GUI WITH DYNAMIC THUMBNAIL GRID NAVIGATION FOR INTERNET TV

• US 20090064222A1
• Filed: 09/05/2007
• Published: 03/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• 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: Dawson, Thomas Patrick, Nishikawa, Yuko, Toft, Rolf, Williams, George, Hill, Seth, Dunn, Ted Mark
• Granted Patent: US 7,797,713 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/38
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/025 'Virtual' control panels, e.g. Graphical User Interface [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23439 for generating different versions
• 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 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• 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

Abstract

An Internet-enabled TV can display thumbnails of audio-video content available from an Internet server for selecting content to be displayed on the TV by a user manipulating a remote control. Internet information loading rules and thumbnail navigation rules are disclosed.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

at a TV, displaying a GUI configured to permit a user to select an Internet content source;

receiving a signal from a remote control representing a selection of a source on the GUI;

in response to the signal, downloading from the server metadata representing audio-video content streams;

in response to the signal, downloading from the server thumbnails arranged in a grid defined by the server, each thumbnail representing a respective audio-video content stream;

presenting at least a set of the thumbnails along with metadata on the TV; and

allowing a user to navigate the thumbnails to select a thumbnail using the remote control to thereby cause the respective stream to be downloaded from the server.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the metadata is downloaded before the thumbnails, navigation being permitted only when the metadata is completely downloaded even if the thumbnails are not.

3. The method of claim 1, comprising displaying a default thumbnail and/or category and/or video stream as the thumbnails are being downloaded.

4. The method of claim 1, comprising allowing an end user to establish the default thumbnail and/or category and/or video stream.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising allowing an advertiser to establish the default thumbnail and/or category and/or video stream.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising executing navigation commands received from the remote control using navigation rules keyed not to static grid positions but to existing thumbnails that are available, such that the server can change the grid it downloads without any change or modification to the navigation rules employed.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein at least one rule is selected from the group of rules consisting essentially of:

(a) when a page down key is pressed, moving a cursor highlight to the same row in a succeeding set of thumbnails as it is on in a current set, but if no corresponding thumbnail exists in the same column of the succeeding set as the cursor is on in the current set, moving the highlight to the next available thumbnail to the left in the row;

(b) when a page up key is pressed, moving a cursor highlight to the same row in a preceding set of thumbnails as it is on in a current set, but if no corresponding thumbnail exists in the same column of the preceding set as the cursor is on in the current set, moving the highlight to the next available thumbnail to the right in the row;

(c) when a down key is pressed and a cursor highlight is in a bottom row of a current set of thumbnails, presenting a succeeding set of thumbnails with the highlight in the top row, and if no corresponding thumbnail exists in the same column of the succeeding set as the highlight is on in the current set, moving the highlight to the next available thumbnail to the left in the row;

(d) when an up key is pressed and a cursor highlight is in a top row of a current set of thumbnails, presenting a preceding set of thumbnails with the highlight in the bottom row, and if no corresponding thumbnail exists in the same column of the preceding set as the highlight is on in the current set, moving the highlight to the next available thumbnail to the right in the row;

(e) when a right key is pressed while the cursor is highlighting a thumbnail without another thumbnail being present to the right of the highlighted thumbnail in the row, highlighting a left-most thumbnail in the next row down; and

(f) when a left key is pressed while the cursor is highlighting a thumbnail without another thumbnail being present to the left of the highlighted thumbnail in the row, highlighting a right-most thumbnail in the next row up.

8. A tangible digital storage medium readable by a computer processor to:

display on a TV a grid of thumbnails, each representing a respective audio-video stream, the grid with dimensions thereof being received from an Internet server; and

permit a user to navigate the grid to select a stream for downloading to the TV, navigation being effected using navigation rules keyed to existing thumbnails that are available from the server, such that the server can change the grid it downloads without any change or modification to the navigation rules employed.

9. The medium of claim 8, wherein at least one rule is that when a page down key is pressed, moving a cursor highlight to the same row in a succeeding set of thumbnails as it is on in a current set, but if no corresponding thumbnail exists in the same column of the succeeding set as the cursor is on in the current set, moving the highlight to the next available thumbnail to the left in the row.

10. The medium of claim 8, wherein at least one rule is that when a page up key is pressed, moving a cursor highlight to the same row in a preceding set of thumbnails as it is on in a current set, but if no corresponding thumbnail exists in the same column of the preceding set as the cursor is on in the current set, moving the highlight to the next available thumbnail to the right in the row.

11. The medium of claim 8, wherein at least one rule is that when a down key is pressed and a cursor highlight is in a bottom row of a current set of thumbnails, presenting a succeeding set of thumbnails with the highlight in the top row, and if no corresponding thumbnail exists in the same column of the succeeding set as the highlight is on in the current set, moving the highlight to the next available thumbnail to the left in the row.

12. The medium of claim 8, wherein at least one rule is that when an up key is pressed and a cursor highlight is in a top row of a current set of thumbnails, presenting a preceding set of thumbnails with the highlight in the bottom row, and if no corresponding thumbnail exists in the same column of the preceding set as the highlight is on in the current set, moving the highlight to the next available thumbnail to the right in the row.

13. The medium of claim 8, wherein at least one rule is that when a right key is pressed while the cursor is highlighting a thumbnail without another thumbnail being present to the right of the highlighted thumbnail in the row, highlighting a left-most thumbnail in the next row down.

14. The medium of claim 8, wherein at least one rule is that when a left key is pressed while the cursor is highlighting a thumbnail without another thumbnail being present to the left of the highlighted thumbnail in the row, highlighting a rightmost thumbnail in the next row up.

15. The medium of claim 8, wherein the medium is readable by a computer processor to:

at a TV, display a GUI configured to permit a user to select an Internet content source;

receive a signal from a remote control representing a selection of a source on the GUI;

in response to the signal, download from the server metadata representing audio-video content streams;

in response to the signal, download from the server thumbnails arranged in a grid defined by the server, each thumbnail representing a respective audio-video content stream;

present at least a set of the thumbnails along with metadata on the TV; and

allow a user to navigate the thumbnails to select a thumbnail using the remote control to thereby cause the respective stream to be downloaded from the server.

16. The medium of claim 15, wherein the metadata is downloaded before the thumbnails, navigation being permitted only when the metadata is completely downloaded even if the thumbnails are not.

17. A system, comprising:

a TV;

a hardware network module engageable with the TV and communicating therewith using high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) to provide content from the Internet to the TV; and

at least one processor causing a navigable thumbnail grid to be displayed on the TV, the grid being navigable by means of rules keyed to thumbnails actually downloaded in the grid.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein a GUI configured to permit a user to select an Internet content source is displayed and in response to a selection of the source, metadata representing audio-video content streams and thumbnails representing respective audio-video content streams are downloaded from the source and presented on the TV to allow a user to navigate the thumbnails to select a thumbnail using the remote control to thereby cause the respective stream to be downloaded from the server.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the metadata is downloaded before the thumbnails, navigation being permitted only when the metadata is completely downloaded even if the thumbnails are not.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the rules include:

(a) when a page down key is pressed, moving a cursor highlight to the same row in a succeeding set of thumbnails as it is on in a current set, but if no corresponding thumbnail exists in the same column of the succeeding set as the cursor is on in the current set, moving the highlight to the next available thumbnail to the left in the row;

(b) when a page up key is pressed, moving a cursor highlight to the same row in a preceding set of thumbnails as it is on in a current set, but if no corresponding thumbnail exists in the same column of the preceding set as the cursor is on in the current set, moving the highlight to the next available thumbnail to the right in the row;

(c) when a down key is pressed and a cursor highlight is in a bottom row of a current set of thumbnails, presenting a succeeding set of thumbnails with the highlight in the top row, and if no corresponding thumbnail exists in the same column of the succeeding set as the highlight is on in the current set, moving the highlight to the next available thumbnail to the left in the row;

(d) when an up key is pressed and a cursor highlight is in a top row of a current set of thumbnails, presenting a preceding set of thumbnails with the highlight in the bottom row, and if no corresponding thumbnail exists in the same column of the preceding set as the highlight is on in the current set, moving the highlight to the next available thumbnail to the right in the row;

(e) when a right key is pressed while the cursor is highlighting a thumbnail without another thumbnail being present to the right of the highlighted thumbnail in the row, highlighting a left-most thumbnail in the next row down; and

(f) when a left key is pressed while the cursor is highlighting a thumbnail without another thumbnail being present to the left of the highlighted thumbnail in the row, highlighting a right-most thumbnail in the next row up.