CA2548637A1 - Improved electronic television program schedule guide system and method - Google Patents

Improved electronic television program schedule guide system and method Download PDF

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Publication number
CA2548637A1
CA2548637A1 CA002548637A CA2548637A CA2548637A1 CA 2548637 A1 CA2548637 A1 CA 2548637A1 CA 002548637 A CA002548637 A CA 002548637A CA 2548637 A CA2548637 A CA 2548637A CA 2548637 A1 CA2548637 A1 CA 2548637A1
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
television
program schedule
control commands
schedule information
channels
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
CA002548637A
Other languages
French (fr)
Other versions
CA2548637C (en
Inventor
Jerry Alten
Bruce Davis
Michael Morris
Roger Youman
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Adeia Guides Inc
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Priority to CA2662691A priority Critical patent/CA2662691C/en
Priority to CA2662685A priority patent/CA2662685C/en
Priority to CA2662689A priority patent/CA2662689C/en
Priority claimed from CA002363052A external-priority patent/CA2363052C/en
Publication of CA2548637A1 publication Critical patent/CA2548637A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA2548637C publication Critical patent/CA2548637C/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/41—Structure of client; Structure of client peripherals
    • H04N21/422—Input-only peripherals, i.e. input devices connected to specially adapted client devices, e.g. global positioning system [GPS]
    • H04N21/42204—User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/41—Structure of client; Structure of client peripherals
    • H04N21/426—Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
    • H04N21/431—Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering
    • H04N21/4312—Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
    • H04N21/4316—Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
    • H04N21/438—Interfacing the downstream path of the transmission network originating from a server, e.g. retrieving MPEG packets from an IP network
    • H04N21/4383—Accessing a communication channel
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/47—End-user applications
    • H04N21/472—End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content
    • H04N21/47211—End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content for requesting pay-per-view content
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/47—End-user applications
    • H04N21/472—End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content
    • H04N21/47214—End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/47—End-user applications
    • H04N21/475—End-user interface for inputting end-user data, e.g. personal identification number [PIN], preference data
    • H04N21/4755—End-user interface for inputting end-user data, e.g. personal identification number [PIN], preference data for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/47—End-user applications
    • H04N21/482—End-user interface for program selection
    • H04N21/4821—End-user interface for program selection using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Multimedia (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Human Computer Interaction (AREA)
  • Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • Databases & Information Systems (AREA)
  • Finance (AREA)
  • Strategic Management (AREA)
  • Marketing (AREA)
  • Two-Way Televisions, Distribution Of Moving Picture Or The Like (AREA)
  • Television Systems (AREA)

Abstract

An electronic program schedule system which includes a receiver for receiving broadcast, satellite or cablecast television programs for a plurality of television channels and a tuner for tuning a television receiver to a selected one of the plurality of channels. A data processor receives and stores in a memory television program schedule information for a plurality of television programs to appear on the plurality of television channels. A user control apparatus such as a remote controller, is utilized by a viewer to choose user control commands and transit signals in response to the data processor which receives the signals in response to user control commands. A television receiver is used to display the television programs and television program schedule information. A video display generator receives video control commands from the data processor and program schedule information from the memory and displays a portion of the program schedule information in overlaying relationship with a television program appearing on a television channel in at least one mode of operation of the television programming guide. The data processor controls the video display generator with video control commands, issued in response to the user control commands, to display program schedule information for any chosen one of the plurality of television programs in overlaying relationship with at least one television program then appearing on any chosen one of the plurality of channels on the television receiver.
CA002548637A 1994-05-20 1994-05-20 Improved electronic television program schedule guide system and method Expired - Lifetime CA2548637C (en)

Priority Applications (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA2662691A CA2662691C (en) 1994-05-20 1994-05-20 Improved electronic television program schedule guide system and method
CA2662685A CA2662685C (en) 1994-05-20 1994-05-20 Improved electronic television program schedule guide system and method
CA2662689A CA2662689C (en) 1994-05-20 1994-05-20 Improved electronic television program schedule guide system and method

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA002363052A CA2363052C (en) 1994-05-20 1994-05-20 Improved electronic television program schedule guide system and method

Related Parent Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA002363052A Division CA2363052C (en) 1994-05-20 1994-05-20 Improved electronic television program schedule guide system and method

Related Child Applications (3)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA2662689A Division CA2662689C (en) 1994-05-20 1994-05-20 Improved electronic television program schedule guide system and method
CA2662691A Division CA2662691C (en) 1994-05-20 1994-05-20 Improved electronic television program schedule guide system and method
CA2662685A Division CA2662685C (en) 1994-05-20 1994-05-20 Improved electronic television program schedule guide system and method

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA2548637A1 true CA2548637A1 (en) 1995-11-30
CA2548637C CA2548637C (en) 2009-07-14

Family

ID=36791554

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA002548637A Expired - Lifetime CA2548637C (en) 1994-05-20 1994-05-20 Improved electronic television program schedule guide system and method

Country Status (1)

Country Link
CA (1) CA2548637C (en)

Families Citing this family (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6469753B1 (en) 1996-05-03 2002-10-22 Starsight Telecast, Inc. Information system
US6687906B1 (en) 1996-12-19 2004-02-03 Index Systems, Inc. EPG with advertising inserts
US9113107B2 (en) 2005-11-08 2015-08-18 Rovi Guides, Inc. Interactive advertising and program promotion in an interactive television system
US8832742B2 (en) 2006-10-06 2014-09-09 United Video Properties, Inc. Systems and methods for acquiring, categorizing and delivering media in interactive media guidance applications

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
CA2548637C (en) 2009-07-14

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Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
EEER Examination request
MKEX Expiry

Effective date: 20140520