Interactive user interface for television applications

• US 20030084449A1
• Filed: 09/19/2002
• Published: 05/01/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications Management LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: TVWorks LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Haber, Darrel, Hegde, Prakash, Chung, Alex, Marenghi, Matt, Moreau, Samuel, Ahmad-Taylor, Ty, Chane, Lena D.
• Granted Patent: US 8,365,230 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2355 involving reformatting operations of additional data, e.g. HTML pages optimising the visualization of content for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/9577; tracking of instant messages H04L51/234; media packet handling at the source H04L65/762
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2665 Gathering content from different sources, e.g. Internet and satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4437 Implementing a Virtual Machine [VM] virtual machines in general G06F9/45533
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4438 Window management, e.g. event handling following interaction with the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4786 e-mailing message switching systems, e.g. electronic mail systems H04L51/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8543 using a description language, e.g. Multimedia and Hypermedia information coding Expert Group [MHEG], eXtensible Markup Language [XML] information retrieval of semistructured data, the underlying structure being taken into account, e.g. mark-up language structure data G06F16/80
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8545 for generating interactive applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen

Abstract

An iTV user interface includes a navigable menu area through which a user can select from among a variety of services and a content display area in which formatted data associated with a selected menu service are displayed to the user. The formatted data is displayed in a rotating or ticker fashion having both a passive mode, in which the formatted data is displayed in a sequence independent of any selection operations by a television viewer, and active mode, in which the formatted data is displayed in a sequence that depends on selection operations by the television viewer. Advertisements and/or promotions may be interspersed among the content items. The navigable menu area and the content display area may be displayed to the viewer at the same time as television programming is displayed on the television.

Claims

1. A content collection, distribution and display system, comprising:

a server component configured to (i) capture content for display to a television viewer by harvesting data from multiple data sources according to content collection rules specified in a configuration file that identifies locations from which the content can be harvested, and (ii) produce a set of data files that include the harvested data, business rules and display rules for such data;

a distribution component coupled to receive the data files produced by the server component and to transmit the data files to a receiver utilizing a transmission channel; and

a client component configured to receive the data files via the transmission channel and to populate a user interface, displayable to the television viewer simultaneously with other television programming via the receiver, with the harvested data as formatted data subject to the business rules and display rules.

2. A content collection, distribution and display system as in claim 1, wherein the user interface includes a menu area that provides access to a variety of services into which the content can be categorized and a content display area in which those portions of the formatted data associated with a selected menu service are displayed to the television viewer.

3. A content collection, distribution and display system as in claim 2, wherein content otherwise not associated with the selected menu service is displayed in the content display area.

4. A content collection, distribution and display system as in claim 3, wherein one or more of the individual content items displayed in the content display area of the user interface comprise advertisements and/or promotions.

5. A content collection, distribution and display system as in claim 4, wherein the individual content items and/or advertisements and/or promotions are linked to other applications.

6. A content collection, distribution and display system as in claim 5, wherein the advertisements and/or promotions are displayed prior to a linked application being executed.

7. A content collection, distribution and display system as in claim 4, wherein at least one of the advertisements and/or promotions is displayed in the content display area after all individual content items of a selected menu service have been so displayed and before other individual content items of another of the menu services are displayed.

8. A content collection, distribution and display system as in claim 4, wherein one or more of the advertisements are linked to a service within an interactive television service.

9. A content collection, distribution and display system as in claim 4, wherein one or more of the promotions are linked to an interactive capability to self-provision a service related to the one or more promotions.

10. A content collection, distribution and display system as in claim 2, wherein the portions of the formatted data associated with a selected menu service are displayed in the content display area of the user interface in a rotating fashion such that individual content items are displayed for configurable periods of time and then automatically replaced with new content items.

11. A content collection, distribution and display system as in claim 2, wherein the variety of services include one or more of:

video on demand services, game services, television programming related content services, managed content services, special interest services, self-provisioning services, chat services, email services, and television programming guide services.

12. A content collection, distribution and display system as in claim 11, wherein displayed categories and services change dynamically as new services are introduced and/or new business rules are defined by a network operator.

13. A content collection, distribution and display system as in claim 2, wherein the user interface further includes a content user interface component that displays designated content regardless of what information is displayed in the content display area.

14. A content collection, distribution and display system as in claim 13, wherein the designated content comprises date, time, temperature, channel, and/or program information.

15. A content collection, distribution and display system as in claim 2, wherein the services are navigable via a control path associated with the receiver.

16. A content collection, distribution and display system as in claim 15, wherein the receiver comprises a set-top box unit and the control path comprises a remote control unit for the set-top box unit.

17. A content collection, distribution and display system as in claim 1, wherein the formatted data is displayable via the user interface in both a passive mode, in which the formatted data is displayed in a sequence independent of any selection operations by the television viewer, and active mode, in which the formatted data is displayed in a sequence that depends on selection operations by the television viewer.

18. A content collection, distribution and display system as in claim 1, wherein the formatted data is displayable via the user interface according to categories into which the formatted data is organized.

19. A content collection, distribution and display system as in claim 18, wherein the categories include one or more of:

news, weather, sports, entertainment, money/finance, travel, special interest, demographic, world, national, regional, and local information.

20. A content collection, distribution and display system as in claim 18, wherein the formatted data is displayable as individual content items within each of the categories for a configurable period of time on a rotating basis.

21. A content collection, distribution and display system as in claim 20, wherein each individual content item of a category is displayed prior to content items of other categories being displayed.

22. A content collection, distribution and display system as in claim 21, wherein interstitial advertising and/or promotional content items are displayed between content items of different categories.

23. A user interface for interactive television services, comprising:

a navigable menu area through which a user can select from among a variety of interactive television services; and

an information content area through which content pieces delivered to a television on which the user interface is displayed are displayed in ticker fashion, with advertisements and/or promotions interspersed among the content items.

24. A user interface for interactive television services as in claim 23, wherein the navigable menu area and the information content area are displayed at the same time as television programming is displayed on the television.

25. A user interface for interactive television services as in claim 24, wherein the content pieces are organized into categories and one or more of the advertisements and/or promotions are displayed between content pieces of different categories.

26. A user interface for interactive television services as in claim 25, wherein the categories include news, sports, weather, entertainment, money/finance, travel, special interest, demographic, world, national, regional, and local information.

27. A user interface for interactive television services as in claim 25, wherein the content pieces are displayed according to user selection of one of the categories.

28. A user interface for interactive television services as in claim 24, wherein the content pieces, advertising and promotions comprise text, graphics and/or video organized in the form of tiles.

29. A user interface for interactive television services as in claim 24, wherein the content pieces are displayed as individual content items within each of a number of categories for a configurable period of time on a rotating basis.

30. A user interface for interactive television services as in claim 29, wherein each individual content piece of a category is displayed prior to content pieces of other categories being displayed.

31. A user interface for interactive television services as in claim 30, wherein interstitial advertising and/or promotional content items are displayed between content pieces of different categories.

32. A user interface for interactive television services as in claim 23, wherein the content pieces and/or advertisements and/or promotions are linked to other applications.

33. A user interface for interactive television services as in claim 32, wherein the advertisements and/or promotions are displayed prior to a linked application being executed.

34. A user interface for interactive television services as in claim 24, wherein the navigable menu areas include one or more of:

video on demand services, game services, television programming related content services, managed content services, special interest services, self-provisioning services, chat services, email services, and television programming guide services.

35. A user interface for interactive television services as in claim 34, wherein communication alerts are displayed via the user interface.

36. A user interface for interactive television services as in claim 24, wherein the communication alerts comprise e-mail alerts.

37. A user interface for interactive television services as in claim 24, further comprising a designated content display area in which selected content is continually displayed regardless of the information displayed in the information content area.

38. A user interface for interactive television services as in claim 37, wherein the selected content comprises time, date, temperature, channel and/or program information.

39. A user interface for interactive television services as in claim 24, wherein the navigable menu area is automatically updateable according to interactive television services offered by a network operator.

40. A user interface for interactive television services as in claim 24, wherein the content pieces, advertising and promotions are delivered according to configurable business rules defining content distribution across a network.

41. A user interface for interactive television services as in claim 24, wherein the content pieces, advertising and promotions are organized according to configurable business rules to dynamically control the content and preferred placement of elements of content, including tiles, within displayed categories

42. A user interface for interactive television services as in claim 41, wherein the business rules are configured according to time of day, television channel, channel content, preferred placement, viewer demographic, viewer behavior, navigation context and/or content category.

43. A user interface for interactive television services as in claim 24, further comprising a network operator branding area through which network operator specified content is displayable.

44. A method, comprising:

receiving television programming and formatted data representing content items; and

displaying simultaneously (i) an interactive menu through which the content items are displayed in ticker fashion and interactive television services can be accessed, and (ii) the television programming.

45. A method as in claim 44, wherein the television programming is displayed in a scaled or overlay format.

46. A method as in claim 44, wherein the content items are categorized and all content items of a first of the categories are displayed before content items of a second of the categories.

47. A method as in claim 44, wherein the content items are categorized and each category is user selectable.

48. A method as in claim 47, wherein the categories include one or more of:

news, weather, sports, entertainment, money/finance, travel, special interest, demographic, world, national, regional, and local information.

49. A method as in claim 44, wherein one or more of the content items comprise advertisements and/or promotions.

50. A method as in claim 49, wherein the content items are displayed by category and at least one of the advertisements and/or promotions is displayed after all content items of a first category have been displayed and before content items of another category are displayed.

51. A method as in claim 49, wherein interstitial advertising and/or promotional content items are displayed between content items of different categories.

52. A method as in claim 49, wherein the individual content pieces and/or advertising and/or promotional content items are linked to other applications.

53. A method as in claim 52, wherein interstitial advertising and/or promotional content items are displayed prior to the linked applications being executed.

54. A method as in claim 44, wherein the interactive television services include one or more of:

video on demand services, game services, television programming related content services, managed content services, special interest services, self-provisioning services, chat services, email services, and television programming guide services.

55. A method as in claim 54, wherein the interactive menu further displays date, time, temperature, channel and/or program information.

56. A method as in claim 44, wherein the ticker fashion includes a passive mode, in which the formatted data is displayed in a sequence independent of any selection operations by a television viewer, and active mode, in which the formatted data is displayed in a sequence that depends on selection operations by the television viewer.

57. A method as in claim 44, wherein the formatted data is periodically updated.