Method and apparatus for intelligent channel zapping

Abstract

The availability of television channels today may easily be overwhelming for a user and the use of conventional linear zapping when a user switches sequentially between channels arranged in a list as a method of finding interesting content becomes still more inefficient. Thus, a method of automatically determining a channel content for multi-media, audio, and video channels distributed to or acquired by an electronic device is provided, the method comprises the steps of collecting channel data, analyzing the data using statistical methods to determine a channel content, and categorizing the channels into predetermined clusters depending on the channel content. The determination may be made dynamically so that the clusters reflect the specific day and / or time of the day at which the electronic device is used. Also a system for providing such a method is provided.

Description

technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of automatic and / or dynamic determination of channel content of a channel, such as a television channel, presented on an electronic device such as a television set, and a system for providing this automatic and / or dynamic content determination. Background technique

[0002] The number of television channels available today can easily overwhelm the user, and using the usual linear zapping as a method of searching for content of interest as the user sequentially switches between channels arranged in a list has become even more low-key.

[0003] The number of channels or other information sources offered is so large that it is difficult for users to select individual programs of greatest interest, and finding programs in a program guide is usually limited to a relatively small subset of channels due to time constraints.

[0004] The user can arrange channels into short lists according to the user's preferences. ...

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