Efficient channel scanning for media rendering device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11671953-B2
Application number	US-202117484387-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 24, 2021
Priority date	Sep 24, 2021
Publication date	Jun 6, 2023
Grant date	Jun 6, 2023

Abstract

A media rendering device and method for scan of channels on the media rendering device is provided. The media rendering device determines a first geographical region associated with a location of the media rendering device. A first set of over-the-air (OTA) channels may be communicated in the first geographical region. The media rendering device determines a second geographical region within a threshold distance from the location of the media rendering device. A second set of OTA channels may be communicated in the second geographical region. The media rendering device receives a first user input to scan the first set of OTA channels and the second set of OTA channels, and configures the first set of OTA channels and the second set of OTA channels on the media rendering device, based on the scan of the first set of OTA channels and the second set of OTA channels.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A media rendering device, comprising:
circuitry configured to:
determine a first geographical region associated with a location of the media rendering device, wherein a first set of over-the-air (OTA) channels are communicated in the determined first geographical region;
determine a second geographical region within a threshold distance from the location of the media rendering device, wherein a second set of OTA channels are communicated in the determined second geographical region;
receive a first user input to scan the first set of OTA channels and the second set of OTA channels, wherein
the first user input indicates a number of OTA channels to be scanned by the media rendering device, and
the number of OTA channels corresponds to a subset of OTA channels from the first set of OTA channels and the second set of OTA channels; and

configure the first set of OTA channels and the second set of OTA channels on the media rendering device, based on the scan of the first set of OTA channels and the second set of OTA channels.

2. The media rendering device according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to:
receive a second user input indicative of at least one of a country, a state, a city, a province, position co-ordinates, a postal code, or a zip code; and
determine the first geographical region and the location of the media rendering device based on the received second user input.

3. The media rendering device according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to determine the first geographical region and the location of the media rendering device based on at least one of Global Positioning System (GPS) information, an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the media rendering device, or identification information of one or more service provider devices.

4. The media rendering device according to claim 1 , wherein
the first user input is indicative of a confirmation from a user to extend a first channel map of the media rendering device to a second channel map of the media rendering device,
the first channel map includes the first set of OTA channels corresponding to the first geographical region, and
the second channel map includes the first set of OTA channels and the second set of OTA channels corresponding to the second geographical region.

5. The media rendering device according to claim 1 , wherein
the circuitry is further configured to configure the first set of OTA channels and the second set of OTA channels on the media rendering device, based on the scan of only the second set of OTA channels, and
the first set of OTA channels are pre-scanned by the media rendering device.

6. The media rendering device according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to:
receive a third user input indicative of user preference which indicates a language of interest;
scan a third set of OTA channels based on the received third user input indicative of the user preference, wherein the third set of OTA channels are included in the first set of OTA channels and the second set of OTA channels; and
configure the scanned third set of OTA channels on the media rendering device.

7. The media rendering device according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to:
receive a third user input indicative of user preference which indicates a media genre of interest;
scan a third set of OTA channels based on the received third user input indicative of the user preference, wherein the third set of OTA channels are included in the first set of OTA channels and the second set of OTA channels; and
configure the scanned third set of OTA channels on the media rendering device.

8. The media rendering device according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to:
retrieve, from a server, OTA channel information associated with the first geographical region and the second geographical region;
determine a first number of OTA channels in the first set of OTA channels and a second number of OTA channels in the second set of OTA channels, based on the retrieved OTA channel information; and
configure the first set of OTA channels and the second set of OTA channels on the media rendering device, based on the scan of the first set of OTA channels using the determined first number of OTA channels and the scan of the second set of OTA channels using the determined second number of OTA channels.

9. The media rendering device according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to:
determine a spectrum shape of an OTA channel frequency of an OTA signal received from a service provider associated with the first geographical region;
determine a modulation type of the received OTA signal based on the determined spectrum shape;
determine a first number of OTA channels in the first set of OTA channels and a second number of OTA channels in the second set of OTA channels, based on the determined modulation type; and
configure the first set of OTA channels and the second set of OTA channels on the media rendering device, based on the scan of the first set of OTA channels using the determined first number of OTA channels and the scan of the second set of OTA channels using the determined second number of OTA channels.

10. The media rendering device according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to:
determine a modulation type of an OTA signal received from a service provider associated with the first geographical region;
scan a third set of OTA channels based on the determined modulation type, wherein the third set of OTA channels are included in the first set of OTA channels and the second set of OTA channels; and
configure the scanned third set of OTA channels on the media rendering device.

11. The media rendering device according to claim 10 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to receive a third user input indicative of the modulation type.

12. The media rendering device according to claim 1 , wherein each of the first set of OTA channels and the second set of OTA channels corresponds to at least one of a television channel, an Amplitude Modulated (AM) channel, or a Frequency Modulated (FM) channel.

13. The media rendering device according to claim 1 , wherein the first set of OTA channels associated with the first geographical region is different from the second set of OTA channels associated with the second geographical region.

14. A method, comprising:
in a media rendering device:
determining a first geographical region associated with a location of the media rendering device, wherein a first set of over-the-air (OTA) channels are communicated in the determined first geographical region;
determining a second geographical region within a threshold distance from the location of the media rendering device, wherein a second set of OTA channels are communicated in the determined second geographical region;
receiving a first user input to scan the first set of OTA channels and the second set of OTA channels, wherein
the first user input indicates a number of OTA channels to be scanned by the media rendering device, and
the number of OTA channels corresponds to a subset of OTA channels from the first set of OTA channels and the second set of OTA channels; and

configuring the first set of OTA channels and the second set of OTA channels on the media rendering device, based on the scan of the first set of OTA channels and the second set of OTA channels.

15. The method according to claim 14 , further comprising:
receiving a second user input indicative of at l

Assignees

• Sony Group Corp

Inventors

• Shintani Peter
• Pineda Loren
• Wu Max
• Agnihotri Tanmay
• Fay Luke

Classifications

• H04N21/4382

  Demodulation or channel decoding, e.g. QPSK demodulation (analog front ends or means for connecting modulators, demodulators or transceivers to a transmission line H04L27/0002) · CPC title

• H04W64/00

  Locating users or terminals {or network equipment} for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management · CPC title

• H04N21/482

  End-user interface for programme selection · CPC title

• H04N21/485

  End-user interface for client configuration · CPC title

• H04N21/4524 Primary

  involving the geographical location of the client (retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; systems specially adapted for using geographical information in broadcast systems H04H60/70; protocols in which the network application is adapted for the location of the user terminal in communication control or processing H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00) · CPC title