Systems and methods for providing parental control features in video mosaic environments

Abstract

Systems and methods for providing parental control support in video mosaic environment are disclosed. Upon receiving a request for a video mosaic page, screen data, which may include parental control information, is received. The screen data may identify the video assets in the video mosaic page. A determination is made whether the video assets in the video mosaic page are locked or unlocked by parental controls in force on the user equipment. Locked assets may be masked and individually unlocked upon verification of a parental control access code or PIN. Unlocked assets may be presented in cells, or windows, in the video mosaic page and may also be individually locked and subsequently masked. A separate set of parental control settings may be maintained for video mosaic pages or the mosaic parental control commands may be resolved with system parental control settings.

1 - 44 . (canceled) 
     
     
         45 . A method for displaying assets in a video mosaic, the method comprising:
 generating for display, the video mosaic including a plurality of display windows for displaying a plurality of media assets based on a respective display restriction status associated with each media asset;   receiving a first user request to change a display restriction status of a media asset from the plurality of media assets;   determining whether an authentication requirement to change the display restriction status is met;   in response to determining that the authentication requirement to change the display restriction status is met:
 modifying the display restriction status of the media asset based on the first user request; and 
 causing a change of display of the media asset in a corresponding display window within the video mosaic based on the modified display restriction status. 
   
     
     
         46 . The method of  claim 45 , wherein the display lock status includes a parental control lock status which is based on at least one of a source identifier, a channel identifier, a rating, and a title. 
     
     
         47 . The method of  claim 45 , wherein plurality of media assets are selected from a group consisting of a live broadcast program, a video-on-demand (VOD) asset, a pay-per-view (PPV) asset, a digital video recorder (DVR) asset, a Webcast, a preview, an advertisement, an interactive game, and an interactive application. 
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 45 , wherein the change of display of the media asset includes:
 masking the media asset by removing the media asset from the video mosaic, or   unmasking the media asset by displaying the media asset if the media asset has been previously masked at the video mosaic.   
     
     
         49 . The method of  claim 45 , further comprising:
 receiving a second user request to change a parental control lock status of a second media asset;   in response to receiving the second user request, determining a reason for a current parental control lock status of the second media asset; and   causing to be displayed an unlock option based on the determining.   
     
     
         50 . The method of  claim 48 , wherein masking the media asset comprises causing one or an icon, text, and graphic to be displayed in place of the media asset. 
     
     
         51 . The method of  claim 48 , wherein masking the media asset comprises masking the media asset in response to receiving a parental control access code input. 
     
     
         52 . The method of  claim 45 , wherein the first user request is a request to lock or unlock the media asset, and further comprising:
 causing a parental control access code prompt to be displayed in response to receiving the user request to unlock the video asset;   receiving a user input in response to displayed prompt; and   validating the received user input.   
     
     
         53 . The method of claim of  52 , wherein the first user request to unlock the media asset is a user request to unlock any of at least one channel associated with the media asset, at least one rating associated with the media asset, or at least one title associated with the video asset. 
     
     
         54 . The method of  claim 45 , further comprising redefining screen data associated with the media asset in response to receiving the first user request to change the parental control lock status of the media asset,
 wherein the screen data defines actions in response to a user selection of at least one of the plurality of media assets in the video mosaic.   
     
     
         55 . A system for displaying assets in a video mosaic, the system comprising:
 a user interface configured to receive a first user request to change a display restriction status of a media asset; and   processing circuitry configured to:   generate for display, the video mosaic including a plurality of display windows for displaying a plurality of media assets based on a respective display restriction status associated with each media asset;   determine whether an authentication requirement to change the display restriction status is met;   in response to determining that the authentication requirement to change the display restriction status is met:
 modify the display restriction status of the media asset based on the first user request; and 
 cause a change of display of the media asset in a corresponding display window within the video mosaic based on the modified display restriction status. 
   
     
     
         56 . The system of  claim 55 , wherein the display lock status includes a parental control lock status which is based on at least one of a source identifier, a channel identifier, a rating, and a title. 
     
     
         57 . The system of  claim 55 , wherein the plurality of media assets are selected from a group consisting of a live broadcast program, a video-on-demand (VOD) asset, a pay-per-view (PPV) asset, a digital video recorder (DVR) asset, a Webcast, a preview, an advertisement, an interactive game, and an interactive application. 
     
     
         58 . The system of  claim 55 , wherein the change of display of the media asset includes:
 masking the media asset by removing the media asset from the video mosaic, or   unmasking the media asset by displaying the media asset if the media asset has been previously masked at the video mosaic.   
     
     
         59 . The system of  claim 55 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
 receive a second user request to change a parental control lock status of a second media asset;   in response to receiving the second user request, determine a reason for a current parental control lock status of the second media asset; and   cause to be displayed an unlock option based on the determining.   
     
     
         60 . The system of  claim 58 , wherein the masking the media asset comprises causing one or an icon, text, and graphic to be displayed in place of the media asset. 
     
     
         61 . The system of  claim 58 , wherein the masking the media asset comprises masking the media asset in response to receiving a parental control access code input. 
     
     
         62 . The system of  claim 55 , wherein the first user request is a request to lock or unlock the media asset, and the processing circuitry is further configured to:
 cause a parental control access code prompt to be displayed in response to receiving the user request to unlock the video asset;   receive a user input in response to displayed prompt; and   validate the received user input.   
     
     
         63 . The system of claim of  62 , wherein the first user request to unlock the media asset is a user request to unlock any of at least one channel associated with the media asset, at least one rating associated with the media asset, or at least one title associated with the video asset. 
     
     
         64 . The system of  claim 55 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to redefine screen data associated with the media asset in response to receiving the first user request to change the parental control lock status of the media asset,
 wherein the screen data defines actions in response to a user selection of at least one of the plurality of media assets in the video mosaic.