HK1131676B - Method and apparatus for advertisement placement in a user dialog on a set-top box - Google Patents

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses for presenting targeted advertisements to DVR users are described. After a DVR has finished playing a recorded television program, or in response to other specified events, the DVR presents a screen which comprises a 'save or delete' menu. In addition to the 'save' and 'delete' options, the menu additionally comprises other options. Each of these other options may correspond to a separate promotional item. For example, a user's selection of such an option may cause the DVR to display or play an advertisement on the user's television set. Additionally or alternatively, these other options, when selected by a user, may cause the DVR to display a user interface through which the user can actually purchase a product or service. The product or service advertised or offered may be one that was featured or referenced in the television program that the user was just watching.

Description

Method and apparatus for setting advertisement in user dialog of set-top box

Technical Field

The present invention relates to displaying targeted advertisements via a Digital Video Recorder (DVR).

Background

The approaches described in this section may be, but are not necessarily, approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Accordingly, unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

The introduction of DVRs has revolutionized the way viewers watch and record television programs for the consumer world. DVRs eliminate the complexity of VCRs and the need for videotapes. DVRs record television programs on hard disk drives that are capable of storing large numbers of television programs. Because DVRs are typically box-like in shape and are often placed on top of a television set to which they are connected, DVRs are often included in a broad category currently referred to as "set-top boxes". Much like a VCR, a DVR receives one or more television signals from a cable or satellite antenna (or, in some cases, the television signals are from a broadband network connection, unlike a VCR) and outputs the television signals to a television or other display.

At least one such DVR automatically records a plurality of television programs before a user is about to watch the television programs. After one or more television programs have been recorded and stored on the hard disk drive, the DVR presents a user interface to the user through the television set that marks the television programs that are currently available for viewing. The user interface includes a menu that allows a user to select one of the currently recorded television programs using the DVR remote control device. In DVRs produced by TiVo corporation, this menu is often referred to as a "currently playing" menu.

After the user selects a recorded television program, the DVR plays the selected television program by reading the appropriate digital recording from the hard disk drive and sending the corresponding digital signal to the television. The DVR also receives signals from the user's remote control while the television program is being played to the user. Through the remote control, the user can instruct the DVR to perform different operations with respect to the television program. For example, the user may instruct the DVR to rewind the desired time period to play the television program (playback). The user can play the program forward ("fast forward") faster than usual. The user can play the program forward at a slower than usual speed. The user may cause the currently playing video frame of the television program to be played indefinitely ("pause"), or stop the playing of the entire television program. In this manner, the user can temporarily cut off television programs that the user does not like.

Although modern DVRs are typically provided with hard disk drives that are capable of storing large amounts of data, those hard disk drives are still limited in their amount of stored data. To free up space on the hard drive so that other television programs may be stored, some DVRs display a "save or delete" menu (or "dialog") to the user after the recorded television program has been played in its entirety. The menu gives the user the option of deleting the recorded television program from the hard drive or retaining the recorded television on the hard drive for later viewing. The user may select one of these options using a remote control. In response to the user's selection, the DVR saves or deletes the television program according to the user's selection. In response to the user's "delete" option, the program is "deleted" in a user-perceptible manner; the program may not actually be deleted from permanent storage, such as a hard disk drive, at this point.

The present system is effective for freeing space on a hard disk drive. However, it is observed that the "save or delete" menu does not take up many play frames due to the limitation of the number of options displayed to the user. It is even possible to consider unused space in a frame where no meaningful content is displayed and to consider some wasted opportunity (wasted space). The space of the wasted opportunity may be particularly considered when it is realized that the user has just viewed the television program in which the various products of the companies may be displayed while displaying the "save or delete" menu. When these television programs are played out, the memory of these products may still be recent in the user's mind, but the memory may quickly fade out.

Drawings

The present invention will be illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system in which added promotional information is displayed to a user in response to the occurrence of a particular event, such as the completion of the playing of a recorded television program, according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates an overview of the internal structure and components of a DVR, according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the technical steps by which a DVR displays promotional information to a user in response to the occurrence of a particular event, such as the completion of the playing of a recorded television program, according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a system in which embodiments of the invention may be implemented;

FIG. 5 is an example of an added "save and delete" menu according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 shows an example of a menu that may be displayed after a user selects an option other than "save" or "delete" according to one embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it is understood that the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention.

In the discussion that follows, like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.

Embodiments are described herein according to the following outline:

1.0 general overview

2.0 System structural overview

3.0 example techniques

3.1 Save/delete Menu Screen options

3.2 revenue generated in DVR setting Ads

3.3 automatic bidding for Menu selection time slots

3.4 tagging television programs with advertisement identification

3.5 adjusting Menu options based on click Rate (hitrate)

3.6 recording offers for similar television programs (offer)

3.7 pay-per-view implementation

3.8 dynamic advertisement selection

4.0 implementation mechanisms-hardware overview

1.0 general overview

According to embodiments of the present invention, after the DVR has finished playing a recorded or downloaded television program, or in response to other specified events, the DVR presents a screen containing a "save or delete" menu to the user who is watching the recorded or downloaded television program. The menu includes a "save" option that, if selected, causes the DVR to leave the recorded or downloaded television program on the DVR's hard drive. In response to selection of the "save" option, the title and/or other description of the program may be saved in a user interface of the DVR, thus making the program available for later viewing by the user. The menu also includes a "delete" option, which, if selected, causes the DVR to "free up" space on the DVR's hard drive that is used to store recorded or downloaded television programs. In "freeing" this space, the space may be designated for recording other television programs; previously recorded television programs may not actually be deleted from the hard disk drive until another recorded program is overwritten. In response to the user selecting the "delete" option, the program may be "deleted" as perceived by the user; the program may not be deleted from permanent storage, such as a hard disk drive.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the menu includes one or more other options in addition to the "save" and "delete" options. In one embodiment of the invention, each of these options corresponds to a separate promotional item (promotional item). For example, user selection of this option may cause the DVR to display or play an advertisement on the user's television.

"advertisements" are typically information for products, services, trademarks, companies, political activities, utilities, etc. The advertisement may, but need not, be associated with the selling entity, which itself is an individual or a company. Advertisements are sometimes specific to promoting a product or service of a selling entity due to the ultimate goal of generating business and/or revenue for the selling entity. Such an advertisement may be specified as a "commercial". However, other advertisements may be associated with, provided by, or otherwise presented to a non-commercial or non-revenue motivating individual or organization. For example, the advertisement may be a political advertisement. Advertisements may promote or display utilities, public service announcements, and/or educational information, depending on their subject matter. Advertisements are informative in nature.

In addition to the "save" and "delete" options, the menu may contain an option called "tell me more about. Additionally or alternatively, the menu may contain options for sending brochures or other information to the user's home address (upon provision to the DVR service company) and/or e-mail address. When the viewer selects this option, the DVR may store the user-selected instructions. On a periodic basis (e.g., daily, weekly, or monthly), the DVR may bundle these selection instructions together, encrypt the bundle, and send the bundle to an enforcement center (fulfilmentcenter) that ensures that the brochure and/or information associated with the selection instructions is sent on demand.

The advertisement may be provided and initiated by the DVR service provider rather than another party. For example, a DVR service company may donate advertising space during a political campaign season. As another example, DVR service companies may utilize their control over the manner in which advertisements are selected to advertise their own products and services.

The advertisement may include still pictures, video, audio, video accompanied by audio, text, and/or any combination of these. The advertisements may be interactive such that the behavior of the advertisements is based to some extent on the user's input. Such advertisements may be downloaded or broadcast from a remote source and stored in the DVR prior to or in response to a user selecting the above-described options. In one embodiment of the invention, the content of the advertisement is designed to promote a product or service that is displayed, heard, or otherwise mentioned in the recorded television program that is being viewed by the user.

In one embodiment of the invention, the options that accompany the "save" and "delete" options include an option that, when selected by the user, causes the DVR to display a user interface through which the user can actually purchase the product or service. The product or service may be a show (feature) or mention in a recorded television program that the user is watching.

For example, in addition to the "save" and "delete" options, the menu may contain one or more options called or labeled "buy. The option may be visually displayed and/or audibly spoken. In response to a user selection of this option, the DVR may display a user interface. The user may view a list of products and/or services and a price for each in a user interface. Through the user interface, the user is able to select a product or service for purchase and provide payment information (e.g., credit card information) and delivery information (e.g., shipping address information). The DVR may upload the payment information and the delivery information to the remote resource. As another example, through the user interface, the user can allow items to be added to a "shopping cart" associated with a particular website. The DVR may responsively instruct the particular website (e.g., via the Internet) to add the item to a "shopping cart" associated with the user's account on the particular website. The user may then log into the website using their computer and complete a transaction — for example, purchasing an item that was added to the "shopping cart" using the DVR. As another example, the DVR may send an e-mail message containing an encoded URL to the user's e-mail account. The URL allows the user to complete a purchase on a particular website.

As another example, in addition to the "save" and "delete" options, the menu may contain one or more options containing questions to which the user may respond. For example, a menu option may be referred to as "how will you evaluate? ", and then identifies the actors, products, services, etc. of the program.

In one embodiment of the invention, instead of or in addition to the options described above, the same screen generated by a DVR that contains a "save or delete" menu additionally includes one or more actual advertisements that the DVR displays or plays while playing the menu. In one embodiment of the invention, the same screen generated by the DVR, which contains a "save or delete" menu, additionally includes, in place of or in addition to the options described above, an interface through which the DVR's user can actually purchase the product or service described above.

At least some of the embodiments of the invention described above are highly advantageous for a number of reasons. Because the advertisements and/or menu options may be displayed to the DVR user very shortly after the user finishes watching or substantially finishes watching the recorded or downloaded television program that shows or mentions the product or service, which is still recent in the user's mind. This impression of freshness increases the probability that the user is interested in learning more about the product or service and/or purchasing said product or service.

In addition, because the advertisements and/or menu options may be displayed after the recorded or downloaded television program is presented rather than during the presentation of the recorded or downloaded television program, the user is not angry by the presence of the advertisements and/or menu options. The viewing process of the user is not interrupted or altered by the presence of the advertisement. The presence of advertisements and/or menu options is minimally invasive. Also, copyright problems can be avoided because advertisements and/or menu options need not be present in copyrighted television programs.

Moreover, because advertisements and/or menu options may appear in the same screen that contains the "save or delete" menu, at least some embodiments of the present invention may be implemented with little modification to existing DVRs. A small number of upgrades of software executing on the DVR may be uploaded to the DVR, thereby causing the DVR to present the added promotional information on a preexisting screen. A user who is already familiar with the "save or delete" menu will not be confused by simply superimposing this added promotional information onto the screen that the user wishes to view when the recorded or downloaded television program is finished playing.

The above-described embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, along with some alternative embodiments of the invention.

2.0 System structural overview

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a system depicting a system in which the added promotional information is presented to a user in response to the occurrence of a particular event, such as the end of a recorded television program, according to one embodiment of the invention. The system includes a DVR101 that is communicatively coupled to a network 105, such as the internet, a Local Area Network (LAN), and/or a Wide Area Network (WAN), through a suitable communication interface, such as an ethernet or other communication port. DVR101 may initiate a connection to network 105. In one embodiment of the invention, DVR101 is connected to network 105 through an RJ-11 port via a dial-up modem. In one embodiment of the invention, DVR101 is connected to network 105 through a USB port for a wireless or wired Ethernet adapter. In one embodiment of the invention, DVR101 is connected to network 105 through a direct Ethernet connection. The function of a DVR is typically that of U.S. patent No. 6,233,389, which is owned by the present applicant and incorporated herein by reference.

Alternatively, DVR101 may be any set top box capable of receiving programming content. Although certain embodiments of the present invention are described in the context of, inter alia, a DVR, embodiments of the present invention may also be applied and implemented in other multimedia devices. As used herein, the phrase "multimedia device" is a device that records and plays dynamic video. Multimedia devices include, among other devices, DVR and MP3 players. The DVR may alternatively be a Personal Video Recorder (PVR) and/or a Digital Media Recorder (DMR) and may be used alone or in combination with a cable company, satellite company, telephone company, internet company, and/or other multimedia provider's multimedia receiver.

In one embodiment of the invention, broadcaster 102 provides broadcast program content to DVR101 through cable, satellite, terrestrial communications, or other transmission methods. As used herein, "broadcast program content" includes any multimedia content, such as audio, image, or video content. Television programs are examples of such broadcast program content. Broadcaster 102 may provide broadcast program content to DVR101 in one or more content streams. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, DVR101 downloads digitally encoded television programming from broadcaster 102 via the Internet; television programs need not be broadcast using conventional television broadcast methods.

The advertising company 104 provides additional content to the service provider 103. For example, an advertising company 104 or broadcaster 102 may provide brand advertisements (e.g., commercials, videos, images, text, etc.) to the service provider 103. Service provider 103 may associate advertisements with broadcast program content that is to be sent to DVR101 through broadcaster 102.

In one embodiment of the invention, DVR101 periodically downloads advertisements and/or other promotional information from service provider 103 via network 105. For example, DVR101 may periodically download and store options that are displayed in a "save or delete" menu that will be displayed in accordance with the end of the television program, as discussed above. Additionally or alternatively, advertisements and/or other promotional information may be downloaded in response to the occurrence of a particular event; for example, DVR101 may download an advertisement associated with a program in response to a user viewing the end of the program. In addition to downloading, DVR101 may receive and store advertisements and/or other promotional information that has been broadcast to DVR 101. Each advertisement and menu option downloaded or broadcast to DVR101 may be specifically associated with one or more content streams. Each such content stream may represent a separate television program.

In one embodiment of the invention, DVR101 communicates with service provider 103. Service provider 103 provides DVR101 with program guide data, graphical assets such as logo icons and pictures, service information, software programs, advertisements, and other forms of data. Service provider 103 provides DVR101 with data that enables DVR101 to operate independently of service provider 103 so that DVR101 can perform the automatic recording function. In one embodiment of the invention, communication between DVR101 and service provider 103 flows through a secure distribution architecture so that the user's privacy and all data is protected from theft.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates an overview of the internal structure and components of a DVR, according to one embodiment of the invention. Although fig. 2 shows some components that may be present in a DVR, in some embodiments of the invention, a DVR may include fewer or more components than shown in fig. 2.

In one embodiment of the invention, DVR202 comprises a signal converter 254. Signal converter 254 includes components that digitize the analog television signal into a digital data stream. Signal converter 254 may also receive as input a digital data stream.

DVR202 may receive broadcast signals from an antenna, a cable television system, a satellite receiver, and/or other receiver via input 252A. Input 252A may include multiple tuning modules that allow for the simultaneous reception and recording of multiple signals.

The recording module 260 records the input content stream by storing the content stream on at least one storage device, such as memory 264. The memory 264 may be, for example, a hard disk drive. The memory 264 may also include other forms of storage media such as flash memory. The memory 264 is designed to at least temporarily hold portions of the content stream. Memory 264 may be internal and/or external to DVR 202. Signal converter 254 takes a portion of the stored content stream, converts the content stream to an analog signal, and then modulates the signal onto a Radio Frequency (RF) carrier. The analog signal is then transmitted to the television set through output 252B.

Alternatively, the output 252B may transmit the digital signal to a television or video monitor. For example, DVR202 may utilize a Digital Video Interface (DVI) port for sending digital signals to a television or video monitor via a DVI cable. As another example, DVR202 may utilize a High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) port for transmitting digital signals to a television or video monitor via an HDMI cable.

DVR202 may also include a communication interface 262 through which DVR202 communicates over network 105 via an ethernet, wireless network, modem, or other communication mechanism. DVR202 may be integrated into a television system such that the components described above are housed in a television set capable of performing the functions of each of the components of DVR 202.

In one embodiment of the invention, DVR202 comprises a plurality of components designed to receive, record, store, transmit, and playback digital data signals from a plurality of sources, such as a Personal Computer (PC), another DVR, a service provider, and/or a content server. In one embodiment of the invention, DVR202 may transmit the digital data signals to another DVR or to a PC. Using encoder 256A and decoder 256B, DVR202 may encode and decode digital signals into different formats for playback, storage, or transmission. Using encryptor/decryptor 258, DVR202 may encrypt or decrypt digital data signals for secure storage, transmission or playback of the digital data signals.

3.0 example techniques

Fig. 3 is a flowchart of the technical steps by which a DVR displays promotional information to a DVR user in response to the occurrence of a particular event, such as the completion of the playing of a recorded television program, according to one embodiment of the invention. The techniques described below are performed by, for example, DVR 101. In various alternative embodiments of the invention, more or fewer steps than those shown in FIG. 3 may be implemented.

At block 302, a content stream is received. The content stream typically represents a television program. For example, DVR101 may receive a content stream from broadcaster 102 via a cable, via a satellite antenna, or via the Internet. Broadcaster 102 may "push" the content stream to DVR101, or DVR101 may "pull" the content stream from broadcaster 102.

At block 304, the content stream is at least partially stored. For example, DVR101 may store the content stream on storage 264.

At block 306, at least a portion of the content stream is played. For example, in response to DVR101 receiving user input from a remote control, DVR101 may play a stored content stream, which represents a television program. DVR101 may play the stored content stream by reading the content stream from storage 264 and streaming the content stream to a television that is connected to DVR 101.

At block 308, it is determined whether the end of the content stream has been reached. For example, DVR101 may determine whether the last portion of the content stream is streamed to a television. If the end of the content stream has been reached, meaning that the entire content stream has been played, then control passes to block 314. Otherwise control proceeds to block 310.

At block 310, it is determined whether user input has been received instructing the DVR to stop playing the content stream. For example, DVR101 may determine whether the user has pressed a "stop" button on a remote control (or some other button that instructs DVR101 to stop playing the content stream). If the user input indicates that the DVR stops playing the content stream that has been received, control passes to block 312. Otherwise, the content stream continues to play, and control returns to block 308.

At block 312, a determination is made whether at least a specified portion of the content stream has been played. For example, DVR101 may determine whether at least 90% of the content stream has been played, or whether at least 55 minutes of the content stream have been played, or whether some other specified threshold has been reached, which indicates that the content stream is nearly finished playing when user input is received at block 310. If at least the specified portion of the content stream has been played, control passes to block 314. Otherwise, control proceeds to block 324.

At block 314, a menu referred to herein as "save or delete" is displayed. The menu is sometimes alternatively referred to as a "delete dialog". The menu includes selectable options for (a) deleting the stored content stream, (b) not deleting the stored content stream (i.e., retaining the stored content stream), and (c) one or more other options that, when selected, cause the corresponding advertisement to be played or displayed, as described below.

For example, DVR101 may cause a connected television to display a screen or dialog box that includes options that a user may select using a remote control. In addition to "delete" and "not delete/save" discussed above, the screen or dialog box may also include what is termed "are music of the program interested? "and/or as an option to" tell me more about. The options may be visually displayed and/or audibly presented.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of an added "save or delete" menu according to one embodiment of the invention. In addition to the commonly used options "delete now" and "keep the record", the menu includes another option which is denoted "special quote from ford car". Selecting this option may take the user to another menu such as that shown in fig. 6 below.

Referring again to FIG. 3, at block 316, a user input is received indicating a selection of at least one option. For example, DVR101 may receive a command from a remote control in response to a user pressing a button on the remote control. The command may instruct DVR101 to highlight an option and cause a highlighted option to be selected.

At block 318, a determination is made whether the selected option is one of the options other than "delete" and "not delete/save" -in other words, one of the "promote" options mentioned in block 314. DVR101 may make such a determination, for example. If the selected option is a "delete" or "not delete/save" option, control passes to block 322. Otherwise, if the selected option is one of the "promotion" options, control passes to block 320.

At block 320, an advertisement associated with the selected option is displayed or played, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. For example, if the selected option is "tell me more about.. if" for a successor product name, DVR101 may cause advertisements previously received from service provider 103 and stored in memory 264 to be streamed to the connected television. For example, the advertisement may be in the form of a television commercial advertisement. For example, the subject of the advertisement may be the product mentioned in the selected option. According to one embodiment of the invention, after the advertisement has been displayed or played, control passes back to block 314, at which point a new or different advertisement may be displayed along with the "save or delete" menu. According to one embodiment of the invention, the advertisement is not played immediately after the user selects a promotion option, but rather another dialog box is first displayed as shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 6 shows an example of a menu that may be displayed after a user selects an option other than "save" or "delete" according to one embodiment of the invention. The menu shown in fig. 6 allows the user to indicate whether the user would like to save or delete programs that the user has recently viewed after selecting other options but before displaying a particular offer. Allowing the user to make a save or delete decision at this point can make the user's decision easier because the program remains fresh in the user's mind and reduces much of the uncertainty about the user's queried decision.

Optionally, at block 322, the stored content stream is stored or deleted according to the selected option. For example, if the selected option is "delete," DVR101 may mark space in storage 264, which space is occupied by the content stream just played, as available for storing other content streams. As another example, if the selected option is "not delete/save," DVR101 may retain and store the content stream in storage 264, at least until the user later decides to delete the content stream.

Optionally, at block 324, the menu discussed with reference to block 314 is not displayed. For example, if DVR101 determines that a sufficient number of content streams have not been played to the user, then it may be more feasible that: the user is asked whether he would like to see advertisements or other promotional information displayed, heard, or otherwise mentioned in the content stream. Alternatively, DVR101 may simply stop playing a content stream and cause the connected television to play another menu, such as a menu that allows the user to resume playing the same content stream, or to allow the user to begin playing a different stored content stream that represents another television program. If a "program screen" is available for playing advertisements and/or a list of advertisements associated with the content stream is disconnected (linkoff), the user will revert to the "program screen" if the user does not select "delete". Alternatively, DVR101 may simply resume playing the television program that DVR101 is currently receiving in real-time.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the "save or delete" menu includes selectable options corresponding to (a) viewing the advertisement now or (b) viewing the advertisement later. In such an embodiment, if the user selects the option corresponding to the advertisement being viewed now, DVR101 plays the advertisement. However, if the user selects an option corresponding to viewing advertisements later, DVR101 instead generates a "program shortcut" (e.g., a menu entry) in a "now playing" menu that lists the programs that may currently be viewed through the DVR. A "program shortcut" is associated with an advertisement that the user selects for viewing later. User selection of a "program shortcut" causes DVR101 to play an advertisement. The advertisement may be stored on DVR101 prior to generating the "program shortcut". Alternatively, DVR101 may download the advertisement from a remote source in response to a user selection of a "program shortcut" or in response to the generation of a "program shortcut".

3.1 Save/delete Menu Screen options

As described above with reference to block 320, in one embodiment of the invention, when a user selects an option other than "delete" and "not delete/save," DVR101 causes an advertisement corresponding to the selected option to be played or displayed.

In one embodiment of the invention, the menu includes one or more options that, when selected, cause DVR101 to play additional menus and/or forms in addition to, or in place of, the option that causes DVR101 to play an advertisement. For example, the options accompanying the "save" and "delete" options may include an option referred to as a "more select," the user selection of which causes DVR101 to further play a menu containing other user-selectable options, such as those described herein. As another example, the options that accompany the "save" and "delete" options may include an option that, when selected by the user, causes DVR101 to play a user interface through which the user may actually purchase a product or service.

For example, in addition to the "save" and "delete" options, the menu may contain one or more options called or labeled "buy. The options may be visually played and/or audibly presented. In response to user selection of such an option, DVR101 may cause a user interface to be played on a television to which it is connected. The user may view the list of products and/or services and the price of each in the user interface. Through the user interface, the user may select products and services for purchase and then provide payment information (e.g., credit card information) and shipping information (e.g., shipping address information). DVR101 may upload payment information and shipping information to a remote resource.

As another example, in response to a call "are interested in music in the program? "DVR 101 may (a) play a menu or form that allows a user to purchase a Compact Disc (CD) containing songs heard in a television program, or pay-per-view programs, or advertisements, represented by the content stream just played, (b) send an e-mail message to the user's e-mail address, the message including an advertisement and/or CD and a bid for the songs thereon, or (c) send a signal to a connected PC that can cause the PC to download songs from an online music provider and store those songs on the PC and/or a portable digital music playback device connected to the PC. In various embodiments of the invention, DVR101 may respond to the selection of various menu options with various other actions; the actions described herein should not be considered an exhaustive list (exhaustivelist). For example, the DVR may send an e-mail message containing the encoded URL to the user's e-mail account. The URL may allow the user to complete the purchase on the website.

In one embodiment of the invention, the products that the user purchases through the DVR-displayed interface are actually downloaded and played through the DVR. For example, in response to a user purchasing a music video, perhaps featured (composing) music that the user has just heard during a television program being viewed by the user, the DVR may automatically download the music video in a digital format, store the music video on DVR memory, and then play the music video. There is no limitation on the types of content that can be downloaded and played by the DVR. Other examples of content that a DVR may download and display include movie clips and commercials.

In one embodiment of the invention, the screen or dialog box containing the "save" and "delete" options additionally includes one or more advertisements that are played or displayed in the same screen or dialog box, in addition to or in place of the other menu options discussed above. Thus, in one embodiment of the invention, the user selection of a menu option is not a prerequisite for the display of an advertisement at the end of a television program.

In one embodiment of the invention, the screen or dialog box containing the "save" and "delete" options additionally includes, in addition to or in place of the other menu options discussed above, a user interface or form through which the user can actually purchase the product and service. Thus, in one embodiment of the invention, user selection of a menu option is not a prerequisite to displaying a "buy" user interface or form at the end of a television program.

Thus, the space available in the existing screen that is typically displayed by the DVR at the end of a television program can be more efficiently and advantageously utilized. Some techniques for generating revenue from the display of advertisements by a DVR are described below.

Although the above-described embodiments of the present invention refer to advertisements, offers, and/or menu options being displayed in or concurrently with the "save or delete" menu, other embodiments of the present invention are possible. For example, in various embodiments of the present invention, menu options and/or advertisements such as those discussed above may be displayed on or with the menu and/or screen, rather than in the "save or delete" menu, and not temporally after the television program is played.

For example, in one embodiment of the invention, the DVR displays (and/or audio presents) a list of television programs that have been recorded and are available for viewing and/or a list of actions that may be taken with respect to one or more such recorded television programs in a "now playing" or "actions" menu or dialog box. With each television program available for advertising or offers, selectable options such as "see offers (seeoffers)" may be displayed or presented audibly. Selection of such an option may cause the DVR to display a subsequent menu that includes menu options associated with advertisements associated with the corresponding television program. Selection of these subsequent menu options may cause the DVR to play or display the associated advertisement. As another example, advertisements and/or menu options of the type discussed above may be displayed in a screen listing search results for recordable programs. As another example, advertisements and/or menu options of the type discussed above may be displayed in a screen listing options for recording programs found by the search. As another example, advertisements and/or menu options of the type discussed above may be displayed in a screen listing a directory of "folders" containing a plurality of particular television series episodes.

As another example, advertisements and/or menu options of the type discussed above may be displayed in a screen that is played during a time when the program being played has been paused, for example, in response to a viewer's action that triggers a "pause" button on a remote control. In one embodiment of the invention, the advertisements and/or menu options displayed when the DVR is in the "pause" mode may be based on a directory selection displayed when the DVR enters the "pause" mode. In one embodiment of the invention, as the content stream is played, the DVR causes the display screen to display an indicator (e.g., at a corner of the display screen) that flashes when a new associated advertisement appears in response to the user selecting the "pause" function. In one embodiment of the invention, a "trick play" bar (a bar that a DVR displays on a display screen when a user fast forwards or replays a content stream) includes a marker that indicates a temporary location where a user's initiation of a "pause" function will cause the DVR to play advertisements and/or other information in a "pause" screen.

In one embodiment of the invention, when the user of the DVR initiates the "pause" function, the DVR sends the last minute of cc caption information (closed caption information) to the server. The server uses the cc caption information to select advertisements or other information to be played on the "pause" screen. In one embodiment of the invention, the information played on the "pause" screen is non-commercial information that is determined to be of possible interest to the user; such information may be displayed to entice the user to use the "pause" function.

In one embodiment of the invention, the list of relevant advertisements is associated with an entry for a particular program in the DVR's "recording history". In this embodiment of the invention, the DVR can play advertisements to the user at the user's discretion, even after the user has caused a particular program to be deleted from the DVR's persistent storage.

In the discussion above, an "advertisement" may also be a survey from a network and/or product company. The network and/or product company may seek viewer feedback on "tentative" programming. The download of the survey may be defined to be specific to a particular group or group of viewers. Additionally or alternatively, an "advertisement" may be a video associated with a "follow-on education" credit (e.g., a legal, medical, or real estate follow-on educational program). After the user views the video, the DVR may display to the user the questionnaire that the user has completed with the DVR controller. Successful and correct completion of the questionnaire questions by the user can cause the user to be awarded a continuing educational score.

In one embodiment of the invention, the menu options and/or advertisements are displayed in a "save or delete" menu, which is typically displayed after the television program has been substantially or completely aired, which menu options and/or advertisements may be (additionally or alternatively) displayed by the DVR at any time, anywhere, in various embodiments of the invention. However, in light of the above discussion, it is an object of at least one embodiment of the invention to present the menu options and/or advertisements at locations and times that do not interfere with the DVR user's viewing process.

3.2 revenue generated in DVR setting Ads

According to one embodiment of the invention, a representative of the service provider 103 (referred to herein simply as a "service provider") enters into an agreement with selling entities (e.g., companies and individuals) that wish their products and/or services to be advertised. The service provider agrees to configure a different DVR to display advertisements in exchange for monetary compensation or other compensation from the selling entity in response to the occurrence of a particular event, such as a user selecting a corresponding menu option.

There are different ways to achieve this agreement. According to one embodiment of the invention, the service provider determines which products or services are to be displayed, heard, or otherwise referred to in a given television program. The service provider may make a decision, for example, by watching an early (e.g., west coast) program feedback to note which product or service is displayed, heard, or otherwise mentioned. Because DVR users often watch recorded television programs long after they are recorded on their DVRs, the service provider has sufficient time to make decisions before advertisements are available through those users' DVRs. Alternatively, a broadcaster (e.g., a television network) may determine from a television program script which products and/or services are to be displayed, heard, or otherwise referred to in the corresponding television program. In one embodiment of the invention, the DVR provider provides tools to the broadcaster through which the broadcaster can provide space in the "save or delete" dialog box for displaying advertisements for products and/or services to sell to advertisers. The advertising company may optionally require a seller or provider of the product and/or service to be displayed to pay in exchange for the display of the product and/or service in a "save or delete" dialog box. In one embodiment of the invention, the DVR provider provides tools to the broadcaster through which the broadcaster can place his own selected content in a "save or delete" dialog box after a particular program. In one embodiment of the invention, a multi-channel video program distributor (MVPD) that distributes DVR products and/or services obtains television program scripts from those entities that are capable of providing those scripts prior to the broadcast of the corresponding television program. In one embodiment of the invention, a production company and/or production settings agent that knows even faster than the network about what is to be displayed on a particular television program may interact with the DVR provider in the same manner as described above, in which the broadcaster interacts with the DVR.

After determining which products and/or services are to be displayed, heard, or otherwise mentioned, the service provider may contact the selling entity that provides the products and/or services and propose to upload the selling entity's advertisements to a particular DVR in exchange for payment by the selling entity. Because DVRs may implement built-in functionality that proactively notifies service providers of which service providers' television programs are stored on the DVR and which television programs are still not playing, the service providers can know exactly how many potential viewers of each television program are. The service provider may utilize these numbers as a lever to agree with the selling entity.

After agreement is reached, the service provider may upload advertisements and/or offers selected by the participating selling entity to the selected DVR on which the associated television program has been stored. In a DVR, an association between selected advertisements/offers and related television programs is established. For example, if the selling entity has agreed to pay the service provider for displaying the selected advertisement at the end of a particular television program, the service provider may cause the selected advertisement to be uploaded and stored on the selected DVR. In the selected DVR, the selected advertisement is associated with a particular television program.

Thereafter, when the user of the selected DVR finishes watching a particular television program (or performs other particular events with respect to the particular television program), the selected DVR displays a "save or delete" menu with other options for advertisements associated with the particular television program, as discussed above.

Thus, according to one embodiment of the invention, a selling entity actually purchases a privilege from the service provider that causes the selling entity's menu options to be displayed in a "save or delete" menu that will be displayed by the DVR after a particular television program, selected by the selling entity, and played by the DVR.

In various embodiments of the present invention, a representative of the service provider may initiate contact with a representative of the selling entity, or alternatively, a representative of the selling entity may initiate contact with a representative of the service provider, provided that the selling entity is aware that the service provider provides the advertising and promotional services described herein.

Regardless of how the agreement between the service provider and the selling entity is reached, the agreement may specify that the selling entity pay the service provider an additional fee for each DVR that actually causes an advertisement for the selling entity to be displayed or played (e.g., in response to the DVR user selecting a menu option corresponding to the advertisement). In one embodiment of the invention, each DVR is provided with a monitoring mechanism that provides service provider 103, through network 105, with an identification of all advertisements that the DVR has displayed or played. For example, the DVR may transmit this information periodically, or in response to a service provider-initiated query. Thus, the service provider can determine how many times the advertisement has been displayed or played and thus charge the relevant selling entity.

Embodiments of the present invention are described in connection with negotiations and protocols with respect to a particular television program. According to various embodiments of the invention, these negotiations and protocols may be relevant to situations such as (a) a particular episode of a television program, (b) all episodes of a particular television program, all television programs or other aspects of a content stream that match particular characteristics (e.g., conform to a particular genre, a particular actor, etc.). The advertisement may be related to a television program, keywords in a television program, the genre to which the television program belongs, demographic information of a DVR user watching the television program, and/or keywords contained in a cc subtitle stream (closed caption stream) associated with the television program. Thus, the advertisement may "match" a television program based on the television program episode, the series to which the television program episode belongs, the genre to which the television program episode belongs, actors appearing in the television program, the director of the television program, and/or other factors.

In the embodiments of the present invention described above, the service provider determines how many potential viewers are for each television program. In one embodiment of the invention, the service provider makes the decision based at least in part on determining how many DVRs must schedule each television program to be recorded. In one embodiment of the invention, the service provider makes the decision based at least in part on a survey and/or statistical sample. In one embodiment of the invention, the DVR server maintains data on the user's profile of watching a particular program and on the user's propensity to select a particular advertisement.

3.3 automatic bidding for Menu selection time slots

In some embodiments of the present invention, there is limited space available for displaying other advertisement-related menu options in the "save or delete" menu. Additionally, where more than one such menu option is presented at the same time, the order of each other in the menu options may be an important criterion for the selling entity paying for the menu options. For example, the selling entity may be willing to pay more to have a menu option at the top of the list of menus related to the advertisement that are displayed on the "save or delete" menu.

Thus, in one embodiment of the invention, for each television program, the selling entity may bid on the menu option "slot" associated with the television program. In one embodiment of the invention, the slots of the "save or delete" menu (which may be limited in number) are arranged to be filled with the options of the highest bidding selling entity after the bidding results. In one embodiment of the invention, the first listed menu option slot is filled with the option of the highest bidder; the second listed menu option slot is filled with the option of the next highest bidder; and so on. In one embodiment of the invention, the first listed menu option is defaulted to highlighted so that if the DVR user does not select a different item, it will be selected when the user presses a "select", "type" or similar button on the remote control.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the bidding process is automated. For example, in one embodiment of the invention, the service provider maintains a web server that executes a server application. The server application receives bids from a plurality of selling entities regarding a particular television program. The selling entity may submit the bid through a web browsing application that sends the submitted bid to a remote server application over a network, such as network 105. For example, the server application may send a web page containing a form to the selling entity's web browsing application through which the selling entity may enter bids. When these forms are submitted, the web browser application sends the contents of the forms to the server application, which updates the locally stored bid data accordingly.

In one embodiment of the invention, for each television program for which a bid can be placed, the server application identifies (e.g., on a web page) the number of DVRs that are currently stored but that are not playing the television program. Such statistics can help bidding selling entities know the value of the time slot they are bidding on. The server application may obtain such statistics by communicating with the DVR over a network or automatically by querying a database that already stores information obtained from the DVR

In one embodiment of the invention, for each television program for which a bid can be placed, the server application identifies (e.g., on a web page) products and/or services that are known to be displayable, audible, or otherwise referred to in the television program. Such identification information may assist bidding selling entities in selecting television program slots to bid on.

The bids for the time slots associated with a particular television program may remain open until a time specified by the service provider. In one embodiment of the invention, bidding for the relevant "save or delete" menu option slots for a particular television program begins as long as at least one DVR has scheduled a current or future recording of the television program, and the bidding remains open as long as the particular television program is still saved but not played on at least a particular number of DVRs.

The server application may be executed in this manner: if one selling entity's bid is exceeded by other selling entities, each selling entity may elect to automatically increase its bid on the selected television program. In one embodiment of the invention, each selling entity may specify a maximum value to which its bids with respect to a particular television program may be automatically increased. In the event that a selling entity's bid is exceeded, the server application can automatically increase the selling entity's bid to be higher than the next highest bid unless doing so would cause the selling entity's bid to exceed the maximum value specified by the selling entity.

In one embodiment of the invention, each selling entity may specify a "persistent bid" through the server application. When the selling entity specifies "persistent bidding," the server application will automatically bid, for the benefit of the selling entity, on a time slot associated with a television program that displays or otherwise presents known products and/or services of the selling entity. In one embodiment of the invention, each "persistent bid" is associated with an "allocation" threshold specified by the selling entity. When the threshold is specified, no bids for the time slots corresponding to the particular television program will be set on the sales entity's behalf unless the particular television program is known to be recorded by a number of DVRs that is at least as high as the specified threshold.

In one embodiment of the invention, the placement of the advertisement is automatic. For example, according to one embodiment of the present invention, an advertiser authors its own advertisement based on one or more specific templates. After authoring an advertisement, the advertiser utilizes a network-driven "self service" interface to indicate where the advertisement will be placed.

3.4 tagging television programs with advertisement identification

According to one embodiment of the invention, a "tag" is placed into the content stream that is streamed to the DVR (e.g., via broadcast station 102). These tags are codes that are not visible to a human viewer, but which can be detected by the DVR receiving the content stream. The tags identify products and/or services to be displayed, heard, or otherwise referenced in a television program presented by the content stream.

In one embodiment of the invention, the DVR determines from the tags embedded in the content stream which products and/or services are displayed, heard, or otherwise referenced in the content stream in the process of generating the other menu options for the "save or delete" menu described above. In response to determining these products and/or services, the DVR generates a "save or delete" menu that includes menu options corresponding to those products and/or services if these corresponding menu options or advertisements corresponding to those menu options are available on the DVR.

In one embodiment of the invention, each tag additionally represents an amount that the selling entity is willing to pay to obtain an advertisement or a corresponding displayed menu option. Selling entities willing to pay to obtain advertisements or corresponding display menu options may rate the amount they are willing to pay before the tag is placed in the content stream. In addition to the amount a particular selling entity is willing to pay, the tag also indicates the rating of the particular selling entity relative to other selling entities that are also willing to pay. The advertisement and/or menu options corresponding to the label with the highest amount "N" may be selected for display in the "save or delete" menu.

3.5 adjusting Menu options based on click Rate (hitrate)

According to one embodiment of the invention, the DVR tracks how often each promotional menu option is presented by the user in addition to the "not delete/save" and "delete" options in the "save or delete" menu. The DVR sends this "hit rate" information to service provider 103. In one embodiment of the invention, the service provider 103 uses this "hit rate" information to reorder the menu options, with frequently selected menu options potentially being placed near the top of the list of menu options, and less frequently selected menu options potentially being placed near the bottom of the list of menu options. Service provider 103 may send this "hit rate" to the DVRs based on the ranking information, and thus the DVRs may rearrange their list of menu options.

In one embodiment of the invention, information for selecting menu options through a particular DVR is maintained for each DVR. Each DVR may send this information to service provider 103. Based on this information, service provider 103 may select future menu options and/or advertisements to place on each DVR. For example, if a user tends to select a menu option corresponding to a particular category of products or services, service provider 103 may detect this type and in the future service provider 103 may send additional menu options and/or advertisements to the user's DVR that relate to products and/or services in the same or similar categories.

3.6 recording offers for similar television programs (offer)

As described above, in certain embodiments of the present invention, menu options relating to advertisements may be displayed in a "save or delete" menu typically displayed at the end of a television program. In one embodiment of the invention, in addition to or in place of these menu options, a menu option labeled "record other programs like this" may be displayed (and/or audio read-out) along with other menu options in the "save or delete" menu (and/or other screens or menus displayed by the DVR, e.g., a program screen displayed before the program begins playing, a "recording history" displayed after the program is deleted, a screen displaying program search results, etc.). In response to the user selecting these menu options, the user's DVR or service provider 103 determines a group of one or more categories to which the television program just watched conforms, and automatically configures the DVR to automatically record one or more other television programs that conform to those categories in the future. Additionally or alternatively, user selection of these menu options may cause the user's DVR to proactively download one or more other television programs from service provider 103 without waiting for service provider 103 to broadcast these television programs at some future time.

In one embodiment of the invention, the menu option identifies the titles of one or more other television programs that are determined to be of the same category as the television program being viewed. In one embodiment of the invention, the service provider 103 causes the particular television program to be included in the menu option list in response to an agreement with a selling entity (e.g., a television network) that will pay the service provider 103 a specified fee in exchange for the service provider 103 including the particular television program in the list.

3.7 pay-per-view implementation

Some "pay-per-view" services prohibit content streams from being stored in the DVR's memory for legal or other reasons. According to one embodiment of the invention, the content stream that is streamed from broadcaster 102 passes through DVR101 without being stored in DVR 101. At the end or beginning of the content stream, one or more advertisements and/or promotional menu options may be displayed on the DVR-generated screen, even if no portion of the content stream needs to be deleted from DVR 101. Thus, embodiments of the present invention are not limited to presenting advertising and promotional menu options, particularly on the "save or delete" menu screen. The advertisements and promotional menu options may be presented at the end of a "pay-per-view" content stream that is never actually stored on the DVR.

In one embodiment of the invention, DVR101 causes one or more advertisements and promotional menu options to be displayed when the DVR user stops watching live television (e.g., begins watching an alternate recorded program). For example, the advertisements and promotional menu options displayed to the user may be selected based on characteristics of a live television program that the user has watched before that time. When the DVR user "scrolls" through the advertisements in "channel advertisement (chennelbanner)" indicates an icon, the advertisements may be displayed to the "surface" of the "channel advertisement".

In one embodiment of the invention, a user's selection of one or more advertising and/or promotional menu options at or before the beginning of the content affects the amount of money (credit) placed in an account associated with the user. In one embodiment of the invention, the user may use this amount for a "pay-per-view" content stream display. In one embodiment of the invention, the user may use this amount to pay the DVR service fee.

3.8 dynamic advertisement selection

In one embodiment of the invention, advertisements or other promotional information displayed by the DVR in the "save or delete" menu may be dynamically selected based on different specific factors. For example, advertisements for a product and/or company may be selected for display from a group of advertisements for the product and/or company based on electronic program guide information. Electronic program guide information typically includes metadata about the program. The metadata is typically set by the epg provider for the DVR service provider. For each program, these metadata may include, for example, the title of the program, the actors and actresses in the program, the director of the program, keywords about the program, ratings of the program (e.g., TV-G, TV-14, TV-MA, PG, R, etc.), and/or descriptive labels (e.g., adult status, violence, short exposure, etc.). For example, if metadata associated with a program being viewed indicates that the program stared with a particular actor, an advertisement for a movie starring by that actor may be displayed in a "save or delete" menu. As another example, if metadata associated with the program indicates that the program is of a "TV-G" level, an advertisement may be played that presents the product to children and households.

As another example, advertisements or other promotional information may be selected based on the genre to which the program belongs. For example, if the program is a "home improvement" style, then a home improvement and/or hardware store (hardward) advertisement may be selected for play. Such advertising need not be directed to sale. Such advertisements may be informational in nature. For example, the advertisement may include a 2 minute video describing how people tile a bathroom. In this case, the advertisement may represent brands and products related to and/or provided by housing improvement and/or hardware stores.

As another example, advertisements or other promotional information may be dynamically selected based on information contained in the cc subtitle stream.

As another example, advertisements or other promotional information may be dynamically selected based on the viewer's past viewing behavior and/or the viewer's particular preferences. For example, the DVR may maintain a history of commercial advertisements that the viewer has viewed (i.e., not skipped from not viewing). The advertisements or other promotional information associated with the category in which the most commercial advertisements are viewed may be selected to be presented in a "save or delete" menu. As another example, a DVR may maintain a history of programs that a viewer has watched. A majority of those programs may be associated with the same program category. Advertisements or other promotional information about products or companies associated with the program category may be selected for display in the "save or delete" menu.

As another example, advertisements or other promotional information may be dynamically selected based on information known about the geographic location and/or demographic characteristics of the DVR owner. For example, when a DVR owner registers for a DVR, the DVR may send information such as the owner's street address, zip code, age, gender, race, income, etc., to the DVR service provider. Advertisements or other promotional information selected for display by a particular DVR may be selected based on information associated with the particular DVR owner. Additionally or alternatively, advertisements or other promotional information may be selected based on demographic data associated with "typical" viewers (e.g., general or average viewers) of a particular television program.

In one embodiment of the invention, prior to presentation, the advertisements and promotional information appropriate for presentation are filtered based on whether the DVR is currently in a "safe" mode (e.g., "kid zone for TiVo"). If the DVR is in "safe" mode, certain advertisements that are not suitable for children may be removed from the selections displayed in the "Save or delete" menu dialog box. Additionally or alternatively, if the DVR is currently in a "safe" mode, then particular advertisements that are associated with or targeted for childhood statistics may be selected to play in preference to other advertisements. Thus, in one embodiment of the invention, the DVR is typically set by the DVR's owner to the "mode" based on the current mode "selected advertisement. In one embodiment of the invention, the DVR supports different modes or viewing by different adults in the home. In such an implementation, the DVR can determine that a particular adult is currently using the DVR (e.g., because the DVR has located a "now playing" list associated with the particular adult). In response to this determination, the DVR may display advertisements targeted to that particular adult.

4.0 hardware overview

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a computer system 400 upon which embodiments of the present invention may be implemented. Computer system 400 includes a bus 402 or other communication mechanism for communicating information, and a processor 404 coupled with bus 402 for processing information. Computer system 400 also includes a main memory 406, such as a Random Access Memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device, coupled to bus 402 for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor 404. Main memory 406 also may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions to be executed by processor 404. Computer system 400 further includes a Read Only Memory (ROM)408 or other static storage device coupled to bus 402 for storing static information and instructions for processor 404. A storage device 410, such as a magnetic disk or optical disk, is provided and connected to bus 402 for storing information and instructions.

Computer system 400 may be coupled via bus 402 to a display 412, such as a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), for displaying information to a computer user. An input device 414, including alphanumeric and other keys, is coupled to bus 402 for communicating information and selection commands to processor 404. Another type of user input device is cursor control 416, such as a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys for communicating direction information and selection commands to processor 404 and for controlling cursor movement on display 412. The input device typically has two degrees of freedom in two axes, a first axis (e.g., x) and a second axis (e.g., y), allowing the device to specify positions in a plane.

The invention is related to the use of computer system 400 for implementing the techniques described herein. According to one embodiment of the invention, those techniques are performed by computer system 400 in response to processor 404 executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained in main memory 406. Such instructions may be read into main memory 406 from another machine-readable medium, such as storage device 410. Execution of the sequences of instructions contained in main memory 406 causes processor 404 to perform the process steps described herein. In alternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to implement the invention. Thus, embodiments of the invention are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.

The term "machine-readable medium" as used herein refers to any medium that participates in providing data that causes a machine to operation in a specific fashion. In one implementation implemented using computer system 400, the various machine-readable media are involved, for example, in providing instructions to processor 404 for execution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical or magnetic disks, such as storage device 410. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as main memory 406. Transmission media includes coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise bus 402. Transmission media can also take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during acoustic and infrared data communications. All such media must be tangible to enable the instructions carried by the media to be detected by a physical mechanism that reads the instructions into a machine.

Common forms of machine-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk (flexible disk), a hard disk, magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave as described hereinafter, or any other medium from which a computer can read.

The carrying of one or more sequences of one or more instructions to processor 404 for execution may involve different forms of machine-readable media. For example, the instructions may initially be carried on a magnetic disk of a remote computer. The remote computer can load the instructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over a telephone line using a modem. A modem local to computer system 400 can receive the data on the telephone line and use an infra-red transmitter to convert the data to an infra-red signal. An infra-red detector can receive the data transmitted in the infra-red signal and appropriate circuitry can place the data on bus 402. Bus 402 carries the data to main memory 406, from which processor 404 retrieves and executes the instructions. The instructions received by main memory 406 may optionally be stored on storage device 410 either before or after execution by processor 404.

Computer system 400 also includes a communication interface 418 coupled to bus 402. Communication interface 418 provides a two-way data communication coupling to a network link 420, and network link 420 is connected to a local network 422. For example, communication interface 418 may be an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) card or a modem to provide a data communication connection to a corresponding type of telephone line. As another example, communication interface 418 may be a Local Area Network (LAN) card to provide a data communication connection to a matching LAN. A wireless link may be implemented. In any such implementation, communication interface 418 sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streams representing various types of information.

Network link 420 typically provides data communication through one or more networks to other data devices. For example, network link 420 may provide a connection through local network 422 to a host computer 424 or to data equipment operated by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) 426. ISP426 in turn provides data communication services through the wide area data packet communication network now commonly referred to as the "Internet" 428. Local network 422 and internet 428 both use electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streams. The signals through the various networks and the signals on network link 420 and through communication interface 418, which carry the digital data to computer system 400 and the data sent by computer system 400, are exemplary forms of carrier waves transporting the information.

Computer system 400 can send messages and receive data, including program code, through the network(s), network link 420 and communication interface 418. In an internet embodiment, a server 430 might transmit a requested code for an application program through internet 428, ISP426, local network 422 and communication interface 418.

The received code may be executed by processor 404 as it is received, and/or stored in storage device 410, or stored in another non-volatile storage device for later execution. In this manner, computer system 400 may obtain application program code in the form of a carrier wave.

In the foregoing specification, embodiments of the invention have been described with reference to numerous specific details that may vary from implementation to implementation. Thus, the sole and exclusive indicator of what is the invention, and is intended by the applicants to be the invention, is the set of claims that issue from this application, in the specific form in which such claims issue, including any subsequent correction. Any definitions expressly set forth herein for inclusion in the claims shall govern the meaning of such terms as used in the claims. Hence, no limitation, element, property, feature, advantage or attribute that is not expressly recited in a claim should limit the scope of such claim in any way. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

Claims (44)

1. A method of presenting information by a multimedia device, the method comprising:

receiving a user input instructing the multimedia device to pause playing a content stream; and

in response to receiving the user input, the multimedia device pauses playing of the content stream;

while the content stream is paused, the multimedia device further displays specific information to a user of the multimedia device in response to the received user input, the specific information being superimposed onto the paused content stream;

detecting, by the multimedia device, an encoding of the inserted content stream;

while the content stream is paused, the multimedia device selects particular information to display to a user based on the detected encoding; and

wherein the encoding is detectable by the multimedia device but not visible to a human viewer of the content stream.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the specific information comprises specific user selectable options, further comprising:

receiving a particular user input, the input representing a selection of a particular user option; and

in response to receiving a particular user input, displaying a subsequent menu to the user, the subsequent menu comprising at least one of:

(a) a user-selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to display an advertisement to a user;

(b) a user selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to display an interface to a user through which the user can purchase a product or service;

(c) a user selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to display an interface to a user through which the user can request information about products and services sent to the user;

(d) an interface through which a user can submit an answer to a question through a multimedia device;

(e) a user-selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to send a request to a requesting-receiving entity, wherein the request requests the requesting-receiving entity to send specific information to at least one of (i) a specific e-mail address and (ii) a specific mailing address;

(f) a user selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to provide a user with the ability to schedule recording of an upcoming content stream;

(g) an interface through which a user can request that a particular video be downloaded for later viewing.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the specific information includes specific user-selectable options, and further comprising:

receiving a particular user input, the input representing a selection of a particular user option; and

in response to receiving the particular user input, the selling entity is charged a particular monetary amount.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the specific information includes specific user-selectable options, and further comprising:

receiving a particular user input, the input representing a selection of a particular user option; and

in response to receiving a particular user input, data is recorded indicating that a particular user-selectable option has been selected.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

displaying one or more additional user selectable options selected for display based on the data;

wherein the one or more additional user selectable options are selected for display because they belong to the same category as the particular user selectable option.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of displaying specific information to the user of the multimedia device further comprises: displaying the one or more particular user selectable options in an order based on a frequency with which each of the one or more particular user selectable options was previously selected.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of displaying specific information to the user of the multimedia device further comprises: the titles of one or more television programs are displayed, which the user can select in order to have the multimedia device record a corresponding television program at a later time.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: specific information is selected for display from a plurality of specific information items based at least in part on the electronic program guide information.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: specific information is selected for display from a plurality of specific information items based at least in part on one or more words in the cc subtitle stream.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: the particular information for display is selected from a plurality of particular information items based at least in part on a user's previous television viewing behavior.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising: selecting particular information for display from a plurality of particular information items based at least in part on whether the multimedia device is currently configured to operate in accordance with a restriction associated with a particular mode of operation.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising: the particular information for display is selected from a plurality of particular information items based at least in part on geographic address information associated with an owner of the multimedia device.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising: the particular information is selected for display from a plurality of particular information items based at least in part on demographic information associated with an owner of the multimedia device.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein selecting particular information for display from a plurality of particular information items based at least in part on a user's previous television viewing behavior comprises: the particular information for display is selected based at least in part on the particular content stream that has been displayed to the user at the normal speed as a whole.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the particular content stream is a television commercial advertisement.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the specific information includes at least one of:

(a) advertising;

(b) an interface through which a user can purchase a product or service;

(c) a menu comprising at least one user selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to play an advertisement to a user;

(d) a menu comprising at least one user selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to play an interface to a user through which the user can purchase a product or service;

(e) an interface through which a user can submit an answer to a question through a multimedia device;

(f) a menu comprising at least one user-selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to send a request to a requesting-receiving entity, wherein the request requires the requesting-receiving entity to send specific information to at least one of (i) a specific e-mail address and (ii) a specific mailing address;

(g) a menu comprising at least one user selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to provide a user with the ability to schedule recording of an upcoming content stream; and

(h) an interface through which a user can request that a particular video be downloaded for later viewing.

17. A method of presenting information by a multimedia device, the method comprising:

when a user input has been received instructing a multimedia device to stop playing a content stream, the multimedia device determining whether the content stream has been played to at least a particular point in the content stream;

in response to determining that the stopped content stream has been played to at least the particular point in the content stream, the multimedia device displays specific information to a user, the specific information being superimposed onto the content stream;

wherein the content stream represents a television program;

detecting, by the multimedia device, an encoding of the inserted content stream;

the multimedia device selecting specific information to display to a user based on the detected encoding; and

wherein the encoding is detectable by the multimedia device but not visible to a human viewer of the content stream.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising: specific information is selected for display from a plurality of specific information items based at least in part on the electronic program guide information.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising: the particular information for display is selected from a plurality of particular information items based at least in part on one or more words in the subtitle stream.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising: the particular information for display is selected from a plurality of particular information items based at least in part on a user's previous television viewing behavior.

21. The method of claim 17, further comprising: selecting particular information for display from a plurality of particular information items based at least in part on whether the multimedia device is currently configured to operate in accordance with a restriction associated with a particular mode of operation.

22. The method of claim 17, further comprising: the particular information for display is selected from a plurality of particular information items based at least in part on geographic address information associated with an owner of the multimedia device.

23. The method of claim 17, further comprising: selecting specific information for display from a plurality of specific information items based at least in part on one of:

cc caption text associated with a particular point in time in a program; and

keyword tags that describe items visible on the screen at a particular point in time in the program.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein selecting particular information for display from a plurality of particular information items based at least in part on a user's previous television viewing behavior comprises: the particular information for display is selected based at least in part on the particular content stream that has been displayed to the user at the normal speed as a whole.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the particular content stream is a television commercial.

26. The method of claim 17, wherein:

the specific information includes at least one of:

(a) advertising;

(b) an interface through which a user can purchase a product or service;

(c) a menu comprising at least one user selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to play an advertisement to a user;

(d) a menu comprising at least one user selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to play an interface to a user through which the user can purchase a product or service;

(e) an interface through which a user can submit an answer to a question through a multimedia device;

(f) a menu comprising at least one user-selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to send a request to a requesting-receiving entity, wherein the request requires the requesting-receiving entity to send specific information to at least one of (i) a specific e-mail address and (ii) a specific mailing address;

(g) a menu comprising at least one user selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to provide a user with the ability to schedule recording of an upcoming content stream; and

(h) an interface through which a user can request that a particular video be downloaded for later viewing.

27. A method of presenting information by a multimedia device, the method comprising:

receiving a user input instructing the multimedia device to pause playing a content stream; and

in response to receiving the user input, the multimedia device pauses playing the content stream and determines whether at least a particular portion of the content stream was played before receiving the user input;

further in response to receiving the user input, and in response to determining that at least a particular portion of the content stream was played before receiving the user input, the multimedia device displays particular information to a user of the multimedia device while the content stream was paused, the particular information being superimposed onto the paused content stream;

detecting, by the multimedia device, an encoding of the inserted content stream;

while the content stream is paused, the multimedia device selects particular information to display to a user based on the detected encoding; and

wherein the encoding is detectable by the multimedia device but not visible to a human viewer of the content stream.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein:

the specific information includes at least one of:

(a) advertising;

(b) an interface through which a user can purchase a product or service;

(c) a menu comprising at least one user selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to play an advertisement to a user;

(d) a menu comprising at least one user selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to play an interface to a user through which the user can purchase a product or service;

(e) an interface through which a user can submit an answer to a question through a multimedia device;

(f) a menu comprising at least one user-selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to send a request to a requesting-receiving entity, wherein the request requires the requesting-receiving entity to send specific information to at least one of (i) a specific e-mail address and (ii) a specific mailing address;

(g) a menu comprising at least one user selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to provide a user with the ability to schedule recording of an upcoming content stream; and

(h) an interface through which a user can request that a particular video be downloaded for later viewing.

29. A method of presenting information by a multimedia device, the method comprising:

the multimedia device displaying a menu to a user of the multimedia device, the menu including a user selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to delete at least a portion of a content stream stored in the multimedia device; and is

The multimedia device simultaneously displays the menu and the additional specific information;

detecting, by the multimedia device, an encoding of the inserted content stream;

the multimedia device selecting the additional specific information displayed to a user in the menu having a user selectable option to delete the content stream based on the detected encoding; and

wherein the encoding is detectable by the multimedia device but not visible to a human viewer of the content stream.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein:

the specific information includes at least one of:

(a) advertising;

(b) an interface through which a user can purchase a product or service;

(c) a menu comprising at least one user selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to play an advertisement to a user;

(d) a menu comprising at least one user selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to play an interface to a user through which the user can purchase a product or service;

(e) an interface through which a user can submit an answer to a question through a multimedia device;

(f) a menu comprising at least one user-selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to send a request to a requesting-receiving entity, wherein the request requires the requesting-receiving entity to send specific information to at least one of (i) a specific e-mail address and (ii) a specific mailing address;

(g) a menu comprising at least one user selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to provide a user with the ability to schedule recording of an upcoming content stream; and

(h) an interface through which a user can request that a particular video be downloaded for later viewing.

31. A method of generating revenue utilizing information presented by one or more multimedia devices, the method comprising:

an agreement with the selling entity;

wherein the agreement provides that the selling entity will provide specific valuable compensation to the service provider in exchange for the service provider configuring the one or more multimedia devices to display specific information to one or more users of the one or more multimedia devices; and is

In response to reaching the agreement with the selling entity, configuring one or more multimedia devices to display particular information to one or more users concurrently with the content stream in response to the occurrence of one or more particular events;

wherein the one or more specific events include at least one of:

(1) an event that occurs when a user instructs a multimedia device to stop playing the content stream;

(2) an event occurring when the content stream is played to at least a specific point in the content stream;

(3) an event occurring when a user instructs the multimedia device to stop playing a content stream after a particular multimedia device has played at least a particular portion of the content stream; or

(4) An event occurring when said multimedia device displays a menu containing user selectable options, user selection of which causes said multimedia device to delete a content stream, which is at least partially stored in said multimedia device; and

detecting, by the multimedia device, an encoding of the inserted content stream;

in response to the one or more particular events, the multimedia device selects particular information to display to a user based on the detected encoding; and

wherein the encoding is detectable by the multimedia device but not visible to a human viewer of the content stream.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising:

determining a product or service to be mentioned in a particular content stream; and

in order for the selling entity to reach an agreement, the selling entity is notified that the product or service is to be referred to in a particular content stream.

33. The method of claim 31, further comprising:

performing said determining step of one of:

(a) determining a first number of multimedia devices on which a particular content stream has been stored but which content stream has not yet been played; and

(b) determining a second number of multimedia devices configured to record a particular content stream that has not yet been broadcast; and

notifying the selling entity of at least one of the first quantity and the second quantity in order for the selling entity to reach an agreement.

34. The method of claim 31, further comprising:

receiving data from one or more multimedia devices indicating how many times a particular user selectable option has been selected; and

a monetary amount is charged to the selling entity based on the data.

35. The method of claim 31, wherein:

the specific information includes at least one of:

(a) advertising;

(b) an interface through which a user can purchase a product or service;

(c) a menu comprising at least one user selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to play an advertisement to a user;

(d) a menu comprising at least one user selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to play an interface to a user through which the user can purchase a product or service;

(e) an interface through which a user can submit an answer to a question through a multimedia device;

(f) a menu comprising at least one user-selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to send a request to a requesting-receiving entity, wherein the request requires the requesting-receiving entity to send specific information to at least one of (i) a specific e-mail address and (ii) a specific mailing address;

(g) a menu comprising at least one user selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to provide a user with the ability to schedule recording of an upcoming content stream; and

(h) an interface through which a user can request that a particular video be downloaded for later viewing.

36. A method of generating revenue utilizing information presented by one or more multimedia devices, the method comprising:

receiving one or more bids from one or more selling entities;

selecting a group of one or more highest bids from the one or more bids;

for each highest bid in the group of one or more highest bids, configuring the one or more multimedia devices to display particular information corresponding to the highest bid to one or more users of the one or more multimedia devices concurrently with a content stream in response to one or more particular events;

wherein the one or more specific events include at least one of:

(1) an event that occurs when a user instructs a multimedia device to stop playing a content stream;

(2) an event occurring when the content stream is played to at least a specific point in the content stream;

(3) an event that occurs when a user instructs the multimedia device to stop playing a content stream after the multimedia device has played at least a particular portion of the content stream; or

(4) An event occurring when said multimedia device displays a menu containing user selectable options, user selection of which causes said multimedia device to delete a content stream, which is at least partially stored in said multimedia device;

detecting, by the multimedia device, an encoding of the inserted content stream;

in response to the one or more particular events, the multimedia device selects particular information to display to a user based on the detected encoding and

wherein the encoding is detectable by the multimedia device but not visible to a human viewer of the content stream.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the step of receiving one or more bids from one or more selling entities comprises: a server application accessed over a network receives one or more bids.

38. The method of claim 36, further comprising:

responsive to determining that a bid for a particular selling entity has been exceeded by another selling entity, the bid for the particular selling entity is automatically increased.

39. The method of claim 36, wherein configuring the one or more multimedia devices to display specific information comprises: configuring the one or more multimedia devices to display menu options in an order, the order based on bid amounts for the menu options.

40. The method of claim 36, wherein configuring the one or more multimedia devices to display specific information comprises: configuring the one or more multimedia devices to automatically highlight a menu option corresponding to a highest bid in a group consisting of one or more highest bids.

41. The method of claim 36, further comprising:

receiving a persistent bid from a particular selling entity of the one or more selling entities;

determining whether a particular program exhibits a product or service associated with the particular selling entity;

in response to determining that the particular program exhibits a product or service associated with the particular selling entity, determining whether a number of records for the particular program exceeds a particular threshold related to the persistent bid; and

responsive to determining that the number of records for a particular program exceeds a particular threshold associated with the persistent bid, automatically setting a bid on behalf of the particular selling entity without receiving a bid for the particular program from the selling entity.

42. The method of claim 36, wherein:

the specific information includes at least one of:

(a) advertising;

(b) an interface through which a user can purchase a product or service;

(c) a menu comprising at least one user selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to play an advertisement to a user;

(d) a menu comprising at least one user selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to play an interface to a user through which the user can purchase a product or service;

(e) an interface through which a user can submit an answer to a question through a multimedia device;

(f) a menu comprising at least one user-selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to send a request to a requesting-receiving entity, wherein the request requires the requesting-receiving entity to send specific information to at least one of (i) a specific e-mail address and (ii) a specific mailing address;

(g) a menu comprising at least one user selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to provide a user with the ability to schedule recording of an upcoming content stream; and

(h) an interface through which a user can request that a particular video be downloaded for later viewing.

43. A method of presenting information by a multimedia device, the method comprising:

detecting, by a multimedia device, an encoding placed into a content stream, wherein the encoding is detectable by the multimedia device but is not visible to a human viewer of the content stream;

displaying, superimposed on the content stream display, a menu including one or more options;

the multimedia device selecting specific information to display to a user based on the detected encoding; and

generating a shortcut to a particular piece of the particular information in a list of items corresponding to a particular portion of the particular information while the content stream is being played, the items being presentable by the multimedia device, in response to a user selection of a particular option of one or more options, the list of items being accessible to the user after the content stream is displayed;

then, displaying the shortcut in the item list;

receiving a user input representing a user selection of the shortcut;

in response to receiving the user input, displaying specific information associated with the shortcut.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein:

the specific information includes at least one of:

(a) advertising;

(b) an interface through which a user can purchase a product or service;

(c) a menu comprising at least one user selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to play an advertisement to a user;

(d) a menu comprising at least one user selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to play an interface to a user through which the user can purchase a product or service;

(e) an interface through which a user can submit an answer to a question through a multimedia device;

(f) a menu comprising at least one user-selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to send a request to a requesting-receiving entity, wherein the request requires the requesting-receiving entity to send specific information to at least one of (i) a specific e-mail address and (ii) a specific mailing address;

(g) a menu comprising at least one user selectable option, user selection of which causes the multimedia device to provide a user with the ability to schedule recording of an upcoming content stream; and

(h) an interface through which a user can request that a particular video be downloaded for later viewing.