TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention generally relates to the provision of video content to viewers through digital TV infrastructure, and more particularly, to converting, navigating and displaying video content uploaded from the Internet on a digital TV video-on-demand platform.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Cable television (CATV) systems are used to deliver television services to a vast majority of TV-viewing homes in the U.S. and other technologically advanced countries. The typical CATV system has a cable service provider head end equipped with video servers to transmit CATV program signals through distribution cable lines to local nodes and from there to TV subscriber homes. Within the subscriber homes, the CATV input TV line is connected to one or more customer-premises TVs which are coupled to external set-top boxes for channel tuning or are equipped with internal cable channel tuners. CATV service providers employ the spacious 1 GHz bandwidth of the typical cable (RG-6) line to carry tens of analog TV channels in the portion of the cable bandwidth allocated to analog TV signals. With digital multiplexing methods such as QAM, hundreds of digital TV signals can be carried simultaneously in the portion of the cable bandwidth allocated to digital TV signals. Cable TV service providers have also allocated portions of the cable bandwidth for user (return) data, broadband data connection, and voice-over-IP (VoIP) digital telephone service.

Cable TV service providers generally offer subscribers to subscribe to any of several tiers of bundled TV services on a scale with increasing rates in accordance with signal quality, TV program offerings, and types of interactive services. Digital TV services are offered through advanced digital set-top boxes that are individually addressable from the CATV head end, and also allow subscribers various interactive functions with the CATV head end via inputs to the set-top box via the remote control unit for transmission on the return data path to the CATV head end.

A recent type of interactive television service offered on digital TV systems is referred to generally as a “video-on-demand” (VOD) system, wherein a viewer can navigate through a program guide via the remote control unit and send a request via the set-top box for a desired video program to be addressed from the head-end to the subscriber's set-top box for display on the TV. Different types of VOD programs are typically bundled as a package and offered on different VOD “channels”. For example, a VOD “channel” can offer on-demand movies and videos, replay sports events, infomercials, advertisements, music videos, short-subjects, and even individual TV “pages”. VOD-based interactive television services generally allow a viewer to use the remote control to cursor through an on-screen menu and select from a variety of titles for stored video programs for individual viewing on demand. Advanced remote control units include button controls with VCR-like functions that enable the viewer to start, stop, pause, rewind, or replay a selected video program or segment. In the future, VOD-based interactive television services may be integrated with or delivered with other advanced interactive television services, such as webpage browsing, e-mail, television purchase (“t-commerce”) transactions, and multimedia delivery.

Digital cable TV is currently the most prevalent system for offering digital TV services to home TV subscribers. However, other types of digital carriers offering broadband connections to subscriber homes have entered into competition with cable TV providers by offering digital TV services over their broadband connections. Examples of other broadband connections include DSL telephone lines, local area broadband networks, and wireless broadband networks. Digital television services offered on such broadband connections employ the TCP/IP data transport protocol and are referred to as Internet Protocol Television (IPTV). Instead of multi-casting all TV program signals into a cable line, the typical IPTV system will respond to a subscriber's request for a particular TV channel or video program by transmitting the video content individually to the subscriber's individually addressable, digital set top box at high speeds. IPTV and digital cable TV both transmit digital video in packetized data streams within closed, proprietary broadband systems; however, IPTV uses the Internet Protocol (IP) to structure, route and deliver the digital video packets within an IPTV system.

With the increasing interactive functionality and customer reach of interactive television services, advertisers and content providers are find it increasingly attractive to employ on-demand advertising, on-demand program content, and on-demand TV transactions for home viewers. VOD content delivery platforms are being designed to seamlessly and conveniently deliver a wide range of types of advertising, video content, and transaction services on demand to home viewers. VOD content offerings are expected to increase dramatically from a few “channels” with a few score or hundred “titles” listed on each today to scores or hundreds of channels with thousands if not millions of titles on each in the foreseeable future. The VOD platform thus offers a gateway for greatly expanding TV viewing from a relatively small number of studio-produced program channels to a large number of new commercial publishers and ultimately a vast number of self-publishers or so-called “citizen” content publishers. It is deemed desirable to find a way for such vast numbers of content publishers to transmit their programs to the home TV, and to enable home TV viewers to find something of interest for viewing among the vast numbers of new programs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, a method for dynamic adjustment of an electronic program guide (EPG) for navigating to video content offered on a video-on-demand (VOD) platform of a digital TV service provider comprises:

(a) maintaining a listing of category names for respective categories of video content to which a viewer can navigate using the EPG for the VOD platform;

(b) tracking a viewer's past history of selections of category names for video content in the EPG and determining an order of relevance of the category names for viewer selection of video content based on said past history; and

(c) reordering a current display listing of the category names based on said determined order of relevance.

In a preferred implementation, the order of relevance is determined in order of frequency of selection of category names based on the viewer's past history of category name selection. As an extension, order of relevance may be determined based on other parameters, such as time-of-day, weekday or weekend, or preference indicated by past selections of TV program titles. The reordered EPG display listing may list a predetermined number of category names of higher relevance, while maintaining all other category names of lower relevance out-of-sight on another display page to be accessed by activating a “More” button.

Each title is categorized within hierarchically-arranged categories and subcategories of the EPG which make up a unique hierarchical address for the title. The hierarchical address may be represented by a string of category and subcategory terms and the title delimited by standard delimiters. The hierarchical address can be shared as bookmarks the TV program with other TV subscribers or friends or contacts on the Internet.

The reordering of category names is provided by linking the viewer from a generalized EPG for all viewers on the VOD platform to a viewer-individualized EPG. The viewer-individualized EPG is accessed through a LogIn step by which the individual viewer is identified. In the LogIn step, the viewers of a subscriber household can register their names and personal identification numbers (PIN) for quick logins. The viewer-individualized EPG tracks the categories and subcategories the individual viewer clicks on and adds it to the viewer's past history. The tracking continues until the viewer logs off or the TV viewing session is ended. Besides reordering, the tracking of viewer navigation clicks and viewing preferences can be used to automatically create subcategories of TV programs of the type most frequently clicked on by the viewer, as well as for reordering in other VOD schema.

The present invention also encompasses an electronic program guide (EPG) for viewer navigation to titles for items of video content stored on a video-on-demand (VOD) platform comprising:

(a) each item of video content being assigned a title and a hierarchical address corresponding to hierarchically-arranged categories and subcategories within which the title for the video content is to be categorized;

(b) a listing of at least a top level of category names for respective categories of video content maintained by the EPG for the video content;

(d) a viewer's past history of selections of category names for video content maintained in association with the EPG and used to determine an order of relevance of category names for viewer selection of video content based on said past history; and

(e) a current display listing of category names for the EPG in which the category names are reordered based on said determined order of relevance.

