Remote Parental Control via Messaging Server
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Solution Overview
Problem
Parents face inconvenience in maintaining parental controls for media access as they often do not have direct access to the set-top box, making it cumbersome to establish and modify user profiles for restricting children's media channel access.
Innovation Solution
A system that allows parental controls to be managed remotely through a client computer connected to the content processing device via a broadband home router, using a messaging server to facilitate communication and updates to user profiles, enabling parents to grant or deny access to media content by sending messages and PIN verification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If parental controls are managed through direct access to the set-top box via on-device menus, then the system maintains simple architecture, but the ease of operation deteriorates because parents cannot remotely modify profiles when away from the STB
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a messaging server as an intermediary component that enables remote communication between parent devices and the set-top box. This server receives messages from parent devices, processes profile modification requests, and communicates with the STB to implement changes, thereby enabling remote parental control management without requiring direct physical access to the STB interface
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a network communication dimension to the traditional local STB interface by implementing message passing protocols over a network. This allows parental control operations to be performed remotely through a client device connected to the network, transforming the operation space from local physical interaction to remote digital communication
2Loss of time
If the system requires direct STB access for profile initialization and modification, then the device complexity remains low, but the loss of time increases due to the need for physical presence at the STB
Solution Approach 1:
The system allows parents to pre-configure and modify user profiles remotely before needing to enforce parental controls. By enabling advance profile setup through remote messaging, the system eliminates the need for time-consuming on-site configuration when parental control intervention is needed
Solution Approach 2:
The messaging server acts as a time-saving intermediary that handles profile modification requests asynchronously. Parents can send profile update requests at any time, and the server manages the communication and implementation timeline, freeing parents from needing to be physically present at the STB during profile setup or modification
Data Source
AI summary
Access to media content is restricted. A message may be sent to a remote computer requesting access to the media content, wherein the message is based at least in part on user input. A response to the message may be received from the remote computer. It may be determined whether to provide access to the media content based on the response.