DESC:TECHNICAL FIELD
[001] The present invention relates to a method and system to provide convenience by easy and smart navigation & control of TV

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[002] A remote control is a component of an electronics device, most commonly a television set, DVD or VCD player and home theater systems originally used for operating the device wirelessly from a short line-of-sight distance. Now a days with evolution of set-top boxes, separate remote controls are used for them.

[003] Basic remote controls include functions for controlling television (TV) remotely. Applications embedded in remotes are very basic in nature. The functions include changing channels, controlling volume, setting the frequency of the channels, changing the color mode of the display, controlling media players of the TV, controlling the set-top boxes associated with TV, etc.

[004] As mentioned above, basic remote controls have a very basic application which only includes simple functions and features. The applications don’t have the features of retaining information about usage patterns and user profiles of users. Further, preferred channels and/or programs viewed by the user cannot be stored in the remote. Therefore, when the user intends to watch a particular channel and/or program and the user doesn’t remember said channel and/or program, then he has to surf all the channels to locate said choice of channel and/or program.

[005] Further, when the user doesn’t remember the channel in which a particular program is broadcasted, then again he has to surf through all the channels. This again is painstaking to the user and consumes lot of time. Situation may also arise when the user doesn’t remember the channel or program but knows the type of program that he wants to view. For example, if the user wants to watch a cricket game, but doesn’t remember the channel in which the game is airing, even then the user has to surf through all the channels to locate the particular game. Therefore, every time the user intends to watch a particular channel and/or program he has to remember the channel number and the time at which the program is airing on said channel.

[006] Sometimes the user for leisure switches on TV and surfs different channels to locate any interesting program. The user has to spend quite an amount of time to locate a particular program of his interest. This again consumes a lot of time of the user to surf through different channels. Hence, said process of surfing channel consumes a lot of time and the user may lose interest in viewing TV.

[007] Further, with the advent of multiple entertainment systems which are associated or linked to the TV for instance home theatre systems, set-top boxes, etc include multiple remote controls for operating each of the said systems. These multiple remote controls are difficult to handle by the user. Moreover, these multiple remote controls are compatible to a particular model of the TV, and cannot be used for a different model of the TV and any entertainment systems associated with the TV for that matter.

[008] Remote controls with display screen have certain areas called as black areas. These black areas are empty spaces on the display screen. Therefore, these black areas decrease area for listing content that could be placed on the display screen. As a result of which, very less content is available to the user on the display of the remote controls. Since the display on the remote control is used for displaying TV listings and other features, with presence of black areas navigation of said display reduces. Further, listing of content may have to be displayed on a separate window of the display, which increases usage of internal memory of the remote control.

[009] TV schedule data is generally obtained from network operators with a fixed program mix. In certain cases if the user intends to avail certain programs which are not broadcasted by the network operators, then it becomes a tedious job for the user to request from the network operator for a desired program and/or channel.

[0010] Also, with the advent of the technology the network operators became capable of replaying the program data dynamically. However, the dynamic program data has been packaged to present as static data so as to enable the remote to execute it’s functions through processing of the data.

[0011] In view of the above, there is a need of a remote control device which overcomes the above mentioned drawbacks.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Reference will be made to embodiments of the invention, examples of which may be illustrated in the accompanying figures. These figures are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Although the invention is generally described in the context of these embodiments, it should be understood that it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to these particular embodiments.

Figure 1 illustrates a system for interactive control of at least one media player
Figure 2 shows a controller for controlling at least one media player

SUMMARY OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] The present invention relates to the system and method thereof to provide convenience by easy and smart navigation & control of TV is a system for smart remote for TV that enables TV Search, Discovery, Preview & Control Navigation from one place i.e. the small display within the remote, and provide an interactive TV remote which provides rich experience for users with help of display screen and internet connection. The system and the method thereof give custom TV Search and TV Guide data to users. The system and the method thereof embeds intelligent to store user profile and preferences and make sense of click patterns.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0014] As per one of the embodiment of the present invention the system and the method thereof is a system for smart remote for TV that enables TV Search, Discovery, Preview & Control Navigation from one place i.e. the small display within the remote, and provide an interactive TV remote which provides rich experience for users with help of display screen and internet connection. The system and the method thereof give custom TV Search and TV Guide data to users. The system and the method thereof embeds intelligent to store user profile and preferences and make sense of click patterns.

[0015] The invention described herein is explained using specific exemplary details for better understanding. However, the invention disclosed can be worked on by a person skilled in the art without the use of these specific details.

[0016] References in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, characteristic, or function described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

[0017] Hereinafter, the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. For clear description of the present invention, known constructions and functions will be omitted.

[0018] Parts of the description may be presented in terms of operations performed by a computer system, using terms such as data, state, link, fault, packet, FTP and the like, consistent with the manner commonly employed by those skilled in the art to convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. As is well understood by those skilled in the art, these quantities take the form of data stored/transferred in the form of electrical, magnetic, or optical signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, and otherwise manipulated through mechanical and electrical components of the computer system; and the term computer system includes general purpose as well as special purpose data processing machines, switches, and the like, that are standalone, adjunct or embedded.

[0019] Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system 100 for interactive control of at least one media player, including at least one media player 110, a controller 120 for controlling at least one media player and at least one media source 140 for the program and channel information.

[0020] With reference to Fig. 2 of the present invention, controller 120 for controlling at least one media player is illustrated. Controller 120 for controlling at least one media player includes a display 122, a user interface module 124, a processor 126, a memory module 130 and a communication module 128.

[0021] With reference to Figure. 1 of an embodiment of the invention, at least one media player is configured for communicating at least one signal including control information associated with control of at least one function of media player 110. Media player 110 includes television, set top box, DVD or VCD player, computers, laptops, tablets, PDA’s, home theatre systems, etc.

[0022] In an embodiment of the invention, controller 120 is configured for communicating and controlling the program and channel information and control information received from at least one media source 140. The Controller 120 of the present invention can be developed as platform independent and may be portable on any and all of the platforms like Android, iOS, Windows, Symbian, Blackberry, etc.

[0023] In an embodiment of the invention, the Controller 120 of the present invention can be integrally developed on multiple devices like TV remote, mobile phone or tablets.

[0024] With reference to Fig. 2 of the invention, controller 120 includes display for displaying media program, channel information and control information received from at least one media source 140. Display 122 includes liquid crystal display (LCD), liquid emitting diode (LED), etc.

[0025] In an embodiment of the invention, controller 120 facilitates rich navigation within display 122. Black areas within display 122 are reduced substantially. For example distance between icons of channels and/or programs in display are generally wide compared to the size of the display. The reason for the wide gap is due to presence of black areas between icons.

[0026] In an embodiment of the invention, user interface module 124 is configured for receiving input by a user based upon the displayed information. User-interface module 124 includes keypad, touch screen, etc.

[0027] In an embodiment, processor 126 is configured for processing the received input by the user via user interface module 124. Processor 126 processes the received input based upon pre-determined parameters. Pre-determined parameters include usage patterns of the user, user preferences, user profiles, history of usage, etc.

[0028] Communication module 128 is configured for communicating with at least one media player 110. Communication module 128 also fetches user preference data from data sources such as internet, databases, etc. In an embodiment, communication module 128 is enabled with internet facility via GSM, Wifi, etc; to fetch the user preference data from the data sources. Further, communication module 128 communicates with media player 110 via different modes of communication for instance Bluetooth, infrared, Wi-Fi etc.

[0029] In an embodiment of the invention, controller 120 configured for communicating and controlling the control information received may actively adapt to changing channel line-ups from operators.

[0030] In an embodiment of the invention, controller 120 configured for communicating and controlling the control information received may actively discover programs basis user preferences.

[0031] In an embodiment of the invention, controller 120 configured for communicating and controlling the control information received may actively enable an user of Social integration – connecting and sharing with other users, marking programs as favorite, setting reminders, auto switch among various mode and programs, setting and executing and playing the recording

[0032] In an embodiment of the invention, controller 120 configured for communicating and controlling the control information received may actively customize data on the basis of the user’s subscribed operator.

[0033] In an embodiment of the invention, a method for interactive control of at least one media player is illustrated. The method comprises the steps of communicating at least one signal including control information associated with control of at least one function of a media player to a controller, receiving at least one signal at the controller, configuring the received signal based on pre-determined parameters at the controller and communicating the configured signal to the media player for controlling at least one function of the media player.

[0034] Receiving at least one signal at the controller, wherein the received signal may be received from user interface or any other signal source.

[0035] The pre-determined parameters included for configuring the received signal at the controller are usage patterns of the user, user preferences, user profiles, history of usage, etc.

[0036] In one of the preferred embodiment of the present invention the processor 126 of the system is configured to provide a rich user interface with easy navigation experience along with extensive data capabilities like receive / extract data from subscribed operators, receive / extract TV Guide & EPG data for hundreds of channels, Rich Program metadata for millions of TV shows and movies, Rich Media content like images and trailer/promo videos sourced officially from broadcasters and production houses, Channel line-up data for all the cable/ satellite service providers in hundreds of towns. We will provide the channels available with channel numbers and line-up. This will help switch channels directly by selecting programs/channels rather than user typing the channel number.

[0037] The processor of the system is also configured to perform User Profile & preference management process where user can manage his preferred languages & genres, likes & dislikes in terms of shows/movies, set reminders,

[0038] The processor of the system is also configured to perform the process of social media integration where user will be able to connect and share with friends.

[0039] As per on the embodiment of the present invention the communication module is configured to provide connectivity such as Internet connection via GSM Sim card OR Wi-Fi: Internet connection is required to fetch TV schedule data and videos from the cloud and TV Connectivity via Infrared OR Wi-Fi and the infrared hardware and frequency mapping required to enable the system to be able to communicate with any set-top-box and/or television.

[0040] In one of the preferred embodiment the processor 126 of the system is configured to enable user to switch Channels directly by selecting channel logo, without remembering the channel number, to switch Programs directly, without remembering the channel or channel number, to provide Programme guide customized to user’s subscribed TV Operator (DTH/Cable Operator/IPTV), to provide Rich Metadata associated with all the channels and programs including rich media content like logos, images and videos.

[0041] In one of the preferred embodiment of the present invention the method of the present invention fetch the plurality of television network channel and program data and store it at a memory module, extract the user defined parameter from the user input, forward the user defined parameter to the processer 126, extract the genre, sub genre and language data from the genre language data module, perform the fusion of the genre, sub genre and language data to form hybrid genre, perform the filtration of at least one channel meta data and at least one program meta data through filtration logic , perform the clustering of filtered at least one channel meta data and at least one program meta data to categorize at least one program and at least one channel and present it to the user as his most preferred programs, channels.

[0042] The processor 126 of the system is also configured to enable users to preview any program on the remote itself before switching onto any channel/program, enable users to set reminders for their favorite shows and movies, auto switch on, off and change channels/programs based on prior set reminders, record on TV feature for user’s with Set Top boxes with DVR recording, to enable easy & smart navigation and control of TV.

[0043] The processor 126 of the system is also configured to store user profile and preferences, enable connecting and sharing with friends.

[0044] The system is configured to act as Universal remote and will eliminate the use of individual remotes of TV, Set-Top Box, etc.

[0045] As per one of the embodiment of the present invention, the system and method of the present invention exhibit ability to o provide convenience by easy and smart navigation & control of TV; to enhance user experience and convenience in TV Search and Discovery of programs; allow Users to access all the content and data on the remote itself; to be intelligent and intuitive with Search and Recommendation engine in the backend; to be engaging with rich media content like trailers and promo videos; to be able to manage user’s profile and TV preferences i.e. preferred genre & language, favorite channels and programs; to be able to store multiple profiles on the same device; to personalize recommendations and the overall experience to help to increase the TV consumption of the user; be intelligent to remember users click patterns and make relevant recommendations; to be TV manufacturer specific OR Operator specific OR independent Universal remotes; Can be developed on multiple devices like TV remote, mobile phone or tablets; Can be developed for multiple platforms like Android, iOS, Windows, Symbian, Blackberry, etc.
,CLAIMS:1. A method to provide convenience by easy and smart navigation & control of TV, the method comprising steps of
Initiating at least one system by power-up;
Identifying at least one broadcaster, at least one operators that are available in that area and their respective identifier;
Receiving the input from the user to identify the operator to which the user is subscribed to;
Identifying at least one authorized operator through the given identifier;
Obtaining at least one data feed structure of at least one broadcaster channel source;
Obtaining at least one requirement structure of the operators such as file format of the operator devices, operator business rules, data export schedule and frequency, delivery method type and maintain active database;
Receiving at least one data feed activation signal from the at least one broadcaster;
Validating at least one broadcaster;
Configuring at least one data reception structure compatible to at least one data feed structure of the at least one broadcaster;
Receiving plurality of schedule data from at least one broadcaster channel source;
Customizing and displaying data based on the channels available to the consumer’s subscribed operator;
Providing user interface to the user to manage user profile and preference management where user can manage his preferred language & genres, likes and dislikes in terms of programs and channels, setting reminders;
Storing user profile and preferences;
Providing social media integration to the user to connect and share preferences, likes , and dislikes;
Providing programme guide customized to user’s subscribed TV operator;
Enabling the user to preview any program on the remote itself ;
Allowing the user to switch channels and programs directly;
Transmitting the control and frequency signals respective to the user selection to the television for the television display control.
Enabling the user to record on TV features for user’s with set top boxes with DVR recording;
2. The method as claimed in claim 1 enable user to switch channels directly by selecting channel logo without remembering the channel number.
3. The method as claimed in claim 1 enable user to switch Programs directly, without remeering the channel or channel number.
4. The method as claimed in claim 1 provide Rich Metadata associated with all the channels and programs including rich media content like logos, images and videos.
5. The method as claimed in claim 1 enable users to preview any program on the remote itself before switching onto any channel/program.
6. The method as claimed in claim 1 enable users to set reminders for their favorite shows and movies.
7. The method as claimed in claim 1 enable auto switch on, off and change channels/programs based on prior set reminders.
8. The method as claimed in claim 1 enable connecting and sharing with friends.
9. The method as claimed in claim 1 enable easy & smart navigation and control of TV.
10. The method as claimed in claim 1 stores user profile and preferences.
11. A system to provide convenience by easy and smart navigation & control of TV, the system comprise of
at least one media player, including at least one media player 110,
at least one media source 140 for the program and channel information and
a controller 120 for controlling at least one media player and communicating with at least one media source wherein the controller comprise of
a display 122,
a user interface module 124,
a processor 126,
a memory module for storing all data and user profiles and preferences 130 and
a communication module 128.
12. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein Media player 110 includes television, set top box, DVD or VCD player, computers, laptops, tablets, PDA’s, home theatre systems, etc.
13. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein media source includes the operator program and channel database
14. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein controller 120 is configured for communicating and controlling the program and channel information and control information received from at least one media source 140.
15. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein controller 120 includes display for displaying media program, channel information and control information received from at least one media source 140.
16. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein display 122 of the controller includes liquid crystal display (LCD), liquid emitting diode (LED), etc.
17. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein user interface module 124 is configured for receiving input by a user based upon the displayed information. User-interface module 124 includes keypad, touch screen, etc.
18. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein processor 126 is configured for processing the received input by the user via user interface module 124. Processor 126 processes the received input based upon pre-determined parameters. Pre-determined parameters include usage patterns of the user, user preferences, user profiles, history of usage, etc.
19. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein Communication module 128 enabled with internet facility via GSM, Wifi, etc; is configured for communicating, to fetch the user preference data from the data sources and transmitting the control and frequency signal to control TV.
20. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the processor 126 of the system is configured to provide a rich user interface with easy navigation experience along with extensive data capabilities like receive / extract data from subscribed operators, receive / extract TV Guide & EPG data for hundreds of channels, Rich Program metadata for millions of TV shows and movies, Rich Media content like images and trailer/promo videos sourced officially from broadcasters and production houses, Channel line-up data for all the cable/ satellite service providers in hundreds of towns.
21. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the processor 126 is configured to perform User Profile & preference management process where user can manage his preferred languages & genres, likes & dislikes in terms on shows/movies, set reminders.
22. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the processor 126 is configured to perform the process of social media integration where user will be able to connect and share with friends.
23. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the processor 126 is configured to enable user to switch Channels directly by selecting channel logo, without remembering the channel number, to switch Programs directly, without remembering the channel or channel number, to provide Programme guide customized to user’s subscribed TV Operator (DTH/Cable Operator/IPTV), to provide Rich Metadata associated with all the channels and programs including rich media content like logos, images and videos, to set reminders for their favorite shows and movies, auto switch on, off and change channels/programs based on prior set reminders, record on TV feature for user’s with Set Top boxes with DVR recording, to enable easy & smart navigation and control of TV.