Smart TV Remote Command Translation for Operator App Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pay TV operators face challenges in controlling the user experience on smart TVs due to limited control over operator apps, leading to potential incompatibility issues and reduced engagement with their content offerings.
Innovation Solution
A smart TV remote-control system that translates non-standard remote-control commands into program commands using a translation app and database of mapping relationships, enabling direct access to operator app functions and program selections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If operator apps are provided on smart TVs with standard control paths, then content delivery is enabled, but control over user experience and program navigation is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a translation app as an intermediary component that receives non-standard RC commands from remote control devices and translates them into standard program commands. This mediator layer enables enhanced control over operator apps without requiring changes to the core smart TV architecture, resolving the contradiction by adding control capability through a specialized translation layer rather than restructuring the entire system.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system is segmented into distinct functional modules: a translation app for command translation, a database for mapping relationships, and the existing operator apps. This segmentation allows the translation functionality to be added independently without complicating the overall system architecture, as each component has a specific responsibility and can be developed, maintained, and updated separately.
2Ease of operation
If non-standard RC commands are transmitted directly to smart TV, then program navigation capability is enhanced, but compatibility with standard TV input path is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The translation app serves as a mediator that receives non-standard RC commands containing program navigation instructions and translates them into standard program commands that the smart TV can process. This allows the system to support enhanced navigation capabilities while maintaining compatibility with the standard TV input path through the translation layer.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter representation of commands by maintaining non-standard commands in the remote control device while translating them to standard commands in the TV system. The database stores mapping relationships that enable this parameter transformation, allowing the same navigation function to be expressed in different command formats at different stages of the system.
3Adaptability or versatility
If translation app with mapping database is implemented, then command translation capability is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The translation app is designed as a universal component that can translate multiple types of non-standard RC commands to standard program commands through a single mapping database. This multi-functional design consolidates translation capabilities in one app rather than requiring separate translation mechanisms for different command types, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses a database to store mapping relationships as data copies rather than implementing complex translation logic for each command type. This allows the translation app to simply look up and apply pre-defined mappings, reducing the computational complexity and software architecture burden while maintaining comprehensive translation capability.
4Productivity
If operator apps have limited control on smart TV, then app compatibility is improved, but user engagement with operator content is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The translation app acts as an intermediary that enhances user engagement by enabling direct control of operator apps through non-standard RC commands. This allows users to navigate and interact with operator content more effectively, increasing content consumption while the operator apps themselves maintain their existing compatible architecture.
Data Source
AI summary
A smart TV remote-control (RC) system or method utilizing an operator app installed on a smart TV, a remote-control device configured to transmit a plurality of non-standard RC commands to the smart TV for program navigation, a translation app installed on the smart TV, and a display interface for viewing, in accordance with each program command. Each operator app is configured to receive a plurality of program commands, at least one program selection linked by the program address of the program command. The translation app is configured to receive each of the non-standard RC commands, access a database storing a plurality of mapping relationships, identify the program command associated with the non-standard RC command received based on the mapping relationships, and transmit the program command associated with the non-standard RC command to the operator app.