Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02413779 2002-12-19
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System and Method for Formulating, Delivering and Managing
Data Concerning Prodramming~ Content and Portions Thereof
This application claims priority under U.S. law to provisional U.S. patent
s applications serial no. 60/213,058, filed 6/21100; serial no. 60/214,529,
filed 6/27/00;
and serial no. 60/231,180, filed 09/07/00, serial no. 09/751,702, filed
12/29/00, serial
no. 09/751.809, filed 12/29/00, each of which applications are owned by the
assignee of this application and each of which applications are incorporated
in its
entirety by this reference.
io
Technical Field
This invention generally relates to the field of programming control systems,
and more particularly to systems and methods for allowing users to control and
manage programming content. In one implementation, an application residing on
a
is set-top box or other consumer electronic device, such as a television set,
uses data
synchronized to a program to dynamically block or modify portions of the
program's
video or audio based on a user's parental control settings.
Background of Invention
2o With the increasing availability of television programming, cable services,
Internet programming, and other interactive entertainment services, there is
an ever
greater need for the ability to control and manage content of programming.
Users
desire to be able to more easily and effectively choose the types of
television
programs to which they and / or their children are exposed.
2s In some existing "parental control systems," such as those associated with
V-
chip technology or Electronic Program Guides (EPGs), users may block all
programs
having particular ratings and content attributes. For instance, a user may
block all
programs having a rating of "TV-MA" (Mature) or all programs having the
content
attribute for "Violence." When a program with blocked ratings or content
attributes
so appears, both its video and audio are blocked for the entire duration of
the program
unless the user enters a personal identification number (PIN) to unblock it.
With
such existing systems, ratings and content attributes are generalized for the
entire
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program and rarely change. As a result, blocking is an °'a11 or
nothing" affair because
either all of the program is blocked or none of it is blocked. This is a
disadvantage if
the ratings or content attributes apply to only a small part of the entire
program.
For instance, if a program contains a brief scene of nudity and the user
blocked all programs with "Nudity," the entire program would be blocked even
if the
scene in question was only a few seconds in length. There would be no way to
selectively block just that portion of the program. A good example of this is
the
movie "Titanic." After Titanic's release, a small firm began editing from
Titanic a love
scene between the two main characters. There was an enormous demand for this
io version of Titanic among parents and other users who did not desire to see
that
particular scene, but did wish to view the other portions of the movie.
Even if parental control systems could block a portion of the program by
briefly changing the program's ratings or content attributes or by changing
the data
being provided to the V-chip during a program, there would be no way to block
just
is the video or just the audio portion of the program. For instance, if a
program
contained a few seconds of adult language, the ratings and / or content
attributes
data would be unable to instruct the parental control system to block only the
audio
for that period of time. As a result, both video and audio would always be
blocked
together.
2o Furthermore, existing parental control systems are also limited to
completely
disabling the audio or video. In other words, existing parental control
systems
cannot modify the video or audio in any way. For instance, if a program
contains
adult language, the ratings/content data cannot instruct the parental control
system
to switch to an alternative audio track containing a G-rated version of the
dialog.
2s A better approach would be to make the ratings and l or content data vary
during the course of the, program. An even better approach would be to provide
additional data to indicate whether the video, audio, or both video and audio
portion
of the program should be blocked. Additionally, the data could indicate ways
in
which to modify the video or audio portion of the program to make it
acceptable for
so the current parental control settings.
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Summary of Invention
Certain terms used in this section are described more fully below,
particularly
in the "Terminology" session. The present invention addresses the problems
discussed above by providing systems and methods for allowing users of
programs
to control and manage the ways in which portions of the programs are
presented. In
general, this invention provides program users with program data for a program
corresponding to discrete portions of the program. The program data comprises
(a)
program content data, (b) program control data, or (c) both. The content data
may
consist of rating values associated with categories in a rating system andlor
content
io attribute values indicating the existence of predefined attributes or
traits associated
with each discrete portion of the program. The program control data comprises
information concerning the media component (e.g., audio, video, text,
hyperlinks,
etc.) to which the rating or content attribute applies. The program control
data may
also contain control instructions corresponding to the ways in which each
portion or
is media component of the program may be disabled, modified, replaced, and l
or
edited. These data are delivered to a set top box or other consumer
electronics
("CE") device that couples to a display, like a television or monitor.
Users can enter into the CE device a presentation profile, by which a user
specifies content the user does not wish to review or wishes to insert over
existing
ao content. For instance, the user may select certain types of rating
categories and l or
content attributes that the user desires not to be presented. Optimally, users
may
specify a method for disabling, such as deleting, modifying, replacing, or
editing, the
portions of the program having the undesirable rating and / or content
attribute.
Based on the program data associated with the program and the information
2s contained in the user's presentation profile, the CE device controls the
programming
presented for display.
For example, the program data is compared against the presentation profile.
When the presentation profile indicates deletion or editing of specific type
material,
and when the program data indicates the presence of that material in a portion
of the
3o programming, that portion of the programming is modified accordingly. If
the
program data contains a rating and / or content attribute listed in the
presentation
profile, systems and methods according to the present invention perform any of
the
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following functions: block video, block audio, block video and audio, block
only a
portion of the audio or video, substitute local audio, substitute local video,
substitute
alternative audio stream, substitute alternative video channel / stream,
substitute
alternative video and audio channel / stream, edit content, and / or delete
content.
s In one implementation, this invention uses streaming data or timestamped
data synchronized to a program to provide ratings and l or content attribute
information that vary during the program. This data is used by applications
residing
on a set-top box or other CE device to block or modify portions of a program's
video
or audio based on the settings selected by the user. In addition to providing
varying
to ratings and / or content attribute information, the data may also include
program
control data related to what component of the program to block, such as video
only,
audio only, or both video and audio. Additionally, this data includes
instructions on
possible ways to modify the content. For example, the data could instruct the
application to do such things as switch to an alternate audio track, switch to
an
is alternate video channel, or blackout a certain area of the screen.
Alternatively, all of
these different capabilities could be entered, enabled or disabled by the user
via the
presentation profile or a control.
A further application of this invention is for Digital Video Recorders (DVRs)
or
digital disk recorders. When outfitted with this invention, DVRs or the like
are
ao capable of dynamically editing and deleting scenes based on the program
data and
the presentation profile created by a user.
This invention aims to achieve one, combinations, or all of the following
objectives:
~ To formulate program content data, associated with discrete portions of
2s programming, which contains information related to programming content;
~ To formulate program control data, associated with discrete portions of
programming, which contains information related to how programming
may be edited, deleted, modified, substituted, or otherwise altered;
~ To provide, via a set-top box or other appropriate consumer electronic
so device, users with the content data, control data, or both;
~ To enable programming users to define those types of programming and
portions of programming they desire not to be presented; and
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~ To enable users to change undesired types of programming and portions
of programming by dialing, modifying, substituting, deleting, or editing such
programming or portions thereof.
Other objects, advantages and features of this invention will be apparent from
review
s of the remainder of this document, including the drawings.
Brief Description of Drawings
Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a system according to the
present invention.
to Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating one potential format of a programming
signal
and corresponding program data according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating another potential format of a programming
signal and corresponding program data according to an embodiment of the
present
is invention.
Figure 4 illustrates an exemplary format for the data illustrated in Figures 2
and 3 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating a presentation control system according to
the present invention.
2o Figure 6 is an exemplary menu screen of a program viewer interface
according to the present invention.
Figure 7 is an example of a presentation profile shown in Figure 7 according
to the present invention.
Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a program and corresponding
Zs program data according to the present invention.
Detailed Description
Terminology:
Before further describing a particular implementation of the present invention
so that is shown in the drawings, the following terms are explained, although
more
thorough understanding of the terms can be reached by resorting to this entire
document. These term explanations are not intended to be conclusive, as
CA 02413779 2002-12-19
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technology will change and skilled persons will recognize other ways to
implement
the same functionality.
~ "Communications network" includes any network or infrastructure that
supports communications between multiple devices, including broadband
s distribution networks, public or private packet-switched or other data
networks, including the Internet, or circuit-switched networks such as the
public switched telephone network and wireless networks.
~ "Consumer electronics device" or "CE device" is any electronic device or
combination of devices capable of receiving, displaying, playing,
to presenting, recording, deleting, editing, substituting, or disabling audio
and
/ or video content. Exemplary CE devices include: televisions, personal
computers, cable set-top boxes, video cassette recorders, digital video
recorders, digital video disc players, compact disc players, and personal
computers.
is ~ "Content data" is any information corresponding to at least a portion of
a
program and related to the content of the program, including content
ratings and content attributes, traits, or characteristics.
~ "Control data" is any information corresponding to at least a portion of a
program and related to the manner in which the portion may be disabled,
ao modified, replaced, deleted, edited, or otherwise modified by a CE device,
set top box or the like.
~ "Presentation control system" is any device or combination of devices
having (1) a receiver adapted to receive a program signal and (2) a
processor for controlling the program to be displayed on a consumer
2s electronic device, including a set-top box, television, or personal
computer.
~ "Program" or "Programming" is any electronic presentation of information,
such as text, audio, video, graphics, or any other form of multimedia, over
a communications network. Exemplary programming includes: Internet
programming, television broadcasts, cable television programming, pay-
so per-view programming, video-on-demand, interactive television
programming, satellite programming, and multimedia presentations.
~ "Program data" means content or control data or other data associated
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with or describing the content or manner of presentation of programming.
~ "Presentation preferences" refers to information related to the types of
program content that either a person desires not to view or that a person
desires to replace and/or the manner in which programs and portions of
s programs having this type of content may be disabled, modified, replaced,
deleted, edited, or otherwise modified by a CE device.
~ "Service provider" is any entity that delivers programs to a program viewer,
including cable providers, television broadcasters, satellite providers, and
entities supporting Internet World Wide Web ("Web") sites.
to II. S~/stem Overview
Figure 1 shows components of a system 10 for implementing an embodiment
of this invention. A transmission facility 12, such as a cable head end, is
operated by
a service provider and receives various types of programming from data /
content
providers 14, which may provide traditional broadcast or cable television
is programming, video services such as pay-per-view, near video-on-demand,
video-
on-demand, promotional channels, or interactive television services. Exemplary
data
/ content providers 14 include BeIISouth, (the assignee of this invention),
Disney,
Time-Warner, DirectTV, etc. In connection with the provision of some of these
services, transmission facility 12 may also receive electronic program guide
(EPG)
2o data from data providers 16. A particular content provider 14, such as
Disney, may
also provide EPG data, thus acting as an EPG data provider 16. Also, EPG data
provider 16 may include companies that specialize in EPG data, such as
Gemstar,
United Video, Starsight, etc.
Transmission facility 12 processes the programming furnished by data /
2s content providers 14 and 16 and provides to program viewers 18 a signal 13
over a
communications network 15, which may be a broadband distribution network, a
public or private packet-switched or other data networks (including the
Internet),
circuit switched networks such as the public switched telephone network,
wireless
networks, or any other desired communications network. Transmission facility
12
3o may comprise a plurality of servers, such as broadcast server 19, video
server 20,
EPG data server 22, and program data server 24, for providing multiple types
of
programming and related data via signal 13. Program viewers 18 receive
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programming at a presentation control system 26, which may be a standard set
top
box, a properly programmed processor, coupled to a display, a consumer
electronic
device, or any other device adapted to couple to communications network 15.
Control system 26 includes, or couples to, a receiver (such as receiver 56
shown in
Figure 5) for receiving and decoding signal 13 and a processor for controlling
the
program content to be displayed on devices such as television 28, personal
computer 34 or any other suitable display device.
Presentation control system 26 may be a stand alone system that
communicates with a display device and other consumer electronic devices or
may
to be combined with the display device and / or any other suitable CE device
in one
device. In accordance with the present invention, presentation control system
26
also may receive a presentation profile 35 from program viewers 18. Based on
presentation profile 35 and program data 36 received from transmission
facility 12,
the presentation control system 26 manages and controls the presentation of
is program content by interacting with video cassette recorder (VCR) 30,
digital video
recorder (DVR) 32, personal computer 34, or any other suitable CE device.
As shown in Figure 2, signal 13 carries multiple channels 38, each occupying
a different portion of a frequency spectrum of signal 13. Transmission
facility 12 may
provide program viewers 18 with different programs 40 throughout the day on
each
?o channel 38. Each program 40 may be divided into multiple consecutive data
frames
42, each of which contains all of the data related to the presentation of
program 40
for a particular time interval.
In addition to providing program viewers 18 with program data 42 for each
program 40, transmission facility 12 also provides program viewers 18 with
program
as data 36 for each program 40. Data 36 is information associated with program
data
42 comprising program content data, program control data, or both. As shown in
Figure 2, data 36 may be divided into multiple consecutive data frames 54
corresponding to data frames 42 of program 40. Program content data may be
information related to rating and / or content attributes, such as MPAA
ratings, TV
3o Parental Guidelines ratings, or any other rating system. Program control
data may
be information related to the manner in which program data 42 may be edited,
substituted, deleted, or otherwise altered. For instance, in situations where
program
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data 42 may be substituted, program control data may contain information about
other channels or streams or other locations where replacement program data
are
present.
As will be described in more detail below, program viewers 18 may use the
s information contained in data 36 about programs 40 to control and manage
which
programs are presented, which portions of programs are presented, and which
media components are presented. Data 36 may also be used to control and manage
the manner in which programs, portions of programs, and media components of
programs and portions of programs are edited, substituted, deleted, or
otherwise
io altered based on the information in data 36 and/or viewer preferences.
III. Formulation and Delivery of Data:
In accordance with the systems and methods of the present invention, data 36
associated with program data 42 for programs 40 may be formulated by a number
of
entities. For instance, programming producers may formulate data 36 while
is producing programming. Alternatively, data 36 may be formulated by data /
content
providers 14, EPG data providers 16, by the entity supporting transmission
facility
12, or by any other entity that has access to programming. An example of a
method
of formulating alternative programming is one which uses the Internet. Thus, a
studio may release a portion or all of a story-line for a series on the
Internet and
ao allow users there to "vote" or suggest endings or twists in the plot line.
Either before
or after receiving such input, the studio may film the most popular of the
suggestions
and embed these alternative programs into other channels. If the alternatives
are
filmed first and then selected by viewers of the Internet sight via voting or
similar
feedback, the site can be linked to the transmission facility and, following
tabulation
zs of viewer feedback, the site can automatically instruct the transmission
facility to load
a particular alternative track. Ultimately, such viewer feed back may be done
in real
time or virtual real time.
Program data 36 may be provided using many possible data delivery
methods, as skilled persons will recognize. The following details several
exemplary
so delivery methods:
Timestamped Delivery: Data 36 may be provided using a timestamped data
delivery approach. This approach delivers all data 36 for an entire program
either
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before the program begins or when the user tunes to the program. Timestamps
are
used to associate particular ratings and ! or content attributes data to
particular
portions of the program. Ideally, this approach works best when presentation
control
system 26 has or couples to an internal clock that synchronizes to a network
clock to
s assure accurate synchronization of data 36 to the program content.
Batch EPG Delivery: Data used by existing EPGs is often delivered all at
once, for example as a batch transmission. A similar approach can be used by
which existing EPG data is supplemented with program data 36. Specifically, as
shown in Figure 1, an EPG data server 22 may receive data 36 from an EPG data
1o provider 16. Alternatively, the data provided by the EPG data server 22 may
be
enhanced by the addition of data provided by a program data server 24. The
transmission facility 12 delivers the resulting data through the distribution
network 15
to presentation control system 26 or consumer electronic device 28, 20, 32, or
34.
Streaming Delivery: Data 36 may also be provided using a streaming
is delivery method. This approach delivers program content data and program
control
data in real-time along with the program's video and audio content. There is
no need
for timestamps or clock synchronization since the data delivery is
synchronized to
the showing of the program. Methods of delivering streaming data include an
MPEG
private data stream or data insertion into the program's VBI (vertical
blanking
2o interval) line.
An advantage of this approach over the timestamped approach described
above is that it is not effected by delays in the video content. For example,
if a
program is delayed because a sporting event that precedes it goes into
overtime, the
program's timestamped data may no longer be accurate since it was downloaded
2s ahead of time and assumed the program began at a certain time. Program
viewer
18 may tune to the program while in progress.
Data 36 would have to be repeatedly retransmitted during the period for which
it was valid because presentation control system 26 or consumer electronic
device
28, 30, 32, or 34 may not know what the last data values were when tuning to a
so program. Ideally, the retransmission interval should not be more than once
a
second.
Regardless of the delivery vehicle, in operation, program viewers 18 receive
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signal 13 and data 36 from transmission facility 12. As described above, data
36
may be included within signal 13 as another channel within the frequency
spectrum
or may be received as an independent data stream or as a periodic download. In
situations where data 36 is received in the form of a periodic download before
programs are viewed, data 36 may be stored in memory by system 26. In
alternative
embodiments, data 36 may be supplied to program viewers 18 as part of a
broadcast
television signal in the vertical blinking interval. Data 36 may also be
supplied by
other service providers using communications network 15 or any other suitable
communications network. Data 36 may also be received via any public or private
io packet-switched or other data networks including the Internet, circuit
switched
networks such as the public switched telephone network, wireless networks, or
any
other desired communications infrastructure.
IV. Data Formatting
Data 36 provides program viewers 18 continuous information related to the
is content of programs 42 throughout the entire presentation. As shown in
Figure 4,
data 36 may have a data structure comprising:
(1) program content parameters, such as: timestamp 44, rating 46, content
attribute 48, program component 50, and any other suitable parameter for
identifying the content of program data 42 and
20 (2) program control parameters, such as: control instruction or action 52
or
any other suitable parameter associated with the manner in which program
data 42 may be edited, substituted, deleted, or otherwise altered.
Timestamp 44 associates program content and program control data with a
particular time interval within a program 40. The time interval may be
represented as
2s an offset from the start of program 40 and may be expressed in hours,
minutes, and
seconds or in any smaller unit of time, such as the length of a video frame.
The remaining parameters are used to define desirable control and
management parameters for the corresponding time interval. For example, rating
46
may be a value associated with a ratings system, such as the TV Parental
3o Guidelines ratings system, the MPAA ratings system, or any other standard
ratings
systems. Alternatively, rating 46 may be values associated with multiple
ratings
systems. Content attributes 48 may be a value associated with a trait or
attribute of
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program 40. Content attribute 48 may be based on the content rating system
employed by the TV Parental Guidelines or MPAA rating system. Content
attribute
48 may be a value indicating the existence of certain attributes or traits in
a particular
time interval of program 40, such as violence (V), sexual situations (S),
coarse or
crude indecent language (L), suggestive dialogue (D), fantasy violence (FV),
or any
other defined attribute or trait. A better approach than using the fairly
simplistic
content attributes associated with the existing TV ratings system (L, V, FV,
S, D)
would be to use a system that assigns numeric values to each of the content
attributes depending on the degree of attributes present. For example,
Violence (V)
to could be rated on a scale of 1-5 during the course of a program. Such
ratings
provide viewers with finer control over the level of violence blocked or
modified.
Program components 50 may be used to identify the media component of program
rating 46 and / or content attribute 48 apply. For example, program component
50
may indicate that rating 46 or content attribute 48 apply only to the video
component,
is only the audio component, or both the video and audio components. Program
component 50 may also be used where program 40 contains multiple audio and /
or
video streams within the same channel 38, in which case the data may indicate
to
which stream or streams rating 46 or content attribute 48 apply. Program
control
parameters, such as control instructions or actions 52, may be a value
associated
zo with the various ways in which program 40 may be blocked, disabled,
modified,
replaced, and / or edited. For instance, the following table I illustrates an
example of
possible control instructions and their corresponding functions supported by
data 36.
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Table I: Program Control Data
Control Value ~ Control Function
BV block video
BA block audio
BVA block video and audio
BP block only a portion of the video display
SLA substitute local audio
SLV substitute local video
SAS substitute alternative audio stream
SVC substitute alternative video channel
/ stream
SAVC substitute alternative video and audio
channel / stream
DS delete scene
SS substitute different scene
As shown in Figure 2, data 36 may also be presented as a timestamped
variance from a default setting. Data 36 may associate program 40 with a
standard
s default setting, which is the same for all types of programs 40.
Accordingly, only
those portions of program 40 that vary from the default setting need to be
assigned
program content and control data. For example, the default setting may refer
to
programs that do not have any undesirable content and l or attributes. Using
this
method, data 36 need only contain information for those time intervals of
program 40
1o that contain content and / or attributes that differ from the default
setting and may
reduce the amount of information in data 36.
As shown in Figure 2, data 36 may also be delivered to program viewers 18 in
real-time along with program 40. In this implementation, data 36 does not have
to
include information related to the time interval within program 40 because the
two
is parallel streams are synchronized. Data 36 may comprise a plurality (e.g.,
more
than two) of data frames 54, each corresponding to a discrete time interval of
program 40. In this embodiment, data frames 54 may be synchronized with data
frames 42 in program 40 such that the time interval associated with each is
equal.
Alternatively, the time interval associated with control data frames 54 may
vary from
2o that of data frames.
V. Exemplary Data Format
An example of a possible data format for dynamic ratings and content
attributes is shown below in Table II.
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Table II
In this example: DEFAULT indicates a set of overall ratings and content
attributes
s for the program. These overall ratings and content attributes would be
similar to the
ones already provided by many existing EPGs and other parental control
systems.
~ "Rating" is a value associated with a ratings system such as the TV rating
system or MPAA rating system. However, other rating systems are
possible and could be used. A program could have ratings from more than
io one rating system. Also, the program's rating value for a particular rating
system could be missing or NULL since not all programs are rated.
~ "'Content" is a value associated with a content attribute system (the word
"traits" is sometimes used instead of "content") such as the ones
associated with the TV rating system (V,S,L,D,FV) or MPAA rating system
is (e.g. Nudity, Violence, etc.). However, other content attribute schemes
(such as the multi-level scheme proposed above) are possible and could
be used. A program could have multiple content attributes from multiple
content attribute systems.
~ "Timestamp" indicates when the associated ratings, content attributes, and
2o actions begin. Ideally, the timestamp should be an offset from the start of
the program. The timestamp could be expressed in hours, minutes and
seconds (e.g. hh:mmas). A way should exist to subdivide seconds into a
smaller unit of time such as frames (1/30 second).
~ "Component" refers to the part of the program to which the ratings and
as content attributes apply, such as audio, video, or both. "Component" may
also refer to substitute channels, streams, or other locations of substitute
audio and l or video. If a component value is not specified, both video and
audio are assumed.
~ "Action" indicates ways in which the program could be modified to nullify
so the portion of the program with the given ratings and / or content
attributes.
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For instance, an action could instruct the presentation control system 26 to
perform any of the functions described above in Table I.
Table III illustrates how this data format could be used to deliver program
data
36 using the timestamped delivery approach described above. This example uses
s the existing MPAA ratings system (G,PG,PG-13,R,NC-17) and the content
attributes
associated with the TV ratings system (L = Language, V = Violence, S = sexual
situations, D = suggestive dialog, FV = fantasy violence).
Table III: Example of Program Data 36
DEFAULT R; L,V,S
00:00:00:00 G
00:11:15:02 R; L audio changeto 14
00:11:16:11 G
00:24:45:00 R; V,S
00:24:45:30 PG-13; V video
00:24:46:00 G
00:32:01:00 R; S video mosaic
20,100,30,150
00:32:05:00 G
io
Table III shows where the content data has been formulated into a series of
data records, each record associated with a particular portion of the
programming.
Thus, in this example:
~ "TV-MA;L,V,S" are the default ratings and content attributes for the entire
is program. These are similar to existing rating systems that use generalized
ratings and content attributes for the entire program.
~ "00:00:00:00 G" is the first timestamp offset and first rating for the
program.
These values indicate that at the start of the program, the program contains
material rafted G and there are no content attributes present. If no
2o ratings/content values are specified for the beginning of the program, the
default ratingslcontent values should be used.
~ "00:11:15:02 R; L audio changeto 14" is the second timestamp offset. These
values indicate that 11 minutes, 15 seconds, and 2 frames from the start of
the program, the programs rating has changed to "R" and the show now has a
CA 02413779 2002-12-19
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content attribute "L" which indicates coarse "Language". The "audio" value
indicates that the rating is only associated with the audio portion of the
program. "Changeto 14" indicates that an alternative audio track exists for
that portion of the dialog. For the purposes of this example, assume that a
s character in the program has uttered a brief vulgarity. In this case, at the
offset shown, presentation control system 36 may switch to an alternative
audio track if the ratings and content attributes equal or exceed those
indicated by the user's parental control settings. At the next timestamp,
presentation control system 26 would reset the audio settings to those
io indicated by the next ratings/content data.
~ "00:11:16:11 G" indicates that the rating is back to G. Any blocking that
resulted from the previous timestamp can be reset. Using the example
above, the character has stopped uttering the vulgarity and the audio can be
returned to normal.
is ~ "00:24:45:00 R; V,S" indicates that the rating has changed to R and there
is
now "Violence" and "Sexual Situations". The lack of any component value or
action value indicates that both video and audio should be blocked (disabled)
if the ratings/content values equal or exceed the user's parental control
settings.
20 ~ "00:24:45:30 PG-13; V video" indicates that the rating has changed to PG-
13
and there is now only Violence (V). The Sexual Situations (S) have stopped.
The "video" component value indicates that video should be blocked if the
ratings/content values equal or exceed the user's parental control settings.
~ "00:24:46:00 G" indicates that the rating has returned to G. Turn off any
as blocking or modifications that resulted from the previous timestamp.
"00:32:01:00 R; S video mosaic 20,100,30,150" indicates that the rating is
now R and there is a sexual situation (S). Let's assume there is some nudity
on the screen. The component "video" indicates that only the video should be
effected and the action "mosaic 20,100,30,150" indicates a mosaic effect may
so be used to blur the screen at the indicated coordinates.
~ "00:32:05:00 G" indicates that the rating is back to G. Turn off any
blocking or
modifications that resulted from the previous timestamp.
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In the above example, if the streaming delivery approach was used, the
"Timestamp" attribute would not be needed. As shown in Figure 3, program data
36
would have to be retransmitted at some interval while the data is valid to
accommodate users who tuned to a program in progress. Delivered data can also
be buffered for retrieval.
If program data 36 is batch delivered to presentation control system 26, an
applet at the CE device or set top box associated with the user's display
device may
scan all of data 36 in advance to determine how often blocking would occur
during
the program. If implementing the user's presentation profile 35 based on the
to received program data 36 would cause an unacceptably high amount of
blocking or
modification (e.g., in terms of amount of time program is blocked or
percentage of
program blocked), the entire program could be blocked or the user informed and
allowed to change the rating. The user may select the threshold at which this
decision is made as part of the user's input of presentation profile 35 data.
is VI. Viewer Presentation Profil
With reference to Figure 6, system 26 may include a viewer interface by which
viewer 18 inputs a presentation profile 35 containing instructions for
controlling
programming to be displayed and the format thereof. The presentation profile
35
that viewers may create allows more flexibility in using system 26 for
controlling and
ao managing programming. Viewer interface 58 and a template 59 allow viewers
to
enter data stored in a profile 35 that then operates with application program
60. The
viewer interface 58 may be a standard remote control, a wired or wireless
keyboard,
control buttons on the CE device implementing system 26, infrared port, PDA
port or
other suitable communication device for communicating commands to the
2s application program 60. By these viewer interface 58 devices or software,
such as a
viewer interface applet or the like, viewers can input information, such as
information
called for by template 59, into the CE device so that application 60 can
populate a
memory or other storage device with the users' presentation profile 35.
Application
program 60 enables program viewers 18 to interact with the template 59 and
so television 28 using a standard menu system to populate the presentation
profile 35
with the appropriate data.
For instance, viewer 18 may configure system 26 permanently or temporarily
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to disable certain channels 38 in order to block undesired programming. In
other
words, application 60 running on a set top box or other CE device allows the
user to
turn parental controls on or off and indicate what ratings or content should
trigger
those controls. For example, if the user set the ratings level to R, all
material with a
s rating of R or higher would be blocked or modified, as depicted in Table IV
below.
Table IV
MPAA Rating Status
X BLOCKED
NC-17 BLOCKED
R BLOCKED
PG-13 Open
PG Open
G ( open
In addition to ratings, however, users may modify discrete programming
1o portions having certain attributes. For example, if content attributes
associated with
the TV ratings system were used, viewers may indicate which of the following
content attributes should be blocked or modified, as per Table V below in
which the
user blocks "Sexual Situations", "Suggestive Dialog" and "Language" content.
is
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Table V
TV Content Status
V (Violence)
L (Language) BLOCKED
S (Sexual Situations)BLOCKED
D (Suggestive BLOCKED
Dialog)
FV (Fantasy Violence)
Additionally, the system offers users the ability to block ratings or content
attributes
in several different ways. Specifically, the user could choose from the
following
s blocking options for each rating level and content attribute:
~ Block the Entire Pro rg am. This would allow the user to use traditional
parental blocking where the entire program is blocked if the overall
(DEFAULT) rating or content attributes equal or exceed those set by the user.
In this case, the dynamic ratings/content data would have no effect, only the
io DEFAULT ratings/content data would be used.
~ Block Portions. This would use dynamic ratings/content data to block video
or
audio that equals or exceeds the corresponding parental control settings. The
DEFAULT ratings/content information would not be used, unless the dynamic
ratings/content data was missing. With this option, modification of the
is program's content would not be allowed and any instructions to modify the
program would be interpreted as an instruction to block the video or audio.
~ Block or Modify Portions. This would allow portions of the program's video
or
audio to be blocked or modified as indicated by the program's ratings/content
data. The DEFAULT ratings/content information would not be used, unless
ao the dynamic ratings/content data was missing.
These options could be applied to individual ratings and content attributes.
For
example, the user could set blocking for content attributes as shown in Table
VI:
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Table VI
TV Content Status
V (Violence)
L (Language) BLOCK OR MODIFY
PORTIONS
S (Sexual Situations)BLOCK ENTIRE PROGRAM
D (Suggestive BLOCK PORTIONS
Dialog)
FV (Fantasy Violence)
In this example, a program that had any sexual situations (as indicated by the
overall
ratings/content data) would be blocked in its entirety. Portions of the
program with
s suggestive dialog (S) would be blocked, and portions of the program with
language
(L) would be blocked or modified.
Table VII below shows a further example using a different, MPAA ratings
system:
io Table VII
MPAA RatingStatus
X BLOCK ENTIRE PROGRAM
NC-17 BLOCK ENTIRE PROGRAM
R BLOCK OR MODIFY PORTIONS
PG-13
PG
G
Even more detailed parental control settings are possible. For instance,
viewer 18
could choose to allow audio to be modified but not video, forcing video to
always be
blocked. Or, viewer 18 may select any of the following disabling methods:
complete
is block, partial block, substitution from local device, substitution from
service provider
(alternate channel), and substitution from service provider (alternate
stream), and
local edit.
In yet another aspect of this invention, viewers may add additional,
demographic data to their presentation profile. The viewer may indicate the
viewer's
Zo household income, number of children, ages, gender, etc. This demographic
data,
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as explained in applicant's concurrently filed application entitled, "Methods
for
Displaying Programming Content Based on User's Demographic Data, Usage Data
andlor Commands," which application is hereby incorporated in its entirety by
this
reference, may be used by an applet running on the viewer's system 26 to
select a
s particular program or advertisement targeted to viewers with a predetermined
demographic profile.
VI. Use of Progiram Data
Figure 5 shows at least portions of a system 26 for controlling and managing
the presentation of programming received via signal 13 based on data 36. The
Io consumer electronics device that resides in a viewer's home and implements
the
system 26 can be provided with a blocking processor 66 adapted to communicate
with a memory 62, a demultiplexer 64, and a control processor 68. Skilled
persons
will recognize that processors 66, 68 can be actual microprocessors or simply
different portions of a single processor devoted to different tasks. Processor
68 (1 )
is controls various components like tuner 64, blocking processor 66, signal
processor
70 and (2) communicates with one or more consumer electronic devices, such as
VCR 30, DVR 32, personal computer 34, or any other suitable consumer
electronics
or home theater and / or entertainment device. An output signal processor 70
outputs video and audio signals to television 28 or any other suitable display
device.
2o Skilled persons will recognize that these hardware components - which could
be
combined into one component -- may be found in or added to traditional set-top
boxes or consumer electronic devices and need merely be reprogrammed with the
functionality described herein.
In any event, in controlling programming content, system 26 acts on (1)
as program data 36 that has both content and control data, (2) presentation
profile 35,
or (3) a combination of the program data 36 and presentation profile 35.
Examples
of each of these are given below:
A. Filtering Operations
Data 36 is received at the control system 26. A processor, e.g., blocking
so processor 66, accesses profile 35 from a memory 62 and combines it with
data 36 to
determine if and how program 40 should be presented. As seen in Figures 7 and
8,
for each time interval of program 40, blocking processor 66 compares data 36
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against profile 35 and acts as needed. As described above in detail, data 36
contains information for each time interval of program 40 related to various
presentation control and management parameters, such as rating 46, content
attribute 48, program component 50, control instruction 52. Profile 35
contains a list
s of rating / content attributes 74 that viewer 18 does not want to be
presented and the
corresponding disabling method 76.
For example, referring to Figures 4 and 7, a blocking processor 66 compares
rating 46 and content attribute 48 values in data 36 with the rating / content
attributes
74 in profile 35. If data 36 does not contain any rating l content attributes
listed in
io profile 35, blocking processor 66 does not send any control instructions to
control
processor 68. Under these circumstances, control processor 68 then forwards
channel 38 from demultiplexer 64 to output processor 70 where it may be
presented
on television 28. On the other hand, if data 36 contains a rating / content
attribute
listed in profile 35, blocking processor 66 then determines applicable
instruction 76.
is Depending on the particular combination of program component 50 values in
data 36
and disabling method listed in profile 35, blocking processor 66 may send any
of the
control instructions 52 mentioned above and shown in Table I to control
processor
68. Implementation or exemplary instructions is described below:
~ Blocking processor 66 sends "block video" control instruction if viewer 18
2o selects the "partial block" disabling method per instruction 76 and program
component 50 is "video."
~ Blocking processor 66 sends a "block audio" control instruction if viewer 18
selects the "partial block" disabling method per instruction 76 and program
component 50 is "audio."
as ~ Blocking processor 66 sends a "block video and audio" control instruction
if viewer 18 selects the "complete block" disabling method per instruction
76 regardless of the program component 50.
In response to any of these instructions from blocking processor 66, control
processor 68 performs the appropriate signal processing to edit the signal in
channel
30 38 received from demultiplexer 64 and then forward the edited signal to
output
processor 70 for presentation on television 28.
B. Editing Operations
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In accordance this invention, programming may also be dynamically edited
based on the viewer's presentation profile 35. For instance, blocking
processor 66
sends a "block portion of video" control instruction if viewer 18 selects the
"partial
block" disabling method 76 and program component 50 is "video." Thereafter,
processor 68 may modify the signal in order to blank or blur the affected
portion of
the video display or may overlay the affected portion with any desirable text
or other
message. After completing signal processing, control processor 68 forwards the
signal to output processor 70 for presentation on television 28.
Alternatively, other programming content, ranging from audio, to video, to
io Web pages or combinations thereof, may be substituted for the undesired
programming portion. For instance, blocking processor 66 sends a "substitute
local
audio" control instruction if viewer 18 or the transmission facility 12 has
selected the
"substitution from local device" disabling method per instruction 76 and
program
component 50 is "audio." In response to this instruction from blocking
processor 66,
is control processor 68 performs the appropriate signal processing to block
the audio
component of channel 38 received from demultiplexer 64. Control processor 68
then initiates a communications link with (a) a different channel having the
substitute
audio or (b) the desired local device, such as memory 62, DVR 32, VCR 30,
personal computer 34, or any other suitable device capable of providing audio,
from
2o which the substitute audio is to be received. After receiving the
substitute audio,
control processor 68 performs the appropriate signal processing to combine the
substitute audio with channel 38 and then forwards the combined signal to
output
processor 70 for presentation on television 28.
Other commands such as substitute video, substitute local video, substitute
2s video from memory 62, switch channel, display Web page, etc. may be
implemented
by the processors 66, 68 in similar fashion. Note that alternate content may
be
provided from transmission facility 12 as part of the original signal 13,
either in the
form of alternate channels 38 or alternate streams within a channel 38.
Program 40
on channel 38 may comprise a plurality of audio streams and a plurality of
video
3o streams, as well as a plurality of alternate audio streams and a plurality
of alternate
video streams. In this way, there may be an alternate stream according to each
rating l content attribute category. In these situations, the transmission
facility 12
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includes within the data 36 information concerning the channel or URL to which
the
system 26 should tune for the alternate content. Alternatively, the alternate
content
may also be provided by a service provider other than the service provider
supplying
signal 13.
s Referring to Figures 7 and 8, the systems and methods of the present
invention will now be described with reference to a particular example.
Suppose a
particular viewer desires to view a program 40 containing the movie Titanic.
As
shown in Figure 7, suppose the viewer has configured a profile 35 to
completely
block any programming content or portions of programming content containing
nudity
io or associated with a rating of R or X and to perform a local edit for
portions of
programming content rated PG-13 and containing sexual situations. Also, as
shown
in Figure 8, suppose the movie Titanic has been divided into multiple
consecutive
data frames 42 for each discrete time interval for the duration of the movie.
Recall from above, the movie Titanic would have been rated PG except for
is the short love scene between the two main characters. Thus, prior to the
present
invention, a viewer that desired not to view programming rated PG-13 would not
have been able to view any portion of Titanic. The present invention solves
this
problem. For example, in the present invention data 36 associated with each
portion
of Titanic is also provided to the viewer. Data 36 comprises rating data,
content
2o attribute data, and control instructions. As shown in Figure 8, each data
frame
associated with Titanic was rated PG and had a general content rating except
for the
data frame associated with the love scene. This data frame was rated PG-13
because of the sexual situation. In this circumstance, where profile 35 was
configured to perform a local edit on content rated PG-13 and containing
sexual
2s situations, the systems and methods of the present invention enable the
program
viewer to view each portion of the movie except the portion rated PG-13 and
containing the sexual situation. In addition, because profile 35 was
configured for
"local edit", the systems and methods of the present invention enable the
program
viewer to edit out the undesirable portion using DVR 32.
3o VII. Other Features and Embodiments:
Other features may be programmed into the control system 26 that may
reside on the CE device or set top box coupled to a display device. For
instance, it
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may not be immediately apparent to viewers whether the control system 26 is in
effect when they initiate the display device and tune to a program. On screen
indicators may be used to indicate the status of the controls (e.g., an icon
may
display or a message like "All programming with ratings above PG-13 have been
blocleed."). Likewise, during modification of the programming content, an icon
may
indicate to the user that the content has been edited or deleted. Further, in
situations where viewers have selected the alternate programming to be
displayed,
e.g., as part of voting with other viewers via previewing of the programming
on the
Internet or the like, icons or other indications can be displayed to the
viewers
io indicating that they selected the alternative scene or otherwise
identifying the source
of the alternative scene.
PIN entry or other security protocols can be implemented by system 26 to
allow valid users to initiate, modify or disable the controls. Correct PIN
entry shows
the programming in its unmodified form. Programming controls can be reinstated
is when the user tunes to another channel or turns off the Set Top Box or CE
device.
While this invention has been described in conjunction with specific
embodiments, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, and
variations will
be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the preferred
embodiments of
the present invention described are intended to be illustrative and not
limiting.
2o Various changes may be made without departing from the true spirit and full
scope of
the invention as defined in the following claims.
