Abstract:
Systems and methods are operable to identify videos of interest using information acquired by a portable electronic device. An exemplary embodiment receives the acquired information pertaining to a video of interest, wherein the acquired information was acquired by the portable electronic device; determines an identity of the video of interest based upon the acquired information; and communicates the video of interest to a media device.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    On occasion, a client may wish to rent and/or purchase a video at an outlet location, such as a movie rental boutique, store, or the like. The video of interest may not always be available, particularly if the video is popular and/or is a new release. 
         [0002]    In other situations, the client may only be at the video outlet location to rent or purchase a single video or a limited number of videos, such as when they have a coupon or the like. However, the client may see several videos of interest that the client may wish to rent and/or purchase at a later time. Further, the client may wish to review supplemental information of interest pertaining to the videos of interest before making their decision to rent and/or purchase. 
         [0003]    In other situations, the client may not even be looking to rent and/or purchase any particular video. For example, they may be shopping in a grocery store or in a shopping mall where there are video rental and/or sale outlets. The client may see one or more videos of interest that the client may wish to rent and/or purchase at a later time. Or, the client may simply wish to review supplemental information of interest pertaining to the videos of interest. 
         [0004]    Accordingly, there is a need in the arts to provide a more client friendly system and method for accessing videos of interest for rent and/or purchase. Further, there is a need in the arts to provide a more client friendly system and method for obtaining supplemental information pertaining to the videos of interest. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    Systems and methods of identifying videos of interest using information acquired by a portable electronic device are disclosed. An exemplary embodiment receives the acquired information pertaining to a video of interest, wherein the acquired information was acquired by the portable electronic device; determines an identity of the video of interest based upon the acquired information; and communicates the video of interest to a media device. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    Preferred and alternative embodiments are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings: 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an embodiment of a video information and acquisition system; 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of an embodiment of the video information and acquisition system implemented at a content provider system; and 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram of an embodiment of the video information and acquisition system implemented at a media device. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0010]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an embodiment of a video information and acquisition system  100 . In situations where one or more videos of interest are not available for rent and/or purchase, or if the user simply wishes to obtain supplemental information pertaining to the videos of interest, embodiments of the video information and acquisition system  100  are configured to allow the user to later rent and/or purchase, or obtain supplemental information, for one or more videos of interest. 
         [0011]    Often, there is a video box, a display box, a poster, or other advertising media  102  that indicates the title  104  of the video of interest and/or shows a bar code identifier  106  of the video of interest. Non-limiting examples of the bar code identifier  106  include a universal product code (UPC) code or a European article number (EAN) code. 
         [0012]    Embodiments of the video information and acquisition system  100  are configured to allow the user to capture an image of the title  104  and/or the bar code identifier  106  using a portable electronic device  108 . Alternatively, or additionally, embodiments may be configured to allow the user to scan the title  104  and/or the bar code identifier  106 . Additionally, or alternatively, the user may manually key in the title and/or the numbers of the bar code identifier using the buttons on their portable electronic device  108 . Further, embodiments may be configured to receive voice information from the user, such as a spoken title or the bar code numbers. 
         [0013]    Embodiments of the portable electronic device  108  may be a cellular telephone, personal device assistant (PDA), an internet and multimedia enabled smart phone, or other portable electronic device. Some embodiments of the portable electronic device  108  may include a specialty device, such as a hand held scanner or camera. Captured image information, scanned information, entered text information, and/or spoken information is communicated from or is downloaded from the portable electronic device  108  to another device that processes the received information to identify the video of interest. 
         [0014]    Based on the title  104  and/or the bar code identifier  106 , embodiments of the video information and acquisition system  100  are configured to provide the video of interest for rental and/or purchase, provide a schedule of availability of the video of interest, and/or provide supplemental information pertaining to the video of interest, at the user&#39;s media device  110 . The user&#39;s media device  110  may be located at their residence, office, or other location. 
         [0015]    The media device  110  is configured to receive media content from a content provider system  112 . Media content is delivered to the user&#39;s media device  110  via a media delivery network  114 . Non-limiting examples of the media delivery network  114  include a satellite system, an over-the-air terrestrial system, a cable system, a fiber optics system, and/or the Internet. The delivered media content, which may also include the video of interest and/or the supplemental information, is presented on a display  116  of a media presentation device  118 . Non-limiting examples of the media presentation device  118  include a television, a personal computer, a monitor, or the like. 
         [0016]    The portable electronic device  108  includes an image capture device  120  that is configured to capture an image of the title  104  of the video of interest and/or the bar code identifier  106 . The image capture device  120  may be a camera or the like. Alternatively, or additionally, the image capture device  120  may be a scanner that is configured to scan the title  104  and/or the bar code identifier  106 . 
         [0017]    In the various embodiments, the user acquires image information of the title  104  and/or the bar code identifier  106  using their portable electronic device  108 . The video of interest may be identified in several manners. When a captured image is provided, an exemplary embodiment identifies the video of interest based on the title  104  using a character recognition algorithm. When scanned information is provided, the title  104  may be identified based on the scanned image of the title  104 . Alternatively, or additionally, the video of interest may be identified based on a captured image and/or scanned information of the bar code identifier  106  using a bar code recognition algorithm. When voice audio information is received, the title  104  and/or the bar code identifier  106  may be determined using an audio recognition algorithm. Alternatively, or additionally, audio information may include a sound clip or a dialogue track of the video of interest. For example, a particularly well know song or a well known phrase may be used to identify the video of interest. When keyed in textual information is used, the title  104  and/or the bar code identifier  106  may be determined from the received text information. 
         [0018]    The exemplary portable electronic device  108  is illustrated as a cellular phone, which typically has an onboard camera (the image capture device  120 ), a microphone (not shown), and a plurality of key buttons  124  for specifying text or numbers. The user captures an image of the title  104  and/or the bar code identifier  106  by orienting the camera towards the video display box, poster, or other advertising media  102 . An image capture button  122  or the like on the surface of the portable electronic device  108  is actuated by the user to acquire the image information pertaining to the video of interest. Some embodiments of the portable electronic device  108  include a display  126  thereon where an image  128  of the acquired information may be presented to the user for verification. 
         [0019]    If the user is satisfied with the image of the display box, poster, or other advertising media  102 , they may actuate a confirm button  130  (or another button depending upon the configuration of the portable electronic device  108 ) to transmit and/or save the acquired captured image information pertaining to the video of interest. If the acquired captured image information pertaining to the video of interest is saved, it can be downloaded to another device at a later time. Acquired scanned information, audio information, and/or keyed in textual information may be similarly transmitted and/or saved. 
         [0020]    When embodiments of the portable electronic device  108  are operable to communicate over a wireless cellular telephone system and/or a wireless Internet enabled system, the acquired information pertaining to the video of interest may be communicated via a wireless signal upon actuation of the confirm button  130 . The acquired information is communicated as a wireless signal  132  to a communication network  134 . For example, if the portable electronic device  108  is operable to communicate over a wireless cellular-based communication network  134 , the communication network  134  may include a suitable wireless transceiver that is configured to receive the wireless signal  132 . Alternatively, or additionally, if the portable electronic device  108  is operable to communicate over a wireless Internet enabled system, a suitable , WiFi station, or other suitable wireless local area network (WLAN) may be configured to receive the wireless signal  132 . Alternatively, or additionally, the portable electronic device  108  may be later coupled to a wire based system (not shown) that downloads the previously saved information pertaining to the video of interest to the communication network  134  using an e-mail message, another electronic messaging system, a browser, or the like. 
         [0021]    The acquired information pertaining to the video of interest, in some embodiments, is then communicated over the communication network  134  to the content provider system  112 . The content provider system  112  comprises a content delivery system  136 , a video identification system  138 , and a communication network transceiver  140 . The communication network transceiver  140  communicatively couples the content provider system  112  and the communication network  134 . Depending upon how the content provider system  112  is communicatively coupled to the communication network  134 , the acquired information pertaining to the video of interest is received using a suitable wireless signal  142  or a suitable wire-based signal  144 . Some embodiments of the content provider system  112  may be configured to transmit a confirmation message back to the portable electronic device  108  to confirm receipt of the acquired information pertaining to the video of interest. 
         [0022]    The video identification system  138  processes the received information pertaining to the video of interest acquired by the portable electronic device  108  to identify the video of interest. The identification may be based on the title  104  and/or the bar code identifier  106 . When captured image information is provided, the title  104  and/or the bar code identifier  106  may be determined using character recognition logic. When scanned information is provided, the title  104  and/or the bar code identifier  106  may be determined using scanned bar code recognition logic to identify the numerical information of the bar code identifier  106 . When audio information is provided, the title  104  and/or the bar code identifier  106  may be determined using voice recognition logic. When keyed in textual information is provided, the title  104  and/or the bar code identifier  106  may be determined using the received text information. 
         [0023]    If the video of interest is available from the content provider, the video of interest may then be made available in a variety of manners. In an exemplary embodiment, the video of interest is communicated from the content provider system  112  over the media delivery network  114  to the user&#39;s media device  110  and is optionally stored. The video of interest may be provided from a video on demand system for presentation to the user at their convenience. Alternatively, or additionally, a copy of the video of interest may be mailed to the user. 
         [0024]    Some embodiments of the media device  110  are alternatively, or additionally, configured to receive the information pertaining to the video of interest from the portable electronic device  108 . Such embodiments may include a communication system transceiver  146  configured to receive a wireless signal  148 , such as a cellular telephone call, having the acquired information. Alternatively, or additionally, the communication system transceiver  146  may be configured to receive a suitable wire-based signal  150 . Some embodiments of the media device  110  may be configured to transmit a confirmation message back to the portable electronic device  108  to confirm receipt of the acquired information pertaining to the video of interest. 
         [0025]    Some embodiments of the media device  110  may further include a video identification system  152 . The video identification system  152  processes the received information pertaining to the video of interest acquired by the portable electronic device  108  to identify the video of interest. The identification may be based on the title  104  and/or the bar code identifier  106  using character recognition logic, bar code scanning logic, voice recognition logic, or the like. 
         [0026]    The video of interest, at some time that is convenient for the user, may be presented on the display  116  of the media presentation device  118 . In some embodiments, the image  128  of the acquired information may be presented on the display  116  for verification by the user. 
         [0027]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of an embodiment of the video information and acquisition system  100  implemented at the content provider system  112 . The exemplary content provider system  112  is configured to provide media content to a plurality of media devices  110 . Further, the content provider system  112  may be configured to provide the identified video of interest to the particular media device  110  that is associated with the user who originally acquired the information pertaining to the video of interest using their portable electronic device  108 . 
         [0028]    The exemplary content provider system  112  provides media content to the plurality of media devices  110  using a plurality of satellites  202 . Each of the satellites  202  receive uplinked transport channels  204  from a satellite antenna  206 . The uplinked transport channels  204  comprise a plurality of multiplexed content streams. Satellite signals  208  are communicated down to a receiving antenna  210 . The received satellite signals  208  are received and processed at the media device. 
         [0029]    For example, the illustrated media device  110  and its associated antenna  142  may be located in a geographic region serviced by the satellite  202   a.  Here, the satellite antenna  206   a  uplinks the transport channel  204   a  to the satellite  110   a.  Media content received at the media device  110  may then be presented on the display  116  of the media presentation device  118 . 
         [0030]    The content delivery system  136  comprises a programming stream receive system  212 , an optional transport channel generation system  214 , and an optional video on demand (VOD) system  216 . The programming stream receive system  212  is configured to receive a plurality of media content streams from a variety of content providers. Non-limiting examples of the content providers include national broadcasting networks, local affiliated broadcast stations, specialty program providers, news channel providers, premium movie channel providers, sports networks, etc. The media content streams may be received in any suitable manner. The optional transport channel generation system  214  generates the uplink transport channels  204  from selected ones of the media content streams provided by the programming stream receive system  212 . 
         [0031]    The optional VOD system  216  stores selected media content for later delivery to customers. Some of the media content available from the VOD system  216  may require a premium for delivery and/or access. Other media content stored in the VOD system  216  may be freely available to the user as part of a service agreement or the like with the media content provider. In a satellite-based content system, authorization codes or the like are provided to the media device  110  so that the user may have access to the media content available from the VOD system  216 . 
         [0032]    Alternative embodiments may provide media content to the plurality of media devices  110  using an alternative system. For example, the content provider system  112  may employ a cable system (in conjunction with other types of media communication networks). In such systems, the media content is provided to a local area content provider system  112  using a high capacity communication system, such as a fiber optics network or the like. Then, individual media devices  110  receive media content over a coaxial cable network that is transmitted from the local area content provider system  112 . Some embodiments of the video information and acquisition system  100  implemented in a cable delivery system may directly provide selected media content available from the VOD system  216  to a particular media device  110 . 
         [0033]    The video identification system  138  comprises a processor system  218  and/or a memory  220 . A character recognition engine  222 , a bar code identification engine  224 , and an audio recognition engine  226  reside in the memory  220 . The character recognition engine  222 , when retrieved and executed by the processor system  218 , identifies the title  104  using any suitable character recognition logic configured to identify information from captured image information, scanned information, and/or keyed in textual information. The video of interest can then be identified using the title  104  and/or by the numerical information of the bar code identifier  106 . Alternatively, or additionally, the bar code identification engine  224 , when retrieved and executed by the processor system  218 , identifies the numerical information of the bar code identifier  106  from captured image information, scanned information, and/or keyed in textual information. Alternatively, or additionally, the audio recognition engine  226 , when retrieved and executed by the processor system  218 , identifies the title  104  using any suitable voice, music, and/or dialog recognition logic configured to identify information from received audio information. The character recognition engine  222 , the bar code identification engine  224 , and/or the audio recognition engine  226 , in some embodiments, are integrated together and/or may be integrated with other logic (not shown). 
         [0034]    Additionally, the identified video of interest is associated with the particular user, the particular portable electronic device  108  used by the user, and/or a particular media device  110  operated by the user. For example, the acquired information may include a unique user identifier that identifies or is otherwise associated with a particular user. The user identifier may be a cell phone number, SIM card number, serial number, or the like of the portable electronic device  108 . Alternatively, or additionally, the acquired information received from the portable electronic device  108  may include a special identifier, such as the name of the user, a user&#39;s account information, or an identifier of the media device  110  that associated with the user and/or the portable electronic device  108 . 
         [0035]    In situations where the video of interest is currently scheduled for presentation, embodiments of the video information and acquisition system  100  may provide a notice to the user&#39;s media device  110  indicating the pertinent schedule information and/or the related information of interest. In embodiments where the video of interest is presently available from the VOD system  216 , a notification may be sent regarding the availability of the video of interest. The notification may be a pop up window or the like. The user may then access the video of interest from the VOD system  216  at their convenience. 
         [0036]    If the video of interest is a pay-for-view type of video, the user may be billed for the video of interest. Alternatively, the user may be requested to make payment. Upon payment, if required, the video of interest can be communicated to the user&#39;s media device  110  for presentation or storage at the user&#39;s media device  110  or another connected video storage device. 
         [0037]    It is appreciated that the components and systems of the content provider system  112  are described in overview to facilitate a conceptual explanation of various embodiments of the video information and acquisition system  100 . Accordingly, the content provider system  112  may include other components and/or systems that are not described herein. 
         [0038]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram of an embodiment of the video information and acquisition system  100  implemented at a media device  110 . Embodiments of the video information and acquisition system  100  may be implemented in other media devices, such as, but not limited to, televisions (TVs), personal device assistants (PDAs), game playing devices, or personal computers (PCs). 
         [0039]    The non-limiting exemplary media device  110  comprises a program content stream interface  302 , a processor system  304 , a memory  306 , a program buffer  308 , an optional digital video recorder (DVR)  310 , a presentation device interface  312 , a remote interface  314 , and the optional communication system transceiver  146 . The memory  306  comprises portions for storing a character recognition engine  316 , a bar code identification engine  318 , an audio recognition engine  320 , and a video processing logic  322 . In some embodiments, the character recognition engine  316 , the bar code identification engine  318 , the audio recognition engine  320 , and/or the video processing logic  322  may be integrated together, and/or may be integrated with other logic. Other media devices  110  may include some, or may omit some, of the above-described media processing components. Further, additional components not described herein may be included in alternative embodiments. 
         [0040]    Generally, the video identification system  152  is comprised of the processor system  304 , the character recognition engine  316 , the bar code identification engine  318 , and/or the audio recognition engine  320 . Here, the processor system  304  performs other media processing functions, such as when executing the video processing logic  322 . Further, other logic and information may reside in the memory  306 . However, in alternative embodiments, the processor system  304  and/or the memory  306  with the character recognition engine  316 , the bar code identification engine  318 , and/or the audio recognition engine  320  may be separately implemented as a dedicated processor system and/or memory, respectively. 
         [0041]    The functionality of the media device  110 , here a set top box, is now broadly described. A media content provider provides program content that is received in one or more multiple program content streams  324  multiplexed together in one or more transport channels. The transport channels with the program content streams  324  are communicated to the media device  110  from the content provider system  112  operated by the media content provider. 
         [0042]    The one or more program content streams  324  are received by the program content stream interface  302 . One or more tuners  302   a  in the program content stream interface  302  selectively tune to one of the program content streams  324  in accordance with instructions received from the processor system  304 . The processor system  304 , executing the video processing logic  322  and based upon a request for a program of interest specified by a user, parses out program content associated with the program of interest. The program of interest is then assembled into a stream of video and/or audio information which may be stored by the program buffer  308  such that the program content can be streamed out to the media presentation device, such as the media presentation device  118 , via the presentation device interface  312 . Alternatively, or additionally, the parsed out program content may be saved into the DVR  310  for later presentation. 
         [0043]    The exemplary media device  110  is configured to receive commands from the user via a remote control  326 . The remote control  326  includes one or more controllers  328 , such as buttons or the like. The user, by actuating one or more of the controllers  328 , causes the remote control  326  to generate and transmit commands, via a wireless signal  330 , to the media device  110 . The commands control the media device  110  and/or control the media presentation device  118 . The wireless signal  330  may be an infrared signal or an RF signal. 
         [0044]    As described herein, embodiments of the video information and acquisition system  100  are configured to operate the media device  110  so that after identification of the video of interest, the user will be provided the video of interest and/or receive a notification of a scheduled presentation of the video of interest. In an exemplary embodiment, the notification may be a pop up window or the like. For example, if the video of interest is available in the VOD system  216  ( FIG. 2 ) at the content provider system  112 , the video of interest may be downloaded to the DVR  310 . Alternatively, or additionally, a notification may be presented on the display  116  of the media presentation device  118 , and/or on the display  126  of the user&#39;s portable electronic device  108 , indicating availability of the video of interest from the VOD system  216 . 
         [0045]    If the video of interest is a pay-for-view type program, the user can pay and/or be billed for the access to the video of interest. Some embodiments, before billing, request an authorization and/or verification from the user. In an exemplary embodiment, a pop up notification is presented to the user when the media device  110  is operating. The authorization and/or verification can be processed through the media device  110  at any suitable time, and/or may be processed at the portable electronic device  108 . For example, but not limited to, the authorization and/or verification can be performed at the time that the user uses their portable electronic device  108  to acquire the information that is used to identify the video of interest. 
         [0046]    Some embodiments of the media device  110  are configured to receive the acquired information that is used to identify the video of interest. For example, acquired image information of the video of interest may be received via a suitable wireless signal  148  or wire-based signal  150 , and stored in the memory  306 . The image  128  of the acquired information may be presented to the user on the display  116  for verification. Additionally, or alternatively, supplemental information of interest may be provided by the content provider system  112  and presented on the display  116 . For example, information from an electronic program guide data base may be retrieved and presented to the user. 
         [0047]    In some applications, the media delivery network  114  and communication network  134  may be integrated together or be the same network. For example, a coaxial cable system may be configured to provide telephony services and various media content to the user. For example, the user might use their portable electronic device  108  to call another person at the location where the media device  110  is installed. The same network could deliver the acquired image information for the video of interest to the media device  110 , and at a later time, provide the video of interest to the media device  110 . 
         [0048]    It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the video information and acquisition system  100  are merely possible examples of implementations of the invention. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims.