Patent Publication Number: US-2011078732-A1

Title: Method and system for causing a promoted program to be captured

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to the promotion of television programs and, more particularly, to a method and system for causing a promoted program to be captured for a user. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Television programs are an important source of information and entertainment in today&#39;s society. Over the years, different methods of delivering television content have emerged, including delivery via cable and satellite and, more recently, delivery via the Internet (often referred to as video-over-Internet). In a typical situation, a television service provider enters into an agreement with multiple broadcasters and other content providers to deliver their respective television content to the television service provider&#39;s customers. 
     Most of the television content that is provided to customers includes advertisements, which sometimes include advertisements for other programs that the television content provider intends to broadcast at sometime in the future. Unfortunately, if a viewer of an advertisement for a promoted program desires to watch that program, it is often up to the viewer to remember at what time the promoted program is playing, and on what channel it is playing. In some cases this information can then be entered into a recording system, such as a VCR, in order to cause the program to be recorded. However, this requires the user to know when the promoted program is playing, and to go through the time consuming and often complicated procedure of programming the recording device. 
     One system that attempts to alleviate this problem is called TiVo. TiVo is a digital video recording (DVR) device and system that enables a user to program a set-top unit to record a desired television program. However, a deficiency with this system is that a user is still required to consult a television schedule in order to program the TiVo system to record the desired programs. 
     Against this background, it can be seen that there is a need in the industry to improve the system and method for recording promoted television programming. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with a first broad aspect, the present invention provides a method implemented at a network entity. The method comprises receiving an indication of a selection made by a user while the user is viewing a stream of video content, obtaining programming information regarding a program promoted in the stream of video content when the selection was made, wherein the program is promoted during a promotional time slot of a television channel, and causing the program to be captured for the user at least in part on the basis of the programming information regarding the program. 
     In accordance with a second broad aspect, the present invention provides a network entity, comprising a communication unit and a program capturing unit. The communication unit is operative for receiving an indication of a selection made by a user while the user is viewing a stream of video content and obtaining programming information regarding a program promoted in the stream of video content when the selection was made. The program is promoted during a promotional time slot of a television channel. The program capturing unit is operative for causing the program to be captured for the user, at least in part on the basis of the obtained programming information. 
     In accordance with a third broad aspect, the present invention provides a system comprising a network entity and a capturing device. The network entity comprises a communication unit operative for receiving an indication of a selection made by a user while the user is viewing a stream of video content and obtaining programming information regarding a promoted program in the stream of video content when the selection was made. The program is promoted during a promotional time slot of a television channel. The network entity further comprises a program capturing unit operative for storing program capturing information generated at least in part on the basis of the programming information regarding the program and causing the program to be captured for the user on the basis of the program capturing information. The capturing device is in communication with the network entity and is operative for capturing the program in response to a signal from the program capturing unit. 
     In accordance with a fourth broad aspect, the invention provides a method implemented at a network entity. The method comprises receiving an indication of a selection made by a user while the user is viewing a stream of video content, obtaining programming information regarding a program promoted in the stream of video content when the selection was made, and causing the program to be recorded for the user at least in part on the basis of the programming information regarding the program. 
     These and other aspects and features of the present invention will now become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the accompanying drawings: 
         FIG. 1  shows a block diagram of a television distribution system that provides television services to viewers in accordance with a non-limiting example of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  shows a flowchart illustrating a process for causing a promoted program to be captured in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  shows a non-limiting example of an interaction between a network entity, a video content processing device and a user in order to perform the process of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  shows an alternative non-limiting example of an interaction between a network entity, a video content processing device and a user in order to perform the process of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 5  shows a non-limiting example of a program schedule that might be consulted by a service provider when implementing the process of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  shows an alternative non-limiting example of an interaction between a network entity, a video content processing device and a user in order to perform the process of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 7  shows a block diagram of a television distribution system that provides television services to viewers in accordance with an alternative non-limiting example embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  shows an alternative non-limiting example of an interaction between a network entity, a remote communication device and a user in order to perform the process of  FIG. 2 ; and 
         FIG. 9  shows a non-limiting example of the contents of a subscriber database in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
    
     It is to be expressly understood that the description and drawings are only for the purpose of illustration of certain embodiments of the invention and are an aid for understanding. They are not intended to be a definition of the limits of the invention. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference is made to  FIG. 1 , which is a non-limiting block diagram of a television distribution system  10  that provides television services to a plurality of viewers (although for the purposes of simplicity only one viewer  12  is shown in  FIG. 1 ). By way of example, the television services are provided via scheduled video content on one or multiple content streams (or channels). The television distribution system  10  comprises a service provider domain  16  with various components managed or operated by a television service provider (hereinafter a “service provider”). 
     The service provider domain  16  includes a network entity  20  that comprises suitable hardware, software, circuitry and/or control logic configured to affect various functions. The network entity  20  has a plurality of inputs  14  that receive content streams  18  supplied by a variety of content providers  30 A,  30 B,  44 . Examples of content providers include, without limitations, broadcasters, studios, advertisers or the service provider itself, to name a few non-limiting possibilities. 
     The content streams  18  (sometimes referred to as “channels”) may include well known channels such as CBC, CTV, Global, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, TSN, HBO and Discovery Channel, as well as other channels carrying scheduled video content (also referred to as “television programs”) of various kinds. The content streams  18  may also include channels that are proprietary to, or affiliated with, the service provider. An example of a proprietary channel is a pay channel, which is rendered available to viewers who pay an additional fee to watch a certain type of programming such as a sports event, music concert or movie, for example. 
     In the example of  FIG. 1 , the content streams  18  include a plurality of content streams, in this case content streams  18 A,  18 B,  18 C and  18 D. The content streams  18 A,  18 B and  18 C are provided by the content providers  30 A,  30 B. It is noted that some content providers (such as content provider  30 A) may be the source of more than one content stream. In the illustrated non-limiting example, content stream  18 A and  18 B are supplied by content provider  30 A, while content stream  18 C is supplied by video content provider  30 B. 
     Content stream  18 D is proprietary to the service provider, and is supplied by a content generation module  44  managed and/or operated by the service provider. 
     The network entity  20  may be configured to organize the content streams  18  for distribution to the viewers  10 . For example, the content streams  18  may be formatted, coded, transcoded and/or processed in other ways by the network entity  20  before the resulting content streams (hereinafter called processed content streams and denoted  22 *) are provided to a transmission module  24 . Additionally, while transforming the content streams  18  into the processed content streams  22 *, the network entity  20  may be configured to insert additional information into the content streams  18 . Such additional information may include programming information regarding promoted television programs that are scheduled to air at future times or on other channels, as will be discussed below. Such program information is generally received from the video content providers, either at periodic time intervals, or in response to a request. It should be appreciated that in other cases, the network entity  20  does not include programming information regarding promoted television programs in the processed content streams  22 *. In such cases, the network entity  20  receives the content streams  18 , formats them into the processed content streams  22 * and sends the content streams  22 * into the distribution network  26 , without “knowing” what programming content is contained in the content streams  22 *. 
     The processed content streams  22 * are passed from the network entity  20  to a transmission module  24 . The transmission module  24  comprises suitable hardware, software, circuitry and/or control logic to output the processed content streams  22 * in a format that is convenient for customer premises equipment  28  used by the viewers. In order to send the processed content streams  22 * to user premises equipment  28 , the transmission module  24  issues the processed content streams  22 * through a distribution network  26 . The implementation of the transmission module  24  can take on various forms, depending on the nature of the television distribution network  26 . 
     For instance, in the case where the television distribution network  26  is a cable system or a satellite system, the transmission module  24  implements multiplexing, modulation and various other signal processing functions. In this case, the output of the transmission module  24  is a signal  22 A (which may be a multi-frequency signal) that is output over a suitable medium (i.e., coaxial cable or radio frequency). At this point, the signal  22 A traverses the distribution network  26  on its way to the customer premises equipment  28 . In the cable scenario, the distribution network  26  has a tree-like structure, where each branch of the tree terminates at a different customer premises equipment  28  of a different viewer. In the satellite scenario, the distribution network  26  is defined by a coverage area dependent on satellite beams, and viewers with appropriate customer premises equipment  28  will be able to capture the beams and decode the content streams carried therein. In both scenarios, the customer premises equipment  28  comprises a receiver (such as a cable modem or satellite dish) and a video content processing device  34  (which can be implemented as a set top box). In the case of the satellite and cable scenarios, the signal  22 B that arrives at the customer premises equipment  28  from the distribution network  26 , is the same signal  22 A that entered the distribution network  26  from the transmission module  24 . 
     On the other hand, in the case where the television distribution network  26  is an IPTV or mobile wireless system, the transmission module  24  implements packetization and other digital processing functions. The output of the transmission module  24  is a packet stream  22 A containing the processed content streams  22 *, which is sent over a communication link to a server  27  within the distribution network  26 . The server  27  is still under the control of the service provider and is connected to each of the customer premises equipment  28  by a respective logical connection over a packet-switched network, such as the Internet or a wireless network (e.g., Wi-Max, EDGE, EV-DO), for example. In this case, it is the server  27  within the distribution network  26  that determines, on a customer-by-customer basis, which of the processed content streams  22 * to send to each customer premises equipment  28  at any given time. As such, in the case of the IPTV scenario, the packet stream  22 B that arrives at the customer premises equipment  28  from the distribution network  26  is different from the packet stream  22 A that entered the distribution network  26 . More specifically, the packet stream  22 B contains only the processed content stream  22 * (channel), selected by the user  12 . This is achieved by interaction between the server  27  and the customer premises equipment  28 . 
     Regardless of the nature of the television distribution network  26 , the customer premises equipment  28  comprises a video content processing device  34 , (which in the embodiment shown is a television set-top box that can be suitable for satellite, cable or IPTV embodiments, depending on the nature of the television services), and a display device  32 . 
     The video content processing device  34  is operative for receiving the packet stream  22 B (which includes one or more of the processed content streams  22 *) and for causing a stream (or channel) selected by the user  12  to be displayed on the display device  32 . By way of non-limiting example, the display device  32  can be a television monitor or computer screen that is operative for displaying the television programming contained within the content stream  22 * for the viewer&#39;s benefit. 
     The customer premises equipment  28  further includes a user input device  36  that is configured to allow the user to interact with the video content processing device  34  to effect a channel change, (i.e. to change the content stream being viewed via the display device  32 ), to view a programming schedule, or as will be discussed in greater detail below, in order to cause a promoted program to be captured for the user  12 . In accordance with a non-limiting embodiment, the user input device  36  is a remote control device. It should, however, be appreciated that other user input devices  36 , such as a keyboard, a mouse, a touch sensitive screen or any other known user input device are also included within the spirit of the invention. 
     In the case of a “channel change command” (or a “content stream change command”) received via the user input device  36 , video content processing device  34  (in a cable or satellite scenario) causes a selected content stream to be conveyed to the user  12  via the display device  32 . In such a case, the video content processing device  34  selectively filters the signal  22 B so as to admit the selected content stream  22 *, which is then processed by the video content processing device  34  and output via the display device  32 . On the other hand, when the channel change command is received from the user input device  36  in an IPTV or mobile wireless scenario, the video content processing device  34  communicates with the server  27  within the packet-switched distribution network  26  in order to instruct the server  27  to change the content stream  22 B being delivered to the customer premises equipment  28  over the appropriate logical connection so that it is thereafter the selected content stream. 
     In one embodiment, the channel change command received at the video content processing device  34  from the user input device  36  may explicitly convey the identity of the selected content stream, such as “channel 34”. In another embodiment, the channel change command amounts to an “up” or “down” command, or a “switch to previous” command, whereby the selected content stream may be the content stream that had been viewed in the immediate past. 
     In certain embodiments, the video content processing device  34  may also receive a program schedule from the service provider that can be accessed and viewed by the user  12  of the customer premise equipment  28  via the display  32 . The program schedule can be constructed by the network entity  20  based on individual per-channel schedules obtained from the various content providers  30 A,  30 B,  44  that supply the various content streams  18 . The program schedule can be sent to the customer premises equipment  28  with the content stream  22 A in an out-of-band fashion, namely along a signal path that is outside content stream  22 A and  22 B. As such, the program schedule does not interfere with the processed content streams  22 * and can be sent to the customer premises equipment  28 , regardless of which channel has been selected by the viewer. Alternatively, the program schedule can be included within one or more of the processed content streams  22 *. 
     In general, the program schedule outlines when specific television programs are scheduled to air on specific ones of the content streams  22 * (or channels). More specifically, the program schedule outline various television programs scheduled to air on the various content streams  18 A,  18 B,  18 C,  18 D that are provided by the service provider. As such, each television program is associated with a specific content stream, a specific begin time and either a specific duration or a specific end time. The format and content of the program schedule can vary greatly, and will be apparent to those of skill in the art. 
     The user can use the user input device  36  in order to cause the program schedule to be displayed. For example, the user input device  36  may include a dedicated button for causing the program schedule to be displayed on the display  32 . When the program schedule is displayed, the user can scroll up or down in order to view the television programming on different content streams  22 *. In addition, the user can view the program scheduling at different time slots in order to view upcoming programming. In this manner, the user  12  can interact with the program schedule in order to determine what programs he/she would like to view next or at some other time in the future. 
     The one or more processed content streams  22 * that are delivered to the customer premises equipment  28  within signal  22 B generally include advertisement content. The advertisement content may be provided by the video content providers  30 A,  30 B,  44  within the content streams  18 , or in some cases, the network entity  20  may add this advertisement content to the content streams  18  when generating the processed content streams  22 *. 
     The advertisement content that is included within the one or more of the content streams  22 * can include advertisements for products (such as dish detergent, cosmetics, cars, etc . . . ) or for services (such as for lawyers, dentists, weight loss services, etc . . . ). In addition, the advertisements can include promotions for upcoming television programming (hereafter to be referred to as promoted programming). The promoted programming can be for television programs, movies, documentaries, or any other type of programming that is being broadcast at a future time and/or on a different channel. In general, this advertisement content can be included within promotional time slots of a television channel. As such, advertisements that promote upcoming programs are broadcast during these promotional time slots of a television channel. 
     As such, while a user is viewing a television program, such as “Law &amp; Order” on the display  32  of their customer premises equipment  28 , the particular video stream  22 * that is broadcasting “Law &amp; Order” may include advertisements for other programming. For example, the video stream may include an advertisement for another television program, such as “Lost”, which can be considered a promoted program. Assuming that the television program “Lost” is of interest to the user, in accordance with the present invention, the user can interact with the video content processing device  34  and the network entity  20 , for providing an indication of a selection of this promoted program, such that the promoted program is caused to be captured for the user. 
     As used herein, the term “captured” refers to either:
         1) causing the promoted program selected by the viewer to be recorded by a digital recording device, located either locally at the customer premises, or at a network location. In this manner the promoted program is caused to be captured for the user such that the user can then view the recorded program at any desired time or within a predetermined period of time; or   2) causing a channel change, such that the video content processing device  34  causes the channel on which the selected program is playing at the time that the program is playing, to be conveyed to the user on the display  32 . In this manner the promoted program is caused to be displayed to a user at the appropriate time.       

     The manner in which the network entity  20  enables a promoted program selected by a user to be captured will now be described in more detail with respect to the flow chart of  FIG. 2  and the non-limiting examples of possible interactions between the user  12 , the video content processing device  34  and the network entity  20 , shown in  FIGS. 3-6 . For the sake of simplicity, the process described below will be described in the context of user  12 . It should however be appreciated that this process could be performed for multiple users at multiple different customer premises equipment  28 , all at the same time. 
     At step  200 , the network entity  20  is operative for providing one or more of the processed content streams  22 * to the user  12  through the distribution network  26 . As mentioned above, in the case of the satellite/cable scenario, the signal  22 B that arrives at the customer premises equipment  28  contains multiple content streams  22 *, whereas in the case of the IPTV scenario, the signal  22 B that arrives at the customer premises equipment  28  contains only the content stream  22 * selected by the user  12  for viewing on the display  32 . 
     While user  12  is viewing the television programming contained in the selected content stream  22 *, the user  12  is also exposed to the advertising content contained within that selected content stream  22 *. Keeping with the example described above, assume that the user  12  is watching “Law &amp; Order”, and during the airing of this television program, advertisement content promoting the television program “Lost” is displayed to the user  12 . Assuming that the television program “Lost” is of interest to the user  12 , the user  12  can then provide an indication of a selection of this program such that this promoted program is caused to be captured for the user. The user  12  will generally provide the indication of a selection while the advertisement content for the promoted program is playing on the display  32 . However, there may be a window of time after the advertisement content has finished playing during which the indication of the selection can still be provided. 
     The manner in which the user  12  provides the indication of the selection can be performed in a variety of manners. In accordance with a first non-limiting example, the user  12  uses the user input device  36  in order to interact with various menus offered by the video content processing device  34 . In one of the menus, the option of selecting a promoted program for capture can be provided. By accepting this option, the user provides an indication of a selection of a promoted program. 
     For example, the user may first press a “menu” button on the user input device  36 , such that a menu is provided to the user  12  on the display  32 . The menu may include items such as “view closed captioning”, “wide-screen format” and “capture promoted program”. The user may then use the user input device  36  in order to scroll down to the “capture promoted program” item, and then press a “select” button, in order to select this option. Upon pressing the “select” button, the indication of a selection of a promoted program has been provided by the user  12 . 
     In certain circumstances, once the user has entered the “select” button, the video content processing device  34  may require confirmation from the user  12 . As such, an additional display screen may be provided to the user  12  indicating a message, such as “Are you sure you want to capture this program?”, and provide the user with the option of “YES” or “NO”. In this scenario, only upon the user  12  selecting the “YES” option via the user input device  36 , is the indication of a selection of a promoted program entered by the user  12 . 
     In accordance with an alternative embodiment, the user input device  36  may include a dedicated button (or other user actuatable input mechanism) for enabling the user  12  to provide an indication of a selection of a promoted program by activating this dedicated button. In such a circumstance, while viewing advertisement content promoting a given program, the user  12  simply needs to activate the dedicated button in order to provide an indication of a selection of the promoted program for capturing. In this manner, the user  12  is provided with a one-step process for providing the indication. Given that advertisement content for a promoted program may not air for very long (15-30 seconds) it may be advantageous to provide a quick and easy way for the user  12  to provide the indication of a selection of a promoted program. 
     In yet a further embodiment, the user input device  36  may include a microphone capable of receiving a voice input, such that the user  12  simply needs to provide a verbal utterance, such as “capture program”, in order to provide the indication of a selection of the promoted program for capturing. In such an embodiment, the video content processing device  34  or the network entity  20  may include voice recognition software for processing the user&#39;s spoken utterance. It should be appreciated that the above examples are provided for illustration only and that other manners of enabling a user to provide an indication of a selection of the promoted programming are included within the scope of the present invention. 
     Once the user has provided the indication of a selection of a promoted program to be captured, the video content processing device  34  generates a signal for transmission to the network entity  20  indicative of the user&#39;s selection of a program to be captured. 
     The signal generated by the video content processing device  34  may include a variety of information suitable for enabling the network entity  20  to be able to cause the promoted program to be captured. For example, the signal generated may include 1) an identification of the user and/or video content processing device 2) a time stamp indicative of the time at which the user  12  provided the indication and 3) an indication of the content stream  22 * (i.e. the channel) that the user  12  was watching when the user  12  provided the indication. 
     The identification of the user and/or video content processing device  34  from which the signal was transmitted may include a serial number associated with the video content processing device  34 , an account number associated with the user&#39;s account with the service provider, an IP address or any other unique identifier. 
     At step  202  of the process, the network entity  20  receives the signal indicative of the selection made by the user while the user was viewing the stream of video content. More specifically, the communication unit  38  receives the signal indicative of the selection made by the user  12 . 
     At step  204 , the network entity  20  obtains programming information regarding the program promoted in the stream of video content  22 * that was being viewed by the user  12  when the user  12  provided the indication of a selection of a promoted program to be captured. 
     In accordance with the present invention, the step  204  of obtaining programming information regarding the program promoted in the stream of video content  22 * can be done in a variety of ways. In accordance with a first non-limiting example, the programming information can be obtained by issuing a request to a video content provider for obtaining programming information associated with the promoted program. In an alternative embodiment, the programming information can be obtained by retrieving the programming information from a memory unit of the network entity  20 . Each of these examples will be explained in more detail further below with respect to  FIGS. 3 and 4 . 
     Once the program information has been obtained, at step  206 , the network entity stores program capturing information that is generated at least in part on the basis of the obtained programming information. It is on the basis of the program capturing information that the promoted program is eventually caused to be captured. 
     And finally, at step  208 , the network entity  20  causes the program to be captured. The promoted program can be captured via a capturing device  50  located at the customer premises equipment  28 , or at a capturing device  52  located at the network entity. 
     Each of the steps of the process shown in  FIG. 2 , will now be described in more detail with respect to the examples of interaction between the user  12 , the video content processing device  34  and the network entity  20  shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . 
     In  FIG. 3 , step  200  of providing a stream of video content to the user  12  is illustrated as item  1 , wherein the network entity  20  provides video content in the form of one or more of the processed video streams  22 *, to the video content processing device  34  at the customer premises equipment  28 . This video content is displayed to the user  12  on the display unit  32 . 
     While the user  12  is watching the video content on the display  32 , advertisement content for a promoted program may be displayed. In keeping with the example described above, assume that the user  12  is watching “Law &amp; Order”. During the airing of “Law and Order”, advertisement content promoting the television program “Lost” is displayed to the user  12 . Assuming that the television program “Lost” is of interest to the user  12 , the user  12  provides an indication of a selection of this program, in any of the manners described above. This is illustrated as item  2  in  FIG. 3 . 
     Once the user has provided the indication of a selection, the video content processing device  34  generates and transmits a signal to the network entity  20 . As such, step  202  of receiving an indication of a selection made by a user is illustrated as item  3  in  FIG. 3 , wherein the video content processing device  34  receives the signal indicative of a selection made by the user  12  while the user  12  was watching a stream of video content. As mentioned above, the signal received at the network entity  20  may be indicative of an identification of the user and/or the video content processing device  34 . Optionally, the signal received at the network entity  20  may also include 1) a time stamp indicative of the time the user entered the indication of a selection; and 2) an indication of the channel (i.e. video stream) that was being watched when the user entered the indication of a selection of a promoted program in the stream of video content. These optional items of information may not be necessary as they can be determined by the network entity  20  without the video content processing device  34  having to provide this information. 
     In the non-limiting example of interaction shown in  FIG. 3 , step  204  of obtaining the programming information regarding the program promoted in the stream of video content is illustrated by items  4  and  5 , wherein the network entity  20  issues a request to one or more content providers  30 A,  30 B for obtaining programming information regarding the selected program. The network entity  20  then receives the programming information from the one or more content providers  30 A,  30 B in response to the request. 
     The request that is issued by the network entity  20  to the one or more content providers  30 A,  30 B can be generated on the basis of information contained within the signal indicative of the selection made by the user. For example, let us assume that the user  12  was watching “Law &amp; Order” on Channel 6 on a Wednesday night. At approximately 8:34 pm, advertisement content promoting the television program “Lost” was aired, and the user provided an indication of a selection (item  2  in  FIG. 3 ). A signal indicative of this selection was then generated by the video content processing device  34  and transmitted to the network entity  20  (item  3 ). The signal generated by the video content processing device  34  included an identification of the user and/or video content processing device  34 , as well as a time stamp, indicating 8:34:40 pm, and an indication that the user was watching Channel 6. It should be appreciated that in the case of an IPTV scenario, the video content processing device  34  may not know which channel the user was watching. In such a case, the server  27  may provide to the network entity  20  the information indicative of the channel that the user  12  was watching. On the basis of the information received from the video content processing device  34  (and in some cases the server  27 ), the network entity  20  is able to generate a request for programming information from one or more of the content providers  30 A,  30 B. 
     For example, assuming that the network entity  20  knows that the user was watching Channel 6, and that the indication of a selection was provided at 8:34:40 pm, the network entity  20  may generate a request for an identification of the video content that was shown on Channel 6 at that time, as well as for programming information associated with that video content. The request may be made to all content providers  30 A,  30 B, or only to the content provider who is responsible for providing the video content for Channel 6. 
     In accordance with a non-limiting embodiment, the request may only be for an identification of the video content that was airing at exactly 8:34:40 pm, and for programming information associated with that video content. Alternatively, the request may be for an identification of all the video content airing between 8 pm and 9 pm, as well as an indication of the programming information associated with any promoted programs that aired during that time period. It should be appreciated that the request may take on various forms without departing from the spirit of the invention. 
     For the sake of example, let us assume that the network entity  20  issues a request to the content provider  30 A, who is responsible for the video content  18  for Channel 6, requesting an identification of the video content that was airing at exactly 8:34:40 pm, and for programming information associated with that video content. 
     At item  5  shown in  FIG. 3 , the network entity  20  receives from the content provider  30 A the requested programming information relating to the promoted program. More specifically, in response to the request from the network entity  20 , the content provider  30 A may return a signal indicating that the video content that was airing at 8:34:40 pm was advertisement content promoting the television program “Lost”. In addition, the returned signal will include programming information for the promoted program. The programming information will generally include the date and time at which the promoted program will be playing, as well as the channel on which the promoted program will be playing. As such, in keeping with the above example, the programming information will be indicative that “Lost” is playing at 10 pm on Saturday on Channel 14. 
     As such, with respect to the example of implementation shown in  FIG. 3 , the step  204  of obtaining programming information comprises receiving the programming information in response to a request made to one or more of the content providers  30 A,  30 B. 
     At step  206 , which is illustrated as item  6  in  FIG. 3 , the network entity  20  stores program capturing information generated from the obtained programming information, on the basis of which the promoted program is eventually caused to be captured. The program capturing information that is stored at the network entity  20  includes information for enabling a capturing device to be able to capture the promoted program, including at least one condition for causing the promoted program to be captured. The program capturing information may include information including:
         a date on which the program is to be captured;   a time at which the program is to be captured;   a channel on which the program is airing;   a capturing device with which the program is to be captured; and   the duration of the program that is to be captured or the stop time at which point the program no longer needs to be captured.       

     These examples of information are provided for illustrative purposes only, and are not intended to limit the invention in any way. It is within the scope of the present invention for the program capturing information to include any additional information that would be useful. 
     In keeping with the example described above, the program capturing information may include an indication that at 10 pm on Saturday, July 10, the program airing on Channel 14 is to be captured via capturing device  50  located at the user&#39;s customer premises equipment  28 . The indication of the capturing device  50  that is to be used for capturing the promoted program may have been provided by the video content processing device  34  in the signal transmitted at item  3 . The identification of the capturing device  50  may include a serial number, an IP address, or any other suitable identifier for uniquely identifying, and being able to communicate with the capturing device  50 . Alternatively, the identification of the capturing device  50  may be known already at the server level. 
     At step  208 , the network entity  20 , and specifically the program capturing unit  40  of the network entity  20 , causes the promoted program to be captured. This is done at least in part on the basis of one or more conditions contained within the program capturing information stored at the network entity  20 . For example, if the program capturing information indicates that at 10 pm on Saturday, July 10 the promoted program is to be captured, then when 10 pm on Saturday, July 10 arrives, the network entity  20  is triggered to cause the promoted program to be captured. It should be appreciated that the trigger may occur a day, an hour, 15 minutes, or any other time leading up to or including the time at which the promoted program may begin. As such, the trigger can occur at any point prior to the condition contained within the program capturing information being met. 
     The promoted program can be captured in a variety of different ways. As mentioned above, the term “capturing” can refer to either:
         1) causing the promoted program selected by the viewer to be recorded by a digital recording device, located either locally at the customer premises, or at a network location. In this manner the promoted program is caused to be captured for the user such that the user can then view the recorded program at any desired time, or within a predetermined time period.   2) causing a channel change, such that the video content processing device  34  switches to the channel on which the selected program is playing at the time that the program is playing. In this manner the promoted program is caused to be displayed to a user at the appropriate time.       

     In accordance with a first non-limiting example of implementation, which is shown in  FIG. 3  in order to cause the promoted program to be captured, the network entity  20  issues a signal to the video content processing device  34  for causing the capturing device  50  located at the video content processing device  34  to capture the promoted program. As mentioned above, the issuing of the signal to the video content processing device  34  is triggered on the basis of one or more conditions contained within the stored program capturing information. The conditions that could cause the triggering of the signal to the video content processing device  34  can include a time or a date, among other possibilities. The signal that is issued from the network entity  20  to the video content processing device  34  contains instructions for causing the capturing device  50  to capture the program. The instructions could be in the form of executable program instructions, to be executed by the video content processing device  34 . 
     In accordance with a non-limiting example of implementation, the capturing device  50  located at the video content processing device  34  is a digital video recorder that is capable of recording video content contained in the video content stream  22 B. Upon receipt at the video content processing device  34  of the signal from the network entity  20 , the capturing device  50  is operative for recording the video content specified in the instructions from the network entity  20 . In keeping with the example described above, the signal that is issued from the network entity  20  to the video content processing device  34  is indicative that the video content on Channel 14 should be captured between 10 pm and 11 pm. Alternatively, the signal from the network entity  20  to the video content processing device  34  is indicative that the video content on Channel 14 should be captured for  1  hour starting at 10 pm. In the case where the signal from the network entity  20  to the video content processing device  34  is not sent on the exact date that the recording should take place, then the signal may also be indicative of the date on which the recording should take place. 
     Once the promoted program has been recorded by the capturing device  50  at the video content processing device  34 , the user  12  can then access this recorded video content at any time in order to view the recorded program. For example, the user may use the user input device  36  in order to interact with menu items for calling up, and selecting a recorded program to be viewed. 
     In accordance with an alternative non-limiting example of implementation, the capturing device  50  located at the video content processing device  34  is a device operative for causing an automatic channel change upon receipt of a signal from the network entity  20 . In such a scenario, the signal issued from the network entity  20  includes instructions indicative of a channel that should be displayed to a user at a given time. In keeping with the example described above, the signal that is issued from the network entity  20  to the video content processing device  34  can be issued at exactly 10 pm and include instructions for causing the capturing device  50  to cause the video content on Channel 14 to be displayed to the user  12  upon receipt of the signal. Alternatively, the signal from the network entity  20  can be issued to the video content processing device  34  prior to 10 pm, and include instructions for causing the capturing device  50  to cause the video content on Channel 14 to be displayed to the user  12  at 10 pm. In the case where the signal from the network entity  20  to the video content processing device  34  is not sent on the exact date that the capturing should take place, then the signal may also be indicative of the date on which the capturing device  50  should cause the video content on Channel 14 to be displayed to the user  12 . 
     In a further alternative, instead of causing an automatic channel change, the signal issued from the network entity  20  may be operative for causing the video content processing device  34  to provide a prompt to the user, such that the user then changes the channel to the promoted program. For example, at or prior to the airing of the promoted program, a prompt such as “the program &lt;name of program&gt; is now playing on Channel 14”, or “would you like to change to Channel 14 at this time”, could be displayed to the user. The user may then cause the channel to be changed to the channel on which the promoted program is airing in response to the prompt. 
     In the example of interaction described above with respect to  FIG. 3 , it is the capturing device  50  that is located locally at the video content processing device  34  that is operative for capturing the promoted program. In an alternative example of implementation, it is a program capturing device  52  that is located at the network entity  20  that is operative for capturing the promoted program. The program capturing device  52  is operative for receiving a signal from the program capturing unit  40  for causing the promoted program to be captured. As mentioned above, this may involve recording the promoted program at the appropriate time, or issuing a signal to the video content processing device  34  at the appropriate time for causing the video content processing device  34  to display to the user  12  the channel on which the promoted program is playing. 
     The process of  FIG. 2  will now be described with respect to the example of interaction illustrated in  FIG. 4 . 
     In  FIG. 4 , the network entity  20  receives programming schedule information from one or more of the video content providers  30 A,  30 B, which is illustrated as item  1 . This programming schedule information can be received at periodic intervals, such as hourly, daily or weekly. Shown in  FIG. 5  is a non-limiting example of a programming schedule that is generated on the basis of the received information from all of the video content providers  30 A,  30 B and  44 , showing the programming schedule for all of the video content streams  18   a,    18   b,    18   c  and  18   d.  For ease of example, only the program schedule between the hour of 8 pm and 9 pm is shown. The programming schedule includes an indication of what is airing on each channel, at what time, as well as programming information relating to programs that are promoted in advertising content. As shown in video stream  18 A, at 8:34 pm an advertisement for the television program “Lost” is aired. Included within the programming schedule is an indication of the programming information associated with this promoted program. Specifically, the programming information indicates that “Lost” is playing at 10 pm on Saturday on Channel 14. 
     It should be appreciated that the programming schedule can be provided by the one or more video content providers  30 A,  30 B,  44  at periodic time intervals, such as hourly, daily, weekly or monthly. In such circumstances, the programming schedule is stored in a memory unit  42  of the network entity  20  such that it can be accessed when needed. As shown in  FIG. 4 , item  1  illustrates the network entity  20  receiving the programming schedule. In addition, the programming schedule information can be sent to the network entity  20  with the content streams  18  in an out-of-band fashion, namely along a signal path that is outside content stream  18 . Alternatively, the programming schedule information can be sent to the network entity  20  from the content providers  30 A,  30 B and  44  with the content streams  18  in an in-band fashion, namely within the content streams  18 . 
     In  FIG. 4 , step  200  of providing a stream of video content to the user  12  is illustrated as item  2 , wherein the network entity  20  provides video content (the processed video streams  22 *) to the video content processing device  34  at the customer premises equipment  28 . At item  3  in  FIG. 4 , the user provides an indication of a selection of a promoted program to be captured. In keeping with the example described above, assume that the user  12  is watching “Law &amp; Order”, and advertisement content promoting the television program “Lost” is displayed to the user  12 . Assuming that the television program “Lost” is of interest to the user  12 , the user  12  provides an indication of a selection of this program, in any of the manners described above. 
     The video content processing device  34  then generates and transmits a signal to the network entity  20 , shown as item  4  containing an indication of the selection by the user. As such, at step  202  the network entity  20  receives an indication of a selection made by a user. As indicated above, the signal received at the network entity  20  may include 1) an identification of the user and/or video content processing device 2) a time stamp indicative of the time at which the user  12  provided the indication and 3) an indication of the content stream  22 * (i.e. the channel) that the user  12  was watching when the user  12  provided the indication. 
     In the non-limiting example of interaction shown in  FIG. 4 , step  204  of obtaining the programming information regarding a program promoted in the stream of video content is illustrated by item  5 . In this embodiment, the step of obtaining programming information comprises retrieving from the programming schedule that is stored in the memory unit  42  the programming information associated with the promoted program. 
     The retrieval of the programming information from the memory unit  42  is done at least in part on the basis of information received within the signal indicative of the selection made by the user (item  4 ). Let us assume that the user provided an indication of a selection (item  3  in  FIG. 4 ) at approximately 8:34 pm, when advertisement content promoting the television program “Lost” was aired on the channel that the user was watching. As such, the signal received at the network entity  20  (item  4  in  FIG. 4 ) indicated that the user  12  provided the indication of a selection at 8:34:40 pm, while the user was watching Channel  6 . It should be appreciated that in the case of an IPTV scenario, the video content processing device  34  may not know which channel the user is watching. In such a case, the server  27  may provide information indicative of the channel to the network entity  20 . On the basis of this information, the network entity  20  is then able to retrieve the programming information from the programming schedule stored in memory unit  42 . 
     For example, on the basis of the signal indicative of a selection, the network entity  20  knows that the user was watching Channel  6 , and that the indication of a selection was provided at 8:34:40 pm. As such, the network entity  20  may access the programming schedule stored in memory unit  42 , and determine that at 8:34:40 pm on Channel 6 (which corresponds to content stream  18 A) the program “Lost” was being promoted in advertisement content. In addition, included within the programming schedule is programming information regarding the promoted program. In the non-limiting embodiment shown, the programming information is indicative that Lost is being aired at 10 pm on Saturday on Channel 14. This programming information is included within the slot indicating that the television program “Lost” was being advertised at that time. 
     In an alternative embodiment, the programming information regarding the promoted program is not included within the slot associated with the advertisement for the promoted program. Instead, once the network entity  20  has determined that the program that was being promoted at the time the user  12  provided the indication of a selection is “Lost”, then the network entity  20  can determine from the programming schedule, the programming information associated with “Lost”. For example, by searching the programming schedule for time slots when “Lost” is airing, the network entity can determine the channel and time at which the promoted program will be playing. In this manner, the network entity  20  obtains the programming information from the programming schedule. 
     Referring back to the flow chart of  FIG. 2 , once the programming information associated with the promoted program has been obtained by the network entity  20 , at step  206 , which is illustrated as item  6  in  FIG. 4 , the network entity  20  stores program capturing information generated from the obtained programming information. This is done in the same manner as described above with respect to  FIG. 3 . 
     At step  208 , the network entity  20 , and specifically the program capturing unit  40  of the network entity  20 , causes the promoted program to be captured. This is done at least in part on the basis of one or more conditions contained within the program capturing information stored at the network entity  20 . 
     In the same manner as described above with respect to  FIG. 3 , the network entity  20  can cause the promoted program to be captured by either the capturing device  50  located at the customer premises equipment  28  or the capturing device  52  at the network entity  20 . 
     ALTERNATIVE EXAMPLE  
     Network Capturing Device 
     Shown in  FIG. 6  is a non-limiting alternative example of an interaction between the user  12  and a network capturing device  60  that is separate from the network entity  20 , for causing a promoted program to be captured. In this embodiment, it is the network capturing device  60  that causes the promoted program to be captured. This will be explained in more detail with respect to the process shown in  FIG. 2  and the illustration of interaction shown in  FIG. 6 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the network entity  20  receives programming information, from the video content providers  30 A,  30 B and  44 , which is illustrated as item  1 . The programming information generally includes an indication of the date, time and channel at which a promoted program will be airing. This programming information can be embedded within the advertisement slots of the content streams  18 A,  18 B,  18 C and  18 D. For example, in the case of advertisement content for the television show “Lost”, included within the advertisement content can be programming information indicating that “Lost” is playing at 10 pm on Saturday night on Channel 14. 
     The programming information can be provided by the one or more video content providers  30 A,  30 B,  44  to the network entity  20  whenever the video content  18 A,  18 B,  18 C is provided. This can be done at periodic time intervals, such as hourly, daily, weekly or monthly. In such circumstances, the programming information is stored in a memory unit  42  of the network entity  20  such that it can be accessed when needed. 
     At step  200 , the network entity  20  provides one or more streams  22 * of video content to the video content processing device  34 , which is illustrated as item  2  in  FIG. 6 . In this embodiment, the video content  22 B that is provided to the video content processing device  34  includes the programming information associated with the promoted programs that are being promoted within advertisement content in the video streams. 
     At item  3  shown in  FIG. 6 , the user  12  provides an indication of a selection of a promoted program to be captured. This is done while the user  12  is watching a stream of video content at the user premises equipment  28 . In keeping with the example from above, while the user  12  is watching the television program “Law &amp; Order”, an advertisement for the television program “Lost” may be aired. Although not necessarily visible or available to the user  12 , included within the advertisement content is the programming information associated with this promoted program, namely “Lost”. The programming information that is embedded within this advertisement content may indicate that “Lost” is playing at 10 pm on Saturday on Channel 14. Assuming that the user is interested in watching the episode of “Lost” that is being promoted in the advertisement content, the user can provide the indication of a selection of this promoted programming. The indication can be provided via the user input device  36  in any of the manners described above with respect to  FIGS. 3 and 4 . 
     In order to provide the indication of a selection of the promoted program to be captured, the user  12  is not required to know the programming information relating to the promoted program. In certain cases, the programming information (such as the date and time) may be conveyed to the user during the course of the advertisement for the promoted program. However, the user is not required to provide this programming information when providing the indication of a selection of the promoted program, since the programming information will be obtained without the need for user input. 
     Once the user  12  has provided the indication of a selection of a promoted program, the video content processing device  34  generates a signal indicative of this selection for transmission to the network capturing device  60 , illustrated as item  4 . As mentioned above, the video content processing device  34  already has the programming information relating to the promoted program, since this information was received together with the video content  22 B (item  2 ). As such, when generating the signal indicative of the selection to be transmitted to the network capturing device  60 , the video content processing device  34  includes this programming information within the signal indicative of a selection of a promoted program to be captured. 
     Accordingly, the signal generated by the video content processing device  34  that is sent to the network capturing device  60  may include 1) an identification of the user  12  and/or the video content processing device  34  which may include a unique identifier such as an account number, an IP address, etc . . . ; 2) an indication that the user would like a promoted program to be captured; and 3) the programming information relating to the promoted program. As such, in keeping with the above example, the signal from the video content processing device  34  to the network capturing device  60  includes an identification of the user  12  as well as an indication that the user would like the program “Lost” to be captured, which is playing at 10 pm on Saturday on Channel 14. Obviously, the name of the program is not necessary information for the capturing device, and the signal may simply be indicative that video content playing on channel 14 at 10 pm should be recorded. 
     In accordance with this example of interaction between the user  12 , the video content processing device  34  and the network capturing device  60 , steps  202  and  204  of the process shown in  FIG. 2  are performed substantially simultaneously. More specifically, the network capturing device  60  receives the indication of a selection made by the user and obtains the programming information relating to the promoted program at substantially the same time. 
     At step  206 , which is illustrated as item  5  in  FIG. 6 , the network capturing device  60  generates and stores program capturing information on the basis of which the promoted program can be captured. The program capturing information that is stored at the network capturing device  60 , and includes information for enabling the network capturing device  60  to be able to capture the promoted program. The program capturing information includes at least one condition on the basis of which the network capturing device  60  is caused to capture the promoted program. The program capturing information may include information including:
         a date on which the program is to be captured;   a time at which the program is to be captured;   a channel on which the program is airing;   a capturing device with which the program is to be captured;   the duration of the program that is to be captured, or the stop time at which point the program no longer needs to be captured; and   an identification of the user  12  or customer premises equipment  28  that will be associated with the captured program.       

     These examples of information are provided for illustrative purposes only, and are not intended to limit the invention in any way. It is within the scope of the present invention for the program capturing information to include any additional information that would be useful for capturing the promoted program 
     In keeping with the example described above, the program capturing information may include an indication that user  12  associated with a given customer account number (or any other unique identifier), would like the program “Lost, which is airing at 10 pm on Saturday, July 10, on Channel 14 to be captured by the network capturing device  60 . 
     Finally, at step  208 , which is illustrated as item  6  in  FIG. 6 , the network capturing device  60  causes the promoted program to be captured. This is done at least in part on the basis of one or more conditions contained within the program capturing information stored at the network capturing device  60 . For example, if the program capturing information indicates that at 10 pm on Saturday, July 10 the promoted program is to be captured, then when 10 pm on Saturday, July 10 arrives, the network capturing device  60  is triggered to cause the promoted program to be captured. It should be appreciated that the trigger may occur a day, an hour, 15 minutes, or any other time leading up to or including the time at which the promoted program may begin. As such, the trigger can occur at any point prior to the condition contained within the program capturing information being met. 
     There are a variety of ways for the network capturing device  60  to cause the promoted program to be captured. In accordance with a first non-limiting example, the network capturing device  60  can capture the promoted program itself, and in a second non-limiting example, the network capturing device  60  can issue a signal to a capturing device  50  located within the video content processing device  34  to capture the promoted program. Each of these will be discussed below in more detail. 
     In accordance with the first non-limiting example, wherein it is the network capturing device  60  that is operative for capturing the promoted program, the network capturing device  60  is a digital video recorder that is capable of recording video content contained in the video content stream  22 B. In this embodiment, the network capturing device  60  is in communication with either the video content providers  30 A,  30 B directly for receiving the video content streams  18 , or the network capturing device  60  is in communication with the transmission module  24  of the service provider domain  16  for receiving the processed video content signals  22 *. It is possible that the network capturing device is included within the service provider domain  16  and is controlled and operated by the service provider. 
     In such an embodiment, when one or more conditions contained within the stored program capturing information are met, the network capturing device  60  is caused to start recording the video content corresponding to the promoted program. The conditions that could trigger the network capturing device  60  to start recording can include a time or a date, among other possibilities. 
     Once the promoted program has been recorded by the network capturing device  60 , the user  12  can then access this recorded video content at any time, or within a predetermined time, in order to view the recorded program. For example, the user may use the user input device  36  in order to interact with menu items for calling up, and selecting a recorded program to be viewed from the network capturing device  60 . 
     In accordance with the second non-limiting example, the network capturing device  60  can issue a signal to a capturing device  50  located at the customer premises equipment  28  instructing the capturing device  50  to capture the promoted program. In this embodiment, the network capturing device  60  issues a signal to the video content processing device  34  for causing a capturing device  50  to capture the promoted program. As mentioned above, the issuing of the signal to the video content processing device  34  is triggered on the basis of one or more conditions contained within the stored program capturing information. The conditions that could trigger the signal to be sent to the video content processing device  34  can include a time or a date, among other possibilities. The signal that is issued from the network capturing device  60  to the video content processing device  34  contains program instructions for causing the capturing device  50  to capture the program. The instructions could be in the form of executable program instructions, to be executed by the video content processing device  34 . 
     As described above with respect to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the capturing device  50  located at the video content processing device  34  can be a digital video recorder capable of recording video content contained in the video content stream  22 B. As such, upon receipt at the video content processing device  34  of the signal from the network capturing device  60 , the capturing device  50  is operative for recording the video content specified in the instructions in the signal. 
     Once the promoted program has been recorded by the capturing device  50  at the video content processing device  34 , the user  12  can then access this recorded video content at any time, in order to view the recorded program. For example, the user may use the user input device  36  in order to interact with menu items for calling up, and selecting a recorded program to be viewed. 
     In accordance with an alternative non-limiting example of implementation, the capturing device  50  located at the video content processing device  34  is a device operative for causing an automatic channel change upon receipt of a signal from the network capturing device  60 . In such a scenario, the signal issued from the network capturing device  60  includes instructions indicative of a channel that should be displayed to a user at a given time. 
     Alternatively, and as described above, upon receipt of a signal from the network capturing device  60 , the video content processing device  34  may cause a prompt to be displayed to a user, such that the user is prompted to change the channel to the promoted program. For example, at or prior to the airing of the promoted program, a prompt such as “the program &lt;name of program&gt; is now playing on Channel 14”, or “would you like to change to Channel 14 at this time”, could be displayed to the user. The user may then cause the channel to be changed to the channel on which the promoted program is airing. As such, in the embodiment shown in  FIG. 6 , it is the network capturing device  60  that is located separately from the network entity  20  that is operative for causing the promoted program to be captured. 
     ALTERNATIVE EXAMPLE II  
     Login Feature 
     Shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8  is a further non-limiting example of implementation of the present invention, wherein a user is able to interact with the network entity  20  via a remote communication device  70  in order to view video content provided by the network entity  20  on the remote communication device  70 . 
     Shown in  FIG. 7  is a television distribution network  10  similar to that of  FIG. 1 , with like components identified with like reference numbers. However, in this example of implementation, the user  12  is able to interact with the network entity  20  via a remote communication device  70 , and the service provider domain  16  further comprises a subscriber verification unit  72  for verifying whether the user  12  is authorized to receive video content from the network entity  20  at the remote communication device  70 . 
     In the example shown, the remote communication device  70  is a laptop computer, however it should be appreciated that the remote communication device  70  could be any device capable of being connected to the distribution network, and specifically to a packet switched network, such as a desktop computer, a video enabled smart-phone, a video enabled iPod, etc. This embodiment is particularly applicable to IPTV services, wherein the remote communication device  70  is operative for connecting to the server  27  of the packet-switched network, for being able to receive IPTV packet streams  22 B containing video content. 
     In this manner, a user of the remote communication device  70  is able to access the service provider domain  16  via a packet switched network (such as the internet) for receiving video content from the service provider. In order to be able to access and receive video content  22 B at the remote communication device  70 , the user  12  will need to be authenticated by a subscriber verification unit  72  that verifies whether the user  12  is authorized to receive video content from the network entity  20 . For example, in order to be authorized, the user must either be a subscriber to the service provider&#39;s services, such that the user has an account profile with the service provider, or the user  12  must provide payment information (such as credit card information) such that the user can obtain the IPTV services on a pay-as-you-go basis. 
     In the case where the user  12  has an account profile with the service provider, the user&#39;s account profile information may be stored in a subscriber database. For example, as shown in  FIG. 7 , the subscriber verification unit  72  is in communication with a subscriber database  74 . The database  74  of subscribers may be stored within a memory unit of the subscriber verification unit  72 , or the subscriber database  74  may be stored at one or servers that are accessible by the subscriber verification unit  72 . 
     Shown in  FIG. 9  is a non-limiting example of the contents of the subscriber database  74  in accordance with the present invention. As shown, the subscriber database  74  includes a plurality of entries  76  each associated to a respective subscriber. Each entry  76  includes an indication of a user name, a password associated with the user name, an account number or other unique identifier for identifying the user and/or the user&#39;s video content processing device  34 , a list of IPTV features subscribed to by the user, as well as an indication of the stored program capturing information associated with promoted programs that the user has indicated should be captured. 
     When initiating a subscription, the user can configure some of the information contained within his/her associated entry  76 . For example, the user can select a user name and password that will be used for verification purposes. The user can also provide an indication of certain IPTV features, such as the capturing device that the user would like to have capture promoted programs that have been selected. For example, the user  12  may specify that the selected programs should be captured by the capturing device  50  at his/her customer premises equipment  28 , or the user  12  may specify that the selected programs should be captured by the capturing device  52  at the network entity  20 . 
     These examples of information included within the subscriber database are for illustrative purposes only, and are not intended to limit the invention in any way. It is within the scope of the present invention for the subscriber database  74  to include additional information associated with the subscriber that is not shown in  FIG. 9 . For example, each entry might include a list of “friends” with whom the user  12  would like to share information pertaining to the capturing of the promoted program. 
     Although the subscriber database  74  is depicted in  FIG. 8  as being one component, the database  74  may be distributed in nature. For example, the database  74  can have portions of its content stored in different data storage media possibly located in different network components of the service provider domain  16 . 
     Referring back to  FIG. 7 , when the user  12  would like to receive IPTV video content from the service provider at his/her remote communication device  70 , the user  12  first connects the remote communication device  70  to a packet-switched network, such as the internet. This may be done via a cable connection, or via a wireless connection. 
     Once connected to the packet-switched network, the user then connects to the service provider domain  16  so as to be able to authenticate himself/herself as a subscriber to the IPTV services. In accordance with a first non-limiting example, the user can use a web-browser program in order to access a web-page allowing the user to “login” to the service provider domain  16 . For example, the web-page may ask the user  12  for his/her “username” and “password”. The user can enter this information in the appropriate fields of the web-page via a keypad, mouse, touch-sensitive screen, microphone, or any other suitable input device known in the art. Once entered, the user may then cause this information to be sent to the subscriber verification unit  72  by clicking on a &lt;send&gt; button, a &lt;submit&gt; button or an &lt;enter&gt; button. 
     Alternative, instead of the user having to enter “login” information, the user may be automatically logged in. This may be done on the basis of a cookie, or device credentials (such as MAC ID, electronic serial number or any other hardware identifier). 
     Upon receipt at the subscriber verification unit  72  of this login information, the subscriber verification unit  72  accesses the subscriber database  74  in order to determine if the user  12 , is in fact a subscriber. In order to do so, the subscriber verification unit  72  looks for a match between the user name and password provided by the user  12 , and a username and associated password contained within an entry  76  contained in the subscriber database  74 . 
     Upon verification that the user  12  is, in fact, a subscriber to the IPTV services, the subscriber verification unit  72  is able to issue a signal indicating to the network entity  20  to provide the remote communication device  70  with a stream of video content  22 B through the server  27  in the packet-switched network portion of the distribution network  26 . In this manner, the user is able to view television programming on his/her remote communication device  70 . 
     The method outlined in  FIG. 2  will now be described in more detail with respect to the non-limiting example of implementation shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 . More specifically, with reference to  FIG. 8 , step  200  of providing a stream of video content to a user is illustrated as item  1 . In this embodiment, the network entity  20  provides the stream of video content  22 B to the user  12  at the remote communication device  70 . 
     While the user is watching the stream of video content  22 B on his/her mobile communication device, the user may be presented with advertisement content for promoting different programs. When the user  12  views an advertisement for a promoted program that is of interest, the user  12  can provide an indication of a selection of the promoted program. For example, while the user  12  is watching the program “Law and Order”, an advertisement for “Lost” may be aired. Assuming that the user  12  is interested in watching “Lost”, the user  12  can provide an indication of a selection of the promoted program. This can be done via any appropriate user input device associated with the remote communication device  70 . For example, the user  12  may provide the indication via a keypad, a keyboard, a touch sensitive screen, a mouse, a pointing device, a microphone, or any other possible user input device. 
     Once the user  12  has provided the indication of a selected promoted program, the remote communication device  70  generates a signal for transmission to the network entity  20  indicative of the indication provided by the user  12 . In accordance with a non-limiting example of implementation, in order for the remote communication device  70  to be able to generate a signal for transmission to the network entity  20  on the basis of the indication provided by the user, the remote communication device  70  will require an appropriate software package. This software package can be provided to a user  12  when the user subscribes to the IPTV service (such as via a CD for example) or this software can be downloaded as a patch from the service provider website. 
     The signal generated by the remote communication device  70  for transmission to the network entity  20  may include 1) an identification of the user  12 , which may include a unique identifier such as an account number, an IP address, etc . . . ; 2) an indication that the user would like a promoted program to be captured; 3) a time stamp associated with the user providing the indication and 4) in some cases, an indication of the capturing device for capturing the promoted program. As such, in keeping with the above example, the signal from the remote communication device  70  to the network entity  20  includes an identification of the user  12  as well as an indication that the user would like the program “Lost” to be captured. 
     As illustrated as item  2  in  FIG. 8 , once generated, the signal indicative of the selection is transmitted from the remote communication device  70  to the network entity  20 . 
     At step  202  the network entity  20  receives the indication of a selection made by the user  12 , while the user  12  was watching a stream of video content  22 B on the remote communication device  70 . 
     At step  204 , which is illustrated as item  3  in  FIG. 8 , the network entity  20  obtains programming information regarding the promoted program. It should be appreciated that the network entity  20  can obtain the programming information in any of the manners described above with respect to  FIGS. 3 and 4 . More specifically, in accordance with a first non-limiting example, the network entity  20  can obtain the programming information regarding the promoted program in response to a request issued to one or more of the video content providers  30 A,  30 B. In accordance with a second non-limiting example, the network entity  20  can obtain the programming information regarding the promoted program by accessing a programming schedule provided to the network entity  20  by the video content providers  30 A,  30 B at periodic time intervals. The programming schedule may include the programming information that can be accessed by the network entity  20 , or the network entity  20  can derive the programming information on the basis of the programming schedule. 
     At step  206 , which is illustrated as item  4  in  FIG. 8 , the network entity  20  stores program capturing information on the basis of which the promoted program is caused to be captured. The program capturing information that is stored at the network entity  20  includes information for enabling a capturing device to be able to capture the promoted program. For example, the program capturing information may include information including:
         a date on which the program is to be captured;   a time at which the program is to be captured;   a channel on which the program is airing;   a capturing device with which the program is to be captured; and   the duration of the program that is to be captured or the stop time at which point the program no longer needs to be captured.       

     These examples of information are provided for illustrative purposes only, and are not intended to limit the invention in any way. It is within the scope of the present invention for the program capturing information to include any additional information that would be useful. 
     In keeping with the example described above, the program capturing information may include an indication that at 10 pm on Saturday, July 10, the program “Lost” airing on Channel 14 is to be captured via capturing device  50  located at the user&#39;s customer premises equipment  28 . Obviously, the name of the program is not necessary information for the capturing device, and the signal may simply be indicative that video content playing on channel 14 at 10 pm should be recorded. The identification of the capturing device  50 , may include a serial number, an IP address, or any other suitable identification technique for uniquely identifying, and being able to communicate with the capturing device  50 . 
     At step  208 , the network entity  20 , and specifically the program capturing unit  40  of the network entity  20 , causes the promoted program to be captured. This is done at least in part on the basis of one or more conditions contained within the program capturing information stored at the network entity  20 . For example, if the program capturing information indicates that at 10 pm on Saturday, July 10 the promoted program is to be captured, then when 10 pm on Saturday, July 10 arrives, the network entity  20  is triggered to cause the promoted program to be captured. It should be appreciated that the trigger may occur at any time prior to the condition contained within the program capturing information being met. It should be appreciated that the trigger may occur a day, an hour, 15 minutes, or any other time leading up to or including the time at which the promoted program may begin. As such, the trigger can occur at any point prior to the condition contained within the program capturing information being met. 
     In order to cause the promoted program to be captured, the network entity  20  must determine which capturing device will be used to capture the promoted program, which will be either the capturing device  50  located at the customer premises equipment  28  associated with the user, or the capturing device  52  located at the network entity  20 . This can be determined in a variety of ways. As mentioned above, the signal issued from the remote communication device  70  to the network entity  20  may include an indication of which capturing device should be used to capture the promoted program. Alternatively, this information may be obtained in the entry  76  associated with the user  12  stored in the subscriber database  74 . In such an embodiment, on the basis of the identification of the user  12  received in the signal from the remote communication device  70 , the network entity  20  can communicate with the subscriber verification unit  72  for accessing the entry  76  associated with the user  12  and determining which capturing device should be used. 
     In accordance with a first non-limiting example of implementation, which is shown in  FIG. 8 , it is the capturing device  50  located at the customer premises equipment  28  that is used to capture the promoted program. As such, in order to cause the program to be captured, the network entity  20  issues a signal to the video content processing device  34  for causing a capturing device  50  located at the video content processing device  34  to capture the promoted program. As mentioned above, the issuing of the signal to the video content processing device  34  is triggered on the basis of one or more conditions contained within the stored program capturing information. The conditions that could cause the triggering of the signal to the video content processing device  34  can include a time or a date, among other possibilities. The signal that is issued from the network entity  20  to the video content processing device  34  contains instructions for causing the capturing device  50  to capture the program. The instructions could be in the form of executable program instructions, to be executed by the video content processing device  34 . 
     The capturing device  50  located at the video content processing device  34  can be a digital video recorder that is capable of recording video content contained in the video content stream  22 B. Upon receipt at the video content processing device  34  of the signal from the network entity  20 , the capturing device  50  is operative for recording the video content specified in the instructions from the network entity  20 . Once the promoted program has been recorded by the capturing device  50  at the video content processing device  34 , the user  12  can then access this recorded video content at any time or within any predetermined time, in order to view the recorded program. 
     In the case where the user wishes to access the recorded video content using the remote communication device  70 , the user may cause the remote communication device  70  to issue a signal to the network entity  20 , which in turn retrieves the stored video content from the video content processing device  34  and forwards that video content to the remote communication device  70 . 
     Alternatively, the network entity  20  may cause a capturing device (not shown) located at the remote communication device  70  to provide a prompt (in the form of a pop-up, or some other graphical prompt) for causing the user to change channels on his/her remote communication device  70 . In some cases, the network entity  20  may issue a signal to the capturing device at the remote communication device  70  to cause an automatic channel change at the remote communication device  70 . Specifically, the channel may be changed to the channel airing the promoted program at the time when the promoted program is airing. In such a scenario, the signal issued from the network entity  20  includes instructions indicative of a channel that should be displayed to a user at a given time. 
     In accordance with a second non-limiting example of implementation, it is the capturing device  52  located at the network entity  20  that is used to capture the promoted program. The program capturing device  52  is operative for receiving a signal from the program capturing unit  40  for causing the promoted program to be captured. As mentioned above, this may involve recording the promoted program at the appropriate time, or issuing a signal to the video content processing device  34  associated with the user  12  at the appropriate time for causing the video content processing device  34  to display to the user  12  the channel on which the promoted program is playing. 
     Those skilled in the art will appreciate that in some embodiments, the functionality of the network entity  20  and the subscriber verification unit  72  may be implemented using pre-programmed hardware or firmware elements (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), etc.), or other related components. In other embodiments, the functionality of the network entity  20  and the subscriber verification unit  72  may be achieved using a computing apparatus that has access to a code memory (not shown) which stores computer-readable program code for operation of the computing apparatus, in which case the computer-readable program code could be stored on a medium which is fixed, tangible and readable directly by the network entity  20  and the subscriber verification unit  72  (e.g., removable diskette, CD-ROM, ROM, fixed disk, USB drive), or the computer-readable program code could be stored remotely but transmittable to the network entity  20  and the subscriber verification unit  72  via a modem or other interface device (e.g., a communications adapter) connected to a network (including, without limitation, the Internet) over a transmission medium, which may be either a non-wireless medium (e.g., optical or analog communications lines) or a wireless medium (e.g., microwave, infrared or other transmission schemes) or a combination thereof. 
     While specific embodiments of the present invention have been described and illustrated, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.