Personalized video system

A method of providing personalized content to a user of a consumer electronic device, comprising:

• monitoring device usage information for a media device configured for playing content;
• determining user interests by generating content ratings based on the device usage information and content rating rules for the media device, wherein each content rating corresponds to a piece of content played on the media device;
• transmitting the content ratings and at least one user profile for the media device to a remote content server;
• receiving, at the media device one or more pieces of content related to at least one user interest from the remote content server, wherein said one or more pieces of content is selected based at least in part on the content ratings and said at least one user profile;
• presenting, on the media device, a plurality of personalized channels, wherein each personalized channel is associated with a user interest, wherein each personalized channel comprises personalized content including at least one piece of content related to a user interest associated with said personalized channel, and wherein personalized content for each personalized channel is aggregated from a plurality of different content sources including at least one Internet source;
• receiving, at the media device, a user selection of a piece of content included in a personalized channel;
• playing, on the media device, the selected piece of content;
• and
• automatically updating information corresponding to the plurality of personalized channels based on device usage information, wherein the information corresponding to the plurality of personalized channels includes the number of personalized channels on the media device, and wherein the number of personalized channels adjusts automatically over time based on updated device usage information.

A media device suitable for playing video content including television programming, the device comprising:

• a device usage monitor configured to automatically monitor usage information related to content played on the media device;
• a rating engine configured to automatically generate content ratings for the content played on the media device, wherein the content ratings are based at least in part on the usage information;
• and
• a user interface configured to present a plurality of content channels, wherein the content channels comprise at least one personalized channel, wherein each personalized channel is associated with a user interest and comprises personalized content including at least one piece of content related to said user interest, wherein personalized content for each personalized channel is selected based at least in part on the content ratings generated by the rating engine, and wherein personalized content for each personalized channel is aggregated from a plurality of different content sources including at least one Internet source;
• wherein information corresponding to the at least one personalized channel is automatically updated based on usage information, wherein the information corresponding to the at least one personalized channel includes the number of personalized channels on the media device, and wherein the number of personalized channels adjusts automatically over time based on updated usage information.

A computer program product for providing personalized video content to a user of a consumer electronic device, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium having a plurality of computer program instructions stored therein, which are operable to cause at least one computing device to:

• monitor device usage information for a media device configured for playing content;
• determine user interests by generating content ratings based on the device usage information and content rating rules for the media device, wherein each content rating corresponds to a piece of content played on the media device;
• transmit the content ratings and at least one user profile for the media device to a remote content server;
• receive one or more pieces of content related to at least one user interest from the remote content server, wherein said one or more pieces of content is selected based at least in part on the content ratings and said at least one user profile;
• present, on the media device, a plurality of personalized channels, wherein each personalized channel is associated with a user interest, wherein each personalized channel comprises personalized content including at least one piece of content related to a user interest associated with said personalized channel, and wherein personalized content for each personalized channel is aggregated from a plurality of different content sources including at least one Internet source;
• receive a user selection of a piece of content included in a personalized channel;
• play the selected piece of content on the media device;
• and
• automatically update information corresponding to the plurality of personalized channels based on device usage information, wherein the information corresponding to the plurality of personalized channels includes the number of personalized channels on the media device, and wherein the number of personalized channels adjusts automatically over time based on updated device usage information.

A system for providing personalized content via consumer electronic devices, comprising:

• a server suitable for:
• receiving content ratings from each consumer electronic device;
• selecting one or more pieces of content for each consumer electronic device based at least in part on content ratings received from said consumer electronic device;
• and
• transmitting one or more pieces of content selected for each consumer electronic device to said consumer electronic device;
• wherein each consumer electronic device is suitable for presenting a plurality of personalized channels, wherein each personalized channel comprises personalized content including at least one piece of content related to a user interest associated with said personalized channel, wherein personalized content for each personalized channel is aggregated from a plurality of different content sources including at least one Internet source;
• wherein personalized content for each personalized channel for each consumer electronic device further comprises a ranking of pieces of content, wherein said pieces of content are presented in a recommended order based at least in part on usage behavior for said consumer electronic device;
• wherein, for each consumer electronic device, information corresponding to the plurality of personalized channels on said consumer electronic device is automatically updated based on device usage information;
• wherein, for each consumer electronic device, information corresponding to the plurality of personalized channels on said consumer electronic device includes the number of personalized channels on said consumer electronic device;
• and
• wherein, for each consumer electronic device, the number of personalized channels on said consumer electronic device adjusts automatically over time based on updated device usage information.