Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EDITING A BROADCAST PROGRAM
THE TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for editing a
program.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A large section of society considers many TV programs to be superfluous,
or harmful or offensive to them or their children. Whilst program producers
and TV stations enjoy significant freedom in the content and mix of their
product and how it is distributed, viewers' only available protection is the
choice to either turn it off ar watch it. The wide range of available
IS programs with their differing standards makes this farm of protection
unacceptable, especially where children's viewing is involved. Single
parent families, or families where bath parents work has led to the
situation where children's television viewing is unsupervised during long
periods of the day. The type of programs watched and the extended
2o viewing periods are of great concern to many parents. If is a belief of
many parents that television viewing shapes their children's values and
influences their behavior, and unfortunately many parents feel TV's
influences are not always beneficial. This premise generated the first
incentive to develop this invention.
A significant growth in television commercialism leaves many viewers
feeling they are identified and manipulated as consumers rather a group
needing entertainment. Advertising break frequency and duration
determine program segment length as much as they are by entertainment
value. Programs are edited (cut) to incorporate the "set" amount of
advertising. The duration of advertising can be varied by programmers to
increase as the program associated with the advertising progresses. It will
come as no surprise that advertising increases towards the end of a major
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2
feature film. fn many countries, this has reached the stage where a
common cry is for a reduction in advertising with a corresponding increase
in television fees. This solution would be unacceptable to many
advertisers; consequently, programmers have ignored this as a possible
solutiori to counteract falling viewing figures identified since the early
1990's. The reduction in viewing pleasure resulting from increased
advertising generated the second incentive to develop this invention.
Every working household has less free time today than in the seventies
i0 and eighties, the promise of increased leisure time; as promised in the
sixties and seventies as a result of automation never eventuated.
Automation arrived, productivity increased significantly, but the promised
rewards for most of society remain unsatisfied. This reduction in available
time has elevated leisure time to a higher level resource, a resource worth
~5 valuing. Viewing time for many is an essential part of relaxation in the
hectic life we now lead. An individual has personal preferences for the
types of material they wish to view on television. Relaxation time
watching programs should have something for everyone. The impossibility
of this desire with present day TV generated the third incentive to develop
20 this invention.
The ability to filter out either objectionable or unwanted material from TV
broadcasts has been the subject of many developments and inventions.
Many have bean concerned with the removal of objectionable information
25 to protect children. One such system is described in WO-A-97123996 in
which undesired program segments are removed and replaced with
substitute program segments.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a reliable, convenient
30 and practical method and apparatus for controlling program material based
on content and to enable automatic tailoring to fit individual preferences.
CA 02344422 2001-03-14
PCTINZ99/00156
Received 13 duly 2000
3
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is provided
a method of editing a program, the program comprising a plurality of
adjacent program segments which run in a program sequence and a
plurality of program time markers each associated with a respective
program segment, the program including at least one undesired program
segment interleaved between a pair of non-adjacent desired program
segments, the method comprising:
generating a plurality of control codes, each control code being
indicative of program content contained in a respective program segment;
generating a control code time marker for each control code;
identifying the undesired program segments) by comparing the
control codes with previously stored personal preference data to identify
an undesired control code, and locating a program segment having a
prograrn time rnarker corresponding with the control code time marker of
the undesired control code; and
generating an edited program sequence by skipping the identified
undesired program segments) and arranging the pair ofi desired program
segments such that they lie adjacently in the edited program sequence.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for automatically
tailoring programs to individual preferences, including editing undesired
content such as political reporting, medical operations, violence, nudity,
sex, obscene language and advertisements from a program, such as a
television or radio broadcast.
Programs may be categorised as suitable for specific age ranges or for
individuals with certain psychological traits that are easily disturbed by
certain program material, although a viewer can modify these. The
categories involved cover a multitude of subject matter, only a few of the
possible fields are covered here. The rapid growth of the communications
industry will involve the greater availability of potentially harmful and/or
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AP~I~U
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Received 13 July 2000
4
offensive material, necessitating a uniform system of control for both
standards and best use of available viewing time.
The program may be made up of video data, audio data, or a combination
of the two. The program may be broadcast at a scheduled start time on a
mass broadcast medium (eg, a conventional TV transmitter, cable or
satellite network) to a plurality of viewers. Alternatively the program may
be transmitted to a single viewer as part of a "video on demand" system,
or over the Internet. Alternatively the program may be provided on a
recording medium (eg. a DVD) which is physically delivered to the viewer.
Typically the desired and undesired program segments) are stored, and
the edited program sequence is compiled from the stored program
segment(s). This is particularly advantageous for a mass broadcast TV
program with inserted advertisements (which the TV station does not
want removed). T'he entire program is stored during the scheduled
broadcast, giving time for the control codes to be .generated (identifying
the inserted advertisements). At a later time the edited program sequence
is compiled from the recorded program. In this case, the program is
preferably stored with program time markers which are compared with
control code time markers to identify undesired program segments.
Alternatively the edited program sequence may be generated "on the fly"
without storing the undesired program segments. For example, the
program may be provided to the viewer with embedded time codes (either
inserted into a program being transmitted to the user, or stored on a DVD
along with the program data). The viewer's system then selects only
desired program segments for viewing or recording.
The control codes may be provided with the program on a previously
recorded DVD. Alternatively the control codes are generated at a remote
control code facility and the edited program sequence is generated at a
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PCT/NZ99/00156
Received 13 Iuly 2000
local station, the method further comprising transmitting the control codes
from the control code facility to the local station.
After the edited program sequence has been generated, the sequence leg:
5 a list of program time markers) may be stored. An edited program lie. a
plurality of program segments which run in the edited program sequence)
can then be stored for later viewing, or viewed immediately.
According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided
apparatus for editing a program, the program comprising a plurality of
adjacent program segments which run in a program sequence and a
plurality of program time markers each associated with a respective
program segment, the program including at least one undesired program
segment interleaved between a pair of non-adjacent desired program
segments, the apparatus comprising:
means for generating a plurality of contro: codes, each control code
being indicative of program content contained in a respective program
segment;
means for generating a control code time marker for each control
code;
means for identifying the undesired program segments) by
comparing the control codes with previously stored personal preference
data to identify an undesired control code, segment having a program time
marker corresponding with the control code time marker of the undesired
control code; and
means for generating an edited program sequence by skipping the
identified undesired program segments) and arranging the pair of desired
program segments such that they lie adjacently in the edited program
sequence.
For restricted adult content, the apparatus rnay require entering a security
code, password or PIN number before viewing a program.
AM~~~~~Ce Si'~;
IIP~IAI,
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, PCT/NZ99/00156
Received 13 July 2000
s
The control codes are preferably information on type of program on an
ongoing basis, identifying content related to many different categories.
The control codes may also identify country, or region of a country where
program was broadcast, TV channel, or station, where program was
broadcast and type of content along with other categories to identify
material being recorded.
The system and method of the present invention may be built into a new
system, integrated into an existing system, or provided by an external
l0 stand-alone unit.
The recording and playback means may be incorporated within a single
unit or may be separate units enabling programs to be played while
another program is simultaneously recorded or for multiple programs to be
simultaneously played or recorded. This also allows the accommodation of
multiple individual preferences. The recording media may be magnetic
recording media such as disk drive, a writeable or re-writeable DVD or CD-
ROM, RAM or other suitable random access storage media.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
An example of the present invention will now be described with reference
to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a diagram of the main system elements.
Figure 2 show a local station in detail.
Figure 3 shows a remote station in detail.
Figure 4 shows a code production facility in detail.
Figure 5 shoes a user validation system.
3o Figure 6 shows a machine check system.
Figure 7 is a process diagram showing the recording of a program signal
into memory.
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7
Figures $A and $8 are a process diagram showing the playing of a
program from memory.
Figure 9 is a process diagram showing a code download to a local station.
Figure 10 is a process diagram showing a method of manually recording a
program into local memory.
Figure 1 1 A is a schematic view of an unedited program, including
undesired program segments.
Figure 1 1 B is a schematic view of an edited program with the undesired
program segments removed.
Figure 12 is a process diagram showing the selection of recording quality
I5 level.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 shows a typical system application where a local station 100,
assumed to be an individual TV video recorder and play-back system
whose recording and playback are controlled, using externally produced
control codes transferred from control code storage 370 via a remote
station 200. The remote station 200 is connected to a control code
production facility 300 producing control codes that are periodically
transmitted to the local station 100, an EPG information store 270 and a
time facility 325.
Each local station has a scheduled time to initiate a code request
connection with the remote station to transfer control codes and other
related information. A basic operational sequence, for a single user, from
initial setup of a local machine through to viewing a recorded program, is
shown below.
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Basic Operational Sequence
1 . Install local station 100 and apply power
2. Personal preferences are established, by user, to determine what
types of program are to be recorded and haw these will be viewed.
They wilt also establish what restrictions, if any, are to be applied
on a variety of categories to control undesirable material within the
recorded program. The personal preferences are stored in the
l0 memory 140. The stored personal preferences include a list of
program types of interest to the user (eg. cookery, sport etc.), a
set of maximum program ratings (eg. maximum violence rating,
maximum sexual rating), and instructions to remove advertising,
production credits etc.
3. Loco! station 100 contacts remote station 200 and transfers
electronic program guide (EPG) information from store 270. The
~PG information consists of a time table of future programs an the
selected TV channels or stations, program stop and start times,
program descriptions, program main characters, actors, etc. and a
program type that identifies the subject of each program. If a
particular program features cookery, it will have a program type
identifying it as a cookery program. It will also have a general
rating classification relating to the type of audience, this may be a
restricted adult program a family program or one specifically made
for children, or one of several other categories. During the
connection between coca! station and remote station, the remote
station also corrects any errors of local station time clock using
time check facility 325.
4. Local station 100 processes this transmitted EPG information 270
and selects programs having subjects that achieve the closest
match to chosen personal preferences. These selected programs
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9
are stored as program selection information in local station memory
140 for later display as a menu on TV 156.
5. TV 156 shows the menu of selected programs selected under step
4, and other programs that are the next closest match to the
personal preferences. The menu selection is open to change by the
user so that other programs can replace those automatically
chosen. The selected recording quality, vvhich ranges from low to
high; and depends upon individual program graphic detail and
l0 movement is also shown on the screen menu, this is also
changeable. A high visual quality increases the amount of required
graphical information and reduces the length of time available for
recording.
I5 6. The programs selected in Step 5 are recorded by the local station
at their start times. The program data is recorded with program
time markers embedded every 1 /100 of a second from an accurate
local station time clock. The selected channel, or station involved is
also identified along with stop and start time for program recording.
20 Following each recording the selected program status on the screen
menu is changed from selected to recorded. The program data with
embedded time markers, channel, station and stop/start times are
saved in local memory 140.
25 7. At the next scheduled automatic connection between local station
100 and remote statian 200, control codes 370 are stored in
memory 140 for those programs confirmed as recorded, using
information stared in memory 140, During the connection the local
station EPG information is also updated by the remote station 200
30 to maintain a set period of EPG information. Assume this set period
is fourteen days, then each day the EPG information for one more
day would be added and the EPG information regarding programs
that have now been played removed from memory. EPG
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information for recorded programs is retained until they are deleted.
At each connection between focal station 100 and remote station
200 the focal station time clock is aligned with remote station
clock.
5
8. When a program to be played, is selected from TV 156 program
menu, if control codes have been stored for the selected program,
the local station 100 will locate the appropriate control codes 370
stored in local memory 140, using the previously memorised
10 channel or station involved along with their start and stop times.
These parameters locate the stored control codes 370 for the
selected program.
9. The program is played.. The control codes 370 act as signposts for
events along the program's length. As each signpost is met it is
compared to the personal preferences. Many of the control code
370 signposts will cause no action from the local station during
playback since the personal preferences for that signpost, or
category, have not been enabled.
Control code production
Control code production takes place at the remote code production facility
300. Control code transfer takes place between the remote control code
production facility 300 and each focal station 100, via a phone network,
or some other means of information transfer. The application of the
control codes occurs in each focal station 100 to achieve the individual
control of recorded TV programs.
Control codes consist of many parts, or categories. Typical categories are
listed in table 1.
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Table 1 - Code Categories
_.. Number of
Code category
Characters
Country where program is broadcast2
State or province where program 2
is
broadcast
Date of program broadcast (yr:mnth:date)8
Time of program broadcast 8
(Hrs:Min:Sec:00)
Channel where program is broadcast3
Program type 6
Program rating 3
Screen control 3
Masking control 4
Each control code will have alphanumeric characters in a particular
5 sequence. The position of characters in this code will identify the purpose
of each character. Now let us use a sample alphanumeric string as an
example. Note that the colons (:? between each character set is included
for illustration purposes only, they do not farm part of the actual control
codes. The present invention may contain more, or less control code
l0 categories than those shown.
An example of a single control code follows, this is intended to identify a
recorded moment at a motor cycling race where a fight has broken out in
the pit area and is currently being filmed, the resultant control code
15 sequence would be in the form:
nz:wt:i 999:09:26:74:25:32:55:017:sp:mr:mc:v3:456:7890
The following is an explanation of each control code category:
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nz Country of origin - New Zealand
wt State or Province - Wellington
1999 Year - 1999 ...
09 Month of the year - September
26 26 day of the month
14 Time of the day on a 24 hour clock, number of hours past midnight
- 2:OOpm
25 Minutes past the whole hour - 25 past
l0 32 Seconds past the whole minute - 32 seconds
55 Fractions of a second past the whole second - 55 hundredths of a
second
017 Channel number - 17
sp Type of program, in this instance, sport
mr Type of sport, in this instance, motor racing
me Type of motor racing, in this instance, motor cycling
v3 Program rating, in this instance, fighting in the pit area, violence
level 3
456 Screen control, in this instance, no screen control is involved.
Generally when no screen control is indicated this defaults to 000
7890 Masking Control, in this instance, no masking control is involved.
Generally when no masking control is indicated this defaults to 0000.
Using the above example the control code program rating wilt change
25 when the fighting in the pits either ceases or the camera focussed on
another subject. With a time accuracy of one hundredths of a second,
several program ratings can be entered sequentially by incrementing the
time by of one hundredth of a second. Since nothing else has changed in
the example shown, apart from the program rating, the remainder of the
30 control code will remain unchanged, apart from the continually changing
program recording time.
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Including categories for both program type and program rating gives a
wide range ofi control to cater for most circumstances. Some program
categories may have only four code characters rather than six.
At the code production facility each program is recorded in its entirety
onto an appropriate storage medium (eg. onto magnetic tape of a
conventional VCR) with a time marker signal embedded. This recording
may be replayed manually or electronically to generate control codes,
assume in this instance that a manual method is to be used for illustration
purposes. The pre-recorded magnetic tape is mounted in a tape player and
the program played. Since each VCR and coding station is dedicated to a
particular TV station there is no requirement to code the Country, region,
or station, they are automatically generated at the start of each control
code. A code operator views the recording and stops the tape at
I5 identifiable points, such as a change in violence level or a change in
program category. The operator produces a control code at each
identifiable point, entering recorded time of the event and the nature of
the event, be it a violence rating indicator, say V3, or a program category
change, say SP:MR:MC to indicate a motor cycle event. At a commercial
break the time of the start ofi the commercial break wi!! be identified,
along with the nature of the advertising. The resulting control code wilt be
interpreted by each focal station 100 to achieve a desired viewing profile
using the stored personal preferences.
Figure 2 shows the major components of the local station equipment
100. As will be described hereinafter in detail, an incoming program
signal, captaining audio and video program data is locally stored on a hard
disk 140 ar other storage medium along with an accurate program time
marker signal from a built-in time clock 135. Supply of control codes to
3Q the local station equipment 100 is undertaken from the remote central
processing station 200 using a suitable transmitter, e.g. a modem 130.
The control code signal, carrying the control codes and other relevant
information can be either scrambled (e.g. encrypted) ar not scrambled (no
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encryption), and can be an analogue signal, such as in the NTSC, PAL, or
SECAM format, or a digital signal. The incoming coded control signal may
pass through an encryption module 136 before processing within a
controller 120.
Consider Figure 2 in more detail. The local station 100 includes a tuner
1 10 andlar program selector 1 15 for receiving the incoming program
signal or signals from cable, satellite dish or arial/receiver, or other
means.
A demodulator 105 and/or decoder 108 demodulate and decade the
l0 received program signal. The demodulator and decoder may also be used
to demodulate and decode the received control codes also. The main
controller 120 processes all received control codes, assembles recorded
program data that will determine which control codes are to be
transmitted when connected with remote station 200. It also controls all
15 local station operations, (the controller unit 120 amongst other features,
allows an authorised user to control which programs are received and
recorded as well as control access to the received program by use of
access codes). The memory/storage 140 stores recorded program data,
transmitted control codes, recording and playback caches, a program
20 addressable section and general EPG information that consists of program
titles, operational software and general ratings and categories for
establishing future program recordings, data and updates. See later
description for typical uses of memory 140. A player 150 feeds through a
modulator 155 to one or more TV sets 156 and/or 157, (player 150,
25 recorder 160 and memory/storage 140 may be contained within a single
modulel. A remote control unit 195 controls access to the recorded
programs via the menu on TV 156, and remotely controls local station
functions. A time clock 135 is used to supply time markers to incoming
recorded programs. A removable recording medium 180 is provided.
30 This can be any form of magnetic, optical, or other forms of storage and
is used when programs are transferred from one local station to another or
are stored for future viewing. An encryption/de-encryption facility 136
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converts encrypted code. A conventional VCR 170 can be connected to
transfer recorded programs to magnetic tape.
Figure 3 shows the main components of remote station 200. As shown, a
5 typical remote station includes a server 210 and transmitter 220 to
connect with local stations 100, A remote control 230 provides overall
control of remote station 200. Code storage 240, stares all remote station
generated control codes as well as EPG information 270 that will be
transferred to local station 100 for updating future TV program guide. All
10 time functions of remote station rely on time check 325.
As shown in Figure 4, the remote code production facility 300 receives an
incoming TV signal from tuner 310. A signal/time combiner 320
carnbines a continuous accurate time marker signal; from time check 325
~5 with incoming TV signal. The resultant signalltime combination is stored
on video storage devices 330. One video storage device 330 is required
for each recorded TV channel or station. VCR output 340 will later
playback the stored signal/time combination. The embedded time display,
achieved by signalltime combiner 320 is displayed on VCR viewer output
20 340. Each event during playback is identified manually or automatically by
event recognition 345. This event identification produces an automatic or
manual iwhen keyboard 350 is used) control code 355 sequence that is
stored in code storage 360. The content of this control code includes
control code time markers which indicate the recorded time a particular
25 program event begins and ends as well as other parameters as already
described. A remote station code storage unit 360 stores the generated
control codes from individual stations. This may be housed within server
unit 210. A combined central storage 370 is provided for generated
control codes from all channels or stations. A code control facility 380
30 handles all code transfers in and out of memory. A time check 325 aligns
both remote station 200 and local station 100 timing requirements. A user
validation system 400 checks user and local station information against
fraudulent control code requests.
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Figure 5 shows the user validation system 400, this connects with the
remote code production facility 300, checking and validating the incoming
code requests. The incoming request is firstly checked by the processor
identity check unit 410 (P1CU) to locate and validate a unique processor
identifier code contained in local station 100 using data stored in central
records 435. If the processor identifier code is valid the request
progresses through to the user validation unit 420 (UVU). If the PICU
request is invalid a return message is generated back to the Local station
to 100 for local display 156, identifying why the request was rejected. In the
UVU the user and password are validated from data stored in central
records and compared with the registered processor identifier code from
processor identity unit 410. If this combination is valid the request
progresses through to the user account check unit 430 (UACU) where
user reference is used to verify the specific account is current. If the UVU
request is invalid a return message is generated back to the local station
100 for local display 156; identifying why the request was rejected. If
UACU request is valid it progresses through to the system checker unit
440 (SCU) where the past control cads transfer characteristics of the
2o unique user are monitored for valid transfer criteria and to determine if a
local station maintenance check 500 is required. If the UACU request is
invalid a return message is generated back to the local station 100 for
local display 156, identifying why the request was rejected. All
information transferred in and out of local station 100 is transmitted by
remote station transmitter 405 or local station transmitter 130 using
network 140 ar some other means of transfer. If a machine maintenance
check is due this is undertaken before proceeding further, if no machine
check is due the incoming signal request is passed through to the remote
code production facility 300 for processing, see Figure 4.
The remote code production facility 300 interrogates the recorded
program memory 140 of each local station 100 to determine which
programs require control codes. Control codes are obtained from the
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17
combined code storage 370 and transmitted to the local station 100 for
storage in program code memory 140 via modem 405 and network 140.
Figure 6 shows the machine check system 500. When a control code w
request is received from user validation system 400, system checker 440
uses central records 435 to validate that machine check is bath valid and
due. The local station equipment 100 is checked far maintenance
software version, if this is not current an update is transmitted and
installed. After validating installed maintenance software version, software
is activated by an instruction from machine check system 510. Upon
completion of a maintenance check the local station equipment 100
identifies check results to central records 435. If na corrective action is
required the check report is filed for the periodic system report in central
records 435, or in check systems reports 530. If corrective action is
required, the machine check control 510 may, dependent upon the results,
either run additional software of instigate a technician report form, where
a technician will be advised of the problem, generate a copy of the results
and also issue a machine visit report, this will be sent to user and
technical support group for a follow up.
Figure 7 shows a typical, major item flow diagram when program data is
recorded by memory 140. The desired signal is received from tuner 1 10
and passes through the demodulator 105 and decoder 108. The controller
120 determines if adequate resources are available to record the desired
program by determining what programs are currently being recorded 160
or played 150 or 180. If adequate resources are available the recorder is
activated and the time signal from unit timer 135 is continuously
embedded along with the recorded program data into memory 140.
Playing a program from screen menu
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Figures 8A and 8B show a basic step sequence to play a program selected
from the screen menu. It is assumed that control codes for the selected
program are already resident in memory 140.
A1. Turn on TV set if not already on.
A2. Press "Menu" button an the remote control to bring up system
screen menu on TV screen.
A3. User ID is requested (if restricted access function has not been
enabled then the system jumps to A7)
A4. User enters their individual ID
A5. If entered ID is valid then the user password is requested
1S
A6. User enters their individual password
A7. If entered password is valid the level 1 screen menu appears
A$. User selects "Play" from level 1 screen menu
A9. Screen menu level 2 for "Play" appears
A10. User selects the recorded program from displayed list and screen
menu closes.
A.11 Selected program request is processed by Controller 1 10
A12. Request is made for EPG information.
A13. EPG information and User ID (if required) is retrieved from Program
Addressable Memory
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A14. Control codes are retrieved from memory
A15. Control codes are aligned with program information
A16. Viewing of selected program occurs with application of personal
preferences determined by user l~.
The control codes retrieved in step A14 each include a control code time
marker, giving a precise date and time (with an accuracy of 1 /100 of a
secondl. In step A16 the comparitor 185 compares the program ratings
contained in each control code with the set of stored personal
preferences. and compiles a list of control codes associated with desired
program segments.' For example if a control code gives a violence rating
above a maximum violence rating, then that controt code is skipped. If
the violence rating of a control code is below the maximum violence
rating, then the control code is entered onto the list. A similar comparison
is made for all other personal preferences, eg. sexual content, advertising
content etc.
The previously recorded program data is stored with embedded program
time markers marking each 1 /100 second segment of program data. Once
the list of control codes has been fully compiled and stored, the controller
can then compile an edited program by selecting program segments with
program time markers equivalent to the control code time markers in the
compiled list. The edited program can be stored on removable recording
medium 180 for later viewing, or can be viewed immediately on TV 156
without any intermediate storage.
Transferring Control Codes to Local Station Memory
Figure 9 shows a sequence where the control code is transmitted to local
station (individual machine) memory.
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B1. Timer contacts controller 120 to issue an instruction initiating a
scheduled connection with remote station to transfer control
codes.
5 B2. Local station controller 120 issues a connect instruction to modem
B3. Modem initiates a connection with remote station. If no phone fine
connection is possible another call attempt to remote station is
rescheduled for a set time (approximate 5 minutes delay) later. At
to this time televisions with the capability for automatic operation are
turned on and a screen message shows that connection with
remote station is not possible. A number of options for customer to
check are also listed. This sequence is repeated for a set number of
times before rescheduled delay time is increased (approximate 15
15 minutes intervals). This sequence continues until a connection to
remote station is made.
B4. When initial connection is made the call is processed through a
user validation sequence before call is logged on to remote station.
B5. Call is fogged onto remote station
B6. Code control station requests menu information from local station
program memory
25 B7. Local station retrieves menu information from local station memory
and transmits to code control station.
B8. Transferred menu information is read by code control station. The
transferred menu information indicates which programs have been
3o recorded by the local station and also indicates recorded programs
for which the local station has not yet received control codes.
B9. Desired control codes are assembled at the remote control station.
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B10. Desired control codes are retrieved from remote station combined
code storage memory
811. Control code is transferred to local station.
B12. Local station memory is updated with new control codes.
B13. Control code transfer completed
la
B14. Connection between local station and remote station is terminated.
B15. Program information transmitted to remote station is deleted from
program memory section to allow new program data to be added
as programs are recorded.
B16. Future selections and local station menu are updated using new
future prflgram listings and new control codes..
B17. If system is not recording it powers down to standby mode.
Manually recording a program into focal station memory
Figure 10 shows the sequence required for manually recording a program
into local station memory 140.
C1. Pressing the record button to manually record a program.
C2. if restricted viewing option is enabled user ID and passwords are
requested
C3. Local station software starts the recording sequence.
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C4. Sequence goes thraugh a recorder initial check subroutine, this
checks current use of recorder.
C5. EPG information is retrieved from program data memory. This will
use current time and selected channel to establish which program
is to be recorded.
C6. EPG information is converted to a program storage capacity for the
intended program. This uses program length at the default
recording quality for that category of program. .
C7. Available space on main program memory is checked by a disk
space subroutine to establish remaining space on main program
memory, or allocated space for individual viewers and compared
with anticipated space for intended program.
C8. Older programs deleted from memory.
C9. EPG information for deleted programs purged from program menu
memory.
C10. Timer marks start time for program to be recorded
C1 1. Local station controller issues a start recording instruction
C7 2. Selected program recording starts
C13. if pause is pressed during program recording a pause subroutine is
activated and the image on the screen is frozen and will remain
frozen for a specified time or until the pause button is again
pressed.
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C14. Information can be held in a write through cache buffer, up to a
specified time limit. This is used if delayed viewing during live
viewing occurs. The program can be restarted where pause button
was pressed and afterwards can be played at normal speed or fast
forwarded as the user desires.
C15. Using retrieved program data the end of the manually recorded
program will be identified by the timer.
l0 C16. At the specified program end time recording is stopped
automatically by the local station controller or manually at any time
by the user. If stopped before normal finish time the program menu
is updated with the actual finish time.
C17. Program recording stops.
C18. If part of the program remains in the write through cache this
remains to be played back. When all program material in write
through cache is extinguished it is flushed clear so it is ready for
use again.
C19. Program addressable memory is updated with channel number and
stoplstart times of manually recorded program so the next
connection with remote location wiil transfer codes for this
program, and for any others recorded manually or preferentially
between one code transfer and the next.
C20. Once all information has been written to the PAM and no other
focal station actions are underway the local station powers down
to a standby mode awaiting the next operation.
C21. Program recording completed.
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Recorded segment composition
Figure 1 1 shows the composition of programs in both the as recorded
(Figure 1 1 A? and as played back, with undesired segments removed
(Figure 1 1 B}.
Figure 1 1 A shows a graphic representation of a small time slice of
recorded material. This material contains of desired segments t 1, 3 and 5)
in between undesired segments (2 and 4). Both desired (1, 3 and 5) and
t0 undesired segments (2 and 4) can be of various lengths and are
determined by a combination of the recorded program time marker, to
establish position, and the control codes, to establish content, that are
transmitted from the remote location some time after the program has
been recorded on the local station. When the local station records the
program, it is recorded in its entirety with no segments removed, unless
the user changes the operation of the machine during the recording
process, or the machine experiences a power failure. If the machine
recording is paused during a recording session the time marker still tracks
the recording progress, even with pause activated during recording the
2o application of personal preferences will not be affected, but will now only
be applied to the actual recording segments rather than the total program
length.
As can be seen in figure 1 1 B, the skipped segments 2,4 are completely
removed in the edited program sequence, giving a seamless transition
between the previously non-adjacent segments 1,3,5.
Time marker Application
34 The continuous program time marker identifies the exact time a particular
action, or circumstance, occurs on the recorded program. An illustration
follows of an assumed portion of a film that has been recorded:
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At 1 O:OO:OOpm exactly the program introduction starts; at 10:03:25pm
the film begins with a panoramic camera sweep of a frozen wilderness
area: at 10:05:40pm the camera zooms into an adult white bear loping
through the snow. The camera follows the bear until 10:07:17pm when
5 the subject changes to a hunter training his rifle on the bear. The camera
switches between the bear and the hunter until at 10:10:36pm when the
hunter is shown squeezing the trigger and at 10:10:42pm the shot rings
out and at 10:10:44pm the bear is shown to be hit and at 10:10:47pm
the bear is shown falling lifeless, at 10:10:50pm the hunter is shown
10 walking towards the motionless bear.
Let us now assume the user in question has a maximum violence rating
below that applied to scene where an animal is shown receiving a lethal
bullet and dying. The coding for the sequence would be, for the sake of
15 this illustration, not be rated in a violence category until the hunter
trained
his rifle on the bear, at that instance the assumed violence rating of three
would be applied, at the instant the hunter shot the bear the violence
rating is assumed to increase to five and remains at five until the bear has
fallen down assumed dead. The rating for a dead bear now drops to an
2U assumed level of three and remains an three until the hunter is shown
walking towards the bear where the violence level is now unrated.
What does this mean to the user with a set violence level of four? When
the recorded film is viewed, as illustrated in Figure 1 1 B, the only skipped
25 segment will be segment where the violence level exceeds the set
violence level. It will not show the bear hit by the bullet and falling over.
This segment of the original program will be designated as undesired by
the application of the violence preference level.
3o Using the same section of assumed film and now applying a different set
of personal preferences would produce a different playback sequence. In
this instance assume the user has set his violence level as uncontrolled so
that ail violence levels are viewed but has included a program introduction
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removal instruction. Now when the user views.the film it will start at a
recorded time of 10:03:25pm at the beginning of the actual film with the
introduction period from 10:0Q:OOpm to 10:03:25pm skipped. This user
will see the bear shot and fall as well as all the other scenes before and ...
after.
Note that the above example times are quoted to the nearest second; the
present invention may code events and circumstances to a fraction of a
second. The above also illustrates one parameter, violence. Many other
parameters may be included covering such categories as sex, nudity,
offensive language, adult issues, etc. All can be categorised into levels of
acceptability by the application of a parameter identifier and a rating, such
as those identified above where user 1 imposed a violence level as 4, this
would be identified as V4. See Control Code makeup for additional details.
Program Recording ~.uality Level
Figure 12 shows diagrammatically a system where a chosen type of
program for recording is allocated a default quality of recording, by
applying the programs attributes, changeable by user at any time. Each
category of program will have an assigned recording quality level, unless
changed by user.
Each recording level is suitable for a variety of programs depending on the
amount of detail and movement they contain. To retain viewing pleasure
each user will be required to trial different recording quality levels for the
most common programs they wish to watch.
Recording QualityType of programs recorded
Level
Low Little or no movement or low screen detail
- stick type
cartoons, face to face interviews, etc.
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Medium Low to moderate movement andlor detail -
soap operas,
news,
Good Moderate movement andlor detail - most sports
and
movies, some nature programs, etc.
High Rapid movements andlor detail - motor racing,
high action
movies
iUfemory Types
It will be clear the majority of available memory is allocated to storing
programs. The recording cache is larger than the playback cache to allow
for pausing a live program for a period and then watching the program
from the point where it was paused some time later. Types and usage of
memory 140 are detailed in table 2 below
t 0 TABLE 2
TYPE OF VOLATILE
OR
MEMORY NON- USAGE
VOLATILE
Program Non VolatileRecorded programs details, start and
stop times
Addressable and channel involved
APM
Program Non VolatileStoring recorded programs
Control Non VolatileTransmitted Control Codes for controlling
personal
Codes preferences, segments to be watched
or skipped,
etc.
Software Non VolatileSoftware for equipment operations
Program Non VolatileTransmitted program information covering
Data schedules of future programs, general
program
ratings, start and stop times, program
reviews,
main characters, actors, etc. Used
to establish a
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TYPE OF VOLATILE
OR
MEMORY NON- USAGE
VOLATILE
listing of programs to be recorded
using personal '
preferences.
Playback Volatile Buffering multiple concurrent playback
sessions
Cache
Recording Volatile Buffering multiple concurrent conflicting
recording
Cache sessions and for delayed playback whilst
pausing
during viewing of "live" TV.
Where in the foregoing description reference has been made to integers or
components having known equivalents then such equivalents are herein
incorporated as if individually set forth.
Although this invention has been described by way of example it is to be
appreciated that improvements and/or modifications my be made thereto
without departing from the scope or spirit of the present invention.
