Parental Control System for Selective Media Version Unblocking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional parental control systems block all versions of content that may contain objectionable material, even if some versions are suitable for children, due to coarse filtering parameters and lack of consideration for multiple content sources.
Innovation Solution
An interactive media guidance application allows users to request access to blocked media assets by notifying a second user with authority, who can then unblock suitable versions from different sources, using credential verification and metadata analysis to determine and rank available versions based on content ratings and other factors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional parental control systems use coarse filtering parameters to block content, then objectionable material is blocked, but acceptable content is also blocked unnecessarily
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the blocked content into different versions (e.g., original version, edited version, alternative source version) and presents them separately to the parent user. Instead of blocking all versions uniformly, the system divides the content landscape into version-specific categories that can be independently evaluated and approved, allowing fine-grained control over what the child user can access.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies different quality standards and filtering criteria to different versions of the same content. Rather than using a single coarse filter for all versions, the patent enables the parent user to evaluate and approve specific versions based on their individual characteristics (e.g., one version may have edited scenes while another may have alternative dialogue), thus applying local quality assessment to each version rather than uniform global filtering.
2Reliability
If parental control systems block all versions of content from multiple sources, then comprehensive protection is provided, but content availability for children is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary identification and presentation of alternative content versions to the parent user before blocking occurs. When a child user attempts to access blocked content, the system proactively searches for and presents alternative versions from different sources, allowing the parent user to pre-approve suitable alternatives before the child user needs to access the content, thus preventing future blocking issues.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism (the alternative version notification system) that mediates between the parental control blocking function and the child user's content access needs. Instead of direct blocking without alternatives, the system acts as an intermediary that provides parent-approved alternative versions, thus maintaining parental control effectiveness while improving content delivery efficiency by pre-resolving access issues.
3Ease of operation
If parental control systems require manual approval for each blocked content, then precise control is achieved, but user burden and time consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides multi-functional parental control capabilities: the parent user can individually approve specific content versions, or apply blanket approval to all alternative versions from certain sources, or set default approval rules for future similar requests. This universal approach allows the parent to handle individual cases with precision while also establishing broader rules that reduce future intervention needs, thus addressing both control precision and time consumption concerns.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for allowing a user to access a different version of a blocked media asset. These systems and methods allow a first user to request access to the blocked media asset from a second user who has authority to approve access to the blocked media asset. These systems and methods determine different versions of the media asset available from different sources. These systems and methods notify the second user that the first user has requested access to the blocked media asset and include, in the notification, an option to unblock any one of the different versions of the media asset available from the different sources. This allows the second user to determine if there is a version of the media asset that the second user deems suitable for unblocking.