US 11,146,849 B2Granted

Grouping and presenting content

AssigneeDISH Technologies L.L.C.

InventorsHenry Gregg Martch, Max S. Gratton

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A provider transmits instructions to a receiver to record multiple instances of content. The instances of content are included in the same frequency band of a broadcast signal transmitted via a first communication link and encoded utilizing a common encryption. The provider determines to supplement and transmits an instruction to record a supplemental instance of content from a second content provider via a second communication link. The receiver receives the instructions and accordingly receives, decodes, and stores the multiple instances of content and the supplemental content. A recorder in communication with the receiver determines whether a content selection is a member of a content group. The group determination is based on a tag of the content selection. If the content selection is a member of the content group, the recorder presents to a display device the content selection and at least one other member of the content group.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method of presenting content stored on a content receiver, the method comprising:

receiving, by a tuner of a content receiver from a content provider, a multiplexed broadcast signal in a frequency band, the multiplexed broadcast signal including data related to a plurality of instances of programming content, each of the instances of programming content corresponding to a respective separate television event;
recording, automatically by the content receiver, at least one of the plurality of instances of programming content to a non-transitory storage medium of the content receiver, thereby adding the set of instances of programming content to a plurality of stored instances of programming content stored on the storage medium;
receiving, by the content receiver subsequent to the recording, a content selection from a user of the content receiver, the content selection including an instruction to view a requested instance of programming content;
determining, automatically by the content receiver in response to the content selection, a group of instances of programming content including multiple of the plurality of stored instances of programming content identified, such that each member of the group meets a group criteria shared by each other member of the content group and by the requested instance of programming content, and the members of the group are not episodes of same episodic programming, but have an original airing sequence;
determining a playback sequence in accordance with the original airing sequence indicated by the group criteria;
and
presenting to the user, automatically by the content receiver in response to the content selection, an option to view the requested instance of programming content as part of the group in the playback sequence determined to be indicated by the group criteria.

4 more elements

A television receiver, comprising:

one or more processors;
a plurality of tuners;
and
a non-transitory computer readable storage medium communicatively coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the non-transitory computer readable storage medium includes instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
receiving, by a tuner of the plurality of tuners, from a content provider, a multiplexed broadcast signal in a frequency band, the multiplexed broadcast signal including data related to a plurality of instances of programming content, each of the instances of programming content corresponding to a respective separate television event;
recording at least one of the plurality of instances of programming content to a non-transitory storage medium of the content receiver, thereby adding the set of instances of programming content to a plurality of stored instances of programming content stored on the storage medium;
receiving a content selection from a user of the content receiver, the content selection including an instruction to view a requested instance of programming content;
determining, in response to the content selection, a group of instances of programming content including multiple of the plurality of stored instances of programming content identified, such that each member of the group meets a group criteria shared by each other member of the content group and by the requested instance of programming content, and the members of the group are not episodes of same episodic programming, but have an original airing sequence;
determining a playback sequence in accordance with an original airing sequence indicated by the group criteria;
and
presenting to the user, automatically by the content receiver in response to the content selection, an option to view the requested instance of programming content as part of the group in the playback sequence determined to be indicated by the group criteria.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/254,613Filed 23 Jan 2019 · continuation
Priority: 23 Aug 2011
Published: US 2019/0158911 A123 May 2019
Granted: 12 Oct 2021
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification9 codes

H04N 21/4332
Content storage operation, e.g. storage operation in response to a pause request, caching operations: by placing content in organized collections,…
H04N 5/782
Using magnetic recording: on tape
H04N 21/4147
Specialised client platforms, e.g. receiver in car or embedded in a mobile appliance: pVR [Personal Video Recorder]
H04N 21/4334
Content storage operation, e.g. storage operation in response to a pause request, caching operations: recording operations

Family

Application61/526,506Us provisional application · filed 23 Aug 2011
Application13/292,047Parent of this continuation · filed 8 Nov 2011
Application15/141,304Parent of this continuation · filed 28 Apr 2016
US 2019/0158911 A1Pre-grant publication · published 23 May 2019
US 10,231,009 B2Parent of this continuation
US 9,357,159 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2013/0051766 A1Published application
US 2016/0323632 A1Published application
US 11,146,849 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.