Increased user efficiency and interaction performance through dynamic adjustment of auxiliary content duration

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9848241-B2
Application number	US-201414534161-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 5, 2014
Priority date	Nov 5, 2014
Publication date	Dec 19, 2017
Grant date	Dec 19, 2017

Abstract

Improved operation of a content presentation device is achieved by displaying, to a user, user-desired primary content on the physical display device. Content pod metadata can be received specifying a predefined duration of a content pod for displaying auxiliary content, different from primary content, within a break from the primary content for the predetermined duration. The content pod metadata also specifies a plurality of subdivision time slots of the content pod, each time slot for different auxiliary content. The auxiliary content can be displayed on the physical display device within a time slot of the content pod. User input can be received while displaying the auxiliary content on the physical display device, where the user input indicates user interest in the auxiliary content. The auxiliary content can then be adjusted based on the user interest in the auxiliary content.

First claim

We claim:

1. A content presentation device for increasing user efficiency and interaction performance while consuming content, the content presentation device comprising:
one or more processing units that execute computer-executable instructions;
a graphics hardware interface communicationally coupling the content presentation device to a physical display device such that the computer-executable instructions being executed by the one or more processing units cause physical changes to the physical display device, thereby generating display content on the physical display device;
a content presentation application comprising computer-executable instructions which, when executed by at least some of the one or more processing units, cause the content presentation device to perform steps comprising:
displaying, to a user, user-desired primary content on the physical display device;
receiving content pod metadata specifying a plurality of subdivision time slots of a content pod;
receiving a first auxiliary content to display on the physical display device during a first time slot of the content pod, the first auxiliary content differing from the user-desired primary content, wherein a first auxiliary content duration of the received first auxiliary content is equivalent to a first time slot duration of the first time slot;
commencing display of the first auxiliary content on the physical display device within the first time slot of the content pod;
receiving user input during the display of the first auxiliary content on the physical display device, the user input indicative of a user interest in the first auxiliary content;
extending, based on the user interest that is indicated by the received user input, a duration of the first auxiliary content, the extending occurring during the display of the first auxiliary content on the physical display device; and
transitioning from the display of the first auxiliary content on the physical display device to a display of the extended duration first auxiliary content on the physical display device during the first time slot.

2. The content presentation device of claim 1 , wherein the content presentation application comprises further computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the one or more processing units, cause the content presentation device to perform steps comprising:
receiving a second auxiliary content specifically assigned to a second time slot of the content pod occurring immediately subsequent to the first time slot, the second auxiliary content differing from the user-desired primary content and also differing from the first auxiliary content; and
selecting to not display the second auxiliary content during the second time slot because the display of the extended duration first auxiliary content continues into the second time slot.

3. The content presentation device of claim 1 , wherein the extending the first auxiliary content comprises receiving a second auxiliary content that is related to the first auxiliary content and is not assigned a specific time slot in the auxiliary content pod; and wherein further the transitioning from the display of the first auxiliary content to the display of the extended duration first auxiliary content comprises completing display of the first auxiliary content during the first time slot and then subsequently displaying the second auxiliary content on the physical display device within a second time slot of the content pod occurring immediately subsequent to the first time slot, the first auxiliary content in combination with the second auxiliary content comprising the extended duration first auxiliary content.

4. The content presentation device of claim 1 , wherein the extending the first auxiliary content comprises receiving a second auxiliary content that is a longer duration version of the first auxiliary content; and wherein further the transitioning from the display of the first auxiliary content to the display of the extended duration first auxiliary content comprises completing display of the first auxiliary content during the first time slot and then subsequently displaying only a latter portion of the second auxiliary content on the physical display device within a second time slot of the content pod occurring immediately subsequent to the first time slot.

5. The content presentation device of claim 1 , wherein the content presentation application comprises further computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the one or more processing units, cause the content presentation device to perform steps comprising:
receiving a second auxiliary content to display on the physical display device during a second time slot of the content pod, the second auxiliary content differing from the user-desired primary content and also differing from the first auxiliary content;
commencing display of the second auxiliary content on the physical display device within the second time slot of the content pod;
receiving a second user input during the display of the second auxiliary content on the physical display device, the second user input indicative of a user interest in the second auxiliary content;
decreasing, based on the user interest that is indicated by the received user input, a duration of the second auxiliary content, the decreasing occurring during the display of the second auxiliary content on the physical display device such that the display of the decreased duration second auxiliary content during the second time slot completes prior to an end of the second time slot.

6. The content presentation device of claim 1 , wherein the receiving the content pod metadata comprises receiving both a first content pod schedule metadata specifying a first plurality of subdivision time slots of the content pod and a second content pod schedule metadata specifying a second, different plurality of subdivision time slots of the content pod; and wherein further the extending the duration of the first auxiliary content comprises ceasing displaying of auxiliary content in accordance with the first content pod schedule, after having already commenced displaying of the auxiliary content in accordance with the first content pod schedule, and then commencing displaying auxiliary content in accordance with the second content pod schedule to accommodate the extended duration first auxiliary content.

7. The content presentation device of claim 1 , wherein the receiving the user input comprises receiving implicit user input while displaying the first auxiliary content on the physical display device.

8. The content presentation device of claim 1 , wherein the first auxiliary content comprises an advertisement displayed during an advertising break from the primary content.

9. The content presentation device of claim 1 , wherein the received first auxiliary content is associated with a first auxiliary content metadata comprising information linking the first auxiliary content to additional auxiliary content that is related to the first auxiliary content.

10. An auxiliary content server that serves auxiliary content, the auxiliary content server comprising:
one or more processing units that execute computer-executable instructions;
a network interface communicationally coupling the content server to a content presentation device such that the content presentation device causes physical changes to a physical display device coupled to the content presentation device, thereby generating display content on the physical display device;
a content pod generation application comprising computer-executable instructions which, when executed by at least some of the one or more processing units, cause the auxiliary content server to perform st

Assignees

• Microsoft Technology Licensing Llc

Inventors

• Zilberstein Karin
• Finster Diana
• Chiu Adrian
• Pineda Alexei
• Jain Stuti
• De La Garza Enrique

Classifications

• G06Q30/0277 Primary

  Online advertisement · CPC title

• H04N21/2668

  Creating a channel for a dedicated end-user group, e.g. insertion of targeted commercials based on end-user profiles {(information retrieval from the Internet by querying with filtering and personalisation G06F16/9535; arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast H04H20/10; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/063)} · CPC title

• H04N21/435

  Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream · CPC title

• H04N21/438

  Interfacing the downstream path of the transmission network originating from a server, e.g. retrieving encoded video stream packets from an IP network · CPC title

• H04N21/458 Primary

  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