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| Apparatus and method for processing a program guide in a digital video system |
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Television program recording with user preference determination
| Details |
Inventors: Ismail, Labeeb K.; Gogoi, Amar N.; Stupak, Yuri;
Assignee: Metabyte, Inc. (Cupertino, CA)
Primary Examiner: Tran; Thai
Assistant Examiner: Chieu; Polin
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Sherman, Esq.; Kenneth L. Myers Dawes Andras & Sherman, Andras, Esq.; Joseph C.
A system for recording television programs for subsequent viewing by a user includes a preference determination module which is responsive to attribute information associated with television programs viewed by the user. The preference determination module categorizes the attribute information in accordance with categorization parameters to generate recordation preference information, indicative of television program viewing preferences of the user. The system also includes a recordation module which is responsive to the recordation preference information, for causing recordation on a storage medium of subsequently transmitted television programs, having attribute information corresponding to the recordation preference information. |
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION In a principal aspect, the present invention determines viewing preferences of a user by monitoring programs viewed by the user and causes recording of programs corresponding to the user's preferences.
In accordance with the principles of the present invention, apparatus for causing recordation of television programs comprises a preference agent for causing retrieval of attribute information corresponding to each television program viewed by a user of the apparatus.
The preference agent generates classification information indicative of viewing preferences of the user as a function of the attribute information.
A recording manager causes recordation and storage to a storage device of television programs having attribute information that matches the classification information.
Embodiments employing the principles of the present invention advantageously cause recordation of programs that match certain viewing habits of the viewer.
Such embodiments therefore provide the viewer with stored programs that match certain viewing preferences of the user, which can be viewed at the viewer's leisure.
The viewer is therefore relieved of the burden of deciding which programs from among several hundred possible programs to watch.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, programs may be recorded for storage in accordance with available capacity of the storage device.
Moreover, programs may be deleted in response to selections by the user or based upon a priority, indicated by viewing preferences of the user, in which programs having lowest priority are deleted first to make room for newly recorded programs.
The priority of programs may also be a function of time, in which more recently recorded programs are given higher priority.
In accordance with further aspects of the invention, determining which programs to record may also be a function of priority in which programs specified for recordation are given highest priority, followed by programs having attribute information corresponding to one or more user specified criteria, then followed by programs having attribute information corresponding to the recordation preference information
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Television 
