User-customized interactive television ticker, including a feature for viewer exclusion of ticker topics

• US 20030167467A1
• Filed: 03/04/2002
• Published: 09/04/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Digeo Incorporated (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Digeo Incorporated (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Allen, Paul G., Markman, Michael J., Billmaier, David P.
• Application Number:
  US10/091,363
• Publication Number:
  US 20030167467A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/47
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• 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 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• 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 21/4755 for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4886 for displaying a ticker, e.g. scrolling banner for news, stock exchange, weather data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8126 involving additional data, e.g. news, sports, stocks, weather forecasts
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

The ticker for an interactive television system has user-customizable features, including a feature to exclude ticker topics dynamically from the display screen while the ticker is being presented and without the need to navigate to a static preferences screen. This allows the user to view only ticker items of interest. Excluded ticker topics are readily re-included without the use of a static preferences screen. Navigation and scrolling controls are used to customize the ticker presentation for the non-excluded ticker topics. Finer granularity of user customization within a topic itself is provided, including an ability to change modes or add content to a ticker. Implicit profiling is used in one implementation to customize the ticker by collecting viewer behavior data.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

in response to a received user command, customizing a manner of presentation of moving text items on a display screen, through a same screen interface that is configured to present the moving text items;

receiving data, corresponding to the moving text items, from an interactive video casting system; and

presenting the received data on the display screen as the moving text items in accordance with the customization.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the data is presented as the moving text items on the display screen in response to a first user activation of a button on a user input device, and wherein a second user activation of a button on the user input device removes the moving text items from the display screen.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting graphics along with the moving text items.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying a current time along with the moving text items.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein customizing the manner of presentation of the moving text items comprises excluding at least some of the moving text items from presentation.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising organizing the moving text items according to categories and subcategories, wherein excluding at least some of the moving text items from presentation comprises:

navigating to one of the categories to be excluded;

excluding the navigated category in response to another received user command; and

presenting moving text items organized under other categories.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising organizing the moving text items according to categories and subcategories, wherein excluding at least some of the moving text items from presentation comprises:

navigating to one of the categories;

navigating to one of the subcategories, to be excluded, under that category;

excluding moving text items organized under the navigated subcategory from presentation in response to another received user command; and

presenting moving text items organized under other subcategories.

8. The method of claim 5, further comprising organizing the moving text items according to categories and subcategories, wherein excluding at least some of the moving text items from presentation comprises:

navigating to one of the categories;

navigating to one of the subcategories under that category;

navigating to one of the moving text items, to be excluded, under that subcategory;

excluding that moving text item from presentation in response to another received user command; and

presenting other moving text items.

9. The method of claim 5, further comprising displaying a category or subcategory corresponding to excluded moving text items in a manner different than a category or subcategory corresponding to presented moving text items.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising including the excluded moving text items by selecting the category or subcategory displayed in a different manner.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein displaying the category or subcategory corresponding to excluded moving text items in a different manner comprises graying out the category or subcategory corresponding to the excluded moving text item, and wherein presenting the received data on the display screen as the moving text items in accordance with the customization includes skipping over the grayed out category or subcategory.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein customization of the manner of presentation of the moving text items comprises setting a mode under which the moving text items are presented.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising saving a setting corresponding to the command related to presentation of the moving text items.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein customizing the manner of presentation of the moving text items is performed based on viewer behavior data.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising removing the customization of the presentation of the moving text items in response to a navigation operation.

16. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a machine-readable medium having instructions stored thereon to;

customize a manner of presentation of moving text items on a display screen, through a same screen interface that is configured to present the moving text items, in response to a received user command; and

present data, corresponding to the moving text items and received from an interactive video casting system, on the display screen as the moving text items in accordance with the customization.

17. The article of manufacture of claim 16 wherein the instructions to customize the manner of presentation of the moving text items on the display screen include instructions to exclude some of the moving text items from presentation on the display screen.

18. The article of manufacture of claim 17 wherein the machine-readable medium further includes instructions stored thereon to include the excluded moving text items in response to a navigation operation.

19. The article of manufacture of claim 16 wherein the instructions to customize the manner of presentation of the moving text items on the display screen include instructions to base the customization on viewer behavior data.

20. An apparatus, comprising:

a means for customizing a manner of presentation of moving text items, through a same screen interface that is configured to present the moving text items, in response to a received user command;

a means for receiving data, corresponding to the moving text items, from an interactive video casting system; and

a means for presenting the received data on the display screen as the moving text items in accordance with the customization.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the means for customizing the manner of presentation of the moving text items is located at a client terminal in communication with the interactive video casting system.

22. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the means for customizing the manner of presentation of the moving text items is located at a server in the interactive video casting system.

23. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the means for presenting the received data on the display screen as the moving text items in accordance with the customization includes a means for excluding at least some of the moving text items.

24. A ticker for a video casting system, the ticker comprising:

a screen interface to present a plurality of movable text items, corresponding to data received from the video casting system, along with a video program; and

a customization feature, capable of activation via the screen interface that presents the movable text items, to allow customization of presentation of the movable text items in the screen interface.

25. The ticker of claim 24 wherein the customization feature allows exclusion of at least some of the movable text items.

26. The ticker of claim 24, further comprising:

a plurality of categories and subcategories, wherein the plurality of movable text items are organized under the subcategories; and

a navigation control to navigate among the categories, subcategories, and movable text items, wherein activation of a first set of keys on a user input device causes navigation between categories, wherein activation of a second set of keys on the user input device causes navigation through movable text items in one of the subcategories, and wherein activation of a button on the user input device selects at least one movable text item for presentation and excludes other movable text items from presentation.

27. The ticker of claim 26, further comprising a default mode, wherein the default mode is entered from a customized mode in response to navigation from a category or subcategory corresponding to an excluded movable text item to a category or subcategory corresponding to a presented movable text item.

28. The ticker of claim 26 wherein activation of the button on the user input device in conjunction with navigation to one of the subcategories via the second set of keys causes presentation of movable text items associated with that subcategory, and wherein activation of the button on the user input device in conjunction with navigation to one of the movable text items under any one of the subcategories results in continued presentation of that movable text item and exclusion of all other movable text items from presentation.

29. The ticker of claim 24 wherein the customization feature includes one of a feature to move a component, a feature to add user-specified data, a feature to resize a component, a feature to set a mode, a feature to base the customization on implicit user profile data, and a feature to base the customization on explicit user profile data.

30. The ticker of claim 24 wherein the customization feature comprises a feature to allow exclusion of ticker components, the ticker further comprising a navigational tool positioned in the screen interface to coincide with ticker components to be selected for exclusion in response to a user command.

31. The ticker of claim 24 wherein activation of a button on a user input device renders the screen interface on a display screen.

32. An apparatus for a video casting system, the apparatus comprising:

an interface to receive data sent from the video casting system;

a storage medium coupled to the interface to store a software program;

a processor, coupled to the storage medium and to the interface, to cooperate with the software program to format the received data as a corresponding plurality of movable text items; and

an output section to provide the plurality of movable text items to a display screen configured to present the plurality of movable text items through a screen interface, the software program including code to allow user customization of presentation, via the screen interface, of the movable text items.

33. The apparatus of claim 32 wherein the code to allow user customization of the presentation of the movable text items includes code to exclude at least some of the movable text items from presentation in response to navigation through the screen interface.

34. The apparatus of claim 32 wherein the code to exclude at least some of the movable text items from presentation includes code to include these excluded movable text items in response to navigation to their respective categories or subcategories via the screen interface.

35. A video casting system, comprising:

a source of data; and

an apparatus coupled to the source, the apparatus including;

an interface to receive data sent from the video casting system;

a storage medium coupled to the interface to store a software program;

a processor, coupled to the storage medium and to the interface, to cooperate with the software program to format the received data as a corresponding plurality of movable text items; and

an output section to provide the plurality of movable text items to a display screen configured to present the plurality of movable text items through a screen interface, the software program including code to allow user customization of presentation, via the screen interface, of the movable text items.

36. The system of claim 35 wherein the apparatus comprises a server.

37. The system of claim 35 wherein the apparatus comprises a client terminal.

38. The system of claim 35 wherein the code to allow user customization of the presentation of the movable text items includes code to exclude at least some of the movable text items from presentation in response to navigation through the screen interface.

39. The system of claim 35 wherein the source of the data comprises:

a feed server to receive a plurality of feeds of data and having a feed engine to manipulate the data received from the feeds;

a production server coupled to the feed server to receive the data manipulated by the feed engine, and coupled to a database having tables for the manipulated data received from the feed server, the production server being capable to change a format of the manipulated data to a format compatible with client terminals configured to present the movable text items on the display screen; and

a distribution server to send the manipulated data having the format compatible with the client terminals, the movable text items displayed on the display screen corresponding to that manipulated data.

40. A method usable in a video casting system, the method comprising:

in response to a received user command, customizing a manner of presentation of moving text items, through a same screen interface that is configured to present the moving text items;

receiving data, corresponding to the moving text items, from an interactive video casting system,

wherein a client terminal for a television for the video casting system is coupled to present the received data, through the screen interface on a display screen of the television, as the corresponding moving text items,

wherein the video casting system includes a plurality of sources, which provide the data, communicatively coupled to a plurality of broadcast centers,

wherein the broadcast centers are coupled to a server capable to provide the data from the sources to the client terminal, and

wherein the interactive video casting system is capable to provide the data to the client terminal via different communication channels, including at least one of a plurality of television broadcast channels, an out-of-band channel, and a communication channel with a communication network; and

presenting the received data on the display screen as the moving text items in accordance with the customization, the customization including a feature to exclude at least some of the movable text items from presentation.

41. The method of claim 40 wherein the broadcast center comprises part of a satellite television delivery system.

42. The method of claim 40 wherein the video casting system comprises an interactive television system.

43. A video casting system, comprising:

a source of data including;

a feed server to receive a plurality of feeds of data and having a feed engine to manipulate the data received from the feeds;

a production server coupled to the feed server to receive the data manipulated by the feed engine, and coupled to a database having tables for the manipulated data received from the feed server, the production server being capable to change a format of the manipulated data to a format compatible with client terminals configured to present the movable text items on a display screen; and

a distribution server to send the manipulated data having the format compatible with the client terminals, the movable text items displayed on the display screen corresponding to that manipulated data; and

an apparatus coupled to the distribution server of the source, the apparatus including;

an interface to receive data sent from the video casting system;

a storage medium coupled to the interface to store a software program;

a processor, coupled to the storage medium and to the interface, to cooperate with the software program to format the received data as a corresponding plurality of movable text items; and

an output section to provide the plurality of movable text items to a display screen configured to present the plurality of movable text items through a screen interface, the software program including code to allow user customization of presentation, via the screen interface, of the movable text items.

44. The system of claim 43 wherein the apparatus comprises one of the client terminals.

45. The system of claim 43 wherein the apparatus comprises a server remote from the client terminals.

46. The system of claim 43 wherein customization of the presentation includes exclusion of at least some of the movable text items from presentation.