Mixing media content items for display on focal area of networked television device

Abstract

The invention relates to mixing media content items for display on a focal area of a networked television device. The invention relates to presenting a unified user interface on a networked television device. A unified user interface displays media content recommendations selected and organized based on knowledge of a user (e.g., search queries, search results, viewing history, purchase history, sports activity). The unified user interface also includes a focal area for sequentially displaying a series of media content items (e.g., advertisements) in chronological order for the purpose of promoting the media content item, product, event or service. In some implementations, playback of media content items presented on a unified user interface relies on collaborative implementations of corresponding media player applications and media content projection applications, particularly when playback involves limited modes. When the media player application is not operating in the restricted mode, the content projection application is enabled to play the media content item in the restricted mode.

Description

[0001] Division Explanation

[0002] This application is a divisional application of the patent application with the application number 202080001262.3 (PCT / US2020 / 022785), the international filing date of which is March 13, 2020, and the invention title of which is "Mixing Media Content Items for Display on a Focus Region of a Networked Television Device", and which was filed with the Chinese Patent Office on July 17, 2020. Technical Field

[0003] This application generally relates to display technologies, including but not limited to methods and systems for providing knowledge-based media content recommendations, displaying a unified user interface with content-based media recommendations, mixing multiple media content items to be displayed on a focus region, and / or projecting controlled media content associated with a networked television device. Background Art

[0004] Media display devices are used to stream various media content (e.g., TV shows, movies, live broadcasts, personal videos, etc.) via one or more communication networks. Media display devices include various networked display devices, such as mobile phones, set-top boxes, or networked television devices. Networked television devices are often controlled via a remote control interface, which can be directly displayed on the media display device or separately on a second-screen mobile device (e.g., a tablet computer, laptop, or mobile phone). A user can browse a list of content items and search for media content on a user interface displayed on the television device, while controlling the playback of media content via a dedicated remote device or a second-screen mobile device (e.g., a tablet computer, laptop, or mobile phone). However, the list of content items is often organized based on a media player application configured to play the content items in a playlist. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application relates to presenting a unified user interface with content-based media recommendations on a connected television (TV) device (sometimes referred to as a smart TV). The unified user interface is configured to display a plurality of media content recommendations selected for a particular user based at least in part on knowledge of the user's interests and activities (e.g., the user's search queries, search results, previous viewing history, purchase history, the user's sports activities). In some implementations, the media content recommendations are organized into multiple clusters based on one or more categories such as: content type (e.g., "Action Movies"), viewing history (e.g., "Because You watched Movie ABC"), release time (e.g., "Trending"), etc. In some embodiments, media content provided by different content sources can be recommended within the same cluster (e.g., action movies from two different streaming services and a broadcast TV channel).

[0006] In some implementations, the unified user interface includes a focus area (e.g., a prominently displayed area of the user interface) configured to sequentially display a series of media content items (e.g., advertisements, movie trailers, promotional images) in chronological order for the purpose of promoting a media content item, product, or event.

[0007] In some implementations, the user initiates playback of a content item from the unified user interface by selecting an icon or thumbnail corresponding to the content item. In some implementations, playback of the media content item selected from the unified user interface is handled by a dedicated application associated with a particular media streaming service or broadcast channel, a cable or over-the-air (OTA) tuner, a web browser, or an internal casting application associated with the connected TV that displays the user interface. In some implementations, playback of the content item is handled collaboratively by a media player application and a local content casting application, particularly when playback occurs in a restricted mode not supported by the media player application (e.g., in an age-restricted system context such as a media player interface customized for children). In some implementations where the unified user interface provides both a restricted mode and an unrestricted mode and the media player application only supports the unrestricted mode, the media player application is used to play media content when the user interface is in the unrestricted mode, while the local casting application is used to play the media content item when the system is in the restricted mode media player.

[0008] In various implementations, a unified user interface is coupled to a server system that hosts a virtual user domain including user accounts associated with users of the user interface. Hardware devices and software applications are integrated with each other via user accounts in the virtual user domain. In some implementations, a user account is associated with a networked TV device, and a unified media application is configured to present the unified user interface on the TV device. A user account can also be associated with one or more home devices (e.g., cameras, doorbells, and / or hazard detectors), one or more media player devices (e.g., set-top boxes and / or associated TV devices), one or more assistant devices (e.g., speaker assistants and / or display assistant devices), and their corresponding home security, media player, and assistant applications. A user account can also be associated with general user applications (e.g., email applications, social media applications, map applications, and online retailer applications).

[0009] In some implementations, and only to the extent approved by the user, the server system learns about the user's interests and activities based on information reported by various applications associated with the user's account, and based on this information, generates targeted media content recommendations for the user. These recommendations are displayed on the unified user interface of a networked TV device communicatively coupled to the server system, a third-party content provider, an electronic program guide (EPG) provider, and an advertising (ad) provider via one or more communication networks.

[0010] Specifically, in one aspect, a method of identifying media content items for presentation on a networked TV device is implemented at a server system that hosts a virtual user domain including a user account. The method includes associating the user account with a unified TV application, a plurality of media player applications, and a plurality of user applications. The unified TV application is associated with the networked TV device, and the plurality of user applications includes at least an Internet search engine. The method includes storing respective activity data for each of the unified TV application, the media player applications, and the user applications, including: storing search queries and search results for a plurality of search operations implemented from the user account by the Internet search engine, storing viewing information associated with the user account for a subset of the media player applications, and storing purchase information associated with the user account for a subset of the user applications. The method further includes: calculating a multi-dimensional unified user activity characteristic based on the stored activity data; and obtaining program information associated with the plurality of media player applications, thereby generating deduplicated program information for a plurality of unique media programs. The method further includes: identifying an ordered subset of unique programs to be recommended to the user via the unified TV application in accordance with the user activity characteristic and the program information for the plurality of unique programs; and enabling an ordered sequence of information items corresponding to the ordered subset of unique programs to be displayed via the unified TV application. Each information item represents a respective unique program provided by a corresponding media player application.

[0011] In another aspect, a program presentation method is implemented at a networked TV device linked to a user account in a virtual user domain hosted by a server system. The program presentation method includes: executing a unified TV application to display a unified user interface, and obtaining a media recommendation stream from the server, the media recommendation stream including an ordered sequence of optional information items corresponding to an ordered set of unique media content items or programs. For each optional information item, the media recommendation stream includes a corresponding command to be executed at the networked TV device in response to a user selection of the corresponding optional information item. The program presentation method further includes: displaying a plurality of clusters on the unified user interface. Each cluster includes a subset of the ordered sequence of optional information items, and the first cluster includes a first optional information item and a second optional information item that are simultaneously displayed on the unified user interface. The program presentation method further includes: in response to a first user selection of the first optional information item, displaying information about a first media content item provided by a first content provider. The program presentation method further includes: in response to a second user selection of the second optional information item, displaying information about a second media content item provided by a second content provider. The second content provider is different from the first content provider.

[0012] In yet another aspect, a method for presenting selected content provided by a media player application is implemented at a networked TV device linked to a user account in a virtual user domain hosted by a server system. The method includes: executing a unified TV application to enable the display of a unified user interface on the networked TV device. The unified TV application has a normal mode and a restricted mode and is associated with one or more standard media player applications and a local content projection application. The method further includes: displaying a plurality of clusters on the unified user interface, each of which has a plurality of optional information items, including in the restricted mode: identifying content selection criteria; and selecting a plurality of optional information items from program information associated with one or more standard media player applications according to the content selection criteria. The method further includes: receiving a user action on a first optional information item, and the first optional information item corresponds to a first media content item provided by a first content provider in a first media player application. The method further includes: in response to the user action on the first optional information item, displaying the first media content item corresponding to the first optional information item on the networked TV device via the local content projection application according to a determination that the unified TV application operates in the restricted mode and a determination that the first media player application does not operate in the restricted mode; and displaying the first media content item corresponding to the first optional information item on the networked TV device via the first media player application according to a determination that the unified TV application operates in the normal mode.

[0013] In yet another aspect, a method of displaying focused content is implemented at a server system that hosts a virtual user domain including a user account. The method includes: associating the user account with a unified TV application and a plurality of media player applications. The unified TV application is associated with a networked TV device and is configured to enable the display of media content on the TV device, and each of the plurality of media player applications is configured to display media content provided by a corresponding content provider. The method further includes: executing the unified TV application to enable the display of a unified user interface on the networked TV device. The unified user interface has a focus area configured to display a plurality of focus items. The method further includes: sequentially displaying the plurality of focus items in the focus area according to a chronological order. Each focus item is associated with a corresponding focus item provider selected from a merchandising module, an advertiser, and a media recommendation engine. The plurality of focus items includes a first focus item. More specifically, the method includes: sending a request for the first focus item to a first advertiser server, the request including information about a plurality of predefined user interface elements of the focus area of the unified user interface; and in response to the request, receiving from the first advertiser server a plurality of media content items associated with the first focus item and merging the plurality of media content items into the first focus item for display in the focus area during a time slot corresponding to the first focus item.

[0014] A non-transitory computer-readable medium has instructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the processors to perform any of the above methods. A computer system includes one or more processors and a memory having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the processors to perform any of the above methods. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] To better understand the various described implementations, reference should be made to the following detailed description in conjunction with the following drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the figures.

[0016] Figure 1 is an example media environment in accordance with some implementations, in which a networked TV device, a server system, and a third-party content source interact with each other via one or more communication networks.

[0017] Figure 2 is an example operating environment in accordance with some implementations, in which the server system 104 provides knowledge-based media content recommendations to a networked TV device.

[0018] Figure 3 is an example unified user interface for display on a networked TV device in accordance with some implementations.

[0019] Figure 4An example flowchart of a method for providing knowledge-based media content recommendations to a networked TV device according to some implementations.

[0020] Figure 5 An example flowchart of a method for presenting program information on a networked TV device according to some implementations.

[0021] Figure 6A and Figure 6B Two example media content item pages displayed on a networked TV device according to some implementations, respectively.

[0022] Figure 7 An example operating environment according to some implementations, where a unified TV application and a media player application cooperate to play a media content item on a networked TV device 12.

[0023] Figure 8 An example sequence 800 of user interfaces successively displayed on a networked TV device in response to a user action on a remote control device coupled to the networked TV device according to some implementations.

[0024] Figure 9 An example operating environment according to some implementations, where a unified TV application, a media player application, and a content projection application of a networked TV device cooperate to implement playback of a media content item.

[0025] Figure 10A An example unified user interface displayed on a networked TV device in a restricted mode according to some implementations.

[0026] Figure 10B and Figure 10C Two example sequences of user interfaces successively displayed on a networked TV device in response to a user action on a remote control device coupled to the networked TV device according to some implementations.

[0027] Figure 11 An example flowchart of a method for presenting selected media content provided by a media player application on a networked TV device according to some implementations.

[0028] Figure 12 An example operating environment according to some implementations, where focus items (also referred to as tiles) provided by a recommendation engine, one or more advertisement (ad) providers, and a merchandising module are mixed for display on a networked TV device.

[0029] Figure 13 An example flowchart of a method for mixing focus content (including VAST-based advertisements) on a networked TV device according to some implementations.

[0030] Figure 14A FIG. 0 is a block diagram of a server system of a media environment according to some implementations.

[0031] Figure 14B FIG. 1 is an example apparatus and application registry of a server system according to some implementations, which stores information of one or more user accounts managed by the server system and information of user devices and applications associated with each of the one or more user accounts.

[0032] Figure 15 FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example networked TV device configured to display a unified user interface and media content provided by a media player application according to some implementations.

[0033] In all the several views of the drawings, like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] In various implementations, a media environment includes a networked TV device (also referred to as a smart TV device), which has one or more processors and a memory storing instructions executable by the one or more processors. The networked TV device is linked to a user account in a virtual user domain hosted by a server system. The networked TV device executes a unified TV application to display a unified user interface, on which media content items provided by various media content providers are selected and displayed for a user of the networked TV device. In some implementations, the networked TV device is controlled by a dedicated remote control device or a client device having a remote control application for playing media content items for the user. In some implementations, the dedicated remote control device is set to be close to the TV device. In some implementations, the dedicated remote control device or the client device having the remote control application is not physically close to the TV device, but is associated with a user account maintained at the server system of the media environment.

[0035] When the networked TV device executes the unified TV application, it obtains a media recommendation stream from the server system. The media recommendation stream includes an ordered sequence of optional information items corresponding to an ordered set of unique media content items or programs. The optional information items in the media recommendation stream are identified for a particular user at least in part based on knowledge of that user of the networked TV device (e.g., the user's interests and activities). Specifically, the user account associated with the unified TV application is also associated with a plurality of media player applications and a plurality of user applications (e.g., a search engine, a map application). Activity data of these applications is stored in association with the user account and is used to calculate a multi-dimensional unified user activity characteristic (also referred to as a knowledge graph) of the user. According to the user activity characteristic, the ordered sequence of optional information items is determined based on program information associated with the plurality of media player applications and is recommended to the user via the unified TV application.

[0036] An ordered sequence of optional information items is displayed on a unified user interface of a networked TV device. For each optional information item, the media recommendation stream includes a corresponding command to be executed at the networked TV device in response to a user selection of the corresponding optional information item. The optional information items are organized into clusters and arranged without reference to their content providers. That is, two information items associated with media content items provided by different content providers can be placed adjacent to each other, allowing the unified user interface to focus on the content and be oblivious to the content providers on its surface.

[0037] In addition to the optional information items, the unified user interface also optionally displays a plurality of focus items in a focus area in chronological order, i.e., each focus item sequentially occupies the entire focus area. The focus area can be located in the upper half area of the unified user interface. Each focus item is associated with a corresponding focus item provider selected from a merchandising module, an advertiser, and a media recommendation engine. The focus items provided by the merchandising module of the server system optionally correspond to media content items provided by a TVOD content provider and requiring payment for viewing. In some implementations, the focus items are advertisement items provided by an advertiser, and the advertisement items comply with a customized video ad serving template (VAST). Specifically, the TV device sends a request for a focus item to the advertiser, and the request includes information on predefined user interface elements of the focus area. The advertisement items are aggregated from a plurality of media content items provided by the advertiser based on the information on the predefined user interface elements.

[0038] In some implementations, the unified TV application has a restricted mode in which application content selection criteria are applied to restrict the media content provided via a standard media content application for playback on the unified user interface. For example, the content selection criteria can be related to age-based content ratings and define the restricted mode as child-friendly. In the restricted mode, the unified TV application optionally determines whether the standard media content application is operating in the restricted mode. In accordance with the determination that the standard media content application is operating in the restricted mode, the media content is displayed on the unified user interface via the standard media content application. Alternatively, in accordance with the determination that a third-party media content application is not operating in the restricted mode, the media content is displayed on the unified user interface via a local content projection application different from the standard media content application.

[0039] Reference will now be made in detail to implementations, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various described implementations. However, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the various described implementations may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, circuits, and networks have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the implementations.

[0040] Figure 1 is an example media environment 100 according to some implementations, in which the networked TV device 102, the server system 104, and the third-party content sources 106-110 interact with each other via one or more communication networks 112. The media environment 100 corresponds to a virtual user domain created and hosted by the server system 104, and the virtual user domain includes multiple user accounts. The third-party content sources 106-110 include an advertisement source 106, an EPG source 108, and a media content source 110. For each user account, the server system 104 is coupled to the third-party content sources 106-110 and one or more media devices 102 and 116-126, and is configured to recommend and stream media content for review by the user via the corresponding user account.

[0041] Specifically, one or more media devices associated with the user and the user account are disposed in the media environment 100 to provide the user with media content stored at a remote content source and streamed from the remote content source. The remote content source is optionally a third-party media content source 110 or an internal media source hosted by the server system 104. In some implementations, the one or more media devices include a networked TV device 102 that streams media content directly from the remote content source or integrates an embedded projection unit configured to stream media content for display to its audience. The networked TV device 102 is communicatively coupled to a dedicated remote control device 114 and / or a client device having a remote control application. The dedicated remote control device 114 can be disposed proximate to the TV device 102 and configured to communicate with the TV device 102 using digitally compiled pulses of an infrared signal. Alternatively, in some cases, the dedicated remote control device 114 is configured to communicate with the TV device 102 via the communication network 112 (i.e., via a local area network and / or a wide area network) without having to be physically proximate to the TV device 102.

[0042] The networked TV device 102 includes one or more processors and a memory storing instructions for execution by the one or more processors. The instructions stored on the networked TV device 102 include a unified TV application, a local content projection application, and one or more media player applications associated with the third-party content sources 106-110 and / or an internal media source associated with the server system 104. These applications are linked to user accounts in the virtual user domain of the media environment 100.

[0043] Alternatively, in some implementations, the media devices provided in the media environment 100 include: a display device 116 that directly outputs media content to the audience; and a projection device 118 that is coupled to the display device 116 and is configured to stream media content to the display device 116. Examples of the display device 116 include, but are not limited to, a television (TV) display device and a music player. Examples of the projection device 118 include, but are not limited to, a set-top box (STB), a DVD player, and a TV box. In Figure 1 this example shown in Figure 1 , the display device 116 includes a TV monitor hardwired to a DVD player or a set-top box 118. In contrast, in some implementations, the media devices provided in the media environment 100 include: a computer screen 120A that outputs media content to the audience; and a desktop computer 120B that streams media content to the computer screen 120A. In some implementations, the media devices provided in the media environment 100 include mobile devices, such as, for example, a mobile phone 122, a tablet computer 124, and a laptop computer 126. Each of the media devices 118-126 includes one or more media player applications that are configured to receive and play media content items provided by third-party content sources 106-110 or internal media sources associated with the server system 104.

[0044] The server system 104 includes a Unified Media Platform (UMP) 128 that is configured to manage media content recommendations and streaming to one or more media devices in the media environment 100. The UMP 128 is configured to receive multi-dimensional unified user activity characteristics associated with a user account from a knowledge engine 130a and program information of a program or content item provided by the media content source 110, and generate media content recommendations personalized for the user account. The unified user activity characteristics associated with the user account are obtained from a plurality of information sources 132, such as, for example, a search engine, a map application, and an online retailer associated with the user account, each of which provides activity data related to the activities of the user account via a respective software program or application. Optionally, the media content recommendations generated by the UMP 128 are presented on the networked TV device 102 via a server-side TV application 134, and the server-side TV application 134 enables the display of media content on the unified TV application on the TV device 102 in response to a selection made by the user from the media content recommendations. In addition, the UMP 128 can also act as a centralized media content management module that is configured to provide media content recommendations to other media devices 118-126 in addition to the TV device 102.

[0045] In some embodiments, activity data associated with a user account is collected from the TV application 134 and the casting service module 136 (which are thus part of the information source 132) and returned to the knowledge graph engine 130 to update the unified user activity profile and media content recommendations associated with the user account.

[0046] In some implementations, the UMP 128 also includes a media search engine (e.g., Figure 2 the engine 222 in ) that is configured to receive search queries from the server-side TV application 134 or the casting service module 136 and identify one or more media content items based on the program information of the programs or content items provided by the media content source 110.

[0047] Note that the user accounts in the virtual user domain hosted by the server system 104 are also associated with one or more other types of devices, such as intelligent, multi-sensing, networked assistive devices 138 and home devices 140 installed in the media environment 100 associated with the user of the networked TV device 102. Examples of the assistive device 138 include a speaker assistive device 142 and a display assistive device 144. The speaker assistive device 142 can collect audio input, identify user commands from the audio input, and perform operations in response to the user commands (e.g., play music, answer questions). The display assistive device 144 can collect audio and / or video input, identify user commands from the audio and / or video input, and perform operations in response to the user commands (e.g., play music, present an image or video clip, answer questions). Examples of the home device 140 include one or more intelligent, multi-sensing, and networked: hazard detectors 146, camera systems 148, thermostats, foyer interface devices (e.g., smart doorbells and smart door locks), alarm systems, microphone devices, wall switches, wall plug interfaces, and appliances (e.g., refrigerators, stoves, ovens, TVs, washing machines, dryers, lights, stereos, intercom systems, garage door openers, floor fans, ceiling fans, wall-mounted air conditioners, pool heaters, irrigation systems, security systems, space heaters, window AC units, and electric duct vents).

[0048] Each of the assistive device 138 and the home device 140 is optionally managed by a unified home device application or a dedicated user application and linked to the user account in the virtual domain in combination with the unified TV application of the networked TV device. The activity data collected by the knowledge graph engine 130 can also include data collected by a subset of the assistive device 138 and the home device 140, thereby allowing the media content recommendations provided to the user to reflect this activity data directly collected from the physical environment associated with the media environment 100.

[0049] In some implementations, the server system 104 includes a device and application registry 150 that is configured to store information about one or more user accounts managed by the server system 104 and information about user devices and applications associated with each of the one or more user accounts. For example, the device and application registry 150 stores information about the networked TV device 102, the remote control device 114, the media devices 116-126, the auxiliary device 138, and the home device 140, as well as information about the corresponding unified TV application, remote control application, media player application, unified home device application associated with the auxiliary device 138 and the home device 140, and dedicated user applications. Optionally, these media devices, auxiliary devices, and home devices associated with the same user account are distributed over different geographical regions. Optionally, these devices are located at the same physical location. Each media, auxiliary, or home device uses one or more communication networks 112 to communicate with another device or the server system 104. The communication network 112 used can be one or more networks with one or more types of topologies, including but not limited to the Internet, intranet, local area network (LAN), cellular network, Ethernet, storage area network (SAN), telephone network, Bluetooth personal area network (PAN), etc. In some embodiments, two or more devices in a subnetwork are coupled via a wired connection, while at least some of the devices in the same subnetwork are coupled via a local radio communication network (e.g., ZigBee, Z-Wave, Insteon, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and other radio communication networks).

[0050] Figure 2An example operating environment 200 according to some implementations, in which a server system 104 provides knowledge-based media content recommendations to a networked TV device 102. In the example operating environment 200, the server system 104 includes a plurality of information sources 132, a knowledge graph engine 130, a UMP 128, and a server-side TV application 134. The server system 104 hosts a virtual user domain that includes user accounts associated with the server-side TV application 134 and a unified TV application 202 implemented at the networked TV device 102. The user accounts are also associated with a plurality of media player applications 204 and a plurality of user applications such as a search engine 206. The server system 104 stores activity data for each of the unified TV application 202, the media player applications 204, and the user applications. The knowledge graph engine 130 of the server system 104 calculates multi-dimensional unified user activity characteristics 208 (e.g., related to user preferences or affinities) based on the stored activity data, and obtains program information associated with the plurality of media player applications 204, thereby generating deduplicated program information 210 for a plurality of unique programs (also referred to as media content items). The UMP 128 includes a recommendation engine 212 that is configured to compare the user activity characteristics 208 with the program information 210 of the plurality of unique programs to identify an ordered subset 214 of unique programs to be recommended to the user via the unified TV application 202.

[0051] In one example, the knowledge graph engine 130 receives a number of search queries related to "Star Wars" from the search engine 206 and determines that the user associated with the user account is interested in "Star Wars". The plurality of unique programs associated with the program information are ranked in view of the user's interests, preferences, or affinities (i.e., as represented by the unified user activity characteristics 208). A certain number of the highest-ranked unique programs are selected and classified into clusters. Considering the user's interest in "Star Wars" indicated by the search queries, the highest-ranked unique programs include one or more media content items related to "Star Wars", and the clusters include clusters related to "Star Wars", such as "science fiction movies like Star Wars".

[0052] An ordered subset 214 of unique programs identified by the recommendation engine 212 is represented by an ordered sequence of information items, and the ordered sequence of information items is provided to the server-side TV application 134 and implemented for display via the unified TV application 202 of the networked TV device 102. In some cases, the activity data used by the knowledge graph engine 130 and the resulting unified user activity characteristics 208 are constantly changing. The ordered subset 214 of unique programs can be dynamically identified. For example, the ordered subset 214 of unique programs is updated periodically or in response to a user request from the networked TV device 102. In some cases, each unique program in the ordered subset 214 has a lifespan determined based on the corresponding content type of the respective unique program and must be removed from the recommended ordered subset after the lifespan expires. In some implementations, the unified user activity characteristics 208 vary with the time of day and the day of the week, and so does the ordered subset 214 of unique programs recommended via the unified TV application 202.

[0053] Multiple user applications serve as multiple information sources 132 to provide activity data of the user of the TV device 102 and include at least the Internet search engine 206. The server system 104 stores and provides to the knowledge graph engine 130 the search queries and search results for multiple search operations implemented from the user account by the Internet search engine 206. Additionally, in some embodiments, the server system 104 stores the viewing information associated with the user account for a subset or all of the media player applications 204 and the purchase information associated with the user account for a subset of the user applications (e.g., online retailer applications). Such viewing information and purchase information are provided to the knowledge graph engine 130 in combination with the search queries and search results. In some implementations, the multiple user applications include the voice or video assistant applications 218 associated with the speaker assistant device 142 or the display assistant device 144. In some implementations, the multiple user applications include the unified home device application and / or the dedicated home device application 220 associated with one or more home devices 140. The activity data collected by these assistant applications 218 and home device applications 220 are also stored and provided to the knowledge graph engine 130.

[0054] Optionally, one of the media player applications 204 is provided by the server system 104 itself. Optionally, the media player applications 204 are provided by a third-party media content source 110 different from and / or remote from the server system 104. In one example, the virtual user domain is associated with a Google user account (e.g., abc@gmail.com )). The media player applications 204 include YouTube provided by Google and other media player applications (e.g., Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu) that are not provided by Google and are hosted independently of Google.

[0055] In some implementations, the program information associated with the plurality of media player applications 204 includes one or more of the following: schedule information of current and scheduled programs available or to be available on each of the media player applications, short episode summaries, cast information, rating information, and reviews. The program information is optionally provided to the server system 104 in a program directory by each of the third-party media content sources 110 associated with the plurality of media player applications 204. Optionally, the program information is provided to the server system 104 by the EPG source 108. Alternatively, in some implementations, the program information associated with the plurality of media player applications 204 includes publicly available media information downloaded from a public database independent of the user account. Note that the program information associated with the media player applications can be provided to the server system 104 independent of whether the user account associated with the TV device 102 and the unified TV application 202 subscribes to the media player applications and has access to the media content provided via the media player applications.

[0056] In some implementations, the program information related to the same media content item provided by different media content sources 110 is different and can vary to different levels, thus requiring deduplication of the program information associated with the plurality of media player applications. Specifically, in some implementations, a first media content item is provided by a first media player application and associated with first program information. A second media content item is provided by a second media player application and associated with second program information in the second media player application. The second program information is different from the first program information. The knowledge graph engine 130 identifies the similarity level between the first program information and the second program information and determines that the similarity level exceeds a similarity threshold. In accordance with the determination, the knowledge graph engine 130 deduplicates and aggregates the first program information of the first media content item and the second program information of the second media content item, and determines that one of the plurality of unique programs is associated with both the first media content item and the second media content item. That is, the first media content item and the second media content item provided by two different media player applications correspond to the same unique program or media content item. Additionally, in some implementations, the knowledge graph engine 130 identifies the similarity level between the first program information and the second program information by identifying a first keyword from the first program information and a second keyword from the second program information. The first keyword and the second keyword are semantically compared to identify the similarity level between the first program information and the second program information. For example, two program information items are generally consistent, but record different keywords "police" and "inspector" that are semantically close. These two program information items correspond to a relatively high similarity level above the similarity threshold.

[0057] In some implementations, in addition to deduplication, program information associated with multiple media player applications is processed to calculate program characteristics of a unique program among the unique programs. Then, the multi-dimensional unified user activity characteristics are compared with the calculated program characteristics to generate a consistency score. The recommendation engine 212 is configured to determine whether the consistency score exceeds a consistency threshold and, when the consistency score exceeds the consistency threshold, identify the unique program among the unique programs to be recommended to the user via the unified TV application. Alternatively, in some implementations, to identify each unique program in an ordered subset of unique programs, the recommendation engine 212 identifies one or more keywords based on the multi-dimensional unified user activity characteristics and searches for the one or more keywords in the deduplicated program information of the multiple unique programs to identify the corresponding unique program in the ordered subset of unique programs.

[0058] In some implementations, the recommendation engine 212 receives rights information for a subset of the multiple media player applications. For each in the ordered subset of unique programs, the recommendation engine 212 determines, based on the rights information, that the corresponding unique program corresponds to the corresponding media player application to which the user of the networked TV device has access rights. In accordance with the rights information, the user may have access rights to the corresponding unique program because the user has subscribed to the corresponding media player application or because the corresponding unique program is available for free review with or without registration. The corresponding unique programs available for free review include media content that is freely available in the air, such as via a broadcast service or IPTV feed, and media content that is available due to regional regulations or rights.

[0059] In other words, the personal preferences indicated by the multi-dimensional unified user activity characteristics are used to select a set of unique programs from the unique programs provided by the media content source 110 and rank the selected set of unique programs. The selected set of unique programs is further filtered according to rights information indicating whether the user account has the right to enjoy the media content provided by the media content source 110 via the corresponding media player application 204 (e.g., has access rights to the media content). Such rights information associated with the media player application is optionally entered by the user of the unified TV application during the initial application personalization process or execution phase of the unified TV application 202. Optionally, such rights information associated with the media player application is automatically extracted from the media player application.

[0060] In some implementations, the UMP 128 also includes a media search engine 222 that is configured to receive a search query from the server-side TV application 134 and identify one or more media content items based on the program information 210 of the programs or content items provided via the media player application 204.

[0061] The server system 104 has one or more processors and a memory storing instructions for execution by the one or more processors. In some implementations, the server system 104 includes a single server computer configured to implement the functions of the knowledge graph engine 130, the recommendation engine 212, the media search engine 222, and the server - side TV application 134. Alternatively, in some implementations, the server system 104 includes two or more separate server computers, each of which is configured to implement one or more of the functions of the knowledge graph engine 130, the recommendation engine 212, the media search engine 222, and the server - side TV application 134.

[0062] Figure 3 is an example unified user interface 300 for display on the networked TV device 102 in accordance with some implementations. The unified TV application 202 is executed locally on the networked TV device 102 to display the unified user interface 300. As referenced above Figure 2 As described, the server system 104 identifies an ordered subset 214 of unique programs based on the user activity characteristics 208 and the program information 210 of a plurality of unique programs. The unified TV application 202 obtains a media recommendation stream from the server system 104, the media recommendation stream including an ordered sequence of optional information items 302 - 332 corresponding to the identified ordered subset 214 of unique media content items or programs. For each optional information item, the media recommendation stream includes a corresponding command to be executed in response to a user selection of the corresponding optional information item displayed on the networked TV device 102.

[0063] In some implementations, the corresponding ordered sequence of optional information items is classified into an ordered list of clusters 334 - 340. That is, a plurality of clusters 334 - 340 are created for display on the unified user interface 300 and physically arranged according to a predefined cluster order. Optionally, these clusters are dynamically created and arranged based on the multi - dimensional unified user activity characteristics 208. In some implementations, the clusters recommended via the unified TV application 202 have a certain level of heterogeneity, i.e., have more than a predetermined number of different clusters. For example, three or more different clusters must be recommended via the unified TV application 202. Alternatively, in some implementations, the clusters displayed on the unified user interface 300 have a similarity score that is controlled to be below a cluster - to - cluster similarity threshold for many adjacent clusters. This is to avoid a situation where similar clusters and information items are arranged adjacent to each other in highly related clusters. In some implementations, a benchmark for defining the cluster - to - cluster similarity threshold across multiple adjacent clusters is established.

[0064] Each cluster includes one or more information items that are sorted into an ordered sublist of information items within the respective cluster in the ordered sequence. For each cluster (e.g., the first cluster 338), a corresponding subset of the ordered sequence of optional information items (e.g., information items 318 - 324) is physically arranged according to a predefined order of information items determined based on the multi-dimensional unified user activity characteristic 208 associated with the user account related to the ordered sequence of optional information items.

[0065] Examples of clusters shown on the unified user interface 300 include "New Release" 334, "PlayNext" 336, "Trending Now" 338, "Because You Watched MovieABC" 340, and "Action Movies". In another example, a cluster is dedicated to a single media player application (e.g., YouTube), and the subset of information items associated with the cluster corresponds to a mixture of shows, movies, and TV station shoulder content provided by the single media player application. Each cluster thus corresponds to a respective ordered sublist of information items and is defined according to one or more of the following categories: content type (e.g., "ActionMovies"), viewing history (e.g., "Because You Watched Movie ABC"), release time (e.g., "Trending"), or content source (e.g., different streaming services and broadcast TV channels that provide action movies). In particular, the information items in the "New Release" cluster are determined based on one or more of content type / format, content quality, recency, popularity, seasonality, and application life cycle associated with the media content item or program corresponding to the information items in "New Release".

[0066] In some implementations, media content items corresponding to information items in the clusters of "New Release" or "Trending Now" are provided by a transactional video-on-demand (TVOD) content provider, and the selection of media content items in "New Release" or "Trending Now" is configured such that the user interface presented to the user of the TV device 102 can collect payment for reviewing the media content items. Optionally, such a cluster of "New Release" or "Trending Now" is provided as part of an ordered sequence of information items corresponding to an ordered subset 214 of unique programs determined based on the unified user activity characteristic 208. Optionally, such a cluster of "New Release" or "Trending Now" is provided to all user accounts as a supplement to the ordered sequence of information items corresponding to the ordered subset 214 of unique programs, independent of the unified user activity characteristic 208 of individual user accounts.

[0067] In some implementations, media content items corresponding to information items in the cluster of "Action Movies" are provided by a subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) content provider. The selection of media content items in such a cluster is configured to enable a media content item page (also referred to as a summary page, e.g., Figure 6A page 600 in ) or initiate the display of a media content item without prompting for immediate payment. Additionally, in some implementations, media content items corresponding to information items in the cluster of "Play Next" are optionally provided by an SVOD or TVOD content provider. In response to the selection of a media content item in such a cluster of "Play Next", the TV device 102 resumes displaying the media content item, thereby allowing the user of the TV device 102 to have one-touch access to continue watching a particularly favorite performance or movie.

[0068] For each cluster on the unified user interface 300, a part or all of an ordered sublist of information items is displayed based on the total number of information items in the corresponding sublist, the size of each information item, and the available display space associated with the corresponding cluster. In some implementations, each of the ordered subsets 214 of unique programs is different from any other unique program in the ordered subset 214 of unique programs. Any two of the information items 302 - 332 displayed in the unified user interface 300 are different from each other. In some cases, any two of the information items 302 - 332 displayed in the same cluster of the unified user interface 300 are different from each other. Alternatively, in some cases, two of the information items 302 - 332 may be the same, but are recommended in different clusters. For example, the information item 310 associated with "Downton Abbey" appears in both the cluster of "PlayNext" 336 and the cluster of "Drama".

[0069] In some implementations, the unified user interface 300 includes application function visibility items 342 different from the ordered list of clusters and corresponding optional information items displayed therewith. In response to a user action on the function visibility item 342 (e.g., selection of item 342 via the remote control device 114), the unified TV application 202 updates the unified user interface 300 with a page of information items each representing a corresponding media player application 204. In Figure 3 some implementations not shown, the unified user interface 300 further includes alternative clusters of information items each representing a corresponding one of the plurality of media player applications 204.

[0070] In some implementations, the unified user interface 300 includes an EPG function visibility item 348. In response to a user action on the function visibility item 348 (e.g., selection of item 348 via the remote control device 114), the unified TV application 202 displays a unified EPG page that includes a schedule of a plurality of content items and programs provided by a broadcast service (e.g., TV, cable, satellite, YouTube) and organized chronologically. The content items and programs are selected at least in part based on the location of the connected TV device 102. In some implementations, the plurality of content items and programs are also determined by comparing the multi-dimensional unified user activity characteristics 208 and the deduplicated program information corresponding to the media content items and programs provided by the broadcast service.

[0071] The information items 302-332 are provided by more than one media content source 110, but are organized and displayed on the unified user interface 300 based on the content (not the media content source) of the media content item or program 214 recommended by the recommendation engine 212 of the server system 104. Specifically, each cluster displayed on the unified user interface 300 includes a subset of an ordered sequence of optional information items. The first cluster 338 includes a first optional information item 318 and a second optional information item 320. The first optional information item 318 and the second optional information item 320 of the first cluster 338 are displayed simultaneously on the unified user interface 300. In response to a first user selection of the first optional information item 318, the TV device 102 displays information about a first media content item provided by a first content provider. In response to a second user selection of the second optional information item 320, the TV device 102 displays information about a second media content item provided by a second content provider. The second content provider is different from the first content provider, but the information of the first content provider and the second content provider is optionally hidden on the unified user interface 300 showing the clusters 334-340 and the optional information items 302-332.

[0072] In some embodiments, each of the first content provider and the second content provider is selected from a broadcast television service, a direct broadcast satellite service, a cable television service, a subscription video on demand (SVOD) content provider, a transactional video on demand (TVOD) content provider, an advertisement-based video on demand (AVOD) service, and a replay and time-shifted content playback source. Optionally, the first content provider or the second content provider relies on a tuner-based delivery of over-the-air media content. Optionally, the first content provider or the second content provider delivers a live TV stream based on an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) or other Internet-delivered linear, live, or synthetic live content source, and the first content provider or the second content provider is an Internet-based live streaming service. If one of the information items 302-332 corresponds to a broadcast television service (e.g., NBC, ABC, ESPN), a unique broadcast program corresponding to one of the information items 302-332 is permitted to be shown at the location of the TV device 102 in accordance with the geographical restrictions associated with the broadcast television service.

[0073] Note that the unified TV application 202 is associated with a user account of a virtual user domain hosted by the server system 104. In some implementations, the first content provider is associated with a first media player application, and the first media player application is optionally associated with a user account of a virtual user domain hosted by the server system 104. In some implementations, the second content provider is associated with a second media player application, and the second media player application is optionally associated with a user account of a virtual user domain hosted by the server system 104.

[0074] In some cases, the first cluster 338 has more selectable information items than the number of slots in the corresponding space of the unified user interface 300 assigned to the first cluster 338. A subset of the selectable information items corresponding to the first cluster 338 is physically arranged and configured to move along a first axis 344 of the unified user interface 300 such that different information items in the subset of the selectable information items corresponding to the first cluster 338 can be displayed on the unified user interface 300 and recommended to the user of the TV device 102. Specifically, a first user action on an information item 318 (e.g., a user pressing the "previous" button on the remote control device 114) can cause the information items 318 - 322 to shift one slot to the right, causing the information item 324 to exit the unified user interface 300 and a new information item associated with the first cluster 338 to enter the unified user interface 300. Similarly, a second user action on the information item 324 (e.g., a user pressing the "next" button on the remote control device 114) can cause the information items 320 - 324 to shift one slot to the left, causing the information item 318 to exit the unified user interface 300 and another new information item associated with the first cluster 338 to enter the unified user interface 300. When one of the first user action and the second user action is continuously applied, the start or end information item in the first cluster 338 is displayed. When this occurs, one of the first user action and the second user action optionally does not change the information items displayed on the unified user interface 300 or continues to display the end or start of the subset of the selectable information items in the first cluster 338 as new information items immediately following the start or end information item, respectively.

[0075] Additionally, in some implementations, multiple clusters are distributed along a second axis 346 of the unified user interface 300 and include a first subset of clusters and a second subset of clusters. The first subset of clusters can be moved out of the unified user interface, and the second subset of clusters can be moved into the unified user interface along the second axis. For example, the first subset of clusters includes cluster 334. A third user action on one of the information items 302 - 308 (e.g., a user pressing the "up" button on the remote control device 114) can cause clusters 334 - 338 to move down one slot such that cluster 340 exits the unified user interface 300 and a new cluster before cluster 334 enters the unified user interface 300 from the top edge. Similarly, a fourth user action on one of the information items 326 - 332 (e.g., a user pressing the "down" button on the remote control device 114) can cause clusters 336 - 340 to move up one slot such that clusters 336 - 340 exit the unified user interface 300 and another new cluster following cluster 340 enters the unified user interface 300. When one of the third user action and the fourth user action is continuously applied, the top or bottom cluster of the multiple clusters is displayed. When this occurs, one of the third user action and the fourth user action optionally does not change the clusters displayed on the unified user interface 300 or continues to display the bottom or top cluster of the multiple clusters as a new cluster following the top or bottom cluster, respectively.

[0076] Figure 4 FIG. 400 is an example flowchart of a method 400 for providing knowledge - based media content recommendations to a networked TV device 102 according to some implementations. The method 400 is executed by the server system 104 and, optionally, is governed by instructions stored in a non - transitory computer - readable storage medium and executed by one or more processors of the server system 104. Figure 4 Each of the operations shown in FIG. can correspond to instructions stored in a computer memory or a non - transitory computer - readable storage medium (e.g., Figure 14A the memory 1406 of the server system 104 in FIG.). The computer - readable storage medium can include a magnetic or optical disk storage device, a solid - state storage device such as flash memory, or one or more other non - volatile memory devices. The instructions stored on the computer - readable storage medium can include one or more of the following: source code, assembly language code, object code, or other instruction formats interpreted by one or more processors. Some operations in the method 400 can be combined and / or the order of some operations can be changed.

[0077] Server system 104 hosts a virtual user domain that includes user accounts. Server system 104 associates (402) user accounts with a unified TV application 202, a plurality of media player applications 204, and a plurality of user applications. The unified TV application 202 is associated with a networked TV device 102, and the plurality of user applications includes at least an Internet search engine 206. For each of the unified TV application, the media player applications, and the user applications, server system stores (404) corresponding activity data. Specifically, server system 104 stores (406) search queries and search results for a plurality of search operations implemented from a user account by an Internet query engine 206, stores (408) viewing information associated with a user account for a subset of media player applications 204, and stores (410) purchase information associated with a user account for a subset of user applications. Thereby, a multi-dimensional unified user activity characteristic 208 is calculated (412) based on the stored activity data.

[0078] Server system 104 also obtains (414) program information associated with the plurality of media player applications 204, thereby generating deduplicated program information 210 for a plurality of unique programs. In some implementations, a first media content item is provided by a first media player application and is associated with first program information, while a second media content item is provided by a second media player application and is associated with second program information in the second media player application. Server system 104 identifies (416) a similarity level between the first program information and the second program information. In accordance with a determination (418) that the similarity level exceeds a similarity threshold, server system 104 deduplicates (420) the first program information of the first media content item and the second program information of the second media content item, and determines (422) that a unique program is associated with both the first media content item and the second media content item.

[0079] In accordance with user activity characteristic 208 and program information 210 of the plurality of unique programs, server system 104 identifies (424) an ordered subset 214 of unique programs to be recommended to a user via unified TV application 202. Server system 104 enables (426) an ordered sequence of information items (e.g., items 302 - 332) corresponding to the ordered subset 214 of unique programs to be displayed via unified TV application 202. Each information item represents a corresponding unique program or media content item provided by a corresponding media player application 204.

[0080] Figure 5 FIG. 500 is an example flowchart of a method 500 for presenting program information on a networked TV device 102 according to some implementations. Method 500 is performed by networked TV device 102 and, optionally, is governed by instructions stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and executed by one or more processors of networked TV device 102.Figure 5 Each of the operations shown can correspond to instructions stored in a computer memory or a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (e.g., Figure 15 the memory 1506 of the networked TV device 102 in ). The computer-readable storage medium can include a magnetic or optical disk storage device, a solid-state storage device such as flash memory, or one or more other non-volatile memory devices. The instructions stored on the computer-readable storage medium can include one or more of the following: source code, assembly language code, object code, or other instruction formats interpreted by one or more processors. Some operations in method 500 can be combined and / or the order of some operations can be changed.

[0081] The networked TV device 102 is linked to a user account in a virtual user domain hosted by the server system 104. The networked TV device 102 executes (502) the unified TV application 202 to display the unified user interface 300. A media recommendation stream is obtained (504) from the server system 104 and includes an ordered sequence of optional information items 302 - 332 corresponding to an ordered set 214 of unique media content items or programs. For each optional information item, the media recommendation stream includes (506) a corresponding command to be executed at the networked TV device 102 in response to a user selection of the corresponding optional information item.

[0082] The networked TV device 102 displays (508) a plurality of clusters on the unified user interface 300. Each cluster includes (510) a subset of the ordered sequence of optional information items 302 - 332. The first cluster 338 includes the first optional information item 318 and the second optional information item 320. The first optional information item 318 and the second optional information item 320 of the first cluster 338 are displayed (510) simultaneously on the unified user interface 300. In some embodiments, information about the content providers associated with the first optional information item and the second optional information item is hidden on the unified user interface 300 that displays the first optional information item and the second optional information item in the first cluster 338.

[0083] In response to a first user selection of a first optional information item, the networked TV device 102 displays (512) information about a first media content item provided by a first content provider (e.g., via a first media player application associated with the first content provider). In response to a second user selection of a second optional information item, the networked TV device 102 displays (514) information about a second media content item provided by a second content provider (e.g., via a second media player application associated with the second content provider). The second content provider is different from the first content provider. In some cases, displaying information about the first media content item includes initiating playback of the first media content item provided by the first content provider directly from the first media player application, while displaying information about the second media content item includes initiating playback of the second media content item provided by the second content provider directly from the second media player application. Alternatively, in some cases, information about the first media content item and the second media content item is displayed via the unified TV application 202 on their respective media content item pages (e.g., Figure 6A the page 600 in

[0084] Figure 6A and Figure 6B are two example media content item pages 600 and 650 displayed on the networked TV device 102 in accordance with some implementations. In some implementations, the media content item page 600 is displayed to present information about a first media content item provided by a first media player application associated with a first content provider in response to a user selection of an optional information item (e.g., item 318) in the unified user interface 300. The information about the first media content item includes one or more of the following: scheduling information, a short episode summary 612, cast information 614, rating information 616, and comments on the first media content item. Optionally, the information about the first media content item includes one or more recommendations 618 related to the first media content item.

[0085] A list 602 of content providers that provide the first media content item is displayed on the media content item page 600. The first content provider 604 is listed at the top of the list 602 of content providers and has the highest priority thereon. The user account associated with the unified TV application 202 has subscribed to a subset or all of the content providers in the list 602. In some implementations, the user account has subscribed to at least the first content provider 604, allowing the recommendation engine 212 to rely on the rights information of the first content provider 604 and add the first content item to the ordered sequence of optional information items provided to the networked TV device 102.

[0086] Additionally, in some cases, the list 602 of content providers includes a second content provider 606 that also provides the first media content item, and the first content provider 604 has a higher priority on the list 602 of content providers that provide the first media content item than the second content provider 606. On the other hand, note that different media content item pages may be displayed to present information about a second media content item in the unified user interface 300 in response to a user selection of different optional information items (e.g., item 320). Different lists of content providers are displayed with the second content provider 606 associated with the second media content item enumerated at the top of the different lists of content providers.

[0087] Reference Figure 6B , in some implementations, a media content item page 650 is displayed to present information about a first media content item provided by a first media player application associated with a first content provider in the unified user interface 300 in response to a user selection of an optional information item (e.g., item 318). The user account does not subscribe to the first media player application, and the media content item page 650 includes a functionality visibility item 608 linked to the first media player application to allow the user account to subscribe to the service of the first content provider in response to a user action on the functionality visibility item 608. In one example, the first media content item is relatively new, e.g., has recently stopped showing in theaters and has started to be distributed by a TVOD content provider, and the functionality visibility item 608 is linked to a uniform resource locator (URL) associated with the first media player application that supports viewing the first media content item on a pay-per-view basis.

[0088] Figure 7 is an example operating environment 700 according to some implementations, where the unified TV application 202 and the media player application 204 cooperate to play media content items on the networked TV device 102. Both the unified TV application 202 and the media player application 204 are executed by the networked TV device 102. The playback of a media content item starts in the unified TV application 202. In some cases, the playback of a first media content item provided by a first content provider from a first media player application is directly initiated in response to a user action on a corresponding optional information item 318 displayed on the unified user interface 300. Alternatively, in some cases, e.g., in response to a user selection of a media content provider from the list 602 of media content providers, the playback of the first media content item is initiated from the corresponding media content item page 600.

[0089] When initiating playback of a first media content item, the unified TV application 202 relies on the first or other selected media player application 204 to play the first media content item. In some implementations, although the first media content item is played by the first media player application, the user interface elements of the first media player application are bypassed and stopped from being displayed to the user of the networked TV device 102. These bypassed user interface elements include the user interface elements associated with the home user interface of the first media player application. In contrast, alternative user interface features may not be skipped, and examples of these non-skipped user interface features include a startup image frame indicating that the first media item is provided by the first media content provider. By bypassing the user interface elements of the first media player application, the unified TV application 202 and the media player application 204 are seamlessly integrated to enable playback of the first media content item without user intervention to switch between the two applications.

[0090] Figure 8 FIG. 800 is an example sequence of user interfaces that are sequentially displayed on the networked TV device 102 in response to user actions on the remote control device 114 coupled to the networked TV device 102, according to some implementations. When a media content item page 600 (also referred to as a summary page) for the first media content item is displayed on the TV device 102, the first media content provider 604 is selected from the list 602 of media content providers by a first user action having an indication of the first media content provider (e.g., by pressing the play button 802 of the remote control device 114). In response to the user action, the first media content item is provided by the first media content provider 604 and played on the media player interface 804 associated with the first media content provider 604. The media player application is executed and hidden in the background to enable playback of the first media content item.

[0091] In some implementations, a user request to stop playback of the first media content item on the media player interface 804 implemented by the first media player application is received. In response to the user request to stop playback of the first media content item, the home user interface 806 of the first media player application is displayed, and the networked TV device 102 operates in the media environment managed by the first media player application. The user of the networked TV device 102 can exit the media environment by selecting an exit function visibility item on the home user interface 806 of the first media player application or by pressing one or more predefined shortcut buttons of the remote control device 114.

[0092] Alternatively, in some implementations, in response to a user request to stop playback of a first media content item on the media player interface 804, the display control is directly returned to the unified TV application 202 associated with the networked TV device 102. That is, in response to the user request, the networked TV device 102 displays, via the unified TV application 202, a page 600 of the first media content item or a plurality of clustered media content items on the unified user interface 300. By these means, the user of the networked TV device 102 may not see the participation of the first media player application at all, thus allowing the media player application 204 to be seamlessly integrated within the unified TV application 202.

[0093] Figure 9 FIG. 900 is an example operating environment in accordance with some implementations, in which the unified TV application 202, the media player application 204, and the content projection application 902 of the networked TV device 102 cooperate to implement playback of media content items. The media player application 204 is a dedicated application associated with a particular media streaming service or broadcast channel, a cable or over-the-air (OTA) tuner, or a web browser. The content projection application 902 is within the networked TV device 102 that executes the unified TV application 202. The networked TV device 102 has a normal mode and a restricted mode, and the restricted mode is associated with content selection criteria. In the normal mode, media content allowed to be played via the unified TV application 202 is selected from the media content provided by each media content source 110 associated with the media player application 204 without any restrictions other than the rights of the user account (i.e., the permission to access media content licensed through a subscription). In contrast, in the restricted mode, in addition to the rights of the user account, media content allowed to be played via the unified TV application 202 is selected from the media content provided by each media content source 110 associated with the media player application 204 according to the content selection criteria. Thus, the implementation of the restricted mode involves operations on both the server side and the TV device side.

[0094] On the server side, the recommendation engine 212 compares the user activity characteristics 208 with the program information 210 of multiple unique content items or programs to identify an ordered subset 214 of unique programs to be recommended to the user in normal mode. In the restricted mode, during the process of obtaining the ordered subset 214 of unique programs, the recommendation engine 212 applies content filtering criteria in combination with the user activity characteristics 208 and any other filtering conditions (e.g., the rights information of the media player application 204) if available. That is, in the restricted mode, the ordered subset 214 of unique programs is determined at least in part based on the content filtering criteria. The optional information items displayed on the TV device 102 correspond to the ordered subset 214 of unique programs and are thus selected from the program information 210 associated with one or more media player applications 204 according to the content selection criteria.

[0095] On the TV device side, the unified TV application 202 is executed to enable the display of a unified user interface 300 on the networked TV device 102. In normal mode, the unified TV application 202 does not impose any restrictions associated with the content selection criteria on the media content provided via the media player application 204, and the media player application 204 is thus invoked by the unified TV application 202 to play the media content. Conversely, in the restricted mode, the content selection criteria are applied via the unified TV application 202. The unified TV application 202 receives a user action on a first optional information item on the unified user interface 300. The first optional information item corresponds to a first media content item provided by a first content provider in a first media player application. In response to the user action on the first optional information item, the unified TV application 202 determines that the unified TV application is operating in the restricted mode and the first media player application is not operating in the restricted mode, and the local content projection application is invoked by the unified TV application 202 to display the first media content item corresponding to the first optional information item on the networked TV device 102.

[0096] Alternatively, in some implementations, the unified TV application 202 determines that the unified TV application is operating in the restricted mode and the first media player application is capable of operating in the restricted mode, and the first media player application is invoked by the unified TV application 202 to display the first media content item corresponding to the first optional information item on the networked TV device 102. In the restricted mode, the media player application 204 has a higher priority than the content playback application 902 that is only invoked when the media player application 204 is not capable of operating in the restricted mode. The content projection application 902 is locally available to run on behalf of the media player application 204 that cannot comply with the content selection criteria.

[0097] In some implementations, the media player application 204 is associated with a respective third-party media content source 110 independently of a unified TV application configured to introduce content selection criteria to limit media content provided via the respective media player application. Alternatively, in some implementations, the media player application 204 is associated with a server system 104 that also implements the unified TV application 202. Additionally, in some implementations, the content projection application 902 includes a plurality of media receiver modules 904 corresponding to the plurality of media player applications 204. In a restricted mode, the unified TV application 202 applies content selection criteria to media content provided by a media content source 110 associated with the media player application 204 via a respective media receiver module 904 of the content projection application 902.

[0098] Figure 10A FIG. 1000 is an example unified user interface displayed on the networked TV device 102 in a restricted mode according to some implementations. Figure 10B and Figure 10C FIGS. 1040 and 1080 are two example sequences of user interfaces successively displayed on the networked TV device 102 in response to user actions on a remote control device 114 coupled to the networked TV device 102 according to some implementations. In the restricted mode, the content selection criteria define an age-based content rating, and a first media content item corresponding to a plurality of selectable information items displayed on the unified user interface 1000 complies with the age-based content rating. For example, a children's zone can be created in the corresponding unified TV application 202. In some implementations, a first content provider is configured to provide one or more second media content items, each of which is different from the first media content item corresponding to the selectable information items displayed on the unified user interface 1000. The one or more second media content items can be played by a first media player application associated with the first content provider in a normal mode, but are prohibited from being played by the local content projection application 902 in the restricted mode.

[0099] In some implementations, the unified TV application 202 loads a criteria setting user interface and receives an input of the age of a child associated with a user account associated with the unified TV application 202 on the criteria setting user interface. The unified TV application 202 is configured to automatically identify an age-based content rating based on the input of the child's age. While operating in the restricted mode, the server system 104 identifies an age-based content rating defined based on the age of the child and selects a plurality of selectable information items for display on the unified user interface 1000 according to the age-based content rating, thereby creating a child-friendly media environment on the TV device 102.

[0100] As described above, in the restricted mode, an ordered subset 214 of unique programs is determined at least in part based on content filtering criteria. The selectable information items displayed on the TV device 102 correspond to the ordered subset 214 of unique programs and are selected from the program information 210 associated with one or more media player applications 204 according to content selection criteria. In some embodiments, the program information 210 associated with one or more media player applications 204 includes multiple characteristic fields for each media content item or program, for example, an age rating field. The recommendation engine 212 compares the value of the age rating field with an age-based content rating to determine whether the corresponding media content item or program complies with the content selection criteria that define the age-based content rating.

[0101] Additionally, in some implementations, a first selectable information item is selected from first program information associated with a first media player application according to content selection criteria, and the first program information is provided at least in part by an information source different from the first media player application. For example, the first media player application (e.g., HBO) does not have a children's section, and thus the corresponding program information 210 of the media content items provided does not include an age rating field and may not be used to determine whether the media content items comply with the age-based content rating. As a solution, the recommendation engine 212 can extract the program information 210 from another information source different from the first media player application to determine whether the media content items provided via the first media player application comply with the age-based content rating.

[0102] Refer to Figure 10B , in some implementations, when the unified user interface 1000 is displayed on the networked TV device 102 to present multiple selectable information items, the TV device 102 receives a user selection of the first selectable information, for example, via the remote control device 114. In response to the user selection, the TV device 102 initiates the playback of the first media content item corresponding to the first selectable information item. In one example, the TV device 102 sequentially displays a startup image frame 1002 indicating that the first media content item is provided by the first media content provider and a frame of the first media content item 1004. Refer to Figure 10C , in some cases, the TV device 102 responds to the user selection of the first selectable information item by initiating the playback of the first media content item 1006 corresponding to the first selectable information item without displaying the startup image frame 1002.

[0103] When playing the first media content item on the TV device 102, the TV device 102 receives a user request to stop the playback of the first media content item, for example, via the remote control device 114. In some implementations ( Figure 10B)In accordance with the determination that the unified TV application 202 operates in a restricted mode, the TV device 102 aborts the display of the first media content item and redisplay a plurality of clusters with optional information items (i.e., the unified user interface 1000). Alternatively, in some implementations ( Figure 10C )In accordance with the determination that the unified TV application 202 operates in a restricted mode, the TV device 102 aborts the display of the first media content item in response to a user request and displays the home user interface 1008 of the first media player application. Additionally, in response to an additional user request, the TV device 102 exits the home user interface and redisplay a plurality of clusters with optional information items (i.e., the unified user interface 1000). Conversely, in accordance with the determination that the unified TV application operates in a normal mode, the TV device 102 aborts the display of the first media content item and implements one of the following: redisplay a plurality of clusters on the unified user interface 1000 and display the home user interface 1008 of the first media player application.

[0104] Figure 11 is an example flowchart of a method 1100 for presenting selected media content provided by a media player application on a networked TV device 102 according to some implementations. The method 1100 is executed by the networked TV device 102 and, optionally, is governed by instructions stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and executed by one or more processors of the networked TV device 102. Figure 5 Each of the operations shown in may correspond to instructions stored in a computer memory or a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (e.g., Figure 15 the memory 1506 of the networked TV device 102 in ). The computer-readable storage medium may include a magnetic disk or optical disk storage device, a solid-state storage device such as flash memory, or one or more other non-volatile memory devices. The instructions stored on the computer-readable storage medium may include one or more of the following: source code, assembly language code, object code, or other instruction formats interpreted by one or more processors. Some operations in the method 1100 may be combined and / or the order of some operations may be changed.

[0105] The TV device 102 is linked to a user account in a virtual user domain hosted by the server system 104. The TV device 102 executes (1102) a unified TV application 202 to enable a unified user interface 1000 to be displayed on the networked TV device. The unified TV application 202 has (1104) a normal mode and a restricted mode, and is associated with one or more standard media player applications 204 and a local content projection application 902. A plurality of clusters are displayed (1106) on the unified user interface 1000. Each cluster has a plurality of selectable information items. The TV device 102 identifies (1108) content selection criteria and selects (1110) a plurality of selectable information items from program information 210 associated with one or more media player applications 204 according to the content selection criteria.

[0106] The TV device 102 receives (1112) a user action on a first selectable information item corresponding to a first media content item provided by a first content provider in a first media player application. In response to the user action on the first selectable information item (1114), in accordance with the determination that the unified TV application operates in the restricted mode and the determination that the first media player application does not operate in the restricted mode, the TV device 102 displays, via the local content projection application, the first media content item corresponding to the first selectable information item on the networked TV device. Alternatively, in response to the user action on the first selectable information item (1114), in accordance with the determination that the unified TV application operates in the normal mode, the TV device 102 displays (1118) the first media content item corresponding to the first selectable information item on the networked TV device 102 via the first media player application.

[0107] In some implementations, the first content provider is configured to provide one or more second media content items, each of which is different from the plurality of media content items corresponding to the plurality of selectable information items. The first media player application is configured to play one or more second media content items in the normal mode. It is prohibited for one or more second media content items to be played by the local content projection application in the restricted mode.

[0108] Figure 12An example operating environment 1200 in accordance with some implementations is provided, where focus items (also referred to as tiles) provided by a recommendation engine 212, one or more advertisement (ad) providers, and a merchandising module 1202 are blended for display on a networked TV device 102. The one or more ad providers include an internal ad provider 1204 hosted and managed by a server system 104 and / or an external third-party ad source 106 not hosted by the server system 104. An ad management module 1208 is coupled to the one or more ad providers and is configured to manage ad content provided by the one or more ad providers. The recommendation engine 212 is configured to compare multi-dimensional unified user activity characteristics 208 with program information 210 of a plurality of unique programs provided by a media content source 204 to identify an ordered subset 214 of unique programs to be recommended to a user via a unified TV application 202. In particular, the recommendation engine 212 is capable of recommending media content provided by broadcast services (TV, satellite, or cable) and video-on-demand (VOD) content providers for a user of the TV device 102 based on the user activity characteristics 208. The merchandising module 1202 is hosted and managed by the server system 104 and is configured to provide focus items selected by the server system 104 for promotion. The focus items selected by the merchandising module 1202 are optionally determined independently of the user activity characteristics 208 or based on the user's user activity characteristics 208. In some implementations, the focus items selected by the merchandising module 1202 are ads that solicit the user to subscribe to a service provided by an SVOD content provider, purchase or rent certain media content, or play an online game. For example, the focus items selected by the merchandising module 1202 include trailers related to newly released movies. In some implementations, the focus items selected by the merchandising module 1202 are provided by a TVOD content provider independently of the user activity characteristics 208 of any particular user (i.e., the focus items are associated with the TVOD content provider and are pushed by the merchandising module 1202 to the TV device). Alternatively, in some cases, the focus items selected by the merchandising module 1202 are determined by the server system 104 based on the user activity characteristics 208 of many users across different usage scenarios in a virtual user domain hosted by the server system 104. In one example, each of the focus items selected by the merchandising module 1202 is determined based on one or more of the following: the content type / format of the corresponding focus item, content quality, recency, popularity, seasonality, and application lifecycle.

[0109] Reference Figure 3, the unified TV application 202 is executed to enable a unified user interface 300 to be displayed on the networked TV device 102, and the unified user interface 300 has a focus area 362 (e.g., a prominently displayed area of the user interface) configured to display a plurality of focus items. The focus area 362 is optionally located in the upper half area of the unified user interface 300. A plurality of focus items are sequentially displayed in the focus area 362 according to chronological order. Optionally, the plurality of focus items are organized in time as a carousel, so as to smoothly transition to the start focus item after the end focus item is displayed. Each focus item is associated with a corresponding focus item provider selected from the promotion module 1202, the advertisement management module 1208, and the media recommendation engine 212. The server system 104 includes a mixer 1206 configured to automatically mix a plurality of focus items sequentially according to chronological order. In some implementations, the focus area 362 expands to partially overlap with a subset of the optional information items 302-332. In one example, the focus area 362 covers the entire unified user interface 300 and overlaps with all the optional information items 302-332. That is, a subset or all of the optional information items 302-332 are displayed on the background of the focus area 362, and a plurality of focus items are sequentially displayed on the background for a subset or all of the optional information items 302-332.

[0110] Additionally, the advertisement management module 1208 of the server system 104 further includes (not shown in Figure 12 ) an advertisement conversion module configured to customize the media content items received from the external advertisement source 106 for display in the focus area 362 of the unified user interface 300. For example, the plurality of focus items include a first focus item. The TV device 102 sends a request for the first focus item to the first advertiser server 106, and the request includes information on a plurality of predefined user interface elements in the focus area of the unified user interface. In response to the request, the TV device 102 receives a plurality of media content items associated with the first focus item from the first advertiser server 106 and combines the plurality of media content items into the first focus item for display in the focus area during the time slot corresponding to the first focus item. In some implementations, the plurality of media content items include a subset of media content items that comply with the Video Ad Serving Template (VAST) standard for the communication requirements between the first advertiser server and the networked TV device. Therefore, the advertisement conversion module of the advertisement management module 1208 is configured to combine a subset of the content items into the first focus item and customize the first focus item for display on the unified user interface 3000 of the networked TV device 102.

[0111] Examples of predefined user interface elements for the focus region 362 include one or more of the following: background image, stylized title / logo image, description including a popular phrase, call to action, title text, app name, source label, package name, clickable link, and video clip. The background image may include an image of a character without any text. The request for the first focus item sent to the first advertiser server defines which part of the image of the character needs to remain blank for placement of the title. In some implementations, the logo image is required, whereas the stylized font is optional, and a line description promoting the media content associated with the first focus item. The call to action includes an action selectable for the first focus item, such as "subscribe now", "available for rent", "watch now", "subscription required", "coming soon", "add app to favorites row", and "add channel to home screen", and the server system 104 associates the first focus item with a subset of the selectable actions. When the stylized title is not available, the title text is used. Regardless of whether the content is an advertisement, a promotional unit, or a recommendation, the first focus item carries a source label that highlights the source to the user of the TV device 102. The clickable link includes a link to an app, content within the app, or a commercial web page associated with the first focus item, and a click on the first focus item automatically results in activation of the link.

[0112] In one example, the first focus item includes a static advertisement image of a movie currently showing in theaters, and the first focus item includes a link 364 for purchasing tickets and / or a link 366 for reserving a digital versatile disc (DVD). In some implementations, the static advertisement image shows "DVD available now..." and has a link for renting the DVD of the corresponding movie.

[0113] In some implementations, the multiple focus items include a video clip or a static image configured to highlight a media content item provided by a broadcast television service, a direct broadcast satellite service, a cable television service, an SVOD content provider, or an AVOD service. The recommendation engine 212 of the server system 104 identifies multi-dimensional user activity characteristics 208 of a user of the networked TV device 102, obtains program information 210 associated with multiple media player apps 204, and identifies a highlighted media content item to be recommended to the user via the unified TV app. Specifically, the highlighted media content item is displayed to the user of the TV device 102 in the focus region 362 of the unified user interface 300. Information about the highlighted media content can be further provided to the recommendation engine 212 to update the multi-dimensional user activity characteristics 208 and subsequent recommendations of media content items.

[0114] In some implementations, the multiple focus items sequentially displayed in the focus region 362 further include a second focus item, and the second focus item includes a video clip or a static image configured to highlight a media content item provided by a TVOD content provider. The video clip or the static image is displayed during a time slot corresponding to the second focus item. In response to a user action on the displayed video clip or static image, a TVOD media application is executed to allow the user to order and play the media content item corresponding to the second focus item. In some cases, this video clip or static image is sponsored by the TVOD content provider or selected by the server system 104 to promote the corresponding media content item, regardless of the user activity characteristics 208 of the user of the connected TV device 102.

[0115] Reference Figure 3 , in some implementations, the multiple focus items are displayed simultaneously with multiple selectable information items organized in clusters. Although the selectable information items of each cluster are distributed parallel to the first axis 344, the focus region and the multiple clusters are distributed along a second axis 346 different from the first axis 344 of the unified user interface 300. The focus region is fixed on the unified user interface 300, regardless of the display of the multiple selectable information items in a non-focus region different from and non-overlapping with the focus region. Specifically, regardless of whether the selectable information items move, enter, or leave the non-focus region, the focus items are displayed in the fixed focus region. In some implementations, multiple focus item indicators 368 are displayed in combination with the focus items. Each focus item indicator 368 represents a corresponding one of the multiple focus items. For each focus item of the multiple focus items, the TV device 102 displays the corresponding focus item indicator that complies with the active specification 370a according to the determination that the corresponding focus item is displayed in the focus region. According to the determination that the corresponding focus item is not displayed in the focus region, the TV device 102 displays the corresponding focus item indicator that complies with an inactive specification 370b different from the active specification 370a.

[0116] In some cases, while a focus item among the multiple focus items is being displayed in the focus region 362, the TV device 102 receives a predefined user action associated with the corresponding focus item (e.g., a click on the previous or next button on the remote control device 114). In response to the predefined user action, the TV device 102 aborts the display of the corresponding focus item and displays in the focus region of the unified user interface (1) a subsequent focus item following the corresponding focus item in chronological order or (2) a prior focus item preceding the corresponding focus item in chronological order.

[0117] Focus items are often updated in the focus region 362 to keep them fresh. For example, the server system 104 determines the number of times that multiple focus items have been sequentially displayed in the focus region 362 according to the time sequence. In accordance with the determination that the number of times is equal to or greater than a predetermined playback threshold (e.g., 2 times), the server system 104 replaces at least one of the multiple focus items with a replacement focus item.

[0118] Additionally, in some implementations, the server system 104 is configured to de-duplicate the focus items sequentially displayed in the focus region 362. In addition to the first focus region, the multiple focus items further include a second focus item. The mixer 1206 receives two or more original items, each of which is from a different content provider selected from the promotion module 1202, the advertiser 106, and the media recommendation engine 212. The mixer 1206 de-duplicates the two or more original items according to the preferred order of the promotion module 1202, the advertiser 106, and the media recommendation engine 212 to generate the second focus item. In one example, the preferred order defines a decreasing preference for the advertiser 106, the promotion module 1202, and the media recommendation engine 212, which gives priority to the advertiser 106 over any other content source.

[0119] In some embodiments, information about user actions associated with the focus region is provided to one of the recommendation engine 212, the advertisement management module 1208, and the promotion module 1202 that provides the focus items displayed in the focus region. The information about user actions indicates the user preferences of the user of the networked TV device 102 related to the multiple focus items displayed in the focus region. Each of the recommendation engine 212, the advertisement management module 1208, and the promotion module 1202 can determine one or more additional focus items for the user based on the user's user preferences or based on the user preferences of multiple users related to the user of the networked TV device 102.

[0120] Figure 13 FIG. 1300 is an example flowchart of a method 1300 for mixing focus content (including VAST-based advertisements) on the networked TV device 102 according to some implementations. The method 1300 is executed by the server system 104 and optionally governed by instructions stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and executed by one or more processors of the server system 104. Figure 13 Each of the operations shown in FIG. can be associated with instructions stored in a computer memory or a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (e.g., Figure 14Acorrespond to instructions in the memory 1406 of the server system 104. The computer-readable storage medium may include a magnetic disk or optical disk storage device, a solid-state storage device such as flash memory, or one or more other non-volatile memory devices. The instructions stored on the computer-readable storage medium may include one or more of the following: source code, assembly language code, object code, or other instruction formats interpreted by one or more processors. Some operations in method 1300 may be combined and / or the order of some operations may be changed.

[0121] The server system 104 hosts a virtual user domain that includes user accounts. The user accounts are associated (1302) with the unified TV application 202 and a plurality of media player applications 204. The unified TV application 202 is associated (1304) with the networked TV device 102 and is configured to enable media content to be displayed on the TV device 102, and each of the plurality of media player applications 204 is configured to display media content provided by a corresponding content provider 110. The unified TV application 202 is executed (1306) to enable a unified user interface to be displayed on the networked TV device 102. The unified user interface 300 has a focus area 362 configured to display a plurality of focus items. The plurality of focus items are sequentially displayed (also referred to as tiles) in the focus area 362 according to a time sequence, such as in a carousel (1308). Each focus item is associated with a corresponding focus item provider selected from a promotion module, an advertiser, and a media recommendation engine.

[0122] The plurality of focus items includes a first focus item. The server system 104 sends (1310) a request for the first focus item to the first advertiser server. The request includes information about a plurality of predefined user interface elements in the focus area of the unified user interface. In response to the request, the server system 104 receives (1312) a plurality of media content items associated with the first focus item from the first advertiser server and combines the plurality of media content items into the first focus item for display in the focus area 362 during a time slot corresponding to the first focus item.

[0123] It should be understood that Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 11 and Figure 13 the specific order of operations in each of is merely exemplary and is not intended to indicate that the described order is the only order in which these operations can be performed. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize various ways of displaying information items and focus content in a unified user interface as described herein. Additionally, it should be noted that the details described with respect to one of processes 400, 500, 1100, and 1300 may also be applied in a similar manner to any other of methods 400, 500, 1100, and 1300. For the sake of brevity, similar details are not repeated.

[0124] Figure 14A is a block diagram of a server system 104 of a media environment according to some implementations. The server system 104 generally includes one or more processing units (CPUs) 1402, one or more network interfaces 1404, a memory 1406, and one or more communication buses 1408 for interconnecting these components (sometimes referred to as a chipset). The server system 104 can include one or more input devices 1410 that facilitate user input, such as a keyboard, a mouse, a voice command input unit or microphone, a touch screen display, a touch-sensitive input pad, a gesture capture camera, or other input buttons or controls. Additionally, the server system 104 can use a microphone and voice recognition or a camera and gesture recognition to supplement or replace the keyboard. In some implementations, the server system 104 includes one or more cameras, scanners, or photo sensor units for capturing images of, for example, a graphic series code printed on an electronic device. The server system 104 can also include one or more output devices 1412 that enable presentation of a user interface and display of content, including one or more speakers and / or one or more visual displays.

[0125] The memory 1406 includes high-speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM, or other random access solid-state memory devices; and optionally, includes non-volatile memory, such as one or more disk storage devices, one or more optical disk storage devices, one or more flash memory devices, or one or more other non-volatile solid-state storage devices. The memory 1406 optionally includes one or more storage devices located remotely from one or more of the processing units 1402. The memory 1406 or alternatively the non-volatile memory within the memory 1406 includes non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In some implementations, the memory 1406 or the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of the memory 1406 stores the following programs, modules, and data structures, or subsets or supersets thereof:

[0126] ● An operating system 1416, including procedures for handling various basic system services and for performing hardware-related tasks;

[0127] ● A network communication module 1418 for connecting the server system 104 to other devices (e.g., various servers in the server system 104, an advertising source 106, an EPG source 108, a media content source 110, a networked TV device 102, a remote control device 114, media devices 114 - 126, an auxiliary device 138, a home device 140, and a mobile device) via one or more network interfaces 1404 (wired or wireless) and one or more networks 112, such as the Internet, other wide area networks, local area networks, metropolitan area networks, etc.;

[0128] ● The projection device application 1420 is executed to provide server - side functionality for device provisioning, device control, and user account management associated with the projection device 118;

[0129] ● One or more internal media player applications 1422 (e.g., YouTube and Google Play) are executed to provide server - side functionality for media display and user account management;

[0130] ● One or more user applications 1424, including one or more of an Internet search engine, a map application, a social media application, a retailer application, and a device application, which are executed to provide server - side functionality for device provisioning, device control, data processing, and data review for the corresponding auxiliary device 138 or home device 140; and

[0131] ● The server - side TV application 134 is executed to provide server - side functionality for device provisioning, device control, data processing, and data review for the networked TV device 102;

[0132] ● The knowledge graph engine 130 is executed to collect activity data from media player applications and user applications associated with a user account, calculate the multi - dimensional unified user activity characteristics 208 based on the collected activity data, and collect program information (duplicate - removed or non - duplicate - removed) associated with the media player application 204;

[0133] ● The recommendation engine 212 is executed to compare the user activity characteristics 208 with the program information 210 of multiple unique programs to identify an ordered subset 214 of unique programs to be recommended to the user via the unified TV application 202;

[0134] ● The merchandising module 1202 is executed to provide focus items for promoting media content independent of the user activity characteristics 208 of individual user accounts;

[0135] ● The advertisement management module 1208 is executed to manage advertisement content provided by the internal advertisement provider 1204 or the external advertisement source 106, including an advertisement conversion module that is executed to customize, for example, media content items received from the external advertisement source 106 according to a customized VAST format for display in the focus area 362 of the unified user interface 3000;

[0136] ● The mixer 1206 (also referred to as the focus item aggregation module) is executed to sequentially mix multiple focus items provided by two or more content sources (e.g., the recommendation engine 212, the merchandising module 1202, and the advertisement provider 1204 or 106) in chronological order; and

[0137] ● A media search engine 222, which is executed to receive a search query from the server - side TV application 134 or the projection service module 136 and identify one or more media content items based on the program information of the programs or content items provided by the media content source 110; and

[0138] ● Server system data 1440, which stores data at least associated with the control of media display on the networked TV device 102, including:

[0139] ○ User account settings 1442, for storing the account settings of one or more user accounts and the settings of the devices and applications associated with each user account and managed by the server system 104, further including:

[0140] ■ TV device settings 1444, for storing information associated with the TV device 102, including common device settings (e.g., service layer, device model, storage capacity, processing capacity, communication capacity, etc.) and information associated with the corresponding unified TV application 202 (including one or more of account access information, user preferences for media content types, and viewing history data);

[0141] ■ Projection device settings 1446, for storing information associated with the user accounts of the projection device 118 and the projection device application 1420, including one or more of account access information, information for device settings (e.g., service layer, device model, storage capacity, processing capacity, communication capacity, etc.);

[0142] ■ Media player application settings 1448, for storing information associated with the user accounts of one or more media player applications 204, including one or more of account access information, user preferences for media content types, and viewing history data;

[0143] ■ Remote control settings 1450, for storing information associated with one or more remote control devices 114, e.g., common device settings (e.g., service layer, device model, storage capacity, processing capacity, communication capacity, etc.), media control functions linked to individual buttons, and the commands and data for implementing each of these media content functions; and

[0144] ■ Device and application registry 150, for storing information of one or more user accounts managed by the server system 104 and information of the user devices and applications associated with each of the one or more user accounts;

[0145] ○ User account data 1454, for storing data generated by various applications of multiple devices associated with each user account managed by the server system 104, e.g., display information associated with the media content currently displayed on the TV device 102;

[0146] ○ Knowledge graph data 1456 associated with the knowledge graph engine 130 implemented by the server system 104 includes one or more of the following: activity data 1458 of the unified TV application 202, the media player application 204, and the user application 1424; multi-dimensional unified user activity characteristics 208 derived from the activity data; and program information 210 associated with multiple media player applications 204; and

[0147] ○ One or more content selection criteria 1460 applied by the unified TV application 202 to control media content displayed on the TV device 102.

[0148] Each of the elements identified above can be stored in one or more of the previously mentioned memory devices and corresponds to an instruction set for performing the above functions. It is not necessary to implement the modules or programs (i.e., instruction sets) identified above as separate software programs, processes, modules, or data structures, and thus various subsets of these modules can be combined or otherwise rearranged in various implementations. In some implementations, the memory 1406 optionally stores a subset of the modules and data structures identified above. In addition, the memory 1406 optionally stores additional modules and data structures not described above.

[0149] Figure 14B is an example device and application registry 150 of the server system 104 according to some implementations, which stores information about one or more user accounts managed by the server system 104 and information about user devices and applications associated with each of the one or more user accounts. In this example, the user account 1482 is defined based on an email address (e.g., abc@gmail.com ) and is associated with multiple user devices including a projection device 118 (e.g., Google Chromecast), a surveillance camera 148 (e.g., Nest camera), and a remote control device 114. The device and application registry 150 stores one or more of the device identification (ID), device type, device manufacturer ID, and Internet Protocol (IP) address of each user device associated with the user account. When a user device is linked to the user account 1482, a device ID is assigned to the user device. The manufacturer ID includes a product serial number provided by the manufacturer to uniquely identify the user device. When each user device is linked to the user account 1482, the corresponding manufacturer ID is requested for the purpose of authenticating the corresponding user device. The IP address of the user device is used to track the location of the user device in the Internet. They are obtained during the process of linking the user device to the user account 1482 and are updated when the location of the user device changes in the Internet.

[0150] In some implementations, a first user device associated with user account 1482 is linked to a second user device associated with user account 1482. For example, remote control device 114 (device ID = 10) is linked to networked TV device 102 (device ID = 11), but not linked to projection device 118 (device ID = 1). In some implementations, user account 1482 includes two or more remote control devices 114, each of which is uniquely linked to a specific networked TV device 102 or projection device 118. In some implementations, user account 1482 includes a remote control device 114 that is linked to more than one projection device or TV device according to a predetermined linking rule (e.g., based on the distance of the remote control device 114 to any one of more than one projection device or TV device).

[0151] In some implementations, user account 1482 defined according to an email address (e.g., abc@gmail.com ) is also associated with unified TV application 202, multiple media player applications 204, and multiple user applications 1424. Each of the media player applications 204 is configured to display media content items or programs provided by broadcast services (TV, satellite, or cable TV) and VOD content providers. The VOD content provider is optionally server system 104 or a third-party content provider different from server system 104. Examples of media player applications 204 include, but are not limited to, YouTube, Google Play, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO, and some TV channel applications (e.g., ESPN, NBC, ABC, and PBS). Conversely, examples of multiple user applications 1424 include email applications (e.g., Google Gmail), map applications (e.g., Google Map), assistant applications (e.g., Google Assistant), home device applications (e.g., Nest Camera, Nest Hello), and online retailer applications (e.g., Google Shopping). Optionally, each media player or user application stores one or more of the following: application identification (ID), application type, a flag indicating whether this is a first-party application or a third-party application, and rights / subscription information (e.g., membership type, credentials).

[0152] Figure 15FIG. 0 is a block diagram of an example networked TV device 102 configured to display a unified user interface and media content provided by a media player application 204, in accordance with some implementations. The networked TV device 102 generally includes one or more processing units (CPUs) 1502, one or more network interfaces 1504, memory 1506, and one or more communication buses 1508 for interconnecting these components (sometimes referred to as a chipset). The memory 1506 includes high-speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM, or other random access solid state memory devices; and optionally, includes non-volatile memory, such as one or more disk storage devices, one or more optical storage devices, one or more flash memory devices, or one or more other non-volatile solid state storage devices. The memory 1506 optionally includes one or more storage devices located remotely from the one or more processing units 1502. The memory 1506 or alternatively the non-volatile memory within the memory 1506 includes non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The TV device 102 can include one or more input devices 1510 that facilitate user input, such as input buttons or controls. Additionally, the TV device 102 can use a microphone and voice recognition or a camera and gesture recognition to supplement or replace the buttons. The TV device 102 can also include one or more output devices 1512 that enable the presentation of a user interface and the display of content, including speakers and / or a visual display.

[0153] In some implementations, the memory 1506 or the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of the memory 1506 stores the following programs, modules, and data structures, or subsets or supersets thereof:

[0154] ● An operating system 1514, including procedures for handling various basic system services and for performing hardware-related tasks;

[0155] ● A network communication module 1516 for connecting the networked TV device 102 to other computers or systems (e.g., a server system 104, a media content source 110, a remote control device 114) via one or more network interfaces 1504 (wired or wireless) and one or more networks 112, such as the Internet, other wide area networks, local area networks, metropolitan area networks, cable television systems, satellite television systems, IPTV systems, etc.;

[0156] ● A unified TV application 202 for presenting recommended media content to a unified user interface 300 and playing media content provided by a media content source 204 in response to a user selection of the recommended media content;

[0157] ● A local content projection application 902, which is configured to be called by the unified TV application 202 in a restricted mode for playing media content items selected according to content selection criteria, includes a plurality of media receiver modules 904, each of which corresponds to a respective media content source 110 and is called to bypass the corresponding media player application 204 and play the media content item provided by the respective media content source;

[0158] ● A media player application 204, which is executed to provide device-side functionality for media display and user account management associated with the corresponding media content source 110; and

[0159] ● Device data 1526, storing at least data associated with the control of media display on the TV device 102, including:

[0160] ○ Projection settings 1528, for storing information associated with the user account of the projection device application, including one or more of account access information, information for device settings (such as service layer, device model, storage capacity, processing power, communication capabilities, etc.), and information for automatic media display control;

[0161] ○ Media player application settings 1530, for storing information associated with the user account of the media player application 204, including one or more of account access information, user preferences for media content types, and viewing history data; and

[0162] ○ Unified TV application settings 1532, for storing information associated with the user account of the unified TV application 202, including one or more of account access information associated with the unified TV application 202, user preferences for media content types, and viewing history data.

[0163] Each of the elements identified above can be stored in one or more of the previously mentioned memory devices and corresponds to an instruction set for performing the above functions. It is not necessary to implement the above-identified modules or programs (i.e., instruction sets) as separate software programs, processes, modules, or data structures, and thus various subsets of these modules can be combined or otherwise rearranged in various implementations. In some implementations, the memory 1506 optionally stores a subset of the above-identified modules and data structures. Additionally, the memory 1506 optionally stores additional modules and data structures not described above.

[0164] It should also be understood that although in some instances the terms first, second, etc. are used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the various described implementations, a first type of audio feature can be referred to as a second type of audio feature, and similarly, a second type of audio feature can be referred to as a first type of audio feature. The first type of audio feature and the second type of audio feature are two types of audio features, but they are not the same type of audio feature.

[0165] The terms used in the description of the various described implementations herein are for the purpose of describing particular implementations only and are not intended to be limiting. As used in the description of the various described implementations and the appended claims, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are also intended to include the plural forms. It should also be understood that the term "and / or" as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It should be further understood that the terms "comprises", "comprising", "includes", and / or "including" when used in this specification specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0166] As used herein, the term "if" is optionally interpreted, depending on the context, to mean "when" or "upon" or "in response to determining" or "in response to detecting" or "in accordance with a determination of". Similarly, the phrase "if determined" or "if [stated condition or event] is detected" is optionally interpreted, depending on the context, to mean "upon determining" or "in response to determining" or "when [the stated condition or event] is detected" or "in response to detecting [the stated condition or event]" or "in accordance with a determination of detecting [the stated condition or event]".

[0167] Although the various figures illustrate many logical stages in a particular order, stages that are not order-dependent can be reordered and other stages can be combined or decomposed. Although some reorderings or other groupings are specifically mentioned, other groupings will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, so the orderings and groupings presented herein are not an exhaustive list of alternatives. In addition, it should be recognized that these stages can be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof.

[0168] For purposes of illustration, the foregoing description has been made with reference to specific implementations. However, the above illustrative discussion is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the claims to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The implementations were chosen in order to best illustrate the principles underlying the claims and their practical application, thereby enabling others skilled in the art to best utilize the implementations with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

Claims

1. A method for displaying focused content, comprising: Associating a user account with a unified TV application and a plurality of media player applications, the unified TV application being associated with a networked media device and configured to enable the display of media content on the networked media device, and each of the plurality of media player applications being configured to display media content provided by a corresponding content provider; Executing the unified TV application to enable the display of a unified user interface on the networked media device, the unified user interface including a focus area configured to display a plurality of focus items; And Sequentially displaying the plurality of focus items in the focus area according to chronological order, the plurality of focus items including a first focus item that is retrieved by sending a request for the first focus item, the request including information of a plurality of predefined user interface elements of the focus area of the unified user interface, and in response to the request, receiving a plurality of media content items associated with the first focus item and merging the plurality of media content items into the first focus item in the unified user interface for display during a time slot corresponding to the first focus item.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The plurality of predefined user interface elements of the focus area include one or more of the following: background image, stylized title / logo image, description, call to action, title text, source label, catchphrase, and video clip.

3. The method according to claim 1, Among them, The plurality of media content items include a subset of media content items that require compliance with a video ad serving template (VAST) standard for communication between a first advertiser server and the networked media device; And wherein the subset of media content items is customized for display on the networked media device when merged into the first focus item.

4. The method according to claim 1, Among them, The first focus item includes a static advertisement image of a movie currently showing in theaters, and wherein the first focus item includes a link for purchasing tickets and / or a link for reserving a digital versatile disc (DVD).

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein The plurality of focus items include a video clip or a static image configured to highlight media content items provided by one or more of a broadcast television service, a direct broadcast satellite service, a cable television service, a subscription video on demand (SVOD) content provider, and an advertisement-based video on demand (AVOD) service.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein The method further includes: Identifying multi-dimensional user activity characteristics of a user of the networked media device; Obtaining program information associated with the plurality of media player applications; and Identifying, by a media recommendation engine, the highlighted media content items to be recommended to the user via the unified TV application.

7. The method according to claim 1, Among them, The plurality of focus items include a second focus item; wherein the second focus item includes a video clip or a static image configured to highlight media content items provided by a transactional video on demand (TVOD) content provider; and Wherein, the method further includes displaying the video clip or the still image during a time slot corresponding to the second focus item.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein The focus area is displayed in the upper half area of the unified user interface.

9. The method according to claim 1, Among them, The plurality of focus items are displayed simultaneously with a plurality of information items; and Wherein, the focus area is fixed on the unified user interface, independent of the display of the plurality of information items in a non-focus area different from and non-overlapping with the focus area.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The method further includes: Displaying a plurality of focus item indicators, each focus item indicator representing a corresponding one of the plurality of focus items, further including, for each of the plurality of focus items: Displaying the corresponding focus item indicator according to the active specification according to the determination that the corresponding focus item is displayed in the focus area; and Displaying the corresponding focus item indicator according to an inactive specification different from the active specification according to the determination that the corresponding focus item is not displayed in the focus area.

11. The method according to claim 1, Among them, Sequentially displaying the plurality of focus items in the focus area according to the time sequence further includes, for each of the plurality of focus items, when the corresponding focus item is displayed in the focus area and in response to a predefined user action associated with the corresponding focus item: Aborting the display of the corresponding focus item; And Displaying a subsequent focus item following the corresponding focus item or a prior focus item preceding the corresponding focus item in the time sequence in the focus area of the unified user interface.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1-11, wherein, The method further includes: Determining the number of times the plurality of focus items have been sequentially displayed in the focus area according to the time sequence; and Replacing at least one of the plurality of focus items with a replacement focus item according to the determination that the number is equal to or greater than a predetermined play threshold.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1-11, Among them, The plurality of focus items include a second focus item; And Wherein, the method further includes: Receiving two or more original items, each original item from a different content provider selected from a promotion module, an advertiser, and a media recommendation engine; and Deduplicating the two or more original items according to the preference order of the promotion module, the advertiser, and the media recommendation engine to generate the second focus item.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein, The preference order defines the decreasing preferences of the advertiser, the promotion module, and the media recommendation engine.

15. The method according to claim 13, Among them, The promotion module is hosted and managed by a server system; Wherein, the promotion module is configured to provide focus items selected by the server system for promotion; and Wherein, one of the plurality of focus items is selected by the promotion module and is configured to solicit a user to subscribe to a service provided by an SVOD content provider, purchase or rent media content, or play an online game.

16. The method according to claim 13, wherein, One of the plurality of focus items is provided by the merchandising module based on user activity characteristics of a plurality of users in a virtual user domain hosted by a server system.

17. The method according to claim 13, wherein, One of the plurality of focus items is provided by the merchandising module for promotion based on one or more of content type / format, content quality, recency, popularity, seasonality, and application life cycle associated with the one focus item among the plurality of focus items.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the processors to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-11.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 18, wherein, The instructions stored on the computer-readable medium further include instructions for the following operations: Determining the number of times the plurality of focus items have been sequentially displayed in the focus area according to the chronological order; And Replacing at least one of the plurality of focus items with a replacement focus item in accordance with a determination that the number is equal to or greater than a predetermined play threshold.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 18, Among them, The plurality of focus items include a second focus item; and Wherein the instructions stored on the computer-readable medium further include instructions for the following operations: Receiving two or more original items, each original item from a different content provider selected from a merchandising module, an advertiser, and a media recommendation engine; and Deduplicating the two or more original items according to a preference order of the merchandising module, the advertiser, and the media recommendation engine to generate the second focus item.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 20, wherein, The preference order defines a decreasing preference of the advertiser, the merchandising module, and the media recommendation engine.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 20, Among them, The merchandising module is hosted and managed by a server system; Wherein the merchandising module is configured to provide focus items selected by the server system for promotion; and Wherein one of the plurality of focus items is selected by the merchandising module and is configured to solicit a user to subscribe to a service provided by an SVOD content provider, purchase or rent media content, or play an online game.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 20, wherein, One of the plurality of focus items is provided by the merchandising module based on user activity characteristics of a plurality of users in a virtual user domain hosted by a server system.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 20, wherein, One of the plurality of focus items is provided by the merchandising module for promotion based on one or more of content type / format, content quality, recency, popularity, seasonality, and application life cycle associated with the one focus item among the plurality of focus items.

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