MXPA00000312A - Interactive program guide navigator - Google Patents

Abstract

An interactive program guide system is provided. The program guide system has a logically flat navigator menu structure made up of program guide categories and selectable program guide options. Program guide categories correspond to fairly broad groups of program guide features. Selectable program guide options correspond to more specific program guide features. Each program guide category has associated selectable program guide options. Program guide categories may be displayed in a row across the top of the display screen. Selectable program guide options may be displayed in the same column as the program guide category with which they are associated. A highlight region may be positioned on one of the selectable program guide options. The selectable program guide options may be scrolled using a pair of vertical cursors. Pressing a horizontal cursor while the highlight region is on one of the selectable program guide options causes a new program guide category and associated column of selectable program guide options to be displayed in place of the originally displayed program guide category and associated selectable program guide options.

Description

NAVIGATOR MENU SYSTEM FOR INTERACTIVE PROGRAM GUIDE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to video systems, and more particularly, to navigation in interactive television program guide systems. Cable, satellite and broadcast television systems provide viewers with a large number of television channels. Viewers have traditionally consulted the printed schedules of television programs to determine the programs that are broadcast at a particular time. More recently, the interactive, electronic guides of the television programs have been developed, which allow the information of the television program to be displayed on a spectator's television. The interactive guides of the programs allow that the users have access to the lists of the television programs in different formats of exhibition. For example, a user may want to see a box of the program listings organized in a list sorted by channel. Alternatively, the user may wish to see the program listings organized by time, by subject (movies, sports, P959" K- etc.), or by title (that is, arranged alphabetically). Other program guide options allow the user to adjust favorite channels, program a video cassette recorder, set a programmed, automatic reminder, or order movies within the pay-per-view service. In general, numerous different options of program guides are available in a typical interactive program guide. The program guide options are presented to the user through a series of linked menus. The user selects the menu by pressing an "accept" or "select" button on a remote control. However, because many program guide options are normally available, the interactive program guide menu structures have many overlapping layers and are quite complex. As a result, the user may have certain difficulties in browsing, through the structure of the guide menu without getting confused. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an interactive guide to television programs with an improved logical structure that facilitates navigation through the guide. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This and other objects of the present are achieved P959 invention in accordance with the principles of the present invention by providing an interactive program guidance system in which a logically flat browser structure is used to provide access to the program guide options. The browser structure has a number of selectable categories of the program guide, each of which corresponds to a fairly wide range of program guide services. For example, one category of the program guide can be related to the listings of the television program guide and another category of the program guide can be related to the digital services. Because the categories of the program guide are extensive, all the available features of an interactive guide of television programs can be organized using only a few (for example, five to ten) categories of the program guide. Each category of the program guide has associated options of the program guide. For example, the program guide category "television program guide" may have selectable options from the program guide for the displayed options of the television program listings "by time", "by channel", or "by theme". Only some of the available categories of the program guide are normally displayed at a time P959 individual to avoid visually messing up the display screen. For example, three categories of the program guide can be displayed in a straight line through the top of the user's display screen. In a similar way, there is a limit to the number of selectable options in the program guide that are normally displayed at a time. Although a given category of the program guide may have ten associated options, selectable from the program guide, only six of these selectable options of the program guide are preferentially displayed at the same time. To avoid visual clutter, the system preferably displays only the selectable options of the program guide, associated with an individual category of the program guide, centrally displayed. The program guide options are arranged directly below the central category of the program guide in a horizontally centered straight line that is perpendicular to the line of the program guide categories. Navigation can be controlled using a remote control with a pair of vertical cursor keys and a pair of horizontal cursor keys. A highlighted region defines the user's current location within the selectable options of the program guide. Pressing a vertical cursor key moves the P959 ^ A ^? & ^ ?. ^ ^^^^^^ region highlighted within the program guide options (for example, by scrolling through the options in the program guide). Pressing a horizontal cursor key causes a new set of program guide options and a new associated category of the program guide to be displayed in the horizontally central position of the screen. The categories of the program guide and its selectable, associated program guide options can be organized in the form of a horizontally linked, logically continuous circuit so that the user can continuously change through all categories of the guide. programs and the selectable options of the program guide with the horizontal cursor keys. If desired, additional columns of the selectable options of the program guide can be displayed, adjacent to the individual column of the selectable options of the program guide, adjacent to the individual column of the selectable options of the program guide displayed under the central category of the program guide. To avoid visual clutter and to focus the user's attention on the currently available options of the program guide, the additional columns of the selectable options of the program guide are preferably displayed with a P959 decreased visibility in relation to the centrally displayed options of the program guide. The additional features of the invention, its nature and various advantages will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram in a system according to the present invention. Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram of the illustrative user equipment according to the present invention. Figure 3 is a schematic, generalized block diagram of the portions of the user illustrative equipment of Figure 2. Figure 4 is a browser display screen for illustrative programs in accordance with the present invention. Figure 5 is an illustrative remote control according to the present invention. Figure 6 is an illustrative display screen of the program listings according to the present invention. Figure 7 is a schematic block diagram P959 ^ g ^^ m ^^^^ ^ i ^^^^ which shows an illustrative logical arrangement for the categories of the program guide and the selectable, associated options of the program guide according to the present invention. Figure 8 is an additional, illustrative display screen of the program guide browser according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITIES An illustrative system is shown in Figure 1 for an interactive guide of television programs in accordance with the present invention. The main installation 12 provides the data from the data source 14 to the distribution facility 16 via the communication link 18. The link 18 can be a satellite link, the telephone network link, a cable or fiber link optics, a microwave link, a combination of these links, or any other communications route, adequate. If it is desired to transmit video signals on a link 18 in addition to the data signals, a link with a relatively high bandwidth, such as a satellite link, on a link of a relatively low bandwidth can generally be preferred. such as a telephone line. The distribution installation 16 can be a head of the cable system; an installation of P9S9 > "- - - ~ aiW? I * c -.--- .rt..J«?. ^ M-distribution of broadcasting, or installation and distribution of satellite television, and may have Internet access capabilities, if desired, the data transmitted by the main installation 12 to the distribution facility 16 includes the data of the television program listings (for example, program times, channels, titles, descriptions) and data for additional services other than the listings of television programs. If desired, some data may be provided using data source in the different facilities of the main installation 12. The distribution installation 16 distributes the data of the listings of the television programs and the data of other services to multiple users via the communication routes 20. Each user has the user's equipment 22 to display the listings of television programs and information for the other services using an interactive guide of television programs. Many features of the interactive television program guide are provided by executing the instructions with a similar microprocessor or control circuitry within the user's equipment. The communication paths 20 preferably have sufficient bandwidth to allow the distribution facility 16 to distribute the television programming and other video information to the user's equipment 22. The television programming and the video information may also be distributed by the distribution facility 16 over separate communication routes of the communication routes 20. Certain functions of the program guide may require that the user's equipment 22 transmit data to the distribution facility 16 on communication routes 20 (for example, with a cable modem, telephone modem, or other suitable return link). If desired, the return data can be transmitted over separate communication paths (not shown). An illustrative arrangement for the user's equipment 22 is shown in Figure 2. The television set 24 of Figure 2 receives the video and data from the television distribution facility 16 (Figure 1) at entry 26. The user information (e.g., Internet browsing orders, payment order information per event, commands to display various digital services, etc.) can be transmitted to the distribution facility 16 via the output 27. During normal television viewing, the user tunes the adaptation unit 28 to a desired television channel. The signal for that television channel is then provided in the P959 ^ | ^^ ^^ video output 30 either as a radio frequency signal (RF) within a predefined channel (e.g., channel 3 or 4) or as a demodulated video signal. The video signal at the output 30 is received by the cassette recorder 32, so that the user can record the programs. The recording of programs and other features can be controlled by the adaptation unit 28 using the control path 34. A typical control path 34 comprises the use of an infrared transmitter coupled to the infrared receiver in the cassette recorder 32 which normally accepts the commands from a remote control such as the remote control 40. The remote control 40 can be used to control the adaptation unit 28, the cassette recorder 32, and the television 36. The television 36 receives demodulated or RF video signals at starting from the cassette recorder 32 via the communication path 38. The video signals on the communication path 38 can be generated by either the cassette recorder 32 when a pre-recorded video cassette is played or can be passed through the cassette recorder 32. adaptation unit 28. During normal television expectation, the viewer tunes to a desired television channel with the adaptation unit 28 and is proposed The corresponding video signals are transmitted to the television 36. When the user wants to see the guide information e-K? ~? MtJ ~ * interactive television programs, the user can press a "menu" button on the remote control 40. When the adaptation unit 28 receives the commands from the remote control 40 which inform the adaptation unit 28 that the menu button has been pressed, in the processing circuitry within the adaptation unit 28 displays a program guide browser menu according to the present invention on television 36. In Figure 3 is shown a more generalized mode of the user's equipment 24 (Figure 2). As shown in Figure 3, the video and data distribution facility 16 (Figure 1) is received by the control circuitry 42 of computer 44 the user input 43. Normally, the video signals are provided in multiple television channels. The data may be provided in a sideband of the television channel, in the vertical extinction range of a television channel, or by another suitable data transmission technique. If desired, by using the output 45 can transmit information from the user to the distribution facility 16. can transmissions distribution facility 16 using a cable modem, a telephone modem, or any other arrangement of appropriate transmission. With the user input interface 46, the P959 2-1 -? -. * $ - »user controls the operation of the user's computer 44. The interface 46 user input may be a pointing device, wireless remote control, keyboard, touch pad, voice recognition system, or any other suitable user input. To watch television, the user instructs the control circuitry 42 to display on the monitor 48 a desired television channel. To use the interactive program guide, the user instructs the control circuitry 42 to display the program guide information on the monitor 48. By using the arrangement of the adaptation unit of Figure 2, the functions in the control circuitry 42 can be provided. Alternatively, these functions can be integrated into a personal computer (PC), personal computer and television (PC / TV), television, or video cassette recorder. If desired, a combination of that hardware can be used. When a user requests the interactive program guide (for example, entering an order with the interface user input 46) in the control circuitry 42 initially generates a browser menu. Some of the information used to generate the browser menu and to provide the associated guidance functions, P959 stores semi-permanently in the control circuitry 42. Other information for the browser menu may be contained in the data provided periodically to the control circuitry 42 from the data source 14 (Figure 1) in the main facility 12 (Figure 1). This information is also preferably stored in the control circuitry 42, so that in the control circuitry 42 it can provide more features of the program guide without waiting to download additional information from the distribution facility 16. Other features of the guide Programs (for example, Internet access) can use the information that is downloaded in real time. In Figure 4 a browser menu 50 is shown, illustrative. The browser menu 50, which is displayed on the display screen 52, contains categories 54, 56 and 58 of the program guide. A number of selectable options from the program guide is associated with each category of the program guide. For example, the selectable options 60 of the program guide are associated with category 56 of the program guide. In order to avoid visually disturbing the display screen 52, only a few (for example, three) categories of the program guide are preferably displayed at the same time. You can have access to P959 »^ - - z ^ r additional categories of the program guide when relocating categories 54, 56 and 58 of the program guide. Visual clutter can also be avoided by displaying an individual column of selectable program guide options (i.e., selectable options 60 of the program guide associated with category 56 of the program guide). This arrangement allows text messages, useful, to be displayed in regions 61 and 63. Text messages can also be displayed in the information region 51. The current time in the time region 53 can be displayed. The title bar 55 can be used to display an informative title, such as "browser menu". The logos 57 and 59 regions can be used to display the logos identified by the program guide service provider and the cable system operator. Categories 54, 56 and 58 of the program guide are associated with fairly broad groups of program guide features. For example, category 54 of the program guide is associated with Internet services. Category 56 of the program guide is associated with the listings of television programs. Category 58 of the program guide is associated with promotional information for the operator of the user's cable system (sometimes referred to as a P959 multiple system operator or MSO). The selectable options 60 of the program guide are associated with more specific features of the program guide. The selectable options of the program guide displayed under a given category of program guide correspond to that category of the program guide. Because the program guide categories such as categories 54, 56 and 58 of the program guide are associated with broad groups of program guide features, it is possible to organize the characteristics of the program guide of a program guide. Interactive program guide quite complex, using relatively few categories of the program guide. The number of selectable options in the program guide that are associated with a given category of the program guide depends on the number and type of program guide options used in the system, but is usually about five to ten selectable options of the program guide by category. The structure of the browser menu 50 allows a user to arrive at a given guide of selectable programs with a relatively small number of keystrokes and without navigating through stratified menu layers. A highlighted region such as the highlighted region 62 is used to define the user's current position P959 in the selectable options of the program guide of the browser menu 50. The information related to the selectable options, currently highlighted, of the program guide, can be displayed in region 61. In region 63 the information can be displayed related to the category of the program guide associated with the currently highlighted selectable option in the program guide. The user places the highlighted region 62 by entering appropriate commands with the user input interface 46 (Figure 3). A user input interface 46, illustrative is the remote control 64 of Figure 5. Pressing the menu button 66 requests the program guide and is done in the control circuitry 42 (Figure 3) display the browser menu 50 on the monitor 48 (Figure 3). If the highlighted region 62 is placed in a selectable option of the program guide, pressing the menu button 66 causes the control circuitry 42 to exit the program guide. If the user has selected a selectable option, given from the program guide and is currently using an associated features of the program guide (for example, by completing a pay-per-order order screen or by tuning in to favorite channels, etc.). ), the pressure of the menu button 66 preferably returns the highlighted region 62 to the option : a.- ^ - ^^ ¿--- í -----! given the program guide. Up key 68 and down key 70 are vertical cursor keys that are used to move highlight 62 up or down within the program guide options. For example, if option 60 selectable "by title" from the program guide of Figure 4 is highlighted, keys 68 and 70 can be used to move to the 60"by time" selectable option of the program guide or the selectable option 60"per channel" of the program guide. The selectable options 60 of the program guide can be shifted if there are more selectable options 60 of the program guide which will be conveniently adjusted on the display screen 52 at a time. Alternatively, additional pages of the selectable options of the program guide may be displayed if the user moves the highlighted region 62 beyond the first or last option displayed in the program guide. The presence of selectable options 60, additional to the program guide in the column of selectable options 60 of the program guide shown in Figure 4 is indicated by arrow 71. The left arrow 72 and the right arrow 74 are keys of the horizontal cursor and are used to change the new selectable options of the program guide and J > Pfefc.- > .-. jtefc. the categories of the program guide in the position of the central column instead of a previously displayed category of the program guide and associated options. For example, if one of the selectable options 60 of the program guide of Figure 4 is highlighted, the key 72 can be used to change the category 58 of the program guide and the selectable options of the program guide associated with the program guide. category 58 of the program guide in the center column of the display screen 52. The key 74 can be used to change category 54 of the program guide and the selectable options of the program guide associated with category 54 of the program guide in the center column of the display screen 52. The select 76 button allows the user to select a selectable, given program option. For example, if the highlighted portion 72 is a selectable 60"by time" option of the program guide as shown in Figure 4, pressing the select button 76 (Figure 5) causes that in the control circuitry 42 (FIG. Figure 3) displays a time-ordered box of the listings of the television programs on the monitor 48 (Figure 3) based on the data of the television listings provided by the distribution facility 16 (Figure 1).

P959 Figure 6 shows a box 69 illustrative of programs. The rows in box 78 contain program listings. Each row contains information for a different television channel. The columns in box 78 are associated with different broadcast times programmed for the programs (for example, 9:00 AM, 9:30 AM, and 10:00 AM). Program box 78 has the title bar 80, which can be used to identify the current display format of the program guide (for example, with a text label such as "what it is"). The logos 82 can be contained within the title bar 80. A logo can identify the provider of the interactive guide of television programs and the other logo can identify the MSO of the distribution facility 16. The instructions related to the user of the program guide may be displayed in the information region 84. The current time may be displayed in the time region 86. The program box 78 preferably has the highlighted region 88. By pressing the select button 76 (Figure 5) when the region highlighted 88 is in a given television program in box 78 it can be done in the control circuitry 42 (Figure 3) to tune the television channel for the P959 ü-¡? ta "flBL -------------» »selected program By pressing the info button 90 (figure 5) the information for a highlighted program can be obtained, while the highlighted region 88 is in the list of television programs for which more information is desired. The remote control 64 (Figure 5) also has buttons 92 and the channel number, next channel button 94, and previous channel button 96 to select the television channels. The power button 98 and additional buttons 100 can be provided to support additional program guidance and control features of the user's equipment. The selection of a program guide option from the browser menu 50 of Figure 4 may result in the immediate execution of an associated function of the program guide. For example, when the select button 76 is pressed (Figure 5), while the highlights 62 (Figure 4) is in the selectable option 60"by time" of the program guide (Figure 4), the box 78 of programs) Figure 6 without the need for additional user intervention. However, the selection of other options in the program guide (such as the 60"subject-selectable" option in the program guide (Figure 4) may result in additional options being presented to the user P959 ,. "'^ Fflw fflffij ¡jUgij ^^ (for example, an option that allows the user to select the desired theme). The logical structure of an illustrative embodiment of the program guide browser menu structure of the present invention is shown in the schematic diagram of Figure 7. Structure 102 of the program guide browser menu has categories 104, 106 , 108, 110 and 112 of the program guide. Each category of the program guide has an associated group of selectable options from the program guide in that service category. Category 104 of the program guide (Internet gateway) is related to services in the Internet category. For example, the selectable option 104a of the program guide relates to the online program guide information. When a user selects option 104a of the program guide, in the control circuitry 42 connects the user to a site in the frame containing program guide services via the Internet access equipment in the distribution facility 16. In this connection, the data is transmitted from in the control circuitry 42 to the distribution facility 16 via the output 45. The distribution facility data 16 is provided to the control circuitry 42 via the input 43. When the user P959 --- gí ^ | ^ 2g¡i ^^^ í g ^^ selects program guide option 104b, the user is presented to the user a site of the local cable operator's frame. General Internet access is provided by selecting option 104c from the program guide. Category 106 of the program guide (Digital Services) is related to digital information services. The selectable options 106a, 106b and 106c of the program guide are associated with category 106 of the program guide. The selectable option 106a of the program guide relates to sports information. When the user selects option 106a of the program guide, in the control circuitry 42 (Figure 3) he presents the information related to sports on the monitor 48. Sports information may include markers, game highlights, etc. When the user selects option 106b of the program guide, the weather information such as the current local weather, forecasts, etc. is provided. The selection of option 106c from the program guide provides access to news information. The data required to provide the contents of the selectable options 106a, 106b and 106c of the program guide are preferably downloaded to the control circuitry 42 (FIG. 3) from the P959 distribution installation 16 (Figure 1). The data can be stored in the control circuitry 42 and updated periodically. If desired, these data can also be provided in real time. Real-time data is accessed by sending requests to distribution facility 16 via output 45 (Figure 3). The distribution facility 16 provides the requested data to the user's equipment 44 (Figure 3) in real time via the entry 43 (Figure 3). Category 108 of the program guide (program guide) is related to the listings of the television program guide. Selecting option 108a of the program guide causes the control circuitry 42 (Figure 3) to display a box of the listings of television programs on monitor 48 (Figure 3) that are organized by channel, as illustrated in Figure 6. Option 108b of the program guide allows the list information of the programs to be displayed in an alphabetically numbered list. The selectable option 108b of the program guide preferably allows the user to enter the first several letters of a desired title. Vertical cursor keys 68 and 70 (Figure 5) can be used to switch between letters. The select 76 key can be used P959 ^ ^^^^ j ^ g ^ &amp ^^^^^ j - ^ * ^^^^^^ to select a desired letter. The horizontal cursor keys 72 and 74 (Figure 5) can be used to move between the positions of the letters. Option 108c of the program guide allows 5 program listings to be made per channel. For example, you can display a list of programs that contains 24 hours of programming for channel 2, followed by 24 hours of programming for channel 3, followed by 24 hours of programming for channel 4, etc. Within every 24 hours of the programming listed for a given channel, program listings can be organized chronologically. Option 108d of the program guide provides a calendar option. The user can see the information in the list of programs for several days in advance. The selection of option 108b of the program guide presents the user with a calendar from which the user can select a given date and time of interest. Once the user has selected the date and the time given from the calendar, a box of programs such as box 78 of programs of Figure 6 can be displayed, which contains the information of the program listings for that date and time. Option 108e of the program guide relates to the selection by topic. Once you select the P959 l ^ Í «tftrpf? rffrtftrfá ^^^^^^ -. ^ .. ^ ^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^ Í ^ S? ^^^^ selectable option 108e of the program guide, the user can select a desired theme (for example, movies, sports, children, news, comedy or soap operas) from a list. The program listings for the selected theme can be displayed in any suitable format, such as a list sorted by channel, sorted by time, or sorted by subject (sorted by genre). If desired, the choice of which display format will be used can be left to the user. 10 Option 108f of the program guide allows the program guide to display a box of program listings for morning time television programs. The options 108g, 108h and 108i of the guide programs allow the listings of the program guide for the genres of "movies," "sports," and "children." These program listings may be displayed in the same format used to display the program listing information following the selection of the subject under the selectable option 108e of the program guide. Because there are nine selectable 108a-i options in the program guide, while only six selectable options from the program guide are displayed at a time, access to all nine selectable options 108a-i from the program guide P959 includes the displacement or page change of the program guide option. For example, selectable options 108a-f of the program guide may initially be displayed in a column below category 108 of the program guide. The highlighted region 62 (Figure 4) is initially placed in the selectable option 108a of the program network when the browser menu 50 is called by pressing the menu key 66 (Figure 5). The options 108a-i of the program guide are preferably organized in a vertically linked circuit, logically continuous, so that the user can scroll or change the page through the selectable options, shown in the program guide using the keys 68 and 70 of the vertical cursor. Line 113 illustrates how a user can cause the selectable option 108a of the program guide to be displayed after it has been displayed in the selectable option 108h of the program guide by the additional use of the cursor down key 70. The manipulation of the vertical keys 68 and 70 does not preferably move the highlighted region 62 beyond the list of options of the program guide. Categories 104, 106, 108, 110 and 112 of the program guide and their selectable, associated options P959 rT'iffifitrf of the program guide form a horizontally linked, logically continuous circuit, as shown by the logical flow lines 115. Lines 114 and 116 illustrate the logical flow in structure 102 of the browser menu of the program guide when the user presses a horizontal cursor key while a selectable option is highlighted, illustrative of the program guide (ie, the selectable option 108d of the program guide). Pressing the cursor key to the right 74 (Figure 5) causes the selectable options llOa-f of the program guide to be displayed in the center column of the display screen 52 instead of the selectable options 108a-i of the program guide and causes the highlighted region 62 (Figure 4) to move from the selectable option 108d of the program guide to the selectable option HOd of the program guide. The vertical position of the selectable option HOd of the program guide is the same as the previous vertical position of the selectable option 108d of the program guide, so that the vertical position of the highlighted region 62 does not change. Pressing the cursor key 72 to the left (Figure 5) preferably makes the selectable options 106a-c of the program guide displayed in the center column of the display screen 52 instead of the selectable options P959 108a-? of the program guide and causes the highlighted region 62 (Figure 4) to move from the selectable option 108d of the program guide to the selectable option 106c of the program guide. Although the vertical position of the selectable option 106c of the program guide is not identical to the previous vertical position of the selectable option 108d of the program guide, the vertical position of the selectable option 106c of the program guide is as close as possible to that of the selectable option 108d of the program guide. If desired, the highlighted region 62 can be moved to the upper position of the selectable option of the program guide (eg, 106a or 110a) if the new category of the program guide and its programs are moved to the horizontally central position. selectable options, associated with the program guide, using a cursor, horizontal key. Category 110 of the program guide (MSO Showcase) is related to services of the type offered by a multi-system operator (MSO) or cable system operator. The selectable options llOa-f of the program guide are associated with a category 110 of the program guide. When a user selects option 110a of the program guide, the P959 ^^^^ ^ «| ^^ * «&j next pay-per-event events in a list sorted by time. When a user selects option 110b from the program guide, the next pay-per-view events are displayed in a list sorted by title. When the selectable option 110c of the program guide is selected, information on special pay-per-event events such as boxing events and other old events is displayed. Information on premium television services or premium services, such as premium movie channels, is provided in the HOd selectable option in the program guide. The llOe selectable option in the program guide allows the user to access information about the MSO, such as who to call for technical assistance or information about service options. The HOf selectable option in the program guide contains adult service information. In addition to presenting the information in the service options, the selectable options llOa-b and HOf of the program guide can provide the user with information such as the telephone number to call or an order screen to complete it so that the user can order pay-per-event events, special events, premium channels and services for adults. Category 112 of the program guide P959 t "" "~ fflt5 * '- •" •' > - • (Spectator's Choice) is related to the options selectable by the viewer. The selectable options 112a-f of the program guide are associated by category 112 of the program guide. When a user selects option 112a of the program guide, it allows the user to adjust a view of favorite channels. The selectable option 112b of the program guide allows the user to select programs to be recorded by a video cassette recorder such as the cassette recorder 32 (Figure 2). The selectable option 112c of the program guide relates to the messages sent from the cable system operator at the distribution facility 16 (Figure 1) to the customers. For example, a message may contain the information from a special source for a next payment per event. The selectable option 112d of the program guide allows the user to adjust the limits, such as a monthly expense limit for a family account on a pay-per-view basis. The selection of option 112e of the guide of programs allows the user to adjust the configurable options for the user's equipment 44 (Figure 3). Option 112f of the program guide provides the user with useful information related to the viewer's choices. 25 If desired, categories of the P959 ^. ^ á ^^,?, ^, ^ ^ í ^^ program guide in a vertical column instead of a horizontal row. Figure 8 shows this type of arrangement. In the -inhibition 118 screen, categories 120, 122 and 124 of the program guide are arranged in a 5 column. Although it is possible to adjust more categories of the program guide on the display screen 118, only about three program categories are preferentially displayed at a time to avoid visual clutter of the display screen. The capacity of the categories Additional 10 of the program guide and selectable, associated options of the program guide are indicated by arrows 126 and 128. The selectable options 120a, 120b, 120c and 120d of the program guide are associated with category 120 of the program guide. The options Selectable 122a, 122b, 122c and 122d of the program guide are associated with category 122 of the program guide. Selectable options 124a, 124b, 124c and 124d of the program guide are associated with category 124 of the program guide. The availability of additional selectable 122 options of the program guide in the vertically central row of the display screen 18 is indicated by the arrow 123. The program guide 122a-d options and associated program guide 122 are displayed Preferably in the vertically central row of the P959 ^ MttMBaa-aiaiA ^ --- s? display screen 118. Alternatively, these items may be displayed in the top row, bottom row, or any other desired row if more than three rows are displayed. Options 120a-d of the program guide and selectable options 124a-d of the program guide can be hidden from view, which allows informational messages, such as those shown in Figure 4, to be displayed above. and below the selectable options 122a-d of the program guide. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 8, selectable options 120a-d of the program guide and selectable options 124a-d of the program guide may be displayed with diminished visibility relative to selectable options 122a- d of the program guide. This diminished visibility can be achieved by displaying categories of the program guide, otherwise colored in black and white, by displaying the selectable options of the program guide as if they were not focused, by reducing the intensity of the image of the options selectable from the program guide, or by otherwise distorting the display format of the selectable options 120a-d and 124a-d of the program guide. These arrays reduce visual distortion and focus the user's attention on the row centrally P959 exhibited more selectable options from the program guide, while simultaneously providing the user with a strong visual clue as to the presence of selectable options 120a-d and 124a-d of the program guide. Because the display of selectable options 120a-d and 124-d of the program guide with decreased visibility occupies the majority of the screen area above and below the selectable options 122a-d of the program guide, it can be use an information region 130 to display information for the current, selectable option of the program guide, (i.e., the selectable option, highlighted 122b of the program guide) and its associated category of the program guide (i.e. , category 122 of the program guide). The current time in the region 132 can be displayed. The navigation with the menu structure shown in Figure 8 is preferably similar to the navigation with the menu structure shown in Figure 4, except that the functions of the keys 72 and 74 of horizontal cursor and the functions of vertical cursor keys 68 and 70 are reversed. For example, the user can change the horizontal position of the highlighted region 134 within the selectable options 122a-d of the program guide using the cursor keys 72 and 74, P959 horizontal. To move a new category of the program guide and the selectable, associated options of the program guide to the vertically central row of the display screen 118, the user can press either 5 upward key 68 or downward key. 70. The foregoing is only illustrative of the principles of this invention and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. For example, you can use any suitable number of categories of the program guide and any suitable number of categories of the program guide can be displayed on the screen at the same time. Similarly, any suitable number of selectable options can be used in the program guide and can display on the screen any suitable number of the selectable options of the program guide at the same time. In addition, any suitable number of selectable options in the program guide can be associated with a given category of the program guide. Can be used several categories of the program guide and the options and the program guide.

P959

Claims (22)

1. CLAIMS: 1. An interactive program guide, comprising: a control circuitry that: 5 simultaneously displays a line of categories of the program guide and only a perpendicular, individual line of the selectable options of the associated program guide with a given category of the displayed categories of the program guide, in such a way 10 that one end of the line perpendicular the selectable options of the program guide aligns with the given category of the displayed categories of the program guide; and replace at least some of the categories 15 showcased the program guide and the selectable options of the program guide with new categories of the program guide and selectable options of the program guide when changing the new categories of the program guide and options 20 selectable from the program guide in your position instead of the displayed categories of the program guide and the selectable options of the program guide.
2. 2. The interactive program guide according to claim 1, wherein in the control circuitry 25 exhibits a highlighted region in one of the options P959 ¡Im ^ - ------------------- i selectable from the program guide.
3. 3. The interactive program guide according to claim 2, wherein in the control circuitry changes the new categories of the program guide and the selectable options of the program guide in their position in response to an order from a cursor key .
4. 4. The interactive program guide according to claim 3, wherein the control circuitry exhibits the region highlighted in the same position within the new selectable options of the program guide according to the highlighted region was displayed in the selectable options of the guide of programs replaced by the new selectable options of the program guide.
5. The interactive program guide according to claim 2, wherein in the control circuitry it displays an informative message for one of the selectable options of the program guide in which the highlighted region is displayed.
6. 6. The interactive program guide according to claim 2, wherein in the control circuitry it places the highlighted region among the selectable options of the program guide in the perpendicular line in response to an order from a cursor key. P959
7. 7. The interactive program guide according to claim 2, wherein in the control circuitry it selects one of the selectable options of the program guide in which the highlighted region is to be displayed in response to an order from a button select the remote control.
8. 8. The interactive program guide according to claim 1, wherein in the control circuitry it exhibits a perpendicular line of the selectable options of the program guide that have a diminished visibility in relation to the displayed perpendicular line of the selectable options of the program. program guide.
9. 9. The interactive program guide according to claim 1, wherein in the control circuitry it moves the selectable options of the program guide.
10. 10. The interactive program guide according to claim 1, wherein in the control circuitry it exhibits the categories of the program guide in a row.
11. 11. The interactive program guide according to claim 1, wherein in the control circuitry it displays the selectable options of the program guide according to the column.
12. 12. A method to provide a guide P959 interactive program, comprising: simultaneously displaying a line of the program guide categories and only an individual line, perpendicular to the selectable sections of the program guide that are associated with a given category of the categories displayed in the guide programs, so that one end of the perpendicular line of the selectable options of the program guide align with the given category of the categories displayed in the program guide; and replace at least some of the categories displayed in the program guide and the selectable options of the program guide with new categories of the program guide and selectable options of the program guide by changing the new categories of the program guide and the selectable options of the program guide in its position instead of the displayed categories of the program guide and the selectable options of the program guide.
13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising displaying a highlighted region in one of the selectable options of the program guide.
14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising changing the new categories of the program guide and the selectable options of the guide P959 programs in its position in response to an order from a cursor key.
15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising, displaying the highlighted region in the same position within the new selectable options of the program guide as the highlighted region was displayed in the selectable options of the program guide replaced by the new selectable options from the program guide.
16. The method according to claim 13, further comprising displaying an informational message for one of the selectable options of the program guide in which the highlighted region is displayed.
17. The method according to claim 13, further comprising placing the highlighted region among the selectable options of the program guide on the perpendicular line in response to an order from a cursor key.
18. The method according to claim 13, further comprising selecting one of the selectable options of the program guide in which the highlighted region is to be displayed in response to an order from a select button of the remote control.
19. 19. The method according to claim 12, further comprising, exhibiting a perpendicular line of the P959 non-selectable options of the program guide that have a diminished visibility in relation to the perpendicular line, exhibited of the selectable options of the program guide.
20. The method according to claim 12, further comprising moving the selectable options from the program guide.
21. 21. The method according to claim 12, further comprising, displaying the categories of the guide of 10 programs in a row.
22. 22. The method according to claim 12, further comprising displaying the selectable options of the program guide in a column. P959 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An interactive program guide system is provided. The program guide system has a logically flat browser menu structure drawn from the categories of the program guide and the selectable options of the program guide. The categories of the program guide correspond to quite broad groups of the characteristics of the program guide. The selectable options of the program guide correspond to more specific characteristics of the program guide. Each category of the program guide has selectable options, associated with the program guide. The program guide categories can be displayed in a row across the top of the display screen. You can display the selectable options of the program guide in the same column as the category of the program guide with which they are associated. You can place a highlighted region in one of the selectable options in the program guide. The selectable options of the program guide can be moved using a pair of vertical cursors. Pressing a horizontal cursor while the highlighted region is in one of the selectable options of the program guide results in a new category of the program guide and the associated column of options P959 selectable from the djp * guide - programs are displayed in place of the originally displayed category of the program guide and the associated selectable options of the program guide. P959