ANIMATED STATION IDENTIFIER IN PROGRAM GUIDES

• US 20100192182A1
• Filed: 01/23/2009
• Published: 07/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rovi Technologies Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Nyako, George K., Baldwin, James A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,365,222 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/45
• 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

A television program guide is displayed having a station identifier portion in a first location. A determination is made as to when a user navigates in the television program guide between past programs and future programs. In response to the user navigating in the television program guide between the past programs and the future programs, the station identifier portion is changed to a second location.

Claims

1. A method implemented in a device, the method comprising:

displaying a television program guide having a station identifier portion in a first location;

determining when a user navigates in the television program guide between past programs and future programs; and

changing the station identifier portion to a second location in response to the user navigating in the television program guide between the past programs and the future programs.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the television program guide comprises a grid having multiple rows of channel identifiers and multiple columns of time slots, and where the station identifier portion is a column in the grid.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, where the first location comprises a left side of the television program guide, the determining comprises determining when the user navigates in the television program guide from the future programs to the past programs, and the second location comprises the right side of the television program guide.

4. A method as recited in claim 3, further comprising:

determining when the user navigates in the television program guide from the past programs to the future programs; and

changing the station identifier portion to the first location in response to the user navigating in the television program guide from the past programs to the future programs.

5. A method as recited in claim 4, wherein the determining when the user navigates in the television program guide from the past programs to the future programs comprises determining when the user focuses on the station identifier portion while the station identifier portion is in the second location.

6. A method as recited in claim 1, where the first location comprises a left side of the television program guide, the determining comprises determining when the user navigates in the television program guide from the future programs to the past programs, and the second location comprises a location in the television program guide between the left side of the television program guide and the right side of the television program guide.

7. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the determining comprises determining the user navigates in the television program guide between the past programs and the future programs when the user focuses on the station identifier portion.

8. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

determining when the user focuses on the station identifier portion while navigating from the future programs towards the past programs; and

displaying, in response to the user focusing on the station identifier portion while navigating from the future programs towards the past programs, an indication for each channel identified in the station identifier portion for which one or more television programs that have already aired are available.

9. A method as recited in claim 8, wherein the indication that one or more television programs that have already aired are available for a channel comprises an indicator in the station identifier portion for the channel.

10. A method as recited in claim 8, wherein the indication that one or more television programs that have already aired are available for a channel comprises a part of a next time slot in the past in which a preview of at least one of the one or more television programs is displayed.

11. A computing device comprising:

a storage device to store television program guide data; and

a program guide module coupled to retrieve the television program guide data from the storage device, wherein the program guide module is to display a television program guide based on the television program guide data, and wherein the television program guide is a grid having a station identifier column on a right side of the grid when the television program guide displays the television program guide data for one or more programs that have already aired.

12. A computing device as recited in claim 11, wherein the program guide module is further to display the station identifier column on a left side of the grid when the television program guide displays the television program guide data for future programs.

13. A computing device as recited in claim 12, wherein the program guide is further to:

determine when a user navigates in the television program guide from the future programs towards the one or more programs that have already aired; and

display the station identifier column on the right side of the grid in response to the user navigating in the television program guide from the future programs towards the one or more programs that have already aired.

14. A computing device as recited in claim 12, wherein the program guide is further to:

determine when a user navigates in the television program guide from the one or more programs that have already aired towards future programs; and

display the station identifier column on the left side of the grid in response to the user navigating in the television program guide from the one or more programs that have already aired towards the future programs.

15. A computing device as recited in claim 14, wherein the program guide is further to:

determine when the user focuses on the station identifier column while displayed on the left side of the grid; and

display, in response to the user focusing on the station identifier column while displayed on the left side of the grid, an indication for each channel identified in the station identifier column for which one or more television programs that have already aired are available.

16. A computing device as recited in claim 15, wherein the indication that one or more television programs that have already aired are available for a channel comprises an indicator in the station identifier column for the channel.

17. A computing device as recited in claim 15, wherein the indication that one or more television programs that have already aired are available for a channel comprises a part of a next time slot in the past in which a preview of at least one of the one or more television programs is displayed.

18. A computing device as recited in claim 11, where the program guide module is further to display the station identifier column at a location between the left side of the grid and the right side of the grid in response to a user navigating in the television program guide from the one or more programs that have already aired towards future programs.

19. One or more computer-readable media having stored thereon multiple instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the one or more processors to:

display a television program guide as a grid having multiple rows of channel identifiers and multiple columns of time slots, and having a station identifier column on a left side of the grid;

determine when a user focuses on the station identifier portion while navigating from future programs towards past programs;

change the station identifier column to a right side of the grid in response to the user focusing on the station identifier portion while navigating from the future programs to the past programs;

determine when the user focuses on the station identifier portion while navigating from the past programs towards the future programs; and

change the station identifier column to the left side of the grid in response to the user focusing on the station identifier portion while navigating from the past programs to the future programs.

20. One or more computer-readable media as recited in claim 19, wherein the multiple instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

determine when the user focuses on the station identifier column while displayed on the left side of the grid; and

display, in response to the user focusing on the station identifier column while displayed on the left side of the grid, an indication for each channel identified in the station identifier column for which one or more television programs that have already aired are available.