Method for enhancing a user viewing experience when consuming a sequence of media

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11523182-B2
Application number	US-202117180198-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 19, 2021
Priority date	Jul 31, 2015
Publication date	Dec 6, 2022
Grant date	Dec 6, 2022

Abstract

Methods and systems are described for a media guidance application that enhances the viewing experiences of users consuming a sequence of media. In particular, the media guidance application may enhance the viewing experiences of users consuming a sequence of media by removing portions of redundant media that were previously consumed by the user.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
receiving input in association with a user profile;
storing in memory, based on the received input and in association with the user profile, skip preference data;
while accessing the content item, obtaining the skip preference data via the user profile stored in the memory, wherein the skip preference data is applicable to, and is associated with skipping at least a fraction of credit sequences of, a plurality of content items accessible via the user profile;
determining, based on the skip preference data obtained via the user profile stored in the memory, whether to automatically display a first fraction of a credit sequence of a content item and skip a second fraction of the credit sequence of the content item during playing of the content item, wherein the credit sequence of the content item comprises a consecutive sequence of frames, and a final frame of the first fraction immediately precedes an initial frame of the second fraction; and
in response to determining to automatically display the first fraction of the credit sequence of the content item and skip the second fraction of the credit sequence of the content item based on the skip preference data, automatically causing the first fraction of the credit sequence of the content item to be displayed and the second fraction of the credit sequence of the content item to be skipped during playing of the content item.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the credit sequence comprises at least one of an opening credit sequence or a closing credit sequence.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the credit sequence of the content item comprises a credit sequence of an episode of a series.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein automatically causing the second fraction of the credit sequence of the content item to be skipped during playing of the content item comprises causing automatic skipping, via a computing device, of a closing credit sequence of a first episode of a series and an opening credit sequence of a next episode of the series.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the skip preference data comprises receiving a skip command entered via a computing device.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the received input corresponds to a skip command entered via a computing device, the method further comprising, in response to receiving the skip command entered via the computing device, storing in the memory the user profile comprising the skip preference data.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising reading the skip preference data from the user profile stored in the memory to determine whether to automatically skip the credit sequence of the content item during playing of the content item via the computing device.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein causing the second fraction of the credit sequence of the content item to be skipped during playing of the content item comprises increasing a rate at which one or more other portions of the content item are presented via a computing device.

9. A system comprising:
a memory storing instructions; and
control circuitry configured to execute the instructions to:
receive input in association with a user profile;
store in memory, based on the received input and in association with the user profile, skip preference data;
while accessing a content item, obtain the obtain skip preference data via the user profile stored in the memory, wherein the skip preference data is applicable to, and is associated with skipping at least a fraction of credit sequences of, a plurality of content items accessible via the user profile;
determine, based on the skip preference data obtained via the user profile stored in the memory, whether to automatically display a first fraction of a credit sequence of a content item and skip a second fraction of the credit sequence of the content item during playing of the content item, wherein the credit sequence of the content item comprises a consecutive sequence of frames, and a final frame of the first fraction immediately precedes an initial frame of the second fraction; and
in response to determining to automatically display the first fraction of the credit sequence of the content item and skip the second fraction of the credit sequence of the content item based on the skip preference data, automatically cause the first fraction of the credit sequence of the content item to be displayed and the second fraction of the credit sequence of the content item to be skipped during playing of the content item.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the credit sequence comprises at least one of an opening credit sequence or a closing credit sequence.

11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the credit sequence of the content item comprises a credit sequence of an episode of a series.

12. The system of claim 9 , wherein the control circuitry is configured to cause the second fraction of the credit sequence of the content item to be skipped during playing of the content item by causing automatic skipping of a closing credit sequence of a first episode of a series and an opening credit sequence of a next episode of the series.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein the control circuitry is configured to obtain the skip preference data by receiving a skip command.

14. The system of claim 9 , wherein the received input corresponds to a skip command, and the control circuitry is configured to, in response to receiving the skip command entered via the computing device, store in the memory the user profile comprising the skip preference data.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to read the skip preference data from the user profile stored in the memory to determine whether to automatically skip the credit sequence of the content item during playing of the content item.

16. The system of claim 9 , wherein the control circuitry is configured to cause the second fraction of the credit sequence of the content item to be skipped during playing of the content item by increasing a rate at which one or more other portions of the content item are presented.

17. A system comprising:
means for receiving input in association with a user profile;
means for storing in memory, based on the received input and in association with the user profile, skip preference data;
means for, while accessing a content item, obtaining the skip preference data via the user profile stored in the memory, wherein the skip preference data is applicable to, and is associated with skipping at least a fraction of credit sequences of, a plurality of content items accessible via the user profile;
means for determining, based on the skip preference data obtained via the user profile stored in the memory, whether to automatically display a first fraction of a credit sequence of a content item and skip a second fraction of the credit sequence of the content item during playing of the content item, wherein the credit sequence of the content item comprises a consecutive sequence of frames, and a final frame of the first fraction immediately precedes an initial frame of the second fraction; and
means for, in response to determining to automatically display the first fraction of the credit sequence of the content item and skip the second fraction of the credit sequence of the content item based on the skip preference data, automatically causing the first fraction of the credit sequence of the content item to be displayed and the second fraction of the credit sequence of the content item to be skipped during playing of the content item.

Assignees

• Rovi Guides Inc

Inventors

• Patel Milan
• Patterson John
• Dawes Charles
• Vennerholm Jerry
• Hunter Andrew
• Clarke Gavin

Classifications

• 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

• H04N21/4542

  Blocking scenes or portions of the received content, e.g. censoring scenes · CPC title

• H04N21/458

  Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules {; time-related management operations (arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10)} · CPC title

• H04N21/482

  End-user interface for programme selection · CPC title

• H04N21/44204

  Monitoring of content usage, e.g. the number of times a movie has been viewed, copied or the amount which has been watched (monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; protecting generic digital content where the protection is independent of the precise nature of the content G06F21/10; arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services in broadcast systems H04H60/31) · CPC title