Abstract:
An application for a client device which is arranged to receive and render selected video streams including content indicators relating to content to be rendered at a given location on a screen of the client device is disclosed. The application responds to user interaction with a rendered stream at rendered locations of the content to store an indicator of the user&#39;s interest in the content. The application then cooperates with an analyzer, arranged to analyse the user&#39;s interest in the content, and responds to the interest satisfying business logic by providing an indication of an interaction opportunity to the user of the client device during the rendering of the video stream.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention provides an IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) application, a method of operating an IPTV device and an IPTV system. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    IPTV involves the delivery of streams of video from media servers typically across a packet switched network to a client device where a selected stream is rendered for viewing by a user of the client device. The transport medium for the video streams can include the conventional Internet with streams flowing from media servers to conventional client computers and including the mobile telephony network where streams are received on mobile phones; as well as the cable network and satellite channels where streams are received at set top boxes and rendered on televisions (if the set-top box functionality is not integrated within the television)—in such cases acting more as monitors for the set top box than tuners. In the case of clients connected to the Internet, a ready upstream channel from the client device is provided enabling the user to interact with the client device and for the device to send upstream requests based on this interaction. In the case of a cable network or satellite, typically the upstream channel is provided through further connection of the client device to the telephone network either wired or wireless and normally through a packet switched session. 
         [0003]    Interactive IPTV services today typically involve simple clickable content for on-screen browsing, obtaining further information on a selected product or voting on online polls. 
         [0004]    There is an opportunity to provide more relevant opportunities for interaction with the user and enabling the stimulation of commerce, education and entertainment through this medium. 
       DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    According to the present invention there is provided an application for a client device which is arranged to receive and render selected video streams including content indicators relating to content to be rendered at a given location on a screen of the client device. The application responds to user interaction with a rendered stream at rendered locations of the content to store an indicator of the user&#39;s interest in the content. The application then cooperates with an analyzer, arranged to analyse the user&#39;s interest in the content, and responds to the interest satisfying business logic by providing an indication of an interaction opportunity to the user of the client device during the rendering of the video stream. 
         [0006]    Embodiments of the invention enable the delivery of tailored customer contact service to the viewer of an IPTV session. 
         [0007]    This invention provides an approach by which the images in the video frames can be interacted with directly. It also provides for contextually scoped interaction with the image itself (as opposed to a visual artefact that is overlaid on the video feed). Further, this invention provides a platform for deriving a suitable communication address (e.g. a SIP URI or simple telephone address) for the purpose of establishing either an outbound or inbound session to a contact center, or to a self service application such as a IVR system. 
         [0008]    The indication of an interaction opportunity can include a screen indicator and the application can be responsive to a user selecting the indicator to launch the interaction opportunity. 
         [0009]    Preferably, the indication of an interaction opportunity includes a screen indicator and the application is responsive to a user focusing on the indicator to provide information relating to the interaction opportunity. 
         [0010]    Preferably, the application is arranged to automatically launch the interaction opportunity in response to the interest satisfying the business logic by sending a request to a remote server based on the business logic, the indication of an interaction opportunity comprising a first response from the remote server to the request. 
         [0011]    Further, preferably, the analyzer is arranged to analyse the user&#39;s interest in the content, the analyzer being responsive to the interest satisfying business logic for providing the indication of an interaction opportunity to the user. 
         [0012]    The analyzer can, if appropriate, be arranged to access the business logic on one of the client device or a remote server. 
         [0013]    Preferably, the application is arranged to store the user&#39;s interest in the content on one of the client device or a remote server. 
         [0014]    The invention also provides a system including at least one client device on which an application as aforesaid is resident and a server remote from the at least one client device and operable to communicate with the at least one client device across a network. 
         [0015]    Preferably, in such a system, the analyzer is resident on the remote server, the analyzer being arranged to analyse a client device user&#39;s interest in the content, and the analyzer being responsive to the interest satisfying business logic for providing the indication of an interaction opportunity to the user&#39;s client device. 
         [0016]    The business logic may include a plurality of links, each corresponding to an interaction opportunity. 
         [0017]    The links can include any combination of: SIP URI; HTTP URL; telephone number; or e-mail address. 
         [0018]    In some embodiments, the business logic includes descriptive information associated with each link, the application being arranged to provide the information on the client device in association with an interaction indicator for the link. 
         [0019]    The invention further provides a client device including the application as aforesaid, the client device being arranged to receive a video stream across a network and being arranged to communicate with a remote server to provide the interaction opportunity to a user of the device. 
         [0020]    The client device can be embodied as one of a general purpose computer; a television; or a mobile computing device, and the network can be one of: a terrestrial broadcast network; a satellite broadcasting network; the Internet; or a mobile telephony network. 
         [0021]    The invention also provides a method of operating a client device arranged to receive and render selected video streams, the video streams including content indicators relating to content to be rendered at a given location on a screen of the client device, the method including the steps of:
       responsive to user interaction with a rendered stream at rendered locations of the content, storing an indicator of the user&#39;s interest in the content,   analysing the user&#39;s interest in the content; and   responsive to the interest satisfying business logic, providing an indication of an interaction opportunity to the user of the client device during the rendering of the video stream.       
 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0025]    Various embodiments will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0026]      FIG. 1  is a schematic view of an IPTV system including a client device running an application according to an embodiment of the invention; and 
           [0027]      FIG. 2  is a flow diagram illustrating a method of operating the client device of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0028]    With reference to  FIG. 1 , it will be noted that not all interaction between various components of the system and in particular the components of the client device is shown for clarity. 
         [0029]    The system includes a media source  10  which is arranged to broadcast video streams to a plurality of clients  12  (only one shown) across a network  14 , step  100  of  FIG. 2 . As explained in the introduction, the network can comprise any transport medium and typically involves a packet switched network. 
         [0030]    Where the media source  10  is for example a web server, user selection of a stream may involve a specific request to the server and the establishment of a connection between the client and server for transmitting the stream. On the other hand, where the source  10  is a cable head end server, all streams are transmitted to client devices (set top boxes) on the cable network and the user interacts with an application, such as a television guide running on the set top box to select a channel for display, or indeed more than one channel where Picture-in-Picture is available. 
         [0031]    Now, it is well known for set top boxes which may be capable of receiving hundreds to channels to run recommender programs. Such recommender programs use television guide information which provides a programme name, a programme summary, programme time, programme genre and possibly programme rating to track a user&#39;s interest in various channels watched over a period of time. The recommender program can then modify various menus to for example highlight or indeed proactively record programmes which the user may be more interested in based on their viewing history. Although useful in cooperation with the present invention, on its own, this provides relatively limited potential for meaningful interaction with the user. 
         [0032]    In embodiments of the present invention, at least some of the streams being transmitted by the media source include indicators (tags) associated with content to be rendered at particular locations on the client device. So, for example, a portion of a stream from time T 1  to T 2  in which an object O is to he displayed at a location x,y; or within say a rectangular region defined by diagonal corners x 1 ,y 1  and x 2 ,y 2 ; or a circular region having a centre x 1 ,y 1  and radius r; or indeed any other such regional definition, may include tag T. 
         [0033]    A formalized scheme for such tagging is being proposed for MPEG-4 streams or indeed as part of the MPEG-7 standard. 
         [0034]    Other potential tagging implementations include defining a grid for frames of the rendered video stream. For each tile of the grid for a given frame or set of frames or pre-determined time period, a tag T may be provided. Again, the tags are transmitted with the video stream and are received by an application  16  for rendering the stream on a display portion  18  of the client device. So, for example, when viewing a travel programme, a beach, a hotel, and a yacht may be visible and have corresponding tags associated with a number of tiles for the time periods for which these objects are being displayed. 
         [0035]    It will be appreciated that in conventional computing devices, a pointer  20  enables a user to indicate of particular portion of a display which of interest. This may involve an application or object being displayed in a portion of the screen controlled by the application gaining and/or losing focus or indeed the user may click or otherwise indicate selection of the application/object. 
         [0036]    In set top boxes implementing the present invention, the user is not alone able to control the box to select channels and control the set, for example, changing the volume, but also, the user is able to “point” to a location on the screen using a pointer  20 . Many suitable and in particular wireless devices are available for enabling such pointing and further description is not necessary here, however, it is sufficient to say that the client device when rendering a stream on the display  18  is able to track any locations on said display to which the user may periodically point or otherwise navigate and possibly select, step  102  of  FIG. 2 . 
         [0037]    It is an object of the present invention to enable user interaction with the image to provide additional information (e.g. contact details for a hotel or surf lessons available at the beach) to the user. 
         [0038]    In particular, however, embodiments of the invention are arranged to record and store a user&#39;s interest in various objects being displayed at particular locations on said display, step  104  of  FIG. 2 . 
         [0039]    In the embodiment shown, a profiler application  22  is arranged to monitor the tags for the video stream being rendered and (possibly) furthermore to monitor the x,y location indicated by the pointer  20  within the rendered video stream as well as any location on the display which the user may select with the pointer. Any such interaction with objects is stored by the profiler in a database  24 . It will be appreciated that in the embodiment, the database shown is local to the client, however, it will be appreciated that this may only involve temporary storage before database information is uploaded to a remote service provider site  30 . In such cases, the database information may be aggregated or pre-processed as required before being transmitted. 
         [0040]    Business logic rules  28  are provided by the service provider  30 . Again, in the embodiment shown the rules are shown stored locally having being downloaded from the service provider  30 . Nonetheless, it will be appreciated that where it may be more convenient, the rules may be stored at the service provider or natively embedded or resident on the client  12 . 
         [0041]    A recommender  26  may be resident on the client device or again might reside on a remote service provider, but in any case, the recommender has access to the history information  24  and the business logic  28 . 
         [0042]    As information is added to the history database  24  or indeed when business logic  28  changes, the recommender  26  analyses each with a view to determining if the business logic includes a suitable interaction opportunity for the user, step  106  of  FIG. 2 . 
         [0043]    Thus, in a simple case, the business logic could contain rules which indicate that it may be appropriate to indicate to a user that had interacted with a piece of content associated with a tag “HOTEL”, that an opportunity relating to that interaction may be available, step  108  of  FIG. 2 . 
         [0044]    However, the recommender  26  does not necessarily determine that an interaction opportunity is appropriate from an individual interaction instance. So, for example, more complex rules may respond to a user continuing to “interact” with other hotels for the subsequent minutes of a programme or other programmes. The recommender  26  may then match such interaction history with rules which relate to an opportunity relevant to the user being, for example, interested only in beachfront hotels in a particular resort. 
         [0045]    In any case, when the rules have determined that a suitable interaction opportunity is available, the recommender  26  provides an indicator for rendering on the display  18  in conjunction with the video stream being rendered, step  110  of  FIG. 2 . 
         [0046]    This can be as simple as an interaction indicator provided on the screen for a given period of time and which the user may select either just by focusing the pointer  20  on the indicator to receive hover help information comprising for example a brief description of the opportunity or indeed by clicking on the indicator to launch the interaction. 
         [0047]    In other implementations the application may automatically launch the interaction as described below. 
         [0048]    In one implementation of the invention, the business rules contain a link to a remote server  32 ,  34  and interaction begins by launching this link when the interaction indicator is selected by the user, step  112  of  FIG. 2 . In such implementations, the link may be a suitable SIP URI, for example, sip:beachHouseRentals@cc.tourism.bermuda.com, with a brief description indicating that if the interaction indicator is selected by the user, an interactive session with a suitable agent based at a call center  32  will be established. In other implementations, the link may be a more conventional HTTP URL, for example, http://cc.tourism.bermuda.com/beachHouseRentals, again with a brief text description, which indicates that when the interaction indicator is clicked, a request will be sent to a web server  34 . Other links could include e-mail addresses or phone numbers again with suitable descriptors. 
         [0049]    In any case, each of the call center  32  or web server  34  can be controlled by the service provider  30  which is in a position to match the offers made available by the call center agent or the web pages supplied by the web server with the information contained in the request originating from the client device. 
         [0050]    It will also be seen that the original request to the call center  32  need not initially provide an human agent response, but could involve for example a IVR application which determines a user&#39;s interest more closely before offering a human contact center service agent connection. 
         [0051]    As such, it will be seen that embodiments of the invention can utilize finely granular and real-time annotation and/or markup of video streams to enable dedicated interaction opportunities to be supplied to users of network client devices. 
         [0052]    It will be seen that as the software required to implement the invention is relatively straight forward to deploy with new generations of IPTV player or even by updating the software of existing players, there is an incentive both for original media sources, for example, film companies, to tag their media, so that they might generate new sources of income with advertisers and/or for service providers to retro-tag media as a new means for driving advertising. Such tagging can occur off-line prior to delivery of the IPTV stream, or it may occur dynamically as the stream is being broadcast, assuming sufficient processing power and intelligent software is available to automate this task in real- or quasi-time 
         [0053]    It will be seen that rules of any complexity can be added to the business rules database  28  based combinations of tags from which an advertiser may wish to generate an interaction opportunity.