Parental media palettes

Abstract

Systems and methods for viewing media content are provided. Sets of permitted media content and/or channels that have been screened in advance by parents are created. Content suggestions may also be made. In response to media set creation and activation, permitted programming in the media set may be tuned and presented to a viewer while access to other media content is restricted.

1 . A method for controlling the presentation of media content on user equipment, the method comprising:
 receiving a plurality of media descriptors for inclusion in a set of media descriptors, wherein each media descriptor represents an individual permitted media content accessible by a user between a set start time and a set stop time;   receiving a user request for media content between the set start time and set stop time; and   presenting at least one of the individual permitted media content in response to receiving the user request.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the user request is made via a user equipment tuning sequence. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the user request is made via a selection from a content listing. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the listing lists the media descriptors included in the set of media descriptors. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the listing lists all the media content accessible by the user equipment, and the method further comprises:
 determining whether the user request selected from the listing is a request for at least one of the individual permitted media content; and   restricting access to the requested media content in response to determining that the user request is not a request for at least one of the individual permitted media content.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising presenting a display suggesting media descriptors for inclusion in the set of media descriptors. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the suggested media descriptors in the display are based on attributes of at least one media descriptor in the set of media descriptors. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the suggested media descriptors in the display is based on third-party data. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the suggested media descriptors each represent individual media content with the lowest program content rating information accessible by the user equipment. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the permitted media content is selected from the group consisting of broadcast channels, broadcast programs, recorded programs, video-on-demand programs, interactive applications, games, Internet websites, Internet newsgroups, and Internet chat rooms. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the permitted media content is automatically tuned and presented in a default order. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the default order is user-defined. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 determining whether at least one permitted media content is available prior to the set start time; and   recording the at least one permitted media content prior to the set start time, when it is determined that the at least one permitted media content is available prior to the set start time.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1  wherein at least one of the plurality of media descriptors are received from a user at the user equipment. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1  wherein at least one of the plurality of media descriptors are received from a third-party that is remote from the user equipment. 
     
     
         16 . An apparatus for controlling the presentation of media content on user equipment, the apparatus comprising:
 memory for storing at least one set of media descriptors; and   control circuitry for presenting media content, wherein the control circuitry is configured to:
 receive a plurality of media descriptors for inclusion in the at least one set of media descriptors, wherein each media descriptor represents an individual permitted media content accessible by a user between a set start time and a set stop time; 
 receive a user request for media content between the set start time and the set stop time; and 
 present at least one of the individual permitted media content in response to receiving the user request. 
   
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 16  wherein the user request is made via a user equipment tuning sequence. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 16  wherein the user request is made via a selection from a content listing. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the listing lists the media descriptors included in the at least one set of media descriptors. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the listing lists all the media content accessible by the user equipment, and the control circuitry is further configured to:
 determine whether the user request selected from the listing is a request for at least one of the individual permitted media content; and   restrict access to the requested media content in response to determining that the user request is not a request for at least one of the individual permitted media content.   
     
     
         21 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:
 present a display suggesting media descriptors for inclusion in the at least one set of media descriptors.   
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the suggested media descriptors in the display are based on attributes of at least one media descriptor in the at least one set of media descriptors. 
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the suggested media descriptors in the display are based on third-party data. 
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the permitted media content is selected from the group consisting of broadcast channels, broadcast programs, recorded programs, video-on-demand programs, interactive applications, games, Internet websites, Internet newsgroups, and Internet chat rooms. 
     
     
         25 . The apparatus of  claim 16  wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:
 automatically tune and present the permitted media content in a default order.   
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 25 , wherein the default order is user-defined. 
     
     
         27 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:
 determine whether at least one permitted media content is available prior to the set start time; and   record the at least one permitted media content prior to the set start time, when it is determined that the at least one permitted media content is available prior to the set start time.