0025] The media guidance application may compare the length of
time required to play back the second media asset with the
threshold amount of time. If the media guidance application
determines that the length of time required to play back the second
media asset is greater than the threshold amount of time, the media
guidance application may generate an alert on the second device
reminding the user to view the first media asset. By using these
thresholds, the media guidance application can ensure that alerts
are generated at an appropriate time (e.g., prior to an important
event, but not too far ahead of the event such that the user's use
of the second device is unnecessarily restricted).
[0026] In some embodiments, to determine that the user has stopped
viewing the first media asset on the first device to view a second
media asset on the second device, the media guidance application
may determine a state of the second device indicating whether there
is user interaction with the second device. For example, the media
guidance application may access a memory or sensor of the second
device to determine if the second device is currently receiving
user input. If the media guidance application determines that the
user is interacting with the second device, the media guidance
application may determine a type of application associated with the
user interaction. For example, the media guidance application may
access a memory of the second device to determine which application
is currently active, or to which application the user inputs are
being directed. The media guidance application may further
determine, based on the application type, that the application is a
media asset presentation application, such as YouTube.RTM.. Once
again, by communicating back and forth, the two devices share
information that helps estimate usage times and determine when to
alert the user.
[0027] In some embodiments, to determine the length of time
required to play back the second media asset, the media guidance
application may access an asset memory of the second device related
to the second media asset. The media guidance application may
determine, from the asset memory, the length of the second media
asset. By using this information about the length of content on the
second device, the media guidance application may determine
accurate estimated usage times on the second device.
[0028] In some embodiments, to determine the length of time
required to play back the second media asset, the media guidance
application may access an asset memory of the second device related
to the media asset. For example, the media guidance application may
access a memory of the second device related to a media asset being
watched on the YouTube.RTM. application. The media guidance
application may identify from the memory a source of the media
asset. For example, the media guidance application may retrieve a
URL for the media asset. The media guidance application may access
the source of the second media asset directly and retrieve the
length of the second media asset. For example, the media guidance
application may access a YouTube.RTM. server location and retrieve
metadata of the second media asset from the server location
indicating the length of the second media asset. Again, by using
this information about the length of content on the second device,
the media guidance application may determine accurate estimated
usage times on the second device.
[0029] In some embodiments, the media guidance application may
access a network interface of the second device through which the
second device is receiving the second media asset and determine the
download rate of the second media asset. For example, the media
guidance application may determine that the second media asset is
being downloaded at a rate of 1 Mbps. The media guidance
application may determine the bitrate of the second media asset and
compare the bitrate with the download rate to determine if the
download rate is sufficient for uninterrupted playback of the
second media asset. For example, if the download rate is 1 Mbps,
and the bitrate of the second media asset is 500 kbps, half the
download rate, then the media guidance application may determine
that the download rate is sufficient for uninterrupted playback of
the second media asset. However, if, for example, the bitrate of
the second media asset is 2 Mbps while the download rate is only 1
Mbps, then the media guidance application may determine that the
download rate is not sufficient for uninterrupted playback of the
second media asset. The media guidance application may then
calculate an estimated amount of additional time required for
playback of the second media asset, and combine the estimated
amount of additional time with the length of the second media
asset. By communicating back and forth, the two devices share
information that helps revise estimated usage times and determine
when to alert the user.
[0030] In some embodiments, the media guidance application may
determine, from the asset memory or the source of the second media
asset, a plurality of advertisement slots included in the second
media asset. For example, the second media asset may include three
pointers to advertisements over the duration of the asset. The
media guidance application may access an application memory related
to the application of the second device in which the second media
asset is being played back and determine an average length of an
advertisement slot. For example, the application memory of the
YouTube.RTM. application may include a log file or other data
relating to past advertisements shown to the user during other
media assets, and may include the duration of each advertisement.
The media guidance application may calculate an average length of
an advertisement slot. The media guidance application may
calculate, based on the average length of an advertisement slot, an
estimated amount of additional time required for playback of the
plurality of advertisement slots, and combine the estimated amount
of additional time with the length of the second media asset.
Again, by communicating back and forth, the two devices share
information that helps revise estimated usage times and determine
when to alert the user.
[0031] It should also be noted that the systems and/or methods
described above may be applied to, or used in accordance with,
other systems and/or methods.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0032] The above and other objects and advantages of the disclosure
will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed
description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,
in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout,
and in which:
[0033] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary display of a second device and
exemplary alerts according to an embodiment of the disclosure;
[0034] FIG. 2 shows an illustrative display screen that may be used
to provide media guidance data according to an embodiment of the
disclosure;
[0035] FIG. 3 shows an illustrative display screen that may be used
to provide media guidance data according to an embodiment of the
disclosure;
[0036] FIG. 4 shows a generalized embodiment of a stand-alone
device according to an embodiment of the disclosure;
[0037] FIG. 5 shows a specific implementation of user devices
according to an embodiment of the disclosure;
[0038] FIG. 6 is a flowchart representing a process for alerting a
user to an important event in a media asset according to an
embodiment of the disclosure;
[0039] FIG. 7 is a flowchart representing a process for alerting a
user to an important event in a media asset according to an
embodiment of the disclosure;
[0040] FIG. 8 is a flowchart representing a process for retrieving
an indication of an amount of content in an application according
to an embodiment of the disclosure;
[0041] FIG. 9 is a flowchart representing a process for retrieving
an indication of an average usage time of an application according
to an embodiment of the disclosure;
[0042] FIG. 10 is a flowchart representing a process for
determining a playback time of an important event in a media asset
according to an embodiment of the disclosure;
[0043] FIG. 11 is a flowchart representing a process for pausing a
media asset based on an importance of an application being used by
a user according to an embodiment of the disclosure;
[0044] FIG. 12 is a flowchart representing a process for
calculating an estimated usage time of an application according to
an embodiment of the disclosure;
[0045] FIG. 13 is a flowchart representing a process for displaying
a subset of notifications on a second device according to an
embodiment of the disclosure;
[0046] FIG. 14 is a flowchart representing a process for
calculating an estimated usage time of an application according to
an embodiment of the disclosure;
[0047] FIG. 15 is a flowchart representing a process for updating
an estimated usage time of an application according to an
embodiment of the disclosure;
[0048] FIG. 16 is a flowchart representing a process for generating
for display an alert according to an embodiment of the
disclosure;
[0049] FIG. 17 is a flowchart representing a process for alerting a
user to an important event in a first media asset while the user is
viewing a second media asset according to an embodiment of the
disclosure;
[0050] FIG. 18 is a flowchart representing a process for alerting a
user to an important event in a first media asset while the user is
viewing a second media asset according to an embodiment of the
disclosure;
[0051] FIG. 19 is a flowchart representing a process for
determining that a user has stopped viewing a first media asset on
a first device to view a second media asset on a second device
according to an embodiment of the disclosure;
[0052] FIG. 20 is a flowchart representing a process for
determining the length of time required to play back a media asset
according to an embodiment of the disclosure;
[0053] FIG. 21 is a flowchart representing a process for updating
an estimated amount of time required to play back a media asset
based on network conditions according to an embodiment of the
disclosure;
[0054] FIG. 22 is a flowchart representing a process for updating
an estimated amount of time required to play back a media asset
based on a length of advertisements according to an embodiment of
the disclosure; and
[0055] FIG. 23 is a flowchart representing another process for
determining the length of time required to play back a media asset
according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0056] Systems and methods are described herein for a media
guidance application that detects a user's engagement with a second
device, and alerts the user to an important event in the media
asset being presented on a first device, thereby reminding the user
to view the media asset presented on the first device. The media
guidance application may determine when the next important event
will occur in the media asset and determine an estimated usage time
of the second device based on the application with which the user
is engaged on the second device. The media guidance application
may, depending on the estimated usage time and the time of the next
important event in the media asset, restrict the amount of content
presented to the user on the second device so that the user will
end his or her engagement with the second device prior to the
important event.
[0057] As an example, the user may be watching the movie "Star
Wars" on the first device. During the movie, the user may access a
second device to view social content on a social media application.
The media guidance application may determine that the social media
application is in use on the second device, and estimate an amount
of time the user will spend using the social media application. For
example, the media guidance application may access an application
usage history of the second device to determine how much time the
user usually spends using the social media application. As another
example, the media guidance application may determine an amount of
new content available in the social media application and estimate
an amount of time the user will spend using the social media
application by estimating the amount of time the user will spend
for each new content item. The media guidance application may
determine when the next important event in the movie occurs. For
example, the media guidance application may access metadata of the
movie "Star Wars" and determine that the next important event
(e.g., the death of Obi-Wan Kenobi at the hands of Darth Vader)
will occur in five minutes. The media guidance application may
compare this time with the estimated usage time. If the estimated
usage time is longer than five minutes, the media guidance
application may present an alert on the second device that the user
may soon miss an important event.
[0058] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary second device 100 and several
exemplary alerts generated by the media guidance application for
display on the second device 100. In some embodiments, the media
guidance application may generate for display, at a first device, a
media asset. For example, the media guidance application may
generate for display the movie "Star Wars" on the first device.
"Star Wars" may be generated for display from a broadcast stream
received at the first device, an over-the-top streaming application
on the first device, or from a recording stored in a memory of the
first device.
[0059] The media guidance application may determine that the user
has stopped viewing a media asset on the first device to access an
application on the second device. For example, the media guidance
application may reside on the first device and communicate with the
second device 100 through a wired connection, such as Ethernet, or
wireless connection, such as IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n ("WiFi"),
Bluetooth, Near Field Communication ("NFC"), radio, or any other
suitable wireless communication protocol. The media guidance
application may receive data from the second device 100 indicating
user input, an active application, or any other suitable metric
related to use of the second device 100. For example, the second
device 100 may maintain a variable, flag, or other data structure
indicating a state of a user input device of the second device 100.
If the second device 100 is currently receiving input from the user
input device, the variable, flag, or data structure may be set to
indicate that the user input device is active. The media guidance
application may request or access the variable, flag, or data
structure to retrieve the current state of the input device. The
second device 100 may also maintain a variable, flag, or data
structure indicating a state of an output device of the second
device 100. For example, if the second device 100 is currently
outputting video or audio content, the variable, flag, or other
data structure may be set to indicate that an output device is
active. The media guidance application may request or access the
variable, flag, or data structure to retrieve the current state of
the output device.
[0060] The media guidance application may retrieve, from the second
device 100, an indication of an amount of content in the
application. For example, the second device 100 may maintain a log
file, database, or other data structure in which the second device
100 records information related to content received by the second
device 100 that has not yet been viewed or accessed by the user of
the second device 100. For example, the second device 100 may
receive ten new content items from a server related to a
Facebook.RTM. application and record in the log file, database, or
other data structure an indication that ten content items were
received for presentation through the Facebook.RTM. application.
The media guidance application may, through the connection with the
second device 100, request or access, from the second device 100,
the log file, database or data structure of content available in
the active application with which the user is interacting. For
example, if the user is interacting with a Facebook.RTM.
application, the media guidance application may request from the
second device 100 an indication of an amount of new content in the
Facebook.RTM. application. Once the content items have been
accessed, the second device 100 may update the log file, database,
or data structure to remove reference to the content items, or to
mark such content items as already having been viewed or
accessed.
[0061] The media guidance application may retrieve, from the second
device 100, an indication of an average usage time for the
application. For example, the second device 100 may maintain a log
file, database, or other data structure listing applications
available on the second device 100, along with the amount of time
the user interacts with each application. For example, the second
device 100 may record, in the log file, database, or data
structure, each time an application is launched, an indication of
the application, and the time at which the application was
launched. When the user closes, exits, or otherwise leaves the
application, the second device 100 may record the time at which the
user closed, exited, or left the application. The second device 100
may then calculate and record a total usage time. For example, the
log file, database, or data structure may indicate that the last
three times the user accessed the Facebook.RTM. application, the
user interacted with the application for two minutes, three
minutes, and one and a half minutes, respectively. Alternatively,
the media guidance application may calculate the total usage time
upon requesting information related to the application from the log
file, database, or data structure. The media guidance application
may further calculate an average time that user interacts with the
application. The media guidance application may calculate an
average usage time for the Facebook.RTM. application of two minutes
and ten seconds. Based on the calculated average usage time, the
media guidance application may calculate an estimated usage time
for the application on the second device based on the amount of
content on the application and the average usage time for the
application. For example, the log file, database, or data structure
in which the second device 100 records usage time information may
be the same log file, database or data structure in which the
second device 100 records the amount of content received for each
application. Alternatively, the log file, database, or data
structure in which the second device 100 records usage information
may contain references to entries in the log file, database, or
data structure in which the second device 100 records content
received for each application. The media guidance application may
then divide the usage time for a particular application by the
number of content items viewed or accessed during the particular
use of the application to calculate an average usage time for each
content item. The media guidance application may then multiply the
average usage time for each content item by the number of new
content items to be viewed or accessed.
[0062] The media guidance application may access metadata of the
media asset on the first device and determine, based on the
metadata, a playback time of an important event in the media asset.
For example, the media guidance application may search metadata of
the media asset on the first device for a metadata flag in the
metadata indicating a time of an important event in the media
asset. For example, the metadata may include data fields comprising
an index of important events. As another example, the metadata may
include data fields indicating the importance of the event
represented in the current scene, or in the next scene.
Alternatively, the media guidance application may access metadata
of the media asset on a remote server. For example, the media
guidance application may include a communication module which may
allow communication with a remote media guidance data server.
[0063] The media guidance application may determine a threshold
amount of time until playback of the important event based on a
current playback time and the playback time of the important event.
For example, the metadata may include a timestamp of the important
event, or may include a relative amount of time from the current
playback time to the important event. The media guidance
application may calculate the amount of time between the current
playback time and the playback time of the important event.
Alternatively, the media guidance application may convert the
current system time to an integer representing the current system
time in Universal Time Code ("UTC") format. The media guidance
application may also convert a broadcast time of the next important
event to a UTC integer value. The media guidance application may
then subtract the integer representing the current time from the
integer representing the broadcast time of the next important event
to determine the threshold amount of time. The media guidance
application may store the threshold amount of time in a variable or
other data structure.
[0064] The media guidance application may determine that the
estimated usage time is greater than the threshold amount of time.
For example, the media guidance application may compare the
threshold amount of time with the estimated usage time. For
example, the user may be using a social media application, and the
media guidance application may estimate the usage time as five
minutes. The media guidance application may also determine that the
threshold amount of time until the next important scene is three
minutes. The media guidance application may therefore determine
that the estimated usage time is greater than the threshold amount
of time.
[0065] In response to determining that the estimated usage time is
greater than the threshold amount of time, the media guidance
application may generate for display on the second device 100 an
alert 102, 122, 142, or 162, prompting the user to view the media
asset on the first device. For example, the media guidance
application may instruct the second device 100 to display a pop-up
message reminding the user to watch "Star Wars" on the first device
because an important scene is coming soon. For example, the media
guidance application may transmit a command to the second device
100 such as "ALERT [media_name]" where [media_name] is the title of
the media asset being viewed on the first device, such as "Star
Wars". Depending on the configuration of the media guidance
application, the alert displayed on the second device 100 may
include an option to record the media asset, such as options 126
and 166. The media guidance application may, alternatively or
additionally, include in the alert an option to pause the media
asset, such as option 146 and 168. The alert may also include an
option such as options 124, 144, and 164, to dismiss the alert
without taking any action. The command transmitted by the media
guidance application may include an indication of which option or
options to include in the alert. For example, the command may be
"ALERT [media_name] [options]" where [options] is an indicator of
the option or options to be included in the alert.
[0066] In some embodiments, the media guidance application may,
when retrieving the indication of the amount of content in the
application, access a memory of the second device 100 related to
the application. For example, the media guidance application may
access a memory of the second device 100 related to the
Facebook.RTM. application and extract an indication of the amount
of new content available. For example, the media guidance
application may access the log file, database, or other data
structure in which the second device 100 records content received
for each application. The media guidance application may search the
log file, database, or data structure for content related to the
application with which the user is interacting. The media guidance
application may determine an amount of content added to the
application within a threshold amount of time. For example, the
media guidance application may analyze entries in the log file,
database, or data structure of the second device 100 related to the
Facebook.RTM. application and determine that an amount of content
has been added to the application in the last thirty minutes. The
media guidance application may retrieve, as the indication of the
amount of content in the application, the amount of content added
in the threshold amount of time.
[0067] In some embodiments, the media guidance application may,
when retrieving the indication of the average usage time for the
application, access a memory of the second device related to
application usage. For example, an application usage log of the
second device 100 may also record an amount of content consumed in
each application each time the user interacted with the
application. The media guidance application may calculate an
estimated usage time based on the amount of new content detected in
the application by calculating, from the usage log, an average
amount of usage time per unit of content, as described above, and
applying the average amount to the amount of detected new content.
The media guidance application may retrieve, as the indication of
the average usage time, the average amount of time per unit of
content.
[0068] In some embodiments, the media guidance application may,
when determining, based on metadata, a playback time of an
important event in the media asset, access a database of playback
times corresponding to important events in the media asset. The
database may be stored locally or may be stored on a remote server.
The playback times may be relative to the start of the media asset
or may be actual times based on the time at which playback of the
media asset began. For example, a database for "Star Wars" may
indicate important events at ten minutes, twenty-five minutes,
fifty-three minutes, and eighty-four minutes from the start of the
movie. The media guidance application may determine, based on the
current playback time, the next important event in the media asset
in the database. For example, if the current playback time for
"Star Wars" is forty-seven minutes, the media guidance application
may determine that the next important event occurs at fifty-three
minutes, and retrieve fifty-three minutes as the playback time of
the next important event. As another example, the database for a
broadcast of "Star Wars" which began at 7:00 PM may indicate
important events at 7:10 PM, 7:25 PM, 7:53 PM, and 8:24 PM. If the
current time is 7:47 PM, the media guidance application may
determine that the next important event occurs at 7:53 PM. The
media guidance application may compare the current time with the
times indicated in the database by first converting both times to a
UTC integer value, or may compare the hour and minute values of the
current time with those of the event times indicated in the
database.
[0069] In some embodiments, the user may stop viewing the media
asset on the first device in response to a notification on the
second device 100. The media guidance application may identify an
application associated with the notification. For example, the
media guidance application may access a log file, database, or data
structure of the second device 100 related to notifications, and
determine which application generated the most recent notification.
Alternatively, the media guidance application may determine, from
the currently active application on the second device 100, the
method through which the application was launched. For example, an
application may be launched from a second application, by selection
of the application, or by selection of a notification related to
the application. The media guidance application may identify a type
of application associated with the notification. For example, the
media guidance application may access a database of applications
that relates each application with an application type indicating a
level of importance to the user. For example, an application with a
type "GAME" may have low importance to the user, while an
application with a type "SOCIAL" or "MESSAGING" may have high
importance to the user. The importance to the user may be based on
usage history of each application. For example, the second device
100 may record, as part of the usage history, an average amount of
time between a notification from an application and the user's
interaction with that application in response to the notification.
Additionally, the second device 100 may record the type of
interaction, such as a dismissal of the notification, usage of the
application for only a short period of time, such as ten seconds,
or usage of the application for a long period of time, such as one
minute. Based on the above metrics, the second device 100 or the
media guidance application may calculate a level of importance the
user places on each application. The media guidance application
may, from the above metrics, determine an importance level of the
application related to the notification. The media guidance
application may compare the importance level of the application
with a threshold importance level. In response to determining that
the level of importance exceeds a threshold, the media guidance
application may pause the media asset on the first device. For
example, if the application has a type indicating high importance
to the user, the media guidance application may pause the media
asset automatically. In response to the user completing use of the
application, the media guidance application may resume playback of
the media asset. For example, the media guidance application may
detect when the user has closed the application, or has otherwise
stopped interacting with the application, and resume playing the
media asset.
[0070] In some embodiments, when calculating the estimated usage
time for the application, the media guidance application may access
a log file, database, or data structure of the second device 100
related to application usage history and identify a plurality of
applications having an importance level within a threshold
difference of the importance level of the identified application.
The media guidance application may calculate an average usage time
for the plurality of applications as an indication of average usage
time for the identified application. For example, if the identified
application has an importance level of "MEDIUM-HIGH" and there are
three other applications of the same or similar importance level on
the second device 100, the media guidance application may calculate
an average usage time for the identified application that is an
average taken of the average usage times of the three other
applications of the same or similar importance level.
[0071] In some embodiments, the user may stop viewing the media
asset on the first device in response to a plurality of
notifications on the second device 100 while the current playback
time of the media asset corresponds to an advertisement slot. For
example, the user may have chosen to ignore notifications received
on the second device 100 during the media asset, and chosen to
review the notifications during an advertisement slot. The media
guidance application may calculate an estimated usage time for the
applications related to each respective notification of the
plurality of notifications. For example, for three notifications,
the media guidance application may calculate an average usage time
for each respective application of one minute, thirty seconds, and
two minutes. The media guidance application may determine, based on
metadata of the media asset, an amount of time until the end of the
advertisement slot. For example, metadata of the media asset may
indicate that the advertisement slot is two minutes in length. The
media guidance application may select a subset of notifications to
present to the user on the second device having a combined average
usage time that is less than the amount of time between the current
playback time and the end of the advertisement slot. The media
guidance application may present the subset of notifications on the
second device, while simultaneously preventing display of the
remainder of the plurality of notifications. The notifications
selected to be presented may be further based on the importance
level of each related application. For example, if the application
with an average usage time of two minutes is of the highest
importance level, the media guidance application may present only
the notification for that application.
[0072] In some embodiments, the media guidance application may
update the estimated usage time by detecting new content received
in the application while the user is interacting with the
application. For example, the user may be interacting with a
Facebook.RTM. application and new content items may become
available while the user is viewing other content in the
application. The media guidance application may add an amount of
time to the estimated usage time based on the amount of detected
new content.
[0073] In some embodiments, to generate for display the alert 102,
122, 142, 162 on the second device 100, the media guidance
application may calculate an alert time, based on the playback time
of the important event. For example, playback time of the important
event may occur in five minutes. The media guidance application may
have a threshold alert time of two minutes prior to an important
event, and may calculate the alert time to occur in three minutes.
The media guidance applicant may monitor a real-time clock to
determine when the alert time has arrived.
[0074] In some aspects, the media guidance application may
determine that a user has stopped viewing a first media asset on a
first device to access a second media asset on a second device 100.
For example, the user may be watching "Star Wars" on a first
device, and begin watching another media asset on YouTube.RTM. on a
second device 100. The media guidance application may determine the
length of time required to play back the second media asset on the
second device 100. For example, the media guidance application may
access metadata of the second media asset to determine the duration
of the second media asset. The media guidance application may
access metadata of the first media asset and determine a playback
time of an important event in the first media asset. Based on the
playback time of the important event, the media guidance
application may determine a threshold amount of time until playback
of the important event based on a current playback time and a
playback time of the important event. The media guidance
application may compare the length of time required to play back
the second media asset with the threshold amount of time. If the
media guidance application determines that the length of time
required to play back the second media asset is greater than the
threshold amount of time, the media guidance application may
generate an alert 102, 122, 142, 162 on the second device 100
reminding the user to view the first media asset.
[0075] In some embodiments, to determine that the user has stopped
viewing the first media asset on the first device to view a second
media asset on the second device 100, the media guidance
application may determine a state of the second device 100
indicating whether there is user interaction with the second
device. For example, the media guidance application may access a
memory or sensor of the second device 100 to determine if the
second device 100 is currently receiving user input. If the media
guidance application determines that the user is interacting with
the second device 100, the media guidance application may determine
a type of application associated with the user interaction. For
example, the media guidance application may access a memory of the
second device 100 to determine which application is currently
active, or to which application the user inputs are being directed.
The media guidance application may further determine, based on the
application type, that the application is a media asset
presentation application, such as YouTube.RTM..
[0076] In some embodiments, to determine the length of time
required to play back the second media asset, the media guidance
application may access an asset memory of the second device 100
related to the second media asset. The media guidance application
may determine, from the asset memory, the length of the second
media asset. In some embodiments, to determine the length of time
required to play back the second media asset, the media guidance
application may access an asset memory of the second device 100
related to the second media asset, and may identify from the memory
a source of the media asset. For example, the media guidance
application may retrieve a URL for the media asset. The media
guidance application may access the source of the second media
asset directly and retrieve the length of the second media asset.
For example, the media guidance application may access a
YouTube.RTM. server location and retrieve metadata of the second
media asset from the server location indicating the length of the
second media asset.
[0077] In some embodiments, the media guidance application may
access a network interface of the second device 100 through which
the second device 100 is receiving the second media asset and
determine the download rate of the second media asset. For example,
the media guidance application may determine that the second media
asset is being downloaded at a rate of 1 Mbps. The media guidance
application may determine the bitrate of the second media asset and
compare the bitrate with the download rate to determine if the
download rate is sufficient for uninterrupted playback of the
second media asset. For example, if the download rate is 1 Mbps,
and the bitrate of the second media asset is 500 kbps, half the
download rate, then the media guidance application may determine
that the download rate is sufficient for uninterrupted playback of
the second media asset. However, if, for example, the bitrate of
the second media asset is 2 Mbps while the download rate is only 1
Mbps, then the media guidance application may determine that the
download rate is not sufficient for uninterrupted playback of the
second media asset. The media guidance application may then
calculate an estimated amount of additional time required for
playback of the second media asset, and combine the estimated
amount of additional time with the length of the second media
asset.
[0078] In some embodiments, the media guidance application may
determine, from the asset memory or the source of the second media
asset, a plurality of advertisement slots included in the second
media asset. For example, the second media asset may include three
pointers to advertisements over the duration of the asset. The
media guidance application may access an application memory related
to the application of the second device in which the second media
asset is being played back and determine an average length of an
advertisement slot. For example, the application memory of the
YouTube.RTM. application may include a log file or other data
relating to past advertisements shown to the user during other
media assets, and may include the duration of each advertisement.
The media guidance application may calculate an average length of
an advertisement slot. The media guidance application may
calculate, based on the average length of an advertisement slot, an
estimated amount of additional time required for playback of the
plurality of advertisement slots, and combine the estimated amount
of additional time with the length of the second media asset.
[0079] The amount of content available to users in any given
content delivery system can be substantial. Consequently, many
users desire a form of media guidance through an interface that
allows users to efficiently navigate content selections and easily
identify content that they may desire. An application that provides
such guidance is referred to herein as an interactive media
guidance application or, sometimes, a media guidance application or
a guidance application.
[0080] Interactive media guidance applications may take various
forms depending on the content for which they provide guidance. One
typical type of media guidance application is an interactive
television program guide. Interactive television program guides
(sometimes referred to as electronic program guides) are well-known
guidance applications that, among other things, allow users to
navigate among and locate many types of content or media assets.
Interactive media guidance applications may generate graphical user
interface screens that enable a user to navigate among, locate and
select content. As referred to herein, the terms "media asset" and
"content" should be understood to mean an electronically consumable
user asset, such as television programming, as well as pay-per-view
programs, on-demand programs (as in video-on-demand (VOD) systems),
Internet content (e.g., streaming content, downloadable content,
Webcasts, etc.), video clips, audio, content information, pictures,
rotating images, documents, playlists, websites, articles, books,
electronic books, blogs, chat sessions, social media, applications,
games, and/or any other media or multimedia and/or combination of
the same. Guidance applications also allow users to navigate among
and locate content. As referred to herein, the term "multimedia"
should be understood to mean content that utilizes at least two
different content forms described above, for example, text, audio,
images, video, or interactivity content forms. Content may be
recorded, played, displayed or accessed by user equipment devices,
but can also be part of a live performance.
[0081] The media guidance application and/or any instructions for
performing any of the embodiments discussed herein may be encoded
on computer readable media. Computer readable media includes any
media capable of storing data. The computer readable media may be
transitory, including, but not limited to, propagating electrical
or electromagnetic signals, or may be non-transitory including, but
not limited to, volatile and non-volatile computer memory or
storage devices such as a hard disk, floppy disk, USB drive, DVD,
CD, media cards, register memory, processor caches, Random Access
Memory ("RAM"), etc.
[0082] With the advent of the Internet, mobile computing, and
high-speed wireless networks, users are accessing media on user
equipment devices on which they traditionally did not. As referred
to herein, the phrase "user equipment device," "user equipment,"
"user device," "electronic device," "electronic equipment," "media
equipment device," or "media device" should be understood to mean
any device for accessing the content described above, such as a
television, a Smart TV, a set-top box, an integrated receiver
decoder (IRD) for handling satellite television, a digital storage
device, a digital media receiver (DMR), a digital media adapter
(DMA), a streaming media device, a DVD player, a DVD recorder, a
connected DVD, a local media server, a BLU-RAY player, a BLU-RAY
recorder, a personal computer (PC), a laptop computer, a tablet
computer, a WebTV box, a personal computer television (PC/TV), a PC
media server, a PC media center, a hand-held computer, a stationary
telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone,
a portable video player, a portable music player, a portable gaming
machine, a smart phone, or any other television equipment,
computing equipment, or wireless device, and/or combination of the
same. In some embodiments, the user equipment device may have a
front facing screen and a rear facing screen, multiple front
screens, or multiple angled screens. In some embodiments, the user
equipment device may have a front facing camera and/or a rear
facing camera. On these user equipment devices, users may be able
to navigate among and locate the same content available through a
television. Consequently, media guidance may be available on these
devices, as well. The guidance provided may be for content
available only through a television, for content available only
through one or more of other types of user equipment devices, or
for content available both through a television and one or more of
the other types of user equipment devices. The media guidance
applications may be provided as on-line applications (i.e.,
provided on a web-site), or as stand-alone applications or clients
on user equipment devices. Various devices and platforms that may
implement media guidance applications are described in more detail
below.
[0083] One of the functions of the media guidance application is to
provide media guidance data to users. As referred to herein, the
phrase "media guidance data" or "guidance data" should be
understood to mean any data related to content or data used in
operating the guidance application. For example, the guidance data
may include program information, guidance application settings,
user preferences, user profile information, media listings,
media-related information (e.g., broadcast times, broadcast
channels, titles, descriptions, ratings information (e.g., parental
control ratings, critic's ratings, etc.), genre or category
information, actor information, logo data for broadcasters' or
providers' logos, etc.), media format (e.g., standard definition,
high definition, 3D, etc.), on-demand information, blogs, websites,
and any other type of guidance data that is helpful for a user to
navigate among and locate desired content selections.
[0084] FIGS. 2-3 show illustrative display screens that may be used
to provide media guidance data. The display screens shown in FIGS.
2-3 may be implemented on any suitable user equipment device or
platform. While the displays of FIGS. 2-3 are illustrated as full
screen displays, they may also be fully or partially overlaid over
content being displayed. A user may indicate a desire to access
content information by selecting a selectable option provided in a
display screen (e.g., a menu option, a listings option, an icon, a
hyperlink, etc.) or pressing a dedicated button (e.g., a GUIDE
button) on a remote control or other user input interface or
device. In response to the user's indication, the media guidance
application may provide a display screen with media guidance data
organized in one of several ways, such as by time and channel in a
grid, by time, by channel, by source, by content type, by category
(e.g., movies, sports, news, children, or other categories of
programming), or other predefined, user-defined, or other
organization criteria.
[0085] FIG. 2 shows an illustrative grid of a program listings
display 200 arranged by time and channel that also enables access
to different types of content in a single display. Display 200 may
include grid 202 with: (1) a column of channel/content type
identifiers 204, where each channel/content type identifier (which
is a cell in the column) identifies a different channel or content
type available; and (2) a row of time identifiers 206, where each
time identifier (which is a cell in the row) identifies a time
block of programming. Grid 202 also includes cells of program
listings, such as program listing 208, where each listing provides
the title of the program provided on the listing's associated
channel and time. With a user input device, a user can select
program listings by moving highlight region 210. Information
relating to the program listing selected by highlight region 210
may be provided in program information region 212. Region 212 may
include, for example, the program title, the program description,
the time the program is provided (if applicable), the channel the
program is on (if applicable), the program's rating, and other
desired information.
[0086] In addition to providing access to linear programming (e.g.,
content that is scheduled to be transmitted to a plurality of user
equipment devices at a predetermined time and is provided according
to a schedule), the media guidance application also provides access
to non-linear programming (e.g., content accessible to a user
equipment device at any time and is not provided according to a
schedule). Non-linear programming may include content from
different content sources including on-demand content (e.g., VOD),
Internet content (e.g., streaming media, downloadable media, etc.),
locally stored content (e.g., content stored on any user equipment
device described above or other storage device), or other
time-independent content. On-demand content may include movies or
any other content provided by a particular content provider (e.g.,
HBO On Demand providing "The Sopranos" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm").
HBO ON DEMAND is a service mark owned by Time Warner Company L.P.
et al. and THE SOPRANOS and CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM are trademarks
owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. Internet content may include web
events, such as a chat session or Webcast, or content available
on-demand as streaming content or downloadable content through an
Internet web site or other Internet access (e.g. FTP).
[0087] Grid 202 may provide media guidance data for non-linear
programming including on-demand listing 214, recorded content
listing 216, and Internet content listing 218. A display combining
media guidance data for content from different types of content
sources is sometimes referred to as a "mixed-media" display.
Various permutations of the types of media guidance data that may
be displayed that are different than display 200 may be based on
user selection or guidance application definition (e.g., a display
of only recorded and broadcast listings, only on-demand and
broadcast listings, etc.). As illustrated, listings 214, 216, and
218 are shown as spanning the entire time block displayed in grid
202 to indicate that selection of these listings may provide access
to a display dedicated to on-demand listings, recorded listings, or
Internet listings, respectively. In some embodiments, listings for
these content types may be included directly in grid 202.
Additional media guidance data may be displayed in response to the
user selecting one of the navigational icons 220. (Pressing an
arrow key on a user input device may affect the display in a
similar manner as selecting navigational icons 220.)
[0088] Display 200 may also include video region 222, and options
region 226. Video region 222 may allow the user to view and/or
preview programs that are currently available, will be available,
or were available to the user. The content of video region 222 may
correspond to, or be independent from, one of the listings
displayed in grid 202. Grid displays including a video region are
sometimes referred to as picture-in-guide (PIG) displays. PIG
displays and their functionalities are described in greater detail
in Satterfield et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,378, issued May 13, 2003
and Yuen et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,239,794, issued May 29, 2001, which
are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.
PIG displays may be included in other media guidance application
display screens of the embodiments described herein.
[0089] Options region 226 may allow the user to access different
types of content, media guidance application displays, and/or media
guidance application features. Options region 226 may be part of
display 200 (and other display screens described herein), or may be
invoked by a user by selecting an on-screen option or pressing a
dedicated or assignable button on a user input device. The
selectable options within options region 226 may concern features
related to program listings in grid 202 or may include options
available from a main menu display. Features related to program
listings may include searching for other air times or ways of
receiving a program, recording a program, enabling series recording
of a program, setting program and/or channel as a favorite,
purchasing a program, or other features. Options available from a
main menu display may include search options, VOD options, parental
control options, Internet options, cloud-based options, device
synchronization options, second screen device options, options to
access various types of media guidance data displays, options to
subscribe to a premium service, options to edit a user's profile,
options to access a browse overlay, or other options.
[0090] The media guidance application may be personalized based on
a user's preferences. A personalized media guidance application
allows a user to customize displays and features to create a
personalized "experience" with the media guidance application. This
personalized experience may be created by allowing a user to input
these customizations and/or by the media guidance application
monitoring user activity to determine various user preferences.
Users may access their personalized guidance application by logging
in or otherwise identifying themselves to the guidance application.
Customization of the media guidance application may be made in
accordance with a user profile. The customizations may include
varying presentation schemes (e.g., color scheme of displays, font
size of text, etc.), aspects of content listings displayed (e.g.,
only HDTV or only 3D programming, user-specified broadcast channels
based on favorite channel selections, re-ordering the display of
channels, recommended content, etc.), desired recording features
(e.g., recording or series recordings for particular users,
recording quality, etc.), parental control settings, customized
presentation of Internet content (e.g., presentation of social
media content, e-mail, electronically delivered articles, etc.) and
other desired customizations.
[0091] The media guidance application may allow a user to provide
user profile information or may automatically compile user profile
information. The media guidance application may, for example,
monitor the content the user accesses and/or other interactions the
user may have with the guidance application. Additionally, the
media guidance application may obtain all or part of other user
profiles that are related to a particular user (e.g., from other
web sites on the Internet the user accesses, such as www.Tivo.com,
from other media guidance applications the user accesses, from
other interactive applications the user accesses, from another user
equipment device of the user, etc.), and/or obtain information
about the user from other sources that the media guidance
application may access. As a result, a user can be provided with a
unified guidance application experience across the user's different
user equipment devices. This type of user experience is described
in greater detail below in connection with FIG. 5. Additional
personalized media guidance application features are described in
greater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication
No. 2005/0251827, filed Jul. 11, 2005, Boyer et al., U.S. Pat. No.
7,165,098, issued Jan. 16, 2007, and Ellis et al., U.S. Patent
Application Publication No. 2002/0174430, filed Feb. 21, 2002,
which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their
entireties.
[0092] Another display arrangement for providing media guidance is
shown in FIG. 3. Video mosaic display 300 includes selectable
options 302 for content information organized based on content
type, genre, and/or other organization criteria. In display 300,
television listings option 304 is selected, thus providing listings
306, 308, 310, and 312 as broadcast program listings. In display
300 the listings may provide graphical images including cover art,
still images from the content, video clip previews, live video from
the content, or other types of content that indicate to a user the
content being described by the media guidance data in the listing.
Each of the graphical listings may also be accompanied by text to
provide further information about the content associated with the
listing. For example, listing 308 may include more than one
portion, including media portion 314 and text portion 316. Media
portion 314 and/or text portion 316 may be selectable to view
content in full-screen or to view information related to the
content displayed in media portion 314 (e.g., to view listings for
the channel that the video is displayed on).
[0093] The listings in display 300 are of different sizes (i.e.,
listing 306 is larger than listings 308, 310, and 312), but if
desired, all the listings may be the same size. Listings may be of
different sizes or graphically accentuated to indicate degrees of
interest to the user or to emphasize certain content, as desired by
the content provider or based on user preferences. Various systems
and methods for graphically accentuating content listings are
discussed in, for example, Yates, U.S. Patent Application
Publication No. 2010/0153885, filed Nov. 12, 2009, which is hereby
incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
[0094] Users may access content and the media guidance application
(and its display screens described above and below) from one or
more of their user equipment devices. FIG. 4 shows a generalized
embodiment of illustrative user equipment device 400. More specific
implementations of user equipment devices are discussed below in
connection with FIG. 5. User equipment device 400 may receive
content and data via input/output (hereinafter "I/O") path 402. I/O
path 402 may provide content (e.g., broadcast programming,
on-demand programming, Internet content, content available over a
local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN), and/or other
content) and data to control circuitry 404, which includes
processing circuitry 406 and storage 408. Control circuitry 404 may
be used to send and receive commands, requests, and other suitable
data using I/O path 402. I/O path 402 may connect control circuitry
404 (and specifically processing circuitry 406) to one or more
communications paths (described below). I/O functions may be
provided by one or more of these communications paths, but are
shown as a single path in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating the
drawing.
[0095] Control circuitry 404 may be based on any suitable
processing circuitry such as processing circuitry 406. As referred
to herein, processing circuitry should be understood to mean
circuitry based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers,
digital signal processors, programmable logic devices,
field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific
integrated circuits (ASICs), etc., and may include a multi-core
processor (e.g., dual-core, quad-core, hexa-core, or any suitable
number of cores) or supercomputer. In some embodiments, processing
circuitry may be distributed across multiple separate processors or
processing units, for example, multiple of the same type of
processing units (e.g., two Intel Core i7 processors) or multiple
different processors (e.g., an Intel Core i5 processor and an Intel
Core i7 processor). In some embodiments, control circuitry 404
executes instructions for a media guidance application stored in
memory (i.e., storage 408). Specifically, control circuitry 404 may
be instructed by the media guidance application to perform the
functions discussed above and below. For example, the media
guidance application may provide instructions to control circuitry
404 to generate the media guidance displays. In some
implementations, any action performed by control circuitry 404 may
be based on instructions received from the media guidance
application.
[0096] In client-server based embodiments, control circuitry 404
may include communications circuitry suitable for communicating
with a guidance application server or other networks or servers.
The instructions for carrying out the above mentioned functionality
may be stored on the guidance application server. Communications
circuitry may include a cable modem, an integrated services digital
network (ISDN) modem, a digital subscriber line (DSL) modem, a
telephone modem, Ethernet card, or a wireless modem for
communications with other equipment, or any other suitable
communications circuitry. Such communications may involve the
Internet or any other suitable communications networks or paths
(which is described in more detail in connection with FIG. 5). In
addition, communications circuitry may include circuitry that
enables peer-to-peer communication of user equipment devices, or
communication of user equipment devices in locations remote from
each other (described in more detail below).
[0097] Memory may be an electronic storage device provided as
storage 408 that is part of control circuitry 404. As referred to
herein, the phrase "electronic storage device" or "storage device"
should be understood to mean any device for storing electronic
data, computer software, or firmware, such as random-access memory,
read-only memory, hard drives, optical drives, digital video disc
(DVD) recorders, compact disc (CD) recorders, BLU-RAY disc (BD)
recorders, BLU-RAY 3D disc recorders, digital video recorders (DVR,
sometimes called a personal video recorder, or PVR), solid state
devices, quantum storage devices, gaming consoles, gaming media, or
any other suitable fixed or removable storage devices, and/or any
combination of the same. Storage 408 may be used to store various
types of content described herein as well as media guidance data
described above. Nonvolatile memory may also be used (e.g., to
launch a boot-up routine and other instructions). Cloud-based
storage, described in relation to FIG. 5, may be used to supplement
storage 408 or instead of storage 408.
[0098] Control circuitry 404 may include video generating circuitry
and tuning circuitry, such as one or more analog tuners, one or
more MPEG-2 decoders or other digital decoding circuitry,
high-definition tuners, or any other suitable tuning or video
circuits or combinations of such circuits. Encoding circuitry
(e.g., for converting over-the-air, analog, or digital signals to
MPEG signals for storage) may also be provided. Control circuitry
404 may also include scaler circuitry for upconverting and
downconverting content into the preferred output format of the user
equipment 400. Circuitry 404 may also include digital-to-analog
converter circuitry and analog-to-digital converter circuitry for
converting between digital and analog signals. The tuning and
encoding circuitry may be used by the user equipment device to
receive and to display, to play, or to record content. The tuning
and encoding circuitry may also be used to receive guidance data.
The circuitry described herein, including for example, the tuning,
video generating, encoding, decoding, encrypting, decrypting,
scaler, and analog/digital circuitry, may be implemented using
software running on one or more general purpose or specialized
processors. Multiple tuners may be provided to handle simultaneous
tuning functions (e.g., watch and record functions,
picture-in-picture (PIP) functions, multiple-tuner recording,
etc.). If storage 408 is provided as a separate device from user
equipment 400, the tuning and encoding circuitry (including
multiple tuners) may be associated with storage 408.
[0099] A user may send instructions to control circuitry 404 using
user input interface 410. User input interface 410 may be any
suitable user interface, such as a remote control, mouse,
trackball, keypad, keyboard, touch screen, touchpad, stylus input,
joystick, voice recognition interface, or other user input
interfaces. Display 412 may be provided as a stand-alone device or
integrated with other elements of user equipment device 400. For
example, display 412 may be a touchscreen or touch-sensitive
display. In such circumstances, user input interface 410 may be
integrated with or combined with display 412. Display 412 may be
one or more of a monitor, a television, a liquid crystal display
(LCD) for a mobile device, amorphous silicon display, low
temperature poly silicon display, electronic ink display,
electrophoretic display, active matrix display, electro-wetting
display, electrofluidic display, cathode ray tube display,
light-emitting diode display, electroluminescent display, plasma
display panel, high-performance addressing display, thin-film
transistor display, organic light-emitting diode display,
surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED), laser
television, carbon nanotubes, quantum dot display, interferometric
modulator display, or any other suitable equipment for displaying
visual images. In some embodiments, display 412 may be
HDTV-capable. In some embodiments, display 412 may be a 3D display,
and the interactive media guidance application and any suitable
content may be displayed in 3D. A video card or graphics card may
generate the output to the display 412. The video card may offer
various functions such as accelerated rendering of 3D scenes and 2D
graphics, MPEG-2/MPEG-4 decoding, TV output, or the ability to
connect multiple monitors. The video card may be any processing
circuitry described above in relation to control circuitry 404. The
video card may be integrated with the control circuitry 404.
Speakers 414 may be provided as integrated with other elements of
user equipment device 400 or may be stand-alone units. The audio
component of videos and other content displayed on display 412 may
be played through speakers 414. In some embodiments, the audio may
be distributed to a receiver (not shown), which processes and
outputs the audio via speakers 414.
[0100] The guidance application may be implemented using any
suitable architecture. For example, it may be a stand-alone
application wholly-implemented on user equipment device 400. In
such an approach, instructions of the application are stored
locally (e.g., in storage 408), and data for use by the application
is downloaded on a periodic basis (e.g., from an out-of-band feed,
from an Internet resource, or using another suitable approach).
Control circuitry 404 may retrieve instructions of the application
from storage 408 and process the instructions to generate any of
the displays discussed herein. Based on the processed instructions,
control circuitry 404 may determine what action to perform when
input is received from input interface 410. For example, movement
of a cursor on a display up/down may be indicated by the processed
instructions when input interface 410 indicates that an up/down
button was selected.
[0101] In some embodiments, the media guidance application is a
client-server based application. Data for use by a thick or thin
client implemented on user equipment device 400 is retrieved
on-demand by issuing requests to a server remote to the user
equipment device 400. In one example of a client-server based
guidance application, control circuitry 404 runs a web browser that
interprets web pages provided by a remote server. For example, the
remote server may store the instructions for the application in a
storage device. The remote server may process the stored
instructions using circuitry (e.g., control circuitry 404) and
generate the displays discussed above and below. The client device
may receive the displays generated by the remote server and may
display the content of the displays locally on equipment device
400. This way, the processing of the instructions is performed
remotely by the server while the resulting displays are provided
locally on equipment device 400. Equipment device 400 may receive
inputs from the user via input interface 410 and transmit those
inputs to the remote server for processing and generating the
corresponding displays. For example, equipment device 400 may
transmit a communication to the remote server indicating that an
up/down button was selected via input interface 410. The remote
server may process instructions in accordance with that input and
generate a display of the application corresponding to the input
(e.g., a display that moves a cursor up/down). The generated
display is then transmitted to equipment device 400 for
presentation to the user.
[0102] In some embodiments, the media guidance application is
downloaded and interpreted or otherwise run by an interpreter or
virtual machine (run by control circuitry 404). In some
embodiments, the guidance application may be encoded in the ETV
Binary Interchange Format (EBIF), received by control circuitry 404
as part of a suitable feed, and interpreted by a user agent running
on control circuitry 404. For example, the guidance application may
be an EBIF application. In some embodiments, the guidance
application may be defined by a series of JAVA-based files that are
received and run by a local virtual machine or other suitable
middleware executed by control circuitry 404. In some of such
embodiments (e.g., those employing MPEG-2 or other digital media
encoding schemes), the guidance application may be, for example,
encoded and transmitted in an MPEG-2 object carousel with the MPEG
audio and video packets of a program.
[0103] User equipment device 400 of FIG. 4 can be implemented in
system 500 of FIG. 5 as user television equipment 502, user
computer equipment 504, wireless user communications device 506, or
any other type of user equipment suitable for accessing content,
such as a non-portable gaming machine. For simplicity, these
devices may be referred to herein collectively as user equipment or
user equipment devices, and may be substantially similar to user
equipment devices described above. User equipment devices, on which
a media guidance application may be implemented, may function as a
standalone device or may be part of a network of devices. Various
network configurations of devices may be implemented and are
discussed in more detail below.
[0104] A user equipment device utilizing at least some of the
system features described above in connection with FIG. 4 may not
be classified solely as user television equipment 502, user
computer equipment 504, or a wireless user communications device
506. For example, user television equipment 502 may, like some user
computer equipment 504, be Internet-enabled allowing for access to
Internet content, while user computer equipment 504 may, like some
television equipment 502, include a tuner allowing for access to
television programming. The media guidance application may have the
same layout on various different types of user equipment or may be
tailored to the display capabilities of the user equipment. For
example, on user computer equipment 504, the guidance application
may be provided as a web site accessed by a web browser. In another
example, the guidance application may be scaled down for wireless
user communications devices 506.
[0105] In system 500, there is typically more than one of each type
of user equipment device but only one of each is shown in FIG. 5 to
avoid overcomplicating the drawing. In addition, each user may
utilize more than one type of user equipment device and also more
than one of each type of user equipment device.
[0106] In some embodiments, a user equipment device (e.g., user
television equipment 502, user computer equipment 504, wireless
user communications device 506) may be referred to as a "second
screen device." For example, a second screen device may supplement
content presented on a first user equipment device. The content
presented on the second screen device may be any suitable content
that supplements the content presented on the first device. In some
embodiments, the second screen device provides an interface for
adjusting settings and display preferences of the first device. In
some embodiments, the second screen device is configured for
interacting with other second screen devices or for interacting
with a social network. The second screen device can be located in
the same room as the first device, a different room from the first
device but in the same house or building, or in a different
building from the first device.
[0107] The user may also set various settings to maintain
consistent media guidance application settings across in-home
devices and remote devices. Settings include those described
herein, as well as channel and program favorites, programming
preferences that the guidance application utilizes to make
programming recommendations, display preferences, and other
desirable guidance settings. For example, if a user sets a channel
as a favorite on, for example, the web site www.Tivo.com on their
personal computer at their office, the same channel would appear as
a favorite on the user's in-home devices (e.g., user television
equipment and user computer equipment) as well as the user's mobile
devices, if desired. Therefore, changes made on one user equipment
device can change the guidance experience on another user equipment
device, regardless of whether they are the same or a different type
of user equipment device. In addition, the changes made may be
based on settings input by a user, as well as user activity
monitored by the guidance application.
[0108] The user equipment devices may be coupled to communications
network 514. Namely, user television equipment 502, user computer
equipment 504, and wireless user communications device 506 are
coupled to communications network 514 via communications paths 508,
510, and 512, respectively. Communications network 514 may be one
or more networks including the Internet, a mobile phone network,
mobile voice or data network (e.g., a 4G or LTE network), cable
network, public switched telephone network, or other types of
communications networks or combinations of communications networks.
Paths 508, 510, and 512 may separately or together include one or
more communications paths, such as, a satellite path, a fiber-optic
path, a cable path, a path that supports Internet communications
(e.g., IPTV), free-space connections (e.g., for broadcast or other
wireless signals), or any other suitable wired or wireless
communications path or combination of such paths. Path 512 is drawn
with dotted lines to indicate that in the exemplary embodiment
shown in FIG. 5 it is a wireless path and paths 508 and 510 are
drawn as solid lines to indicate they are wired paths (although
these paths may be wireless paths, if desired). Communications with
the user equipment devices may be provided by one or more of these
communications paths, but are shown as a single path in FIG. 5 to
avoid overcomplicating the drawing.
[0109] Although communications paths are not drawn between user
equipment devices, these devices may communicate directly with each
other via communication paths, such as those described above in
connection with paths 508, 510, and 512, as well as other
short-range point-to-point communication paths, such as USB cables,
IEEE 1394 cables, wireless paths (e.g., Bluetooth, infrared, IEEE
802-11x, etc.), or other short-range communication via wired or
wireless paths. BLUETOOTH is a certification mark owned by
Bluetooth SIG, INC. The user equipment devices may also communicate
with each other directly through an indirect path via
communications network 514.
[0110] System 500 includes content source 516 and media guidance
data source 518 coupled to communications network 514 via
communication paths 520 and 522, respectively. Paths 520 and 522
may include any of the communication paths described above in
connection with paths 508, 510, and 512. Communications with the
content source 516 and media guidance data source 518 may be
exchanged over one or more communications paths, but are shown as a
single path in FIG. 5 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. In
addition, there may be more than one of each of content source 516
and media guidance data source 518, but only one of each is shown
in FIG. 5 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. (The different
types of each of these sources are discussed below.) If desired,
content source 516 and media guidance data source 518 may be
integrated as one source device. Although communications between
sources 516 and 518 with user equipment devices 502, 504, and 506
are shown as through communications network 514, in some
embodiments, sources 516 and 518 may communicate directly with user
equipment devices 502, 504, and 506 via communication paths (not
shown) such as those described above in connection with paths 508,
510, and 512.
[0111] Content source 516 may include one or more types of content
distribution equipment including a television distribution
facility, cable system headend, satellite distribution facility,
programming sources (e.g., television broadcasters, such as NBC,
ABC, HBO, etc.), intermediate distribution facilities and/or
servers, Internet providers, on-demand media servers, and other
content providers. NBC is a trademark owned by the National
Broadcasting Company, Inc., ABC is a trademark owned by the
American Broadcasting Company, Inc., and HBO is a trademark owned
by the Home Box Office, Inc. Content source 516 may be the
originator of content (e.g., a television broadcaster, a Webcast
provider, etc.) or may not be the originator of content (e.g., an
on-demand content provider, an Internet provider of content of
broadcast programs for downloading, etc.). Content source 516 may
include cable sources, satellite providers, on-demand providers,
Internet providers, over-the-top content providers, or other
providers of content. Content source 516 may also include a remote
media server used to store different types of content (including
video content selected by a user), in a location remote from any of
the user equipment devices. Systems and methods for remote storage
of content, and providing remotely stored content to user equipment
are discussed in greater detail in connection with Ellis et al.,
U.S. Pat. No. 7,761,892, issued Jul. 20, 2010, which is hereby
incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
[0112] Media guidance data source 518 may provide media guidance
data, such as the media guidance data described above. Media
guidance data may be provided to the user equipment devices using
any suitable approach. In some embodiments, the guidance
application may be a stand-alone interactive television program
guide that receives program guide data via a data feed (e.g., a
continuous feed or trickle feed). Program schedule data and other
guidance data may be provided to the user equipment on a television
channel sideband, using an in-band digital signal, using an
out-of-band digital signal, or by any other suitable data
transmission technique. Program schedule data and other media
guidance data may be provided to user equipment on multiple analog
or digital television channels.
[0113] In some embodiments, guidance data from media guidance data
source 518 may be provided to users' equipment using a
client-server approach. For example, a user equipment device may
pull media guidance data from a server, or a server may push media
guidance data to a user equipment device. In some embodiments, a
guidance application client residing on the user's equipment may
initiate sessions with source 518 to obtain guidance data when
needed, e.g., when the guidance data is out of date or when the
user equipment device receives a request from the user to receive
data. Media guidance may be provided to the user equipment with any
suitable frequency (e.g., continuously, daily, a user-specified
period of time, a system-specified period of time, in response to a
request from user equipment, etc.). Media guidance data source 518
may provide user equipment devices 502, 504, and 506 the media
guidance application itself or software updates for the media
guidance application.
[0114] In some embodiments, the media guidance data may include
viewer data. For example, the viewer data may include current
and/or historical user activity information (e.g., what content the
user typically watches, what times of day the user watches content,
whether the user interacts with a social network, at what times the
user interacts with a social network to post information, what
types of content the user typically watches (e.g., pay TV or free
TV), mood, brain activity information, etc.). The media guidance
data may also include subscription data. For example, the
subscription data may identify to which sources or services a given
user subscribes and/or to which sources or services the given user
has previously subscribed but later terminated access (e.g.,
whether the user subscribes to premium channels, whether the user
has added a premium level of services, whether the user has
increased Internet speed). In some embodiments, the viewer data
and/or the subscription data may identify patterns of a given user
for a period of more than one year. The media guidance data may
include a model (e.g., a survivor model) used for generating a
score that indicates a likelihood a given user will terminate
access to a service/source. For example, the media guidance
application may process the viewer data with the subscription data
using the model to generate a value or score that indicates a
likelihood of whether the given user will terminate access to a
particular service or source. In particular, a higher score may
indicate a higher level of confidence that the user will terminate
access to a particular service or source. Based on the score, the
media guidance application may generate promotions that entice the
user to keep the particular service or source indicated by the
score as one to which the user will likely terminate access.
[0115] Media guidance applications may be, for example, stand-alone
applications implemented on user equipment devices. For example,
the media guidance application may be implemented as software or a
set of executable instructions which may be stored in storage 408,
and executed by control circuitry 404 of a user equipment device
400. In some embodiments, media guidance applications may be
client-server applications where only a client application resides
on the user equipment device, and server application resides on a
remote server. For example, media guidance applications may be
implemented partially as a client application on control circuitry
404 of user equipment device 400 and partially on a remote server
as a server application (e.g., media guidance data source 518)
running on control circuitry of the remote server. When executed by
control circuitry of the remote server (such as media guidance data
source 518), the media guidance application may instruct the
control circuitry to generate the guidance application displays and
transmit the generated displays to the user equipment devices. The
server application may instruct the control circuitry of the media
guidance data source 518 to transmit data for storage on the user
equipment. The client application may instruct control circuitry of
the receiving user equipment to generate the guidance application
displays.
[0116] Content and/or media guidance data delivered to user
equipment devices 502, 504, and 506 may be over-the-top (OTT)
content. OTT content delivery allows Internet-enabled user devices,
including any user equipment device described above, to receive
content that is transferred over the Internet, including any
content described above, in addition to content received over cable
or satellite connections. OTT content is delivered via an Internet
connection provided by an Internet service provider (ISP), but a
third party distributes the content. The ISP may not be responsible
for the viewing abilities, copyrights, or redistribution of the
content, and may only transfer IP packets provided by the OTT
content provider. Examples of OTT content providers include
YOUTUBE, NETFLIX, and HULU, which provide audio and video via IP
packets. Youtube is a trademark owned by Google Inc., Netflix is a
trademark owned by Netflix Inc., and Hulu is a trademark owned by
Hulu, LLC. OTT content providers may additionally or alternatively
provide media guidance data described above. In addition to content
and/or media guidance data, providers of OTT content can distribute
media guidance applications (e.g., web-based applications or
cloud-based applications), or the content can be displayed by media
guidance applications stored on the user equipment device.
[0117] Media guidance system 500 is intended to illustrate a number
of approaches, or network configurations, by which user equipment
devices and sources of content and guidance data may communicate
with each other for the purpose of accessing content and providing
media guidance. The embodiments described herein may be applied in
any one or a subset of these approaches, or in a system employing
other approaches for delivering content and providing media
guidance. The following four approaches provide specific
illustrations of the generalized example of FIG. 5.
[0118] In one approach, user equipment devices may communicate with
each other within a home network. User equipment devices can
communicate with each other directly via short-range point-to-point
communication schemes described above, via indirect paths through a
hub or other similar device provided on a home network, or via
communications network 514. Each of the multiple individuals in a
single home may operate different user equipment devices on the
home network. As a result, it may be desirable for various media
guidance information or settings to be communicated between the
different user equipment devices. For example, it may be desirable
for users to maintain consistent media guidance application
settings on different user equipment devices within a home network,
as described in greater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. Patent
Publication No. 2005/0251827, filed Jul. 11, 2005. Different types
of user equipment devices in a home network may also communicate
with each other to transmit content. For example, a user may
transmit content from user computer equipment to a portable video
player or portable music player.
[0119] In a second approach, users may have multiple types of user
equipment by which they access content and obtain media guidance.
For example, some users may have home networks that are accessed by
in-home and mobile devices. Users may control in-home devices via a
media guidance application implemented on a remote device. For
example, users may access an online media guidance application on a
website via a personal computer at their office, or a mobile device
such as a PDA or web-enabled mobile telephone. The user may set
various settings (e.g., recordings, reminders, or other settings)
on the online guidance application to control the user's in-home
equipment. The online guide may control the user's equipment
directly, or by communicating with a media guidance application on
the user's in-home equipment. Various systems and methods for user
equipment devices communicating, where the user equipment devices
are in locations remote from each other, is discussed in, for
example, Ellis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,046,801, issued Oct. 25,
2011, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its
entirety.
[0120] In a third approach, users of user equipment devices inside
and outside a home can use their media guidance application to
communicate directly with content source 516 to access content.
Specifically, within a home, users of user television equipment 502
and user computer equipment 504 may access the media guidance
application to navigate among and locate desirable content. Users
may also access the media guidance application outside of the home
using wireless user communications devices 506 to navigate among
and locate desirable content.
[0121] In a fourth approach, user equipment devices may operate in
a cloud computing environment to access cloud services. In a cloud
computing environment, various types of computing services for
content sharing, storage or distribution (e.g., video sharing sites
or social networking sites) are provided by a collection of
network-accessible computing and storage resources, referred to as
"the cloud." For example, the cloud can include a collection of
server computing devices, which may be located centrally or at
distributed locations, that provide cloud-based services to various
types of users and devices connected via a network such as the
Internet via communications network 514. These cloud resources may
include one or more content sources 516 and one or more media
guidance data sources 518. In addition or in the alternative, the
remote computing sites may include other user equipment devices,
such as user television equipment 502, user computer equipment 504,
and wireless user communications device 506. For example, the other
user equipment devices may provide access to a stored copy of a
video or a streamed video. In such embodiments, user equipment
devices may operate in a peer-to-peer manner without communicating
with a central server.
[0122] The cloud provides access to services, such as content
storage, content sharing, or social networking services, among
other examples, as well as access to any content described above,
for user equipment devices. Services can be provided in the cloud
through cloud computing service providers, or through other
providers of online services. For example, the cloud-based services
can include a content storage service, a content sharing site, a
social networking site, or other services via which user-sourced
content is distributed for viewing by others on connected devices.
These cloud-based services may allow a user equipment device to
store content to the cloud and to receive content from the cloud
rather than storing content locally and accessing locally-stored
content.
[0123] A user may use various content capture devices, such as
camcorders, digital cameras with video mode, audio recorders,
mobile phones, and handheld computing devices, to record content.
The user can upload content to a content storage service on the
cloud either directly, for example, from user computer equipment
504 or wireless user communications device 506 having content
capture feature. Alternatively, the user can first transfer the
content to a user equipment device, such as user computer equipment
504. The user equipment device storing the content uploads the
content to the cloud using a data transmission service on
communications network 514. In some embodiments, the user equipment
device itself is a cloud resource, and other user equipment devices
can access the content directly from the user equipment device on
which the user stored the content.
[0124] Cloud resources may be accessed by a user equipment device
using, for example, a web browser, a media guidance application, a
desktop application, a mobile application, and/or any combination
of access applications of the same. The user equipment device may
be a cloud client that relies on cloud computing for application
delivery, or the user equipment device may have some functionality
without access to cloud resources. For example, some applications
running on the user equipment device may be cloud applications,
i.e., applications delivered as a service over the Internet, while
other applications may be stored and run on the user equipment
device. In some embodiments, a user device may receive content from
multiple cloud resources simultaneously. For example, a user device
can stream audio from one cloud resource while downloading content
from a second cloud resource. Or a user device can download content
from multiple cloud resources for more efficient downloading. In
some embodiments, user equipment devices can use cloud resources
for processing operations such as the processing operations
performed by processing circuitry described in relation to FIG.
4.
[0125] As referred herein, the term "in response to" refers to
initiated as a result of. For example, a first action being
performed in response to a second action may include interstitial
steps between the first action and the second action. As referred
herein, the term "directly in response to" refers to caused by. For
example, a first action being performed directly in response to a
second action may not include interstitial steps between the first
action and the second action.
[0126] FIG. 6 is a flowchart representing an illustrative process
for alerting a user to an important event in a media asset in
accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. The flowchart
in FIG. 6 represents a process 600 implemented on control circuitry
404 for alerting a user to an important event in a media asset
according to an embodiment of the disclosure. It should be noted
that process 600 or any action thereof could be performed on, or
provided by, any of the devices shown in FIGS. 4-5. For example,
process 600 may be executed by control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) as
instructed by a media guidance application implemented on a user
device (e.g., user equipment devices 502, 504, and/or 506 (FIG. 5))
in order to alert a user to an important event in a media asset. In
addition, one or more actions of process 600 may be incorporated
into or combined with one or more actions of any other process or
embodiment described herein.
[0127] At 602, control circuitry 404 may be configured to determine
that the user has stopped viewing a media asset on the first device
to access an application on the second device 100. For example,
control circuitry 404 may communicate with the second device 100
through a wired connection, such as Ethernet, or wireless
connection, such as IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n ("WiFi"), Bluetooth, Near
Field Communication ("NFC"), radio, or any other suitable wireless
communication protocol. Control circuitry 404 may receive data from
the second device 100 indicating user input, an active application,
or any other suitable metric related to use of the second device
100. For example, the second device 100 may maintain a variable,
flag, or other data structure indicating a state of a user input
device of the second device 100. If the second device 100 is
currently receiving input from the user input device, the variable,
flag, or data structure may be set to indicate that the user input
device is active. Control circuitry 404 may request or access the
variable, flag, or data structure to retrieve the current state of
the input device. The second device 100 may also maintain a
variable, flag, or data structure indicating a state of an output
device of the second device 100. For example, if the second device
100 is currently outputting video or audio content, the variable,
flag, or other data structure may be set to indicate that an output
device is active. Control circuitry 404 may request or access the
variable, flag, or data structure to retrieve the current state of
the output device.
[0128] At 604, control circuitry 404 may be configured to determine
an estimated usage time for the application on the second device
100 based on an amount of relevant content on the application, and
an average usage time for the application on the second device 100.
Control circuitry 404 may retrieve, from the second device 100, an
indication of an amount of content in the application. For example,
the second device 100 may maintain a log file, database, or other
data structure in which the second device 100 records information
related to content received by the second device 100 that has not
yet been viewed or accessed by the user of the second device 100.
For example, the second device 100 may receive ten new content
items from a server related to a Facebook.RTM. application, and
record in the log file, database, or other data structure an
indication that ten content items were received for presentation
through the Facebook.RTM. application. Control circuitry 404 may,
through the connection with the second device 100, request or
access, from the second device 100, the log file, database or data
structure of content available in the active application with which
the user is interacting. For example, if the user is interacting
with a Facebook.RTM. application, control circuitry 404 may request
from the second device 100 an indication of an amount of new
content in the Facebook.RTM. application. Once the content items
have been accessed, the second device 100 may update the log file,
database, or data structure to remove reference to the content
items, or to mark such content items as already having been viewed
or accessed. Control circuitry 404 may retrieve, from the second
device 100, an indication of an average usage time for the
application. For example, the second device 100 may maintain a log
file, database, or other data structure listing applications
available on the second device 100, along with the amount of time
the user interacts with each application. For example, the second
device 100 may record, in the log file, database, or data
structure, each time an application is launched, an indication of
the application, and the time at which the application was
launched. When the user closes, exits, or otherwise leaves the
application, the second device 100 may record the time at which the
user closed, exited, or left the application. The second device 100
may then calculate and record a total usage time. For example, the
log file, database, or data structure may indicate that the last
three times the user accessed the Facebook.RTM. application, the
user interacted with the application for two minutes, three
minutes, and one and a half minutes, respectively. Alternatively,
control circuitry 404 may calculate the total usage time upon
requesting information related to the application from the log
file, database, or data structure. Control circuitry 404 may
further calculate an average time that the user interacts with the
application. Control circuitry 404 may calculate an average usage
time for the Facebook.RTM. application of two minutes and ten
seconds. Based on the calculated average usage time, control
circuitry 404 may calculate an estimated usage time for the
application on the second device based on the amount of content on
the application and the average usage time for the application. For
example, the log file, database, or data structure in which the
second device 100 records usage time information may be the same
log file, database or data structure in which the second device 100
records the amount of content received for each application.
Alternatively, the log file, database, or data structure in which
the second device 100 records usage information may contain
references to entries in the log file, database, or data structure
in which the second device 100 records content received for each
application. Control circuitry 404 may then divide the usage time
for a particular application by the number of content items viewed
or accessed during the particular use of the application to
calculate an average usage time for each content item. Control
circuitry 404 may then multiply the average usage time for each
content item by the number of new content items to be viewed or
accessed.
[0129] At 606, control circuitry 404 may be configured to search
metadata of the media asset on the first device for a metadata flag
in the metadata indicating a time of an important event in the
media asset. For example, control circuitry 404 may access metadata
of the media asset and determine, based on the metadata, a playback
time of an important event in the media asset. For example, the
metadata may include data fields comprising an index of important
events. As another example, the metadata may include data fields
indicating the importance of the event represented in the current
scene, or in the next scene. Alternatively, control circuitry 404
may access metadata of the media asset on a remote server, such as
media guidance data source 518, via communications network 514.
[0130] At 608, control circuitry 404 may be configured to determine
a threshold amount of time until playback of the important event,
based on a current playback time and the playback time of the
important event. For example, the metadata may include a timestamp
of the important event, or may include a relative amount of time
from the current playback time to the important event. Control
circuitry 404 may calculate the amount of time between the current
playback time and the playback time of the important event.
Alternatively, control circuitry 404 may convert the current system
time to an integer representing the current system time in
Universal Time Code ("UTC") format. Control circuitry 404 may also
convert a broadcast time of the next important event to a UTC
integer value. Control circuitry 404 may then subtract the integer
representing the current time from the integer representing the
broadcast time of the next important event to determine the
threshold amount of time. Control circuitry 404 may store the
threshold amount of time in a variable or other data structure in,
for example, storage 408.
[0131] At 610, control circuitry 404 may be configured to determine
if the estimated usage time is greater than the threshold amount of
time. For example, control circuitry 404 may compare the threshold
amount of time with the estimated usage time. For example, the user
may be using a social media application, and the media guidance
application may estimate the usage time as five minutes. Control
circuitry 404 may also determine that the threshold amount of time
until the next important scene is three minutes. Control circuitry
404 may therefore determine that the estimated usage time is
greater than the threshold amount of time.
[0132] At 612, in response to determining that the estimated usage
time is greater than the threshold amount of time, control
circuitry 404 may be configured to generate an alert 102, 122, 142,
162 on the second device 100, prompting the user to view the media
asset on the first device. For example, control circuitry 404 may
instruct the second device 100 to display a pop-up message
reminding the user to watch "Star Wars" on the first device because
an important scene is coming soon. For example, control circuitry
404 may transmit a command to the second device 100 such as "ALERT
[media_name]" where [media_name] is the title of the media asset
being viewed on the first device, such as "Star Wars". Depending on
the configuration of control circuitry 404, the alert displayed on
the second device 100 may include an option to record the media
asset, such as options 126 and 166. Control circuitry 404 may,
alternatively or additionally, include in the alert an option to
pause the media asset, such as option 146 and 168. The alert may
also include an option such as options 124, 144, and 164, to
dismiss the alert without taking any action. The command
transmitted by control circuitry 404 may include an indication of
which option or options to include in the alert. For example, the
command may be "ALERT [media_name] [options]" where [options] is an
indicator of the option or options to be included in the alert.
[0133] It is contemplated that the actions or descriptions of FIG.
6 may be used with any other embodiment of this disclosure. In
addition, the actions and descriptions described in relation to
FIG. 6 may be done in alternative orders or in parallel to further
the purposes of this disclosure. For example, each of these actions
may be performed in any order or in parallel or substantially
simultaneously to reduce lag or increase the speed of the system or
method. Any of these actions may also be skipped or omitted from
the process. Furthermore, it should be noted that any of the
devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 4-5 could be
used to perform one or more of the actions in FIG. 6.
[0134] FIG. 7 is a flowchart representing an illustrative process
for alerting a user to an important event in a media asset in
accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. The flowchart
in FIG. 7 represents a process 700 implemented on control circuitry
404 for alerting a user to an important event in a media asset
according to an embodiment of the disclosure. It should be noted
that process 600 or any action thereof could be performed on, or
provided by, any of the devices shown in FIGS. 4-5. For example,
process 700 may be executed by control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) as
instructed by a media guidance application implemented on a user
device (e.g., user equipment devices 502, 504, and/or 506 (FIG. 5))
in order to alert a user to an important event in a media asset. In
addition, one or more actions of process 700 may be incorporated
into or combined with one or more actions of any other process or
embodiment described herein.
[0135] At 702, control circuitry 404 may be configured to generate
for display a media asset. For example, control circuitry 404 may
receive, via I/O path 402, a media asset. Control circuitry 404 may
process the media asset and generate video and audio signals for
output via display 412 and speakers 414, respectively.
[0136] At 704, control circuitry 404 may be configured to determine
if a user has stopped viewing the media asset to access an
application on a second device 100. As described above, control
circuitry 404 may communicate with the second device 100 through a
wired connection, such as Ethernet, or wireless connection, such as
IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n ("WiFi"), Bluetooth, Near Field Communication
("NFC"), radio, or any other suitable wireless communication
protocol. Control circuitry 404 may receive data from the second
device 100 indicating user input, an active application, or any
other suitable metric related to use of the second device 100. For
example, the second device 100 may maintain a variable, flag, or
other data structure indicating a state of a user input device of
the second device 100. If the second device 100 is currently
receiving input from the user input device, the variable, flag, or
data structure may be set to indicate that the user input device is
active. Control circuitry 404 may request or access the variable,
flag, or data structure to retrieve the current state of the input
device. The second device 100 may also maintain a variable, flag,
or data structure indicating a state of an output device of the
second device 100. For example, if the second device 100 is
currently outputting video or audio content, the variable, flag, or
other data structure may be set to indicate that an output device
is active. Control circuitry 404 may request or access the
variable, flag, or data structure to retrieve the current state of
the output device.
[0137] At 706, control circuitry 404 may be configured to retrieve,
from the second device 100, an indication of an amount of content
in the application. For example, the second device 100 may maintain
a log file, database, or other data structure in which the second
device 100 records information related to content received by the
second device 100 that has not yet been viewed or accessed by the
user of the second device 100. For example, the second device 100
may receive ten new content items from a server related to a
Facebook.RTM. application, and record in the log file, database, or
other data structure an indication that ten content items were
received for presentation through the Facebook.RTM. application.
Control circuitry 404 may, through the connection with the second
device 100, request or access, from the second device 100, the log
file, database or data structure of content available in the active
application with which the user is interacting. For example, if the
user is interacting with a Facebook.RTM. application, control
circuitry 404 may request from the second device 100 an indication
of an amount of new content in the Facebook.RTM. application. Once
the content items have been accessed, the second device 100 may
update the log file, database, or data structure to remove
reference to the content items, or to mark such content items as
already having been viewed or accessed.
[0138] At 708, control circuitry 404 may be configured to retrieve,
from the second device 100, an indication of an average usage time
for the application. For example, the second device 100 may
maintain a log file, database, or other data structure listing
applications available on the second device 100, along with the
amount of time the user interacts with each application. For
example, the second device 100 may record, in the log file,
database, or data structure, each time an application is launched,
an indication of the application, and the time at which the
application was launched. When the user closes, exits, or otherwise
leaves the application, the second device 100 may record the time
at which the user closed, exited, or left the application. The
second device 100 may then calculate and record a total usage time.
For example, the log file, database, or data structure may indicate
that the last three times the user accessed the Facebook.RTM.
application, the user interacted with the application for two
minutes, three minutes, and one and a half minutes, respectively.
Alternatively, control circuitry 404 may calculate the total usage
time upon requesting information related to the application from
the log file, database, or data structure. Control circuitry 404
may further calculate an average time that user interacts with the
application. Control circuitry 404 may calculate an average usage
time for the Facebook.RTM. application of two minutes and ten
seconds.
[0139] At 710, control circuitry 404 may be configured to calculate
an estimated usage time for the application on the second device
100 based on the indication of the amount of content in the
application, and the indication of the average usage time for the
application. For example, the log file, database, or data structure
in which the second device 100 records usage time information may
be the same log file, database or data structure in which the
second device 100 records the amount of content received for each
application. Alternatively, the log file, database, or data
structure in which the second device 100 records usage information
may contain references to entries in the log file, database, or
data structure in which the second device 100 records content
received for each application. Control circuitry 404 may then
divide the usage time for a particular application by the number of
content items viewed or accessed during the particular use of the
application to calculate an average usage time for each content
item. Control circuitry 404 may then multiply the average usage
time for each content item by the number of new content items to be
viewed or accessed.
[0140] At 712, control circuitry 404 may be configured to access
metadata of the media asset. Control circuitry 404 may access
metadata stored locally in, for example, storage 408.
Alternatively, control circuitry 404 may access metadata stored on
a remote server, such as media guidance data source 518, via
communications network 514.
[0141] At 714, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
determine, based on the metadata, a playback time of an important
event in the media asset. For example, the metadata may include
data fields comprising an index of important events and
corresponding playback times. As another example, the metadata may
include data fields indicating the importance of the event
represented in the current scene, or in the next scene. Control
circuitry 404 may search the metadata, based on the current
playback time, for the next scene having an indicated importance
level that is above a threshold importance level.
[0142] At 716, control circuitry 404 may be configured to determine
a threshold amount of time until playback of the important event
based on the determined playback time and a current playback time.
For example, the metadata may include a timestamp of the important
event, or may include a relative amount of time from the current
playback time to the important event. Control circuitry 404 may
calculate the amount of time between the current playback time and
the playback time of the important event. Alternatively, control
circuitry 404 may convert the current system time to an integer
representing the current system time in Universal Time Code ("UTC")
format. Control circuitry 404 may also convert a broadcast time of
the next important event to a UTC integer value. Control circuitry
404 may then subtract the integer representing the current time
from the integer representing the broadcast time of the next
important event to determine the threshold amount of time. Control
circuitry 404 may store the threshold amount of time in a variable
or other data structure in, for example, storage 408.
[0143] At 718, control circuitry 404 may be configured to compare
the threshold amount of time with the estimated usage time. For
example, the user may be using a social media application, and the
media guidance application may estimate the usage time as five
minutes. Control circuitry 404 may also determine that the
threshold amount of time until the next important scene is three
minutes. Control circuitry 404 may therefore determine that the
estimated usage time is greater than the threshold amount of
time.
[0144] At 720, in response to determining that the estimated usage
time is greater than the threshold amount of time, control
circuitry 404 may be configured to generate for display an alert
102, 122, 142, 162 on the second device 100, reminding the user to
view the media asset on the first device. For example, control
circuitry 404 may instruct the second device 100 to display a
pop-up message reminding the user to watch "Star Wars" on the first
device because an important scene is coming soon. For example,
control circuitry 404 may transmit a command to the second device
100 such as "ALERT [media_name]" where [media_name] is the title of
the media asset being viewed on the first device, such as "Star
Wars". Depending on the configuration of control circuitry 404, the
alert displayed on the second device 100 may include an option to
record the media asset, such as options 126 and 166. Control
circuitry 404 may, alternatively or additionally, include in the
alert an option to pause the media asset, such as option 146 and
168. The alert may also include an option such as options 124, 144,
and 164, to dismiss the alert without taking any action. The
command transmitted by control circuitry 404 may include an
indication of which option or options to include in the alert. For
example, the command may be "ALERT [media_name] [options]" where
[options] is an indicator of the option or options to be included
in the alert.
[0145] It is contemplated that the actions or descriptions of FIG.
7 may be used with any other embodiment of this disclosure. In
addition, the actions and descriptions described in relation to
FIG. 7 may be done in alternative orders or in parallel to further
the purposes of this disclosure. For example, each of these actions
may be performed in any order or in parallel or substantially
simultaneously to reduce lag or increase the speed of the system or
method. Any of these actions may also be skipped or omitted from
the process. Furthermore, it should be noted that any of the
devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 4-5 could be
used to perform one or more of the actions in FIG. 7.
[0146] FIG. 8 is a flowchart representing an illustrative process
for retrieving an indication of an amount of content in an
application in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.
The flowchart in FIG. 8 represents a process 800 implemented on
control circuitry 404 for retrieving an indication of an amount of
content in an application according to an embodiment of the
disclosure. It should be noted that process 800 or any action
thereof could be performed on, or provided by, any of the devices
shown in FIGS. 4-5. For example, process 800 may be executed by
control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) as instructed by a media guidance
application implemented on a user device (e.g., user equipment
devices 502, 504, and/or 506 (FIG. 5)) in order to retrieve an
indication of an amount of content in an application. In addition,
one or more actions of process 800 may be incorporated into or
combined with one or more actions of any other process or
embodiment described herein.
[0147] At 802, control circuitry 404 may be configured to access a
memory of the second device 100 related to the application. For
example, control circuitry 404 may access a memory of the second
device 100 related to the Facebook.RTM. application.
[0148] At 804, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
determine, from the memory of the second device 100, an amount of
content added to the application within a threshold amount of time.
For example, control circuitry 404 may extract an indication from
the memory of the second device 100 of the amount of new content
available in the application. For example, control circuitry 404
may access a log file, database, or other data structure in which
the second device 100 records content received for each
application. Control circuitry 404 may search the log file,
database, or data structure for content related to the application
with which the user is interacting. Control circuitry 404 may
determine an amount of content added to the application within a
threshold amount of time. For example, control circuitry 404 may
analyze entries in the log file, database, or data structure of the
second device 100 related to the Facebook.RTM. application and
determine that an amount of content has been added to the
application in the last thirty minutes.
[0149] At 806, control circuitry 404 may retrieve, as the
indication of the amount of content in the application, the amount
of content added in the threshold amount of time.
[0150] It is contemplated that the actions or descriptions of FIG.
8 may be used with any other embodiment of this disclosure. In
addition, the actions and descriptions described in relation to
FIG. 8 may be done in alternative orders or in parallel to further
the purposes of this disclosure. For example, each of these actions
may be performed in any order or in parallel or substantially
simultaneously to reduce lag or increase the speed of the system or
method. Any of these actions may also be skipped or omitted from
the process. Furthermore, it should be noted that any of the
devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 4-5 could be
used to perform one or more of the actions in FIG. 8.
[0151] FIG. 9 is a flowchart representing an illustrative process
for retrieving an indication of an average usage time of an
application in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.
The flowchart in FIG. 9 represents a process 900 implemented on
control circuitry 404 for retrieving an indication of an average
usage time of an application according to an embodiment of the
disclosure. It should be noted that process 900 or any action
thereof could be performed on, or provided by, any of the devices
shown in FIGS. 4-5. For example, process 900 may be executed by
control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) as instructed by a media guidance
application implemented on a user device (e.g., user equipment
devices 502, 504, and/or 506 (FIG. 5)) in order to retrieve an
indication of an average usage time of an application. In addition,
one or more actions of process 900 may be incorporated into or
combined with one or more actions of any other process or
embodiment described herein.
[0152] At 902, control circuitry 404 may be configured to access a
memory of the second device 100 related to application usage
history. The application usage history may include an amount of
time the user used the application, and an amount of content viewed
during each such use. For example, the application usage log of the
second device 100, described above, may record an amount of content
consumed in each application each time the user interacted with
each respective application. Control circuitry 404 may access,
request, or retrieve the application usage log of the second
device.
[0153] At 904, control circuitry 404 may be configured to calculate
an estimated usage time per unit of content. For example, using the
amount of content consumed in the application, and the amount of
time the user used the application, as recorded in the application
usage log, control circuitry 404 may divide the amount of time the
user used the application by the number of content items consumed
during that usage. Control circuitry 404 may repeat this
calculation for several usages of the application, and compute an
average across the several usages to determine an average amount of
usage time per unit of content.
[0154] At 906, control circuitry 404 may be configured to retrieve,
as the indication of the average usage time per unit of content,
the above-calculated average amount of time per unit of
content.
[0155] It is contemplated that the actions or descriptions of FIG.
9 may be used with any other embodiment of this disclosure. In
addition, the actions and descriptions described in relation to
FIG. 9 may be done in alternative orders or in parallel to further
the purposes of this disclosure. For example, each of these actions
may be performed in any order or in parallel or substantially
simultaneously to reduce lag or increase the speed of the system or
method. Any of these actions may also be skipped or omitted from
the process. Furthermore, it should be noted that any of the
devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 4-5 could be
used to perform one or more of the actions in FIG. 9.
[0156] FIG. 10 is a flowchart representing an illustrative process
for determining a playback time of an important event in a media
asset in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. The
flowchart in FIG. 10 represents a process 1000 implemented on
control circuitry 404 for determining a playback time of an
important event in a media asset according to an embodiment of the
disclosure. It should be noted that process 1000 or any action
thereof could be performed on, or provided by, any of the devices
shown in FIGS. 4-5. For example, process 1000 may be executed by
control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) as instructed by a media guidance
application implemented on a user device (e.g., user equipment
devices 502, 504, and/or 506 (FIG. 5)) in order to determine a
playback time of an important event in a media asset. In addition,
one or more actions of process 1000 may be incorporated into or
combined with one or more actions of any other process or
embodiment described herein.
[0157] At 1002, control circuitry 404 may be configured to access a
database of playback times corresponding to important events in the
media asset. The database may be stored locally, such as in storage
408, or may be stored on a remote server, such as media guidance
data source 518. The playback times may be relative to the start of
the media asset, or may be actual times based on the time at which
playback of the media asset began. For example, a database for
"Star Wars" may indicate important events at ten minutes,
twenty-five minutes, fifty-three minutes, and eighty-four minutes
from the start of the movie.
[0158] At 1004, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
determine, based on the current playback time, the next important
event in the media asset in the database. For example, if the
current playback time for "Star Wars" is forty-seven minutes, the
media guidance application may determine that the next important
event occurs at fifty-three minutes, and retrieve fifty-three
minutes as the playback time of the next important event. As
another example, the database for a broadcast of "Star Wars" which
began at 7:00 PM may indicate important events at 7:10 PM, 7:25 PM,
7:53 PM, and 8:24 PM. If the current time is 7:47 PM, the media
guidance application may determine that the next important event
occurs at 7:53 PM. The media guidance application may compare the
current time with the times indicated in the database by first
converting both times to a UTC integer value, or may compare the
hour and minute values of the current time with those of the event
times indicated in the database.
[0159] At 1006, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
retrieve, from the database, the above-determined playback time of
the next important event in the media asset.
[0160] It is contemplated that the actions or descriptions of FIG.
10 may be used with any other embodiment of this disclosure. In
addition, the actions and descriptions described in relation to
FIG. 10 may be done in alternative orders or in parallel to further
the purposes of this disclosure. For example, each of these actions
may be performed in any order or in parallel or substantially
simultaneously to reduce lag or increase the speed of the system or
method. Any of these actions may also be skipped or omitted from
the process. Furthermore, it should be noted that any of the
devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 4-5 could be
used to perform one or more of the actions in FIG. 10.
[0161] FIG. 11 is a flowchart representing an illustrative process
for pausing a media asset based on an importance of an application
being used by a user in accordance with some embodiments of the
disclosure. The flowchart in FIG. 11 represents a process 1100
implemented on control circuitry 404 for pausing a media asset
based on an importance of an application being used by a user
according to an embodiment of the disclosure. It should be noted
that process 1100 or any action thereof could be performed on, or
provided by, any of the devices shown in FIGS. 4-5. For example,
process 1100 may be executed by control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) as
instructed by a media guidance application implemented on a user
device (e.g., user equipment devices 502, 504, and/or 506 (FIG. 5))
in order to pause a media asset based on an importance of an
application being used by a user. In addition, one or more actions
of process 1100 may be incorporated into or combined with one or
more actions of any other process or embodiment described
herein.
[0162] In some embodiments, the user may stop viewing the media
asset on the first device in response to a notification on the
second device 100. At 1102, control circuitry 404 may be configured
to identify an application associated with a notification. For
example, control circuitry 404 may access a log file, database, or
data structure of the second device 100 related to notifications,
and determine which application generated the most recent
notification. Alternatively, control circuitry 404 may determine,
from the currently active application on the second device 100, the
method through which the application was launched. For example, an
application may be launched from a second application, by selection
of the application, or by selection of a notification related to
the application.
[0163] At 1104, control circuitry 404 may be configured to access a
database of applications, the database of applications relating
each application with an application type, the application type
indicating a level of importance to the user. For example, control
circuitry 404 may access a database of applications that relates
each application with an application type indicating a level of
importance to the user. For example, an application with a type
"GAME" may have low importance to the user, while an application
with a type "SOCIAL" or "MESSAGING" may have high importance to the
user. The importance to the user may be based on usage history of
each application. For example, the second device 100 may record, as
part of the usage history, an average amount of time between a
notification from an application and the user's interaction with
that application in response to the notification. Additionally, the
second device 100 may record the type of interaction, such as a
dismissal of the notification, usage of the application for only a
short period of time, such as ten seconds, or usage of the
application for a long period of time, such as one minute. Based on
the above metrics, the second device 100 or control circuitry 404
may calculate a level of importance the user places on each
application.
[0164] At 1106, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
retrieve, from the database of applications, an application type
corresponding to the identified application. For example, control
circuitry 404 may request, query, extract, or otherwise capture
data from the database related to the identified application. For
example, control circuitry 404 may use an SQL SELECT command to
retrieve a database entry related to the identified application.
The database entry may include a data field indicating an
application type of the identified application.
[0165] At 1108, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
determine, based on the application type, an importance level of
the identified application. Based on the metrics described above,
control circuitry 404 may determine that the identified application
level has a particular importance level.
[0166] At 1110, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
determine if the importance level of the identified application
exceeds a threshold importance level. For example, control
circuitry 404 may store, in storage 408, a variable or other data
structure indicating a threshold importance level. Control
circuitry 404 may compare the importance level of the identified
application with the stored threshold importance level.
[0167] At 1112, in response to determining that the importance
level of the identified application exceeds the threshold
importance level, control circuitry 404 may be configured to pause
the media asset. For example, if the application has a type
indicating high importance to the user, control circuitry 404 may
pause the media asset automatically.
[0168] At 1114, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
determine if the user has completed using the application. For
example, control circuitry 404 may detect when the user has closed
the application, or has otherwise stopped interacting with the
application.
[0169] At 1116, in response to determining that the user has
completed using the application, control circuitry 404 may be
configured to resume playing the media asset.
[0170] It is contemplated that the actions or descriptions of FIG.
11 may be used with any other embodiment of this disclosure. In
addition, the actions and descriptions described in relation to
FIG. 11 may be done in alternative orders or in parallel to further
the purposes of this disclosure. For example, each of these actions
may be performed in any order or in parallel or substantially
simultaneously to reduce lag or increase the speed of the system or
method. Any of these actions may also be skipped or omitted from
the process. Furthermore, it should be noted that any of the
devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 4-5 could be
used to perform one or more of the actions in FIG. 11.
[0171] FIG. 12 is a flowchart representing an illustrative process
for calculating an estimated usage time of an application in
accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. The flowchart
in FIG. 12 represents a process 1200 implemented on control
circuitry 404 for calculating an estimated usage time of an
application according to an embodiment of the disclosure. It should
be noted that process 1200 or any action thereof could be performed
on, or provided by, any of the devices shown in FIGS. 4-5. For
example, process 1200 may be executed by control circuitry 404
(FIG. 4) as instructed by a media guidance application implemented
on a user device (e.g., user equipment devices 502, 504, and/or 506
(FIG. 5)) in order to calculate an estimated usage time of an
application. In addition, one or more actions of process 1200 may
be incorporated into or combined with one or more actions of any
other process or embodiment described herein.
[0172] At 1202, control circuitry 404 may be configured to access a
memory of the second device 100 related to application usage
history, the usage history including an amount of time the user
used each application available on the second device 100, and an
importance level of each application available on the second device
100. For example, control circuitry 404 may access a log file,
database, or data structure of the second device 100 related to
application usage history and identify a plurality of applications
having an importance level within a threshold difference of the
importance level of the identified application.
[0173] At 1204, control circuitry 404 may be configured to identify
a plurality of applications having an importance level within a
threshold difference of the importance level of the identified
application. For example, the identified application may have an
importance level of "MEDIUM-HIGH". Control circuitry 404 may
identify a plurality of applications having an importance level
that is within one degree of importance lower and one degree of
importance higher than "MEDIUM-HIGH". In other words, control
circuitry 404 may identify a plurality of applications having an
importance level of either "MEDIUM", "MEDIUM-HIGH", or "HIGH".
[0174] At 1206, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
calculate an average usage time for the plurality of applications.
For example, if the identified application has an importance level
of "MEDIUM-HIGH" and there are three other applications having an
importance level of "MEDIUM", "MEDIUM-HIGH", or "HIGH" on the
second device 100, control circuitry 404 may calculate an average
usage time for the identified application that is an average taken
of the average usage times of the three other applications of the
same or similar importance level.
[0175] It is contemplated that the actions or descriptions of FIG.
12 may be used with any other embodiment of this disclosure. In
addition, the actions and descriptions described in relation to
FIG. 12 may be done in alternative orders or in parallel to further
the purposes of this disclosure. For example, each of these actions
may be performed in any order or in parallel or substantially
simultaneously to reduce lag or increase the speed of the system or
method. Any of these actions may also be skipped or omitted from
the process. Furthermore, it should be noted that any of the
devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 4-5 could be
used to perform one or more of the actions in FIG. 12.
[0176] FIG. 13 is a flowchart representing an illustrative process
for displaying a subset of notifications on a second device in
accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. The flowchart
in FIG. 13 represents a process 1300 implemented on control
circuitry 404 for displaying a subset of notifications on a second
device according to an embodiment of the disclosure. It should be
noted that process 1300 or any action thereof could be performed
on, or provided by, any of the devices shown in FIGS. 4-5. For
example, process 1300 may be executed by control circuitry 404
(FIG. 4) as instructed by a media guidance application implemented
on a user device (e.g., user equipment devices 502, 504, and/or 506
(FIG. 5)) in order to display a subset of notifications on a second
device. In addition, one or more actions of process 1300 may be
incorporated into or combined with one or more actions of any other
process or embodiment described herein.
[0177] At 1302, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
calculate an estimated usage time for the application associated
with each notification of a plurality of notifications. Using
methods described above, control circuitry 404 may calculate an
average usage time for each application related to a notification
of the plurality of notifications. For example, for three
notifications, the media guidance application may calculate an
average usage time for each respective application of one minute,
thirty seconds, and two minutes.
[0178] At 1304, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
determine, based on metadata of the media asset, an amount of time
until the end of the advertisement slot. For example, metadata of
the media asset may indicate that the advertisement slot is two
minutes in length.
[0179] At 1306, control circuitry 404 may be configured to select a
subset of notifications to present to the user on the second device
having a combined average usage time that is less than the amount
of time between the current playback time and the end of the
advertisement slot. The notifications selected to be presented may
be further based on the importance level of each related
application. For example, if the application with an average usage
time of two minutes is of the highest importance level, the media
guidance application may present only the notification for that
application.
[0180] At 1308, control circuitry 404 may be configured to display
the subset of notifications on the second device 100, while at
1310, control circuitry 404 may be configured to prevent display of
the remainder of the plurality of notifications on the second
device 100.
[0181] It is contemplated that the actions or descriptions of FIG.
13 may be used with any other embodiment of this disclosure. In
addition, the actions and descriptions described in relation to
FIG. 13 may be done in alternative orders or in parallel to further
the purposes of this disclosure. For example, each of these actions
may be performed in any order or in parallel or substantially
simultaneously to reduce lag or increase the speed of the system or
method. Any of these actions may also be skipped or omitted from
the process. Furthermore, it should be noted that any of the
devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 4-5 could be
used to perform one or more of the actions in FIG. 13.
[0182] FIG. 14 is a flowchart representing an illustrative process
for calculating an estimated usage time of an application in
accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. The flowchart
in FIG. 14 represents a process 1400 implemented on control
circuitry 404 for calculating an estimated usage time of an
application according to an embodiment of the disclosure. It should
be noted that process 1400 or any action thereof could be performed
on, or provided by, any of the devices shown in FIGS. 4-5. For
example, process 1400 may be executed by control circuitry 404
(FIG. 4) as instructed by a media guidance application implemented
on a user device (e.g., user equipment devices 502, 504, and/or 506
(FIG. 5)) in order to calculate an estimated usage time of an
application. In addition, one or more actions of process 1400 may
be incorporated into or combined with one or more actions of any
other process or embodiment described herein.
[0183] At 1402, control circuitry 404 may be configured to access
memory of the second device related to application usage history,
the usage history including an amount of time the user used each
application available on the second device 100. Methods for
accomplishing this are described above with reference to FIG.
12.
[0184] At 1404, control circuitry 404 may be configured to identify
an application associated with each notification of the plurality
of notifications. Methods for accomplishing this are described
above with reference to FIG. 11.
[0185] At 1406, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
calculate, based on usage history, an average amount of usage time
for each of the identified applications. Methods for accomplishing
this are described above with reference to FIG. 9.
[0186] It is contemplated that the actions or descriptions of FIG.
14 may be used with any other embodiment of this disclosure. In
addition, the actions and descriptions described in relation to
FIG. 14 may be done in alternative orders or in parallel to further
the purposes of this disclosure. For example, each of these actions
may be performed in any order or in parallel or substantially
simultaneously to reduce lag or increase the speed of the system or
method. Any of these actions may also be skipped or omitted from
the process. Furthermore, it should be noted that any of the
devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 4-5 could be
used to perform one or more of the actions in FIG. 14.
[0187] FIG. 15 is a flowchart representing an illustrative process
for updating an estimated usage time of an application in
accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. The flowchart
in FIG. 15 represents a process 1500 implemented on control
circuitry 404 for updating an estimated usage time of an
application according to an embodiment of the disclosure. It should
be noted that process 1500 or any action thereof could be performed
on, or provided by, any of the devices shown in FIGS. 4-5. For
example, process 1500 may be executed by control circuitry 404
(FIG. 4) as instructed by a media guidance application implemented
on a user device (e.g., user equipment devices 502, 504, and/or 506
(FIG. 5)) in order to update an estimated usage time of an
application. In addition, one or more actions of process 1500 may
be incorporated into or combined with one or more actions of any
other process or embodiment described herein.
[0188] At 1502, to update the estimated usage time, control
circuitry 404 may be configured to detect new content received in
the application. For example, new content may be received while the
user is interacting with the application. For example, the user may
be interacting with a Facebook.RTM. application and new content
items may become available while the user is viewing other content
in the application. Control circuitry 404 may connect to a memory
or a programming interface related to the application through which
control circuitry 404 may detect receipt of new content items.
[0189] At 1504, control circuitry 404 may be configured to add an
amount of time to the estimated usage time based on the amount of
detected new content. For example, using methods described above,
control circuitry 404 may estimate a usage time for the new content
and add the estimated usage time for the new content to the
previously estimated usage time.
[0190] It is contemplated that the actions or descriptions of FIG.
15 may be used with any other embodiment of this disclosure. In
addition, the actions and descriptions described in relation to
FIG. 15 may be done in alternative orders or in parallel to further
the purposes of this disclosure. For example, each of these actions
may be performed in any order or in parallel or substantially
simultaneously to reduce lag or increase the speed of the system or
method. Any of these actions may also be skipped or omitted from
the process. Furthermore, it should be noted that any of the
devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 4-5 could be
used to perform one or more of the actions in FIG. 15.
[0191] FIG. 16 is a flowchart representing an illustrative process
for generating for display an alert in accordance with some
embodiments of the disclosure. The flowchart in FIG. 16 represents
a process 1600 implemented on control circuitry 404 for generating
for display an alert according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
It should be noted that process 1600 or any action thereof could be
performed on, or provided by, any of the devices shown in FIGS.
4-5. For example, process 1600 may be executed by control circuitry
404 (FIG. 4) as instructed by a media guidance application
implemented on a user device (e.g., user equipment devices 502,
504, and/or 506 (FIG. 5)) in order to generate for display an
alert. In addition, one or more actions of process 1600 may be
incorporated into or combined with one or more actions of any other
process or embodiment described herein.
[0192] At 1602, control circuitry may be configured to calculate,
based on the playback time of an important event, an alert time,
the alert time being an earlier time than the playback time of the
important event. For example, playback time of the important event
may occur in five minutes. Control circuitry 404 may have a
threshold alert time of two minutes prior to an important event,
and may calculate the alert time to occur in three minutes.
[0193] At 1604, control circuitry 404 may be configured to monitor
a real-time clock. For example, control circuitry 404 may compare
the time from a real-time clock with the calculated alert time.
[0194] At 1606, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
determine if the alert time has arrived. For example, control
circuitry 404 may convert the time from the real-time clock and the
alert time to UTC integer values. Control circuitry 404 may use
mathematical comparators to determine if the current time of the
real-time clock matches the alert time. At 1608, in response to
determining that the alert time has arrived, control circuitry 404
may be configured to generate for display, on the second device
100, the alert 102, 122, 142, 162.
[0195] It is contemplated that the actions or descriptions of FIG.
16 may be used with any other embodiment of this disclosure. In
addition, the actions and descriptions described in relation to
FIG. 16 may be done in alternative orders or in parallel to further
the purposes of this disclosure. For example, each of these actions
may be performed in any order or in parallel or substantially
simultaneously to reduce lag or increase the speed of the system or
method. Any of these actions may also be skipped or omitted from
the process. Furthermore, it should be noted that any of the
devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 4-5 could be
used to perform one or more of the actions in FIG. 16.
[0196] FIG. 17 is a flowchart representing an illustrative process
for alerting a user to an important event in a first media asset
while the user is viewing a second media asset in accordance with
some embodiments of the disclosure. The flowchart in FIG. 17
represents a process 1700 implemented on control circuitry 404 for
alerting a user to an important event in a first media asset while
the user is viewing a second media asset according to an embodiment
of the disclosure. It should be noted that process 1700 or any
action thereof could be performed on, or provided by, any of the
devices shown in FIGS. 4-5. For example, process 1700 may be
executed by control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) as instructed by a media
guidance application implemented on a user device (e.g., user
equipment devices 502, 504, and/or 506 (FIG. 5)) in order to alert
a user to an important event in a first media asset while the user
is viewing a second media asset. In addition, one or more actions
of process 1700 may be incorporated into or combined with one or
more actions of any other process or embodiment described
herein.
[0197] At 1702, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
determine that a user has stopped viewing a first media asset on a
first device to access a second media asset on the second device
100. For example, the user may be watching "Star Wars" on a first
device, and begin watching another media asset on YouTube.RTM. on a
second device 100. Control circuitry 404 may, through the
connection with the second device 100, detect that the active
application is a media asset presentation application, such as
YouTube.RTM..
[0198] At 1704, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
determine a length of time required to play back the second media
asset on the second device 100. For example, control circuitry 404
may access metadata of the second media asset to determine the
duration of the second media asset.
[0199] At 1706, control circuitry 404 may be configured to search
metadata of the first media asset for a metadata flag in the
metadata indicating a time of an important event in the first media
asset. For example, the metadata of "Star Wars" may include a
metadata flag indicating that an important event occurs at
eighty-four minutes from the start of the movie.
[0200] At 1708, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
determine a threshold amount of time until playback of the
important event based on a current playback time and a playback
time of the important event. For example, control circuitry 404 may
compare the current playback time with the playback time of the
important event to determine the amount of time until the important
event occurs.
[0201] At 1710, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
determine if the length of time required to play back the second
media asset is greater than the threshold amount of time. For
example, control circuitry 404 may compare the length of time
required to play back the second media asset with the threshold
amount of time.
[0202] At 1712, if control circuitry 404 determines that the length
of time required to play back the second media asset is greater
than the threshold amount of time, control circuitry 404 may
generate an alert 102, 122, 142, 162 on the second device 100
reminding the user to view the first media asset.
[0203] It is contemplated that the actions or descriptions of FIG.
17 may be used with any other embodiment of this disclosure. In
addition, the actions and descriptions described in relation to
FIG. 17 may be done in alternative orders or in parallel to further
the purposes of this disclosure. For example, each of these actions
may be performed in any order or in parallel or substantially
simultaneously to reduce lag or increase the speed of the system or
method. Any of these actions may also be skipped or omitted from
the process. Furthermore, it should be noted that any of the
devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 4-5 could be
used to perform one or more of the actions in FIG. 17.
[0204] FIG. 18 is a flowchart representing an illustrative process
for alerting a user to an important event in a first media asset
while the user is viewing a second media asset in accordance with
some embodiments of the disclosure. The flowchart in FIG. 18
represents a process 1800 implemented on control circuitry 404 for
alerting a user to an important event in a first media asset while
the user is viewing a second media asset according to an embodiment
of the disclosure. It should be noted that process 1800 or any
action thereof could be performed on, or provided by, any of the
devices shown in FIGS. 4-5. For example, process 1800 may be
executed by control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) as instructed by a media
guidance application implemented on a user device (e.g., user
equipment devices 502, 504, and/or 506 (FIG. 5)) in order to alert
a user to an important event in a first media asset while the user
is viewing a second media asset. In addition, one or more actions
of process 1800 may be incorporated into or combined with one or
more actions of any other process or embodiment described
herein.
[0205] At 1802, control circuitry 404 may be configured to generate
for display a first media asset. As described above with relation
to FIG. 7, control circuitry 404 may, for example, receive, via I/O
path 402, a media asset. Control circuitry 404 may process the
media asset and generate video and audio signals for output via
display 412 and speakers 414, respectively.
[0206] At 1804, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
determine that the user has stopped viewing the first media asset
on the first device to view a second media asset on the second
device 100. For example, as will be discussed below with reference
to FIG. 19, control circuitry 404 may detect that a media asset
presentation application is currently active on the second device
100.
[0207] At 1806, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
determine a length of time required to play back the second media
asset on the second device 100. For example, control circuitry 404
may access metadata related to the second media asset to determine
the length of the second media asset.
[0208] At 1808, control circuitry 404 may be configured to access
metadata of the first media asset. For example, control circuitry
404 may access storage 408 and retrieve metadata related to the
first media application stored locally therein. Alternatively,
control circuitry 404 may access a remote server such as media
guidance data source 518, via communications network 514.
[0209] At 1810, control circuitry 404 may determine, based on the
metadata of the first device, a playback time of an important event
in the first media asset. For example, as described above, the
metadata of the first media asset may include data related to
important events in the first media asset.
[0210] At 1812, control circuitry 404 may determine a threshold
amount of time until playback of the important event in the first
media asset based on the determined playback time and the current
playback time. Methods for accomplishing this are described above
with relation to FIG. 7.
[0211] At 1814, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
determine if the length of time required to play back the second
media asset on the second device 100 is greater than the threshold
amount of time. For example, control circuitry 404 may compare the
amount of time required to play back the second media asset with
the threshold amount of time.
[0212] At 1816, in response to determining that the length of time
required to play back the second media asset on the second device
100 is greater than the threshold amount of time, control circuitry
404 may be configured to generate for display on the second device
100 an alert 102, 122, 142, 162, reminding the user to view the
first media asset on the first device.
[0213] It is contemplated that the actions or descriptions of FIG.
18 may be used with any other embodiment of this disclosure. In
addition, the actions and descriptions described in relation to
FIG. 18 may be done in alternative orders or in parallel to further
the purposes of this disclosure. For example, each of these actions
may be performed in any order or in parallel or substantially
simultaneously to reduce lag or increase the speed of the system or
method. Any of these actions may also be skipped or omitted from
the process. Furthermore, it should be noted that any of the
devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 4-5 could be
used to perform one or more of the actions in FIG. 18.
[0214] FIG. 19 is a flowchart representing an illustrative process
for determining that a user has stopped viewing a first media asset
on a first device to view a second media asset on a second device
in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. The
flowchart in FIG. 19 represents a process 1900 implemented on
control circuitry 404 for determining that a user has stopped
viewing a first media asset on a first device to view a second
media asset on a second device according to an embodiment of the
disclosure. It should be noted that process 1900 or any action
thereof could be performed on, or provided by, any of the devices
shown in FIGS. 4-5. For example, process 1900 may be executed by
control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) as instructed by a media guidance
application implemented on a user device (e.g., user equipment
devices 502, 504, and/or 506 (FIG. 5)) in order to determine that a
user has stopped viewing a first media asset on a first device to
view a second media asset on a second device. In addition, one or
more actions of process 1900 may be incorporated into or combined
with one or more actions of any other process or embodiment
described herein.
[0215] At 1902, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
determine if the current state of the second device 100 indicates
whether there is user interaction with the second device 100. For
example, control circuitry 404 may determine a state of the second
device 100 indicating whether there is user interaction with the
second device. For example, control circuitry 404 may access a
memory or sensor of the second device 100 to determine if the
second device 100 is currently receiving user input.
[0216] At 1904, if control circuitry 404 determines that the user
is interacting with the second device 100, control circuitry 404
may be configured to determine a type of application associated
with the user interaction. For example, control circuitry 404 may
access a memory of the second device 100 to determine which
application is currently active, or to which application the user
inputs are being directed.
[0217] At 1906, control circuitry 404 may further determine, based
on the application type, that the application is a media asset
presentation application, such as YouTube.RTM.. For example, the
application may have a type of "MEDIA".
[0218] It is contemplated that the actions or descriptions of FIG.
19 may be used with any other embodiment of this disclosure. In
addition, the actions and descriptions described in relation to
FIG. 19 may be done in alternative orders or in parallel to further
the purposes of this disclosure. For example, each of these actions
may be performed in any order or in parallel or substantially
simultaneously to reduce lag or increase the speed of the system or
method. Any of these actions may also be skipped or omitted from
the process. Furthermore, it should be noted that any of the
devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 4-5 could be
used to perform one or more of the actions in FIG. 19.
[0219] FIG. 20 is a flowchart representing an illustrative process
for determining the length of time required to play back a media
asset in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. The
flowchart in FIG. 20 represents a process 2000 implemented on
control circuitry 404 for determining the length of time required
to play back a media asset according to an embodiment of the
disclosure. It should be noted that process 2000 or any action
thereof could be performed on, or provided by, any of the devices
shown in FIGS. 4-5. For example, process 2000 may be executed by
control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) as instructed by a media guidance
application implemented on a user device (e.g., user equipment
devices 502, 504, and/or 506 (FIG. 5)) in order to determine the
length of time required to play back a media asset. In addition,
one or more actions of process 2000 may be incorporated into or
combined with one or more actions of any other process or
embodiment described herein.
[0220] At 2002, control circuitry 404 may be configured to access
an asset memory of the second device 100 related to the second
media asset. For example, control circuitry 404 may access a memory
location of the second device 100 in which media assets are
temporarily stored or buffered prior to display on the second
device 100. Alternatively, control circuitry 404 may access a
memory location related to the application on which the second
media asset is being presented.
[0221] At 2004, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
determine, from the asset memory, the length of the second media
asset. For example, control circuitry 404 may retrieve from the
memory buffer, or from the application memory, metadata of the
second media asset. The metadata of the second media asset may
include the length of the second media asset.
[0222] It is contemplated that the actions or descriptions of FIG.
20 may be used with any other embodiment of this disclosure. In
addition, the actions and descriptions described in relation to
FIG. 20 may be done in alternative orders or in parallel to further
the purposes of this disclosure. For example, each of these actions
may be performed in any order or in parallel or substantially
simultaneously to reduce lag or increase the speed of the system or
method. Any of these actions may also be skipped or omitted from
the process. Furthermore, it should be noted that any of the
devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 4-5 could be
used to perform one or more of the actions in FIG. 20.
[0223] FIG. 21 is a flowchart representing an illustrative process
for updating an estimated amount of time required to play back a
media asset based on network conditions in accordance with some
embodiments of the disclosure. The flowchart in FIG. 21 represents
a process 2100 implemented on control circuitry 404 for updating an
estimated amount of time required to play back a media asset based
on network conditions according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
It should be noted that process 2100 or any action thereof could be
performed on, or provided by, any of the devices shown in FIGS.
4-5. For example, process 2100 may be executed by control circuitry
404 (FIG. 4) as instructed by a media guidance application
implemented on a user device (e.g., user equipment devices 502,
504, and/or 506 (FIG. 5)) in order to update an estimated amount of
time required to play back a media asset based on network
conditions. In addition, one or more actions of process 2100 may be
incorporated into or combined with one or more actions of any other
process or embodiment described herein.
[0224] At 2102, control circuitry 404 may be configured to access a
network interface of the second device 100 through which the second
device 100 is receiving the second media asset. For example, the
second device 100 may include a modem, LAN, WAN, 3G, 4G/LTE, or
other data connection module. The second device 100 may receive
data comprising the second media asset through the data
communication module.
[0225] At 2104, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
determine, from the network interface of the second device 100, the
download rate of the second media asset. For example, control
circuitry 404 may access telemetry from the data connection module.
For example, control circuitry 404 may determine that the second
media asset is being downloaded at a rate of 1 Mbps.
[0226] At 2106, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
determine the bitrate of the second media asset. For example,
control circuitry 404 may access metadata related to the second
media asset. The metadata of the second media asset may include an
indication of the bitrate of the second media asset.
[0227] At 2108, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
determine if the download rate is sufficient for uninterrupted
playback of the second media asset. For example, control circuitry
404 may compare the download rate of the second media asset with
the bitrate of the second media asset. If the download rate is 1
Mbps, and the bitrate of the second media asset is 500 kbps, half
the download rate, then control circuitry 404 may determine that
the download rate is sufficient for uninterrupted playback of the
second media asset. However, if, for example, the bitrate of the
second media asset is 2 Mbps while the download rate is only 1
Mbps, then control circuitry 404 may determine that the download
rate is not sufficient for uninterrupted playback of the second
media asset.
[0228] At 2110, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
calculate an estimated amount of additional time required for
playback of the second media asset. For example, based on the
download rate, control circuitry 404 may calculate an amount of
time required to download a segment of the second media asset. A
segment may be a temporal unit, such as one second of media, a data
unit, such as a megabyte, or a media unit, such as a video frame or
group of frames. Control circuitry 404 may then multiply the amount
of time required to download a segment of the second media asset by
the number of such segments in the second media asset to determine
an estimated amount of additional time required to play back the
second media asset in its entirety.
[0229] At 2112, control circuitry 404 may be configured to combine
the estimated amount of additional time with the length of the
second media asset. For example, control circuitry 404 may add the
estimated additional amount of time to the length of the second
media asset.
[0230] It is contemplated that the actions or descriptions of FIG.
21 may be used with any other embodiment of this disclosure. In
addition, the actions and descriptions described in relation to
FIG. 21 may be done in alternative orders or in parallel to further
the purposes of this disclosure. For example, each of these actions
may be performed in any order or in parallel or substantially
simultaneously to reduce lag or increase the speed of the system or
method. Any of these actions may also be skipped or omitted from
the process. Furthermore, it should be noted that any of the
devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 4-5 could be
used to perform one or more of the actions in FIG. 21.
[0231] FIG. 22 is a flowchart representing an illustrative process
for updating an estimated amount of time required to play back a
media asset based on a length of advertisements in accordance with
some embodiments of the disclosure. The flowchart in FIG. 22
represents a process 2200 implemented on control circuitry 404 for
updating an estimated amount of time required to play back a media
asset based on a length of advertisements according to an
embodiment of the disclosure. It should be noted that process 2200
or any action thereof could be performed on, or provided by, any of
the devices shown in FIGS. 4-5. For example, process 2200 may be
executed by control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) as instructed by a media
guidance application implemented on a user device (e.g., user
equipment devices 502, 504, and/or 506 (FIG. 5)) in order to update
an estimated amount of time required to play back a media asset
based on a length of advertisements. In addition, one or more
actions of process 2200 may be incorporated into or combined with
one or more actions of any other process or embodiment described
herein.
[0232] At 2202, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
determine, from the asset memory of the second device 100, a
plurality of advertisement slots included in the second media
asset. For example, the memory of the second device 100 related to
the second media asset may include metadata of the second media
asset containing indications of advertisement slots within the
second media asset. The metadata may include a list, array, or
other data structure listing the number of advertisement slots and
the playback times at which each advertisement slot is
positioned.
[0233] At 2204, control circuitry 404 may be configured to access
an application memory of the second device 100 related to the
application of the second device 100 in which the second media
asset is being played back. For example, control circuitry 404 may
access a memory location of the second device 100 related to the
YouTube.RTM. application through which the user is watching the
second media asset.
[0234] At 2206, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
determine, from the application memory, an average length of time
of an advertisement slot. For example, the application memory of
the YouTube.RTM. application may include a log file or other data
relating to past advertisements shown to the user during other
media assets, and may include the duration of each advertisement.
Control circuitry 404 may use the data relating to past
advertisements to calculate an average time of an advertisement
slot.
[0235] At 2208, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
calculate, based on the average length of time of an advertisement
slot, an estimated amount of additional time required for playback
of the plurality of advertisement slots. For example, control
circuitry 404 may multiply the average length of time of an
advertisement slot by the number of advertisement slots indicated
in the metadata related to the second media asset retrieved from
memory of the second device 100.
[0236] At 2210, control circuitry 404 may be configured to combine
the estimated amount of additional time with the length of the
second media asset. For example, control circuitry 404 may add the
estimated additional amount of time to the length of the second
media asset.
[0237] It is contemplated that the actions or descriptions of FIG.
22 may be used with any other embodiment of this disclosure. In
addition, the actions and descriptions described in relation to
FIG. 22 may be done in alternative orders or in parallel to further
the purposes of this disclosure. For example, each of these actions
may be performed in any order or in parallel or substantially
simultaneously to reduce lag or increase the speed of the system or
method. Any of these actions may also be skipped or omitted from
the process. Furthermore, it should be noted that any of the
devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 4-5 could be
used to perform one or more of the actions in FIG. 22.
[0238] FIG. 23 is a flowchart representing an illustrative process
for determining the length of time required to play back a media
asset in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. The
flowchart in FIG. 23 represents a process 2300 implemented on
control circuitry 404 for determining the length of time required
to play back a media asset according to an embodiment of the
disclosure. It should be noted that process 2300 or any action
thereof could be performed on, or provided by, any of the devices
shown in FIGS. 4-5. For example, process 2300 may be executed by
control circuitry 404 (FIG. 4) as instructed by a media guidance
application implemented on a user device (e.g., user equipment
devices 502, 504, and/or 506 (FIG. 5)) in order to determine the
length of time required to play back a media asset. In addition,
one or more actions of process 2300 may be incorporated into or
combined with one or more actions of any other process or
embodiment described herein.
[0239] At 2302, control circuitry 404 may be configured to access
an asset memory of the second device 100 related to the second
media asset. This may be accomplished using methods described above
with reference to FIG. 20.
[0240] At 2304, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
identify, from the asset memory, a source of the second media
asset. For example, control circuitry 404 may retrieve from the
asset memory a URL or other pointer for the media asset.
[0241] At 2306, control circuitry 404 may be configured to
retrieve, from the source, the length of the second media asset.
For example, control circuitry 404 may access a YouTube.RTM. server
location identified from the asset memory and retrieve metadata of
the second media asset from the server location. The metadata
retrieved from the server location may indicate the length of the
second media asset.
[0242] It is contemplated that the actions or descriptions of FIG.
23 may be used with any other embodiment of this disclosure. In
addition, the actions and descriptions described in relation to
FIG. 23 may be done in alternative orders or in parallel to further
the purposes of this disclosure. For example, each of these actions
may be performed in any order or in parallel or substantially
simultaneously to reduce lag or increase the speed of the system or
method. Any of these actions may also be skipped or omitted from
the process. Furthermore, it should be noted that any of the
devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 4-5 could be
used to perform one or more of the actions in FIG. 23.
[0243] The processes described above are intended to be
illustrative and not limiting. One skilled in the art would
appreciate that the steps of the processes discussed herein may be
omitted, modified, combined, and/or rearranged, and any additional
steps may be performed without departing from the scope of the
invention. More generally, the above disclosure is meant to be
exemplary and not limiting. Only the claims that follow are meant
to set bounds as to what the present invention includes.
Furthermore, it should be noted that the features and limitations
described in any one embodiment may be applied to any other
embodiment herein, and flowcharts or examples relating to one
embodiment may be combined with any other embodiment in a suitable
manner, done in different orders, or done in parallel. In addition,
the systems and methods described herein may be performed in real
time. It should also be noted that the systems and/or methods
described above may be applied to, or used in accordance with,
other systems and/or methods.
* * * * *
References