Unified Discovery Interface for Media Content Expansion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for presenting media content from various sources, such as cable television and video-on-demand, fail to provide a unified interface that allows users to easily access and navigate through both broadcast and non-broadcast content, leading to a fragmented user experience.
Innovation Solution
A unified discovery interface that collects and presents discovery data for both broadcast and non-broadcast content, allowing users to view available media content in a customizable virtual channel, with graphical tiles that expand for easier viewing and highlighting focused content, along with metadata display.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If separate interfaces are used for broadcast and non-broadcast content, then each content source can be presented with dedicated interface, but user experience becomes fragmented and navigation between content sources becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges broadcast and non-broadcast content into a single unified discovery interface. The electronic program guide integrates both content types in one interface, allowing users to access and navigate through broadcast and non-broadcast content without switching between separate interfaces, thereby improving ease of operation while maintaining comprehensive content coverage
Solution Approach 2:
The unified discovery interface serves multiple functions by presenting both broadcast and non-broadcast content through a single interface. This universal interface can handle different content sources, navigation modes, and content types within one cohesive system, eliminating the need for separate dedicated interfaces for each content source
2Ease of manufacture
If discovery data from multiple content sources is isolated, then each source can be managed independently, but relationships and interactions between content from different sources are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines discovery data from multiple content sources into a unified discovery data structure. This merged data structure maintains the ability to manage data from different sources while establishing relationships between content items, allowing the system to present connected content recommendations and navigate between related broadcast and non-broadcast content
3Adaptability or versatility
If amount of available content expands, then content variety increases, but it becomes more difficult for consumers to find interested content
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates user feedback mechanisms that track user interactions with content. The system uses this feedback to personalize the discovery interface, prioritize content based on user preferences, and provide targeted recommendations. This feedback-driven approach helps users efficiently find content of interest as the library expands, maintaining ease of operation while providing diverse content options
Data Source
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AI summary
A discovery interface facilitates the selection of available media content. Content-relevant graphical tiles are displayed in strips within the discovery interface. In this manner, a user can survey graphics associated with available content. When the discovery interface section (e.g., a row) is in focus, the graphical tiles are expanded as compared to the tiles in sections that are not in focus to provide easier viewing by the user. Furthermore, when an individual tile is in focus, then the tile expands further to be wider and taller than any of the other tiles in the associated tile strip. In one implementation, the focused tile is also highlighted, such as with a distinguishing border. In another implementation, metadata associated with the content of the focused tile is displayed in the proximity of the focused tile.