Commercial progress bar

• US 20060013555A1
• Filed: 07/01/2004
• Published: 01/19/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Poslinski, Thomas
• Application Number:
  US10/882,574
• Publication Number:
  US 20060013555A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/243
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• 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 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8405 represented by keywords
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/783 Adaptations for reproducing at a rate different from the recording rate

Abstract

A progress bar depicts the progress of play of a recorded commercial. The progress bar may be magnified to obtain a magnified scale of the progress bar. This abstract is not to be considered limiting, since other embodiments may deviate from the features described in this abstract.

Claims

1. A method of displaying a commercial, comprising:

retrieving data representing timing of a commercial;

playing the television commercial for display on a display screen; and

generating a graphical representation of the progress of playing the commercial, wherein the graphical representation provides a visual indication of the amount of time the commercial occupies and has an indicator that moves to designate the current time in relation to the total time occupied by the commercial.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising displaying an icon adjacent the graphical representation of the commercial indicating that trick play restrictions have been imposed on the commercial.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the graphical representation comprises a bar graph.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising displaying an icon adjacent the bar graph of the commercial indicating that trick play restrictions have been imposed on the commercial.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein the indicator comprises a line that moves along the bar graph to represent the passage of playback time.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the bar graph depicts a location of the commercial within the surrounding programming.

7. The method according to claim 3, wherein the bar graph depicts a location of the commercial within the surrounding programming.

8. The method according to claim 3, wherein the bar graph is color coded and wherein a color is designated to represent a commercial within the bar graph.

9. The method according to claim 3, wherein the bar graph is color coded and wherein a color is designated to represent a commercial that trick play restrictions have been imposed on the commercial.

10. An electronic storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on a programmed processor, carry out a process of displaying a commercial according to claim 1.

11. A method of displaying a commercial, comprising:

retrieving data representing timing of a commercial;

playing the television commercial for display on a display screen;

generating a bar graph representing the progress of playing the commercial, wherein the graphical representation provides a visual indication of the amount of time the commercial occupies and has an indicator that moves to designate the current time in relation to the total time occupied by the commercial;

wherein the indicator comprises a vertical line that moves along the bar graph to represent the passage of playback time and wherein the indicator comprises a line that moves along the bar graph to represent the passage of playback time;

wherein the bar graph is color coded and wherein a color is designated to represent a commercial within the bar graph and wherein the bar graph is color coded and wherein a color is designated to represent a commercial that trick play restrictions have been imposed on the commercial;

displaying an icon adjacent the graphical representation of the commercial indicating that trick play restrictions have been imposed on the commercial.

12. An electronic storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on a programmed processor, carry out a process of displaying a commercial according to claim 11.

13. A method of displaying a commercial, comprising:

retrieving data representing timing of a commercial;

playing the television commercial for display on a display screen;

generating a first graphical representation of the progress of playing the commercial, wherein the graphical representation provides a visual indication of the amount of time the commercial occupies and has an indicator that moves to designate the current time in relation to the total time occupied by the commercial; and

generating a second graphical representation of the commercial, wherein the second graphical representation provides a visual indication of the location of the commercial within the surrounding programming.

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising displaying an icon adjacent the graphical representation of the commercial indicating that trick play restrictions have been imposed on the commercial.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein the first and second graphical representation comprises first and second bar graphs.

16. The method according to claim 15, further comprising displaying an icon adjacent at least one of the bar graphs indicating that trick play restrictions have been imposed on the commercial.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein the indicator comprises a line that moves along the first bar graph to represent the passage of playback time.

18. The method according to claim 15, wherein the bar graph is color coded and wherein a color is designated to represent a commercial within the bar graph.

19. The method according to claim 15, wherein the bar graph is color coded and wherein a color is designated to represent a commercial that trick play restrictions have been imposed on the commercial.

20. An electronic storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on a programmed processor, carry out a process of displaying a commercial according to claim 13.