Media Guidance Playback for Skipping Overlapping Content

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional systems fail to address user frustration when consuming media with overlapping content, requiring manual fast-forwarding or skipping, which disrupts the viewing experience.

Innovation Solution

A media guidance application that identifies overlapping content by comparing user profiles and media assets, automatically skipping or fast-forwarding through matching portions during playback.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of time

If conventional systems present media with overlapping content to users, then users have access to complete media content, but users experience frustration and waste time manually fast-forwarding or skipping redundant content

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetime wasted on overlapping contentVSAvoidmanual fast-forwarding operation
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of timeVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary analysis of media content to identify overlapping portions before playback. User profiles are preprocessed to store viewing history, and media assets are pre-analyzed to detect overlapping content. This allows the system to automatically skip redundant content during playback without requiring user intervention, thereby resolving the technical contradiction by eliminating manual fast-forwarding operations and reducing time wasted on overlapping content.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Productivity

If the system automatically identifies and skips overlapping content using user profiles and media comparison, then user experience is enhanced by reducing redundant content consumption, but system complexity increases due to content analysis and profile management

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemedia consumption efficiencyVSAvoidcontent analysis system
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system enables self-service functionality where user profiles automatically track viewing history and media assets automatically undergo overlap analysis. The system serves itself by maintaining its own database of user preferences and content metadata, eliminating the need for manual configuration or complex external management systems. This approach enhances productivity through automated media consumption efficiency while keeping device complexity manageable by leveraging self-service mechanisms.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

3Reliability

If the system presents complete media content without modification, then all content is available for consumption, but users must manually navigate through already-consumed content

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontent completenessVSAvoidtime spent on redundant content
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments media content into distinct portions based on overlap analysis with user viewing history. By dividing the media asset into non-overlapping segments tailored to each user's consumption patterns, the system maintains content reliability (all necessary content remains available) while eliminating time waste by preventing presentation of already-consumed portions. This segmentation approach allows the system to deliver complete relevant content without redundant material.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP3869811B1Enhancing a user viewing experience when consuming a sequence of media
Publication Date: 2026.02.25 ADEIA GUIDES INC
  • EP3869811B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP3869811B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP3869811B1 patent drawingFigure 5

AI summary

Methods and systems are described for a media guidance application that enhances the viewing experiences of users consuming a sequence of media. In particular, the media guidance application may enhance the viewing experiences of users consuming a sequence of media by removing portions of redundant media that were previously consumed by the user.