Methods and systems for controlling presentation of media streams

Methods and systems for selecting a media stream for display based on reducing a time duration required to consume a media asset are presented herein. A first media stream, where the presentation of the media asset began at a first time, is generated for display. A second media stream, that started presenting the media asset at a second time, is stored in memory. The first media stream is generated for display for a time period and the stored second media stream is generated for display after this time period.

BACKGROUND

Viewers don't always turn the television on at the exact time a media asset starts being presented on a media content source. For example, an initial portion of the media asset may already have been presented on the media content source when the viewer starts watching that media asset. Therefore, the viewer may not be able to view the complete media asset. This may be especially problematic for media assets transmitted over any media content source that is not a video on demand media content source.

SUMMARY

Methods and systems are presented herein for presenting an alternate media content source. A selection of a first media content source may be received at a first time. Presentation of the media asset on the first media content source may begin at a second time earlier than the first time. A media guidance application will search a program listings database for a second media content source presenting the same media asset. The presentation of the media asset on the second media content source may overlap in time with the presentation of the media asset on the first media content source. Based on the searching, the media guidance application may determine that the presentation of the media asset on the second media content source began at a third time, where the third time is later than the second time. In response to determining that the presentation of the media asset on the second media content source began at the third time later than the second time, the media guidance application may generate for display the media asset transmitted over the second media content source instead of the first media content source.

The media guidance application may determine a number of interesting portions in the media asset presented on the second media content source between the first time and a fourth time. The fourth time may be later than the first time. The media guidance application may determine that the number of interesting portions in the media asset presented on the second media content source exceeds the threshold. In response to determining that the number of interesting portions in the media asset presented on the second media content source exceeds the threshold, the media asset transmitted over the second media content source may be generated for display instead of the first media content source.

The media guidance application may determine the number of interesting portions in the media asset by parsing the media asset into a plurality of time segments. A first plurality of metadata tags associated with media content in each of the plurality of time segments of the media asset may be retrieved. Next, a second plurality of metadata tags indicating characteristics of interesting events may be retrieved. The retrieved first plurality of metadata tags may be compared to the retrieved second plurality of metadata tags.

Based on the comparison, it may be determined that at least one time segment of the plurality of time segments of the media asset is associated with a metadata tag that matches at least one metadata tag of the second plurality of metadata items. The at least one time segment of the plurality of time segments of the media asset that is associated with a metadata tag that matches at least one metadata tag of the second plurality of metadata tags may be determined to be an interesting portion of the media asset.

If the media guidance application determines that the number of interesting portions in the media asset presented on the second media content source does not exceed the threshold, then the media guidance application may generate for display the media asset transmitted over the first media content source.

In some embodiments the third time may be earlier than the second time. In response to determining that the third time is earlier than the second time, the media asset transmitted over the first media content source may be generated for display. In some embodiments, generating for display the media asset transmitted over the second media content source instead of the first media content source may optionally include generating for display an option prompting a user to instruct the media guidance application to generate for display the media asset transmitted over the second media content source.

In some embodiments, based on the searching, the media guidance application may determine a first plurality of media content sources where the presentation of the media asset on each of the first plurality of media content sources overlaps in time with the presentation of the media asset on the first media content source. A second plurality of media content sources may be determined from the first plurality of media content sources, where the presentation of the media asset on each of the second plurality of media content sources began at a fourth time later than the second time and earlier than the first time. The media guidance application may generate for display the media asset transmitted over a third media content source, selected from the second plurality of media content sources, where the presentation of the media asset on the third media content source began after the presentation of the media asset began on every other media content source of the second plurality of media content sources.

In some embodiments, the number of advertisements presented on the second media content source between the first time and the fourth time may be determined by the media guidance application. The fourth time may be later than the first time. It may be determined that the number of advertisements presented on the second media content source between the first time and the fourth time exceeds a threshold. In response to determining that the number of advertisements presented on the second media content source between the first time and the fourth time exceeds the threshold, the media asset transmitted over the first media content source may be generated for display.

In some embodiments, a preferred language may be retrieved from memory by the media guidance application. It may be determined that the media asset presented on the second media content source is not in the preferred language, and in response to determining that the media asset presented on the second media content source is not in the preferred language, the media asset transmitted over the first media content source may be generated for display.

Methods and systems for selecting a media stream for display based on reducing a time duration required to consume a media asset are additionally presented herein. The terms media stream and media content source are used interchangeably herein. The media guidance application may generate for display a first media stream where the presentation of the media asset on the first media stream began at a first time. A program listings database may be searched for a second media stream presenting the same media asset such that the presentation of the media asset on the second media stream: (i) overlaps in time with the presentation of the media asset on the first media stream, and (ii) began at a second time earlier than the first time. In some embodiments, the second time may be later than or the same as the first time. The second media stream may be stored in memory and a time duration between the first time and the second time may be computed. The media guidance application may continue to generate for display the first media stream for the time duration and the media guidance application may generate for display the stored second media stream after the time duration.

In some embodiments, computing the first time duration may further include: determining that the second media stream included an advertisement between the first time and the second time, computing a second time duration corresponding to the length of that advertisement, and subtracting the second time duration from the first time duration.

In some embodiments, searching the program listings database may further include finding a plurality of media streams presenting the same media asset such that the presentation of the media asset on each of the plurality of media streams overlaps in time with the presentation of the media asset on the first media stream and began at a time earlier than the first time. The media stream of plurality of media streams on which the presentation of the media asset began earliest in time may be selected as the second media stream.

In some embodiments, storing the second media stream may further include identifying a location of an advertisement in the second media stream and storing the second media stream without the advertisement at the location identified in the second media stream. In some embodiments, generating for display the stored second media stream may further include identifying a location of an advertisement in the stored second media stream and generating for display the stored second media stream without the advertisement at the location identified in the second media stream. In some embodiments, an option prompting a user to watch the advertisement before generating for a display the stored second media stream after the time duration may be generated for display.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1depicts an illustrative embodiment of determining an alternate media content source, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

HBO120and AMC140are the first media content source and the second media content source respectively. Both media content sources may be presenting or transmitting the same media asset. For example, both media content sources HBO120and AMC140may present the same movie Ironman. However, media content source HBO120and media content source AMC140could have started presenting Ironman at different times. For example, media content source HBO120may have started presenting Ironman at time102, say 12:00 pm, and media content source AMC140may have started presenting Ironman at time104, say 12:35 pm. In this case, when a user starts watching Ironman on media content source HBO120at time106, say 12:45 pm, the user may have already missed a portion of the movie. In particular, the user may have missed the portion of Ironman presented between times106and102, that is, 45 minutes of the movie. This corresponds to area108of the media asset presented on media content source HBO120.

Continuing the above example, the media guidance application may assess that media content source AMC140may have started presenting Ironman at time104, that is 12:35 pm, which is later than time102, that is 12:00 pm, at which time media content source HBO120started presenting Ironman. If the user switches to media content source AMC140at time106, the user would miss a portion of Ironman corresponding to the time duration between time106, that is 12:45 pm, and time104, that is 12:35 pm, i.e., 10 minutes of Ironman. This corresponds to area112of the media asset being presented on media content source AMC140. Accordingly, the media guidance application may prompt the user to switch to watching Ironman on media content source AMC140instead of media content source HBO120. In some embodiments the media guidance application may switch presentation of the movie Ironman being transmitted over media content source HBO120to media content source AMC140automatically.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may consider other factors in making a decision on whether to switch presentation of the media asset from media content source HBO120to media content source AMC140. Some exemplary factors could include: (1) other media content sources that are presenting the same media asset, (2) a number of interesting events in the portion of the media asset that the user would have missed had she continued watching the media asset on media content source HBO120, (3) language preferences of the user, (4) the number, length, and duration of advertisements, and (5) the presence of subtitles. Other factors or any suitable combination of the factors listed above could be used by the media guidance application in making a decision on whether to switch presentation of the media asset from media content source HBO120to media content source AMC140.

The media guidance application may determine whether any media content sources other than media content source HBO120are presenting the media asset currently being presented by media content source HBO120. If a presentation of the same media asset on the other media content sources overlaps with the presentation of the media asset on media content source HBO120then the media guidance application may perform further analysis as discussed in detail below. If not, the media guidance application may present the same media asset transmitted over media content source AMC140instead of media content source HBO120.

If a presentation of the same media asset on the other media content sources overlaps with the presentation of the media asset on media content source HBO120, the media guidance application may determine whether the other media content sources started presenting the same media asset after the time at which media content source HBO120started presenting the media asset, then the media guidance application may perform further analysis on whether to switch presentation of the media asset to one of these other media content sources. If not, the media guidance application may present the media asset transmitted over media content source AMC140instead of media content source HBO120.

If the other media content sources started presenting the same media asset after the time at which media content source HBO120started presenting the media asset, the media guidance application may determine whether the other media content sources started presenting the same media asset at a time later than a time at which media content source AMC140started presenting the media asset. If the other media content sources started presenting the media asset earlier than the time at which media content source AMC140started presenting the media asset, then the media guidance application may generate for display the media asset transmitted over media content source AMC140instead of media content source HBO120. Otherwise, the media guidance application may select one of the other media content sources, on which the presentation of the media asset started latest in time, and generate for display the media asset being presented on one of these other media content sources.

The media guidance application may determine a number of interesting events in the portion of the media asset that the user would have missed watching had she continued watching the media asset on media content source HBO120at time106. In the example presented above, the portion of the media asset during which the presence and/or the number of interesting events is calculated may begin at time106, i.e., 12.45 pm, and last for a time duration Z=X−Y=35 minutes, where X=time106−time102=45 minutes, and Y=time106−time104=10 mins. In some embodiments, the duration of any advertisements included in time slots X and Y may be subtracted from time lengths X and Y. This is described in detail below. Examples of interesting events may include goals, near misses, great passes, fouls, for example, if the media asset being watched is a soccer game. In another example, if the media asset being watched is a movie, then key plot points or popular action sequences or funny moments or the most dramatic scenes of the movie may constitute interesting events.

To identify interesting portions of the media asset, the media asset may be parsed into several portions by the media guidance application. The portions may correspond to time segments of the media asset. The time segments may be uniform or not uniform. The time segments of the media asset may be processed to determine the content characteristics of each time segment of the media asset. For example, the media asset may be parsed into equal time segments of length 2 minutes. Alternatively, the media asset may be parsed into time segments of varying lengths. For example, while some time segments may be 2 minutes long, other time segments may be 10 minutes long. These time segment length values are merely exemplary and any other suitable time values may also be selected.

The time segments of the media asset may be processed to determine content characteristics of the media content within those time segments. Content characteristics such as the genre, e.g., action, drama, comedy, romance, science fiction, or any other suitable genre, may be determined. Other content characteristics may include the actors appearing in that time segment of the media asset, various objects depicted in that time segment of the media asset, various geographical locations appearing in that time segment, or any suitable combination thereof. Further content characteristics may include the mood of that particular time segment, e.g., whether content in that time segment of the media asset is happy, sad, or exciting.

For any given content characteristic, the time segments of the parsed media asset may be ranked based on the presence, absence, or amount of that content characteristic within a time segment. For example, if the content characteristic is “Tom Cruise,” time segments in a parsed media asset may be ranked from highest to lowest based on the degree of presence of “Tom Cruise” within that media asset. In particular, the ranking of a time segment for the presence of “Tom Cruise” may be higher the longer Tom Cruise appears in that particular time segment, or the more frequently Tom Cruise is mentioned in that particular time segment.

The content characteristics determined by the media guidance application for the time segments of the parsed media asset may be indicated in metadata associated with the respective time segments of the media asset. For example, each time segment of the media asset processed by the media guidance application may be associated with metadata. The metadata may include entries for each content characteristic. For example, a time segment corresponding to an action sequence from a “Mission Impossible” movie may have metadata associated with “Tom Cruise” and action.

The media guidance application may consider the language preferences of the user. Continuing the earlier example, if media content source HBO120is presenting Ironman in English and media content source AMC140is presenting Ironman in Spanish, the media guidance application may determine the user's preferred language for watching media content based on the user's profile. If the media guidance application determines that the user's preferred language is Spanish, then the media guidance application may switch presentation of Ironman to the media content source AMC140. Otherwise, if the user's preferred language is English, the media guidance application may continue generating for display Ironman being presented on media content source HBO120even though the user would have missed more of the movie Ironman on media content source HBO120.

The media guidance application may determine the number, the length, and the duration of advertisements being presented during the media asset transmitted over media content source AMC140and/or other media content sources presenting the same media asset as media content source HBO120. The media guidance application may determine whether any advertisements were presented in the portion of the media asset that the user missed watching had she continued watching the media asset on media content source HBO120. The presence of advertisements may be determined in a number of ways, as discussed in detail below.

For example, advertisements may be detected by parsing the media asset into a plurality of portions and then evaluating a metadata tag characterizing each of those plurality of portions. The media asset may be parsed in a manner similar to the manner in which the media asset is parsed to determine interesting portions of the media asset. Metadata tags may identify the presence or absence of an advertisement in each portion of the parsed media asset.

For example, the media guidance application may rely on third party sources for information on the locations of advertisements in the media asset. Advertisement location information may indicate the time points in a media asset at which respective advertisements start and end. For example, the media guidance application may search the media asset for tags that bookend advertisements presented in the media asset. Any the other suitable technique for determining the presence of advertisements or a combination of the techniques discussed above may be used by the media guidance application.

The media guidance application may determine the duration of any identified advertisement. For example, if the media guidance application determines the presence of advertisements by parsing the media asset into a plurality of portions and then analyzing metadata tags associated with each of those portions, then the duration of advertisements may be determined calculating the time length of adjacent portions of the media asset that are associated with metadata tags indicating the presence of an advertisement. If the media guidance application used location information received from third party sources to determine the presence of an advertisement, then the duration of an advertisement may be determined by subtracting the time location at which an advertisement began from the time location at which an advertisement ended. A similar technique for determining the duration of an advertisement may be used if the media guidance application determined the presence of an advertisement by examining tags bookending respective advertisements.

The media guidance application may determine the type of an advertisement included in a media asset. Exemplary types of advertisements include advertisements that are overlaid on the media asset, banner advertisements that are presented simultaneously on a screen with the media asset, video advertisements that are presented interstitially with a media asset, or any other suitable combination of the types of advertisements discussed above.

The media guidance application may switch presentation of the media asset to media content source AMC140if one or more of the criteria discussed below are satisfied: (1) the number of advertisements is below a customizable threshold, (2) the duration of the advertisements is below a customizable threshold, and (3) the type of advertisement is acceptable to the user based on the user's profile. For example, if a user profile indicates that a user does not like overlay advertisements, then the media guidance application may avoid presenting the media asset on a media content source that includes overlay advertisements.

The media guidance application may determine whether subtitles are present on a media content source. In particular, the media guidance application may determine whether subtitles are present in the portion of the media asset that the use will have missed had she continued watching the media asset on media content source HBO120. The media guidance application may analyze the user's profile for user preferences on subtitles. For example, the media guidance application may determine whether the user likes to view subtitles or doesn't like to view subtitles, the language in which the user likes to view subtitles, or graphical characteristics that the user prefers for the presentation of subtitles. The media guidance application may switch presentation of the media asset to a media content source on which the presentation of subtitles matches the user's preference for subtitles. Otherwise the media guidance application may continue presenting the media asset on media content source HBO120even though the user may miss watching a greater portion of the media asset on media content source HBO120.

FIG. 2depicts an illustrative embodiment of controlling the presentation of media streams, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. LikeFIG. 1,FIG. 2shows two media content sources, HBO210and AMC220. Both media content sources may be presenting the same media asset. Media content source HBO210may include advertisements214,216, and218. Media content source AMC220may include advertisements224and226. For example, media content source HBO210and media content source AMC220may be presenting the same movie Ironman. The terms media content source and media stream are used interchangeably herein.

The presentation of Ironman on media content source HBO210may start at a different time than the presentation of Ironman on media content source AMC220. For example, media content source HBO210may have started presenting Ironman at time202, say 12:00 pm, while media content source AMC220may have started presenting Ironman at time204, say 12:35 pm. This is merely exemplary. For example, media content source AMC220may start presenting Ironman at time204earlier than or at the same time as time202. Accordingly, because the presentation of Ironman on media content source210and media content source AMC220began at different times, that is, time202and time204respectively, the presentation of Ironman on each of these media content sources will end at a different time. For example, the presentation of Ironman on media content source HBO210may end at time208, say 2:30 pm, and the presentation of Ironman on media content source AMC220may end at time209, say 3:00 pm.

If a user starts watching a media asset on media content source HBO210at time206, say 12:45 pm, then the user would have already missed a portion of that media asset because the presentation of that media asset on media content source HBO210began at time202, that is 12:00 pm. Specifically, the user will have missed a time duration X230of the media asset. Time duration X230may be computed as the difference between time206, that is 12:45 pm, and time202, that is 12:00 pm. Therefore, in the above example, time duration X230will have a value of 45 minutes. Accordingly, the portion of the media asset on media content source HBO210that the user has missed because the user started watching the media asset on media content source HBO210at some point after the presentation of that media asset began on media content source HBO210is indicated by area212.

As discussed in connection withFIG. 1above, the media guidance application may register that the presentation of the media asset began on media content source AMC220at time204, that is 12:35 pm, after time202, that is 12:00 pm, when the media content source HBO210started presenting the media asset. Accordingly, the media guidance application may switch to generating for display the presentation of the media asset transmitted over media content source AMC220because the user would miss less of the media asset on media content source AMC220. Specifically, if at time206, that is 12:45 pm, the user started watching the media asset on media content source AMC220the user would have only missed time duration Y240. Time duration Y240may be computed as the difference between time206, that is 12:45 pm, and time204, that is 12:35 pm, yielding a value of ten minutes in the above example. This is indicated by area222of the media asset transmitted over media content source AMC220.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may begin recording media content source HBO210in the background. Alternatively, the user may be prompted before the media guidance application begins recording media content source HBO210. Media content source HBO210may be recorded locally or remotely using memory508. The media guidance application may begin recording media content source HBO210at time206, i.e., 12:45 pm. Based on the techniques for determining the presence and duration of advertisements discussed in connection withFIG. 1above, the media guidance application may omit recording advertisements being presented on media content source HBO210. For example, if the media guidance application relied on third party sources for information indicating the start and end points of advertisements in a media asset, then the media guidance application may pause the recording of the media content source HBO210between the start location and end location of an advertisement on the media content source. Alternatively, media content source HBO210may be recorded in its entirety including advertisements but playback of advertisements may be omitted when media content source HBO210is played back. For example, if the media guidance application parsed the media asset into a plurality of portions and determined the presence and/or duration of advertisements by the analysis of metadata tags, then during playback of that media asset, any portion of the media asset corresponding to a metadata tag indicating the presence of an advertisement may be omitted from playback.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may permit play back of advertisements included in the recorded media content source HBO210only if the user performs an appropriate action in lieu of watching those advertisements. For example, if the user agrees to pay a fee or agrees to watch all advertisements at once before proceeding to watch the remainder of the media asset, then advertisements may be omitted from the playback of the media asset.

The media guidance application may determine the duration of the media asset that the user has already missed when she started watching the media asset on media content source HBO210at time206, that is 12:45 pm. In particular, the media guidance application may compute the presentation of the media asset's actual content that the user has missed excluding any advertisements. The presence and duration of advertisements may be determined as discussed in connection withFIG. 1above. Specifically, the duration of the media asset that the user has missed watching on media content source HBO210, if the user starts watching the media asset at time206, may be denoted by time duration X′. The value of time duration X′ may be computed as time duration X230minus the time duration of advertisements presented on media content source HBO210between time202, that is 12:00 pm, and time206, that is 12:45 pm. For example, assuming that the media asset presented on media content source HBO210in the time duration specified above had only one advertisement of duration 5 minutes, then time duration X′ has a value of 45-5=40 minutes. Accordingly, the media guidance application may record media content source HBO210for at least time duration X′. When the user has completed watching time duration X′ minutes of the media asset starting from time206, that is 12:45 pm, on media content source AMC220the media guidance application may switch to generating for display the media asset being presented on the recorded media content source HBO210.

Continuing the prior example, when the user has watched time duration X′ minutes of the media asset starting from time206, that is 12:45 pm, on media content source AMC220the user will have reached a time point of X′+Y=40+10=50 minutes into the media asset. However, in the time duration of X′ minutes (40 minutes), the media asset on media content source HBO210, which the media guidance application started recording 45 minutes after the presentation of the media asset began on media content source HBO210, would have reached the time point X+X′=45+40=85 minutes. Therefore, at time X′ minutes from time206, that is 1:25 pm, the media guidance application would have recorded a portion of the media asset from a time point starting at 45 minutes of the media asset to a time point at 85 minutes of the media asset. In other words, the media guidance application would have buffered the media asset up to 40 minutes ahead from the user's current viewing point of the media asset. Because the media asset has been recorded further ahead from the user's current viewing location in the media asset transmitted over media content source AMC220, the user will not miss watching any portion of the media asset when the media guidance application switches to playing back the media asset on recorded media content source HBO210. Furthermore, because advertisements may be omitted from recording or alternatively may be recorded but not played back, the user will finish watching the media asset on recorded media content source HBO210at a time earlier than time209, that is 3:00 pm, which was the scheduled end time of the media asset transmitted over media content source AMC220.

In some instances, the user may finish watching the media asset at time208, that is 2:30 pm, which is the scheduled time the media asset was to finish on media content source HBO210, and which is earlier than time209, that is 3:00 pm. For example, this may occur when the duration of advertisements in the media asset between time locations X′ minutes from time206, i.e., 1:25 pm, is greater than the time difference between time209and time208.

The media guidance application may search a program listings database or any other appropriate source of media content for additional media content sources presenting the same media asset being presented on media content source HBO210. For example, the media guidance application may find a video on demand media content source presenting the media asset. Continuing the prior example, the media guidance application may recognize that the user wants to watch Ironman when the user chooses media content source HBO210at time206, that is 12:45 pm, at which time media content source HBO210is presenting Ironman. Accordingly, because the media guidance application determines that the user has already missed watching a portion of Ironman on media content source HBO210, the media guidance application may look for Ironman on other media content sources. It may find that Ironman is available from video on demand media content sources, such as the Apple Store or Amazon video. The media guidance application may accordingly present Ironman to the user from the very beginning. Specifically, the user may be presented Ironman through the video on demand media content source for the duration Y230(10 minutes).

The media guidance application may begin recording the media asset being presented on media content source AMC220as well as the media asset being presented on media content source HBO210at time206, that is 12:45 pm. The media assets on both these media content sources may be recorded in parallel. As discussed in connection withFIG. 1above, advertisements being presented on these media content sources may either be omitted from the recording or be omitted from playback.

Continuing the prior example, after the viewer has viewed the portion of Ironman on the video on demand media content source for a time duration corresponding to Y230that she had missed watching on media content source AMC220, the media guidance application may generate for display Ironman from the media asset recorded on media content source AMC220. At this point in time, which is time206+Y=12.45 pm+10=12:55 pm, time duration Y230(10 minutes) of the media asset on media content source AMC210would have been recorded. After the user has watched the media asset on recorded media content source AMC220for a time duration Y230(10 minutes) the media guidance application may generate for display Ironman from the media asset on recorded media content source HBO210. At this point in time, which is time206+Y+Y=12.45 pm+10+10=1:05 pm, the media asset on media content source HBO210would have been recorded for a time duration of Y+Y=20 minutes.

FIG. 3shows illustrative grid of a program listings display300arranged by time and channel that also enables access to different types of content in a single display. Display300may include grid302with: (1) a column of channel/content type identifiers304, where each channel/content type identifier (which is a cell in the column) identifies a different channel or content type available; and (2) a row of time identifiers306, where each time identifier (which is a cell in the row) identifies a time block of programming. Grid302also includes cells of program listings, such as program listing308, where each listing provides the title of the program provided on the listing's associated channel and time. With a user input device, a user can select program listings by moving highlight region310. Information relating to the program listing selected by highlight region310may be provided in program information region312. Region312may include, for example, the program title, the program description, the time the program is provided (if applicable), the channel the program is on (if applicable), the program's rating, and other desired information.

Grid302may provide media guidance data for non-linear programming including on-demand listing314, recorded content listing316, and Internet content listing318. A display combining media guidance data for content from different types of content sources is sometimes referred to as a “mixed-media” display. Various permutations of the types of media guidance data that may be displayed that are different than display300may be based on user selection or guidance application definition (e.g., a display of only recorded and broadcast listings, only on-demand and broadcast listings, etc.). As illustrated, listings314,316, and318are shown as spanning the entire time block displayed in grid302to indicate that selection of these listings may provide access to a display dedicated to on-demand listings, recorded listings, or Internet listings, respectively. In some embodiments, listings for these content types may be included directly in grid302. Additional media guidance data may be displayed in response to the user selecting one of the navigational icons320. (Pressing an arrow key on a user input device may affect the display in a similar manner as selecting navigational icons320.)

Display300may also include video region322, advertisement324, and options region326. Video region322may allow the user to view and/or preview programs that are currently available, will be available, or were available to the user. The content of video region322may correspond to, or be independent from, one of the listings displayed in grid302. Grid displays including a video region are sometimes referred to as picture-in-guide (PIG) displays. PIG displays and their functionalities are described in greater detail in Satterfield et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,378, issued May 13, 2003 and Yuen et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,239,794, issued May 29, 2001, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. PIG displays may be included in other media guidance application display screens of the embodiments described herein.

Advertisement324may provide an advertisement for content that, depending on a viewer's access rights (e.g., for subscription programming), is currently available for viewing, will be available for viewing in the future, or may never become available for viewing, and may correspond to or be unrelated to one or more of the content listings in grid302. Advertisement324may also be for products or services related or unrelated to the content displayed in grid302. Advertisement324may be selectable and provide further information about content, provide information about a product or a service, enable purchasing of content, a product, or a service, provide content relating to the advertisement, etc. Advertisement324may be targeted based on a user's profile/preferences, monitored user activity, the type of display provided, or on other suitable targeted advertisement bases.

Another display arrangement for providing media guidance is shown inFIG. 4. Video mosaic display400includes selectable options402for content information organized based on content type, genre, and/or other organization criteria. In display400, television listings option404is selected, thus providing listings406,408,410, and412as broadcast program listings. In display400the listings may provide graphical images including cover art, still images from the content, video clip previews, live video from the content, or other types of content that indicate to a user the content being described by the media guidance data in the listing. Each of the graphical listings may also be accompanied by text to provide further information about the content associated with the listing. For example, listing408may include more than one portion, including media portion414and text portion416. Media portion414and/or text portion416may be selectable to view content in full-screen or to view information related to the content displayed in media portion414(e.g., to view listings for the channel that the video is displayed on).

The listings in display400are of different sizes (i.e., listing406is larger than listings408,410, and412), but if desired, all the listings may be the same size. Listings may be of different sizes or graphically accentuated to indicate degrees of interest to the user or to emphasize certain content, as desired by the content provider or based on user preferences. Various systems and methods for graphically accentuating content listings are discussed in, for example, Yates, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0153885, filed Nov. 12, 2009, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Users may access content and the media guidance application (and its display screens described above and below) from one or more of their user equipment devices.FIG. 5shows a generalized embodiment of illustrative user equipment device500. More specific implementations of user equipment devices are discussed below in connection withFIG. 6. User equipment device500may receive content and data via input/output (hereinafter “I/O”) path502. I/O path502may provide content (e.g., broadcast programming, on-demand programming, Internet content, content available over a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN), and/or other content) and data to control circuitry504, which includes processing circuitry506and storage508. Control circuitry504may be used to send and receive commands, requests, and other suitable data using I/O path502. I/O path502may connect control circuitry504(and specifically processing circuitry506) to one or more communications paths (described below). I/O functions may be provided by one or more of these communications paths, but are shown as a single path inFIG. 5to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.

A user may send instructions to control circuitry504using user input interface510. User input interface510may be any suitable user interface, such as a remote control, mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard, touch screen, touchpad, stylus input, joystick, voice recognition interface, or other user input interfaces. Display512may be provided as a stand-alone device or integrated with other elements of user equipment device500. For example, display512may be a touchscreen or touch-sensitive display. In such circumstances, user input interface510may be integrated with or combined with display512. Display512may be one or more of a monitor, a television, a liquid crystal display (LCD) for a mobile device, amorphous silicon display, low temperature poly silicon display, electronic ink display, electrophoretic display, active matrix display, electro-wetting display, electrofluidic display, cathode ray tube display, light-emitting diode display, electroluminescent display, plasma display panel, high-performance addressing display, thin-film transistor display, organic light-emitting diode display, surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED), laser television, carbon nanotubes, quantum dot display, interferometric modulator display, or any other suitable equipment for displaying visual images. In some embodiments, display512may be HDTV-capable. In some embodiments, display512may be a 3D display, and the interactive media guidance application and any suitable content may be displayed in 3D. A video card or graphics card may generate the output to the display512. The video card may offer various functions such as accelerated rendering of 3D scenes and 2D graphics, MPEG-2/MPEG-4 decoding, TV output, or the ability to connect multiple monitors. The video card may be any processing circuitry described above in relation to control circuitry504. The video card may be integrated with the control circuitry504. Speakers514may be provided as integrated with other elements of user equipment device500or may be stand-alone units. The audio component of videos and other content displayed on display512may be played through speakers514. In some embodiments, the audio may be distributed to a receiver (not shown), which processes and outputs the audio via speakers514.

The guidance application may be implemented using any suitable architecture. For example, it may be a stand-alone application wholly-implemented on user equipment device500. In such an approach, instructions of the application are stored locally (e.g., in storage508), and data for use by the application is downloaded on a periodic basis (e.g., from an out-of-band feed, from an Internet resource, or using another suitable approach). Control circuitry504may retrieve instructions of the application from storage508and process the instructions to generate any of the displays discussed herein. Based on the processed instructions, control circuitry504may determine what action to perform when input is received from input interface510. For example, movement of a cursor on a display up/down may be indicated by the processed instructions when input interface510indicates that an up/down button was selected.

User equipment device500ofFIG. 5can be implemented in system600ofFIG. 6as user television equipment602, user computer equipment604, wireless user communications device606, or any other type of user equipment suitable for accessing content, such as a non-portable gaming machine. For simplicity, these devices may be referred to herein collectively as user equipment or user equipment devices, and may be substantially similar to user equipment devices described above. User equipment devices, on which a media guidance application may be implemented, may function as a standalone device or may be part of a network of devices. Various network configurations of devices may be implemented and are discussed in more detail below.

A user equipment device utilizing at least some of the system features described above in connection withFIG. 5may not be classified solely as user television equipment602, user computer equipment604, or a wireless user communications device606. For example, user television equipment602may, like some user computer equipment604, be Internet-enabled allowing for access to Internet content, while user computer equipment604may, like some user television equipment602, include a tuner allowing for access to television programming. The media guidance application may have the same layout on various different types of user equipment or may be tailored to the display capabilities of the user equipment. For example, on user computer equipment604, the guidance application may be provided as a web site accessed by a web browser. In another example, the guidance application may be scaled down for wireless user communications devices606.

In system600, there is typically more than one of each type of user equipment device but only one of each is shown inFIG. 6to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. In addition, each user may utilize more than one type of user equipment device and also more than one of each type of user equipment device.

The user equipment devices may be coupled to communications network614. Namely, user television equipment602, user computer equipment604, and wireless user communications device606are coupled to communications network614via communications paths608,610, and612, respectively. Communications network614may be one or more networks including the Internet, a mobile phone network, mobile voice or data network (e.g., a 4G or LTE network), cable network, public switched telephone network, or other types of communications network or combinations of communications networks. Paths608,610, and612may separately or together include one or more communications paths, such as, a satellite path, a fiber-optic path, a cable path, a path that supports Internet communications (e.g., IPTV), free-space connections (e.g., for broadcast or other wireless signals), or any other suitable wired or wireless communications path or combination of such paths. Path612is drawn with dotted lines to indicate that in the exemplary embodiment shown inFIG. 6it is a wireless path and paths608and610are drawn as solid lines to indicate they are wired paths (although these paths may be wireless paths, if desired). Communications with the user equipment devices may be provided by one or more of these communications paths, but are shown as a single path inFIG. 6to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.

System600includes content source616and media guidance data source618coupled to communications network614via communication paths620and622, respectively. Paths620and622may include any of the communication paths described above in connection with paths608,610, and612. Communications with the content source616and media guidance data source618may be exchanged over one or more communications paths, but are shown as a single path inFIG. 6to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. In addition, there may be more than one of each of content source616and media guidance data source618, but only one of each is shown inFIG. 6to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. (The different types of each of these sources are discussed below.) If desired, content source616and media guidance data source618may be integrated as one source device. Although communications between sources616and618with user equipment devices602,604, and606are shown as through communications network614, in some embodiments, sources616and618may communicate directly with user equipment devices602,604, and606via communication paths (not shown) such as those described above in connection with paths608,610, and612.

In a third approach, users of user equipment devices inside and outside a home can use their media guidance application to communicate directly with content source616to access content. Specifically, within a home, users of user television equipment602and user computer equipment604may access the media guidance application to navigate among and locate desirable content. Users may also access the media guidance application outside of the home using wireless user communications devices606to navigate among and locate desirable content.

FIG. 7depicts an illustrative flowchart of a process for presenting alternate sources of media content, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. Process700may be executed by control circuitry504(e.g., in a manner instructed to control circuitry504by the media guidance application). Control circuitry504may be part of user equipment (e.g., which may have any or all of the functionality of user television equipment602, user computer equipment604, and/or wireless communications device606), or of a remote server separated from the user equipment by way of communications network614.

Process700begins at710where control circuitry504may receive at time T1a selection of a first media content source where presentation of the media asset on the first media content source began at time T2, T2being earlier than T1. The manner in which control circuitry504receives the selection of the media asset is described above with respect toFIG. 1, and such description is equally applicable to710. For example, time T1and time T2may correspond to time106and time102ofFIG. 1respectively.

At720, control circuitry504may search the program listings database for a second media content source presenting the media asset. In particular, the media asset being presented on the second media content source may be the same media asset being presented on the first media content source. The manner in which control circuitry504performs the search of the program listings database is described above with respect toFIG. 1and such description is equally applicable to720.

At730, control circuitry504may determine, using the media guidance application, whether the presentation of the media asset on the second media content source overlaps in time with the presentation of the media asset on the first media content source. If the presentation of the media asset on the second media content source does in fact overlap in time with the presentation of the media asset on the first media content source, process700continues to740. Otherwise, process700continues to760where control circuitry504, using the media guidance application, generates for display the media asset transmitted over the first media content source. The manner in which control circuitry504retrieves performs the search is described above with respect toFIG. 1and such description is equally applicable to730.

At740, control circuitry504may determine, using the media guidance application, whether time T3is later than time T2, where the presentation of the media asset on the second media content source began at time T3. If time T3is indeed later than time T2, then process700continues to750. Otherwise, process700continues to760. The manner in which control circuitry504makes the determination is described above with respect toFIG. 1, and such description is equally applicable to740. For example, time T3may correspond to time104ofFIG. 1.

At750control circuitry504may generate for display, using the media guidance application, the media asset transmitted over the second media content source instead of the first media content source. The manner in which control circuitry504generates the media asset for display is described above with respect toFIG. 1, and such description is equally applicable to750.

FIG. 8depicts an illustrative flowchart of a process for controlling presentation of media streams, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. Process800may be executed by control circuitry504(e.g., in a manner instructed to control circuitry504by the media guidance application). Control circuitry504may be part of user equipment (e.g., which may have any or all of the functionality of user television equipment602, user computer equipment604, and/or wireless communications device606), or of a remote server separated from the user equipment by way of communications network614.

Process800begins at810where control circuitry504may generate for display, using the media guidance application, the first media stream on which the presentation of a media asset began at time T1. The manner in which control circuitry504generates the media asset for display, is described above with respect toFIG. 2, and such description is equally applicable to810. For example, time T1may correspond to time204ofFIG. 2.

At820, control circuitry504may search, using the media guidance application a program listings database, for a second media stream presenting the media asset. The manner in which control circuitry504performs the search, is described above with respect toFIG. 2, and such description is equally applicable to820.

At830, control circuitry504may determine, using the media guidance application, whether the presentation of the media asset on the second media stream overlaps with the presentation of the media asset on the first media stream. If the presentation of the media asset on the second media stream does in fact overlap with the presentation of the media asset on the first media stream, process800continues to840. Otherwise, process800continues to890where control circuitry504, using the media guidance application, continues to generate for display the first media stream. The manner in which control circuitry504generates the media asset for display, is described above with respect toFIG. 2, and such description is equally applicable to830.

At840, control circuitry504using, the media guidance application, determines whether the presentation of the media asset on the second media stream began at a time T2earlier than T1. If the presentation of the media asset on the second media stream began at time T2earlier than T1, then process800continues to850. Otherwise, process800continues to890. The manner in which control circuitry504generates the media asset for display, is described above with respect toFIG. 2, and such description is equally applicable to840. For example, time T2may correspond to time202ofFIG. 2.

At850, control circuitry504may store, using the media guidance application, the second media stream in memory. The manner in which control circuitry504stores the second media stream, is described above with respect toFIG. 2, and such description is equally applicable to850.

At860, control circuitry504may compute, using the media guidance application, the time duration between time T2and time T1. The manner in which control circuitry504generates the media asset for display, is described above with respect toFIG. 2, and such description is equally applicable to860.

At870, control circuitry504may continue to generate for display, using the media guidance application, the first media stream for the time duration computed at860. The manner in which control circuitry504generates the media asset for display, is described above with respect toFIG. 2, and such description is equally applicable to870.

At880, control circuitry504may generate for display, using the media guidance application, the stored second media stream after the time duration computed at860. The manner in which control circuitry504generates the media asset for display, is described above with respect toFIG. 2, and such description is equally applicable to880.

FIG. 9depicts an illustrative flowchart of a process for controlling presentation of media streams, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. Process900may be executed by control circuitry504(e.g., in a manner instructed to control circuitry504by the media guidance application). Control circuitry504may be part of user equipment (e.g., which may have any or all of the functionality of user television equipment602, user computer equipment604, and/or wireless communications device606), or of a remote server separated from the user equipment by way of communications network614.

Process900begins at910where control circuitry504may receive at time T1, using the media guidance application, a selection of a first media content source where the presentation of a media asset on the first media content source began at time T2, T2being earlier than T1. The manner in which control circuitry504generates the media asset for display, is described above with respect toFIG. 2, and such description is equally applicable to910. For example, times T1and T2may correspond to time206and time202respectively.

At920, control circuitry504may search, using the media guidance application a program listings database, for a second media content source presenting the media asset. The manner in which control circuitry504performs the search, is described above with respect toFIG. 2, and such description is equally applicable to920.

At930, control circuitry504may search, using the media guidance application, a program listings database, for a video on demand media content source presenting the media asset. The manner in which control circuitry504performs the search, is described above with respect toFIG. 2, and such description is equally applicable to930.

At940, control circuitry504may generate for display, using the media guidance application, the media asset transmitted over the video on demand media content source for time duration T1-T2. The manner in which control circuitry504generates the media asset for display, is described above with respect toFIG. 2, and such description is equally applicable to940.

At950, control circuitry504may store, using the media guidance application a program listings database, the media asset transmitted over the first media content source and the media asset transmitted over the second media content source in memory. The manner in which control circuitry504performs the search, is described above with respect toFIG. 2, and such description is equally applicable to950.

At960, control circuitry504may generate for display, using the media guidance application, after time duration T1-T2, the stored media asset transmitted over the first media content source for a time duration T1-T3, where presentation of the media asset on the second media content source began at a time T3, T3being earlier than T2. The manner in which control circuitry504generates the stored media asset for display, is described above with respect toFIG. 2, and such description is equally applicable to960.

At970, control circuitry504may generate for display, using the media guidance application, after time duration T1-T3, the stored media asset transmitted over the second media content source. The manner in which control circuitry504generates the stored media asset for display, is described above with respect toFIG. 2, and such description is equally applicable to970.

It should be noted that processes700-900or any step thereof could be performed on, or provided by, any of the devices shown inFIGS. 5-6. For example, any of processes700-900may be executed by control circuitry504(FIG. 5) as instructed by control circuitry implemented on user equipment602,604,606(FIG. 6), and/or a user equipment for selecting a recommendation. In addition, one or more steps of processes700-900may be incorporated into or combined with one or more steps of any other process or embodiment.

It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that methods involved in the present invention may be embodied in a computer program product that includes a computer-usable and/or readable medium. For example, such a computer-usable medium may consist of a read-only memory device, such as a CD-ROM disk or conventional ROM device, or a random access memory, such as a hard drive device or a computer diskette, having a computer-readable program code stored thereon. It should also be understood that methods, techniques, and processes involved in the present disclosure may be executed using processing circuitry. For instance, determining planned activities of a user may be performed, e.g., by processing circuitry506ofFIG. 5. The processing circuitry, for instance, may be a general purpose processor, a customized integrated circuit (e.g., an ASIC), or a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) within user equipment500, media content source616, or media guidance data source618. For example, a profile, as described herein, may be stored in, and retrieved from, storage508ofFIG. 5, or media guidance data source618ofFIG. 6. Furthermore, processing circuitry, or a computer program, may update settings of the home security application, such as volume settings or time restriction settings, stored within storage508ofFIG. 5or media guidance data source618ofFIG. 6.

While some portions of this disclosure may make reference to “convention,” any such reference is merely for the purpose of providing context to the invention(s) of the instant disclosure, and does not form any admission as to what constitutes the state of the art.