HK1159345A - Vod offerings based on popular demand - Google Patents

Description

Video On Demand (VOD) provisioning based on popular demand

Background

Subscription television service providers, such as cable, fiber or satellite providers, can offer customers a variety of viewing options, including an increasing number of video-on-demand (VOD) programs. However, the number of VOD programs that are made available at a particular time is not unlimited. Thus, the provider may limit the amount of time a particular VOD program is made available, or may simply not provide some programs as VOD. The provider may rely on various factors to select which VOD programs are made available to the customer. However, the provider may not know some programs of interest to a large number of users, and therefore, the client may not obtain the programs through VOD.

Drawings

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary system in which concepts described herein may be implemented;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of exemplary components of a set-top box that may be used in the network of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of exemplary components of a server that may be used in the network of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a process flow illustrating exemplary operations that may be performed by a set top box to receive user input for VOD program options;

FIG. 5 is a process flow illustrating exemplary operations that may be performed by a server to provide popular demand VOD programming options;

fig. 6A, 6B, and 6C are exemplary views illustrating concepts described herein.

Detailed Description

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements. Also, the following detailed description does not limit the invention.

Implementations described herein may allow a subscription television service provider to receive and compile customer recommendations for potential Video On Demand (VOD) programs, as well as gauge the requirements of the VOD programs suggested by the customers. Based on the measured demand, the subscription television service provider may make available to the customers the VOD programming suggested by a certain customer as, for example, "popular demand" offerings (offers).

As used herein, a "VOD program" may refer to multimedia content (e.g., movies, music, games, etc.) that may be streamed or downloaded to a set-top box based on a request from a user of the set-top box. As used herein, "client-suggested VOD program" or "VOD program suggestion" may refer to a request for a VOD program that is not available from the service provider at the time the request is made. As used herein, the term "set top box" or "STB" may refer to any media processing system that may receive multimedia content over a network, and may provide such multimedia content to an attached television. Also, as used herein, the terms "viewer," "user," and "client" may interchangeably refer to a person who watches, listens to, or plays multimedia programs, videos, and/or music (e.g., provided via an STB).

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary system 100 in which concepts described herein may be implemented. As shown, the system 100 may include a network 110 connecting a server 120 to a local gateway 130, a STB140 that may be located in a customer's residence, and a television 150. The components of system 100 may be interconnected via wired and/or wireless connections. For simplicity, a single network 110, server 120, local gateway 130, STB140, and television 150 have been illustrated in fig. 1. In practice, there may be more networks 110, servers 120, local gateways 130, STBs 140, and/or televisions 150. Also, in some instances, one or more of the components of network 100 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another one or more of the components of network 100.

In general, the server 120 may provide telecommunication services or provide control of telecommunication services (e.g., via the network 100) provided to devices such as the television 150 and/or other network connectivity devices (e.g., the internet and telephones, not shown) provided within the customer's residence. As further shown in fig. 1, the server 120 may be connected to a database 160.

Network 110 may include a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN) such as a cellular network, a satellite network or the internet, a private WAN or a combination of the internet and a private WAN, and so forth, for the transmission of data. Although shown as a single element in fig. 1, network 110 may include multiple separate networks used to provide services to devices such as STB140 and/or television 150 in a customer's residence. In one implementation, network 110 may terminate a customer's premises via an optical communication link, such as an optical fiber provided to the customer's premises. In another possible implementation, network 110 may terminate a customer's residence via coaxial cable. In yet another implementation, the network 100 may be terminated at the customer's residence via a wireless (e.g., satellite) connection.

The server 120 may include one or more devices for providing content/information to the STB140 and/or the television 150 in accordance with commands issued from the STB 140. Examples of the server 120 may include a head end device that provides broadcast television programs, a VOD device that provides television programs upon request, and a program guide information server that provides information about television programs available to the STB 140. The server 120 may also receive information from one or more STBs, such as recording information from the STB140 that may include VOD program recommendations input to the STB140 by the client. The server 140 may store the information from the STB in, for example, a database such as database 160.

Gateway 130 may include a network device that provides an interface from network 110 to television 150 and other network connection devices (not shown). Gateway 130 may include one of a number of possible gateway devices, including a satellite antenna, a coaxial cable connection, an Optical Network Terminal (ONT), or broadband access for internet protocol tv (iptv). The satellite antenna and receiver may provide an interface for television service broadcasts from the satellite. The coaxial cable connection may provide an interface for television services that connects to a customer via a coaxial cable. The ONT may provide an interface for fiber optic connections. Broadband IPTV access may generally include any device that provides broadband access over which television services may be provided.

For example, when providing telecommunications services to a customer's residence via optical fibers, gateway 130 may include ONTs connected to the optical fibers. The ONT may convert between signals suitable for television 150 and signals suitable for transmission over optical fibers. For example, the ONT may include a coaxial cable connection to the television 150 or the STB 140. The ONT may also include an Ethernet output port for connection to a personal computer or VoIP phone and/or a standard telephone port for connection to a standard telephone.

The STB140 may include devices for selecting and/or obtaining content that may be displayed or played on the television 150. The STB140 may receive television signals from the gateway 130, may convert the signals into a form usable by the television 150, and may transmit the signals to the television 150 for display. The STB140 may further allow a user to alter programming provided to the television 150 based on, for example, a signal (e.g., a previous channel or a next channel signal) from a remote control (not shown). The STB140 may also be capable of transmitting data to the server 120.

In one implementation, the STB140 may receive user input to identify suggestions for VOD programs that may not be currently provided by the subscription television service provider. The STB140 may provide some or all of the user input to a server, such as the server 120. The STB140 may also obtain VOD program recommendations for other users and may present the obtained recommendations on the television 150. The STB140 may obtain VOD program recommendations from internal storage and/or from the server 120.

Television 150 may comprise a digital or analog television through which a user may view television programming. Television 150 may refer to any device capable of receiving and displaying multimedia content delivered over network 110 for perception by a user. Television 150 may include technologies such as a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) display, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), a Light Emitting Diode (LED) display, a plasma display, and any auxiliary audio generating facilities.

Database 160 may maintain entries relating to the subscriber's VOD program recommendations. For example, the database 160 may store information received by the server 120 from one or more STBs. In one implementation, database 160 may include exemplary fields, such as a submit STB identification field, a date/time field, and/or a program identification field. Although only one database is shown in fig. 1, database 160 may be comprised of multiple databases stored locally at server 120 and/or at one or more different and possibly remote locations. Database 160 may maintain additional or different information related to information about the subscriber's VOD program recommendations. In another implementation, for example, database 160 may include actor fields, genre fields, description fields, or other fields to store additional information about the subscriber's VOD program recommendations.

In the implementation described herein, the user may submit VOD program recommendations to STB140 using, for example, television 150 and a remote control. The STB may forward the program suggestions to the server 120. The server 120 may store the program suggestions, along with program suggestions received from other STBs, for example, in the database 160. Based on the information provided in the database 160, the server 120 may identify the most suggested programs, rank the suggestions by number, and/or identify a particular threshold number of suggestions. The subscription television service provider may use the recommendation information from the server 120 to determine a new VOD program that is made available to the customer. In one implementation, a particular customer may be notified when one of the customer's recommendations is added to the available programming for the subscription television service provider.

Although only a single television 150 is shown in fig. 1, the residence of any particular customer may include multiple devices capable of displaying multimedia content. Furthermore, although a television for a single customer premises is shown in FIG. 1, the server 120 may interact with many customer premises and/or their televisions.

Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating exemplary components of the STB 140. As shown, the STB140 may include a control unit 210, a memory 220, a display 230, a network connection 240, an input/output (I/O) component 250, and a bus 260.

Control unit 210 may include a processor, microprocessor, or other type of processing logic that may interpret and execute instructions. Among other functions, control unit 210 may collect and store viewing histories associated with television programs. The control unit 210 may execute instructions to transmit the viewer activation preference and viewing history information to another device, such as the server 120. Control unit 210 may also receive information and/or instructions from other devices, such as server 120.

Memory 220 may include dynamic or static storage devices that may store information and instructions for execution by control unit 210. For example, the memory 220 may include storage components such as Random Access Memory (RAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), Ferroelectric Random Access Memory (FRAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM), Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), and/or flash memory. In one implementation, the memory 220 may store user recommendations (e.g., a user's "VOD wish list") for additional VOD programs.

Display 230 may include any component capable of providing visual information. For example, in one implementation, the display 230 may be a Light Emitting Diode (LED) or a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD). In another implementation, display 230 may use another display technology, such as a dot matrix display or the like. Display 230 may display, for example, text (such as time, date, or channel selection), images, and/or video information. The display 230 may be an optional component.

The network connection 240 may include any transceiver-type mechanism that enables the STB140 to communicate with other devices and/or systems. For example, the network connection 240 may include an ethernet interface, an optical interface, a coaxial interface, a radio interface, and so forth. The network connection 240 may allow wired, wireless, and/or optical communication. The network connection 240 may be configured to connect the STB140 to a packet-based IP network.

Input/output devices 250 may typically include user input devices such as external buttons and output devices such as a display or printer. Through the input/output device 250, a user can typically interact with the STB 140. In some implementations, the input/output device 250 may be implemented via a remote control. The bus 260 may provide an interface by which the components of the STB140 can communicate with each other.

As will be described in detail below, the STB140 may perform certain operations related to soliciting, receiving, and transmitting VOD program recommendations based on viewer preferences. The STB140 may perform these operations in response to the control unit 210 executing software instructions contained in a computer-readable medium, such as the memory 220. A computer-readable medium may be defined as a physical or logical memory device.

The software instructions may be read into memory 220 from another computer-readable medium, or from another device. The software instructions contained in memory 220 may cause control unit 210 to perform processes that will be described later. Alternatively, hardwired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to implement processes described herein. Thus, implementations described herein are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.

Although fig. 2 illustrates exemplary components of the STB140, in other implementations, the STB140 may include different, fewer, additional, and/or differently arranged components than those shown in fig. 2. In further implementations, one or more components of the STB140 may perform one or more other tasks described as being performed by one or more other components of the STB 140.

Fig. 3 is a diagram of exemplary components of server 120. As shown, server 120 may include a bus 310, processing logic 320, a main memory 330, a Read Only Memory (ROM)340, a storage device 350, an input device 360, an output device 370, and a communication interface 380. In other implementations, the server 120 may include additional (or other) components than those shown in fig. 3.

Bus 310 may include a path that permits communication among the components of server 120. Processing logic 320 may include a processor, microprocessor, or other type of processing logic that may interpret and execute instructions, such as an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or the like.

Main memory 330 may include a RAM or another type of logical storage device that may store information and instructions for execution by processing logic 320. ROM 340 may include a ROM device or another type of stored static storage device that may store static information and instructions for use by processing logic 320. Storage device 350 may include a magnetic and/or optical recording medium and its corresponding drive. In one implementation, the storage device may include a database 160 (FIG. 1). Storage device 350 may store viewer suggestions and ranking information that may indicate the most requested VOD programs.

Input device 360 may include mechanisms that allow an operator to input information to server 120, such as a keyboard, mouse, pen, voice recognition and/or biometric mechanisms, touch screen interface, and so forth. Output device 370 may include a mechanism to output information to an operator, including a display, a printer, a speaker, and so forth. Communication interface 380 may include any transceiver-type mechanism that enables server 120 to communicate with other devices and/or systems, such as set-top box 210.

As will be described in detail below, the server 120 may perform certain operations to identify the most requested VOD programs and to notify the user when their suggested VOD programs become available. Server 120 may perform these and other operations in response to processing logic 320 executing software instructions contained in a computer-readable medium, such as main memory 330.

The software instructions may be read into main memory 330 from another computer-readable medium, such as storage device 350, or from another device via communication interface 380. The software instructions contained in main memory 330 may cause processing logic 320 to perform processes that will be described later. Alternatively, hardwired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to implement processes consistent with the exemplary implementations. Thus, implementations described herein are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.

Fig. 4 provides a process flow 400 illustrating exemplary operations that may be performed by a set top box, such as STB140, for receiving user recommendations for a VOD program. Process 400 may begin with receiving user input for a suggested VOD program (block 410). For example, the STB140 may receive input for a viewer of a "VOD wish list" via an interactive menu selection process that also allows free-form text entry. For example, a menu may be displayed on the television 150. In one implementation, the user may be presented with a list of suggested VOD programs from other perspectives. In another implementation, the free-form text box may accept user input (e.g., from a remote control) and list entries from other suggestions that conform to the text entered by the user.

User input for the suggested VOD program may be stored (block 430). For example, the STB140 may store the user input as part of a personal VOD wish list. The VOD wish list may be stored, for example, in the memory 220 of the STB 140.

User input for the suggested VOD program may be sent to the server (block 430). For example, the STB140 may send user input for suggested VOD programs to the server 120. In one implementation, the user input may be combined with bulk communication from the STB140 to the server 120. In another implementation, the user input may be submitted as a separate request. Server 120 may receive VOD program recommendations and ultimately submit the recommended programs to a subscription.

A notification may be received to add the suggested VOD program item (block 440). For example, the STB140 may receive a notification from the server 120 that a particular item from the user's VOD wish list is already available to the subscriber. The notification from the server 120 may be a notification specific to the item (e.g., that a particular movie has been added to a list of VOD selections), or the notification may be an updated VOD title list that includes items from the user's VOD favorites list. In one implementation, the STB140 may be configured to monitor changing VOD offerings in order to identify when items from the user's wish list become available.

A notification of the suggested VOD program item may be presented to the user (block 450). For example, the STB140 may provide the user with an indication that an item from the user's VOD wish list is already available as a VOD item. In an exemplary implementation, the STB140 may provide an indication to the user when the user activates a VOD poster view. In another exemplary implementation, new items may be marked as available on the user's VOD wish list.

Fig. 5 is a process flow 500 illustrating exemplary operations that may be performed by a server (e.g., server 120) to provide popular demand VOD program options. Process 500 may begin by receiving a suggested VOD program listing input from an STB (block 510). For example, the server 120 may receive descriptions of VOD wish lists from the STB140 and other STBs.

The suggested VOD program input may be assembled with suggested VOD program inputs from other STBs (block 520). For example, server 120 may compile the suggestions (e.g., in database 160) and categorize the suggestions. In one implementation, the server 120 may attempt to normalize the data to account for typing errors and/or spelling changes.

The compiled suggested VOD program inputs may be ranked (block 530). For example, the server 120 may identify the program with the most suggestions, rank the suggestions by number, and/or identify any program that receives a particular number of suggestions. In another implementation, the suggested VOD program input may be weighted based on a combination of factors. For example, the server 120 may collect viewing histories from STBs and apply information from the STB viewing histories to weight the suggestions. In an exemplary implementation, suggestions from previous purchasers of VOD programs may be weighted more heavily than suggestions from subscribers who do not have a history of VOD purchases. In another exemplary implementation, the viewer recommendations may be weighted based on the number of previous VOD programs purchased within the most recent time period (e.g., recommendations from STBs with a history of 11 VOD purchases in the past 12 months may be weighted more heavily than recommendations from STBs with a history of 2 VOD purchases during the same time period).

A notification of a VOD item corresponding to the suggested VOD program may be received (block 540). For example, the server 120 may receive a notification that a VOD program has been added. In one implementation, the compiled VOD program recommendations may be presented for use by an administrator to determine whether a recommended VOD program may be added. When the administrator determines to add a suggested VOD program, the program may be flagged as a VOD wish list item. For example, the program may be marked for inclusion in the "popular demand" catalog of VOD items.

A notification of the suggested VOD program item may be sent to the STB (block 550). For example, the server 120 may provide notification to the STB140 that an item from the STB's VOD wish list has been available for purchase. In one implementation, the notification may be in the form of an updated list of all VOD titles that may be distributed to all STBs 140 receiving the subscribed television services. Each STB140 can then identify the newly added VOD item by cross-referencing the list of all VOD titles with the user's VOD wish list. In another implementation, the server 120 may send a notification to a particular STB that has submitted a particular VOD program recommendation (e.g., based on a record in the database 160).

Fig. 6A, 6B, and 6C are exemplary diagrams illustrating an implementation of a VOD system including popular demand options according to the systems and/or methods described herein. More specifically, FIG. 6A provides an exemplary view of a user interface for viewing VOD program options and receiving VOD wish list notifications; FIG. 6B provides an exemplary view of a popular demand VOD selection screen according to the selections shown in FIG. 6A; and FIG. 6C provides an exemplary view of the VOD wish list screen according to the selections shown in FIG. 6B.

Referring to fig. 6A, the viewer may elect to enter a VOD selection screen for display on the television 150. The viewer may select the VOD selection screen, for example, by pressing a designated button on a remote control, such as remote control 610, or tuning to a designated channel for the VOD selection screen. The VOD selection screen may include a notification from the viewer's wish list that an item has recently been added as a VOD purchase option for subscription television services, such as the notification 620 displayed on the television 150 of fig. 6A. In one implementation, the notification 620 may include a link to order an item from the viewer's wish list directly from the VOD selection screen. The viewer may select (e.g., via remote control 610) the item from the user's wish list in notification 620 or select a category of VOD programming from a menu such as menu 630 displayed on television 150. For example, the viewer may select VOD options such as "movies," "sports," "music," "favorites," "children's shows," "popular requests," and so forth.

Menu 620 may also include submenus for one or more options. The submenu may be implemented, for example, as a drop down menu (not shown) within menu 620 or as a separately displayed submenu. For example, selecting the "popular demand" menu selection shown in FIG. 6A may cause the submenu of FIG. 6B to be displayed.

Submenu 640 may allow a viewer to select from a particular VOD program that has been previously added to the subscription television service in response to a user suggestion for a VOD program. The submenu 640 may also provide a menu item 650 that allows the user to access a personalized wish list. Selection of the "wish list" menu item 650 shown in FIG. 6B may cause the sub-menu 660 of FIG. 6C to be displayed.

The sub-menu 660 may include a list of user-suggested VOD programs (e.g., "my VOD wish list") that have been previously stored in the STB 140. In one implementation, additional information about each item in the My VOD wish List may be displayed by highlighting (e.g., switching to a particular item using the remote control 610) or selecting the item. The additional information may include, for example, information about the nature of the item (e.g., actors, dates, genres, plots, etc.) or information about the status of the item of the VOD program as suggested (e.g., the date the item was added to the user's VOD wish list, the number of subscribers who have added the item to their VOD wish list, etc.).

The submenu 660 may also include a selection 670 that allows the user to add new VOD program suggestions to the user's VOD wish list. As shown in fig. 6C, in one implementation, the user may use a remote control to enter the title of the program as free-form text. When text is entered by the user, the STB140 may display titles that other subscribers of the VOD program have submitted as suggested and/or titles of previously provided VOD programs that are not currently available. The user may continue to enter text and submit the user's own title or selection from the listed items. In another implementation, the user may be provided with the option of simply viewing all of the titles as suggested VOD programs, which are included, for example, in database 160. The options and arrangements shown in menus 620, 640, and 660 are exemplary, and many other categories and/or subcategories of VOD programming may be used.

The systems and/or methods described herein may provide a set-top box and a server for subscription television services. The set top box may receive Video On Demand (VOD) program recommendations from a user and transmit VOD program selections to a server. The server may receive the VOD program recommendation and assemble the VOD program recommendation with other VOD program recommendations from other set top boxes. The administrator may use the compiled information to determine whether the VOD program recommendation will be made available as a VOD item. Assuming that a VOD program proposal is added to the subscription television service, the server may send a notification to the set-top box that the VOD program proposal has been added to the list of available VOD programs.

The foregoing description provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the implementation to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of the systems and/or methods disclosed herein.

Also, while series of blocks have been described with regard to the flowcharts of fig. 4 and 5, the order of the blocks may be different in other implementations. Further, independent actions may be performed in parallel.

It will be apparent that implementations may be implemented in many different forms of software, firmware, and hardware in the implementations illustrated in the figures, as described herein. The actual software code or specialized control hardware used to implement the embodiments described herein is not limiting of the invention. Thus, the operation and behavior of the embodiments were described without reference to the specific software code — it being understood that software and control hardware may be designed to implement the embodiments based on the description herein.

Furthermore, certain implementations described herein may be implemented as "logic" that performs one or more functions. This logic may include hardware, such as a processor, microprocessor, application specific integrated circuit, or field programmable gate array, or a combination of hardware and software.

It should be emphasized that the term "comprises/comprising" when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.

Even though particular combinations of features are recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the invention. In fact, many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification.

No element, act, or instruction used in the description of the present application should be construed as critical or essential to the invention unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, an item without an added quantity is intended to include one or more items. Where only one item is intended, the term "one" or similar language is used. Further, as used herein, the phrase "based on" is intended to mean "based, at least in part, on" unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Claims (20)

1. A method performed by a set-top box, comprising:

receiving a Video On Demand (VOD) program recommendation from a user subscribing to a television service;

automatically transmitting the VOD program proposal to a server;

receiving a notification from the server that a program corresponding to the VOD program recommendation is available for purchase; and

presenting the user with the availability of the program corresponding to the VOD program recommendation.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing the VOD program recommendation in a memory; and

presenting the VOD program suggestion to the user along with other suggested VOD programs entered by the user.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a menu-based display to accept input from the user.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the menu-based display accepts free-form text entry and allows the user to select from previous VOD program suggestions.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the previous VOD program proposal comprises a program proposed by other users of the subscription television service.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the automatically transmitting comprises:

associating the user input with an identifier for the set top box and an entered date; and

sending the user input, the identifier, and the entered date as a single message.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the VOD program recommendation is submitted to the set top box via a remote control.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said presenting the availability of the program corresponding to the VOD program recommendation comprises:

displaying programs corresponding to the VOD program recommendations along with a list of other suggested VOD program items that have been made available in the subscription television service.

9. A method, comprising:

receiving a Video On Demand (VOD) program recommendation from a set top box associated with a subscription television service;

assembling the VOD program proposal with other VOD program proposals from other set-top boxes;

receiving a notification that the VOD program proposal has been added to a list of available VOD programs for the subscription television service.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

ranking the compiled VOD program suggestions and other VOD program suggestions.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the ranking is weighted based on a viewing history of each STB associated with the VOD program recommendation.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

sending a notification to the set top box that the VOD program proposal has been added to a list of available VOD programs for the subscribed television service.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the sending a notification to the set top box comprises one of:

transmitting an updated list of all available VOD titles; or

Sending a notification that the VOD program proposal has been made available.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

transmitting the compiled VOD program recommendations and a list of other VOD program recommendations to the set top box.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

the VOD program suggestions and other VOD program suggestions are normalized to account for typographical errors and spelling changes.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein the receiving the notification that the VOD program recommendation has been added to the list of available VOD programs for the subscription television service comprises:

an updated list of all available VOD titles is received.

17. A system, comprising:

means for receiving Video On Demand (VOD) program recommendations from a plurality of set top boxes associated with a subscription television service; and

means for ranking the VOD program suggestions.

18. The system of claim 17, further comprising:

means for indicating to a set top box that one of the Video On Demand (VOD) program recommendations submitted by the set top box has been made available for purchase.

19. A system, comprising:

set-top boxes and servers for subscribing to television services,

the set-top box includes a processor configured to:

receiving Video On Demand (VOD) program recommendations from a user, an

Sending the VOD program recommendation to the server; and

the server includes a processor configured to:

the VOD program recommendation is received in a manner that,

assembling the VOD program proposal with other VOD program proposals from other set-top boxes, an

Sending a notification to the set top box that the VOD program proposal has been added to a list of available VOD programs for the subscribed television service.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the set-top box further comprises:

a memory for storing the VOD program recommendations.