Method and system for providing user-generated content via a gateway

Abstract

A method and system are provided in which a broadband gateway may be operable to handle at least one physical layer connection to at least one corresponding network access service provider. The broadband gateway may receive content and associated metadata through the at least one network access service provider. The broadband gateway may determine, based on the received metadata and on one or more rules associated with a user profile, whether to enable access to at least a portion of the received content by a device connected in a peer-to-peer configuration with the broadband gateway. The broadband gateway may communicate to such device an indication that at least a portion of the received content is available for sharing. The metadata may comprise rating information, copyright information, language information, and privacy rules. The rating information may be modified based on information received by the broadband gateway from other users.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 receiving, in a broadband gateway, received content, wherein the broadband gateway is configured to interface with the at least one network access service provider through at least one physical layer connection and is configured to service a home network comprising viewing devices for viewing the received content received from the broadband gateway via the home network; and   using, in the broadband gateway, information received from one or more of the devices to provide a program rating, wherein the program rating is provided within a header of a video packet in an elementary data stream, in descriptors associate with an MPEG-2 transport layer, or in a real-time transport protocol packet.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the broadband gateway provides the rating value as a modification of a rating provided in first metadata provided with the received content to the broadband gateway. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising embedding the rating value into second data metadata provided by the broadband gateway with the received content to at least one of the viewing devices. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the second metadata further comprises at least one of copyright information, language information, or a privacy rule. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining, using the program rating and on one or more rules associated with a profile for a device of the devices, whether to enable access to at least a first portion of the received content by the device connected in a peer-to-peer configuration with the broadband gateway. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 updating a content directory based on the second metadata and on a plurality of rules associated with a user profile; and   generating a user interface based on the content directory.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 embedding by the broadband gateway water marking data in the received content, the received data being video data.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 verifying one or both of the received content and received metadata before using, in the broadband gateway, the information received from the one or more of the devices to provide the program rating.   
     
     
         9 . A system, comprising:
 one or more processors, one or more circuits, or any combination thereof, the one or more processors, one or more circuits, or any combination thereof being operable to be used in a broadband gateway, the broadband gateway being configured for servicing a home network comprising a plurality of devices for viewing received content, the broadband gateway being configured for communication with the devices and one of a plurality of network access service providers, the one or more processors, the one or more circuits, or any combination thereof, being operable to:   receive the received content and received metadata associated with the received content, the received content and received metadata being received from at least one of the plurality of network access service providers and comprising water marking data embedded in video data or copy control data embedded in a transport layer;   determine whether the received content or the received metadata has been altered using the water marking data or the control copy data and obtaining before a received rating value in the metadata if the received content or the received metadata has not been altered; and   determine, based on the rating value and on one or more rules associated with a profile for one of the devices, to update a content directory to reflect the received content in the broadband gateway for one of the devices in response to the received rating value and a profile for the one of the devices.   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the one or more processors, the one or more circuits, or any combination thereof, being further operable to:
 modifying the rating value in the received metadata based on information received from a device connected in a peer-to-peer configuration at the broadband gateway, wherein the rating value is modified by the broadband gateway to provide a modified rating value, wherein the modified rating value is provided in generated metadata, the generated metadata being provided by the broadband gateway, wherein the modified rating value and the received rating value are directed to an appropriateness of the received content and are associated with the received content.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the user profile comprises one or more rules defining at least one of a content preference associated with quality, type, genre, or cost. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the one or more processors, the one or more circuits, or the combination thereof, are operable to extract the received content and the received metadata from one or more data streams received by the broadband gateway and embed the modified rating value into the generated metadata at the broadband gateway. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the received metadata comprises copyright information, language information, and a privacy rule. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the generated metadata comprising the modified rating value is provided with the received content in at least one data stream for at least one of the devices at the broadband gateway and by the broadband gateway. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the one or more processors, the one or more circuits, or the combination thereof, are further operable to:
 update a content directory based on the received metadata and on the one or more rules associated with the device profile; and   generate a user interface based on the updated content directory for a device of the devices associate with the device profile.   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the one or more processors, the one or more circuits, or the combination thereof, are operable to communicate to the device connected in the peer-to-peer configuration with the broadband gateway an indication that at least a second portion of the received content is available for sharing. 
     
     
         17 . A system, comprising:
 a broadband gateway operable to communicate with a plurality of devices for viewing received content, wherein the broadband gateway comprises a first interface for a network access service provider and a second interface for a plurality of devices, the broadband gateway being configured for communication with the devices and the network access service providers, the broadband gateway being configured to determine whether received content or received metadata has been altered before receiving a rating value using copy control information or watermark information.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17  wherein the devices are mobile phones. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the broadband gateway is configured to update a content directory in response to received metadata for the received content and one or more rules associated with a device profile and generate a user interface based on the updated content directory for a device of the devices associate with the device profile. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the receiving metadata is provided with the received content in at least one data stream for at least one of the devices at the broadband gateway and by the broadband gateway.