METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING A MENU STRUCTURE FOR AN INTERACTIVE INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

• US 20030052905A1
• Filed: 07/22/1999
• Published: 03/20/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast IP Holdings I LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sedna Patent Services LLC
• Inventors: GORDON, DONALD F., BAYRAKERI, SADIK, LUDVIG, EDWARD A., EDMONDS, JEREMY S.
• Granted Patent: US 7,117,440 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/700
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4314 for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4351 involving reassembling additional data, e.g. rebuilding an executable program from recovered modules
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6547 comprising parameters, e.g. for client setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8166 involving executable data, e.g. software arrangements for executing specific programs G06F9/44; broadcasting computer programmes in broadcast systems H04H20/91; involving the movement of software or configuration parameters H04L67/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A method and apparatus for providing an improved interactive menu structure for an on-screen program guide within an interactive information distribution system. The menu structure is generated in service provider equipment and delivered to subscriber equipment as a digital video bitstream. The menu structure enables a viewer to view program schedules in an interactive manner with substantially no latency when switching from one program guide page to another. A mask and reveal technique is used to provide an interactive environment through which a viewer can identify programming, preview programming, launch multi-media programming for viewing, and cause other events within an information distribution system to occur.

Claims

1. A program guide for an interactive information distribution system comprising:

a video layer; and

a graphics layer, where the graphics layer provides emphasis and de-emphasis of an object or objects in the video layer.

2. The program guide of claim 1 wherein said video layer contains a video region and a graphical region.

3. The program guide of claim 1 wherein said program guide is generated in a central location of said information distribution system.

4. The program guide of claim 2 wherein the video region contains a video barker having associated audio.

5. The program guide of claim 2 wherein said graphical region contains a list of program titles.

6. The program guide of claim 1 wherein said emphasis and de-emphasis is performed by masking or revealing an object.

7. The program guide of claim 6 wherein, to perform said masking and revealing, the graphics layer selectively changes an opacity of a region of the graphics layer.

8. The program guide of claim 1 wherein the video layer and graphics layer are contained in an applet.

9. The program guide of claim 1 wherein an identity of an emphasized object is controlled by a viewer.

10. The program guide of claim 1 wherein the emphasized object is a selectable object.

11. The program guide of claim 1 wherein the emphasized object is highlighted.

12. The program guide of claim 1 wherein said video layer contains a plurality of objects and said graphics layer emphasizes a select number of the objects and de-emphasizes a remainder of objects.

13. The program guide of claim 12 wherein said objects are a list of program titles.

14. The program guide of claim 1 wherein the graphics layer is prestored in a user terminal.

15. The program guide of claim 1 wherein the graphics layer is transmitted to a user terminal.

16. A method of interaction for a program guide:

generating, within service provider equipment of an information distribution system, a bitstream representing a program guide having a video layer and a graphics layer;

communicating said bitstream to subscriber equipment;

converting, within said subscriber equipment, said bitstream into a display of said program guide.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising the step of producing a mask/reveal overlay within said subscriber equipment.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein said producing step further comprises extracting said a mask/reveal overlay from said graphics layer in said bitstream.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein said mask/reveal overlay is dynamically updated using information from said graphics layer that is extracted from the bitstream.

20. The method of claim 16 further comprising identifying objects in the display through manipulation of a user input device.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein said identifying step further comprises the step of emphasizing an object with respect to other objects.

22. The method of claim 21 further comprising the step of selecting an emphasized object to initiate a new context.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein said new context is a preview video.

24. The method of claim 22 wherein said context is an advertisement video.

25. The method of claim 16 further comprising the step of extracting a different program guide from said bitstream.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein each said program guide has audio that is common to multiple program guides.

28. The method of claim 16 wherein all object identification functions are preformed locally to the subscriber equipment.

29. The method of claim 16 further comprising identifying an object and selecting the identified object to synchronously jump from broadcast mode to pointcast mode.

30. The method of claim 29 further comprising the step of returning to the broadcast mode when a pointcast transmission ends.

31. The method of claim 16 wherein identification and selection of an object causes the graphics layer to emphasize certain objects with respect to remaining objects.

32. The method of claim 16 further comprising the steps of:

selecting an emphasized object in said program guide;

communicating the selection to service provider equipment; and

sending, from said service provider equipment, a multi-media bitstream corresponding to said selected object.

33. The method of claim 32 wherein said multi-media bitstream is a video-on-demand movie.

34. The method of claim 16 further comprising the steps of:

selecting an emphasized object in said program guide;

causing an event in the service provider equipment, where said event is on or more of tuning to an analog channel, tuning to a digital channel or launching a resident capability in the service provider equipment.