WO2006075310A1

WO2006075310A1 - Method of program recording

Info

Publication number: WO2006075310A1
Application number: PCT/IB2006/050131
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hong R. Li; Eric Moors
Original assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
Priority date: 2005-01-17
Filing date: 2006-01-13
Publication date: 2006-07-20
Also published as: CN101107846A; KR20070095426A; JP2008527893A

Abstract

The invention describes a method of program recording in a program recording system, which method comprises the steps of collecting a recording schedule (2) of a program to be recorded for a first user and collecting user identity (3) and privacy settings (4) for the first user. According to the privacy settings (4) of the first user, the user identity (3) and/or elements of the recording schedule (2) of the first user are concealed from a second user. The invention further describes a system (1) for program recording, comprising an information collection unit (8) for collecting a recording schedule (2), user identity (3) and privacy settings (4), and a control unit (13) for controlling the system according to the privacy settings (4) such that the user identity (3) and/or elements of the recording schedule (2) of the first user are concealed from a second user.

Description

Method of program recording

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a method of program recording in a program recording system.

The invention further relates to a system for program recording.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Developments in the areas of home entertainment and networks are leading to the concepts of "connected home" and "connected world", where electronic devices such as television and computer are linked via a network to each other and to other devices or networks inside or outside of the home. Ultimately, a user will be able to record data, such as a TV program, store it in an account on his home network, and specify access rights to this recording from elsewhere on the network. Access rights may be assigned according to user identification, so that, depending on their user ID (identification), other users are given or refused permission to view the recording. A user might thus build up a collection of programs and make this data accessible to other users inside or outside of the home. With the accessibility described, privacy issues inevitably arise, since there will be data, of whatever nature, that a user wishes to keep private. A user might wish that family members, the babysitter, guests, friends etc. do not learn, for whatever reason, that he has recorded a particular program. He might go some way to ensuring his privacy by storing the data in a private account on his computer, or by restricting the access rights to his own user ID. However, the privacy thus gained by hiding a recording from other users is undermined if the very fact that the user is recording this program is evident to anyone else who attempts to schedule a recording.

OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method of ensuring user privacy in a program recording system.

To this end, the present invention describes a method of program recording in a program recording system, which method comprises the steps of collecting a recording schedule or specification of a program to be recorded for a first user, collecting user identity and privacy settings for the first user, and concealing from a second user the user identity and/or elements of the recording schedule of the first user according to the privacy settings of the first user.

An appropriate system for program recording comprises an information collection unit for collecting a recording schedule, user identity and privacy settings, and a control unit for controlling the system according to the privacy settings such that the user identity and/or elements of the recording schedule of the first user are concealed from a second user.

The present invention thus allows a user to schedule a recording in a program recording system used by several users, while at the same time maintaining his own privacy. The user can enjoy complete privacy or can choose which information regarding his user identification or recording schedule is to be revealed to other users of the system.

The dependent claims and the subsequent description disclose particularly advantageous embodiments and features of the invention. The information regarding user identification, recording schedule and privacy settings can be entered by the user by means of a suitable user interface. Therefore, the information collection unit can comprise one or more user interfaces, such as a computer keyboard, television remote control, etc. Alternatively, some or all of this information can be stored by the user in a user profile, and saved, for example, as a data file on a hard disk. The system can access this data at a later time or when instructed to do so by the user. Preferably, at least the privacy settings, for example default privacy settings, are read from a user profile.

The privacy settings specified by the first user define the degree of privacy which this user wishes to have maintained. For example, he may wish that nobody else learn of the attempt to record the program scheduled by him. As long as nobody else attempts to schedule a conflicting recording, the program will be recorded. However, if a second user enters a conflicting recording schedule, the first user's recording schedule will be terminated, without reporting any information regarding the first user to the second user. Termination of the recording schedule is the price the first user must be prepared to pay for complete privacy. If a user is satisfied with less privacy, he can specify whether, for example, information regarding the recording schedule - program, time, channel etc. - and/or user identification may be revealed. The more information a user is willing to have revealed, the higher the priority accorded to his recording schedule.

Therefore, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, a recording priority for the recording schedule is determined according to the privacy settings of the first user. The recording priority - for example "highest", "medium high", "medium low", or "lowest" - determines whether the recording of the program specified by the recording schedule for the first user may or may not be interrupted by a command issued by a second user, for example when a second user enters a conflicting recording schedule, or attempts to change channels in a single tuner system.

In the event that a second user attempts to schedule a conflicting recording or to change channels during a scheduled recording of the first user, some information or no information whatsoever regarding the scheduled recording and/or the user identification is revealed to the second user, depending on the privacy settings specified by the first user. Therefore, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, one of a number of possible levels of concealment is deduced from the privacy settings of the first user, where a level of concealment specifies the amount of information regarding user identity and/or elements of the recording schedule that is to be revealed. The concealment levels can be, for example, "complete hiding", "user/program hiding", "program hiding", and "user hiding", where information concerning user identification ("user") and/or the name of the program

("program") are to be concealed or kept private. Other levels of concealment may equally be specified.

In an example, Andy has already scheduled a recording with a privacy setting corresponding to the "program hiding" concealment level. If user Bob now attempts to schedule a recording, Bob will only learn that the user called "Andy" has already scheduled a recording. Bob will not learn which program Andy has scheduled for recording, or exactly when, or on which channel. If Andy had chosen "complete hiding", Bob's recording schedule would have been accepted, Andy's would have been discarded, and Bob would never learn that Andy had even scheduled a recording, thus maintaining Andy's complete privacy. It is understood that the name entered by a user as his user identification need not be his own real name, but may be an invented name, as is usual for chatroom or email account names.

Since a high level of concealment implies a low recording priority, the level of concealment can be used to deduce the recording priority, or vice versa, so that the concealment level "complete hiding" corresponds to the recording priority "lowest", in which case the user enters the risk that his recording schedule will be overridden by a recording schedule entered at a later time, but rests in the knowledge that no other user will learn of his recording schedule. The concealment level "user hiding" corresponds to the "medium high" recording priority, where only information about the program is revealed to a second user, and the user identification of the first user remains hidden, etc. An explicit recording priority can also be given for a scheduled recording in addition to that deduced from the privacy settings, unless "complete hiding" is specified. In this case the recording priority determines what recording schedule will be accepted, whilst the privacy settings will determine what information will be revealed to the second user in the event of a recording conflict. Depending on the capabilities of the program recording system, a recording schedule which has been terminated due to a recording conflict may be automatically rescheduled at a later time, while maintaining the privacy settings originally specified by the first user. For example, the program recording system may have access to an electronic program guide, which it can scan to determine whether the program originally scheduled for recording will be broadcast at a later date. This feature might take effect automatically, or might be specified as an option in the information supplied by the user, for example as an entry in the user profile.

The program recorded by the system can be written in electronic format to a data file on a storage medium according to the user identity data and/or the privacy settings, so that the data file is only accessible to the user that specified the recording schedule for this program. For example, if the user has specified complete privacy for a program recording schedule, i.e. a concealment level of "complete hiding", the data file for the program might be stored as a hidden file in a directory on the hard disk, or it might be stored to the user's personal account. The user can create the program file manually, or it might be created automatically by the program recording system according to the recording schedule.

The program recording system according to the present invention comprises the usual components of a recording system, such as receiver, tuner, recording unit, storage medium, display etc. Preferably, the program recording system comprises a concealment level determination unit for determining a level of concealment of information pertaining to a first user. This concealment level determination unit interprets the information entered by the user to determine which elements of the information may be revealed to other users. Furthermore, the program recording system also preferably comprises a recording priority determination unit, for determining the priority accorded to the current recording schedule, as described above. The storage medium of the program recording system might be one or more hard disk drives or DVD (digital versatile disc) drives. Furthermore, such a system may comprise one or more displays. For viewing a recorded program, the system might avail of the usual display such as a television screen or computer monitor. Information revealed to a second user about a first user may be shown on this display or on an additional display, such as the display commonly incorporated in the front of a DVD player. The hardware elements and units of the program recording system can be any such units commonly available, and may be arranged so that the program recording system itself comprises a single module, or the elements may be distributed over a larger area, for example the display of a TV and the tuner as a set-top box in one room, and the storage unit in the form of a hard disk drive in another room. The units of such a distributed system may communicate in a wireless or cabled manner, as appropriate.

The necessary steps for the method of program recording, particularly the process of determining the level of concealment and/or recording priority is preferably realised in the form of software modules that can be loaded into the memory of a programmable device or chip of a program recording system, for example a controller unit. The program recording system can thus easily be realised using off-the-shelf components, or an existing program recording system can easily be upgraded to perform the method according to the invention.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed descriptions considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for the purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a program recording system according to an embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the steps followed by a program recording system in handling a recording conflict.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

In the drawings, like numbers refer to like objects throughout. Fig. 1 shows one embodiment of a program recording system, in which program signals are received by a receiver 12 such as an antenna, cable or satellite dish. The program signals thus received undergo any processing necessary in a suitable unit 11, which may comprise a tuner, a personal computer, etc. A program may be recorded and stored for later viewing in a data file 7, stored, for example, on a hard disk.

A user can enter information to the system by means of a suitable user interlace 8, which may be a keyboard, a remote control, etc. The information entered by the user comprises the recording schedule 2, the user identification 3, and the user's privacy settings 4 - for example "complete hiding", "user/program hiding", "user hiding", or "program hiding". A suitable control unit 13 processes this information to determine whether recording conflicts arise as a result of information entered by a user, to determine the priority accorded to a recording schedule, and to determine which level of concealment can be deduced from the information entered by the user.

Some or all of the information might be entered indirectly by first storing it in a user profile 10, which can later be accessed by the control unit 13 or other part of the system 1 in order to collect or extract the information. Furthermore, the control unit 13 can store the information entered by the user to the user profile 10. For example, a user can enter, in advance, a number of program recording schedules with associated privacy settings in the user profile 10. In the event of a recording conflict, the control unit might enter a suitable report into the user profile 10, or might update the appropriate recording schedule entry to indicate to the user that the program has been re-scheduled for recording at a later date.

A concealment level determination unit 14 examines the user identification 3, the recording schedule 2, and interprets the privacy settings 4 to determine which elements of the recording schedule and/or user identification may be revealed to a second user, for instance in the event of a recording conflict, or when a second user attempts to switch channels in the case of a single-tuner situation. The information to be revealed to the second user is sent as an appropriate signal 6 to a display 15, in this case the display 15 of a television 16. The information might equally be revealed on an element of the user interface, for example, the display of a personal computer or a hand-held device such as a remote control, depending on the realisation of the program recording system.

A recording priority determination unit 9 determines, on the basis of the privacy settings, the priority 5 to be accorded to a particular recording schedule 2. The recording priority 5, which may be "highest", "lowest", or at a level in between, determines whether a recording schedule 2 may override a previous schedule entered by a user, or whether it may be overridden by a later schedule entered by a user. Furthermore, this recording priority 5 may prevent a user from switching channels if a program is scheduled for recording with "highest" priority, or may allow switching channels if the first user has specified "complete hiding" in his privacy settings.

Fig.2 shows the steps in the decision process for the case when a second user attempts to instruct the system to perform a recording, even though a first user has already input his recording and desired privacy settings. The privacy settings of the first user specify whether he desires complete privacy, or whether certain information regarding his user identification, or elements of the recording schedule, may be revealed to other users.

When a second user inputs a recording schedule in step 100 and his privacy setting in step 101, step 103 checks to see if a conflict will arise as a result. If not, the recording specified by the second user can be scheduled in step 104. If a recording conflict does in fact arise, a following step 105 examines whether the first user has chosen "complete hiding" or not. If yes, the first user has chosen that no information whatsoever should be revealed, and his recording schedule is accorded the lowest recording priority. No matter what privacy settings have been chosen by the second user, his recording schedule will override that of the first user, since the complete privacy specified by the first user means that nothing about that recording, even the fact that it has been scheduled, should be revealed. The recording schedule of the second user is accorded higher priority than that of the first user, so that the recording schedule of the first user is interrupted or terminated in step 106, and the recording specified by the second user can be successfully scheduled in step 104. The second user does not learn of the first user's schedule or interrupted recording, he only sees that his recording has been scheduled in step 104.

If, in step 105, it is determined that the first user has specified a privacy setting other than complete privacy, step 107 determines which recording schedule should be accorded priority. If the priority of the second user, determined from his privacy settings, is deemed to be greater than that of the first user, the first user's schedule is removed or terminated in step 106, and the program specified by the second user is scheduled for recording in step 104.

If, on the other hand, the priority of the first user is deemed to be greater than that of the second user, the recording schedule of the second user is ignored, and certain information is revealed to him in step 108 according to the privacy settings of the first user. Therefore, he might learn which user has scheduled a program and/or which program is scheduled for recording and/or for what time the recording is scheduled.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the form of preferred embodiments and variations thereon, it will be understood that numerous additional modifications and variations could be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention. In Fig.l, a single user interlace has been shown for the sake of simplicity, whereas the system might in fact avail of a number of different user interfaces for collecting the necessary information, and for displaying feedback to the user. Furthermore, the system may avail of a number of tuners, and may feature more than one hard disk drive. For the sake of clarity, it is also to be understood that the use of "a" or "an" throughout this application does not exclude a plurality, and "comprising" does not exclude other steps or elements. A "unit" may comprise a number of blocks or devices, unless explicitly described as a single entity.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A method of program recording in a program recording system, which method comprises the steps of:

- collecting a recording schedule (2) of a program to be recorded for a first user;

- collecting user identity (3) and privacy settings (4) for the first user; - concealing from a second user the user identity (3) and/or elements of the recording schedule (2) of the first user according to the privacy settings (4) of the first user.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the privacy settings (4) of the first user are collected from information stored in a user profile (10).

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein a recording priority (5) for the recording schedule (2) is collected, which recording priority (5) determines whether the recording of the program specified by the recording schedule (2) for the first user may or may not be interrupted by the second user.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the recording priority (5) for the recording schedule (2) is determined automatically according to the privacy settings (4).

5. A method as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein one of a number of possible levels of concealment is deduced from the privacy settings (4), where a level of concealment specifies the concealment, from a second user, of the user identity (3) and/or elements of the recording schedule (2) of the first user.

6. A method as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the step of recording the program comprises writing the program in electronic format to a data file on a storage medium (7) according to the user identity data (3) and/or the privacy settings (4).

7. A system (1) for program recording, comprising

- an information collection unit (8) for collecting a recording schedule (2), user identity (3) and privacy settings (4);

- a control unit (13) for controlling the system according to the privacy settings (4) such that the user identity (3) and/or elements of the recording schedule (2) of the first user are concealed from a second user.

8. A system according to claim 7, comprising a concealment level determination unit (14) for determining a level of concealment of the user identity and/or elements of the recording schedule of the first user.

9. A system according to claim 8, comprising a recording priority determination unit (9) for determining the recording priority (5) according to the privacy settings (4);

10. A computer program product directly loadable into the memory of a programmable device of a program recording system, comprising software code portions for performing the steps of a method according to any of claims 1 to 6 when said product is run on the device.