Multiple interactive electronic program guide system and methods

• US 20050251822A1
• Filed: 07/15/2005
• Published: 11/10/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Starsight Telecast Incorporated (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Chang, Gordon, Johnson, Kenneth David, Knowles, James H.
• Granted Patent: US 8,566,871 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/39
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• 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 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• 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 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 21/4583 Automatically resolving scheduling conflicts, e.g. when a recording by reservation has been programmed for two programs in the same time slot
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4627 Rights management associated to the content security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47211 for requesting pay-per-view content payment schemes payment architectures or payment protocols G06Q20/00, G07F
• 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 21/4751 for defining user accounts, e.g. accounts for children
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4753 for user identification, e.g. by entering a PIN or password cryptographic authentication protocols H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08
• 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 21/4788 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 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration
• 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 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 : by receiver means only

Abstract

A multiple Interactive Program Guide (IPG) system provides different television programming and different IPGs to several different users respectively. A single set-top box is capable of providing programming and scheduling data to several different television sets. Each of the different IPGs share a common database. Therefore, a first IPG being viewed by a first user can display data added or modified via a second IPG by a second user of the system. Furthermore, the data added or modified by the second user can influence the viewing rights of the first user. Also, all the competing and conflicting requests for limited resources, such as VCR scheduled recordings, will be brought to the users'"'"' attention and will be displayed by the system.

Claims

1-30. -30. (canceled)

31. A method for displaying interactive electronic program guides, the method comprising:

providing a plurality of user television equipment devices located in a household from which a plurality of interactive program guides is accessible;

receiving program guide information from a first one of the plurality of interactive electronic program guides;

receiving program guide information from a second one of the plurality of interactive electronic program guides; and

generating a list of program guide information by aggregating program guide information received from the first and second ones of the plurality of interactive electronic program guides, wherein the list of program guide information is accessible for display from any of the plurality of interactive electronic program guides.

32. The method defined in claim 31, further comprising allowing a user to select a program for recording from a given one of the plurality of interactive electronic program guides.

33. The method defined in claim 32, further comprising transmitting a control signal from the user television equipment device from which the given one of the plurality of interactive electronic program guides is accessible to a recording device to instruct the recording device to record the selected program.

34. The method defined in claim 32, further comprising alerting the user when the selected program for recording has already been selected to be recorded with a different interactive electronic program guide.

35. The method defined in claim 32, further comprising alerting the user when the selected program for recording conflicts with another program previously scheduled to be recorded from any of the plurality of interactive electronic program guides.

36. The method defined in claim 32, further comprising allowing the user to cancel the recording of the selected program from any of the plurality of interactive electronic program guides.

37. The method defined in claim 31, further comprising allowing the user to obtain additional information for any item on the list of program guide information.

38. The method defined in claim 31, wherein the list of program guide information includes programs scheduled to be recorded.

39. The method defined in claim 31, wherein the list of program guide information includes series recordings, future pay-per-view purchases, and auto-tunes.

40. A system for displaying interactive electronic program guides, the system comprising:

a plurality of user television equipment devices located in a household from which a plurality of interactive program guides is accessible, wherein the plurality of user television equipment devices comprises a processor configured to;

receive program guide information from a first one of the plurality of interactive electronic program guides;

receive program guide information from a second one of the plurality of interactive electronic program guides; and

generate a list of program guide information by aggregating program guide information received from the first and second ones of the plurality of interactive electronic program guides, wherein the list of program guide information is accessible for display from any of the plurality of interactive electronic program guides.

41. The system defined in claim 40, wherein a given one of the plurality of interactive electronic program guides is configured to allow a user to select a program for recording.

42. The system defined in claim 41, wherein the user television equipment device from which the given one of the plurality of interactive electronic program guides is accessible is configured to transmit a control signal to a recording device to instruct the recording device to record the selected program.

43. The system defined in claim 41, wherein the given one of the plurality of interactive electronic program guides is configured to alert the user when the selected program for recording has already been selected to be recorded with a different interactive electronic program guide.

44. The system defined in claim 41, wherein the given one of the plurality of interactive electronic program guides is configured to alert the user when the selected program for recording conflicts with another program previously scheduled to be recorded from any of the plurality of interactive electronic program guides.

45. The system defined in claim 41, wherein the plurality of interactive electronic program guides are configured to allow the user to cancel the recording of the selected program.

46. The system defined in claim 40, wherein the processor is configured to allow the user to obtain additional information for any item on the list of program guide information.

47. The system defined in claim 40, wherein the list of program guide information includes programs scheduled to be recorded.

48. The system defined in claim 40, wherein the list of program guide information includes series recordings, future pay-per-view purchases, and auto-tunes.

49. Machine-readable media for displaying interactive electronic program guides, the machine-readable media comprising machine-readable instructions encoded thereon for:

providing a plurality of user television equipment devices located in a household from which a plurality of interactive program guides is accessible;

receiving program guide information from a first one of the plurality of interactive electronic program guides;

receiving program guide information from a second one of the plurality of interactive electronic program guides; and

generating a list of program guide information by aggregating program guide information received from the first and second ones of the plurality of interactive electronic program guides, wherein the list of program guide information is accessible for display from any of the plurality of interactive electronic program guides.

50. The machine-readable media defined in claim 49, further comprising machine-readable instructions encoded thereon for allowing a user to select a program for recording from a given one of the plurality of interactive electronic program guides.

51. The machine-readable media defined in claim 50, further comprising machine-readable instructions encoded thereon for transmitting a control signal from the user television equipment device from which the given one of the plurality of interactive electronic program guides is accessible to a recording device to instruct the recording device to record the selected program.

52. The machine-readable media defined in claim 50, further comprising machine-readable instructions encoded thereon for alerting the user when the selected program for recording has already been selected to be recorded with a different interactive electronic program guide.

53. The machine-readable media defined in claim 50, further comprising machine-readable instructions encoded thereon for alerting the user when the selected program for recording conflicts with another program previously scheduled to be recorded from any of the plurality of interactive electronic program guides.

54. The machine-readable media defined in claim 50, further comprising machine-readable instructions encoded thereon for allowing the user to cancel the recording of the selected program from any of the plurality of interactive electronic program guides.

55. The machine-readable media defined in claim 49, further comprising machine-readable instructions encoded thereon for allowing the user to obtain additional information for any item on the list of program guide information.

56. The machine-readable media defined in claim 49, wherein the list of program guide information includes programs scheduled to be recorded.

57. The machine-readable media defined in claim 49, wherein the list of program guide information includes series recordings, future pay-per-view purchases, and auto-tunes.