MXPA00000759A - Tv graphical user interface providing selection among various lists of tv channels - Google Patents

Abstract

A TV graphical user interface (GUI) in a satellite TV system enables users to create customized lists of TV channels. Everyday, favorite and theme lists may be generated to respectively combine TV channels being watched regularly, favorite TV channels and channels relating to particular subjects. An oval list name object is arranged on a screen to indicate the name of the currently selected list of TV channels. The users may click on the list name object to make their selection among various TV channel lists available in the TV system. In a channel changer mode, the TV GUI displays a graphical channel changer composed of channel boxes that show numbers and logos of TV channels in the currently selected list. To switch the TV set to a required TV channel, the user clickss on the graphical channel box that indicates the required channe. In a program guide mode, a list of TV programs may be provided based on the channel changer. Vertical program bars that display TV programs are aligned with the channel boxes indicating TV channels that carry the corresponding TV programs. To identify various TV channel lists available in the TV system, the oval list name object, as well as the channel boxes and program bars, are displayed in a color that represents a selected TV channel list.

Description

INTERFACE Q INTERCONNECTION WITH THE USER, GRAPH OF, OF TELEVISION, WHICH PROVIDES THE SELECTION BETWEEN VARIOUS TELEVISION CHANNEL LISTS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to television (TV) systems, and in particular, to an interface or interconnection with the user (GUI), graphic, TV, novel, which facilitates access to the user to several pre-selected lists of TV channels . 2. Description of Related Art The increasing availability of TV broadcasting and interactive services has created a need for a new type of TV control system that would provide the user with access to the options offered by the TV program providers. For example, direct broadcast satellite services require users to make their selection from approximately one thousand TV channels to several TV programs and services. The Ref.032608 direct television satellite broadcast is provided by means of direct broadcast satellites at an upper link frequency of 17.3 to 17.9 GHz and a downlink frequency of 12.2 to 12.7 Ghz. A digital satellite television system for broadcasting direct television includes a transmitter for transmitting television signals including audio and video components for a satellite. The satellite retransmits the received television signals to an outdoor antenna assembly that includes a disk-shaped antenna and a block converter. The disk-like antenna directs the received television signals to the block converter which converts the frequencies of the received television signals to respective lower frequencies. The television signals produced by the block converter are connected by means of a coaxial cable to an internal satellite receiver coupled to a television. The receiver the satellite tunes, demodulates and processes the received television signals in another way to provide video and audio signals with a form of NTSC, PAL or SECAM suitable for processing by the TV device that produces an image on a screen of display in response to video signals, and an audible response by means of loudspeakers in response to audio signals. Within the transmitter, the analog audio and video signals are converted to the respective digital signals compressed according to the coding standard of the Motion Picture Expert Group (MPEG). The resulting digital signals are represented by a packet stream that includes the error correction data. The type of packages is identified by a heading code. The type of packages is identified by a heading code. The packets corresponding to the control data can also be added to the packet stream. In the MPEG standard, the video information can be transmitted in the form of a luminance component (Y) and two components of the color difference (U and V). For example, the first component of the color difference may represent the difference between the information of the red image and the information of the luminance image (RY), and the second component of the color difference may represent the difference between the information of the blue image and the information of the luminance image (BY). In addition, the color information is compressed because the two components of the color difference correspond to more than one element of the image. The use of the components of the color difference and the component compartment of the color difference between the elements of the image, reduces the width of the transmission band. The digital information resulting from the compression and coding of the error correction is modulated on a carrier using the modulation of the Quaternary Phase Displacement Encryption (QPSK) and transmitted to a satellite for retransmission. The satellite receiver comprises a tuner for selecting the appropriate carrier signal retransmitted by the satellite and for converting the frequency of the selected carrier to an intermediate frequency (IF) signal. A QPSK demodulator demodulates the IF signal and supplies it to an error correction decoder to correct the demodulated packets representing the audio and video information. An MPEG decoder decodes and decompresses the audio and video packets to form the digital video and audio signals supplied to a TV set. A top box of the TV set serves to supply compressed digital audio and video signals in the usable form in real time for one or more TV sets. A TV program guide that represents a list of available TV programs and services can be displayed on a TV screen to facilitate the user access to TV programs and services. When the digital satellite television system can provide approximately 1, 000 TV channels with several programs and TV services, it could be convenient to create a customized programming list with a reduced number of channels. For example, a list of "diary", "favorites", or "topics" can be constructed. The journal list could include TV channels that the user wants to watch each day. The favorite list could contain the favorite TV channels. The list of topics could combine TV channels that relate to a specific topic, for example, movie channels or sports channels. In a conversion TV GUI, substantial time and effort are required to change from the commonly observed list of TV channels to a desired personalized channel list. For example, a user may need to make several selections among the options provided by intermediate menus.

It might be desirable to provide a TV GUI that facilitates access to the users to several customized lists of TV channels. Also, it may be desirable to provide a visual indication that makes it possible for the user to recognize the currently displayed list of the TV channels.

Brief Description of the Invention Accordingly, an advantage of the present application is in the provision of an interface or interconnection with the user (GUI), graphic, TV, which facilitates access to the user of several personalized lists of TV channels. Another advantage of the present application is in the provision of a visual indication that makes it possible for the user to recognize the list currently displayed of the TV channels. The above and other advantages of the invention will be achieved, at least in part, by providing a television system comprising a CPU, and a TV monitor controlled by the CPU to exhibit an interconnection with the graphic user. A graphic channel changer on a TV screen includes channel objects that represent the TV channels of a list of TV channels selected from a plurality of lists of TV channels preprogrammed by a user. A name object of the list is assigned or arranged on the screen to switch the channel changer from a first list of TV channels to a second list of TV channels when the user activates an indication device addressed to the name of the channel. the list. According to a first aspect of the invention, the object of the name of the list shows a name of the list of TV channels commonly represented by the channel changer. According to another aspect of the invention, the object of the name of the list, as well as the objects of the channel, can be identified by a first color when the changer of the channel represents the first list of TV channels, and by a second color. when the changer of the channel represents the second list of TV channels. According to a further aspect of the invention, the GUI may include an electronic TV program guide containing a schedule of TV programs for a predetermined period of time for the TV channels of the list of commonly selected TV channels. The electronic program guide switches from a first planning of TV programs for the first list of TV channels to a second planning of TV programs for the second list of TV channels when the user activates an indicating device directed to the object of the program. name of the list. The electronic TV program guide comprises program bars aligned with the objects of the channel to indicate the TV programs carried by the TV channels of the list of commonly selected TV channels. The bars of the vertical program can be identified by the first color when the program guide represents the first planning of TV programs, and by the second color when the program guide represents the second planning of TV programs. According to another aspect of the invention, the channel changer can switch from the second list of TV channels to a third list of TV channels when the user activates the indication device addressed to the object of the name of the list representing the second list of TV channels. Also, the electronic program guide can switch from the second planning of TV programs for the second list of TV channels to a third planning of TV programs for the third list of TV channels when the user activates the directed indication device to the object of the name of the list that represents the second list of TV channels. According to a further aspect of the invention, the object of the name of the list, as well as the channel objects and the vertical program bars, can be identified by a third color when the channel changer represents the third list of channels of the channel. TV. According to a method of the present invention, the following steps are carried out to select the personalized lists of the TV channels; verify a position of a cursor moved by an indicating device, detect when the cursor is placed on the object of the name of the list, and re-show or draw the objects of the channel to indicate the TV channels in a following list of a preset sequence of the TV channel lists when the indication device is activated. According to another aspect of the invention, a TV monitor is controlled by a CPU to display the lists of the TV channels. An indicator of the name of the list of TV channels is provided on a screen to enable a user to switch from a first list of TV channels to a second list of TV channels when an indicating device directed to the name indicator the list of the TV channel is activated once, and to make it possible for the user to switch from the first list of TV channels to a third list of TV channels when the indicating device is directed to the indicator of the name of the channel list TV is activated twice. Still other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in this art from the following detailed description, wherein only the preferred embodiment of the invention is shown and described, simply by way of illustration in the best manner contemplated carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other and different modalities, and its various details will be capable of modifications in several obvious respects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description will be considered illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.

Brief Description of the Drawings The objects and features of the present invention, which are believed to be novel, are described with particularity in the appended claims. The present invention, both in terms of its organization and its manner of operation, together with the additional objects and advantages, can be better understood by reference to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which : Figure 1 is a block diagram of a satellite receiver of the present invention; Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating a drawing procedure of the graphic object; Figure 3 illustrates the contents of a color look-up table; Figure 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of the interactions between a CPU and a graphics accelerator; Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating the arrangement of the pixels on a TV screen; Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating the TV GUI in a channel changer mode; Figures 7 and 8 are diagrams illustrating the switching from a daily list of TV channels to a list of favorite TV channels; and Figure 9 is a diagram illustrating the TV GUI in a program guide mode.

Description of the Preferred Modalities The best way to practice the invention is based on the realization of a satellite receiver in a digital satellite television system. However, it is to be understood that the present invention is applicable to any system for receiving TV signals. Reference is now made to Figure 1 of the drawings wherein the internal satellite receiver 300 includes an analog radio frequency (RF) tuner 302 such as a demodulator of the front end of the satellite manufactured by Sharp / Comstream. The RF tuner 302 is coupled by means of an external UHF / VHF to an external unit that receives the input television signals from a satellite. The external unit may comprise a 45.72 cm (18") antenna made of aluminum and double low noise block converters that convert the satellite signals into a frequency range from 12.2-12.7 GHz received by the antenna on the interval signals frequency 950-1450 MHz. The RF tuner 302 equipped with a local oscillator and mixer selects the appropriate carrier signal corresponding to a satellite TV channel selected from the 950-1450 MHz signals received from the external unit. The frequency of the selected carrier is converted to an intermediate frequency (IF) signal fed to an analog-to-digital converter 304 that produces the digital IF signal.A digital demodulator 306 effects the demodulation of QPSK of the digital IF signal and leads to perform multiple error correction algorithms required to decode the error correction data contained in the received signal. the error correction algorithms of Viterbi and Reed-Solomon can be used. A single ASIC manufactured by Comstream can be used as the digital demodulator 306. The decoded digital signal is fed to a transport chip 308 responsible for demultiplexing the video, audio and data signals. The transport unit 308 is also connected to a card 310 to provide conditional access to the satellite receiver 300. The card 310, such as a Smart Card manufactured by the News Data Corporation, controls access to paid channels. and services that use the Data Coding Standard (DES). The broadband or extended data is fed to the transport unit 308 by means of an aperture 312 of the extended web that provides compatibility with an NTSC format of 16: 9 width. The opening for the extensive band is also controlled by the conditional access system. A separator 34 is used to support the operation of the transport chip. A static random access memory of 128Kx8 (SRAM) with the access speed of 70 ns can be used as the separator 314. The transport chip 308 directs the audio and video signals to an MPEG 316 decoder, although the data is made available for a CPU 318. The MPEG 316 decoder provides the decompression of the audio and video signals according to the MPEG standard. For example, you can use a MPEG STÍ3520 decoder from a single chip. By way of example, reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 5,198,901 to Lynch of March 30, 1993; to U.S. Pat. No. 5,293,229 of Iu of March 8, 1994; to U.S. Pat. No. 5,311,310 of Jozawa et al., May 10, 1994; to U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,105 of Iu of November 1, 1994; to U.S. Pat. No. 5,386,234 to Veltman et al. of January 31, 1995; and to U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,076 of Iwamura of March 21, 1995. These descriptions and citations referred there may be consulted for an understanding of the specific details of conventional MPEG decompression arrangements. The MPEG decoder 316 of the preferred embodiment is supported by a synchronous RAM 320 formed by four DRAMs of 256Kxl6 with the access speed of 70 ns capable of retaining 3 cycles of recurring pulses of the MPEG audio and video data, and the control information. The decompressed video data in the format YUV are fed to a digital video encoder 322. The decompressed audio data is supplied to the video encoder 322, and to a digital-to-analog audio-to-analog converter (DAC) 323 to convert the digital audio signals into the analog form. A single chip AK4319 DAC, manufactured by Asahi Kasei, can be used as the DAC 323. The operations of the satellite receiver 300 are supported by the CPU 318 such as a Motorola 68340 16 MHz microcircuit CPU. An external observation glass is used to derive the 16 MHz internal clock. The CPU 18 can have an external data bus of 16 bits and a 32 bit data bus for internal operations. The CPU 318 can operate the PSOS + operating system developed by Integrated Systems Inc. The CPU 318 is supported by a ROM 324, a SRAM 326 and an EEPROM 328. ROM 324 containing the PSOS + operating system, menus, sources, and other fixed data, can be formed by two 4Mbitios masked ROM chips organized as 512Kx8 with access speed of 95 ns. The SRAM 326 formed, for example, by two 1 MBitio SRAM micro-chips organized as 128Kx8 with access speed of 70 ns, can be used to store all active data such as batteries or batches of the system, variables, data of the menu, etc. ROM 324 and SRAM 326 can operate at a zero wait state to provide maximum performance. EEPROM 328, for example, a unique 8Kx8 EEPROM chip with access speed of 150 ns, can store non-volatile data such as user preferences.

To improve the graphics display capabilities of the satellite receiver 300, a graphics accelerator 330, such as an MCD212 graphics accelerator manufactured by Motorola, is used as a co-processor. Graphics accelerator 330 allows receiver 300 to increase the speed of screen updates and provide up to 256 colors in the graphics image. Also, the accelerator provides graphic effects such as cleaning, dissolving, fading, etc., during menu transitions on a TV screen, and supports operations of a remote indication device such as an Airmouse®. This type of remote indication device is manufactured by Seletech and Airmouse Remote Controls. The output of the accelerator 330 of the graphics produced in the RGB format is fed to a converter circuit 332 for conversion into the YUV format. The graphics accelerator 330 may be supported by a 4 Mbps synchronous RAM 334 provided, for example, on a single 256Kxl6 DRAM chip with the access speed of 70 ns. The RAM 334 used to store the data of the graphics is capable of storing two graphics planes with a resolution of 720x480 pixels. The graphics accelerator 330 allows two graphics planes to be combined to produce various graphic effects. The data of the graphics from the conversion circuit 332, and the audio and video data decompressed from the MPEG decoder 316, are supplied to separate inputs of the digital video encoder 322 such as a Phillips 7184 encoder of a single chip. The video encoder 322 is responsible for encoding the video, audio and digital graphics data to produce a composite composite signal in the NTSC format. For example, U.S. No. 5,489,947 of Cooper of February 6, 1996, incorporated herein by reference, discloses an arrangement of display on the screen (OSD) that allows the data of the graphics to be displayed on a screen of a television set together with the image. represented by the video signals received, or instead of this image. A single control bit can be used by the video encoder 322 to switch its output from the data of the graphics to video and back. The video encoder 322 also produces audio and video signals from the baseband. The video signals of the base band are separated by a pair of video operation amplifiers 336 coupled to the video connectors. The baseband audio signals are fed into the 323 stereo audio DAC to convert an analog format and supply to the audio connectors. Audio and video connectors can be coupled to external devices such as stereo receivers, TVs or VCRs. The combined composite signal from the video encoder 322 can be fed to an NTSC modulator 338 that modulates the composite signal to either channel 3 or 4 of a TV set coupled to the modulator 338. The modulator 338 also allows the composite signal combined is derived to a cable / antenna input of the TV set. The operations carried out to display graphic and video images on the screen of the TV set will be described in greater detail later. The TV set coupled to the receiver of the satellite 300 can display the data of the graphics representing an interface or interconnection with the user, graphical (GUI) that allows a user to control the operations of the satellite receiver 300, and provides access to the user to the services and options offered by the digital satellite TV system. For example, the graphics on the TV set screen may represent a graphic channel changer which makes it possible for a user to select the TV channels. Another example of a graphical presentation on the TV screen is an electronic program guide containing the names of the TV programs arranged or distributed in a 2-dimensional array, in which the TV channels are listed vertically, and the time of diffusion is listed in the horizontal direction. Several aspects of the GUI that include the graphic channel changer and the electronic program guide are described in more detail later. A modem 340, such as a 1200 baud SSI modem of a single chip, is provided to support communications by means of an aperture 342 for the narrow band, used for signal transmission of the low bandwidth, or by means of a support or telephone jack connected to a telephone line. For example, the modem 340 can support remote billing and interactive services. A microcontroller 344 such as an 87593 Phillips microcontroller controls the functions of the receiver that are related to the control, interconnection and display devices arranged on the front panel of the satellite receiver 300. Among such devices are an interconnect 346 for the receiver device. indication, the front panel controls 348, and a vacuum fluorescent screen (VFD) 350. The interconnection 346 of the indicating device enables a remote optical indication device such as an Airmouse® to provide wireless control of the satellite receiver 300. By way of example, reference is made to the US patent No. 5,045,843 of Hansen of September 3, 1991, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,348 to Pilcher et al., Dated October 25, 1994 for descriptions of the arrangements and operation of the Airmouse®. For example, the interconnect 346 of the indicating device may comprise an infrared (IR) transmitter and receiver that provides infrared communications with a display device located up to 7 meters away from the receiver 300 at an angle of up to 45 degrees. This type of remote indication device has been used mainly to move the cursor of a personal computer. The indication device of the Airmouse® type according to the invention points directly to a screen of the television set to provide direct interactions between the hand of the user holding the indicating device, and the TV screen. The indicating device may comprise a cursor control circuit which moves a cursor on the TV screen in response to the position of the indicating device with respect to, for example, the IR transmitter on the front panel of the receiver. The interconnect 346 of the indicating device supports the GUI by providing and controlling the RF tuner 302 of the satellite receiver to respond to the access of the present user, at random, to any point on the TV screen. Selections are made by clicking on one of the buttons of the indication device. For example, at any time when there are no graphics on the screen, a click brings up the graphic objects used in the channel's charger mode. The interactions between the GUI and the remote indication device are described in more detail in the co-pending application SN, entitled "TELEVISION GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE EMPLOYING REMOTE RANDOM ACCESS POINTING DEVICE ", presented concurrently with the same and incorporated for reference In addition to the optical indication device, a control unit for remote hand holding of the satellite receiver 300 may also include several buttons intended to provide, for example, ON and OFF switching, channel and volume control, selection between regular TV broadcast and satellite broadcast, etc. Front panel control 348 provides control of the GUI in the If the remote indication device is lost or inoperable, the controllers 348 may include a key of the TV / Satellite receiver to switch between regular TV broadcasting and satellite broadcasting. Select, or "click" can be provided to control the operating modes.The cursor keys can be arranged to move the l cursor on the TV screen in several directions. The VFD 350 is provided to show the number and time of the common TV channel. Also, the VDF 350 can indicate the strength of the common input signal and other operational information. Reference is now made to Figure 2 which illustrates the drawing of color graphic objects on a TV screen according to the present invention. As described above, the CPU 318 interacts with the graphics accelerator 330 used as a coprocessor to improve the graphics capability of the satellite receiver 300. The CPU 318 can be coupled to the graphics accelerator 330 by means of a busbar of the external 24-bit address 402, and a 16-bit 404 data bus. The busbar of the 24-bit address 402 makes it possible for the CPU 318 to address up to 16 Mbytes of a graphics memory. This storage capacity corresponds to a direction space from 000000 to ffffff in the hexadecimal notation. Various arrays of graphics memory can be organized in this address space, since each location of the memory is addressable in only one way. For example, the memory capacity of graphics 334 may be equal to 4Mbit or 512Kbytes. Assuming that the address space of the graphics memory corresponds to the middle part of the system memory map, the $ 800000 hex address can be selected as the location of the lowest graphics memory, and the address $ 87ffff it can be designed as the memory address of the higher graphs. The memory of the graphics 334 may be coupled to the graphics accelerator 330 via the lines 406 of the memory address and the lines 408 of the memory data. The graphics accelerator 330 makes it possible for a TV set to display up to 16 million different colors. However, only 256 different colors can be displayed on any screen at any given time. As a result, each unique pixel exhibitable on a TV screen can be represented by a single 8-bit value. Accordingly, each pixel stored in the memory 334 of the 512K bytes graphics is represented by a single 8-bit value or one byte. Each graphics plane stored in the memory of the graphics 334 is provided by a rectangular array of 720x480 pixels representing an image on the TV screen. For example, the pixels can be stored in the graphics memory 334 from top left to bottom right in the order of the rows. Therefore, the top left pixel of the screen lies in the location of the memory of the $ 800,000 hex graphics. The second pixel on top line 1 is stored in $ 800001 hex, etc. The last pixel of the top line 1 is maintained in $ 8002D0 hex. The first pixel of the next line 2 is at the memory location of the $ 8002D1 hex graphics., etc. The bottom right hand corner of the screen corresponds to the location $ 8545ff of the memory of the graphics 334. Accordingly, the arrangement of the graphics memory corresponds to a rectangular X, Y coordinate system on the TV screen, wherein 720 pixels in each line of the array are arranged in the horizontal direction X, and 480 pixels in each row of the network are arranged in the vertical direction Y. The graphics accelerator 330 contains a color look-up table (CLUT) which converts the 256 elements representing the values of the 8-bit pixel stored in the memory of the graphics 334 to the 24-bit values composed of the red (R), green (G), and blue (B) bytes corresponding to the components of R, G, and B of an image in the RGB format. The CLUT can be programmed by the CPU 318 to reproduce any possible color in a 24-bit color space. Figure 3 illustrates some typical colors reproducible by the CLUT. For example, the black color composed of the red, green, and blue bytes represented by $ 0 hex may correspond to the $ 0 hex location of the CLUT. The white color composed of the $ ff red, green, and blue hex bytes may correspond to the location $ 4 hex CLUT, etc. When the CLUT is programmed, the CPU 318 has access to the memory of the graphics 334 to write the values of the data representing the graphs. The graphics accelerator 330 scans the graphics memory 334 at a speed of 13.5 MHz to read the graphics data. Each value of the 8-bit pixel is transferred to the CLUT which converts it into a 24-bit color value in the RGB format. As described above, the converter 332 converts the value of the RGB color into the YUV format, and passes a 24-bit digital YUV value to the digital encoder 322 which converts it into analog NTSC luminance and chrominance signals, for example, at a rate of 13.5 MHz. The NTSC coding method carried out by the encoder 322 is well known to those skilled in the art. The analog luminance and chrominance signals by means of the TV modulator 338 are supplied to the TV set. Figure 4 shows a flow diagram illustrating an example of the interactions between the CPU 318 and the graphics accelerator 330 to draw a red square of 240x240 pixels in the middle of a television screen with a black background. In step 602, the CPU 318 resets the graphics accelerator 330. In step 604, the CPU 318 programs the CLUT in the graphics accelerator 330 to set or fix the location of the CLUT $ 0 hex to reproduce the black color, that is, the red, green and blue bytes in this location are set or placed in $ 0 hex. In step 606 the CPU 318 adjusts the $ 1 hex location of the CLUT to reproduce the red color, ie a red byte in this location is set to $ ff hex, and the green and blue bytes are set to $ 0 hex. In steps 608 and 610, the CPU 318 conducts a closed circuit to black out the TV screen.

The $ 800,000 + 1 locations of the graphics memory 334 are set to $ 0 hex, for I ranging from $ 0 hex to $ 545ff hex. In steps 612-622, the CPU 318 performs a double closed loop to draw the red 240x240 pixel box on the screen. The double closed circuit comprises an external closed circuit carried out to fix the pixels in the rows (Y direction on the screen) of the graphics memory 334 to $ 1 hex to reproduce them in the red color, and an internal closed circuit to fix the pixels in the lines (X direction) of the graphics memory 334 in $ 1 hex to reproduce them in the red color. The graphic objects displayed on the TV screen are represented by a 2-dimensional arrangement of the pixels. For example, as shown in Figure 5, the TV screen can be represented by an array of 720x480 pixels corresponding to a graphics plane stored in the graphics memory 334. 720 pixels can be arranged over the screen in the horizontal direction X, while 480 pixels can be arranged in the vertical direction Y. In order to perform the drawing operations of the graphics, the CPU 318 can use an X, Y coordinate system shown in Figure 5, where the coordinates X = 0, Y = 0 represent the upper left corner of the TV screen, and the coordinates X = 720, Y = 480 represent the lower right hand corner of the screen. It should be noted that due to the conditions of "Overscan", a television receiver can produce a picture on its screen so that the horizontal and vertical directions may not be completely visible to the user. Therefore, TV broadcast systems prevent images from being displayed outside a "secure title" area located within approximately a 10% limit around the edge of the screen. As shown in Figure 5, the secure title area contains approximately 576 pixels in the horizontal direction, and 400 pixels in the vertical direction. With such a scheme, the top left hand corner of the secure title area is located at the position X = 72, Y = 40. The lower right hand corner of the secure title area has the coordinates X = 648, Y = 440. On the diagrams described below that illustrate the GUI's functional modes, a box of external solid lines represents the edge of the TV screen, and an interrupted line shows the limit of the area of the secure title. The graphic objects displayed in various GUI modes are shown according to the drawing procedure of the graphic object described above with reference to Figures 2-4. Reference is now made to Figure 6 which shows the TV GUI of the present invention in a channel changer mode which makes it possible for users to select a required TV channel among about 1000 channels provided by the satellite receiver. A TV set coupled to the receiver of the satellite 300 exhibits a changer of the graphic channel 800 having a vertical channel bar including the graphic channel boxes 802 representing the TV channels available in the satellite receiver 300. For example, each Box 802 can contain the channel number and the logo of a TV channel. In a digital satellite TV system, the channel bar can represent approximately 1,000 TV channels. A restricted number of boxes 802 can be displayed on the TV screen at any given time. For example, Figure 6 shows that six boxes 802 representing channels 287-292 are displayed simultaneously. The bar of vertical channels can be represented by 120x300 pixels. For example, its upper left corner may have the coordinates X = 122, Y = 90, and its lower right corner may be arranged at X = 242, Y = 390. The up and down scrollbars 804 and 806 can be distributed near the channel bar to allow a user to move up and down through the complete list of TV channels. For example, the scroll bars 804 and 806 shown in Figure 6 represent channels 100 to 999. A single click of the indication device button causes the changer of the channel 800 to move up or down a channel with respect to the channels of TV currently represented in the boxes of the channels 802. For example, when the user clicks on the up scroll bar 804, the boxes 802 will move from the channels 287-292 to the channels 286-291. A single click on the down scroll bar 806 will cause the boxes 802 to move from the channels 287-292 to the channels 288-293. Holding the button on the display device down can cause the list of TV channels to scroll continuously. An indicator 808 of the relative position shows the position of the TV channels currently displayed in the boxes of the channel with respect to the other TV channels. To switch the TV set to a required TV channel, the user directs the indicating device to the box 802 of the graphic channel containing the number and logo of the required channels. The movement of the display device held in the user's hand causes the cursor to move to the box 802 of the required graphic channel. The coordinates of the indicating device may be supplied to the microcontroller 344 on a periodic basis, for example, 60 times a second. The CPU 318 generates the X, Y coordinates that correspond to a path for the movement of the cursor in alignment with the movement of the indicating device. The movement of the cursor is achieved by multiple erasures and redraws of the cursor image made on the route to the selected position. When the required cursor position is reached, the cursor may press a button to be selected on the indicating device to tune to the required channel. In response to the user command, the CPU 318 sends a tuning command to the RF tuner 302 to tune the satellite receiver 300 to the required TV channel. It can be difficult to find a required channel among the 1,000 channels provided by satellite TV, when the user does not know the required channel number. A shortcut channel bar 810 presented below the channel bar has a graduated scale representing the available TV channels. The numbers of the first and last channels are respectively placed on the top and bottom of the scale. For example, the channel bar 810 has the numbers 100 and 999 on its upper and lower part indicating that the TV channels 100 to 999 are represented. When a user points the indicating device to a selected region of the channel bar 810, the boxes of the channels 802 display the numbers and logos of the TV channels represented by this selected region. The operations of the bar of direct access channels 810 are described in greater detail in the co-pending application SN, of the same assignee entitled "TELEVISION GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE HAVING CHANNEL CONTROL BARS", presented concurrently with it and incorporated for reference. Each component of the graphic channel changer can be displayed using the procedure described above to draw color graphic objects on a TV screen. When the user directs the remote indication device in a GUIDE 812 of the graphic button, the TV GUI switches to a program guide mode to show the TV programming carried by the channels included in the commonly selected channel list. A graphic button HELP (HELP) 814 causes the TV GUI to switch to a help mode to assist the user in navigating through the graphic options. The graphic channel changer 800 allows the user to include any combination of TV channels in a list of channels to be displayed. An object 816 of the oval list name may be arranged below the channel bar to indicate the name of the commonly selected list of TV channels represented by the channel 800 changer, and to enable the user to change the list. For example, the commonly selected list may include all of the channels provided by the satellite TV system. Alternatively, the list of "diary", "favorites" or "theme" channels can be selected. The journal list includes the TV channels that the user wants to watch regularly. The favorite list can combine the favorite TV channels. The list of topics may contain TV channels that refer to a specific topic, for example, sports or movie channels. List 818 of Selection A of the Graphic Button allows the user to select one of several available lists of TV channels. A content 820 of the Change List of the graphic button makes it possible for the user to change the content of an existing list or to create a new custom list. When the cursor is moved over any of the graphic buttons, they change their color to show the user that the corresponding button is activated, and if clicked will cause the system to perform the required task. When the user clicks on the button of the Contents of the Change List 820, the TV GUI switches to the content mode of the change list that makes it possible for the user to create a personalized list of TV channels and add or remove the TV channels to and from an existing list of TV channels. The content module of the change list is described in more detail in our co-pending SN application, entitled "GRAPHICAL TELEVISION USER INTERFACE PROVIDING CUSTOMIZED LISTS OF PROGRAMMING", presented concurrently with it and incorporated for reference. As mentioned above, indicator 816 of the oval list name makes it possible for the user to change the currently selected list of TV channels. When the indicating device held in the user's hand causes the cursor to move towards the indicator of the name of the list 816 (Figure 7), the CPU 318 shows the position of the cursor to generate the X, Y coordinates corresponding to a route for the movement of the cursor in alignment with the movement of the indicating device. When the CPU 318 determines that the cursor is within the object area of the oval list name 816, the color of the name object of the list 816 changes to indicate that the object is active. When the selection button on the indication device is pressed, the CPU 318 initiates the switching to another list of the TV channels created by the user in the content mode of the change list. For example, when the object of the name of the oval list 816 in Figure 7 shows that the currently selected list of the TV programs is the journal list, a single click on the 816 object may cause the commutation to the favorites list. . As shown in Figure 8, once the user clicks on the name object of the "DAILY" list 816, the boxes of channel 802 are redrawn to display the numbers and logos of the TV channels from the favorites list. Object 816 of the name of the oval list is redrawn to replace the "DAILY" label with the word "FAVORITES" to indicate that the favorite list of the TV channels is selected. Another click on the object of the name of the oval list 816 can cause the GUI to switch to the list of topics of the TV channels to include them in the channel changer 800, for example, only the movie channels. The oval list 816 can be redrawn to display the word "THEME" indicating that the list of topics is selected. The order, in which several of the TV channel lists follow each other, can be defined in ROM 324, SRAM 326, or EEPROM 328. For example, once the user clicks on the object of the name from the "DAILY" list 816, the GUI can switch to the favorite list of TV channels. The next click on the object 816 can cause the switching to the list of topics of the TV channels. If the user clicks on object 816 again, the GUI can return to the journal list of the TV channels.

To indicate to the user which list of TV channels is selected, the color of the channel changer 800 and the name object of the oval 816 list changes when the GUI switches from one list of TV channels to another. As described above, the graphics accelerator 330 contains the color look-up table (CLUT) which converts the 256 elements representing the values of the 8-bit pixels stored in the memory of the graphics 334 into the 24-bit values composed of the red (R), green (G), and blue (B) bytes that correspond to the R, G, and B components of an image in an RGB format. The CLUT can be programmed by the CPU 318 to reproduce any possible color in a 24-bit color space. For example, in Figure 7, the boxes of the channels 802 and the object of the name of the oval list 816 representing the journal list of the TV channels may be colored blue. In Figure 8, the boxes of the channels 802 and the object of the name of the oval list 816 representing the diary list of the TV channels can be displayed in coffee. When the list of topics of the TV channels is selected, the boxes of the channels 802 and the object of the name of the oval list 816, can be colored purple. Reference is now made to Figure 9 which illustrates the GUI of the present invention in a program guide mode that enables users to observe TV programming information for the TV channels of various TV channel lists. In this mode, the TV GUI of the present invention exhibits an electronic program guide 900 based on the graphic channel changer 800. This arrangement allows users to review the programming information of the TV, and then, select a channel of TV that carries a desired TV program by directing the remote indication device in the channel box 802 for the selected TV channel. In addition to the channel changer 800, the program guide 900 comprises the horizontal program bars 902 which indicate that the TV programs carried by the TV channels for a predetermined period of time. For example, ninety minutes of programming can be displayed. Each horizontal program bar 902 is aligned with the channel box 802 which represents the TV channel carrying the TV programs indicated in this program bar 902. Below the horizontal bars 902 are the time legends indicating the time of TV programs represented by horizontal bars 902. For example, the electronic program guide 900 shown in Figure 9 contains TV programming from as early as 7 pm until 8.30 p.m. A 904 horizontal time scroll bar can be arranged below the weather captions to make it possible for the user to observe a planning of the TV programs before and after the time indicated by the weather legends. A graphic MORE (MAS) 906 button allows the user to select any period of time for which a planning of the TV programs is required. A shortcut time bar 908 similar to the direct access channel bar 810 makes it possible for the user to have access to a TV program planning for a selected region of the time bar 908 by directing the indication device in the region selected In addition, the TV GUI operating in the program guide mode can keep the channel scroll bars up and down 804 and 806, and the direct access channel bar 810. Accordingly, the program guide 900 is formed outside the channel changer 800 when the TV GUI switches from channel changer mode to program guide mode. For example, the user can click on the guide button 812 to display the program guide 900. No redrawing of the vertical channel bar is effected. The two-dimensional program / time grid appears instantly aligned with the graphics for the channel changer. This allows the user to go quickly and unhindered from the channel selector mode to the program guide mode, and after that, select a TV channel that carries a desired TV program by directing the remote indication device in the channel box 802 for the selected TV channel. The switching of the GUI in the program guide mode is described in more detail in our co-pending application SN, entitled "GRAPHICAL TELEVISION USER INTERFACE THAT COMBINES ELECTRONIC PROGRAM GUIDE WITH GRAPHICAL CHANNEL CHANGER" presented concurrently with it and incorporated for reference. The horizontal program bars 902 in the program guide 900 represent the programs carried by the TV channels of the list of commonly selected TV channels. The name object of the oval 816 list is maintained in the program guide mode to display the name of the commonly selected list of TV channels. For example, the "DAILY" label on the object of the name of the list 816 in Figure 9 indicates that a program guide for the journal list of the TV channels is commonly displayed. In the program guide mode, the user can click on the name object of the oval 816 list to switch to a program guide for another list of TV channels. For example, a single click on the object of the name of the "DAILY" list 816 can cause the switching to a program guide for the favorite list of the TV channels. The following click may cause the transfer to a program guide for the list of TV channel themes, etc. To identify several lists of the TV channels in the program guide mode, the bars of the horizontal program 902, together with the boxes of the channel 802 and the object of the name of the oval list 816, can be presented in a color that represents a particular list of TV channels. For example, in Figure 9, the bars of the program 902, the boxes of the channel 802, and the object of the name of the list 816 that represents the journal list of the channels of T can be colored in blue. For the list of favorites of the TV channels, the bars of the program 902, the boxes of the channels 802, and the object of the name of the list 816 can be presented in coffee. The list of TV channel themes can be represented by the program guide elements colored in purple. Accordingly, an interface or interconnection with the user, graphic, TV (GUI) has been described therein in a satellite TV system that provides approximately 1000 TV channels. The TV GUI makes it possible for the user to create custom lists of TV channels. The diary, favorites, and theme lists can be generated to respectively combine the TV channels that are watched regularly, the favorite TV channels and the channels that relate to particular objects. An object of the name of the oval list is arranged on a screen to indicate the name of the currently selected list of TV channels. Users can click on the object of the name of the list to make their selection among several lists of TV channels available on the TV system. In a channel changer mode, the TV GUI displays a graphic channel changer composed of channel boxes that display the numbers and logos of the TV channels in the commonly selected list. To switch the TV set to a required TV channel, the user clicks on the box of graphic channels indicating the required channel. In a program guide mode, a list of TV programs can be provided based on the channel changer. The vertical program bars displayed by the TV programs are aligned with the channel boxes that indicate the TV channels that carry the corresponding TV program. To identify several lists of TV channels available on the TV system, the object of the name of the oval list, as well as the boxes of the channels and the program bars, they are displayed in a color that represents a list of selected TV channels. In this description, only the preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, but it is to be understood that the invention is capable of changes and modifications within the scope of the inventive concept as expressed herein.

It is noted that in relation to this date the best method known by the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is that which is clear from the present description of the invention.

Having described the invention as above, property is claimed as contained in the following

Claims (20)

1. A television (TV) system, comprising: a CPU, and a TV monitor controlled by the CPU to display a graphic channel changer having channel objects to represent the TV channels of a first list of selected TV channels between a plurality of TV channel lists preprogrammed by a user, characterized in that the CPU is configured to arrange an object of the name of the list on a TV monitor screen to switch the changer of the channel from the first list of TV channels to a second list of TV channels when the user activates an indication device directed to the object of the name of the list.

2. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the object of the name of the list shows a name of a list of TV channels commonly represented by the changer of the channels.

3. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the object of the name of the list is identified by a first color when the changer of the channel represents the first list of TV channels, and by a second color when the changer of the channel represents the second list of TV channels.

4. The system according to claim 3, characterized in that the objects of the channel are identified by the first color when the channel changer represents the first list of TV channels, and by the second color when the channel changer represents the second list of channels. TV channels.

5. The system according to claim 4, characterized in that the TV monitor also exhibits an electronic TV program guide which contains a first planning of the TV program for a predetermined period of time for the TV channels of the first channel list. of TV.

6. The system according to claim 5, characterized in that the electronic program guide switches from the first planning of TV programs for the first list of TV channels to a second planning of TV programs for the second list of TV channels when the user activates an indicating device directed to the object of the name of the list.

7. The system according to claim 6, characterized in that the electronic TV program guide comprises program bars to indicate the TV programs carried by the TV channels of a list of commonly selected TV channels.

8. The system according to claim 7, characterized in that the bars of the vertical program are identified by the first color when the program guide represents the first planning of TV programs, and by the second color when the program guide represents the second planning. of TV programs.

9. The system according to claim 8, characterized in that the bars of the program are aligned with the objects of the channel.

10. The system according to claim 9, characterized in that the changer of the channel switches from the second list of TV channels to a third list of TV channels when the user activates the indicating device addressed to the object of the name of the list that represents the second list of TV channels.

11. The system according to claim 10, characterized in that the electronic program guide switches from the second planning of the TV program for the second list of TV channels to a third planning of the TV program for the third list of TV channels when the user activates the indication device addressed in the object of the name of the list representing the second list of TV channels.

12. The system according to claim 11, characterized in that the object of the name of the list is identified by a third color when the changer of the channel represents the third list of TV channels.

13. The system according to claim 12, characterized in that the objects of the channel are identified by the third color when the changer of the channel represents the third list of TV channels.

14. The system according to claim 7, characterized in that the bars of the vertical program are identified by the third color when the program guide represents the third planning of the TV programs.

15. In an interface or interconnection with the user, graphic, displayed on a TV monitor and having channel objects to indicate the TV channels, and an object of the name of the list to identify a first list of commonly selected TV channels by a user, a method of selecting the personalized lists of the TV channels, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: verifying a position of a cursor moved by an indicating device, detecting when the cursor is placed on the object of the name of the list, and redraw the objects of the channel to indicate a second list of TV channels when the indicating device is activated.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that it further comprises the step of redrawing the objects of the channel to indicate a third list of TV channels when the indicating device is activated again.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that the object of the name of the list is identified by a first color when the first list is selected, by a second color when the second list is selected, and by a third color when the third one is selected. list is selected.

18. The system according to claim 17, characterized in that the objects of the channel are identified by the first color when the first list is selected, by the second color when the second list is selected, and by the third color when the third list is selected. .

19. A TV system, characterized in that it comprises: a CPU, and a monitor controlled by the CPU to display the lists of the TV channels, and an indicator of the name of the list of TV channels to enable a user to switch from a first list of TV channels up to a second list of channels of TV when an indication device addressed to the name indicator of the TV channel list is activated once, and to enable the user to switch from the first list of TV channels to a third list of TV channels when the Indicator device directed to the name indicator of the TV channel list is activated twice.

20. The TV system according to claim 19, characterized in that the displayed lists of the TV channels are identified by a first color, when the first list is selected, by a second color when the second list is selected, and by a third. color when the third list is selected. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an interface or interconnection with the graphic user (GUI) of TV, in a satellite TV system that makes it possible for users to create customized lists of TV channels. The diary lists, the favorites and the themes can be generated to respectively combine the TV channels that are watched regularly, the favorite TV channels and the channels that refer to particular subjects. An object of the name of the oval list is arranged on a screen to indicate the name of the commonly selected list of TV channels. Users can click on the object of the name of the list to make their selection among several lists of TV channels available on the TV system. In a channel changer mode, the TV GUI exhibits a changer of the graphic channel composed of boxes of channels showing the numbers and logos of the TV channels in the commonly selected list. To switch the TV set to a required TV channel, the user clicks on the box of the graphic channel indicating the required channel. In a program guide mode, a list of TV programs can be provided based on the channel changer. The vertical program bars displayed by the TV programs are aligned with the boxes of the channels that indicate the TV channels that carry the corresponding TV programs. To identify several lists of TV channels available in the TV system, the object of the name of the oval list, as well as the channel boxes and the bars of the programs, are displayed in a color representing the list of TV channels selected.