WO2014158158A1

WO2014158158A1 - Adaptive guide based on categorization

Info

Publication number: WO2014158158A1
Application number: PCT/US2013/034266
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mark Francis Rumreich; Chad Andrew Lefevre; Michael Scott Deiss
Original assignee: Thomson Licensing
Priority date: 2013-03-28
Filing date: 2013-03-28
Publication date: 2014-10-02
Also published as: EP2979459A1

Abstract

A method and apparatus for generating and modifying an adaptive electronic program guide are described including receiving program content and program information, creating the adaptive electronic program guide, determining if there has been a hard failure in delivery of the program content and modifying the adaptive electronic program guide to indicate the program content is unavailable if there has been a hard failure in delivery of the program content. Further described are a method and apparatus for generating and modifying an adaptive electronic program guide including receiving program content and program information, creating the adaptive electronic program guide, determining if the program content is available on viewer's set top box and modifying the adaptive electronic program guide to indicate a time remaining to download or stream the program content.

Description

ADAPTIVE GUIDE BASED ON CATEGORIZATION

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a content management system that allows delivery of program content in several time frames while also managing the viewer's available viewing of the program content based on a categorization of the content.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

in multicast and broadcast applications, data are transmitted from a server to multiple, receivers over wired and/or wireless networks. A multicast system as used herein is a system in which a server transmits the same data to multiple receivers simultaneously, where the receivers form a subset of all the receivers up to and including all of the receivers. A broadcast system is a system in which a server transmits the same data to all of the receivers simultaneously. That is, a multicast system by definition can include a broadcast system,

Kwon describes advance delivery with a scheduled playback time but has no advance viewing. The advance delivery of Kwon is only in the context of augmentation information not the entire content. Merrill, Wiser, Watson and Song describe time opportunistic content delivery in non-real time, Merrill describes non- real time delivery of content with real-time viewing of the content. Wiser describes broadcasting some of the content and using methods other than broadcast, such as unicast, for delivery of other portions of the content. Wiser enables an affiliate thai has received at least a portion of corrupted or missing programming content to repair or reconstruct the programming content before distributing or broadcasting to viewers, by forming a peer to peer network among the affiliates and the affiliate and broadband distribution system. Watson provides viewers access to a library of movies, or any other audio/video content available for viewing at anytime. The content is pushed by the service provider to set top boxes in viewer's premises and available for a specified period of time. Song provides for non-real time (time opportunistic) transfer of content to a viewer (viewer's premises) for later real-time reproduction. No known prior art teaches or suggests advance delivery with a scheduled playback time and advance viewing permitted. As used herein program content (also simply called "content" herein) may be audio content, video content or a combination of audio and video content or may be multimedia content of any sort that can be broadcast, multicast or unicast over wireless or wired communication systems. New broadcast content delivery mechanisms permit delivery of program content at a rate faster than it is consumed. Some content may be advantageously delivered at off-peak times. However, some content may need to be controlled so that an earlier receipt of the content does not necessarily also allow earlier consumption. Such a scenario exists with content that is delivered for a wide audience to provide feedback (e.g., reality or game/contest shows or season premieres). The present invention provides a solution to this type of problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

New approaches to broadcast content delivery mechanisms (e.g., ATSC 3.0) permit delivery of content in more than one timing scenario. The present invention relates to a content guide, or program guide, that is created and displayed based on content categorization of the delivered broadcast content. The content management system allows delivery of content in several time frames while also managing the viewer's available viewing of the content based on a categorization of the content. The guide includes provisions for effectively displaying available content, given the different delivered content categorization.

A method and apparatus for generating and modifying an adaptive electronic program guide are described including receiving program content and program information, creating the adaptive electronic program guide, determining if there has been a hard failure in delivery of the program content and modifying the adaptive electronic program guide to indicate the program content is unavailable if there has been a hard failure in delivery of the program content. Also described are a method and apparatus for generating and modifying an adaptive electronic program guide including receiving program content and program information, creating the adaptive electronic program guide, determining if the program content is effective real-time program content, determining if the program content has passed its first scheduled air time if the program content is effective real time program content, modifying the adaptive electronic program content to indicate that the program content is locked if the program content has not passed its the first scheduled air time and modifying the adaptive electronic program content to indicate that the program content is unlocked if the program content has passed its the first scheduled air time. Further described are a method and apparatus for generating and modifying an adaptive electronic program guide including receiving program content and program information, creating the adaptive electronic program guide, determining if the program content is available on viewer's set top box and modifying the adaptive electronic program guide to indicate a time remaining to download or stream the program content. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is best understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The drawings include the following figures briefly described below:

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a broadcast system that may utilize the present invention.

Fig. 2A is a flowchart of the exemplary operation of a content provider in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

Fig. 2B is a flowchart of the exemplary optional operation of a content provider in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart of the exemplary operation of a content aggregator in accordance with the principies of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary content provider in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary content aggregator in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is an exemplary adaptive electronic program guide (EPG) of the present invention.

Fig. 7A is an exemplary adaptive electronic program guide (EPG) of the present invention showing the downloading/streaming progress of programs.

Fig. 7B is an exemplary adaptive electronic program guide (EPG) of the present invention showing the downloading/streaming progress of programs as well as the scheduled air time (scheduled broadcast time) of the programs. Figs. 8A, 8B and 8C together are a flowchart of the exemplary operation of a content aggregator with respect to creation, modification and display of an EPG in accordance with the principles of the present invention

Fig. 9 is a block diagram of an exemplary apparatus for generating (creating) and modifying an electronic program guide in accordance with principles of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The new ATSC 3,0 standard is being discussed and worked on with the goal of broadening connectivity in home and at the link layer. Other goals include audio and video compression, ATSC 3.0 is also looking at variations of MPEG. The goal is to capture or re-capture the broadcast audience. A digital connection, such as a network connection between the Internet and the receiver device would be useful for the viewer.

The principal thrust is for in home devices rather than small (mobile) devices.

The present invention may further take advantage of the broadcasters cooperating together using a single orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) band. In such a broadcast network, a plurality of transmitters simultaneously broadcast the same signal over the same frequencies. This would give broadcasters a very large shared channel and, using the currently available broadcast antennas, improve muliipath insensitivity. This would have the effect of essentially making the broadcasters into content providers and possibly create a new entity whose sole purpose was to transmit the content supplied by the broadcasters (content providers) over the single channel. This would have the further effect of increasing the bandwidth available to each of the broadcasters (content providers). Such a scheme would also eliminate co-channel issues as well as near/far issues. Near/far issues result in some markets because transmission (broadcast) antenna placement may be too far for some customers. In such a situation, customers (viewers/receivers) living on one side of town receive broadcast transmissions from certain channels but may want to view other channels having transmission (broadcast) antennas on the other side of town to no avail. The content aggregator would be the new entity, the ownership of which might be vested in the content providers based on some equitable arrangement such as audience share. Legal issues would have to be addressed.

As a result, the content delivery mechanism may be able to deliver media content at a rate that easily exceeds the consumption rate of consumers. In other words, non-real time content (regular television programming) could be delivered (broadcast) to customer premises, which may include businesses, earlier than the scheduled time slot. Some content must remain delivered in real time (sports events, news). Still other content may be delivered ahead of time but not consumed (available to the viewer) until the scheduled time slot (reality shows, games, contests, and the like which involve audience participation). Finally, still other programming may be delivered untimed, or opportunistically. The viewer may then be notified that this programming is available. The entire structure also relies on a media storage system, such as a hard drive, in order to "temporarily" store and maintain the delivered content. The content may also be delayed in consumption if desired. Content could be tagged in some manner based on the four possible categories. Tagging, for example, may be metadata or part of the program description.

The four categories are:

Real time content— delivery is at the time of consumption. For example, the GoP frames may be adjusted between seconds and minutes or adjustments made to the IDRs. No modification is made to the content for the purpose of limiting the time of consumption by the receiver. Content could be altered, however, for other purposes, such as

• transcoding for the purpose of setting a targeted transmission bit rate

» transcoding for the purpose of adding video overlays ® insertion of additional data to enable the faster signal acquisition and presentation at the receiver, for benefit of improved channel change.

Effective real time content - delivery may be done, either completely or partially, before and up to the scheduled time of consumption. Playback is permitted only at (or after) a scheduled time. The content can be altered before transmission in such a way as to prevent decoding and presentation at the receiver for viewing by ihe viewer, until timely reception of essential information used to complete the decoding and presentation process.

Examples include (but are not limited to):

* timely delivery of keys for decryption of encrypted content. Transmission of such keys is delayed until viewing is permitted.

* delaying transmission of certain portions of content data (time re-ordering of data) thus preventing decoding and presentation at the receiver of a useful part of the content data. Until such time that viewing is permitted, all essential content data is finally transmitted and the receiver properly orders the previously re-ordered transmitted content data permitting the content data to be successfully parsed at the receiver.

* the content can be altered by sending only the B and P frames early and sending I frames in real time.

Non-real time content— delivery may be done at any time before and up to the scheduled time of consumption. Playback or consumption, may be permitted once the content is delivered. In another embodiment, playback or consumption may be permitted before the content is fully delivered, typically with a notification to the viewer that the playback or consumption may stop if the delivery is not complete. Non-real time content delivery may be provided optionally as a paid service and incorporate a form of digital rights management (DRM) system to enforce viewing compliance rules. The billing and fulfillment of this paid service may be managed by third parties. For example, a fee would be paid if viewing earlier than the scheduled time slot is selected by the viewer (e.g., for season premieres). Billing could be through the customer's telephone bill or a Paypal type account or prepaid accounts (including gift cards) or credit cards. The content may also be delivered, and then not played back until the scheduled time slot. An advantage is that some bandwidth may be freed up for other programming at a regular scheduled time slot (possibly due to using less bandwidth for live broadcast of non-real time content), while the non-real time content may be delivered at a nonpeak (i.e. overnight) time. Time opportunistic content - delivery is done as the bandwidth is made available. Once the content is delivered completely, the content is made available for consumption. In another embodiment, playback or consumption may be permitted before the content is fully delivered, typically with a notification to the viewer that the playback or consumption may stop if the delivery is not complete. Such content is not scheduled and may be things like documentaries, infomercials, etc. Time opportunistic content may be offered as Pay-Per-View, or as a library of programs available to watch at any time. As in the "Non-real time content" scenario, this service may be enforced by a digital rights management (DRM) system.

Table 1 - content types

Supplementing the aggregation of content through a network interface is also a possibility. Possible interfaces include wired or wireless Ethernet and Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA). If neiworking interfaces are available, it could be possible to speed up the downloading of content by using these interfaces in addition to the wideband tuner that is used to gather the terrestrial broadcast data. If networking interfaces are available and connected, they could be put to use, chough they would have to be supplemental interfaces due to the nature of the customer premises equipment (CPE) (e.g. if the viewer does not have access to the Internet, the CPE would still need to function in the way described in this document). There is also the possibility that an interface exists and is connected but is currently in use for another purpose (e.g. watching a video from the home network over Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA)).

The media storage system (e.g. HDD) would need to have some sort of management system (most likely driven by the UI of the EPG) to maintain recorded material for later viewing. Unlike a traditional PVR, much of the content in this system would be recorded by the system in order to fulfill future programming (effective real time and non-real time content) and "on demand" programming (opportunistic content) needs. In the case where the storage system space is limited, there is a need to manage the deletion of unwanted content. This could be done using a conventional algorithm, based on content type and status (whether the program in question has already passed its timeslot requirements or the oldest "on demand" content that has been stored). In addition, it may be possible to provide to the viewer the ability to flag what types of content to keep or delete, based on content metadata (such as genre) or even based on program or episode title. It may be possible to give the viewer as much or as little control as desired by the management system creator. There are many limitations regarding what may be recorded, including but not limited to: total space of the storage system; available space on the storage system; and availability of interfaces to get data from (in the case of limits on the available bandwidth of the wideband tuner or availability of a networking interface to supplement data loading). Storage management system(s) may be made available free as downloads or for a nominal fee or a monthly fee.

The data coming into the CPE could also contain supplemental information, possibly in the form of additional packet headers or as proprietary/open EPG data. This information could contain fields that help the storage system such as the dates of broadcast (which could be helpful to tell when non-real time or opportunistic content will be finished loading), the dates/times when the content is to be displayed (including the first time of display as well as future times of display, which can be used to determine when content is free to be deleted instead of deleting and re- downloading content for a future display). This will also help to keep fragmentation down on the storage system. Even a date/time that the broadcaster (content provider) wishes the CPE to stop storing the content (potentially requiring deletion regardless of the CPE's own storage settings) can override the CPE management storage system.

In the case of non-real time and effective real time content, it is very likely that it will be required to rebroadcasi the content at the time the program is intended to be "live." If there is an error in the storage procedure, it should still be possible for the viewer to watch a show that is listed in the EPG, just as they do now. If the program has already been recorded, the rebroadcasi packets may be dropped and the program watched from the storage medium or the program may be watched live but not re-recorded or the program may be watched live and re-recorded and the previous recording deleted. This may be an interesting scenario due to the possibility that different advertising may be included at different broadcast times.

The broadcast procedure may be done using an algorithm to determine when a program is broadcast. It is quite likely that the same program may be broadcast many times in order to mitigate any issues in the recording process. It is possible thai some content may be rebroadcasi more than oihers, based on ihe preference of the broadcasters (shows that the broadcaster wanis to make sure are properly recorded) or based upon some sort of perceived interest level, which could change based upon geographic location, for example. A program about hockey may be rebroadcasi more often in the northern half of the country where the sport is more popular. There may be other rebroadcasting algorithms as well, and the possibility of no rebroadcasting at all.

The design of the system will have to take into account limits on the various parts of the system, in particular, there are limits on the size/speed of the storage medium, limits on the amount of data thai can be broadcast, limits on the types of broadcast (different systems could use different modulation methods, all of which the CPE could support - true for TV tuners now), limits on the bandwidth of the tuner(s), and limits on the processor in ihe CPE in general. The system as a whole will have to take these limits into account and provide a base set of specifications that must be met in order to comply. Things like the content management algorithm mentioned above would help these "base" systems, while systems that exceed the base will have more ability, much the same as many current consumer electronics products.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a broadcast system that may utilize the present invention. As can be seen from Fig. 1 , the content aggregator receives content from the various content providers and transmits it to the transmission (broadcast) antennas for broadcasting to the customer's/ viewer's premises, where premises may include businesses. The CPE is a device having additional storage and a storage management system, such as a TV, STB, computer, i Phone, iPod, iPad, dual mode smart phone, tablet or any other mobile device having means for receiving a broadcast signal such as described herein.

Fig. 2A is a flowchart of the exemplary operation of a content provider in accordance with the principles of the present invention. At 205 the content provider selects content to be transmitted to the content aggregator. The selection may be based on popularity of the content or some other criteria. At 210 the content provider determines the category of the content and when it needs to be broadcast. At 215, the content provider tags the content based on the category. Such tagging may involve multiple "tags". For example, there may be a first tag to indicate whether advance transmission is possible. There may be a second tag to indicate when playback is permitted (whether content is scheduled for a particular time slot). There may be a third tag to indicate whether advance viewing is permitted (and under what conditions - perhaps including a fee). The above tags are, of course, in addition to rating and parental control information as well as information regarding genre, program or episode title.

Fig. 2B is a flowchart of the exemplary optional operation of a content provider in accordance with the principles of the present invention. This is optional because it is not a necessary function but it would be prudent for a content provider to monitor the broadcasts in order to ensure that the content aggregator is meeting its legal and contractual requirements in terms of broadcasting a content provider's content. At 225, the content provider determines if content was scheduled in a particular time slot. If not, then this part of the program can end. Actually, the content provider, using CPE. may request the content and see if it can be played (viewed, rendered). If the selected content was scheduled then at 230, the content provider monitors the time slot to ensure that the selected content was delivered in the scheduled time slot. At 235 a test is performed to determine if the selected content was delivered on schedule, if the selected content was delivered on schedule, then processing ends. If the selected content was not delivered on schedule (in the scheduled time slot), then there are legal and contractual issues that will need to be addressed.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart of the exemplary operation of a content aggregator in accordance with the principles of the present invention. At 305, the content aggregator receives content from a content provider. At 310, based on the tag(s), the content aggregator determines when to broadcast the content and whether to broadcast the entire content (program) or part of the program. At 315 the content aggregator broadcasts the content and may use networking interfaces if networking interfaces are available in order to enhance broadcast capabilities. It is possible that the content may be made available to networking interfaces before any of the content is actually broadcast by the content aggregator, allowing a viewer to force a download of content, if networking interfaces are used then the content aggregator may modify the program content to provide additional data to aid the management storage system on the CPE as described above. Another form of data tagging may be used by the content provider or the content aggregator to provide a uniform resource locator (URL) or the like for accessing content on servers of the content provider or the content aggregator.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary content provider in accordance with the principles of the present invention. At the content provider premises there is a administrator input device for administrator input. The administrator inputs delivery requirements and any other input the administrator may have. The term "delivery requirements" refers to requirements for the delivery of content. The receiver device is in communication bi-directionally with the processor and storage module. The storage portion of the processor and storage module includes but is not limited to any form of storage such as optical discs, hard drives, traditional memory, RAM, FLASH, compact discs etc. The processor and storage module receives input on the network side in the form of content that may or may not have metadata. The option of having metadata is indicated by the parentheses. The processor and storage module also receives network side delivery requirements. The processor and storage module includes means for selecting content to be broadcast, means for determining a category of the selected content, means for tagging the selected content and means for transmitting the tagged selected content to the content aggregator. The processor and storage module is in bidirectional communication with the transcoding/multiplexing module. The transcoding multiplexing module also receives input (delivery requirements/viewer input) from the administrator input device, in another embodiment, the transcoding multiplexing module includes means for tagging the selected content. The storage device interfaces with (is in communication with) the content aggregator (broadcaster) shown in Fig. 5. The processor and storage module of the content provider of Fig. 4 outputs content (which may or may not contain embedded tags/metadata) and optionally standalone tags/metadata to the content aggregator. The processor and storage module of the content provider may also optionally output tags and/or metadata to the content aggregator. The processor and storage module of the content provider also optionally includes means for determining if the selected content was transmitted to the content aggregator, means for monitoring a broadcast channel, and means for determining if the selected content was broadcast according to a scheduled time. Tags may be provided by the content provider or the content aggregator. Tags may also be provided by the content provider and reformatted (modified) by the content aggregator, A horizontal line delineates the administrator side from the network side. Fig. 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary content aggregator in accordance with the principles of the present invention. As indicated above, the ingestion module of the content aggregator receives content (which may or may not contain embedded tags/metadata) and optionally standalone tags/metadata from the content provider. The ingestion module may also optionally receive tags and/or metadata from the content provider. Tags may be provided by the content provider and/or the content aggregator. Tags may also be provided by the content provider and reformatted (modified) by the content aggregator. The ingestion module provides input to the processor and storage module. The storage portion of the processor and storage module includes but is not limited to any form of storage such as optical discs, hard drives, traditional memory, RAM, FLASH, compact discs etc. The processor and storage module is in bi-directional communication with the transcoding/multiplexing module. The processor and storage module includes means for receiving selected content from a content provider, means for determining when to broadcast the selected content and means for determining whether to broadcast any part of the selected content prior to a schedule time and means for broadcasting the selected content responsive to the means for determining. The processor and storage module also includes means for tagging the selected content if the selected content is received without any tags and means for modifying the tags associated with the selected content based on the means for determining. In another embodiment, the transcoding/multiplexing module includes means for tagging the selected content. The processor and storage module provides the stored content (and optionally metadata) to a modulator/amplifier, which forwards the content (and optionally metadata) to the transmitters. There is at least one transmitter and usually there is a plurality of transmitters. The administrator input device receives administrator input, including delivery requirements.

One of the factors that complicates the user interface for an advance delivery system is the possibility of partial or complete delivery failure for a program.

When all is working well, real-time, effective-real-time and non-real-time programs can all be displayed in a traditional EPG with programs listed in a time/channel grid (other EPG designs are also possible, such as a list of programs by time for a single channel or a list of programs by channel for a single time, as well as a searchable list of programs). The content aggregator receives programs and program information (e.g., metadata) for broadcasting (airing) and for the EPG from the content providers. The content aggregator also can determine the time necessary for a viewer to receive an on-demand program as well as the status of the downloading/streaming of the requested on-demand program. Non-real-time programs that are made available for viewing before their scheduled play time can be indicated accordingly in the EPG by color, icon, etc. Time-opportunistic programs can be displayed as virtual channels in the EPG, or in a library of available programs.

When program delivery is disrupted for some or all of a program, an adaptive guide can be used to reduce viewer confusion.

In the case of real-time signals, the guide need not indicate signal delivery problems because they will be obvious to the viewer. For effective-real-time and non- real-time delivery failure, the EPG can convey to the viewer that a program in the guide is either corrupted or non-viewable. Hard delivery failures can be indicated by graying-out the program listing or similar method. Soft delivery failures, such as where a program is still considered watchable, but may be missing small segments can be indicated by highlighting via color, icon, etc.

For time-opportunistic programs, hard delivery failure can result in the removal (absence) of the program from the virtual channel or program library. Soft failures can be indicated by highlighting.

Table 2 summarizes this approach.

Table Z - Guide based on categorization and program delivery

Fig. 6 shows some of the elements of the present invention. The "watch now" icon indicates that the non-real-time program is available in advance, or at the scheduled time of 9 PM. The grayed-out listing, with the "unavailable" icon, shows an effective-real-time or non-real-time program with a hard delivery failure. The virtual channel 1001 shows a time-opportunistic movie available for viewing.

The progress of a program's storage (mostly for non-real time and opportunistic content) could be indicated by either a progress bar or by using the representation of a program as a progress bar. The program's slot in the EPG or the "on demand" screen could show a percentage indication of how much of the show has been stored. This could be done by color coding the bar in two different colors to indicate the progress of the storage, it could also provide an estimate of the time remaining to complete the storage of the program based on the amount of time that has been taken so far and the amount of program that has been stored so far and the total size of the program. If there is data present in the header of the program, it may be possible for the content aggregator to predict exactly when the show will be finished being stored. It may be possible for the viewer to start watching the program before it has been fully stored to the device, if viewers are aware when the program will finish its storage. If, for some reason, the program does not finish storing by the time the viewer reaches the point of the program still being downloaded (streamed), the program will stop playing and the viewer can finish viewing it later. It may also be possible, if there is an additional networking interface available on the set top box (STB), to force a download or streaming of the remaining data so the viewer is guaranteed to be able to finish viewing the program. If the program (content) is streamed then the storage of the streamed content needs to be properly handled in the event that the viewer wants to time-shift the content or record the content to their DV . There is also the option to not permit the viewer to watch content that is partially stored, if the storage has not passed a certain percentage (for example, half or 75%). Fig. 7A is an exemplary adaptive electronic program guide (EPG) of the present invention showing the downloading/streaming progress of programs.

Fig. 7B is an exemplary adaptive electronic program guide (EPG) of the present invention showing the downloading/streaming progress of programs as well as the scheduled air time (scheduled broadcast time) of the programs. As shown in Fig. 7B, it may be an option for effective real time content to become non-real time content after it has passed its "first r n" date/time. This could be shown with a "locked" icon to let the viewer know that the content is not available until the designated "first run" time. After this, it could be shown with no icon or with an "unlocked" icon to show that the content is free to watch.

In Fig. 7B, the "on demand" screen, viewers would likely see the opportunistic content and the non-real time content. The "on demand" screen could be accessed through a button on the remote, a menu in the EPG, or alternately, as a fixed channel in the EPG. It is possible for the viewer to see "locked" and "unlocked" effective real time programming in the "on demand" screen as well, as the viewer can watch the "unlocked" content and may like to see that there is "locked" content that will become unlocked at a certain date/time.

The different types of content (real time, non-real time, effective real time, and opportunistic) could be color coded in the EPG screens to let viewers know what type of content they are. The color coding could be on the background, the text, or both. It is also possible to show this with an icon or other means. Viewers could determine during the set-up operation whether they want to use color indicators or textual indicators of content type (real time, non-real time, effective real time and opportunistic). Some viewers may be color blind and prefer textual indicators. Figs. 7 A and 7B use textual indicators for content type.

The EPG could give the viewer the option to set a storage/deletion time. That is, the viewer could set what programs to keep and could set what programs to automatically delete, to make the storage system work better for the viewer's needs. The option could be based on many different categories, including by program type/class (real time, non-real time, effective real time, opportunistic), per program (a specific episode of a show), per show (such as Mad Men, or Big Bang Theory), or per type/genre (such as movie, sports, sitcom).

Figs. 8A, 8B and 8C together are a flowchart of the exemplary operation of a content aggregator with respect to creation, modification and display of an EPG in accordance with the principles of the present invention. At 805, the content aggregator receives programs and program information including, for example, metadata from a content provider. At 810 the content aggregator creates an EPG (or updates an existing EPG) using the program information. At 815 a test is performed to determine if parental controls are "on". If parental controls are not "on" then at 820 a test is performed to determine if a hard program failure has occurred. If a hard program failure has occurred then at 825 the content aggregator modifies the EPG to indicate that a program is unavailable. If a hard program failure has not occurred then at 830 a test is performed to determine if the program under consideration is an effective real time (ERT) program. If the program under consideration is an ERT program, then at 835 a test is performed to determine if the ERT program has passed the program's scheduled air time. If the ERT program has passed the program's scheduled air time then at 845 the content aggregator modifies the EPG io indicate the program is unlocked (available for viewing). If the ERT program has not passed the program's scheduled air time then at 840 the content aggregator modifies the EPG to indicate that the program is locked (unavailable for viewing). After both 840 and 845 processing proceeds to 850, If the program under consideration is not an ERT program then processing proceeds to 850.

At 850 a test is performed to determine if the program is available on the viewer's set top box. If the program is not available on the viewer's set top box then at 855 the time to download/stream the program is calculated by the content aggregator. At 860 the content aggregator modifies the EPG to indicate the time remaining to download/stream the content (program) to the viewer in order for the program (content) to be able to be viewed (rendered) by the viewer at the viewer's display device. At 865 the content aggregator modifies the EPG to indicate whether the program is available for viewing based on the time remaining (percent for download/streamlining to complete). If the program is available on the viewer's set top box, then at 870 the content aggregator modifies the EPG to indicate that the program is available for viewing. After either 865 or 870, at 875 a test is performed to determine if the virtual/on-demand channel has been selected, if the virtual/on- demand channel has been selected then the content aggregaior renders a list of programs available for viewing or in a library instead of rendering/displaying the EPG. After 880 or after 875 if virtual/on-demand channel has not been selected processing proceeds to 805.

If parental controls are "on" then at 885 a test is performed to determine if programs rated above a certain level are blocked. The flowchart indicates TV-G for general audiences but the parent can select the level that the child(ren) can view. If programs above the rating leve! selected by the parent are to be blocked then at 890 the content aggregator modifies the EPG to display replacement programs selected from the on-demand library in place of program rated above the parent selected rating level. After 890 or after 885 if programs above a certain parent selected rating level are not blocked, at 895 a test is performed to determine if a specific parent selected channel is blocked. If a specific parent selected channel is blocked then at 897 the content aggregator modifies the EPG to not render/display the parent selected channel. After 897 or after 895 if a parent selected channel is not blocked processing proceeds to 820. Fig. 9 is a block diagram of an exemplary apparatus for generating (creating) and modifying an adaptive electronic program guide in accordance with principles of the present invention. There is at least one communications interface. Two communications interfaces are depicted. If there is a wireless communications interface one or more antennas (not shown) may also be necessary. The communications interfaces are bi-directionally coupled to the EPG module, which generates (creates) and modifies electronic program guides. The EPG module is also bi-directionally coupled to storage/memory. The EPG module is also coupled to the OSD generator, which actually "paints" the EPG as it appears on the viewing screen, whether that viewing screen is a TV, computer, laptop, tablet, iPod, iPad, iPhone, smart phone or tablet device. The OSD generator is coupled to at least one of the two communications interfaces and perhaps both communications interfaces. Storage/memory is bi-directionally coupled to the OSD generator. The communications interfaces include means for receiving program content and program information. The EPG module includes means for creating said adaptive electronic program guide, means for determining if there has been a hard failure in delivery of the program content, means for modifying the adaptive electronic program guide to indicate the program content is unavailable if there has been a hard failure in delivery of the program content, means for determining if virtual-on-demand channel has been selected. The OSD generator includes means for rendering a list of programs available for viewing or in a library instead of rendering said adaptive program guide and means for rendering said adaptive program guide each time the adaptive program guide is modified. The EPG module also includes means for determining if the program content is effective real-time program content, means for determining if the program content has passed lis first scheduled air time if the program content is effective real time program content, means for modifying the adaptive electronic program content to indicate that the program content is locked if the program content has not passed it's the first scheduled air time and means for modifying the adaptive electronic program content to indicate that the program content is unlocked if the program content has passed it's the first scheduled air time. The EPG module also includes means for determining if the program content is available on viewer's set top box, means for modifying the adaptive electronic program guide to indicate a time remaining to download or stream the program content, means for modifying the adaptive program guide to indicate availability of the program content based on the time remaining to download or stream the program content and means for modifying the adaptive program guide to indicate the program content is available for viewing on the viewer's set top box.

It is to be understood that the present invention may be implemented in various forms of hardware, software, firmware, special purpose processors, or a combination thereof. Special purpose processors may include application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), reduced instruction set computers (RISCs) and/or field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). Preferably, the present invention is implemented as a combination of hardware and software. Moreover, the software is preferably implemented as an application program tangibly embodied on a program storage device. The application program may be uploaded to, and executed by, a machine comprising any suitable architecture. Preferably, the machine is implemented on a computer platform having hardware such as one or more central processing units (CPU), a random access memory (RAM), and input/output (I/O) interface(s). The computer platform also includes an operating system and microinstruction code. The various processes and functions described herein may either be part of the microinstruction code or part of the application program (or a combination thereof), which is executed via the operating system, in addition, various other peripheral devices may be connected to the computer platform such as an additionai data storage device and a printing device.

It is to be further understood that, because some of the constituent system components and method steps depicted in the accompanying figures are preferably implemented in software, the actual connections between the system components (or the process steps) may differ depending upon the manner in which the present invention is programmed. Given the teachings herein, one of ordinary skill in the related art will be able to contemplate these and similar implementations or configurations of the present invention.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A method for generating and modifying an adaptive electronic program guide, said method comprising: receiving program content and program information;

creating said adaptive electronic program guide;

determining if there has been a hard failure in delivery of said program content; and

modifying said adaptive electronic program guide to indicate said program content is unavailable if there has been a hard failure in delivery of said program content.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising rendering said adaptive program guide each time said adaptive program guide is modified.

3. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising: determining if virtual-on-demand channel has been selected; and rendering a list of programs available for viewing or in a library instead of rendering said adaptive program guide.

4. A method for generating and modifying an adaptive electronic program guide, said method comprising: receiving program content and program information;

creating said adaptive electronic program guide;

determining if said program content is effective real-time program content;

determining if said program content has passed its first scheduled air time if said program content is effective real time program content;

modifying said adaptive electronic program content to indicate that said program content is locked if said program content has not passed its said first scheduled air time; and

modifying said adaptive electronic program content to indicate that said program content is unlocked if said program content has passed its said first scheduled air time,

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising rendering said adaptive program guide each time said adaptive program guide is modified.

6. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: determining if virtual-on-demand channel has been selected; and rendering a list of programs available for viewing or in a library instead of rendering said adaptive program guide.

7. The method according to claim 4, wherein said locked program content or said unlocked program content is indicated by an icon.

8. The method according to claim 4, wherein said locked program content or said unlocked program content is indicated textually.

9. A method for generating and modifying an adaptive electronic program guide, said method comprising: receiving program content and program information;

creating said adaptive electronic program guide;

determining if said program content is available on viewer's set top box; and

modifying said adaptive electronic program guide to indicate a time remaining to download or stream said program content.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising rendering said adaptive program guide each time said adaptive program guide is modified.

1 1. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: determining if virtual-on-demand channel has been selected; and rendering a list of programs available for viewing or in a library instead of rendering said adaptive program guide.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein said adaptive program guide indicates said time remaining to download or stream said program content by moving a bar line.

13, The method according to claim 9, wherein said adaptive program guide indicates said time remaining to download or stream said program content by a textual indication.

14, The method according to claim 12, wherein said adaptive program guide indicates said time remaining to download or stream said program content by coloring a first side of said bar line differently than a second side of said bar line.

15, The method according to claim 9, further comprising; further modifying said adaptive program guide to indicate availability of said program content based on said time remaining to download or stream said program content; and

modifying said adaptive program guide to indicate said program content is available for viewing on viewer's set top box.

16. An apparatus for generating and modifying an adaptive electronic program guide, comprising: means for receiving program content and program information;

means for creating said adaptive electronic program guide; means for determining if there has been a hard failure in delivery of said program content; and

means for modifying said adaptive electronic program guide to indicate said program content is unavailable if there has been a hard failure in delivery of said program content.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising means for rendering said adaptive program guide each time said adaptive program guide is modified.

18. The apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising: means for determining if virtual-on-demand channel has been selected; and means for rendering a list of programs available for viewing or in a library instead of rendering said adaptive program guide.

19. An apparatus for generating and modifying an adaptive electronic program guide, comprising: means for receiving program content and program information;

means for creating said adaptive electronic program guide; means for determining if said program content is effective real-time program content;

means for determining if said program content has passed its first scheduled air time if said program content is effective real time program content;

means for modifying said adaptive electronic program content to indicate that said program content is locked if said program content has not passed its said first scheduled air time; and

means for modifying said adaptive electronic program content to indicate that said program content is unlocked if said program content has passed its said first scheduled air time.

20. The apparatus according to claim 19, further comprising means for rendering said adaptive program guide each time said adaptive program guide is modified.

21. The apparatus according to claim 19, further comprising: means for determining if virtual-on-demand channel has been selected; and means for rendering a list of programs available for viewing or in a library instead of rendering said adaptive program guide.

22. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said locked program content or said unlocked program content is indicated by an icon.

23. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said locked program content or said unlocked program content is indicated textually.

24. An apparatus for generating and modifying an adaptive electronic program guide, comprising: means for receiving program content and program information;

means for creating said adaptive electronic program guide; means for determining if said program content is available on viewer's set top box; and

means for modifying said adaptive electronic program guide to indicate a time remaining to download or stream said program content.

25. The apparatus according to claim 24, further comprising means for rendering said adaptive program guide each time said adaptive program guide is modified.

26. The apparatus according to claim 24, further comprising: means for determining if virtual-on-demand channel has been selected; and means for rendering a list of programs available for viewing or in a library instead of rendering said adaptive program guide.

27 The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein said adaptive program guide indicates said time remaining to download or stream said program content by moving a bar line.

28. The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein said adaptive program guide indicates said time remaining to download or stream said program content by a textual indication.

29. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein said adaptive program guide indicates said time remaining to download or stream said program content by coloring a first side of said bar line differently than a second side of said bar line.

30. The apparatus according to claim 24, further compri; further means for modifying said adaptive program guide to indicate availability of said program content based on said time remaining to download or stream said program content; and

means for modifying said adaptive program guide to indicate said program content is available for viewing on said viewer's set top box.