An intelligent electronic appliance preferably includes a user interface, data input and/or output port, and an intelligent processor. A preferred embodiment comprises a set top box for interacting with broadband media streams, with an adaptive user interface, content-based media processing and/or media metadata processing, and telecommunications integration. An adaptive user interface models the user, by observation, feedback, and/or explicit input, and presents a user interface and/or executes functions based on the user model. A content-based media processing system analyzes media content, for example audio and video, to understand the content, for example to generate content-descriptive metadata. A media metadata processing system operates on locally or remotely generated metadata to process the media in accordance with the metadata, which may be, for example, an electronic program guide, MPEG 7 data, and/or automatically generated format. A set top box preferably includes digital trick play effects, and incorporated digital rights management features.

Intelligent electronic appliance system and method

A system for utilizing metadata created either at a central location for shared use by connected users, or at each individual user's location, to enhance user's enjoyment of available broadcast programming content. A variety of mechanisms are employed for automatically and manually identifying and designating programming segments, associating descriptive metadata which the identified segments, distributing the metadata for use at client locations, and using the supplied metadata to selectively record and playback desired programming.

Audio and video program recording, editing and playback systems using metadata

An adaptive interface for a programmable system, for predicting a desired user function, based on user history, as well as machine internal status and context. The apparatus receives an input from the user and other data. A predicted input is presented for confirmation by the user, and the predictive mechanism is updated based on this feedback. Also provided is a pattern recognition system for a multimedia device, wherein a user input is matched to a video stream on a conceptual basis, allowing inexact programming of a multimedia device. The system analyzes a data stream for correspondence with a data pattern for processing and storage. The data stream is subjected to adaptive pattern recognition to extract features of interest to provide a highly compressed representation that may be efficiently processed to determine correspondence. Applications of the interface and system include a video cassette recorder (VCR), medical device, vehicle control system, audio device, environmental control system, securities trading terminal, and smart house. The system optionally includes an actuator for effecting the environment of operation, allowing closed-loop feedback operation and automated learning.

Adaptive pattern recognition based control system and method

Media objects are transformed into active, connected objects via identifiers embedded into them or their containers. In the context of a user's playback experience, a decoding process extracts the identifier from a media object and possibly additional context information and forwards it to a server. The server, in turn, maps the identifier to an action, such as returning metadata, re-directing the request to one or more other servers, requesting information from another server to identify the media object, etc. The linking process applies to broadcast objects as well as objects transmitted over networks in streaming and compressed file formats.

Connected audio and other media objects

When selecting a television program for recording, a user may configure the delivery of the selected television program and associated data and interactive applications to different user equipment devices in a home network, which may have different capabilities. Because the user equipment devices in the home network may have different capabilities, the user may wish to deliver different types and amount of content, different amounts of data, and different versions of interactive applications to the user equipment devices in the home network.

Interactive media guidance system having multiple devices

A graphic user interface for use with a multi-recording media storage apparatus includes a determiner for determining the identity of at least one of a plurality of recording media retained within the apparatus and an accumulator for accumulating statistical information regarding the identity of that medium. Additional information is obtained from an external database based upon the identity of the recording medium, and further additional information is obtained from an external information source in accordance with the accumulated statistical information. The graphic user interface allows a user to view and manipulate the additional information and the further additional information in order to select a particular recording medium for playing, or to perform various other operations.

Graphic user interface that is usable as a PC interface and an A/V interface

A recording media storage and player unit, including a playback unit for replaying data retrieved from a selected one of several stored recording media, a communication link for obtaining expanded information associated with the recording medium from an external database, a memory storage location for storing the expanded information locally within the recording media storage and player unit; and a display for displaying the expanded information when the data retrieved from the recording medium is played back. Additional storage and player units are coupleable to the aforementioned unit to increase disc storage capacity. All player units are controlled by a control panel on the first-mentioned unit.

Rich Gioscia

Papers

Graphic user interface that is usable as a PC interface and an A/V interface

Modular media storage system and integrated player unit and method for accessing additional external information

Modular media storage unit