Patent ID: 11910064
Assignee: ROVI GUIDES, INC.
Field: Audio-visual technology (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H | IPC H

Claim 10:
11. An apparatus comprising:
control circuitry configured to:
generate for display a media asset;
identify at least one preview image corresponding to a respective play position in either the media asset or in a series including the media asset, where the respective play position is advanced with respect to a current play position in the media asset;

determine that an alternative preview image is to be displayed in place of the at least one preview image, based on the current play position and metadata associated with the media asset, wherein the metadata indicates a risk of spoiler information contained in the alternative preview image;
obtain the alternative preview image by modifying a portion of the at least one preview image to remove or mask a portion of the at least one preview image containing spoiler information, wherein less than the entire preview image is masked or removed; and
in response to determining that the alternative preview image is to be displayed, generate for display the alternative preview image in place of the at least one preview image.