Patent ID: 8516087

Claim:
A method for interacting with a controllable device in an internet protocol television system, comprising: receiving, at a control server at a video hub office in the internet protocol television system from an internet protocol system end user terminal client device associated with a subscriber, context data comprising device state data comprising a dimmer setting, subscriber identity and content identity read by the client device from a plurality of controllable devices, subscriber identification data and content characterization data for a video program currently being watched by the subscriber, the content characterization data comprising a content type for the video program currently being watched, wherein the content type is a content title for the video program currently being watched; receiving, from the end user terminal client device, subscriber activity data comprising internet protocol television user interface inputs data, alerts data, internet protocol television channel selection data, internet protocol television control inputs data, learned device state data, subscriber identity, video characterization data, video identity and internet protocol television data entry, wherein the device state data variably controls electrical power for at least one of the plurality of controllable devices wherein variable control comprises a dimmer setting at a power in between an on and off power state for the at least one of the plurality of controllable devices based on the context data indicates content identity, time, nature of content and subscriber identity, wherein the device state data further comprises refrigerator inventory data of a refrigerator; sending the refrigerator inventory data from the control server to the end user terminal client device for display during a commercial break in the content characterization data, wherein the commercial break is sensed in the video program currently being watched; accessing the device state data from a database at the control server; and changing the device state data for the at least one of the plurality of controllable devices to a learned device state in user interface data at the database to represent a theme comprising a device state based on the context data for the video program being watched and the subscriber identified by the subscriber identification data, the device state data and the content characterization data for the video program being watched, wherein the device state is stored in the database for future use as the theme when the context data comprising the subscriber identity and the content identity is repeated wherein the theme is overridden by an alert based on the context data.