Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC

Time Warner Cable Inc.

Sony Corporation

Sony Electronics Inc

Time Warner Entertainment Company, L.p.

Twc Interactive Video Group, Inc.

Aol Time Warner Interactive Video Group, Inc.

David M Kimble

Erik Gwyn Urdang

Joseph G Buehl

John B Carlucci

Louis Dew Williamson

John Callahan

Thomas L Gonder

Fee Ling Chin

Jay Thomas

Patrick J Donoghue

Hugh Josephs

Darryl Lanay DeFreese

Toshiro Ozawa

John W Callahan

Recommendation engine apparatus and associated methods provide content compiled from various sources and selected to match user preferences. In one embodiment, the recommendation apparatus comprises a headend entity; in another, it is co-located on a user's CPE. In one embodiment, the recommendation engine creates content records from content metadata for comparison to a user profile. The user profile is pre-programmed; however has the ability to dynamically shift toward a user's preferences as the user takes actions regarding content. Client applications are utilized to compile and present content; feedback mechanisms are utilized to enable 'learning' from user activities to generate more precise recommendations as well as to 'unlearn' stale preferences. Recommended content is displayed in the form of a playlist, or as a continuous stream on a virtual channel, or presented in an electronic program guide. A business rules &#x201c;engine&#x201d; useful in implementing operational or business goals is also disclosed.

Recommendation engine apparatus and methods

Segmentation messages indicative of locations of upcoming events, such as the start and end of programs and program portions, and/or rights related to the programs and program portions, are used by cable systems and the like to store programs and program portions for later retrieval and transmission to customers on request. Storage, retrieval and management of programming is thereby facilitated. Methods and systems are disclosed.

Program storage, retrieval and management based on segmentation messages

A system and method for commanding a controlled device. An intelligent navigation server detects a transition from a current state of a remote control device. A context for transition is also determined. The current state, the new current state and the context are evaluated to select a set of commands appropriate to the context and the new current state. The selected commands determine behavior options for the controlled device. The set of selected commands are sent to the remote control device. Text and/or graphical data appropriate to the new current state may also be sent to the remote control device. The remote control device may generate display data based on the selected commands to provide one or more soft buttons linked to one or more of the selected commands. The remote control device may also display the text and/or graphical data.

System and method for commanding a controlled device

In delivering an entertainment program over a communications network, e.g., a cable TV network, interactive application data for realizing interactive features in the entertainment program are interjected into the program stream carrying the entertainment program on an as needed basis. Because the entire channel bandwidth is temporarily dedicated for transmission of the interactive application data, whose amount is relatively small compared with that of the video and audio data of the programming content, the interactive application data when transmitted appears as a short 'burst,' causing a virtually unnoticeable interruption in the programming content delivery.

Technique for delivering entertainment programming content including interactive features in a communications network

A method and apparatus for managing ATM formatted MPEG SI data in a television set-top box. A virtual channel indicator (VCI) is used to associate a segment of SI data with a virtual channel. An ATM processor receives a stream of ATM packets containing SI data from an out-of-band tuner. The ATM packets include the VCI in a header thereof. The ATM processor stores the SI data in a buffer memory associated with the VCI for retrieval by the ATM processor at the request of the STB system processor.

Data delivery in set-top box

Growing community of inventors

Escondido, CA, United States of America

David M Kimble