Grid-like guided user interface for video selection and display

• US 20040073921A1
• Filed: 04/18/2003
• Published: 04/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kaleidescape Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Kaleidescape Incorporated
• Inventors: OʼNeil, Michael, Foley, Sheila A., Kesteloot, Lawrence, Novotny, Margaret, Buchenau, Marion, Neely, Shawn R.
• Granted Patent: US 7,246,322 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/45
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/54 Browsing; Visualisation therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/743 a collection of video files or sequences
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/78 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• 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 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

A UI including a “Guide,” presenting a list of videos, having data fields relating to each entry, possibly including multiple data values for a single data field. When focusing on a single entry, the focused-upon entry is expanded and emphasized. The focused-upon entry is highlighted and centered, while other entries have lesser highlighting and centering. When a data field is selected, the focused-upon data field is emphasized (by highlighting, repositioning, or resizing), while other entries have lesser emphasis. Display changes might appear after a brief delay, or in response to further user command. When entries are sorted on selected data fields, entries with multiple data values for those fields are replicated, and the sorting letter is highlighted. The user can move individually down the list of entries, or skip to the next section with a different data value for a selected field.

Claims

1. A method including steps of

generating a representation of a set of entries, said representation including a set of entries, each entry having a set of data fields, and a focus associated with at least one of said data fields in at least one of said entries, a set of said entries being incorporated into said representation;

representing one entry associated with said focus using a measure of detail regarding information in data fields for said one entry different from said entries not associated with said focus.

2. A method including steps of

generating, in response to a set of entries each having a set of data fields associated therewith, a representation of at least some of said entries, said representation including a relative ordering and a selection of values associated with at least some of said data fields;

and

rendering said representation in a visual format, said visual format including a measure of detail associated with each said entry, said measure of detail being responsive to at least one of (a) which said entry is a focused-upon entry, or (b) a measure of distance from said focused-upon entry.

3. A method as in claim 2, wherein

at least some said data fields include a plurality of values;

and

said measure of detail includes a number of said values selected to be displayed.

4. A method as in claim 2, wherein

at least some said data fields include a plurality of values;

and

said measure of detail includes up to a selected number of said values for said focused-upon entry, and includes one said value for entries that are not said focused-upon entry.

5. A method as in claim 2, wherein

at least some said data fields include a plurality of values;

said measure of detail includes up to a selected number of said values for said focused-upon entry, and includes one said value for entries that are not said focused-upon entry; and

said representation includes substantially all of said values for said focused-upon entry in response to an action other than selection of which said entry is said focused-upon entry.

6. A method as in claim 2, wherein

said measure of detail is relatively greater for said focused-upon entry.

7. A method as in claim 2, wherein

said measure of detail is responsive to at least one of (a) a physiologically or psychologically natural or pleasing time interval after selection of said focused-upon entry, or (b) a user command after or concurrent with selection of said focused-upon entry.

8. A method as in claim 2, wherein

said visual format includes a grid of screen regions, each disposed at an intersection of a plurality of axes, wherein a change in a first such axis indicates a change in entry, and wherein a change in a second such axis indicates a change in data field.

9. A method as in claim 2, wherein

said visual format includes a set of rows and a set of columns, defining a plurality of screen regions at a plurality of intersections of rows and columns;

and

each said screen region includes a set of values for an entry associated with said row and a data field associated with said column.

10. A method as in claim 2, wherein

said visual format includes at least one non-visual element.

11. A method as in claim 2, wherein

said representation includes a relative ordering of said data fields in response to at least one of (a) a set of user preferences entered by a user, or (b) a set of user preferences determined in response to past user activity.

12. A method as in claim 2, wherein

said representation includes a relative ordering of said data fields in response to at least one of (a) a set of values in at least one said focused-upon entry or at least one said focused-upon data field, or (b) a combination or comparison of values in a plurality of said focused-upon entries or a plurality of said focused-upon data fields.

13. A method as in claim 2, wherein

said representation includes a relative ordering of said data fields in response to at least one of (a) collaborative filtering associated with a recent set of focused-upon entries and focused-upon data fields, or (b) demographic information associated with the user, or (c) pseudo-random or random values.

14. A method as in claim 2, wherein

said representation includes a relative ordering of said data fields in response to at least one of (a) demographic information about a user, or (b) aggregate information about a set of users.

15. A method as in claim 2, wherein

said representation includes a relative ordering of said data fields in response to at least one of (a) which said entry is the focused-upon entry, or (b) a value for at least one data field for said focused-upon entry.

16. A method as in claim 2, wherein

said representation includes a relative ordering of said data fields in response to collaborative filtering in response to at least one of (a) past or present focused-upon entries, or (a) past or present focused-upon data fields.

17. A method as in claim 2, wherein

said representation includes a selection of a partial set of said data fields to be displayed in response to at least one of (a) a set of user preferences entered by a user, or (b) a set of user preferences determined in response to past user activity.

18. A method as in claim 2, wherein

said representation includes a selection of a partial set of said data fields to be displayed in response to at least one of (a) a set of values in at least one said focused-upon entry or at least one said focused-upon data field, or (b) a combination or comparison of values in a plurality of said focused-upon entries or a plurality of said focused-upon data fields.

19. A method as in claim 2, wherein

said representation includes a selection of a partial set of said data fields to be displayed in response to at least one of (a) information about a user, or (b) information about a set of users.

20. A method as in claim 2, wherein

said representation includes a selection of a partial set of said data fields to be displayed in response to at least one of (a) collaborative filtering associated with a recent set of focused-upon entries and focused-upon data fields, or (b) demographic information associated with the user, or (c) pseudo-random or random values.

21. A method as in claim 2, wherein

said representation includes a selection of a partial set of said data fields to be displayed in response to at least one of (a) which said entry is the focused-upon entry, or (b) a value for at least one data field for said focused-upon entry, or (c) a combination thereof.

22. A method as in claim 2, wherein

said representation includes selection of a partial set of said data fields to be displayed in response to collaborative filtering in response to at least one of (a) past or present focused-upon entries, or (a) past or present focused-upon data fields.

23. A method as in claim 2, wherein

said representation includes a transformation of a set of values in at least one of said data fields in response to at least one of (a) a set of user preferences entered by a user, or (b) a set of user preferences determined in response to past user activity.

24. A method as in claim 2, including steps of

altering said representation in response to selection of a focused-upon one of said data fields.

25. A method as in claim 24, wherein

said representation includes a selection of a partial set of said data fields to be displayed in response to at least one of (a) which said data field is the focused-upon data field, or (b) at least one value for said focused-upon data field.

26. A method as in claim 24, wherein said steps of altering include steps of

generating a new measure of detail associated with at least one of said data fields, said measure of detail being responsive to at least one of (a) which said data field is the focused-upon data field, or (b) at least one value for said focused-upon data field.

27. A method as in claim 26, wherein said new measure of detail is responsive to at least one of (a) a physiologically or psychologically natural or pleasing time interval after selection of said focused-upon entry, or (b) a user command after or concurrent with selection of said focused-upon entry.

28. A method as in claim 24, wherein

said representation includes a form of emphasis, said form of emphasis being responsive to a focused-upon one of said data fields.

29. A method as in claim 28, wherein

said form of emphasis includes a visual effect;

and

said visual effect is relatively more emphasized for said focused-upon data field or for data fields relatively closer to said focused-upon data field.

30. A method as in claim 28, wherein

said form of emphasis includes at least two visual effects;

a first said visual effect is relatively more emphasized for said focused-upon data field or for data fields relatively closer to said focused-upon data field;

a second said visual effect is applied to said focused-upon data field.

31. A method as in claim 28, wherein

said form of emphasis is relatively more emphasized in response to a measure of distance from said focused-upon data field.

32. A method as in claim 28, wherein

said form of emphasis is responsive to at least one of (a) a physiologically or psychologically natural or pleasing time interval after selection of said focused-upon data field, or (b) a user command after or concurrent with selection of said focused-upon data field.

33. A method as in claim 28, wherein

said form of emphasis includes at least one of highlighting, repositioning, or resizing.

34. A method as in claim 33, wherein said form of emphasis includes allocating a substantially wider screen region for said focused-upon data field.

35. A method as in claim 33, wherein said form of emphasis includes positioning said focused-upon data field either (a) substantially toward a left end, (b) substantially centered, or (c) substantially toward a right end.

36. A method as in claim 33, wherein said form of emphasis includes positioning said focused-upon data field substantially near a data field for a title.

37. A method as in claim 24, wherein said steps of altering include steps of

generating a new relative ordering and a selection of values for at least some of said data fields.

38. A method as in claim 37, wherein

said new relative ordering or said selection of values is responsive to at least one of (a) a physiologically or psychologically natural or pleasing time interval after selection of said focused-upon entry, (b) a user command after or concurrent with selection of said focused-upon entry.

39. A method as in claim 37, wherein

said relative ordering is responsive to at least one of (a) which said data field is the focused-upon data field, or (b) at least one value for said focused-upon data field.

40. A method as in claim 37, wherein

said selection of values for at least some of said data fields is responsive to at least one of (a) which said data field is the focused-upon data field, or (b) at least one value for said focused-upon data field.

41. A method as in claim 2, including steps of

altering said representation in response to selection of a focused-upon one of said entries.

42. A method as in claim 41, wherein

said representation includes a selection of a partial set of said entries to be displayed in response to at least one of (a) which said entry is the focused-upon entry, or (b) at least one value for a data field for said focused-upon entry.

43. A method as in claim 41, wherein said steps of altering include steps of

generating a new measure of detail associated with at least one of said entries, said measure of detail being responsive to at least one of (a) which said entry is the focused-upon entry, or (b) at least one value for a data field for said focused-upon entry.

44. A method as in claim 43, wherein said new measure of detail is responsive to at least one of (a) a physiologically or psychologically natural or pleasing time interval after selection of said focused-upon entry, or (b) a user command after or concurrent with selection of said focused-upon entry.

45. A method as in claim 41, wherein

said representation includes a form of emphasis, said form of emphasis being responsive to a focused-upon one of said data fields.

46. A method as in claim 45, wherein

said form of emphasis includes a visual effect;

and

said visual effect is relatively more emphasized for said focused-upon data field or for data fields relatively closer to said focused-upon data field.

47. A method as in claim 45, wherein

said form of emphasis includes at least two visual effects;

a first said visual effect is relatively more emphasized for said focused-upon data field or for data fields relatively closer to said focused-upon data field;

a second said visual effect is applied to said focused-upon data field.

48. A method as in claim 45, wherein

said form of emphasis is relatively more emphasized in response to a measure of distance from said focused-upon data field.

49. A method as in claim 45, wherein

said form of emphasis is responsive to at least one of (a) a physiologically or psychologically natural or pleasing time interval after selection of said focused-upon data field, or (b) a user command after or concurrent with selection of said focused-upon data field.

50. A method as in claim 45, wherein

said form of emphasis includes at least one of highlighting, repositioning, or resizing.

51. A method as in claim 50, wherein said form of emphasis includes allocating a substantially wider screen region for said focused-upon data field.

52. A method as in claim 50, wherein said form of emphasis includes positioning said focused-upon data field either (a) substantially toward a left end, (b) substantially centered, or (c) substantially toward a right end.

53. A method as in claim 50, wherein said form of emphasis includes positioning said focused-upon data field substantially near a data field for a title.

54. A method as in claim 41, wherein said steps of altering include steps of

generating a new relative ordering and a selection of values for at least some of said data fields.

55. A method as in claim 54, wherein

said new relative ordering or said selection of values is responsive to at least one of (a) a physiologically or psychologically natural or pleasing time interval after selection of said focused-upon entry, (b) a user command after or concurrent with selection of said focused-upon entry.

56. A method as in claim 54, wherein

said relative ordering is responsive to at least one of (a) which said data field is the focused-upon data field, or (b) at least one value for said focused-upon data field.

57. A method as in claim 54, wherein

said selection of values for at least some of said data fields is responsive to at least one of (a) which said data field is the focused-upon data field, or (b) at least one value for said focused-upon data field.

58. A method as in claim 2, wherein

said representation includes a form of emphasis, said form of emphasis being responsive to said focused-upon entry.

59. A method as in claim 58, wherein

said form of emphasis includes at least two visual effects;

a first said visual effect is relatively more emphasized for entries relatively closer to said focused-upon entry;

a second said visual effect is applied to said focused-upon entry.

60. A method as in claim 58, wherein

said form of emphasis is relatively more emphasized in response to a measure of distance from said focused-upon entry.

61. A method as in claim 58, wherein

said form of emphasis is responsive to at least one of (a) a physiologically or psychologically natural or pleasing time interval after selection of said focused-upon entry, or (b) a user command after or concurrent with selection of said focused-upon entry.

62. A method as in claim 58, wherein

said form of emphasis includes a visual effect;

and

said visual effect is relatively more emphasized for said focused-upon entry or for entries relatively closer to said focused-upon entry.

63. A method as in claim 62, wherein

said form of emphasis is proportional to a function of a Gaussian curve function applied to a distance from said focused-upon entry.

64. A method as in claim 58, wherein

said form of emphasis includes at least one of highlighting, repositioning, or resizing.

65. A method as in claim 64, wherein

said form of emphasis includes substantially centering said focused-upon entry.

66. A method as in claim 64, wherein

said form of emphasis is proportional to a function of a Gaussian curve function applied to a distance from said focused-upon entry.

67. A method as in claim 2, wherein

said representation includes a form of emphasis, said form of emphasis being responsive to a focused-upon one of said data fields.

68. A method as in claim 67, wherein

said form of emphasis includes a visual effect;

and

said visual effect is relatively more emphasized for said focused-upon data field or for data fields relatively closer to said focused-upon data field.

69. A method as in claim 67, wherein

said form of emphasis includes at least two visual effects;

a first said visual effect is relatively more emphasized for said focused-upon data field or for data fields relatively closer to said focused-upon data field;

a second said visual effect is applied to said focused-upon data field.

70. A method as in claim 67, wherein

said form of emphasis is relatively more emphasized in response to a measure of distance from said focused-upon data field.

71. A method as in claim 67, wherein

said form of emphasis is responsive to at least one of (a) a physiologically or psychologically natural or pleasing time interval after selection of said focused-upon data field, or (b) a user command after or concurrent with selection of said focused-upon data field.

72. A method as in claim 67, wherein

said form of emphasis includes at least one of highlighting, repositioning, or resizing.

73. A method as in claim 72, wherein said form of emphasis includes allocating a substantially wider screen region for said focused-upon data field.

74. A method as in claim 72, wherein said form of emphasis includes positioning said focused-upon data field either (a) substantially toward a left end, (b) substantially centered, or (c) substantially toward a right end.

75. A method as in claim 72, wherein said form of emphasis includes positioning said focused-upon data field substantially near a data field for a title.

76. A method as in claim 2, wherein

said representation includes a form of emphasis, said form of emphasis being responsive to said focused-upon entry.

77. A method as in claim 76, wherein

said form of emphasis includes at least two visual effects;

a first said visual effect is relatively more emphasized for entries relatively closer to said focused-upon entry;

a second said visual effect is applied to said focused-upon entry.

78. A method as in claim 76, wherein

said form of emphasis is relatively more emphasized in response to a measure of distance from said focused-upon entry.

79. A method as in claim 76, wherein

said form of emphasis is responsive to at least one of (a) a physiologically or psychologically natural or pleasing time interval after selection of said focused-upon entry, or (b) a user command after or concurrent with selection of said focused-upon entry.

80. A method as in claim 76, wherein

said form of emphasis includes a visual effect;

and

said visual effect is relatively more emphasized for said focused-upon entry or for entries relatively closer to said focused-upon entry.

81. A method as in claim 80, wherein

said form of emphasis is proportional to a function of a Gaussian curve function applied to a distance from said focused-upon entry.

82. A method as in claim 76, wherein

said form of emphasis includes at least one of highlighting, repositioning, or resizing.

83. A method as in claim 82, wherein

said form of emphasis includes substantially centering said focused-upon entry.

84. A method as in claim 82, wherein

said form of emphasis is proportional to a function of a Gaussian curve function applied to a distance from said focused-upon entry.

87. A method as in claim 2, wherein said representation includes a focused-upon one of said data fields, said method including steps of

reordering said entries in response to at least one of (a) which said data field is the focused-upon data field, or (b) at least one value for said focused-upon data field;

wherein said steps of reordering include replicating a set of entries in response to whether those entries include a plurality of values for said focused-upon data field.

88. A method as in claim 87, wherein

said set of entries includes (a) only the focused-upon entry, (b) a plurality of entries including the focused-upon entry, or (c) substantially all entries.

89. A method as in claim 87, wherein

said steps of reordering are responsive to a selected one of said values for said focused-upon data field selected to be most pertinent to its entry.

90. A method as in claim 87, wherein

said steps of reordering are responsive to at least one of (a) a lexicographical order of values for said focused-upon data field, (b) a numeric order of values for said focused-upon data field, (c) a function of relative similarity of values for said focused-upon data field, or (d) a transformation of values for said focused-upon data field.

91. A method as in claim 87, wherein

said steps of reordering are responsive to at least one of (a) a physiologically or psychologically natural or pleasing time interval after selection of said focused-upon data field or said focused-upon entry, or (b) a user command after or concurrent with selection of said focused-upon data field or said focused-upon entry.

92. A method as in claim 87, wherein said representation includes a form of emphasis for a selected portion of each one of said plurality of values for said focused-upon data field, said selected portion being a portion for which said steps of reordering are responsive to.

93. A method as in claim 92, wherein said selected portion includes at least one of

a portion excluding articles or stop-words;

an initial letter of a name or word;

or

an initial letter of a surname or other name by which a character or person is primarily known.

85. A method including steps of

generating a representation of a set of entries, said representation including a set of entries, each entry having a set of data fields, and a focus associated with at least one of said entries, a set of said entries being incorporated into said representation;

in response to at least one of said data fields, generating an ordered representation of said set of entries, said ordered representation including, for said one entry associated with said focus, a plurality of representations of said entry each associated with a distinct data value for said column.

86. A method as in claim 85, wherein said ordered representation is responsive to at least one value in a data field other than said focused-upon data field.

94. A method including steps of

generating a representation of a set of entries, said representation including a set of entries, each entry having a set of data fields, and a focus associated with at least one of said entries, a set of said entries being incorporated into said representation;

in response to at least one of said data fields, generating an ordered representation of said set of entries, said ordered representation including, for said one entry associated with said focus, a plurality of representations of said entry each associated with a distinct data value for said column;

in response to a request, moving backward or forward from one entry to a next entry having a data value for said column distinct from said one entry.

95. A method including steps of

representing at least some of a set of entries each having a set of data fields associated therewith, wherein a result of said steps of representing includes (a) a relative ordering of said some entries, and (b) a selection of values associated with at least some of said data fields;

and

dynamically altering said representation in response to a selection of at least one focused-upon data field, wherein a result of said steps of altering includes a new said relative ordering in response to at least one of (a) a measure of similarity of a plurality of values in said data fields, and (b) a pseudorandom or random effect.

96. A method as in claim 95, where said measure of similarity is responsive to at least one focused-upon entry.

97. A method including steps of

representing at least some of a set of entries each having a set of data fields associated therewith, wherein a result of said steps of representing includes (a) a relative ordering of said some entries, and (b) a selection of values associated with at least some of said data fields;

and

dynamically altering said representation in response to a selection of at least one focused-upon entry, wherein a result of said steps of altering includes a new said relative ordering in response to at least one of (a) a measure of similarity to said focused-upon entry for at least one data field, and (b) a pseudorandom or random effect.

98. A method as in claim 97, wherein said measure of similarity is responsive to at least one focused-upon data field.

99. A method as in claim 97, wherein said measure of similarity is responsive to a set of weights assigned to each said data field.

100. A method as in claim 99, wherein said set of weights is responsive to at least one of (a) a set of weights explicitly assigned by a user, (b) a set of weights responsive to a set of past user actions, (c) a set of weights responsive to demographic information about a user, or (d) a set of weights responsive to collaborative filtering information responsive to at least one user.

101. A method including steps of

generating, in response to a set of entries each having a set of data fields associated therewith, a representation of at least some of said entries, said representation including a relative ordering and a selection of values associated with at least some of said data fields;

and

rendering said representation in a visual format, said visual format including a measure of detail associated with each said entry, said measure of detail being responsive to a focused-upon data field.