US 9,432,424 B2Granted

User-selected media content blocking

AssigneeEchoStar Technologies L.L.C.

InventorsLeslie Harper, John A. Card, II

Life of this patent

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Abstract

Presented herein is a method of blocking user-selected media content, such as, for example, audio and/or video content. In the method, at least one media content stream is presented to a user, wherein the at least one media content stream includes multiple showings of an identifiable contiguous segment of media content. One example of such a segment may be a commercial or advertisement. While presenting a current showing of the segment of media content to the user, a command is received from a user to block the segment of media content from presentation to the user. In response to receiving the command, information identifying the segment of media content is generated. The at least one media content stream is analyzed using the information to detect subsequent showings of the segment of media content. Presentation of at least one of the subsequent showings of the segment of media content is prevented when detected in the at least one media content stream.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A method of blocking user-selected media content, the method comprising:

communicating a stream of media content from a media device to a display of a media presentation device, wherein the stream of media content comprises a sequential series of segments, and wherein the sequential series of segments of the stream of media content are presented on the display to a user;
receiving a command from the user to block a currently presented segment of the stream of media content from at least future communication from the media device;
generating information that identifies the blocked segment of media content;
analyzing later received segments of the stream of media content to detect at least one of the later received segments that has the same identifying information as the identifying information of the blocked segment;
preventing presentation to the user of a subsequent showing of the detected later received segment of media content by blocking communication of the entirety of the detected later received segment of media content to prevent presentation to the user;
communicating a replacement segment of media content from the media device to the display during the blocking of the detected later received segment of media content;
analyzing the stream of media content to detect an end of the detected later received segment of media content;
and
resuming communication of the stream of media content in response to detecting the end of the detected later received segment of media content.

6 more elements

A method of blocking user-selected media content, the method comprising:

communicating a stream of media content from a media device to a display of a media presentation device, wherein the stream of media content comprises a sequential series of program segments and a plurality of advertisements, wherein the sequential series of the program segments and the plurality of advertisements of the stream of media content are presented on the display to a user;
receiving a command from the user to block a currently presented one of the plurality of advertisements from at least future communication from the media device;
generating information that identifies the blocked advertisement;
analyzing later received advertisements to detect at least one of the later received advertisements that has the same identifying information as the identifying information of the blocked advertisement, wherein one of a product or service of the later received advertisement is related to a product or service of the blocked advertisement, or wherein a corporate entity is the same for the later received advertisement and the blocked advertisement;
and
preventing presentation to the user of a subsequent showing of the detected later received advertisement.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 13/917,912Filed 14 Jun 2013 · continuation
Priority: 12 Aug 2010
Published: US 2013/0283173 A124 Oct 2013
Granted: 30 Aug 2016
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification12 codes

H04N 21/4542
Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements: blocking scenes or portions of the received content, e.g. censoring scenes
G06Q 30/02
Commerce: marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
H04L 65/60
Network arrangements, protocols or services for supporting real-time applications in data packet communication: network streaming of media packets
H04L 65/611
For supporting one-way streaming services, e.g. Internet radio: for multicast or broadcast

Family

Application12/855,676Parent of this continuation · filed 12 Aug 2010
US 2013/0283173 A1Pre-grant publication · published 24 Oct 2013
US 8,468,453 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2012/0042247 A1Published application
US 9,432,424 B2This patent

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