Near real-time multiple thumbnail guide with single tuner

• US 20090199241A1
• Filed: 02/05/2008
• Published: 08/06/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Saturn Licensing LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Unger, Robert Allan, Amendolagine, James
• Granted Patent: US 8,250,604 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/41
• 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 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440263 by altering the spatial resolution, e.g. for displaying on a connected PDA
• 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 21/4622 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 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8549 Creating video summaries, e.g. movie trailer retrieval in video databases by using presentations in form of a video summary G06F16/739

Abstract

A method of presenting a video electronic program guide (EPG), consistent with certain embodiments involves establishing a sorting of television channels, with a selected channel having a highest sorting priority, and other channels being arranged in pairs in a hierarchy below the selected channel; displaying a plurality of windows representing a plurality of the channels in a cross media bar menu arrangement, with the principal focus channel being represented at a window appearing at an intersection of horizontal and vertical bars in the cross media bar menu arrangement and the pairs of channels arranged on either side of the selected channel in the cross media bar menu arrangement; and retrieving sample clips of the channels in focus section of the sort order, and presenting the clips as repeating clips in their respective windows. 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 presenting a video electronic program guide (EPG), comprising in combination:

establishing a sorting of television channels, with a selected channel having a highest sorting priority, and other channels being arranged in pairs in a hierarchy below the selected channel;

displaying a plurality of windows representing a plurality of the channels in a cross media bar menu arrangement, with the principal focus channel being represented at a window appearing at an intersection of horizontal and vertical bars in the cross media bar menu arrangement and the pairs of channels arranged on either side of the selected channel in the cross media bar menu arrangement; and

retrieving sample clips of the channels in focus section of the sort order, and presenting the clips as repeating clips in their respective windows.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein each sample clip has a clip time, and wherein the clip time of the principal focus channel'"'"'s clip is longer than the clip time of other clips in the sort.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the clip time of each clip decreases with increasing distance from the principal focus clip.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein each sample clip has an equal clip time.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising repeating the retrieving and presenting at a prioritized periodic rate.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein if any two or more channels are received over the same transport stream, the order of retrieval of the two or more channels is modified from strictly distance order, and the clips that are received over the same transport stream are retrieved substantially simultaneously.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising checking each channel to determine if its content currently contains a commercial spot, and if so, skipping the retrieval and presenting of any channel currently containing a commercial spot until such time as the commercial spot has ended.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the window size for the principal focus channel is larger than the window size for others of the channels.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising overlaying the video clips with identifying information relating to at least one of the network, program or the channel being displayed.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising receiving a user command for selection of a channel and responsive thereto removing display of the cross media bar menu, and displaying the selected channel in a normal viewing mode.

11. The method according to claim 1, carried out using a single television receiver.

12. A computer readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed on one or more programmed processors, carry out a process according to claim 1.

13. A method of presenting a video electronic program guide (EPG), comprising in combination:

establishing a sorting of television channels, with a selected channel having a highest sorting priority, and other channels being arranged in pairs in a hierarchy below the selected channel;

displaying a plurality of windows representing a plurality of the channels in a cross media bar menu arrangement, with the principal focus channel being represented at a window appearing at an intersection of horizontal and vertical bars in the cross media bar menu arrangement and the pairs of channels arranged on either side of the selected channel in the cross media bar menu arrangement; and

retrieving sample clips of the channels in focus section of the sort order, and presenting the clips as repeating clips in their respective windows, wherein each sample clip has a clip time, and wherein the clip time of the principal focus channel'"'"'s clip is longer than the clip time of other clips in the sort, and wherein the clip time of each clip decreases with increasing distance from the principal focus clip.

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising repeating the retrieving and presenting at a prioritized periodic rate.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein if any two or more channels are received over the same transport stream, the order of retrieval of the two or more channels is modified from strictly distance order, and the clips that are received over the same transport stream are retrieved substantially simultaneously.

16. The method according to claim 13, further comprising checking each channel to determine if its content currently contains a commercial spot, and if so, skipping the retrieval and presenting of any channel currently containing a commercial spot until such time as the commercial spot has ended.

17. The method according to claim 13, wherein the window size for the principal focus channel is larger than the window size for others of the channels.

18. The method according to claim 13, further comprising overlaying the video clips with identifying information relating to at least one of the network, program or the channel being displayed.

19. The method according to claim 13, further comprising receiving a user command for selection of a channel and responsive thereto removing display of the cross media bar menu, and displaying the selected channel in a normal viewing mode.

20. The method according to claim 13, carried out using a single television receiver.

21. A computer readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed on one or more programmed processors, carry out a process according to claim 13.