Media Guidance Application Content Personalization via Viewing History

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current systems for managing interactive content in networked user equipment devices lack sophistication in utilizing viewing history data, failing to provide detailed insights into user preferences and customizing content presentation effectively across multiple devices and networks.

Innovation Solution

A system that manages and updates viewing history data across individual devices and home networks, allowing for personalized content customization by hiding viewed content from listings on other devices within the network, and synchronizing this data across interconnected networks.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If viewing history data is tracked across multiple user equipment devices in a network, then content personalization and user experience are improved, but system complexity and data management requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontent personalizationVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

A server acts as an intermediary between multiple user equipment devices and the content delivery system. The server receives viewing history data from various devices, processes and stores it centrally, then uses this aggregated data to personalize content recommendations across the network. This intermediary approach enables content personalization without requiring each individual device to independently manage complex viewing history tracking and analysis.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Measurement precision

If detailed viewing history information is collected and stored, then content recommendation accuracy is improved, but data privacy concerns and storage requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontent recommendation accuracyVSAvoiddata storage requirements
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts only the essential viewing history data elements needed for content recommendations, rather than storing complete detailed records of all user activities. By selectively extracting and storing only the relevant parameters (such as content type, viewing duration, and preference indicators), the system achieves accurate content recommendations while minimizing data storage requirements and reducing privacy concerns.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

3Stability of the object's composition

If viewing history data is synchronized across interconnected home networks, then user experience consistency is improved, but network communication overhead and processing time increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveuser experience consistencyVSAvoidsynchronization time
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary processing and aggregation of viewing history data at the server level before distributing personalized content information to user devices across interconnected networks. By pre-processing the data and preparing personalized content recommendations in advance, the system reduces the amount of real-time communication and data transfer needed when users access content on different devices or networks, thereby minimizing synchronization delays and maintaining user experience consistency.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP4131943A1Systems and methods for managing content
Publication Date: 2023.02.08 ADEIA GUIDES INC
  • EP4131943A1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4131943A1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4131943A1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A "New to Me" feature is provided for an interactive media guidance system implemented as a home network having multiple user equipment devices. Functionally speaking, the "New to Me" feature of the interactive media guidance system identifies programs or advertisements that have been previously viewed by an individual user or a user equipment device within the home network, or even by a household. The interactive media guidance system may use the information gathered regarding the programs and/or advertisements that have already been seen by a user, device or household to, for example, remove the programs or advertisements from future displays of recommendations, search results or listings of available programming.