CONDENSED PROGRAM GUIDE FOR MEDIA CONTENT ACCESS SYSTEMS AND METHODS

• US 20090165045A1
• Filed: 12/19/2007
• Published: 06/25/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Data Services Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Relyea, Don, Stallings, Heath, Mehta, Japan
• Granted Patent: US 8,051,447 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/39
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4314 for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
• 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 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4826 using recommendation lists, e.g. of programs or channels sorted out according to their score
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739

Abstract

An exemplary system includes a media content processing subsystem configured to provide a program guide including a matrix of cells associated with a plurality of media content instances, and a condensed program guide including a condensed matrix of a subset of the cells and at least one interstitial symbol representing at least one of the cells excluded from the condensed matrix. In certain embodiments, the media content processing subsystem is configured to provide a graphical user interface to a display for presentation to a user, the graphical user interface including at least a portion of the condensed program guide. In certain embodiments, the graphical user interface includes a visual indicator of the interstitial symbol indicating a matrix position of a cell excluded from the condensed matrix. In certain embodiments, the interstitial symbol is spatially insubstantial in the condensed matrix.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a media content processing subsystem configured to provide

a program guide including a matrix of cells associated with a plurality of media content instances, and

a condensed program guide including a condensed matrix of a subset of said cells and at least one interstitial symbol representing at least one of said cells excluded from said condensed matrix;

wherein said media content processing subsystem is further configured to provide a graphical user interface to a display for presentation to a user, said graphical user interface including at least a portion of said condensed program guide.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said at least one interstitial symbol indicates at least one matrix position of said at least one of said cells excluded from said condensed matrix.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein said at least one interstitial symbol indicates said at least one matrix position relative to at least one of said cells included in said condensed matrix.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein said at least one interstitial symbol is positioned at least proximate to at least one boundary edge of said at least one of said cells included in said condensed matrix.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one visual indicator of said at least one interstitial symbol is included in said graphical user interface.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said at least one interstitial symbol is spatially insubstantial in said condensed matrix.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein said at least one interstitial symbol includes at least one selectable option configured to provide the user access, from said graphical user interface, to information associated with said at least one of said cells excluded from said condensed matrix.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein said media content processing subsystem is configured to add said at least one of said cells excluded from said condensed matrix to said condensed matrix in response to a user selection of said at least one selectable option.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein said media content processing subsystem is configured to receive user input and identify said subset of said cells based on said user input, said user input including at least one of a search parameter, a filter parameter, a user profile based parameter, and a media content recommendation.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein said media content processing subsystem is configured to toggle, in response to user input, between providing a program guide view including at least a portion of said program guide and providing a condensed program guide view including said at least a portion of said condensed program guide.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein said cells included in said matrix are positioned relative to a time axis, and said subset of said cells included in said condensed matrix are positioned relative to a loose time axis.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein said at least one interstitial symbol is configured to visually indicate a number of said excluded cells.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein said at least one of said cells excluded from said condensed matrix includes a plurality of adjacent cells, and wherein said at least one interstitial symbol includes a plurality of interstitial symbols stacked to visually represent said adjacent cells.

14. An apparatus comprising:

at least one processor;

a program guide facility configured to direct said at least one processor to

generate a program guide including a matrix of cells associated with a plurality of media content instances,

generate a condensed program guide including a condensed matrix of a subset of said cells and at least one interstitial symbol representing at least one of said cells not included in said subset, and

generate a program guide graphical user interface including a view of at least a portion of said condensed program guide; and

an output driver configured to provide said program guide graphical user interface to a display for presentation to a user.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising a receiver configured to receive data representative of user input, wherein said program guide facility is configured to direct said at least one processor to generate said condensed program guide in response to said user input, including:

identifying said subset of said cells based on said user input;

removing at least one of said cells not included in said subset from said matrix;

spatially repositioning at least one of said cells included in said subset to fill in at least one gap left by said removing said at least one of said cells not included in said subset from said matrix, said spatial repositioning forming said condensed matrix; and

inserting said at least one interstitial symbol in said condensed matrix, said at least one interstitial symbol indicating at least one matrix position of said at least one said cells removed from said matrix.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, said spatial repositioning including repositioning said at least one of said cells included in said subset along a loose time axis.

17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said at least one interstitial symbol is spatially insubstantial in said condensed matrix, said at least one interstitial symbol being positioned at least proximate to at least one boundary edge of said at least one of said cells included in said condensed matrix.

18. A method comprising:

providing a program guide including a matrix of cells associated with a plurality of media content instances; and

providing a condensed program guide including a condensed matrix of a subset of said cells and at least one interstitial symbol representing at least one of said cells excluded from said condensed matrix.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising providing a graphical user interface to a display for presentation to a user, said graphical user interface including at least a portion of said condensed program guide, said at least one interstitial symbol being included in said graphical user interface.

20. The method of claim 18, said at least one interstitial symbol providing at least one spatially insubstantial indicator of at least one matrix position of said at least one of said cells excluded from said condensed matrix.

21. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

providing a first program guide view including at least a portion of said program guide for presentation to a user; and

providing a condensed program guide view including at least a portion of said condensed program guide for presentation to the user.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

receiving user input; and

toggling between said providing said first program guide view and said providing said condensed program guide view in response to said user input.

23. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

receiving user input;

identifying said subset of said cells based on said user input;

removing at least one of said cells excluded from said subset from said matrix of cells;

condensing said subset of said cells to form said condensed matrix; and

inserting said at least one interstitial symbol in said condensed matrix.

24. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

removing from said matrix at least one of said cells excluded from said subset; and

repositioning at least one of said cells included in said subset along a loose time axis to fill in at least one gap left by said removing.

25. A method comprising:

providing a program guide graphical user interface to a display for presentation to a user, said program guide graphical user interface including at least a portion of a program guide having a matrix of cells associated with a plurality of media content instances;

receiving user input;

identifying a subset of said cells based on said user input;

removing at least one of said cells not included in said subset from said matrix;

condensing said matrix to form a condensed matrix, said condensing including spatially repositioning at least one of said cells included in said subset to fill in at least one gap left by said removing of said at least one said cells not included in said subset from said matrix;

inserting at least one interstitial symbol in said condensed matrix, said at least one interstitial symbol representing at least one matrix position of said at least one of said cells removed from said matrix; and

providing a condensed program guide view of at least a portion of said condensed matrix in said graphical user interface for presentation to the user.