Systems and methods for providing progress bar for updating viewing status of previously viewed content

Abstract

To provide systems and methods for providing a progress bar for updating a viewing status of previously viewed content.SOLUTION: Systems and methods are provided for providing information about events occurring in media content that was previously accessed. A display of a progress bar including segments for the events in the previously accessed content is provided in the screen view of current media being accessed. The progress bar segments may be selected to access the content. Upon conclusion of the content, an image and text about the content may be supplied to the viewer to post on social media about the content.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Background technology]

[0001] (background) With the multitude of types and sources of media content, it is increasingly difficult for viewers to find the time to watch all of the interesting media they hear. In addition, balancing the viewing of streaming media and live content, each of which may be interrupted by advertisements and pop-up windows with options to interact with the media, can make media consumption complicated and time-consuming. Some viewers may also want to participate in audience commentary or indicate that they are watching some media, making the media viewing experience more social. Simplifying the presentation of multiple content items so that viewers can watch highlights or portions of the content can improve the viewer's ability to consume more interesting content within a limited time period. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0002] (summary) Thus, systems and methods are described for providing information about content accessed by a viewer. In an embodiment, a display is provided for a viewer that includes segments related to the content accessed by the viewer. The viewer may access media content, such as, for example, a sporting event. While the sporting event is playing, the viewer may wish to view other content, such as an episode of a television series. As the viewer accesses other content (e.g., changes channels and watches a television series), a media guide application running on the user equipment may collect information about previously viewed sporting events and aggregate it for display within the viewer's currently viewing television series screen. The information about the sporting events may be displayed as a progress bar or in other forms relatively unobtrusively within the television series display screen. That is, rather than providing a split-screen or picture-in-picture view of the previously viewed content, the viewer may watch a screen that includes a main display of the media content, with only a small portion of the display including highlight and update segments for the previously accessed content.

[0003] In an illustrative embodiment, a method and system are provided for identifying a segment of previously accessed content. A viewer may access a first content using user equipment. The first content may be any type of media content that may be obtained from any media source. In some scenarios, the first content may be a type of media that has some live or momentary aspect, such as a sporting event or a first-run television episode, that would cause a viewer to want to watch it at a particular time. However, the first content may be any type of media. The user equipment used to access the content may be any type of user device capable of displaying media items, such as a television, tablet, computer, portable device, gaming device, set-top box, mobile device, mobile phone, etc. In general, such user equipment may be operated with a media guidance application to support media access and provide enhanced features and interaction with the media.

[0004] After a viewer accesses the first content, the viewer may desire to view a second media content item and will instruct the user equipment, via the media guidance application, to access the second content instead of the first content. For example, the viewer may desire to stop watching a sports game and watch an episode of a television series instead. The media guidance application will receive the instruction to access the second content and will change the screen display to show the second content. The media guidance application will store information about the time when the user stopped watching the first content (the first progression point). The time of the first progression point in the first content may be stored in a cache by the media guidance application for use in generating a display of information about the first content.

[0005] The media guide application may generate a simultaneous display of the second content and information identifying a segment of the first content that follows the first progression point. Using the above examples, information about the sporting event, such as event highlights, milestones, etc., that occurred after the viewer stopped accessing the sporting event within a display of a television episode may be identified and shown within the screen. This arrangement allows a viewer to watch a television program while providing certain information about the media that is known to be of interest to the viewer (because the viewer had access to it) so that the viewer may keep track of events occurring within the sporting event.

[0006] The display of the information segments may be provided in a manner such that a user may select a segment and trigger an action associated with the segment. The media guidance application may receive a viewer's selection of a first one of the segments of the first content, and the media guidance application will perform an action associated with the selected first segment of the first content. For example, the viewer may use a touch screen on a display, remote control, or other input device to select one of the segments shown on the screen. A segment may be selected to perform some media action associated with the segment, such as changing the channel or source input so that the viewer may watch the first content, i.e., a sporting event, at the time of the segment. Other actions may be recording the first content, resuming the first content from the time the viewer stopped watching the sporting event, obtaining a link to an event occurring within the segment, watching a clip of the segment event, or other actions.

[0007] In another example, systems and methods for identifying previously accessed segments of content may be provided by accessing a first content with a user equipment using a control circuit. The first content may be any type of media content, such as a movie, a television program, a sporting event, a reality program, an episode of a television series, or other media content. The first content may be provided by any type of media source, such as a television, a subscription streaming service, an Internet media source, or other media source, accessed using a media guidance application for delivery to a display screen of a user equipment, such as a television screen or a portable device. After a viewer begins watching the first content, the viewer may desire to watch other media content and would enter instructions received by the media guidance application that instruct the user equipment to access the second content instead of the first content. In an example, a viewer may watch one television program but then desire to change to a second television program. In another example, a viewer may watch a sporting event but then desire to change to a second sporting event or a second television program. The viewer may still want to keep track of the first program, for example, to manually return to the first program at commercials or other periodic breaks.

[0008] The time at which the second content is accessed is a first progression point in the first content. The time of the first progression point may be stored by the media guidance application, for example, to provide a starting point for highlighting subsequent events in the first content for the viewer.

[0009] The media guidance application may monitor metadata associated with the first content while the second content is being accessed by the viewer, i.e., while the viewer is watching the second television program. For example, the media guidance application may monitor metadata about the first content, such as sporting events, using a sports feed from a content provider. In some scenarios, the media guidance application may monitor metadata about the first content from a third-party source, such as a media aggregator that provides commentary or a live stream about the content. In another example, the media guidance application may monitor social media networks for updates and events related to the media item.

[0010] Metadata monitoring performed by the media guidance application with respect to the first content may include monitoring metadata with respect to events occurring within the first content. Such events may be associated with individual timestamps following a first progression point. Thus, in a sporting event example, the media guidance application would monitor metadata with respect to events occurring within the sporting event following the time the viewer stopped accessing the sporting event and the viewer began watching a second television program. Some examples of events within a sporting event may relate to points scored, penalties, halftime shows, in addition, events may be moments that are tagged or posted within social media with respect to the sporting event.

[0011] In response to detecting the event or events in the first content, the media guidance application may store information identifying the event in a list of segments of the first content that follow the first progression point. Each event related to the sporting event may be stored or cached in memory with a timestamp so that the media guidance application may enumerate such events that follow the progression point. The timestamps can be used to order the events in a display, etc.

[0012] The media guide application may then generate a simultaneous display of the second content and a list of segments of the first content that followed the first progression point for display on the viewer's user equipment, such as a television or portable tablet. Thus, while the viewer is watching the second television program, the viewer can see a display in the same screen that includes a list of segments for the first content that will continue when the viewer stopped watching the first content. Using the sporting event example, the viewer can switch from watching a sporting event to watching a television program, and while watching the program, the viewer can see in the display a list of events that have occurred within the sporting event since the viewer stopped watching the sporting event. Thus, the viewer can continue watching the second program and see when events are occurring within the sporting event, such as when points are scored or when players come in or out.

[0013] A list of events or segments from the first content may be selected by a viewer. When the media guidance application receives a user selection of a segment in the list of first content, the media guidance application may retrieve timestamps of the selected segment that represent the start and end times of the associated event in the first content.

[0014] The media guidance application can perform actions related to the selected first segment of the first content based on the retrieved timestamp. For example, the media guidance application may use the retrieved timestamp information to identify the time and portion of an event in which a viewer is interested. Some types of actions that may be performed by the media guidance application in response to a selection of the first segment may include, for example, recording the first segment, adding the selected segment to a watch list, sharing the first segment on a social network, generating a clip associated with the selected first segment, resuming the first content at the first progression point, and accessing the first content starting from the start time of the first segment.

[0015] In an illustrative example, a viewer watching a basketball game may choose to watch another television program, but would keep a tab on the basketball game via a list displayed within the television program screen that includes segments for events related to the basketball game that will occur after the viewer stops watching the basketball game. If the viewer sees an interesting segment in the list, the viewer may select the segment, and the media guidance application will determine the timestamps for the start and end of the segment so that the media guidance application can deliver content or perform some action regarding the event for the viewer.

[0016] The segments included in the list may be populated using metadata or a feed of information related to the first content. In some scenarios, the media guide application will collect feedback about the first content and metadata for the first content to identify interesting segments for the first content. Ideally, the most interesting segments will be included in the display so that less interesting segments do not clutter the screen. Some of the more interesting segments may be highlighted in a particular manner to make them more prominent for the viewer. For example, the list of segments may relate to certain events about a basketball game, perhaps points scored, as well as special plays that are being discussed on social media. Such plays may be highlighted in the list of segments. The more interesting segments may also have additional interaction options associated with them. For example, for a special play that is trending on Twitter, there may be an option to access a Twitter stream about the play. There may also be a way to capture the event and link it to the viewer's content on social media. Other additional interaction options may also be provided for interesting events.

[0017] The media guidance application may also use the viewer's user profile to identify segments that may be more relevant to the viewer. In particular, the media guidance application may compare each segment in a list of segments for the first content to the user's profile, and then any matching or related segments may be displayed in the list in a visually prominent manner. In an example involving a basketball game, the viewer may have a fictional basketball team stored in the user profile. If the basketball game includes players from the viewer's fictional team, any segment items related to the viewer's fictional players may be shown in a prominent manner. In this manner, the viewer may be able to access content actions for the team players.

[0018] In another example, the type of event in a segment may be determined by the media guidance application based on metadata for the individual event. The media guidance application may compare the event type to the viewer's user profile. Any event having an event type that matches the user profile may be selected by the media guidance application for inclusion in the list of segments. As an example, a viewer may enjoy watching a halftime show within a sporting event. In a basketball game example, the halftime show may be a matching event that matches information in the user profile and therefore may be selected for inclusion in the segment list. Of course, the halftime show may also be included in the segment list because it is trending on social media or for other reasons.

[0019] In another example, while a viewer is accessing second content, such as a television program, the media guidance application may monitor the metadata for the first content for an event or events having a distinct timestamp after the first progression point, i.e., events that occur after the viewer stops accessing the first content.

[0020] In an embodiment, a viewer may watch or access a second content and see an interesting segment in a list of segments for the first content. If the viewer selects an interesting segment, the media guidance application may generate a picture-in-picture display of the first content at a time corresponding to the timestamp for the selected first segment for display within the screen of the second content. The display may also include a display of a list of segments for the first content following the timestamp for the selected segment. In some scenarios, a display of a second list of segments for the second content following the timestamp associated with the selection of the first segment may also be included within the display. Thus, within the screen of the second content, the viewer may watch a small display of events occurring in the first content. In cases where the viewer is concentrating on a first content event within the picture-in-picture display, a progress bar showing events in the second content may also be included within the display so the viewer can see what they may have missed.

[0021] In some examples, the media guidance application may store information about events, segments, and individual timestamps in a cache or memory, for example, as the media guidance application monitors metadata and determines which events to include in a segment list. The media guidance application may also store links to additional content related to individual segments for the first content. Such links may be stored to provide easy access to the content when a user desires to access it.

[0022] In another example, a viewer may want to share that they have viewed or accessed some media. For example, the viewer may want to share it on social media. To assist the viewer in sharing this information, the media guidance application may use the control circuitry to identify an image associated with the second content. When the second content is completed, e.g., when the viewer has finished accessing or viewing the second content, the media guidance application may present the image associated with the second content to the user. The media guidance application may also present the image including a text description associated with the image. The viewer may want to post the image and the text description to social media, and the media guidance application may receive a user selection of an option to post the image and the text description associated with the image. In response to the selection, the media guidance application may transmit a communication including the image and the text description from the control circuitry to the social network.

[0023] The media guidance application may identify images for posting to the social network for the user by searching an image database for images associated with the second content. The image database may be a media centralized database or a database including any type of image. The media guidance application may analyze information about each of the individual images. The information about the individual images may be, for example, metadata about the image that indicates the source or use of the image. The media guidance application may use the information about the images to determine the popularity of the individual images and select the most popular images. For example, images that appear in multiple image databases or are used in social networks may be considered more popular.

[0024] It should be noted that the systems, methods, apparatus, and / or aspects described above may be applied to or used in accordance with other systems, methods, apparatus, and / or aspects described in this disclosure. The present specification also provides, for example, the following items: (Item 1) 1. A method for identifying a segment of previously accessed content, the method comprising: Accessing the first content using a user equipment; instructing the user equipment to access second content instead of the first content at a first progression point within the first content; generating a simultaneous display of the second content and information identifying a segment of the first content that follows the first progression point; receiving a user selection of one of the segments of the first content; performing an action associated with the selected segment of the first content; and A method comprising: (Item 2) 1. A method for identifying a segment of previously accessed content, the method comprising: accessing the first content using the user equipment using the control circuitry; instructing the user equipment to access a second content in place of the first content, the second content being accessed at a first progression point within the first content; monitoring metadata associated with the first content for a number of events associated with distinct timestamps subsequent to the first progression point while the second content is being accessed; in response to detecting an event of the plurality of events in the first content, storing information identifying the event in a list of segments of the first content that follow the first progression point; generating, with control circuitry, a simultaneous display of the second content and a list of the segments of the first content following the first progression point for display on the user equipment; receiving, in the control circuitry, a user selection of a first one of the segments in the first list of content; Retrieving timestamps of the first segment, the timestamps representing a start time and an end time of the first event within the first content; performing an action associated with the selected first segment of the first content based on the retrieved timestamp; A method comprising: (Item 3) aggregating feedback for the first content and identifying interesting segments of the first content; highlighting the identified interesting segments of the first content in the simultaneous display; presenting additional interaction options within the display with respect to the highlighted identified interesting segment of the first content; and The method according to item 2, further comprising: (Item 4) comparing each segment in said list of segments to a user profile; visually distinguishing a given segment of the first content in the list in response to determining that the given segment matches the user profile; The method according to item 2, further comprising: (Item 5) determining, with control circuitry, a type of each of the individual events based on metadata for the individual events; comparing the event type with a user profile using the control circuitry; selecting events having a distinct event type that matches the user profile for inclusion in the list; The method according to item 2, further comprising: (Item 6) 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising monitoring metadata associated with the first content for a number of events associated with distinct timestamps following the first progression point while the second content is being accessed. (Item 7) 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising generating, in response to a selection of a first segment of the first content, for display within the second content: a picture-in-picture display of the first content at a time corresponding to a timestamp for the selected first segment, a display of a list of the segments for the first content following the timestamp for the selected segment, and a display of a second list of segments for the second content following a timestamp associated with the selection of the first segment. (Item 8) 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising storing links to additional content related to the respective segments of the first content in the list. (Item 9) 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the action associated with the selected first segment includes at least one of recording the first segment, adding the selected segment to a watch list, sharing the first segment on a social network, generating a clip associated with the selected first segment, resuming the first content at the first progression point, and accessing the first content starting from a start time of the first segment. (Item 10) identifying an image associated with the second content using control circuitry; When the second content is completed, presenting the image associated with the second content to the user; and presenting a text description associated with the image; and receiving, with the control circuitry, a selection by the user of an option to post the image and the text description associated with the image; transmitting a communication including the image and the text description from the control circuitry to a social network in response to receiving the selection; The method according to item 2, further comprising: (Item 11) The image is searching an image database for images associated with the second content; analyzing information about each of the individual images with control circuitry; determining a popularity of each of the individual images based on the information for the individual images; and selecting an image from said individual images having the highest popularity; Item 11. The method according to item 10, characterized by the above: (Item 12) 1. A system for identifying previously accessed segments of content, the system comprising: an input / output (I / O) interface circuit configured to receive user input; Control circuit Equipped with The control circuit includes: accessing the first content using the user equipment using the control circuitry; instructing the user equipment to access a second content in place of the first content, the second content being accessed at a first progression point within the first content; monitoring metadata associated with the first content for a number of events associated with distinct timestamps subsequent to the first progression point while the second content is being accessed; in response to detecting an event of the plurality of events in the first content, storing information identifying the event in a list of segments of the first content that follow the first progression point; generating, with control circuitry, for display on the user equipment a simultaneous display of the second content and a list of segments of the first content that follow the first progression point; receiving, in the control circuitry, a user selection of a first one of the segments in the first list of content; Retrieving timestamps of the first segment, the timestamps representing a start time and an end time of the first event within the first content; performing an action associated with the selected first segment of the first content based on the retrieved timestamp; A system configured to: (Item 13) The control circuit further comprises: aggregating feedback for the first content and identifying interesting segments of the first content; highlighting the identified interesting segments of the first content within the simultaneous display; presenting additional interaction options within the display with respect to the highlighted identified interesting segment of the first content; and Item 13. The system of item 12, configured to perform the following: (Item 14) The control circuit further comprises: comparing each segment in said list of segments to a user profile; visually distinguishing a given segment of the first content in the list in response to determining that the given segment matches the user profile; Item 13. The system of item 12, configured to perform the following: (Item 15) The control circuit further comprises: determining, with control circuitry, a type of each of the individual events based on metadata for the individual events; comparing the event type with a user profile using the control circuitry; selecting events having a distinct event type that matches the user profile for inclusion in the list; Item 13. The system of item 12, configured to perform the following: (Item 16) Item 13. The system of item 12, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to monitor metadata associated with the first content for a plurality of events associated with distinct timestamps following the first progression point while the second content is being accessed. (Item 17) 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to generate, in response to a selection of a first segment of the first content, for display within the second content: a picture-in-picture display of the first content at a time corresponding to a timestamp for the selected first segment, a display of a list of the segments for the first content following the timestamp for the selected segment, and a display of a second list of segments for the second content following a timestamp associated with the selection of the first segment. (Item 18) 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to store links to additional content related to respective segments of the first content in the list. (Item 19) 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the action associated with the selected first segment includes at least one of recording the first segment, adding the selected segment to a watch list, sharing the first segment on a social network, generating a clip associated with the selected first segment, resuming the first content at the first progression point, and accessing the first content starting from the start time of the first segment. (Item 20) The control circuit further comprises: identifying an image associated with the second content using control circuitry; When the second content is completed, presenting the image associated with the second content to the user; and presenting a text description associated with the image; and receiving, with the control circuitry, a selection by the user of an option to post the image and the text description associated with the image; transmitting a communication including the image and the text description from the control circuitry to a social network in response to receiving the selection; Item 13. The system of item 12, configured to perform the following: (Item 21) The control circuitry configured to identify the image further comprises: searching an image database for images associated with the second content; analyzing information about each of the individual images with control circuitry; determining a popularity of each of the individual images based on the information for the individual images; and selecting an image from said individual images having the highest popularity; 21. The system of item 20, configured to: (Item 22) 1. A system for identifying previously accessed segments of content, the system comprising: means for accessing the first content using the user equipment using the control circuitry; means for instructing the user equipment to access a second content instead of the first content, the second content being accessed at a first progression point within the first content; means for monitoring metadata associated with the first content for a number of events associated with distinct timestamps subsequent to the first progression point while the second content is being accessed; means for, in response to detecting an event of the plurality of events in the first content, storing information identifying the event in a list of segments of the first content that follow the first progression point; means for generating, with control circuitry, a simultaneous display of the second content and a list of segments of the first content following the first progression point for display on the user equipment; means in the control circuitry for receiving a user selection of a first one of the segments in the first list of content; means for retrieving a timestamp of the first segment, the timestamp representing a start time and an end time of the first event in the first content; means for performing an action associated with the selected first segment of the first content based on the retrieved timestamp; A system comprising: (Item 23) means for aggregating feedback for the first content and identifying interesting segments of the first content; means for highlighting identified interesting segments of the first content within the simultaneous display; means for presenting, within the display, additional interaction options related to the highlighted identified segment of interest of the first content; 23. The system of claim 22, further comprising: (Item 24) means for comparing each segment in said list of segments with a user profile; means for visually distinguishing a given segment of the first content in the list in response to determining that the given segment matches the user profile; 23. The system of claim 22, further comprising: (Item 25) means for determining, with control circuitry, a type of each of the individual events based on metadata for the individual events; means for comparing said event type with a user profile using said control circuitry; means for selecting events having a distinct event type that matches the user profile for inclusion in the list; 23. The system of claim 22, further comprising: (Item 26) 23. The system of claim 22, further comprising means for monitoring metadata associated with the first content for a plurality of events associated with distinct timestamps following the first progression point while the second content is being accessed. (Item 27) 23. The system of claim 22, further comprising means for generating, in response to a selection of a first segment of the first content, for display within the second content: a picture-in-picture display of the first content at a time corresponding to a timestamp for the selected first segment, a display of a list of the segments for the first content following the timestamp for the selected segment, and a display of a second list of segments for the second content following a timestamp associated with the selection of the first segment. (Item 28) 23. The system of claim 22, further comprising means for storing links to additional content related to respective segments of the first content in the list. (Item 29) 23. The system of claim 22, wherein the action associated with the selected first segment comprises at least one of: means for recording the first segment, means for adding the selected segment to a watch list, means for sharing the first segment on a social network, means for generating a clip associated with the selected first segment, means for resuming the first content at the first progression point, and means for accessing the first content starting from a start time of the first segment. (Item 30) means for identifying, using control circuitry, an image associated with the second content; When the second content is completed, means for presenting the image associated with the second content to the user; means for presenting a text description associated with the image; means for receiving, with the control circuitry, a selection by the user of an option to post the image and the textual description associated with the image; means for transmitting a communication including the image and the text description from the control circuitry to a social network in response to receiving the selection; 23. The system of claim 22, further comprising: (Item 31) The image is means for searching an image database for images associated with the second content; means for analyzing information about each of said individual images using control circuitry; means for determining a popularity of each of the individual images based on the information about the individual images; means for selecting an image from among said individual images having the highest popularity; Item 31. The system of item 30, identified by: (Item 32) 1. A non-transient computer readable medium having encoded thereon non-transient computer readable instructions for identifying a segment of previously accessed content, the non-transient computer readable medium comprising: instructions for accessing the first content using the user equipment using the control circuitry; instructions for instructing the user equipment to access a second content in place of the first content, the second content being accessed at a first progression point within the first content; instructions for monitoring metadata associated with the first content for a number of events associated with distinct timestamps subsequent to the first progression point while the second content is being accessed; instructions for, in response to detecting an event of the plurality of events in the first content, storing information identifying the event in a list of segments of the first content that follow the first progression point; instructions for generating, with control circuitry, a simultaneous display of the second content and a list of segments of the first content that follow the first progression point for display on the user equipment; instructions in the control circuitry for receiving a user selection of a first one of the segments in the first list of content; instructions for retrieving a timestamp of the first segment, the timestamp representing a start time and an end time of the first event within the first content; instructions for performing an action associated with a selected first segment of the first content based on the retrieved timestamp; 1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising: (Item 33) instructions for aggregating feedback for the first content and identifying interesting segments of the first content; instructions for highlighting the identified interesting segments of the first content within the simultaneous display; instructions for presenting, within the display, additional interaction options related to the highlighted identified segment of interest of the first content; Item 33. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of item 32, further comprising: (Item 34) instructions for comparing each segment in the list of segments to a user profile; instructions for visually distinguishing a given segment of the first content in the list in response to determining that a given segment matches the user profile; Item 33. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of item 32, further comprising: (Item 35) instructions for determining, with control circuitry, a type of each of the individual events based on metadata for the individual events; instructions for comparing the event type with a user profile using the control circuitry; instructions for selecting events having a distinct event type that matches the user profile for inclusion in the list; Item 33. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of item 32, further comprising: (Item 36) 33. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 32, further comprising instructions for monitoring metadata associated with the first content for a number of events associated with distinct timestamps following the first progression point while the second content is being accessed. (Item 37) 33. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 32, further comprising instructions for generating, in response to a selection of a first segment of the first content, for display within the second content: a picture-in-picture display of the first content at a time corresponding to a timestamp for the selected first segment, a display of a list of the segments for the first content following the timestamp for the selected segment, and a display of a second list of segments for the second content following a timestamp associated with the selection of the first segment. (Item 38) 33. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 32, further comprising instructions for storing links to additional content related to respective segments of the first content in the list. (Item 39) Item 33. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of item 32, wherein the action associated with the selected first segment comprises at least one of instructions for recording the first segment, instructions for adding the selected segment to a watch list, instructions for sharing the first segment on a social network, instructions for generating a clip associated with the selected first segment, instructions for resuming the first content at the first progression point, and instructions for accessing the first content starting from a start time of the first segment. (Item 40) instructions for identifying, using control circuitry, an image associated with the second content; When the second content is completed, instructions for presenting to the user the image associated with the second content; instructions for presenting a text description associated with the image; instructions for receiving, with the control circuitry, a selection by the user of an option to post the image and the text description associated with the image; instructions for transmitting a communication including the image and the text description from the control circuitry to a social network in response to receiving the selection; Item 33. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of item 32, further comprising: (Item 41) The image is instructions for searching an image database for an image associated with the second content; instructions for analyzing information about each of the individual images using control circuitry; instructions for determining a popularity of each of the individual images based on the information for the individual images; instructions for selecting an image from among the individual images having the highest popularity; Item 41. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of item 40, identified by: (Item 42) 1. A method for identifying a segment of previously accessed content, the method comprising: accessing the first content using the user equipment using the control circuitry; instructing the user equipment to access a second content in place of the first content, the second content being accessed at a first progression point within the first content; monitoring metadata associated with the first content for a number of events associated with distinct timestamps subsequent to the first progression point while the second content is being accessed; in response to detecting an event of the plurality of events in the first content, storing information identifying the event in a list of segments of the first content that follow the first progression point; generating, with control circuitry, for display on the user equipment a simultaneous display of the second content and a list of segments of the first content that follow the first progression point; receiving, in the control circuitry, a user selection of a first one of the segments in the first list of content; Retrieving timestamps of the first segment, the timestamps representing a start time and an end time of the first event within the first content; performing an action associated with the selected first segment of the first content based on the retrieved timestamp; A method comprising: (Item 43) aggregating feedback for the first content and identifying interesting segments of the first content; highlighting the identified interesting segments of the first content within the simultaneous display; presenting additional interaction options within the display with respect to the highlighted identified interesting segment of the first content; and Item 43. The method of item 42, further comprising: (Item 44) comparing each segment in said list of segments to a user profile; visually distinguishing a given segment of the first content in the list in response to determining that the given segment matches the user profile; 44. The method according to any one of items 42-43, further comprising: (Item 45) determining, with control circuitry, a type of each of the individual events based on metadata for the individual events; comparing the event type with a user profile using the control circuitry; selecting events having a distinct event type that matches the user profile for inclusion in the list; 45. The method according to any one of items 42-44, further comprising: (Item 46) 46. ​​The method of any one of claims 42-45, further comprising monitoring metadata associated with the first content for a number of events associated with distinct timestamps following the first progression point while the second content is being accessed. (Item 47) 47. The method of any one of claims 42-46, further comprising generating, in response to a selection of a first segment of the first content, for display within the second content: a picture-in-picture display of the first content at a time corresponding to a timestamp for the selected first segment, a display of a list of the segments for the first content following the timestamp for the selected segment, and a display of a second list of segments for the second content following a timestamp associated with the selection of the first segment. (Item 48) 48. The method of any one of claims 42-47, further comprising storing links to additional content related to respective segments of the first content in the list. (Item 49) 49. The method of any one of claims 42-48, wherein the action associated with the selected first segment includes at least one of recording the first segment, adding the selected segment to a watch list, sharing the first segment on a social network, generating a clip associated with the selected first segment, resuming the first content at the first progression point, and accessing the first content starting from the start time of the first segment. (Item 50) identifying an image associated with the second content using control circuitry; When the second content is completed, presenting the image associated with the second content to the user; and presenting a text description associated with the image; and receiving, with the control circuitry, a selection by the user of an option to post the image and the text description associated with the image; transmitting a communication including the image and the text description from the control circuitry to a social network in response to receiving the selection; 50. The method according to any one of items 42-49, further comprising: (Item 51) The image is searching an image database for images associated with the second content; analyzing information about each of the individual images with control circuitry; determining a popularity of each of the individual images based on the information for the individual images; and selecting an image from said individual images having the highest popularity; 51. The method according to any one of items 42-50, characterized by the following:

[0025] These and other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0026] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows an illustrative example of media content being displayed within a screen generated by a media guidance application in accordance with some embodiments of this disclosure.

[0027] [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 shows another illustrative example of media content being displayed along with information about other media content within a screen generated by a media guidance application in accordance with some embodiments of this disclosure.

[0028] [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 shows another illustrative example of media content being displayed within a screen generated by a media guidance application in accordance with some embodiments of this disclosure.

[0029] [Figure 4] FIG. 4 shows another illustrative example of media content being displayed with information about other media content in a screen generated by a media guidance application in accordance with some embodiments of this disclosure.

[0030] [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 shows an illustrative example of a progress bar and options menu for media content generated by a media guidance application in accordance with some embodiments of this disclosure.

[0031] [Figure 6] FIG. 6 shows another illustrative example of media content and a progress bar displayed along with a picture-in-picture display and information about other media content in a screen generated by a media guidance application in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0032] [Figure 7] FIG. 7 shows illustrative examples of media content, picture-in-picture displays of other content, and options for interacting with media content generated by a media guidance application in accordance with some embodiments of this disclosure.

[0033] [Figure 8] 8-9 show other illustrative examples of display screens generated by a media guidance application in accordance with some embodiments of this disclosure. [Figure 9] 8-9 show other illustrative examples of display screens generated by a media guidance application in accordance with some embodiments of this disclosure.

[0034] [Figure 10]FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an illustrative user equipment device in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0035] [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an illustrative media system according to some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0036] [Figure 12] 12-13 are flowcharts of illustrative processes for generating a progress bar of recently viewed media content according to some embodiments of the disclosure. [Figure 13] 12-13 are flowcharts of illustrative processes for generating a progress bar of recently viewed media content according to some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0037] [Figure 14] 14-16 are flowcharts of illustrative processes for selecting segments to include in a progress bar for recently viewed media content, according to some embodiments of the disclosure. [Figure 15] 14-16 are flowcharts of illustrative processes for selecting segments to include in a progress bar for recently viewed media content, according to some embodiments of the disclosure. [Figure 16] 14-16 are flowcharts of illustrative processes for selecting segments to include in a progress bar for recently viewed media content, according to some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0038] [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a flowchart of an illustrative process for selecting images related to media content for a viewer, according to some embodiments of this disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0039] (Detailed Description) Thus, systems and methods are described herein to enhance a viewer's media consumption experience. In particular, for a viewer who is interested in more than one media item, the viewer may view one media content item and then switch to a second media content item. The media guidance application may detect the viewer's switch from one media item to a second media item, monitor the media item that is no longer being viewed, and present information about the media item to the viewer. For example, a viewer may access a sporting event and then change to accessing another media item, such as a television program. The media guidance application may monitor the progress of the sporting event after the viewer stops accessing the event. Highlights or events from the sporting event may be identified by the media guidance application, and information about such events may be presented to the viewer within a progress bar display within the screen of the television program the viewer is watching. Thus, a user may be able to watch a television program while noting details about the sporting event that the viewer has missed. In some scenarios, it may be useful for the progress bar to be relatively small and for the information within the progress bar to be limited to only the most relevant information for the viewer, so that the viewer is not distracted by a lot of uninteresting information. In other scenarios, a user may want to have more information in the progress bar so that the user does not miss anything in the sporting event. Such preferences may be included in the user's user profile.

[0040] With reference to FIG. 1, a viewer may access an item of media content, such as a basketball game, as shown on screen 100. Screen 100 may be any type of electronic display screen capable of displaying media. For example, screen 100 may be a television, a computer, a portable device, a tablet, or other screen device. Basketball game 110 may be provided by a media guide application capable of generating media content for display on screen 100, or may be distributed using a media source, such as a streaming sports channel service, a television channel, a cable television service, an Internet-based media source, or other source. After a viewer accesses the basketball game, the viewer may desire to access another media item, and media guide screen 120 may be used to identify another media item to view. If the viewer selects The Simpsons from media guide screen 120, the viewer may access The Simpsons, as shown in FIG. 2. Regardless of whether the viewer watches the basketball game for a short or long period of time, the media guide application can detect when the viewer has stopped accessing the basketball game and continue to monitor the basketball game while the viewer accesses new media items.

[0041] With reference to FIG. 2, in response to receiving a selection of another media item, e.g., The Simpsons, from media guide screen 120 of FIG. 1, the media guide application may generate a display 200 of new media items, including television program The Simpsons 210. Television program 210 may be depicted with a simultaneous display of progress bar 230, which includes details about a basketball game that the viewer previously accessed. When the viewer first accesses the second content, there may not be any overlooked noteworthy events in the basketball game to include in progress bar 230. There may be a delay in displaying progress bar 230 until there is a suitable event to display, or progress bar 230 may be displayed with some minimal amount of information, such as the title of the content item, in this example, the teams playing and the current score. Although progress bar 230 is depicted in a vertical position on the left side of screen 200, progress bar 230 may be located in any suitable location on screen 200, such as along the bottom or top of the screen, and may be moved or have its size and shape altered by the viewer. In some arrangements, the shape, size, and location may be altered based on the content within the progress bar. The progress bar 230 may include event information about the progress of a basketball game, i.e., previously accessed content.

[0042] The information included in progress bar 230 may be selected by the media guide application from event information for the basketball game being monitored by the media guide application. The media guide application may monitor a stream of sports information, for example, from a media source of a basketball game previously accessed by the user, or a sports feed for the NBA, or other source. In addition, the media guide application may monitor third party sources and social media for information about the game. Thus, the media guide application may select various information to include in progress bar 230 that may be suitable for the viewer. For example, as shown, progress bar 230 may include information about plays, such as that player 23 made free throw 232, that player 11 made a three-point field goal, and that player 27 made a steal. These types of information may be obtained from the sports field for the game. Some of these items may have a certain relevance to the viewer and therefore may be selected for inclusion in progress bar 230. For example, player 23 may be a favorite of the viewer, or perhaps player 23 is on the viewer's fictional team. Such information may be gathered from the viewer's user profile and used by the media guidance application to select relevant information to include in the progress bar. In addition, progress bar 230 may include other information, such as halftime show 235 and player 5 being injured. Such information may be obtained from a sports feed or from social media or other sources that may comment on such events occurring within the game.

[0043] Any of the items included within progress bar 230 may be selected by the viewer, and an action associated with the selected item may be implemented by the media guide application. For example, the viewer may select item 232 and watch a clip of player 23 making a free throw or return to the basketball game at the time player 23 is making a free throw shot. In general, the segment items shown in progress bar 230 may be presented following the time the viewer stopped accessing the basketball game. In addition, the segment items in progress bar 230 may change as time passes and there are more events occurring within the basketball game. Some of the segments in progress bar 230 may be depicted in a distinctive manner so that the viewer knows that they may be particularly relevant to the viewer. For example, item 232 may be highlighted because player 23 is the viewer's favorite, and item 235 may be highlighted because the halftime show includes the viewer's favorite performer. Such favorite information may be obtained from the viewer's user profile. In addition, segments may be highlighted because they are determined to be interesting or popular, for example, based on commentators or treatment within social media. The segments included within progress bar 230 may be obtained from metadata about previously accessed media and may be associated with timestamps so that when a segment is selected, the media guidance application may determine the time interval of media to display for the viewer of the selected segment.

[0044] In another example, referring to FIG. 3, a viewer may wish to watch the reality television program Survivor. As shown in screen 300, the viewer may access an episode of the television series Survivor 310. The episode of Survivor may be provided for the viewer by a streaming service or a television channel. The viewer may then select media guide window 320 and choose different media content. For example, a selection of The Simpsons from media guide window 320 may be received by the media guide application, and in response, the media guide application will stop presenting the episode of Survivor from FIG. 3 and generate the image shown in FIG. 4.

[0045] FIG. 4 depicts a screen 400 including another media item, namely, The Simpsons 410, that may be presented with a progress bar 430 that includes details about an episode of Survivor that the user is no longer watching. Although progress bar 430 is depicted including multiple segments of information about the episode, such information may not be displayed immediately when the viewer first accesses The Simpsons because nothing happened in the Survivor episode in the time it took to change the screen display from Survivor to The Simpsons. Progress bar 430 may include information about the previously accessed media, i.e., the Survivor episode, from the time the viewer stopped accessing the media. The segments included within progress bar 430 may be obtained from metadata about the previously accessed media and may be associated with a timestamp such that, when a segment is selected, the media guidance application may determine the time interval of the media to display for the viewer of the selected segment. Some of the segments shown in progress bar 430 may be highlighted in a distinctive manner to indicate that they are of particular interest to the viewer. As shown in FIG. 4, the segment "Bob Drops the Ball" is shown highlighted. The media guidance application may monitor metadata about previously accessed media content to identify segments that may be of interest to the user. In addition, the media guidance application may monitor social media and third party treatment of previously accessed media content to identify popular or interesting events. In this case, the media guidance application may have detected that the event in a previously accessed episode of Survivor, Bob Drops the Ball, was posted or commented on in social media. Alternatively, the media guidance application may have detected from the user's user profile that the viewer is interested in or has an association with Bob.Any of these possibilities, or a combination of them, may allow the media guidance application to present the segments in a manner that is salient to the viewer.

[0046] In some scenarios, especially for media content that is not a first-run show or a live event, there may be metadata about the media content that would be suitable for a progress bar. In this case, the media guidance application may populate the progress bar with information about the previously accessed media for the viewer to view within a screen of new media content so that the viewer may choose to return to interesting aspects from the previously accessed media. The segments included in progress bar 430 may have various actions that can be performed by the media guidance application in response to a user selection of the segment.

[0047] For example, with reference to FIG. 5, a display screen 500 may be generated in response to a selection of one of the items in a progress bar, such as progress bar 505. Progress bar 505 may include one or more segments for previously accessed media items. As shown in FIG. 5, the segments may relate to previously accessed episodes of Survivor. The segments may include events that have occurred in an episode of Survivor since the viewer stopped accessing the episode. For example, progress bar 505 may include the title of the previously accessed media content Survivor 510, as well as events that have occurred during the course of the episode, such as the challenge 520, preparing for the challenge 530, Bob drops the ball 540, Sue saves the team 550, voting 560, and tribal council meeting 570. Any of the segments included in the list of items in progress bar 505 may be selected by the viewer to access an action associated with the item. A segment included in the list in progress bar 505, such as Bob drops the ball 540, may be highlighted. In addition, different items, such as tribal meeting 570, may be highlighted in different ways to indicate different events that may be of interest to the viewer for different reasons or that may lead to different types of content or content from different types of sources. Other types of highlighting may also be used to distinguish actions available for a segment.

[0048] When a segment is selected from progress bar 505, the media guidance application may receive the selection and generate media interaction options window 580 for the user to select an action to perform in connection with the selected segment. As shown, some options for interacting with the selected segment may include recording the segment or previously accessed content, returning to watching the previously accessed content at the time associated with the segment, accessing a link related to the segment, e.g., a link that may be shared on social media, watching a video clip associated with the segment, or starting watching the previously accessed content either at the current time in the progression of the content or from the time the viewer stopped accessing the content. Other options may also be included within options window 580 for interacting with the previously accessed content. Although not shown in FIG. 5, the media content displayed prior to the selection of an item from progress bar 505 may continue to be displayed below options window 580.

[0049] A viewer may select one of the actions for the segment from progress bar 505, for example, to watch the segment about Survivor associated with Bob dropping the ball. In response to receiving such a selection, the media guidance application may generate a display such as that shown in FIG. 6. With reference to FIG. 6, screen 600 may include the media content being viewed, i.e., The Simpsons 610, along with a picture-in-picture display 630 of the previously accessed content at the time associated with Bob dropping the ball. Picture-in-picture display 630 may include a video clip 625 or the previously accessed content starting from the time associated with the segment for Bob dropping the ball 625. Picture-in-picture display 630 may also include a progress bar that includes details about the previously accessed content (an episode of Survivor) following a timestamp associated with the selected segment. For example, the progress bar includes segments such as Sue Saves the Team 635, Voting 640, and Tribal Council 645 segments of the show. In some scenarios, it may be preferable to include another segment in the progress bar following the time at which the viewer previously stopped accessing episodes of Survivor.

[0050] In some arrangements, the media guidance application may generate to display additional progress bar 650 for the secondary or primary media content such that if the viewer is distracted by the picture-in-picture display of previously accessed content, the viewer may see a list of segments that have occurred within the media content from the time the viewer began viewing the picture-in-picture display. For example, as shown, progress bar 650 may include information about events occurring within episode 610 of The Simpsons that is being watched by the viewer behind picture-in-picture display 630 of a segment of Survivor. As with other progress bars discussed with reference to other figures, progress bar 650 may include details about the media content obtained by the media guidance application by monitoring metadata for the media content, as well as third-party sources of information about the media content.

[0051] After a viewer has completed viewing media content, such as an episode of The Simpsons or a segment of an episode of Survivor selected in FIG. 5, the end of the media content may include some additional interactive actions provided by the media guidance application. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, an illustrative screen 700 is depicted that includes a background image of media content, such as The Simpsons 710. A picture-in-picture display 725 of the previously accessed content may also be displayed within screen 700. When an episode of The Simpsons is completed, the media guidance application may present an image 750 that is associated with The Simpsons series or the particular episode of The Simpsons that was just viewed. The image 750 may be selected by the viewer to post to social media for the viewer. For example, the viewer may be presented with a screen to select image 750 and post image 750 to a connected Twitter account for the viewer. In another embodiment, the media guidance application may present suitable text to include with or without image 750 for the viewer to post on social media about the media content. The source of image 750 and / or any text may be obtained by the media guidance application by searching a media database for suitable images. In some scenarios, there may be multiple suitable images for the media content. In this case, the media guidance application may select an image based on the metadata for the image as well as the popularity of the image, based on a user profile, or based on a combination thereof.

[0052] Although the examples described with reference to Figures 1-7 involved only sporting events, reality television, and episodes of television series, any type of media may be treated in the same manner and presented by the media guidance application with a progress bar for previously accessed content so that the viewer can be informed of events occurring within the previously accessed content.

[0053] The amount of content available to users in any given content delivery system can be staggering. As a result, many users desire a form of media guidance through an interface that allows them to efficiently navigate content selections and easily identify content that may be desired. Applications that provide such guidance are referred to herein as interactive media guidance applications, but may also sometimes be referred to as media guidance applications or guidance applications.

[0054] Interactive media guidance applications may take a variety of forms depending on the content for which they provide guidance. One typical type of media guidance application is an interactive television program guide. Interactive television program guides (sometimes referred to as electronic program guides) are well-known guidance applications that, among other things, allow users to navigate among and identify many types of content or media assets. Interactive media guidance applications may generate graphical user interface screens that allow users to navigate among, identify and select content. As referred to herein, the terms "media assets" and "content" should be understood to mean television programs as well as electronically consumable user assets such as pay programs, on-demand programs (as in video-on-demand (VOD) systems), Internet content (e.g., streaming content, downloadable content, webcasts, etc.), video clips, audio, content information, photos, rotating images, documents, playlists, websites, articles, books, e-books, blogs, chat sessions, social media, applications, games, and / or any other media or multimedia, and / or combinations thereof. Guidance applications also allow users to navigate among and identify content. As referred to herein, the term "multimedia" should be understood to mean content that utilizes at least two of the different content forms described above, e.g., text, audio, image, video, or interactive content forms. The content may be recorded, played, displayed, or accessed by a user equipment device, but may also be part of a live performance.

[0055] The media guidance application and / or any instructions for implementing any of the embodiments discussed herein may be encoded on a computer-readable medium. A computer-readable medium includes any medium capable of storing data. A computer-readable medium may be transitory, including, but not limited to, the propagation of electrical or electromagnetic signals, or may be non-transitory, including, but not limited to, volatile and non-volatile computer memory or storage devices, such as hard disks, floppy disks, USB drives, DVDs, CDs, media cards, register memory, processor cache, random access memory ("RAM"), and the like.

[0056] With the advent of the Internet, mobile computing, and high-speed wireless networks, users are accessing media on user equipment devices that they had not traditionally used. As referred to herein, the terms “user equipment device”, “user equipment”, “user device”, “electronic device”, “electronic device”, “media equipment device”, or “media device” should be understood to mean any device for accessing the content described above, such as a television, a smart TV, a set-top box, an integrated receiver decoder (IRD) for supporting satellite television, a digital storage device, a digital media receiver (DMR), a digital media adapter (DMA), a streaming media device, a DVD player, a DVD recorder, a connected DVD, a local media server, a BLU-RAY® player, a BLU-RAY® recorder, a personal computer (PC), a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a Web TV box, a personal computer television (PC / TV), a PC media server, a PC media center, a handheld computer, a landline phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, a portable video player, a portable music player, a portable gaming console, a smartphone, or any other television equipment, computing equipment, or wireless device, and / or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the user equipment devices may have front and rear screens, multiple front screens, or multiple angled screens. In some embodiments, the user equipment devices may have front and / or rear cameras. On these user equipment devices, users may be able to navigate among and locate the same content available through a television. As a result, media guides may also be available on these devices. The guides provided may be for content available only through a television, for content available only through one or more of the other types of user equipment devices, or for content available both through a television and one or more of the other types of user equipment devices.The media guidance application may be provided on a user equipment device, as an online application (i.e., provided on a website), or as a stand-alone application or client. Various devices and platforms on which the media guidance application may be implemented are described in more detail below.

[0057] One of the functions of the media guidance application is to provide media guidance data to a user. As referred to herein, the phrases "media guidance data" or "guide data" should be understood to mean any data related to content or used in operating the guidance application. For example, the guide data may include program information, guide application settings, user preferences, user profile information, media listings, media-related information (e.g., broadcast time, broadcast channel, title, content, rating information (e.g., parental control rating, critics' rating, etc.), genre or category information, actor information, logo data of a broadcaster or provider logo, etc.), media format (e.g., standard definition, high definition, 3D, etc.), on-demand information, blogs, web sites, and any other type of guide data that helps a user navigate among and identify desired content selections.

[0058] FIGS. 8-9 show illustrative display screens that may be used to provide media guidance data. The display screens shown in FIGS. 8-9 may be implemented on any suitable user equipment device or platform. Although the displays in FIGS. 8-9 are illustrated as full-screen displays, they may also be fully or partially overlaid on the displayed content. A user may indicate a desire to access content information by selecting a selectable option provided on the display screen (e.g., a menu option, a list option, an icon, a hyperlink, etc.) or by pressing a dedicated button (e.g., a “Guide” button) on a remote control or other user input interface or device. In response to the user's indication, the media guidance application may provide the display screen with media guidance data organized in one of several ways, such as by time and channel in a grid, by time, by channel, by source, by content type, by category (e.g., movies, sports, news, kids, or other programming categories), or other predetermined, user-defined, or other organization criteria.

[0059] FIG. 8 shows an illustrative grid of program listings display 800 arranged by time and channel that also allows access to different types of content within a single display. Display 800 may include a grid 802 with: (1) columns of channel / content type identifiers 804, where each channel / content type identifier (cell in the column) identifies a different channel or type of content available; and (2) rows of time identifiers 806, where each time identifier (cell in the row) identifies a time slot for the program. Grid 802 also includes cells of program listings, such as program listing 808, where each listing provides the title of the program provided above the listing's associated channel and time. Using a user input device, a user can select a program listing by moving highlight region 810. Information about the program listing selected by highlight region 810 may be provided in program information region 812. Region 812 may include, for example, the program title, program content, the time the program is offered (if applicable), the channel the program is broadcast on (if applicable), the program's rating, and other desired information.

[0060] In addition to providing access to linear programming (e.g., content scheduled for transmission to multiple user equipment devices at predetermined times and provided according to a schedule), the media guide application also provides access to nonlinear programming (e.g., content that is accessible to user equipment devices at any time and is not provided according to a schedule). Nonlinear programming may include content from different content sources, including on-demand content (e.g., VOD), Internet content (e.g., streaming media, downloadable media, etc.), locally stored content (e.g., content stored on any of the user equipment devices described above or other storage devices), or other content that is not time-constrained. On-demand content may include movies or any other content provided by a particular content provider (e.g., HBO On Demand, which provides "The Sopranos" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm"). HBO ON DEMAND is a service mark owned by Time Warner Company LP et al., and THE SOPRANOS and CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM are trademarks owned by Home Box Office, Inc. Internet content may include web events such as chat sessions or webcasts, or content available on demand as streaming or downloadable content through an Internet website or other Internet access (eg, FTP).

[0061] Grid 802 may provide media guide data for non-linear programming, including on-demand listings 814, recorded content listings 816, and Internet content listings 818. Displays that combine media guidance data for content from different types of content sources are sometimes referred to as "mixed media" displays. Various permutations of the types of media guidance data that may be displayed, other than display 800, may be based on user selection or guide application definition (e.g., displaying only recorded and broadcast listings, displaying only on-demand and broadcast listings, etc.). As illustrated, listings 814, 816, and 818 are shown as spanning the entire time period displayed in grid 802 to indicate that selection of these listings may provide access to a dedicated view of on-demand listings, recorded listings, or Internet listings, respectively. In some embodiments, listings for these content types may be included directly in grid 802. In response to a user selecting one of navigation icons 820, additional media guidance data may be displayed. (Pressing an arrow key on a user input device may affect the display in a similar manner to selecting navigation icon 820.)

[0062] Display 800 may also include a video region 822 and an options region 826. Video region 822 may allow a user to watch and / or preview programs that are currently available, will be available, or have been available to the user. The content of video region 822 may correspond to or be independent of one of the listings displayed in grid 802. Grid displays that include a video region are sometimes referred to as picture-in-guide (PIG) ​​displays. PIG displays and their functionality are described in more detail in U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,378, issued May 13, 2003 to Satterfield et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 6,239,794, issued May 29, 2001 to Yuen et al., which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. PIG displays may be included in other media guidance application display screens of the embodiments described herein.

[0063] Options region 826 may allow a user to access different types of content, media guidance application views, and / or media guidance application features. Options region 826 may be part of display 800 (and other display screens described herein) or may be invoked by the user by selecting an option on the screen or by pressing a dedicated or assignable button on a user input device. The selectable options in options region 826 may relate to features related to program listings in grid 802 or may include options available from a main menu display. Features related to program listings may include finding other air times or methods of receiving programs, recording a program, enabling continuous recording of a program, setting programs and / or channels as favorites, purchasing a program, or other features. Options available from a main menu display may include search options, VOD options, parental control options, Internet options, cloud-based options, device sync options, second screen device options, options to access various types of media guidance data displays, options to subscribe to premium services, options to edit a user's profile, options to access a browser overlay, or other options.

[0064] The media guidance application may be personalized based on user preferences. A personalized media guidance application allows a user to customize displays and features to create a personalized “experience” with the media guidance application. This personalized experience may be created by allowing the user to input these customizations and / or by the media guidance application monitoring user activity to determine various user preferences. Users may access their personalized guidance application by logging in or otherwise identifying themselves to the guidance application. Customizations of the media guidance application may be created according to a user profile. Customizations may include changing the presentation scheme (e.g., color scheme of the display, font size of text, etc.), aspects of the content listings displayed (e.g., only HDTV programs or only 3D programs, user-specified broadcast channels based on favorite channel selections, sorting of channel display, recommended content, etc.), desired recording characteristics (e.g., recording or continuous recording for a particular user, recording quality, etc.), parental control settings, customized presentation of Internet content (e.g., presentation of social media content, email, electronically distributed articles, etc.), and other desired customizations.

[0065] The media guidance application may allow a user to provide user profile information or may automatically compile user profile information. The media guidance application may, for example, monitor the content the user accesses and / or other interactions the user may have with the guidance application. In addition, the media guidance application may obtain other user profiles, in whole or in part, associated with a particular user (e.g., from other websites on the Internet the user accesses, such as www.Tivo.com, from other media guidance applications the user accesses, from other interactive applications the user accesses, from the user's other user equipment devices, etc.) and / or obtain information about the user from other sources to which the media guidance application may have access. As a result, a user can be provided with a unified guidance application experience across the user's different user equipment devices. This type of user experience is described in more detail below in connection with FIG. 11. Additional personalized media guidance application features are described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005 / 0251827 to Ellis et al., filed July 11, 2005; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005 / 0251827 to Boyer et al., published January 16, 2007; and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005 / 0251827 to Boyer et al., published January 16, 2007. No. 7,165,098 to Ellis et al., and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002 / 0174430, filed February 21, 2002, which are incorporated by reference in their entireties.

[0066] Another display arrangement for providing a media guide is shown in FIG. 9. Video mosaic display 900 includes selectable options 902 for content information organized based on content type, genre, and / or other organization criteria. In display 900, television listings option 904 is selected, thus providing listings 906, 908, 910, and 912 as broadcast program listings. In display 900, the listings may provide graphic images including cover art, still images from the content, previews of video clips, live video from the content, or other types of content that indicate to the user the content described by the media guide data in the listing. The graphic listings may also be accompanied by text, respectively, to provide further information about the content associated with the listing. For example, listing 908 may include more than one portion, including media portion 914 and text portion 916. Media portion 914 and / or text portion 916 may be selectable to watch the content full screen or to view information related to the content displayed in media portion 914 (e.g., to view listings for the channel on which the video is displayed).

[0067] The listings in display 900 are of different sizes (i.e., listing 906 is larger than listings 908, 910, and 912), although all listings could be the same size, as desired. The listings may be differently sized or graphically highlighted to indicate a degree of user interest or to highlight certain content, as desired by the content provider or based on user preferences. Various systems and methods for graphically highlighting content listings are discussed, for example, in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010 / 0153885 to Yates, filed Nov. 12, 2009, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0068] A user may access content and media guidance applications (and their display screens, described above and below) from one or more of their user equipment devices. FIG. 10 shows a generalized embodiment of an illustrative user equipment device 1000. A more specific implementation of a user equipment device is discussed below in connection with FIG. 11. User equipment device 1000 may receive content and data via input / output (hereinafter “I / O”) path 1002. I / O path 1002 may provide content (e.g., broadcast programs, on-demand programs, Internet content, content available over a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN), and / or other content) and data to control circuitry 1004, which includes processing circuitry 1006 and storage device 1008. Control circuitry 1004 may be used to send and receive commands, requests, and other suitable data using I / O path 1002. I / O path 1002 may connect control circuitry 1004 (specifically, processing circuitry 1006) to one or more communication paths (described below). An I / O function may be provided by one or more of these communication paths, but is shown as a single path in FIG. 10 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.

[0069] Control circuitry 1004 may be based on any suitable processing circuitry, such as processing circuitry 1006. As referred to herein, processing circuitry is understood to mean circuitry based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc., and may include multi-core processors (e.g., dual-core, quad-core, hexa-core, or any suitable number of cores) or supercomputers. In some embodiments, processing circuitry may be distributed across multiple separate processors or processing units, such as multiple processing units of the same type (e.g., two Intel Core i7 processors) or multiple different processors (e.g., an Intel Core i5 processor and an Intel Core i7 processor). In some embodiments, control circuitry 1004 executes instructions for a media guidance application stored in memory (i.e., storage device 1008). In particular, control circuitry 1004 may be instructed by the media guidance application to perform the functions discussed above and below. For example, the media guidance application may provide control circuitry 1004 with instructions to generate a media guidance display. In some implementations, any actions performed by control circuitry 1004 may be based on instructions received from a media guidance application.

[0070] In a client-server based embodiment, the control circuitry 1004 may include suitable communications circuitry for communicating with a guide application server or other network or server. Instructions for implementing the functionality described above may be stored on the guide application server. The communications circuitry may include a cable modem, an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) modem, a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) modem, a telephone modem, an Ethernet card, or a wireless modem for communication with other equipment, or any other suitable communications circuitry. Such communications may involve the Internet or any other suitable communications network or path (described in more detail in connection with FIG. 11). In addition, the communications circuitry may include circuitry to enable peer-to-peer communication of user equipment devices or communication of user equipment devices at locations remote from each other (described in more detail below).

[0071] The memory may be an electronic storage device provided as storage device 1008 that is part of control circuitry 1004. As referred to herein, the phrase "electronic storage device" or "storage device" should be understood to mean any device for storing electronic data, computer software, or firmware, such as random access memory, read-only memory, hard drive, optical drive, digital video disc (DVD) recorder, compact disc (CD) recorder, BLU-RAY® Disc (BD) recorder, BLU-RAY® 3D Disc recorder, digital video recorder (DVR, or sometimes called personal video recorder or PVR), solid state device, quantum storage device, game console, game media, or any other suitable fixed or removable storage device, and / or any combination thereof. Storage device 1008 may be used to store various types of content described herein, as well as media guidance data described above. Non-volatile memory may also be used (e.g., to initiate boot-up routines and other instructions). Cloud-based storage, as described in connection with FIG. 11, may be used to supplement storage 1008 or in place of storage 1008.

[0072] The control circuitry 1004 may include video generation and tuning circuitry, such as one or more analog tuners, one or more MPEG-2 decoders or other digital decoding circuitry, high definition tuners, or any other suitable tuning or video circuitry, or a combination of such circuits. Encoding circuitry (e.g., for converting over-the-air, analog, or digital signals to MPEG signals for storage) may also be provided. The control circuitry 1004 may also include scaling circuitry for up-converting and down-converting content to a preferred output format of the user equipment 1000. The circuitry 1004 may also include digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital conversion circuitry for converting between digital and analog signals. The tuning and encoding circuitry may be used by the user equipment device to receive and display, play, or record content. The tuning and encoding circuitry may also be used to receive guide data. For example, the circuitry described herein, including tuning, video generation, encoding, decoding, encryption, decryption, scaling, and analog / digital circuitry, may be implemented using software running on one or more general-purpose or specialized processors. Multiple tuners may be provided to accommodate simultaneous tuning functions (e.g., watch and record functions, picture-in-picture (PIP) functions, multi-tuner recording functions, etc.) If storage 1008 is provided as a device separate from user equipment 1000, the tuning and encoding circuitry (including multiple tuners) may be associated with storage 1008.

[0073] A user may send instructions to the control circuitry 1004 using the user input interface 1010. The user input interface 1010 may be any suitable user interface, such as a remote control, a mouse, a trackball, a keypad, a keyboard, a touch screen, a touch pad, a stylus input, a joystick, a voice recognition interface, or other user input interface. The display 1012 may be provided as a stand-alone device or may be integrated with other elements of the user equipment device 1000. For example, the display 1012 may be a touch screen or a touch-sensitive display. In such situations, the user input interface 1010 may be integrated or combined with the display 1012. The display 1012 may be one or more of a monitor, a television, a liquid crystal display (LCD) for a mobile device, an amorphous silicon display, a low temperature polysilicon display, an electronic ink display, an electrophoretic display, an active matrix display, an electrowetting display, an electrofluidic display, a cathode ray tube display, a light emitting diode display, an electroluminescent display, a plasma display panel, a high performance addressing display, a thin film transistor display, an organic light emitting diode display, a surface conduction electron emitter display (SED), a laser television, a carbon nanotube, a quantum dot display, an interferometric modulator display, or any other suitable device for displaying visual images. In some embodiments, the display 1012 may be HDTV compatible. In some embodiments, the display 1012 may be a 3D display, and the interactive media guide application and any suitable content may be displayed in 3D. A video card or graphics card may generate output to the display 1012. The video card may provide various functions such as accelerated rendering of 3D scenes and 2D graphics, MPEG-2 / MPEG-4 decoding, a TV output, or the ability to connect multiple monitors.The video card may be any of the processing circuitry described above in association with control circuitry 1004. The video card may be integrated with control circuitry 1004. Speakers 1014 may be provided as integrated with other elements of user equipment device 1000 or may be a stand-alone unit. Audio components of video and other content displayed on display 1012 may be played through speakers 1014. In some embodiments, the audio may be distributed to a receiver (not shown), which processes and outputs the audio via speakers 1014.

[0074] The guidance application may be implemented using any suitable architecture. For example, it may be a standalone application implemented entirely on user equipment device 1000. In such an approach, the application's instructions are stored locally (e.g., in storage 1008) and data for use by the application is periodically downloaded (e.g., from an out-of-band feed, from an Internet resource, or using another suitable approach). Control circuitry 1004 may read the application's instructions from storage 1008 and process the instructions to generate any of the displays discussed herein. Based on the processed instructions, control circuitry 1004 may determine an action to perform when input is received from input interface 1010. For example, movement of a cursor up / down on a display may be indicated by the processed instructions when input interface 1010 indicates that an up / down button has been selected.

[0075] In some embodiments, the media guidance application is a client-server based application. Data for use by a thick or thin client implemented on user equipment device 1000 is retrieved on demand by issuing requests to a server remote from user equipment device 1000. In one example of a client-server based guidance application, control circuitry 1004 launches a web browser that interprets web pages provided by a remote server. For example, the remote server may store instructions for the application in a storage device. The remote server may use circuitry (e.g., control circuitry 1004) to process the stored instructions and generate the displays discussed above and below. The client device may receive the displays generated by the remote server and display the contents of the displays locally on equipment device 1000. In this manner, the processing of instructions is performed remotely by a server while the resulting displays are provided locally on equipment device 1000. Equipment device 1000 may receive inputs from a user via input interface 1010 and transmit those inputs to the remote server for processing and generating corresponding displays. For example, the appliance device 1000 may transmit a communication to a remote server indicating that an up / down button was selected via the input interface 1010. The remote server may process instructions according to the input and generate a display of the application corresponding to the input (e.g., a display that moves a cursor up / down). The generated display is then transmitted to the appliance device 1000 for presentation to the user.

[0076] In some embodiments, the media guidance application is downloaded and interpreted or otherwise invoked by an interpreter or virtual machine (invoked by control circuitry 1004). In some embodiments, the guidance application may be encoded in ETV Binary Interchange Format (EBIF) and received by control circuitry 1004 as part of a suitable feed and interpreted by a user agent running on control circuitry 1004. For example, the guidance application may be an EBIF application. In some embodiments, the guidance application may be defined by a series of JAVA-based files that are received and invoked by a local virtual machine or other suitable middleware executed by control circuitry 1004. In some such embodiments (e.g., those employing MPEG-2 or other digital media encoding schemes), the guidance application may be encoded and transmitted, for example, in an MPEG-2 object carousel with the program's MPEG audio and video packets.

[0077] User equipment devices 1000 of FIG. 10 may be implemented in system 1100 of FIG. 11 as user television equipment 1102, user computer equipment 1104, wireless user communications devices 1106, or any other type of user equipment suitable for accessing content, such as non-portable gaming consoles. For simplicity, these devices may be referred to collectively herein as user equipment or user equipment devices and may be substantially similar to the user equipment devices described above. The user equipment devices on which the media guidance application may be implemented may function as stand-alone devices or may be part of a network of devices. Various network configurations of devices may be implemented and are discussed in more detail below.

[0078] User equipment devices utilizing at least some of the system features described above in connection with FIG. 10 may not simply be classified as user television equipment 1102, user computer equipment 1104, or wireless user communications device 1106. For example, user television equipment 1102, like some user computer equipment 1104, may be Internet-enabled allowing access to Internet content, while user computer equipment 1104, like some television equipment 1102, may include a tuner allowing access to television programs. The media guidance application may also have the same layout on various different types of user equipment or may be tailored to the display capabilities of the user equipment. For example, on user computer equipment 1104, the guidance application may be provided as a website accessed by a web browser. In another example, the guidance application may be scaled down for wireless user communications device 1106.

[0079] In system 1100, there will typically be more than one of each type of user equipment device, but to avoid overcomplicating the drawing, only one of each is shown in Figure 11. In addition, each user may utilize more than one type of user equipment device and also more than one of each type of user equipment device.

[0080] In some embodiments, a user equipment device (e.g., user television equipment 1102, user computer equipment 1104, wireless user communications device 1106) may be referred to as a "second screen device." For example, the second screen device may complement the content presented on the first user equipment device. The content presented on the second screen device may be any suitable content that complements the content presented on the first device. In some embodiments, the second screen device provides an interface for adjusting settings and display preferences of the first device. In some embodiments, the second screen device is configured to interact with other second screen devices or interact with a social network. The second screen device may be located in the same room as the first device, in a different room from the first device but in the same home or building, or in a different building from the first device.

[0081] A user may also set various settings to maintain consistent media guidance application settings across in-home and remote devices. Settings include those described herein, as well as favorite channels and programs, program preferences that the guidance application utilizes to recommend programs, display preferences, and other desired guide settings. For example, if a user sets a channel as a favorite on his or her office personal computer, e.g., on the website www.Tivo.com, the same channel will be displayed as a favorite on the user's in-home devices (e.g., user television equipment and user computer equipment) and, if desired, on the user's mobile devices. Thus, changes made on one user equipment device can change the guide experience on another user equipment device, whether the same or a different type of user equipment device. In addition, changes made may be based on settings entered by the user as well as user activity monitored by the guidance application.

[0082] User equipment devices may be coupled to communications network 1114. That is, user television equipment 1102, user computer equipment 1104, and wireless user communications device 1106 are coupled to communications network 1114 via communications paths 1108, 1110, and 1112, respectively. Communications network 1114 may be one or more networks including the Internet, a cellular network, a mobile voice or data network (e.g., a 4G or LTE network), a cable network, a public switched telephone network, or other types of communications networks, or combinations of communications networks. Paths 1108, 1110, and 1112, separately or together, may include one or more communications paths, such as satellite paths, fiber optic paths, cable paths, paths supporting Internet communications (e.g., IPTV), free space connections (e.g., for broadcast or other wireless signals), or any other suitable wired or wireless communications paths, or combinations of such paths. Path 1112 is depicted in the exemplary embodiment shown in Figure 11 as a dashed line to indicate that it is a wireless path, and paths 1108 and 1110 are depicted as solid lines to indicate that they are wired paths (although these paths may also be wireless paths, if desired). Communication with a user equipment device may be provided by one or more of these communication paths, but are shown in Figure 11 as a single path to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.

[0083] Although communication paths are not depicted between the user equipment devices, these devices may communicate directly with each other via communication paths such as those described above in connection with paths 1108, 1110, and 1112, as well as other short-range point-to-point communication paths, such as a USB cable, an IEEE 1394 cable, wireless paths (e.g., Bluetooth, infrared, IEEE 802-11x, etc.), or other short-range communications via wired or wireless paths. BLUETOOTH is a certification mark owned by Bluetooth SIG, INC. User equipment devices may also communicate directly with each other through an indirect path via communications network 1114.

[0084] System 1100 includes a content source 1116 and a media guidance data source 1118 coupled to communications network 1114 via communications paths 1120 and 1122, respectively. Paths 1120 and 1122 may include any of the communications paths described above in connection with paths 1108, 1110, and 1112. Communications with content source 1116 and media guidance data source 1118 may be exchanged via one or more communications paths, but are shown in FIG. 11 as a single path to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. In addition, there may be more than one of each of content source 1116 and media guidance data source 1118, but only one of each is shown in FIG. 11 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. (Each of these different types of sources is discussed below.) If desired, content source 1116 and media guidance data source 1118 may be integrated as one source device. Although communications between sources 1116 and 1118 and user equipment devices 1102, 1104, and 1106 are shown as being through communications network 1114, in some embodiments sources 1116 and 1118 may communicate directly with user equipment devices 1102, 1104, and 1106 via communications paths (not shown) such as those described above in connection with paths 1108, 1110, and 1112.

[0085] The content sources 1116 may include one or more types of content distribution equipment, including television distribution facilities, cable system head ends, satellite distribution facilities, program sources (e.g., television broadcasting companies, such as NBC, ABC, HBO, etc.), intermediate distribution facilities and / or servers, Internet providers, on-demand media servers, and other content providers. NBC is a trademark owned by National Broadcasting Company, Inc., ABC is a trademark owned by American Broadcasting Company, INC., and HBO is a trademark owned by Home Box Office, Inc. The content sources 1116 may be content originators (e.g., television broadcasting companies, webcast providers, etc.) or non-content originators (e.g., on-demand content providers, Internet providers of broadcast program content for download, etc.). The content sources 1116 may include cable sources, satellite providers, on-demand providers, Internet providers, over-the-top content providers, or other content providers. Content sources 1116 may also include remote media servers used to store different types of content (including video content selected by the user) at locations remote from any of the user equipment devices. Systems and methods for remote storage of content and for providing remotely stored content to user equipment are discussed in more detail in connection with U.S. Patent No. 7,761,892, issued July 20, 2010 to Ellis et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0086] Media guidance data source 1118 may provide media guidance data, such as the media guidance data described above. The media guidance data may be provided to user equipment devices using any suitable approach. In some embodiments, the guide application may be a stand-alone interactive television program guide that receives program guide data via a data feed (e.g., a continuous feed or a trickle feed). Program schedule data and other guide data may be provided to user equipment on a sideband of a television channel, using an in-band digital signal, using an out-of-band digital signal, or by any other suitable data transmission technique. Program schedule data and other media guidance data may be provided to user equipment over multiple analog or digital television channels.

[0087] In some embodiments, guidance data from media guidance data source 1118 may be provided to the user's equipment using a client-server approach. For example, the user equipment device may pull the media guidance data from a server, or the server may push the media guidance data to the user equipment device. In some embodiments, a guidance application client resident on the user's equipment may initiate a session with source 1118 and obtain the guidance data as needed, for example, when the guide data is out of date or when the user equipment device receives a request from the user to receive the data. Media guidance may be provided to the user equipment at any suitable frequency (e.g., continuously, daily, at user-defined time periods, at system-defined time periods, in response to a request from the user equipment, etc.). Media guidance data source 1118 may provide the user equipment devices 1102, 1104, and 1106 with the media guidance application itself, or software updates for the media guidance application.

[0088] In some embodiments, the media guidance data may include viewer data. For example, the viewer data may include current and / or historical user activity information (e.g., the content a user typically watches, the time of day the user watches content, whether the user interacts with social networks, the time the user interacts with social networks and posts information, the type of content the user typically watches (e.g., pay TV or free TV), mood, brain activity information, etc.). The media guidance data may also include subscription data. For example, the subscription data may identify sources or services to which a given user subscribes and / or sources or services to which a given user previously subscribed but subsequently discontinued access (e.g., whether the user subscribed to a premium channel, whether the user added a premium level of service, whether the user accelerated their Internet speed). In some embodiments, the viewer data and / or subscription data may identify a given user's patterns over a period of more than one year. The media guidance data may include a model (e.g., a survivor model) that is used to generate a score indicative of the likelihood that a given user will discontinue access to a service / source. For example, the media guidance application may process the viewer data along with the subscription data using a model to generate a value or score that indicates the likelihood that a given user will terminate access to a particular service or source. In particular, a higher score may indicate a higher level of confidence that the user will terminate access to a particular service or source. Based on the score, the media guidance application may generate promotions that encourage the user to maintain the particular service or source indicated by the score as one that the user will likely terminate access to.

[0089] The media guidance application may be, for example, a stand-alone application implemented on a user equipment device. For example, the media guidance application may be implemented as software or a set of executable instructions that may be stored in storage 1008 and executed by control circuitry 1004 of user equipment device 1000. In some embodiments, the media guidance application may be a client-server application, where only the client application resides on the user equipment device and the server application resides on a remote server. For example, the media guidance application may be implemented partially as a client application on control circuitry 1004 of user equipment device 1000 and partially on the remote server as a server application (e.g., media guidance data source 1118) running on control circuitry of the remote server. When executed by control circuitry of the remote server (such as media guidance data source 1118), the media guidance application may instruct the control circuitry to generate a guidance application display and transmit the generated display to the user equipment device. The server application may instruct control circuitry of media guidance data source 1118 to transmit data for storage on the user equipment. The client application may instruct control circuitry of the receiving user equipment to generate a guide application display.

[0090] The content and / or media guidance data delivered to user equipment devices 1102, 1104, and 1106 may be over-the-top (OTT) content. OTT content delivery allows Internet-enabled user devices, including any of the user equipment devices described above, to receive content transmitted over the Internet, including any of the content described above, in addition to content received over a cable or satellite connection. OTT content is delivered over an Internet connection provided by an Internet Service Provider (ISP), although third parties also distribute content. ISPs may not be responsible for viewing capabilities, copyright, or redistribution of content, and may only transmit IP packets provided by OTT content providers. Examples of OTT content providers include YOUTUBE®, NETFLIX, and HULU, which provide audio and video over IP packets. Youtube is a trademark owned by Google Inc., Netflix is ​​a trademark owned by Netflix, Inc., and Hulu is a trademark owned by Hulu, LLC. OTT content providers may additionally or alternatively provide media guidance data as described above. In addition to the content and / or media guidance data, a provider of OTT content may distribute a media guidance application (e.g., a web-based application or a cloud-based application) or the content may be displayed by a media guidance application stored on the user equipment device.

[0091] Media guidance system 1100 is intended to illustrate several approaches or network configurations whereby user equipment devices and sources of content and guidance data may communicate with each other for purposes of accessing content and providing media guidance. The embodiments described herein may be applied in any one or some of these approaches, or in systems employing other approaches for delivering content and providing media guidance. The following four approaches provide specific illustrations of the generic example of FIG. 11:

[0092] In one approach, user equipment devices may communicate with each other within a home network. The user equipment devices may communicate with each other directly via the short-range point-to-point communication scheme described above, via an indirect path through a hub or other similar device provided on the home network, or via communications network 1114. Multiple individuals within a household may each operate different user equipment devices on the home network. As a result, it may be desirable for various media guidance information or settings to be communicated between the different user equipment devices. For example, as described in more detail in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005 / 0251827, filed July 11, 2005, to Ellis et al., it may be desirable for a user to maintain consistent media guidance application settings on different user equipment devices within a home network. Different types of user equipment devices within a home network may also communicate with each other and transfer content. For example, a user may transfer content from a user computing device to a portable video player or a portable music player.

[0093] In a second approach, a user may have multiple types of user equipment through which they access content and obtain media guidance. For example, some users may have a home network that is accessed by in-home and mobile devices. The user may control the in-home devices through a media guidance application implemented on a remote device. For example, the user may access an online media guidance application on a website through a personal computer in their office or a mobile device such as a PDA or web-enabled cell phone. The user may set various settings (e.g., recording, reminders, or other settings) on the online guide application to control the user's in-home devices. The online guide may control the user's equipment directly or by communicating with the media guide application on the user's in-home devices. Various systems and methods for communication of user equipment devices, where the user equipment devices are located remotely from one another, are discussed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 8,046,801, issued Oct. 25, 2011 to Ellis et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0094] In a third approach, users of user equipment devices inside and outside the home may use their media guidance application to communicate directly with content sources 1116 and access content. Specifically, within the home, users of user television equipment 1102 and user computer equipment 1104 may access the media guidance application to navigate among and locate desired content. Users may also use wireless user communications devices 1106 to access the media guidance application outside the home to navigate among and locate desired content.

[0095] In a fourth approach, user equipment devices may operate within a cloud computing environment and access cloud services. In a cloud computing environment, various types of computing services for content sharing, storage, or distribution (e.g., video sharing sites or social networking sites) are provided by a collection of network-accessible computing and storage resources, referred to as a "cloud." For example, a cloud may include a collection of server computing devices, which may be located in central or distributed locations, that provide cloud-based services to various types of users and devices, connected through a network, such as the Internet via communications network 1114. These cloud resources may include one or more content sources 1116 and one or more media guidance data sources 1118. Additionally or alternatively, the remote computing sites may include other user equipment devices, such as user television equipment 1102, user computer equipment 1104, and wireless user communications devices 1106. For example, the other user equipment devices may provide access to stored copies of videos or streamed videos. In such an embodiment, the user equipment devices may operate in a peer-to-peer manner without communicating with a central server.

[0096] The cloud provides access for user equipment devices to services such as content storage, content sharing, or social networking services, among other examples, as well as any of the content described above. Services can be provided in the cloud, through a cloud computing service provider, or through other providers of online services. For example, cloud-based services can include content storage services, content sharing sites, social networking sites, or other services through which user-supplied content is distributed for viewing by others on connected devices. These cloud-based services may enable user equipment devices to store content in the cloud and receive content from the cloud, rather than storing content locally and accessing the locally stored content.

[0097] Users may record content using a variety of content capture devices, such as camcorders, digital cameras with video modes, audio recorders, mobile phones, and handheld computing devices. Users can upload content to a content storage service on the cloud, for example, directly, either from user computing equipment 1104 or from a wireless user communication device 1106 with content capture features. Alternatively, users can first transfer content to a user equipment device, such as user computing equipment 1104. The user equipment device that stores the content uploads the content to the cloud using a data transmission service on the communications network 1114. In some embodiments, the user equipment device itself is a cloud resource, and other user equipment devices can access the content directly from the user equipment device where the user stored the content.

[0098] Cloud resources may be accessed by a user equipment device using, for example, a web browser, a media guidance application, a desktop application, a mobile application, and / or any combination of those access applications. A user equipment device may be a cloud client that relies on cloud computing for application delivery, or the user equipment device may have some functionality without accessing cloud resources. For example, some applications that run on a user equipment device may be cloud applications, i.e., applications that are delivered as a service over the Internet, while other applications may be stored and run on the user equipment device. In some embodiments, a user device may receive content from multiple cloud resources simultaneously. For example, a user device may stream audio from one cloud resource while downloading content from a second cloud resource. Or, a user device may download content from multiple cloud resources for more efficient downloading. In some embodiments, a user equipment device may use cloud resources for processing operations, such as the processing operations performed by the processing circuitry described in connection with FIG. 10.

[0099] As referenced herein, the term "in response to" refers to "initiated as a result of." For example, a first action being performed in response to a second action may include an intervening step between the first and second action. As referenced herein, the term "in direct response to" refers to "caused by." For example, a first action being performed in direct response to a second action may not include an intervening step between the first and second action.

[0100] FIG. 12 is a flowchart of illustrative steps of a process 1200 for providing information to a viewer about previously accessed content according to some embodiments of the disclosure. Note that process 1200, or any steps thereof, may be performed on or provided by any of the devices shown in FIGS. 10-11. For example, process 1200 may be executed by control circuitry 1004 (FIG. 10) as instructed by a media guidance application implemented on a user device (e.g., user equipment devices 1102, 1104, and / or 1106 (FIG. 11)) to present a progress bar of information related to previously accessed content. In addition, one or more steps of process 1200 may be incorporated into or combined with one or more steps of any other process or embodiment described herein.

[0101] FIG. 12 depicts an illustrative process 1200 for providing information about previously accessed media content items. In step 1210, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application may access a first media content item using user equipment (e.g., user equipment devices 1102, 1104, and / or 1106 (FIG. 11)). The media guidance application control circuitry 1004 may access the first media content item from any media source and generate a display of the first media content item within a screen for the user equipment. Using the example from above, a viewer may wish to watch a basketball game and would make a media guidance application selection to cause the basketball game to be displayed. The viewer may then wish to access another item of media.

[0102] In step 1220, the media guidance application may instruct the user equipment to access the second content instead of the first content. In this step, the viewer may switch from watching a basketball game to watching, for example, the television program The A viewer may wish to change to accessing The Simpsons and may have made a selection in the media guide application requesting a change in media access.

[0103] Control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application may generate a concurrent display of information identifying the second content and a segment of the first content in step 1230. For example, in response to receiving a user request to access the second content, the media guidance application would generate a display of the second content along with information about the previously accessed first content. Following the basketball game example, the media guidance application may generate a display of content for a second media item, such as The Simpsons, with a concurrent display of information about the basketball game that the viewer stopped accessing. The information identifying the segment for the first content displayed in step 1230 may be an event occurring in the first content, i.e., an event occurring in the basketball game since the viewer stopped accessing the basketball game. The selected information identifying the segment may be displayed within a progress bar.

[0104] The information identifying the segments for the first content may relate to segments of the first content that may be of interest to the viewer. The segments displayed for the viewer may also be selectable to obtain an action associated with the segment. In step 1240, the media guidance application may receive a user selection of one of the segments of the first content. For example, the viewer may select one of the segments for the first content using a touch screen for the display, a remote control, a keyboard, or other user input device.

[0105] In response to receiving a user selection of one of the segments of the first content, the media guidance application will perform an action related to the selected segment of the first content in step 1250. For example, a user may select a segment from a progress bar regarding a basketball game regarding free throws. In response to the selection, the media guidance application will perform an action associated with the selected segment, such as recording the free throw, adding it to the user's watch list, linking to the free throw, returning to the basketball game at the time of the free throw, or other suitable action.

[0106] It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 12 may be used in conjunction with any other embodiment of the present disclosure. In addition, the steps and descriptions described in connection with FIG. 12 may be performed in alternate orders or in parallel to further the objectives of the present disclosure. For example, each of these steps may be performed in any order, or in parallel, or substantially simultaneously, to reduce delays or increase speed of the system or method. Any of these steps may also be skipped or omitted from the process. Additionally, it is noted that any of the devices or equipment discussed in connection with FIGS. 10-11 may be used to perform one or more of the steps of FIG. 12.

[0107] FIG. 13 is a flowchart of illustrative steps of a process 1300 for providing information to a viewer about previously accessed content according to some embodiments of the disclosure. Note that process 1300, or any steps thereof, may be implemented on or provided by any of the devices shown in FIGS. 10-11. For example, process 1300 may be executed by control circuitry 1004 (FIG. 10) as instructed by a media guidance application implemented on a user device (e.g., user equipment devices 1102, 1104, and / or 1106 (FIG. 11)) to present a progress bar of information related to previously accessed content. In addition, one or more steps of process 1300 may be incorporated into or combined with one or more steps of any other process or embodiment described herein.

[0108] FIG. 13 depicts steps in an illustrative process 1300 for presenting a segment of information about a previously accessed media item. Process 1300 may begin with a viewer wishing to view media content. In step 1305, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application may access a first media content item with user equipment. The media guidance application may access an item of media content and cause it to be displayed on a screen of a user device, such as a television or other tablet. The media content may be any type of media provided by a media source.

[0109] The user may then desire to view another media item. The viewer may use the media guidance application to access the other media item. In step 1310, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application will instruct the user equipment to access the second content instead of the first content. The second content is accessed at a first progression point within the first content. Information about the first progression point, such as a time associated with the first progression point, may be stored in memory or cache by control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application. In an example, a user may initially begin watching a basketball game, but then change to accessing another media item, such as an episode of the series The Simpsons. In this example, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application will store a timestamp for a time associated with the progression of the basketball game when the viewer stops accessing the basketball game.

[0110] In step 1315, while the second content is being accessed, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application will monitor metadata associated with the first content for a number of events associated with distinct timestamps following the first progression point. Using the above example, while an episode of The Simpsons is being accessed by a viewer, the media guidance application may monitor metadata about a basketball game for events occurring in the game having timestamps following the first progression point, i.e., when the viewer stopped watching the basketball game. Metadata may be monitored by control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application from one or more media sources, or from third party media sources or user-generated commentary about the media. Generally speaking, the media guidance application will focus on events having metadata indicating timestamps for events occurring following the first progression point, because events that occurred while the user was accessing the media content before the user stopped watching the media content would likely have been seen and would be less interesting to the viewer.

[0111] In step 1320, in response to detecting an event among the multiple events in the first content, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application may store information identifying the event in a list of segments of the first content following the first progression point. For example, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application may store timestamp information for the event in the first content. In addition, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application may determine the link or availability of content associated with the event and store such information in a cache. In a basketball example, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application may detect multiple events, such as a scoring event, from a sports feed for a basketball game. Such events may be captured along with timestamp information for the event and stored by control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application.

[0112] In step 1325, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application may generate a simultaneous display of the second content and a list of segments of the first content following the first progression point for display on the user equipment. For example, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application may review the stored events, select one or more stored events for the previously accessed media, and generate a progress bar of an event to display within the user equipment screen. Generally, the display of the progress bar may be relatively limited within the screen so as not to be overly distracting to the viewer. The event segments selected for inclusion within the progress bar may change over time as the content progresses and more and more events occur within the content, plus more metadata and user-generated commentary about the events becomes available. In some arrangements, some of the events may be presented in a manner that highlights certain events as being more relevant or interesting to the user. Such events may be identified by control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application using metadata for the events, user preference information, popularity of the events, and the like. A segment in the list may be selected by the viewer.

[0113] In step 1330, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application may receive a user selection of a first one of the segments in the first list of content. The user selection may be made by a user using a user input technique, such as input in a remote control, or using a touch screen device or keyboard, etc., to input a selection of the segment via the media guidance application. The segment selection may be one of a list of segments in a progress bar in a display in a user equipment screen. For example, the progress bar may include various scoring events in a basketball game and may include a segment for a free throw by one of the players. Because a viewer may want to watch a free throw, the viewer may select a separate segment for the free throw.

[0114] In response to the user selection, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application may retrieve timestamps for the first segment, representing the start and end times of the first event in the first content, in step 1335. In this step, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application will look up its cache of information about events, check the timestamps associated with the event, and identify the start and end times for the segment. The timestamps can be used to present the relevant portions of the content to the viewer.

[0115] In step 1340, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application will perform an action related to the selected first segment of the first content based on the retrieved timestamp. For example, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application may cause the content associated with the selected segment to be recorded, added to the viewer's viewing list, resume viewing, share a link to the content, or other action. Control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application may use the timestamp for the segment to access relevant content from the media source and identify the exact portion of the media that the viewer desires to access.

[0116] It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 13 may be used in conjunction with any other embodiment of the present disclosure. Additionally, the steps and descriptions described in connection with FIG. 13 may be performed in alternate orders or in parallel to further the objectives of the present disclosure. For example, each of these steps may be performed in any order, or in parallel, or substantially simultaneously, to reduce delays or increase speed of the system or method. Any of these steps may also be skipped or omitted from the process. Additionally, it is noted that any of the devices or equipment discussed in connection with FIGS. 10-11 may be used to perform one or more of the steps of FIG. 13.

[0117] FIG. 14 is a flowchart of illustrative steps of a process 1400 for selecting segments of previously accessed content to include in a progress bar display according to some embodiments of the disclosure. Note that process 1400, or any steps thereof, may be implemented on or provided by any of the devices shown in FIGS. 10-11. For example, process 1400 may be executed by control circuitry 1004 (FIG. 10) as instructed by a media guidance application implemented on a user device (e.g., user equipment devices 1102, 1104, and / or 1106 (FIG. 11)) to present a progress bar of information related to previously accessed content. In addition, one or more steps of process 1300 may be incorporated into or combined with one or more steps of any other process or embodiment described herein.

[0118] 14 is a flowchart of an illustrative process for selecting segments of previously accessed content to include within a progress bar display. In an example, a viewer may access a basketball game and then a television program. On the television program display screen, the media guidance application may generate a simultaneous display of a progress bar for the basketball game so that the viewer may watch the television program while also seeing certain highlights or events of the game that the viewer stopped watching. To select segments or events to include within the progress bar, the media guidance application may monitor metadata for the previously accessed content item, i.e., the basketball game.

[0119] Control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application may monitor one or more media sources for metadata for previously accessed content. In a basketball game example, the media guidance application may monitor a sports feed for a team, organization, or channel associated with the basketball game. In step 1410, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application may receive metadata for previously accessed content, such as a basketball game. The metadata may be any type of data about the previously accessed content. In a basketball game example, score, play, and point information may be considered various events. Other events, such as halftime shows, crowd displays, or other events may also occur at the basketball game or have metadata associated with them. Event metadata may be obtained from a data feed or from a third party media source or social network. For example, the media guidance application may monitor posts for hashtags for one or both of the teams playing in the basketball game, or other monitoring techniques.

[0120] In step 1420, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application may identify segments of the content. Segments may be identified by analyzing the metadata for information indicating that events have occurred within the content, such as plays or point scoring events, or player-related events or halftime shows, or other occurrences.

[0121] The media guidance application may then search one or more media databases for feedback associated with the identified segment of content at step 1430. For example, the media guidance application may search a game commentary for instances that use the identified segment.

[0122] In step 1440, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application may analyze the feedback and determine whether it believes to be indicative of usefulness or popularity. Such an analysis may be based, for example, on whether the segment has been used in any commentary or in any instances on social media. The segment may also be analyzed with respect to its individual type, and the type may be used to determine whether it is generally useful.

[0123] If control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application determines that the feedback is positive, then control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application may determine to display the segment in step 1450. If control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application determines that the feedback is not positive, then the media guidance application may drop the segment in step 1460 and not use the segment in a list of segments to include in a progress bar for the viewer.

[0124] In addition to being included in the list in the progress bar, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application may determine whether to highlight a segment in step 1470 by determining whether the segment is available in multiple sources. In step 1470, the media guidance application may check whether the segment has been used or made available in more than one media source. In general, the more instances a segment is available or appears in various media sources may be an indicator that it is popular or interesting to viewers. Thus, if a segment appears in multiple sources, it may be displayed in the progress bar in a highlighted or distinctive manner in step 1480 by control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application. If a segment does not appear in multiple sources, it may be included or displayed normally in the progress bar. Process 1400 may be repeated as time progresses and more metadata becomes available for the segment.

[0125] It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 14 may be used in conjunction with any other embodiment of the present disclosure. In addition, the steps and descriptions described in connection with FIG. 14 may be performed in alternate orders or in parallel to further the objectives of the present disclosure. For example, each of these steps may be performed in any order, or in parallel, or substantially simultaneously to reduce delays or increase speed of the system or method. Any of these steps may also be skipped or omitted from the process. Additionally, it is noted that any of the devices or equipment discussed in connection with FIGS. 10-11 may be used to perform one or more of the steps of FIG. 14.

[0126] FIG. 15 is a flowchart of illustrative steps of a process 1500 for selecting segments to include in a progress bar for previously accessed media, according to some embodiments of the disclosure. Note that process 1500, or any steps thereof, may be implemented on or provided by any of the devices shown in FIGS. 10-11. For example, process 1500 may be executed by control circuitry 1004 (FIG. 10) as instructed by a media guidance application implemented on a user device (e.g., user equipment devices 1102, 1104, and / or 1106 (FIG. 11)) to present a progress bar of information related to previously accessed content. In addition, one or more steps of process 1500 may be incorporated into or combined with one or more steps of any other process or embodiment described herein.

[0127] FIG. 15 depicts a process 1500 that may be used to select segments to include in a progress bar display for previously accessed media. For example, a viewer may watch a basketball game and then access a television program. As the television program is displayed, the media guidance application may monitor metadata about the basketball game and obtain events that may be brought to the user's attention. Information about such events may be included in a progress bar that is displayed in the screen showing the television program. The selection of segments to include in the progress bar may be performed by control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application.

[0128] In step 1510, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application may receive metadata indicative of a previously accessed segment of content. For example, the media guidance application may receive metadata about a play occurring in a basketball game from a sports feed. The metadata about the play may include, for example, time information for the play, the type of play, the players involved in the play, or other information.

[0129] In step 1520, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application may compare the segments of content to a user profile. In this step, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application may compare information about the segments, such as the players making the play, the type of play, etc., against the user profile. In an embodiment, a user may have a favorite team or fictional basketball team, and such information may be included in the user profile. User profile information may be explicitly added by the user or may be learned by the media guidance application, for example, by monitoring the user's viewing habits and use of fantasy sports applications.

[0130] In step 1530, control circuitry 1004 for the media guide application may determine whether the segment matches a user preference in a user profile. For example, the media guide application may determine segments related to a favorite player, a fictional team player, etc., if applicable. In another example, the media guide application may determine whether a given segment is for a special type of play. In another example, the media guide application may determine whether a given segment is for a halftime show that includes a popular or favorite performer.

[0131] Based on the determination at step 1530, control circuitry for media guidance 1004 may select matching segments to include in the progress bar for the previously accessed content at step 1540. For segments that do not match the user profile, control circuitry for the media guidance application 1004 may drop the segment from the list at 1550. Process 1500 may be repeated as time progresses and more metadata becomes available for the segments. Processes 1400 and 1500 may be used together or separately to improve the relevance of the segments included in the progress bar.

[0132] It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 15 may be used in conjunction with any other embodiment of the present disclosure. In addition, the steps and descriptions described in connection with FIG. 15 may be performed in alternate orders or in parallel to further the objectives of the present disclosure. For example, each of these steps may be performed in any order, or in parallel, or substantially simultaneously to reduce delays or increase speed of the system or method. Any of these steps may also be skipped or omitted from the process. Additionally, it is noted that any of the devices or equipment discussed in connection with FIGS. 10-11 may be used to perform one or more of the steps of FIG. 15.

[0133] FIG. 16 is a flowchart of illustrative steps of a process 1600 for generating a second progress bar for second content according to some embodiments of the disclosure. Note that process 1600, or any steps thereof, may be implemented on or provided by any of the devices shown in FIGS. 10-11. For example, process 1600 may be executed by control circuitry 1004 (FIG. 10) as instructed by a media guidance application implemented on a user device (e.g., user equipment devices 1102, 1104, and / or 1106 (FIG. 11)) to present a progress bar of information related to previously accessed content sequences and simulate a sporting event. In addition, one or more steps of process 1600 may be incorporated into or combined with one or more steps of any other process or embodiment described herein.

[0134] 16 depicts an illustrative process 1600 that may be used to generate a second progress bar for a second content item. In an example in which a viewer watches a basketball game and then changes to access a television program, if the viewer selects to access a segment from the basketball game, the media guidance application may generate a display that includes the selected segment and also a second progress bar that includes event information for the television program.

[0135] In step 1605, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application may receive a selection of a first segment of a first content. In a television program display that includes a progress bar of previously viewed content, a viewer may select a segment from the progress bar to obtain an action that may be performed by the media guidance application. For example, a television program display may include a progress bar for a basketball game that the viewer previously viewed. The progress bar may include one or more segments related to events that have occurred since the viewer stopped accessing the basketball game. When the viewer selects one of the segments, the media guidance application may generate an action or option window in which the viewer may enter a selection for an action to be associated with the segment. The selection of the segment may be received by control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application, and the media guidance application may determine a source and time associated with the segment so that the media guidance application may perform the required action.

[0136] At step 1610, control circuitry for the media guidance application 1004 may generate, with the user equipment, a picture-in-picture display associated with the selected segment. In particular, control circuitry for the media guidance application 1004 may determine a timestamp associated with the segment and identify the first content, i.e., the relevant portion of the basketball game, to display in the picture-in-picture display. The segment content may be obtained by control circuitry for the media guidance application 1004 from an initial media source used to access the first content or from another media source, if suitable and available.

[0137] Because the addition of a picture-in-picture display associated with a selected segment may distract the user from the television program the user was watching, the media guidance application may monitor metadata for the television program and identify segments that may be included in the second content, i.e., the second progress bar for the television program the viewer changed to watch. In step 1620, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application may generate a segment for the second content following a time point after the first segment for display in the second content with the user equipment. The second progress bar would include a segment for the second content following a time associated with accessing the selected segment for the previously viewed content. For example, if a viewer selects a segment to watch a play from a previously accessed basketball game, the media guidance application may identify a segment from the television program to include in the second progress bar that has a timestamp following the time the basketball segment was selected. In some scenarios, a short period of time buffer slightly before the selection time may be added so that events that occurred slightly before the selection time may be included in the event that the viewer is distracted by the basketball game progress bar and misses something on the television program.

[0138] It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 16 may be used in conjunction with any other embodiment of the present disclosure. In addition, the steps and descriptions described in connection with FIG. 16 may be performed in alternate orders or in parallel to further the objectives of the present disclosure. For example, each of these steps may be performed in any order, or in parallel, or substantially simultaneously to reduce delays or increase speed of the system or method. Any of these steps may also be skipped or omitted from the process. Additionally, it is noted that any of the devices or equipment discussed in connection with FIGS. 10-11 may be used to perform one or more of the steps of FIG. 16.

[0139] FIG. 17 is a flowchart of illustrative steps of a process 1700 for selecting images associated with accessed content for sharing on social media according to some embodiments of the disclosure. Note that process 1700, or any steps thereof, may be implemented on or provided by any of the devices shown in FIGS. 10-11. For example, process 1700 may be executed by control circuitry 1004 (FIG. 10) as instructed by a media guidance application implemented on a user device (e.g., user equipment devices 1102, 1104, and / or 1106 (FIG. 11)) to present images associated with the content. In addition, one or more steps of process 1700 may be incorporated into or combined with one or more steps of any other process or embodiment described herein.

[0140] 17 depicts an illustrative process 1700 for providing images associated with content to a viewer. The images may be presented to a user following completion of the content and made available for use in posting on social media. In some scenarios, text about the content and / or images may also be provided by the media guidance application to facilitate posting about the content on social media.

[0141] In step 1710, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application may search for images associated with the content. In the examples described in connection with FIGS. 3-7, a viewer may watch an episode of the reality television series Survivor. The viewer may then begin watching another television series episode of The Simpsons. When access to The Simpsons is concluded, i.e., when the viewer finishes watching The Simpsons, the media guidance application may search for images associated with The Simpsons. In some examples, the media guidance application may focus on images associated with the accessed episode. The media guidance application may search for images of The Simpsons in metadata associated with the media content or by searching a database of images or a media database of images for the program.

[0142] Because there may be multiple images associated with a program, the media guidance application may select a particular one (or more) of the images for the user. In step 1720, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application will determine the relative popularity of the images. The popularity of an image may be determined by the use and availability of the image. For example, the media guidance application may detect that a particular image is used in several places. In another example, the media guidance application may detect that another image is available from several sources. The media guidance application may search a social media network for the user, or available social media networks in general, and identify images used in connection with the media content. Any instances of these exemplary uses of the image may be used alone or in combination to specify the relative popularity of the image. Certain sources and types of use may have a particular importance weighting that may also be used to determine popularity. For example, some media sources or third party commentators may be more influential or popular than others.

[0143] Based on the relative popularity of the images, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application may rank the images in step 1730. The ranking may be based on relative popularity and may include weighting different factors, such as the use and source of the images.

[0144] When the content accessed by the viewer is completed in step 1740, control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application may select the most popular images for the content to present to the viewer.

[0145] Control circuitry 1004 for the media guidance application may generate to display the selected most popular images for the user to choose to post on social media in step 1750. The media guidance application may receive the user's selection and can send the images to any linked social media accounts so that the user may easily post the images.

[0146] In some scenarios, the media guide application will also search for commentary to include in the social media post and provide such commentary to the viewer to select. In some embodiments, commentary such as "Just binge-watched the season" or, more relevant to a series, "Just binge-watched season 26 of The Simpsons!" may be recorded and associated with the conclusion of any type of content. In other embodiments, commentary may be searched and collected from media databases and third-party media sources for text commonly associated with content. For example, "Voted off the island" as a Survivor episode ends or "Oh my goodness!" as a Simpsons episode ends.

[0147] Process 1700 may also be followed upon completion of a viewer accessing a segment from a progress bar for a first piece of content that was previously viewed. For example, if a viewer selects to watch a clip of Survivor where Bob drops the ball, or if the viewer selects to watch a clip of a three-point shot in a basketball game, the media guide application may present a suitable image associated with the segment for the viewer to share on social media.

[0148] It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 17 may be used in conjunction with any other embodiment of the present disclosure. In addition, the steps and descriptions described in connection with FIG. 17 may be performed in alternate orders or in parallel to further the objectives of the present disclosure. For example, each of these steps may be performed in any order, or in parallel, or substantially simultaneously to reduce delays or increase speed of the system or method. Any of these steps may also be skipped or omitted from the process. Additionally, it is noted that any of the devices or equipment discussed in connection with FIGS. 10-11 may be used to perform one or more of the steps of FIG. 17.

[0149] The processes discussed above are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Those skilled in the art will understand that the steps of the processes discussed herein may be omitted, modified, combined, and / or rearranged, and any additional steps may be implemented, without departing from the scope of the invention. More generally, the above disclosure is illustrative and not intended to be limiting. Only the following claims are intended to set boundaries as to what the invention encompasses. Furthermore, it should be noted that the features and limitations described in any one embodiment may be applied to any other embodiment herein, and that the flow charts or examples of one embodiment may be combined with any other embodiment in a suitable manner, performed in a different order, or performed in parallel. In addition, the systems and methods described herein may be performed in real time. It should also be noted that the systems and / or methods described above may be applied to or used in accordance with other systems and / or methods.

Claims

[Claim 1] The invention described in this specification.

Images