Television schedule system with access control

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a television schedule system with a user interface which allows a user to control access to television programs by time, rating, content, and/or channel. Furthermore, the user may set a limit on pay-per-view (PPV) spending to limit the purchase of PPV programs.

1 - 26 . (canceled) 
     
     
         27 . A method for exercising access control over media assets, comprising:
 receiving, at a display device, a user selection of a media asset;   determining that the selected media asset meets at least one set blocking criterion;   displaying, on the display device, a password prompt to the user;   receiving a user entry of a password;   disabling all set blocking criteria to enable the user to access, on the display device, all media assets available from a distribution server if the received password matches a parental control password; and   restoring all set blocking criteria in response to the display device being turned off.   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , further comprising displaying, on the display device, a list of media assets available from the distribution server, wherein receiving a user selection comprises receiving a user selection of a media asset from the displayed list. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein receiving a user selection further comprises receiving a user selection of a media asset for viewing or recording. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 27 , further comprising:
 displaying, at the display device, a pop-up prompt to the user after receiving the user selection, wherein the pop-up prompt comprises an option to unlock all media assets; and   receiving a user selection of the option to unlock all media assets.   
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the password prompt is displayed on the display device after the user selection of the option to unlock all media assets is received. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 30 , further comprising displaying, at the display device, an option to relock all parental controls after the user selection of the option to unlock all media assets is received. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 27 , further comprising muting audio of the display device and displaying a blocking screen on the display device. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 33 , further comprising unmuting the audio of the display device and presenting the selected media asset on the display device if the received password matches the parental control password. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the at least one set blocking criterion comprises at least one of a channel, time, rating, or content criterion. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein disabling all set blocking criteria comprises disabling at least one blocking criterion that is not met by the selected media asset if the received password matches a parental control password. 
     
     
         37 . A system for exercising access control over media assets, comprising:
 an input device configured to:
 receive a user selection of a media asset; and 
 receive a user entry of a password; and 
   a display device configured to:
 determine that the selected media asset meets at least one set blocking criterion; 
 display a password prompt to the user; 
 disable all set blocking criteria to enable the user to access all media assets available from a distribution server if the password received by the input device matches a parental control password; and 
 restore all set blocking criteria in response to the display device being turned off 
   
     
     
         38 . The system of  claim 37 , wherein the display device is further configured to display a list of media assets available from the distribution server, and the input device is further configured to receive a user selection of a media asset from the displayed list. 
     
     
         39 . The system of  claim 38 , wherein the input device is further configured to receive a user selection of a media asset for viewing or recording. 
     
     
         40 . The system of  claim 37 , wherein:
 the display device is further configured to display a pop-up prompt to the user after the user selection is received at the input device, wherein the pop-up prompt comprises an option to unlock all media assets; and   the input device is further configured to receive a user selection of the option to unlock all media assets.   
     
     
         41 . The system of  claim 40 , wherein the display device is further configured to display the password prompt after the user selection of the option to unlock all media assets is received at the input device. 
     
     
         42 . The system of  claim 40 , wherein the display device is further configured to display an option to relock all parental controls after the user selection of the option to unlock all media assets is received at the input device. 
     
     
         43 . The system of  claim 37 , wherein the display device is further configured to mute audio and display a blocking screen. 
     
     
         44 . The system of  claim 43 , wherein the display device is further configured to unmute the audio and present the selected media asset if the received password matches the parental control password. 
     
     
         45 . The system of  claim 37 , wherein the at least one set blocking criterion comprises at least one of a channel, time, rating, or content criterion. 
     
     
         46 . The system of  claim 37 , wherein the display device is further configured to disable at least one blocking criterion that is not met by the selected media asset if the received password matches a parental control password.