Method of data display for electronic program guides (EPGs) on a remote control
First Claim
1. A method of displaying electronic program guide (EPG) data on a remote control comprising a display, comprising:
- defining a logical grid on said display of the remote control, said grid having a plurality of columns and a plurality of rows, wherein each said column has associated therewith a beginning time and an end of a time period;
displaying in a first cell formed at an intersection of a first row and a first column, program information for a first program associated with a first source; and
displaying in a second cell formed at an intersection of said first row and a second column, program information for a second program associated with a second source.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of displaying Electronic Program Guide (EPG) data on a remote control in substantially a grid format, without using “channel” information as an axis. Instead of being presented by channel and time, the data is presented only by time. Thus, program information from multiple channels may be displayed in a single row. Various truncation algorithms allow program descriptions to be shortened, enabling placement of the descriptions into gaps or empty cells in an available row, whereas without the truncation the program description would not have fit into the gaps. For example, when there is a program X in the grid on a first line with at least one gap, and another program Y in the grid on a second line, where Y spans a time slot corresponding to at least one of the gaps on program X'"'"'s line, either X'"'"'s title or Y'"'"'s title, or both, can be truncated, and Y'"'"'s title can be moved to X'"'"'s line. Another opportunity occurs when there is a program X that runs for an extended period of the day, representing “ongoing” content, such that the exact start and end time of the program adds little value to an EPG display. Its listing in the EPG grid may be truncated at start and/or end as needed, to allow its placement in any available empty cell or cells. Another aspect of the invention involves using the techniques described above to display EPG data for multiple categories on the same display.
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Citations
60 Claims
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1. A method of displaying electronic program guide (EPG) data on a remote control comprising a display, comprising:
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defining a logical grid on said display of the remote control, said grid having a plurality of columns and a plurality of rows, wherein each said column has associated therewith a beginning time and an end of a time period;
displaying in a first cell formed at an intersection of a first row and a first column, program information for a first program associated with a first source; and
displaying in a second cell formed at an intersection of said first row and a second column, program information for a second program associated with a second source. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 33, 36, 37, 40, 41, 42, 56)
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17. A method of displaying electronic program guide (EPG) data on a remote control comprising a display, comprising:
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defining a logical grid on said display of the remote control, said grid having a plurality of columns and a plurality of rows, wherein each column has associated therewith a beginning time and an end of a time period;
displaying in a first cell formed at an intersection of a first column and a first row, program information for a first program associated with a first source; and
displaying in a second cell formed at an intersection of a second column and a second row, program information for a second program associated with said first source.
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31. An apparatus for displaying an electronic program guide (EPG) data comprising:
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a remote control capable of sending wireless commands;
a display incorporated on said remote control;
a logical grid defined on said display, said grid having a plurality of columns and a plurality of rows, wherein each said column has associated therewith a beginning time and an end of a time period;
program information for a first program associated with a first source displayed in a first cell formed at an intersection of a first row and a first column; and
program information for a second program associated with a second source displayed in a second cell formed at an intersection of said first row and a second column. - View Dependent Claims (32, 34, 35, 38, 39, 43, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 58, 59, 60)
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47. An apparatus for displaying electronic program guide (EPG) data comprising:
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a remote control capable of sending wireless commands;
a display incorporated on said remote control;
a logical grid defined on said display, said grid having a plurality of columns and a plurality of rows, wherein each column has associated therewith a beginning time and an end of a time period;
program information for a first program associated with a first source displayed in a first cell formed at an intersection of a first column and a first row; and
program information for a second program associated with a first source displayed in a second cell formed at an intersection of a second column and a second row.
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Specification