Apparatus, systems and methods for control of media content event recording

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11245952-B2
Application number	US-202117166663-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 3, 2021
Priority date	Sep 15, 2015
Publication date	Feb 8, 2022
Grant date	Feb 8, 2022

Abstract

Systems and methods are operable to record a media content event at a media device. An exemplary embodiment grabs a series of subsequently received image frames from the media content event that is being recorded after a monitored real time reaches a closing credits monitor time, wherein the closing credits monitor time is a recording end time less a predefined duration. The embodiment then analyzes each of the image frames to identify an occurrence of text presented in the analyzed image frame, determines that the identified text corresponds to closing credits of the media content event if the at least one attribute of the identified text matches a corresponding predefined closing credits attribute, and initiates an end of the recording of the media content event in response to determining that the identified text corresponds to the closing credits of the media content event.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for recording media content events at a media device, the method comprising:
recording, by the media device, a media content event that is being received by the media device, wherein the media content event is associated with at least a scheduled broadcast start time defining when the media content event is scheduled to begin and a scheduled broadcast end time defining when the media content event is scheduled to end;
analyzing each image frame of a series of subsequently received image frames from the media content event by the media device, wherein the analyzing each image frame begins in response to detecting that time has reached a predefined closing credits monitor time, wherein the closing credits monitor time is prior to the scheduled broadcast end time, and wherein for each of the analyzed image frames, the method further comprises:
analyzing, by the media device, the image frame to identify an occurrence of text in the analyzed image frame;
determining, by the media device, a text attribute of the identified text;
comparing, by the media device, the text attribute of the identified text in the analyzed image frame with a corresponding predefined closing credits text attribute, wherein the corresponding predefined closing credits text attribute is received in at least one of electronic program guide (EPG) information and from a remote electronic device that is remote from the media device and is stored in a memory medium of the media device prior to the comparing;
wherein the text attribute is a color of the identified text and wherein the corresponding predefined closing credits text attribute is a corresponding predefined text color, determining, by the media device, that the analyzed image frame includes closing credits of the media content event when the color of the identified text in the analyzed image frame matches the corresponding predefined text color,
wherein the text attribute is a height of a plurality of characters of the identified text and wherein the corresponding predefined closing credits text attribute is a corresponding predefined text character height, determining, by the media device, that the analyzed image frame includes closing credits of the media content event when the height of the characters of the identified text in the analyzed image frame matches the corresponding predefined text character height,
wherein the text attribute is a font type of the characters of the identified text and wherein the corresponding predefined closing credits text attribute is a corresponding predefined text font type, determining, by the media device, that the analyzed image frame includes closing credits of the media content event when the font type of the characters of the identified text in the analyzed image frame matches the corresponding predefined text font type,
wherein the text attribute is a background color surrounding the characters of the identified text and wherein the corresponding predefined closing credits text attribute is a corresponding predefined text background color, determining, by the media device, that the analyzed image frame includes closing credits of the media content event when the background color surrounding the characters of the identified text in the analyzed image frame matches the corresponding predefined text background color,
wherein a first image frame includes an identifiable first text and a later received second image frame in the series of subsequently received image frames includes an identifiable second text that is the same as the identifiable first text, wherein the identifiable first text in the first image frame is at a first location, wherein the identifiable second text in the second image frame is at a second location that is different from the first location, and wherein the text attribute is a direction of movement of the identified text determined from a difference between the first location of the identifiable first text in the first image frame and the second location of the identifiable second text in the second image frame, and wherein the corresponding predefined closing credits text attribute is a corresponding predefined direction of text movement, determining, by the media device, that the analyzed first and second image frames include closing credits of the media content event when the direction of movement of the identifiable first text in the analyzed first image frame and the identifiable second text in the analyzed second image frame matches the corresponding predefined direction of text movement,
wherein the text attribute is a distance of movement of the identified text determined from a difference between the first location of the identifiable first text in the first image frame and the second location of the identifiable second text in the second image frame, and wherein the corresponding predefined closing credits text attribute is a corresponding predefined distance of text movement, determining, by the media device, that the analyzed first and second image frames include closing credits of the media content event when the distance of movement of the identifiable first text in the analyzed first image frame and the identifiable second text in the analyzed second image frame matches the corresponding predefined distance of text movement, or
wherein the text attribute is a direction of movement of the identified text determined from a difference between the first location of the identifiable first text in the first image frame and the second location of the identifiable second text in the second image frame and a duration between the first and second image frames, and wherein the corresponding predefined closing credits text attribute is a corresponding predefined rate of text movement, determining, by the media device, that the analyzed first and second image frames include closing credits of the media content event when the rate of movement of the identified text in the analyzed first and second image frames matches the corresponding predefined rate of text movement; and
initiating an end of the recording of the media content event in response to determining that the identified text attribute in the analyzed image frame corresponds to the predefined closing credits text attribute.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: retrieving the corresponding predefined closing credits text attribute from the memory medium of the media device to compare the text attribute of the identified text in the analyzed image frame with the corresponding predefined closing credits text attribute.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining, by the media device, a number of characters of the text in the analyzed image frame; and
comparing, by the media device, the number of characters in the text in the analyzed image frame with a predefined number of text characters;
wherein the end of the recording of the media content event is initiated when the determined number of characters of the text in the analyzed image frame is at least equal to the predefined number of text characters.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining, by the media device, a number of words in the text in the analyzed image frame; and
comparing, by the media device, the number of words in the analyzed image frame with a predefined number of words;
wherein the end of the recording of the media content event is initiated when the determined number of words of the text in the analyzed image frame is at least equal to the predefined number of words.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
identifying, by the media device, a bounded region in the analyzed image frame that is in proximity to the text in the analyzed image frame; and
determining whether a color of the bounded region in the anal

Assignees

• Dish Tech Llc

Inventors

• Greene Gregory

Classifications

• H04N21/45

  Management operations performed by the client for facilitating the reception of or the interaction with the content or administrating data related to the end-user or to the client device itself, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies, resolving scheduling conflicts · CPC title

• G06V30/413

  Classification of content, e.g. text, photographs or tables · CPC title

• H04N21/44008

  involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream (arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59) · CPC title

• G06T7/20

  Analysis of motion (motion estimation for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/43, H04N19/51) · CPC title

• H04N21/4334 Primary

  Recording operations (recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27) · CPC title