Interface strategies for creating and invoking marks

• US 20050094031A1
• Filed: 02/12/2004
• Published: 05/05/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Tecot, Edward M., Vertelney, Laurie J., Hegg, Shannon C., Darnell, Michael J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,836,473 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/473
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/11 by using information not detectable on the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus

Abstract

Strategies are described for adding a mark to media content at a source location in response to the activation of a marking mechanism, and then resuming the presentation of the media content at a second location based on the mark. The source location may be the same as the destination location, or the source location may differ from the destination location. In the latter case, the source location can correspond to a first room in a home that provides a first media processing mechanism, and the destination location can correspond to a second room in the home that provides a second media processing mechanism. The marking mechanism can correspond to a mark button provided by a remote control. Various user interface displays facilitate the adding of the mark and the resuming of the presentation, including various timelines displays, mark panel displays, thumbnail displays, etc.

Claims

1. A method for presenting information, comprising:

adding a mark, that is associated with the information, at a source location by activating a marking mechanism; and

presenting the information at a destination location based on the mark added at the source location,

wherein at least one of said adding the mark and said presenting the information involves displaying a visual indicator of the mark at a display position that is related to a time at which the mark was associated with the information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the source location is the same as the destination location.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the source location differs from the destination location.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the source location is associated with a first area in a building that contains a first information processing mechanism and the destination location is associated with a second area in the building that contains a second information processing mechanism.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the information comprises a media content program.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the media content program comprises a video program.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the marking mechanism comprises a mark button provided on a remote control which interacts with a processing mechanism that implements said adding of the mark.

8. The method according to claim 1, further including deleting the mark by selecting the visual indicator of the mark and activating the marking mechanism again.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the adding precludes the creation of another mark if that other mark occurs approximately at the same time as the first- 13 mentioned mark.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the visual indicator of the mark has visual display properties that convey at least one characteristic of the mark.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the visual display properties include at least a color for presenting the visual indicator.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein said at least one characteristic of the mark pertains to an identity of a user who added the mark.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein said at least one characteristic of the mark pertains to whether the mark is currently selected or unselected.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the displaying further includes presenting a part of the information associated with the mark along with the visual indicator.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the part is a video image taken from the information which is associated with the mark.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein the displaying involves presenting the visual indicator of the mark at a display position along a timeline, where the position conveys a juncture at which the mark occurs within the information.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the displaying involves presenting multiple visual indicators of multiple respective marks at multiple respective display positions along the timeline, where the multiple positions convey respective junctures at which the multiple marks occur within the information.

18. The method according to claim 17, further including navigating among the multiple visual indicators to select any one of the visual indicators.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the navigating involves activating a first key on a remote control to move to a temporally succeeding visual indicator with respect to a currently selected visual indicator, and activating a second key on the remote control to move to a temporally prior visual indicator with respect to the currently selected visual indicator.

20. The method according to claim 18, further including invoking a currently selected visual indicator by activating a presentation key on a remote control.

21. The method according to claim 1, wherein the visual indicator of the mark comprises a thumbnail image corresponding to a part of the information associated with the mark, and the displaying comprises presenting the thumbnail image in positional relationship to at least one other thumbnail image associated with another mark, wherein the positional relationship is based on the respective times associated with the creation of the marks.

22. The method according to claim 21, further including navigating among the thumbnail images to select any one of the thumbnail images.

23. The method according to claim 1, wherein the adding involves at least one of:

the generation of a status display, wherein the status display presents the visual indicator of the mark at a display position along a timeline, wherein the position conveys a juncture at which the mark occurs within the information;

the generation of a mark panel display that contains an input selection item associated with the information; and

the generation of a thumbnail display that presents the visual indicator as at least one thumbnail image corresponding to a part of the information associated with the mark.

24. The method according to claim 1, wherein the presenting is invoked upon another activation of the marking mechanism.

25. The method according to claim 1, wherein the presenting is invoked by the activation of an input selection item associated with the information containing the mark, wherein the input selection item appears in a display that corresponds to at least one of:

a mark panel display;

a thumbnail display;

a menu display;

a program guide display; and

a program-specific information display corresponding to the information.

26. A computer readable medium including machine readable instructions for implementing the adding and the presenting of claim 1.

27. A method for presenting information, comprising:

receiving instructions generated in response to the activation of a marking mechanism during the display of a first program;

displaying a mark panel display in response to the instructions; and

receiving a user'"'"'s input via the mark panel display to perform at least one of;

creating a new mark in the first program; and

invoking a preexisting mark in a second program.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein the mark panel display includes an input selection item associated with the first program, and at least one other input selection item associated with the second program.

29. A computer readable medium including machine readable instructions for implementing the receiving of instructions, the displaying, and the receiving of the user'"'"'s input of claim 27.

30. A system for presenting information, comprising:

logic configured to add a mark, that is associated with the information, at a source location by activating a marking mechanism; and

logic configured to present the information at a destination location based on the mark added at the source location,

wherein at least one of said logic for adding the mark and said logic for presenting the information is configured to display a visual indicator of the mark at a display position that is related to a time at which the mark was associated with the information.

31. The system according to claim 30, wherein the source location is the same as the destination location.

32. The system according to claim 30, wherein the source location differs from the destination location.

33. A processing mechanism for presenting information, comprising:

logic configured to receive instructions generated in response to the activation of a marking mechanism during the display of a first program;

logic configured to display a mark panel display in response to the instructions; and

logic configured to receive a user'"'"'s input via the mark panel display to perform at least one of;

creating a new mark in the first program; and

invoking a preexisting mark in a second program.