Systems and Methods for Associating Ratings with Media and for Providing Ratings-Based Parental Controls

A method comprising:

• identifying, via a device, a media identifier for a piece of media, the media identifier identified using a reference to the media identifier retrieved from the piece of media, the media identifier different from media identifiers associated with other pieces of media;
• determining if the device has an ability to access a rating for the piece of media from a separate data source;
• and
• identifying, via the device, the rating for the piece of media, wherein the rating is identified differently based on whether the device has the ability to access the rating from the separate data source.

A method of associating a rating with a piece of media, the method comprising:

• determining, via a device, a media identifier for association with a piece of media, the media identifier different from media identifiers associated with other pieces of media;
• associating, via the device, the media identifier with the piece of media by incorporating or preserving a reference to the media identifier in the piece of media, wherein the reference to the media identifier is embedded metadata, a watermark, or a fingerprint in the piece of media;
• and
• providing a rating and the media identifier for storage in a media rating index, the media rating index providing access to ratings associated with pieces of media content.

A system comprising:

• a media identifier module for identifying a media identifier for a piece of media using a reference to the media identifier retrieved from the piece of media, the media identifier different from media identifiers associated with other pieces of media, wherein the reference to the media identifier is embedded metadata, a watermark, or a fingerprint in the piece of media;
• a rating request module for sending a request for a rating to a media rating index, the request for the rating comprising the media identifier;
• and
• a control module for receiving a rating associated with the media identifier from the media rating index, the rating identified using the media identifier and controlling consumption of the piece of media based on the rating.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium on which is encoded program code, the program code comprising:

• program code for identifying a media identifier for a piece of media, the media identifier identified using a reference to the media identifier retrieved from the piece of media, the media identifier different from media identifiers associated with other pieces of media, wherein the reference to the media identifier is embedded metadata, a watermark, or a fingerprint in the piece of media;
• program code for sending a request for a rating to a media rating index, the request for the rating comprising the media identifier;
• program code for receiving a rating associated with the media identifier from the media rating index, the rating identified using the media identifier;
• and
• program code for controlling consumption of the piece of media based on the rating.

A method comprising:

• identifying, via a device, a media identifier for a piece of media, the media identifier identified using a reference to the media identifier retrieved from the piece of media, the media identifier different from media identifiers associated with other pieces of media;
• sending, via the device, a request for a rating to a media rating index, the request for the rating comprising the media identifier, wherein the request for the rating further comprises a requirement that the rating be provided using only ratings from rating providers having certain characteristics;
• and
• receiving, at the device, a rating associated with the media identifier from the media rating index, the rating identified using the media identifier.
• wherein the rating received is an average of ratings by rating providers having the certain characteristics.