Patent Publication Number: US-8990850-B2

Title: Personalized broadcast system

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM 
     The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/536,135, entitled PERSONALIZED BROADCAST SYSTEM, which was filed on Sep. 28, 2006, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety for all purposes. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a system and method for providing personalized broadcast channels. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Traditionally, viewers watch a very small percentage of content broadcast by television service providers. Thus, there is a need for a system and method of providing broadcast channels that are personalized to user preferences. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a system and method for providing personal broadcast channels. In one embodiment, the system includes a master server including a content distribution agent, a local or in-home server including a local broadcast agent, and one or more display devices connected to the local server. In operation, one or more users interact with the local broadcast agent either via the local server or a display device associated with the local server to define profiles for a number of personal broadcast channels. The profiles include information identifying types of content to be broadcast on the personal broadcast channels and optionally formats for the personal broadcast channels. Based on the profiles for the personal broadcast channels, the local broadcast agent generates a request for content types desired for the personal broadcast channels and provides the request to the content distribution agent at the master server. Based on content provided to the local server in response to the request and the profiles for the personal broadcast channels, the local broadcast agent generates the local broadcast channels. 
     In one embodiment, in order to generate the personal broadcast channels, the local broadcast agent receives a content list from the content distribution agent identifying content to be distributed to the local server. Based on the content list and the profiles of the personal broadcast channels, the local broadcast agent generates schedules for the personal broadcast channels. At some point after receiving the content list, the local broadcast agent receives the content identified in the content list. Thereafter, when a user desires to view a personal broadcast channel, the local broadcast agent provides or broadcasts the content identified for the personal broadcast channel according to the schedule for the personal broadcast channel. 
     Those skilled in the art will appreciate the scope of the present invention and realize additional aspects thereof after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in association with the accompanying drawing figures. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
       The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a Personal Video Broadcast System (PVBS) according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates the operation of the PVBS according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates the operation of the PVBS according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a block diagram of the local server of  FIGS. 1-3  according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates the PVBS according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a block diagram of the PVBS master server of  FIGS. 1-5  according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a block diagram of the display device of  FIG. 5  according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  illustrates a content review and distribution system according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 9  illustrates the operation of the content review and distribution system of  FIG. 8  according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 10  is a more detailed illustration of a review process implemented by the content review and distribution system of  FIG. 8  according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 11  is a block diagram of the content review and distribution server of  FIG. 8  according to one embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 12  is a block diagram of the user device of  FIG. 8  according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The embodiments set forth below represent the necessary information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention and illustrate the best mode of practicing the invention. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the invention and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure and the accompanying claims. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a Personal Video Broadcast System (PVBS)  10  according to one embodiment of the present invention. Note that while the discussion herein focuses on video content, the personal broadcast channels are not limited thereto. In general, the PVBS  10  includes a Personal Video Broadcast System (PVBS) master server  12  and a number of consumer premises (CPs)  14 - 18  communicatively coupled by a network  20 . Preferably, the network  20  is a Wide Area Network (WAN). However, the present invention is not limited thereto. As an example, the network  20  may be a distributed public access network such as the Internet. In addition, the customer premises  14 - 18  preferably have high speed connections to the network  20  such as, for example, Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) connections to the network  20  via one or more FTTH distribution networks. 
     The PVBS master server  12  includes a content distribution agent  22 , which may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. The PVBS master server  12  may also maintain or be associated with a content database  24  and an advertisements database  26 . The content database  24  may include commercial video content such as movies and television programs provided by commercial television content providers. In addition or alternatively, the content database  24  may include content authored and distributed by peer users. An exemplary system for providing content authored and distributed by peer users is discussed below with respect to  FIGS. 8-12 . The advertisements database  26  operates to store advertisements and optionally distribution criteria or distribution lists for the advertisements. As discussed below, the content distribution agent  22  operates to distribute video content and optionally advertisements from the databases  24  and  26  to the CPs  14 - 18 . 
     It should be noted that while the content distribution agent  22  is illustrated as being hosted by the PVBS master server  12 , the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, both the content distribution agent  22  and the content corresponding to the content database  24  may be hosted by one or more peers in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network. Thus, the content distribution agent  22  may operate to effect distribution of content from peers in the P2P network to the CPs  14 - 18  in a manner similar to that described below for the PVBS master server  12 . 
     The CP  14  includes a local server  28  communicatively coupled to a number of display devices  30 - 1  through  30 -N. Note that the following discussion is equally applicable to the other CPs  16  and  18 . The local server  28  may also be referred to herein as an in-home server. The local server  28  includes a local broadcast agent  32 , a personal channel profiles database  34 , a content database  36 , and an advertisements database  38 . The local broadcast agent  32  may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. The personal channel profiles database  34 , the content database  36 , and the advertisements database  38  may be implemented in one or more digital storage devices such as one or more hard disk drives, one or more optical storage devices, memory, or the like. Further, the content database  36 , for example, may be distributed among multiple devices within the CP  14 . 
     The personal channel profiles database  34  operates to store a channel profile for each of a number of personal broadcast channels defined by users  40 - 1  through  40 -N. Each of the channel profiles includes information identifying types of content to be broadcast on the associated personal broadcast channel and a format for the personal broadcast channel. Note that unlike Video-on-Demand (VoD) systems, the personal broadcast channels define types of content to be broadcast rather than selecting a particular video for viewing on demand. The types of content to be broadcast via the personal broadcast channel may be defined using various metadata. The metadata may include, for example, media type such as movie or television program; genre such as sports, news, history, drama, comedy, mystery, action, or science fiction; time period such as 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, or 2000s; television program series title such as Star Trek, Seinfeld, or Survivor, actors or actresses in the movie or television program; director of the movie or television program; or the like or any combination thereof. The exemplary metadata mentioned above for defining types of content is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Other types of metadata for defining types of content will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon reading this specification. 
     In addition, each of the channel profiles may include information identifying a desired format for the associated personal broadcast channel. The format may define a time at which the personal broadcast channel is to be active. For example, the format may be 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; from the hours of 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday through Friday; or the like. Still further, the format may be defined such that different types of content are broadcast at different times of the day. For example, the format may be defined such that educational content for children is broadcast from 8 a.m. until noon, television programs from the comedy genre are broadcast from noon until 5 p.m., news content is broadcast from 5 p.m. until 6 p.m., and episodes of Star Trek are broadcast from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. The exemplary formats given above are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. 
     The content database  36  operates to store content for the personal broadcast channels distributed to the local server  28  from the content distribution agent  22  of the PVBS master server  12 . Likewise, the advertisements database  38  operates to store advertisements for the personal broadcast channels distributed to the local server  28  from the content distribution agent  22  of the PVBS master server  12 . 
     Each of the display devices  30 - 1  through  30 -N may be a television, a set-top box, a set-top box with digital video recorder functionality, a personal computer, a portable device such as a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or mobile telephone, or the like enabling users  40 - 1  through  40 -N to view the personal broadcast channels provided by the local broadcast agent  32 . 
       FIG. 2  illustrates the operation of the PVBS  10  of  FIG. 1  according to one embodiment of the present invention. In general, the users  40 - 1  through  40 -N interact with the local broadcast agent  32  via the display devices  30 - 1  through  30 -N to define one or more personal broadcast channels (step  200 ). For each personal broadcast channel, a personal channel profile is defined. Alternatively, the users  40 - 1  through  40 -N may interact directly with the local server  28  to define the personal channel profiles for the personal broadcast channels. As discussed above, the personal channel profiles include information identifying types of content desired for the personal broadcast channels and optionally formats for the personal broadcast channels. 
     The local broadcast agent  32  then generates a request for content to be provided to the content distribution agent  22  (step  202 ). More specifically, the local broadcast agent  32  aggregates the personal channel profiles to identify the types of content desired for the associated personal broadcast channels and optionally the relative amounts of content desired for each of the types of content. For example, if there is a 24 hour personal broadcast channel for sports content and a 1 hour a day or a 1 hour segment of a broadcast channel for news, then the local broadcast agent  32  may determine that the personal broadcast channels desire a greater amount of sports content than news content. As such, the generated request may provide information indicating that more sports content is desired than news content. Note that the request generated by the local broadcast agent  32  is a request for types of content in general. The request preferably does not include information regarding the specific users  40 - 1  through  40 -N. As such, privacy is maintained between the PVBS master server  12  and the users  40 - 1  through  40 -N. 
     The local broadcast agent  32  then sends the request to the content distribution agent  22  at the PVBS master server  12  (step  204 ). In a similar fashion, the content distribution agent  22  may receive requests from the local broadcast agents of the other CPs  16  and  18  in the PVBS  10 . The content distribution agent  22  then generates a distribution plan for distributing content to the local broadcast agent  32  as well as the local broadcast agents of the other CPs  16  and  18  (step  206 ). The distribution plan may be generated, for example, daily or weekly. More specifically, the content distribution agent  22  identifies content from the content database  24  and optionally advertisements from the advertisements database  26  to distribute to the local broadcast agent  32  of the CP  14 . Likewise, the content distribution agent  22  may identify content and advertisements for the other CPs  16  and  18 . In order to efficiently distribute content to the CP  14  as well as to the other CPs  16  and  18 , the content distribution agent  22  aggregates the request from the local broadcast agent  32  with requests from the local broadcast agents of the other CPs  16  and  18  and generates the distribution plan such that content and optionally advertisements are multicast to the CPs  14 - 18 . For example, if a particular video is to be distributed to the CPs  14  and  16 , the content distribution agent  22  may generate the distribution plan such that the video is multicast to the local broadcast agents of the CPs  14  and  16 , thereby providing the video to both of the CPs  14  and  16  using a single transfer of the video. 
     From this point on, the local broadcast agent  32  generally operates to generate the personal broadcast channels based on content and optionally advertisements received from the content distribution agent  22  in response to the request and broadcast the personal broadcast channels to one or more of the display devices  30 - 1  through  30 -N. 
     In this embodiment, content distribution agent  22  provides a content list to the local broadcast agent  32  identifying content and optionally advertisements that are to be distributed to the local broadcast agent  32  (step  208 ). Note that the content list may be redistributed or updated periodically such as daily or weekly in light of changes in content availability. For each video, or more generally digital asset, to be distributed to the local broadcast agent  32 , the content list may include a title; estimated time at which the video will be distributed; a brief description of the video content; a length of the video content; information identifying a quality of the video; Digital Rights Management (DRM) rights such as one time play, multiple plays, and/or whether rewind and pausing are allowed; and advertisement insertion information such as types of advertisements that may be inserted into the video content, a total advertisement time required for the video content, and an overall video value to advertisement value. The overall video value to advertisement value provides an indication as to the relative value of commercials in the content. In a similar fashion, the content list may include information regarding advertisements to be distributed to the local broadcast agent  32  such as the advertisement type, run time, and the desired program to advertisement value. 
     Based on the content list and the personal channel profiles, the local broadcast agent  32  generates schedules for the personal broadcast channels (step  210 ). More specifically, based on the personal channel profiles, the local broadcast agent  32  analyzes the information provided in the content list to associate each video identified by the content list to one or more of the personal broadcast channels. Then, for each personal broadcast channel, a schedule is generated that provides the broadcast time and sequence of broadcast for the videos associated with the personal broadcast channel. 
     In addition, the local broadcast agent  32  may insert advertisement slots into the schedules for the personal broadcast channels. As stated above, the content list may include advertisement information identifying the types of advertisements to be inserted into each video, the total advertisement time for each video, and the overall program value to advertisement value for each video. In addition, the content list may include information regarding advertisements that are to be delivered to the local broadcast agent  32 . Based on this information, the local broadcast agent  32  may insert advertisement slots into the schedules for the personal broadcast channels. The advertisement slots may be inserted during videos in the schedule and/or between successive videos in the schedule. In addition, advertisements may be placed in an Electronic Program Guide (EPG) or the like used to access the personal broadcast channels. 
     When selecting advertisements to be inserted into the schedules, the local broadcast agent  32  may consider the viewing habits of the user  40 - 1 . For example, the local broadcast agent  32  may identify a prime viewing time for the user  40 - 1  based on the viewing habits of the user  40 - 1 . As such, the content scheduled for this prime viewing time may be given a higher program to advertisement value. As such, advertisements that are desired to be inserted during content having high program to advertisement value may be inserted during the prime viewing time for the user  40 - 1 . 
     Alternatively, rather than the local broadcast agent  32  inserting advertisement slots in the schedules, the content provided by the content distribution agent  22  may already include advertisements or advertisement slots. 
     Thereafter, the content and optionally advertisements for the personal broadcast channels are distributed to the local broadcast agent  32  according to the distribution plan of the content distribution agent  22  (step  212 ). In one embodiment, the content distribution agent  22  pushes the content and advertisements to the local broadcast agent  32  as well as the local broadcast agents of the CPs  16  and  18  using a multicasting scheme. More specifically, the distribution plan may identify each of the CPs  14 - 18  that are to receive a particular video. Thus, when the video is to be distributed, the content distribution agent  22  multicasts the video to the local broadcast agents of the CPs  14 - 18  that are to receive the video. In another embodiment, the content distribution agent  22  implements a hybrid push/pull scheme wherein the content distribution agent  22  multicasts content and advertisements to each of a number of the CPs  14 - 18 , all of which may or may not desire the content and advertisements. As such, the local broadcast agents of the CPs  14 - 18  may obtain desired content and advertisements from the multicast and ignore content and advertisements that are not desired. The content and advertisements distributed to the local broadcast agent  32  are stored in the content database  36  and the advertisements database  38  of the local server  28 . 
     Note that the content and advertisements may be assigned an aging out period by either the content distribution agent  22  or the local broadcast agent  32 . The aging out period defines a period of time after which the associated content or advertisement is removed from storage at the local server  28 . The user  40 - 1  may be given the ability to override the aging out period. 
     The distribution scheme described herein provides substantial benefits. For example, the content distribution agent  22  may provide content to the CPs  14 - 18  during off-peak hours, such as during the hours of 10 pm to 6 am, when the PVBS master server  12 , the local server  28 , and the network  20  are likely not to be experiencing heavy loads. Further, by pre-pushing the content to the local server  28  before broadcasting, quality of service issues associated with streaming content over the network  20  are avoided. 
     In this embodiment, at the request of the user  40 - 1 , the display device  30 - 1  sends a selection message to the local broadcast agent  32  selecting a personal broadcast channel to view at the display device  30 - 1  (step  214 ). The local broadcast agent  32  then broadcasts the content and advertisements for the selected personal broadcast channel to the display device  30 - 1  according to the schedule generated for the selected personal broadcast channel, thereby providing the personal broadcast channel (step  216 ). The selected personal broadcast channel may be provided over an unused cable television channel or over a Local Area Network (LAN) connection. In an alternative embodiment, the personal broadcast channels may be continuously broadcast to the display devices  30 - 1  through  30 -N over different channels where the display devices  30 - 1  through  30 -N are tuned to the channel for the selected personal broadcast channel. It should be noted that not all content for the personal broadcast channel needs to be distributed to the local server  28  before broadcasting can begin. As long as content that is to be distributed at the current time is stored or at least partially stored at the local server  28 , the broadcast can take place. 
     When providing personal broadcast channels to the display devices  30 - 1  through  30 -N over a LAN connection or digital cable television channel, DRM restrictions may be used to control access to the personal broadcast channels. For example, DRM restrictions may be applied to a personal broadcast channel defined by the user  40 - 1  such that the personal broadcast channel is only accessible to the user  40 - 1  at the display device  30 - 1 . The manner in which DRM restrictions may be applied to the personal broadcast channels will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon reading this disclosure. 
     While not illustrated, the local broadcast agent  32  may monitor the viewing habits of the user  40 - 1 . Based on the viewing habits of the user  40 - 1 , the local broadcasting agent  32  may adjust the amounts of the desired types of content requested from the content distribution agent  22 . Alternatively, the local broadcasting agent  32  may provide information describing the viewing habits of the user  40 - 1  to the content distribution agent  22 , where the content distribution agent  22  may consider the viewing habits of the user  40 - 1  when identifying content and the amounts of content to distribute to the local broadcast agent  32 . 
       FIG. 3  illustrates the operation of the PVBS  10  of  FIG. 1  according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the content distribution agent  22  does not provide the content list to the local broadcast agent  32 , and the local broadcast agent  32  generates the personal broadcast channels as content is delivered to the local server  28 . More specifically, the users  40 - 1  through  40 -N interact with the local broadcast agent  32  via the display devices  30 - 1  through  30 -N to define one or more personal broadcast channels (step  300 ). For each personal broadcast channel, a personal channel profile is defined. Alternatively, the users  40 - 1  through  40 -N may interact directly with the local server  28  to define the personal channel profiles for the personal broadcast channels. The local broadcast agent  32  then generates a request for content to be provided to the content distribution agent  22  (step  302 ). 
     The local broadcast agent  32  then sends the request to the content distribution agent  22  at the PVBS master server  12  (step  304 ). In a similar fashion, the content distribution agent  22  may receive requests from the local broadcast agents of the other CPs  16  and  18  in the PVBS  10 . The content distribution agent  22  then generates a distribution plan for distributing content to the local broadcast agent  32  as well as the local broadcast agents of the other CPs  16  and  18  (step  306 ). The content distribution agent  22  then provides content and optionally advertisements to the local broadcast agent  32  according to the distribution plan (step  308 ). 
     As content and advertisements are delivered to the local broadcast agent  32  or at some point thereafter, the local broadcast agent  32  generates schedules for the personal broadcast channels based on the corresponding personal channel profiles (step  310 ). As discussed above, the schedules for the personal broadcast channels may be generated by analyzing the videos and optionally advertisements delivered to the local broadcast agent  32  or metadata associated therewith to associate each video and advertisement with one or more of the personal broadcast channels based on the personal channel profiles. The schedule for each of the personal video channels may then be generated to provide a broadcast sequence and broadcast times for the associated videos and advertisements. 
     In this embodiment, at the request of the user  40 - 1 , the display device  30 - 1  sends a selection message selecting a personal broadcast channel to view at the display device  30 - 1  (step  312 ). The local broadcast agent  32  then broadcasts the videos and advertisements for the selected personal broadcast channel to the display device  30 - 1  according to the schedule generated for the selected personal broadcast channel, thereby providing the personal broadcast channel, as described above (step  314 ). 
       FIG. 4  is a block diagram of the local server  28  according to one embodiment of the present invention. In general, the local server  28  is communicatively coupled to the network  20  via a FTTH interface  42 . Note that the FTTH interface  42  is exemplary. Other types of high speed interfaces may be used to connect the local server  28  to the network  20 . The FTTH interface  42  provides a high speed connection to the network  20  for delivery of content and optionally advertisements for personal broadcast channels according to the present invention. The local server  28  may also be communicatively coupled to a Local Area Network (LAN) via a LAN gateway  44 . This may be particularly beneficial where the display devices  30 - 1  through  30 -N are personal computers or like device having a LAN interface rather than a traditional analog or digital cable television interface. 
     As illustrated, the local server  28  includes an Ethernet switch  46 , the local broadcast agent  32 , a content storage device  48 , and a radio frequency (RF) output  50 . The Ethernet switch  46  operates in one of three modes. In a first mode, the Ethernet switch  46  connects the FTTH interface  42  to the local broadcast agent  32  for communication between the local broadcast agent  32  and the content distribution agent  22  according to the present invention. In a second mode, the Ethernet switch  46  connects the FTTH interface  42  to the LAN gateway  44  for direct communication between LAN devices and the network  20 . In a third mode, the Ethernet switch  46  connects the local broadcast agent  32  to the LAN gateway  44  for communication between the local broadcast agent  32  and ones of the display devices  30 - 1  through  30 -N connected to the local server  28  via the LAN. 
     As illustrated in this embodiment, the local broadcast agent  32  includes a DRM encoder function  52 , a DRM decoder function  54 , a streaming server function  56 , and a file manager function  58 . The functions  52 - 58  may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination thereof. The DRM encoder and decoder functions  52  and  54  may be used where content provided to the local broadcast agent  32  or the personal broadcast channels provided by the local broadcast agent  32  have or are to have DRM restrictions. The streaming server function  56  operates to stream or broadcast the personal broadcast channels to the display devices  30 - 1  through  30 -N either over the LAN via the LAN gateway  44  or a traditional cable television connection via the RF output  50 . The file manager function  58  operates to receive content and advertisements from the content distribution agent  22  via the FTTH interface  42  and store the content and advertisements in the content storage device  48 . Due to the high speed connection provided by the FTTH interface  42 , the file manager function  58  may buffer incoming files using high speed memory and transfer the buffered files to the content storage device  48 . Note that the content storage device  48  may include one or more storage units such as one or more hard disk drives. As such, in order to efficiently transfer the buffered file to storage, the file manager function  58  may simultaneously transfer segments of the buffered file to different storage units and thereafter manage the segments of the file as a single file. 
     The RF output  50  enables the local broadcast agent  32  to broadcast the personal broadcast channels to the display devices  30 - 1  through  30 -N using a traditional cable television connection. More specifically, each user  40 - 1  through  40 -N, or alternatively each display device  30 - 1  through  30 -N, may be assigned an unused cable television channel. As such, the streaming server function  56  may provide a different personal broadcast channel for each of the users  40 - 1  through  40 -N, where the personal broadcast channels are combined into a single data stream. A video playback function  60  of the RF output  50  processes the output of the streaming server function  56  to provide a separate analog output for each of the personal broadcast channels. An RF modulator function  62  operates to upconvert the analog outputs to desired RF frequencies, which preferably correspond to unused cable television channels. An RF combiner function  64  then combines the upconverted analog outputs into a combined RF signal. An RF splitter/combiner function  66  then combines the combined RF signal with an input signal from an associated land-based or satellite-based television service provider. The display devices  30 - 1  through  30 -N may then tune to channels corresponding to the personal broadcast channels in order to view the personal broadcast channels. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a PVBS  10 ′ according to another embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is substantially the same as that described above. However, in this embodiment, local broadcast agents are implemented on each of a number of display devices  68 - 1  through  68 - 3  rather than on a local or in-home server. Note that while the embodiments of  FIGS. 1 and 5  are discussed separately, the PVBS  10 ′ may include both the CPs  14 - 18  of  FIG. 1  and the display devices  68 - 1  through  68 - 1  of  FIG. 5 . 
     As illustrated, the system  10 ′ includes the PVBS master server  12  and the display devices  68 - 1  through  68 - 3  interconnected by the network  20 . The display devices  68 - 1  through  68 - 3  may be personal computers, portable devices such as PDAs or mobile telephones, set-top boxes, televisions, or the like and are associated with users  70 - 1  through  70 - 3 . Regarding the display device  68 - 1 , the user  70 - 1  interacts with the local broadcast agent  32 ′ to create one or more personal channel profiles defining desired personal broadcast channels. The local broadcast agent  32 ′ aggregates the personal channel profiles and identifies the types of content desired for the personal broadcast channels and optionally relative amounts of content desired for each type of content. The local broadcast agent  32 ′ then sends a request for the desired types of content and optionally the relative amounts of content for each type of content to the content distribution agent  22 . In a similar fashion, local broadcast agents of the other display devices  68 - 2  and  68 - 3  send requests to the content distribution agent  22 . 
     At some time thereafter, the content distribution agent  22  identifies content from the content database  24  and optionally advertisements from the advertisements database  26  to provide to each of the display devices  68 - 1  through  68 - 3 . The content distribution agent  22  then aggregates the requests from the display devices  68 - 1  through  68 - 3  and generates a content distribution plan for distributing the identified content to the display devices  68 - 1  through  68 - 3 . 
     Then, as discussed above, in one embodiment, the content distribution agent  22  provides a content list to the local broadcast agent  32 ′ identifying the content that is to be distributed to the display device  68 - 1 . In response, the local broadcast agent  32 ′ generates a schedule for each of the personal broadcast channels based on the corresponding personal channel profiles and the content list. Likewise, the content distribution agent  22  may provide content lists to the other display devices  68 - 2  and  68 - 3 . In response, the local broadcast agents of the display devices  68 - 2  and  68 - 3  generate schedules for personal broadcast channels of the users  70 - 2  and  70 - 3 . The content distribution agent  22  then distributes the content to the display devices  68 - 1  through  68 - 3  according to the distribution plan. Again, the distribution plan preferably uses multicasting to efficiently transfer the content to the display devices  68 - 1  through  68 - 3 . For example, if a particular video is to be distributed to the display devices  68 - 1  and  68 - 2 , the distribution plan may be generated such that the content distribution agent  22  multicasts the video to the display devices  68 - 1  and  68 - 2 . Once the content is distributed to the display device  68 - 1 , the local broadcast agent  32 ′ may provide the personal broadcast channels for viewing by the user  70 - 1  based on the schedules for the personal broadcast channels. 
     In another embodiment, the content distribution agent  22  does not provide a content list to the local broadcast agent  32 ′. Rather, the content distribution agent  22  distributes content to the display devices  68 - 1  through  68 - 3  according to the distribution plan. As content is received by the display device  68 - 1  or at some point after the content is received, the local broadcast agent  32 ′ generates the schedule for the personal broadcast channels based on the corresponding personal channel profiles. Thereafter, the local broadcast agent  32 ′ may provide the personal broadcast channels for viewing by the user  70 - 1  based on the schedules for the personal broadcast channels. 
       FIG. 6  is a block diagram of the PVBS master server  12  according to one embodiment of the present invention. In general, the PVBS master server  12  includes a control system  72  having associated memory  74 . In this embodiment, the content distribution agent  22  is implemented in software and stored in the memory  74 . The PVBS master server  12  also includes one or more digital storage devices  76 , which may operate to store the content database  24  and the advertisements database  26 . The digital storage devices  76  may be, for example, hard disk drives, optical storage devices, memory, or the like. The PVBS master server  12  also includes a communication interface  78  communicatively coupling the PVBS master server  12  to the network  20 . The PVBS master server  12  may also include a user interface  80 , which may include components such as a display, one or more user input devices, and the like. 
       FIG. 7  is a block diagram of the display device  68 - 1  of  FIG. 5  according to one embodiment of the present invention. However, this discussion is equally applicable to the other display devices  68 - 2  and  68 - 3 . In general, the display device  68 - 1  includes a control system  82  including the local broadcast agent  32 ′. As will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, the control system  82  may include hardware and/or software components in addition to the local broadcast agent  32 ′ depending on the particular implementation. The local broadcast agent  32 ′ may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. The display device  68 - 1  also includes one or more digital storage devices  84  operating to store the personal channel profiles database  34 ′, the content database  36 ′, and the advertisements database  38 ′. The digital storage devices  84  may be, for example, hard disk drives, optical storage devices, memory, or the like. The display device  68 - 1  also includes a communication interface  86  communicatively coupling the display device  68 - 1  to the network  20 . In addition, the communication interface  86  may communicatively couple the display device  68 - 1  to a land-based or satellite-based television service provider. The display device  68 - 1  may also include a user interface  88 , which may include components such as one or more user input devices, a display, speakers, and the like. 
     As mentioned above,  FIGS. 8-12  discuss an exemplary system for providing content to the PVBS master server  12  of  FIG. 1 . However, the content review and distribution system  90  discussed below is not limited to distributing content via the PVBS  10  and may distribute reviewed content using any type of public or commercial distribution entity or system. 
       FIG. 8  illustrates the content review and distribution system  90  according to one embodiment of the present invention. As discussed below, in an exemplary embodiment, the system  90  may provide all or a portion of the content distributed by the PVBS master server  12  described above. In general, the system  90  includes a central review and distribution server  92 , a number of user devices  94 - 1  through  94 -N, and a distribution entity  96  communicatively coupled by a network  98 . The network  98  may be any type of Wide Area Network (WAN), Local Area Network (LAN), Personal Area Network (PAN), or the like. As an example, the network  98  may be a public distributed network such as the Internet. Authors/reviewers  100 - 1  through  100 -N are associated with the user devices  94 - 1  through  94 -N. The authors/reviewers  100 - 1  through  100 -N are persons that both submit content to the central review and distribution server  92  for review and potentially distribution and agree to review content submitted by other persons. Depending on the particular role that the authors/reviewers  100 - 1  through  100 -N are performing at a particular point in the following discussion, the authors/reviewers  100 - 1  through  100 -N may alternatively be referred to as either authors  100 - 1  through  100 -N or reviewers  100 - 1  through  100 -N. 
     The central review and distribution server  92  includes a review and distribution agent  102 , which may be implemented in software. As discussed below, the review and distribution agent  102  operates to effect review and potentially distribution of content authored by the authors  100 - 1  through  100 -N. The central review and distribution server  92  also includes or is associated with an author/reviewer profiles database  104  and a content database  106 . The author/reviewer profiles database  104  operates to store profiles of the authors/reviewers  100 - 1  through  100 -N. The profiles include credentials of the authors/reviewers  100 - 1  through  100 -N, where the credentials of the authors/reviewers  100 - 1  through  100 -N are used to select reviewers for submitted content, as discussed below. The content database  106  operates to store content submitted to the central review and distribution server  92  for review and potentially distribution to a distribution entity such as the distribution entity  96 . The content submitted for review may be any type of digital content such as, for example, videos, images, audio files, literature, or the like. Individual content, such as individual video files, may be referred to herein as digital assets. 
     The user devices  94 - 1  through  94 -N may be, for example, personal computers; portable devices such as PDAs, mobile telephones, or mobile media players; or a like device capable of accessing the network  98 . In operation, the authors/reviewers  100 - 1  through  100 -N are enabled to submit content to the central review and distribution server  92  and review content submitted to the central review and distribution server  92  by others of the authors/reviewers  100 - 1  through  100 -N via the user devices  94 - 1  through  94 -N. 
     The distribution entity  96  may be a public or commercial content distribution entity. For example, the distribution entity  96  may be a commercial content provider such as the PVBS master server  12  discussed above, a television service provider, or the like. Alternatively, the distribution entity  96  may be a public content provider such as, for example, http://www.youtube.com, http://www.video.google.com, or the like. 
     Note that while  FIG. 8  illustrates the review and distribution agent  102  as being implemented on the central review and distribution server  92 , the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the review and distribution agent  102  may alternatively be implemented as a distributed agent hosted by one or more of the user devices  94 - 1  through  94 -N where the user devices  94 - 1  through  94 -N are configured as a P2P network. 
       FIG. 9  illustrates the operation of the system  90  of  FIG. 8  according to one embodiment of the present invention. First, the authors  100 - 1  through  100 -N register with the review and distribution agent  102  via the user devices  94 - 1  through  94 -N (step  400 ). During registration, the authors  100 - 1  through  100 -N agree to review content submitted by others of the authors  100 - 1  through  100 -N in exchange for review and potentially distribution of their own content. For example, the author  100 - 1  may agree to review two digital assets submitted by others of the authors  100 - 2  through  100 -N for each digital asset submitted by the author  100 - 1  for review and potentially distribution. The agreements may be enforced by refusing to distribute content submitted by the authors  100 - 1  through  100 -N until the authors have met the requirements of the agreement. 
     At some point in time, one of the authors  100 - 1  through  100 -N submits content to the review and distribution agent  102  for review and potentially distribution (step  402 ). For this discussion, the author  100 - 1  is the author that submits the content. When submitting the content, the content and metadata for the content are provided to the review and distribution agent  102 . Alternatively, only the metadata for the content may be provided to the review and distribution agent  102 . The metadata may be defined by the author  100 - 1 , automatically populated, or both. The metadata preferably includes a target quality level for the content selected by the author  100 - 1 . In addition or alternatively, the metadata may include a content type such as video, image, or audio; file format; file size; resolution; title; brief description; keywords; genre or content category such as comedy, history, drama, mystery, action, science fiction, or the like; sub-genre or sub-category such as standup, sitcom, movie, or the like; requested distribution scheme such as free, copyrighted, ad-based, payment-on-demand, or the like; usage polices such as DRM restrictions for the content when distributed; recommended reviewers; non-recommended reviewers; or the like. 
     Next, the review and distribution agent  102  effects review of the submitted content according to the present invention (step  404 ). The details of the review process are discussed below in detail with respect to  FIG. 10 . In the preferred embodiment, the review and distribution agent  102  effects an iterative review process based on quality level. More specifically, the author  100 - 1  selects a target quality level for the submitted content. The target quality level may be between and including a minimum quality level, which may be quality level  1 , and a maximum quality level, which may be quality level 3. The submitted content is iteratively reviewed by groups of the reviewers  100 - 2  through  100 -N selected for each quality level up to the target quality level or until the submitted content fails to satisfy the requirements of a quality level. Based on the review, the content is assigned a rated quality level. The rated quality level may be used to define, for example, a value of the content to a commercial distribution entity. The review may also check for copyright infringement and the correctness or accuracy of the metadata associated with the submitted content. In addition, the review may allow reviewers, which are select ones of the other authors/reviewers  100 - 2  through  100 -N, to provide comments or other feedback to the author  100 - 1  regarding the submitted content. 
     After review of the submitted content, the review and distribution agent  102  provides feedback including the rated quality level to the author  100 - 1  via the user device  94 - 1  (step  406 ). Note that in an alternative embodiment, feedback may be provided to the author  100 - 1  after each iteration of the review process. Further note that the feedback may include identifiers (IDs) identifying feedback from each of the group of reviewers. Note that if the author  100 - 1  feels a review by one of the group of reviewers is inaccurate, the author  100 - 1  can request that the reviewer be excluded from reviewing content from the author  100 - 1  in the future. If a reviewer is excluded by a threshold number or percentage of the authors  100 - 1  through  100 -N, the reviewer may be prevented from making future content submissions. 
     After receiving the feedback, the author  100 - 1  then decides either to revise the content based on the feedback and resubmit the content for review or to distribute the content at the rated quality level (step  408 ). Once the author  100 - 1  decides to distribute the content, the review and distribution agent  102  effects transfer of the content to one or more distribution entities, such as the distribution entity  96 , according to the desired distribution scheme and usage polices for the content. In one embodiment, the content is submitted to the review and distribution agent  102  in step  402 . As such, the review and distribution agent  102  may transfer the content to the distribution entity  96  from the content database  106 . In another embodiment, the review and distribution agent  102  may effect a transfer of the content from the user device  94 - 1  to the distribution entity  96 . 
       FIG. 10  illustrates the review process according to one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the review process is an iterative review process based on quality level where submitted content is rated at one of a number of quality levels. Each of the quality levels may have associated criteria to be used by reviewers to determine if submitted content satisfies the requirements of the quality level. First, once content is submitted for review by, for example, the author  100 - 1 , the review and distribution agent  102  selects a group of reviewers from the reviewers  100 - 2  through  100 -N for a first or minimum quality level based on credentials of the reviewers  100 - 2  through  100 -N (step  500 ). For each of the reviewers  100 - 1  through  100 -N, the review and distribution agent  102  generates the credentials of the reviewer based on, for example, a total number of digital assets submitted by the author/reviewer for review, a number or percentage of the total number of digital assets reviewed for each quality level, a total number of digital assets submitted by other authors and reviewed by the reviewer at each of the quality levels, and a percent deviation from the other reviewers at each quality level for the digital assets reviewed by the reviewer. In addition, the review and distribution agent  102  may maintain these statistics for a number of sub-categories within the quality levels such as content type, genre, sub-genre, requested distribution scheme, run time if applicable, and the like. This may be beneficial if specialized reviewers within each quality level are desired. 
     When selecting the group of reviewers based on the credentials of the reviewers  100 - 2  through  100 -N, the review and distribution agent  102  may first consider the credentials for the reviewers  100 - 2  through  100 -N with respect to the current quality level, which for the first iteration of the review process may be, for example, a minimum quality level. More specifically, the review and distribution agent  102  may first identify ones of the reviewers  100 - 2  through  100 -N having credentials indicating that they have accurately reviewed content at or above the current quality level and/or have submitted content that has been reviewed at or above the current quality level. If the number of identified reviewers is greater than a desired number of reviewers for the submitted content, the review and distribution agent  102  may select a portion of the identified reviewers as the group of reviewers for the submitted content using, for example, a random selection process, based on relative credentials, or based on credentials of the identified reviewers  100 - 2  through  100 -N with respect to other metadata for the submitted content such as content type, genre, sub-genre, requested distribution scheme, run time, or the like. 
     Before finalizing the selected group of reviewers from the reviewers  100 - 2  through  100 -N, the review and distribution agent  102  may query the selected group of reviewers for their willingness to review the submitted content within a specified amount of time. The specified amount of time may be defined by the review and distribution agent  102  or by the author  100 - 1  of the submitted content. If all of the selected reviewers indicate willingness to review the submitted content within the specified amount of time, then the selected group of reviewers is finalized. Otherwise, ones of the selected group of reviewers that are not willing to review the submitted content within the specified amount of time may be removed from the selected group of reviewers and optionally replaced. 
     Once the group of reviewers is selected, the review and distribution agent  102  provides the submitted content to the selected group of reviewers, or more specifically to the ones of the user devices  94 - 2  through  94 -N associated with the selected group of reviewers (step  502 ). When providing the submitted content to the selected group of reviewers, DRM policies may be applied to the submitted content such that, for example, only the selected group of reviewers may view or otherwise consume the submitted content. In addition, DRM policies may be applied to limit playback to enable or disable multiple viewings of the submitted content, to enable or disable pausing, rewinding, or fast-forwarding of the submitted content, or the like. Alternatively, rather than uploading the submitted content to the content database  106  and then providing the submitted content to the selected group of reviewers, the review and distribution agent  102  may effect a peer-to-peer (P2P) connection between the user device  94 - 1  of the author  100 - 1  and the ones of the user devices  94 - 2  through  94 -N associated with the selected group of reviewers where the submitted content is transferred or multicast to the ones of the user devices  94 - 2  through  94 -N associated with the selected group of reviewers. 
     At this point, the selected group of reviewers review the submitted content to either approve or disapprove of the submitted content being rated at the current quality level or assign the content a rated quality level, to check for copyright infringement, and to check for the accuracy of other metadata associated with the submitted content such as content type, file format, file size, resolution, run time, genre, sub-genre, and the like. In addition, the group of reviewers may comment on the title of the content, the description of the content, the keywords for the content, the requested distribution scheme for the content, the usage policies for the content, or the like. Still further, the group of reviewers may provide additional comments or feedback regarding the content. 
     Once reviewed, the review and distribution agent  102  receives feedback from the selected group of reviewers (step  504 ). Based on the feedback, the review and distribution agent  102  may decide whether to continue the review by proceeding to a review at the next quality level (step  506 ). If, for example, a predefined number or percentage of the select group of users has disapproved of the submitted content being rated at the current quality level, which is also referred to herein as not being reviewed to the current quality level, the review and distribution agent  102  may decide not to proceed to the review at the next quality level. In addition, if there are one or more errors with respect to the other metadata for the submitted content, the review and distribution agent  102  may decide not to proceed to the review at the next quality level. The review and distribution agent  102  may also decide not to proceed to the review at the next quality level if the current quality level is the target quality level for the content or the maximum quality level. 
     If the review and distribution agent  102  decides to proceed to the review at the next quality level, the review process returns to step  500  where reviewers are selected for the next quality level, and the process is repeated. If the review and distribution agent  102  decides not to proceed to the next quality level or if the submitted content has been reviewed to the target or maximum quality level, then the review and distribution agent  102  provides feedback to the author  100 - 1  via the user device  94 - 1  (step  508 ). The feedback includes the rated quality level, corrections to or information identifying errors in other metadata of the submitted content, and any additional comments or feedback provided by the group of reviewers during the review process. Note that the review and distribution agent  102  may require the author  100 - 1  to correct some or all of the errors in the metadata before distribution of the content. 
     Once the review process is complete, the author  100 - 1  may either distribute the content at the rated quality level or revise the content based on the feedback and re-submit the content for review. 
     In an alternative embodiment, the review and distribution agent  102  may return feedback to the author  100 - 1  after each iteration of the review process. In response, the author  100 - 1  may either revise the content based on the feedback and re-submit the revised content for the next iteration of the review process or instruct the review and distribution agent  102  to distribute the content at current rated quality level. 
     While the discussion above focuses on an iterative review process, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, rather than iteratively reviewing submitted content at each successive quality level, the review and distribution agent  102  may effect review of the submitted content only at the target quality level. Further, while the discussion above focuses on the quality level as being the primary consideration for selecting reviewers, the present invention is not limited thereto. Reviewers may be selected based on credentials associated with any of the metadata for the submitted content or any combination thereof. For example, if a video of the comedy genre, the sitcom sub-genre, and a target quality level of 3 is submitted for review, the review and distribution agent  102  may select reviewers for the submitted content based on credentials of the reviewers  100 - 1  through  100 -N with respect to videos, with respect to the comedy genre, with respect to the sitcom sub-genre, with respect to quality level  3 , or any combination thereof. 
       FIG. 11  is a block diagram of the central review and distribution server  92  of  FIG. 8  according to one embodiment of the present invention. In general, the central review and distribution server  92  includes a control system  108  having associated memory  110 . In this example, the review and distribution agent  102  is implemented in software and stored in the memory  110 . The central review and distribution server  92  may also include one or more digital storage devices  112 , which may be used to store the author/reviewer profiles database  104  and the content database  106 . The central review and distribution server  92  also includes a communication interface  114  communicatively coupling the central review and distribution server  92  to the network  98 . The central review and distribution server  92  may also include a user interface  116 , which may include components such as a display, one or more user input devices, and the like. 
       FIG. 12  is a block diagram of the user device  94 - 1  of  FIG. 8  according to one embodiment of the present invention. However, this discussion is equally applicable to the other user devices  94 - 2  through  94 -N. In general, the user device  94 - 1  includes a control system  118  having associated memory  120 . The user device  94 - 1  may also include one or more digital storage devices  122 . 
     The user device  94 - 1  also includes a communication interface  124  communicatively coupling the user device  94 - 1  to the network  98 . The user device  94 - 1  may also include a user interface  126 , which may include components such as a display, speakers, one or more user input devices, and the like. 
     Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the preferred embodiments of the present invention. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein and the claims that follow.