METHOD FOR PROVIDING A USER WITH A PROGRAM FINDING SERVICE IN A MULTI-CHANNEL BROADCASTING PROGRAM RECEIVER, AND ASSOCIATED MULTI-CHANNEL BROADCASTING PROGRAM RECEIVER

• US 20100269141A1
• Filed: 06/22/2009
• Published: 10/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: MediaTek Singapore Pte. Ltd. (MediaTek, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: MediaTek Singapore Pte. Ltd. (MediaTek, Inc.)
• Inventors: Yin, Weiqing
• Application Number:
  US12/488,601
• Publication Number:
  US 20100269141A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/61
• 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 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739

Abstract

A method for providing a user with a program finding service in a multi-channel broadcasting program receiver includes: storing a list comprising a plurality of items, wherein each item represents a program; providing the user with a user interface to allow the user to add, change or adjust an item in the list; and outputting at least a portion of items of the list to be displayed on a screen and allowing the user to select a wanted program from the list, in order to trigger a switching operation for switching to a new channel on which the wanted program is transmitted. An associated multi-channel broadcasting program receiver includes a tuner, a video processing module, a memory and a controller. The tuner is arranged to select a channel. The video processing module is arranged to decode. The controller executing the method provides a user with the program finding service.

Claims

1. A method for providing a user with a program finding service in a multi-channel broadcasting program receiver, the method comprising:

storing a list comprising a plurality of items, wherein each item represents a program;

providing the user with a user interface to allow the user to add, change or adjust an item in the list; and

outputting at least a portion of items of the list to be displayed on a screen and allowing the user to select a wanted program from the list, in order to trigger a switching operation for switching to a new channel on which the wanted program is transmitted.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

performing statistical operations on programs viewed by the user with respect to time in order to generate statistical results;

wherein the step of outputting the portion of the items of the list to be displayed on the screen further comprises;

outputting items corresponding to a current time according to the statistical results.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

from an electronic program guide (EPG) or from a data stream of a program on a current channel that the user is viewing, deriving a program name of the program on the current channel; and

adding the program name into the list.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

searching a plurality of channels to determine whether one or more candidate channels of the plurality of channels match at least one item in the list; and

when determining one or more candidate channels of the plurality of channels match at least one item in the list, allowing the user to select a candidate channel from the candidate channels that match the item(s).

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of searching the plurality of channels to determine whether one or more channels of the plurality of channels match the wanted program represented by the corresponding item in the list further comprises:

comparing the items in the list with program names of programs on the channels in an electronic program guide (EPG), respectively.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of searching the plurality of channels to determine whether one or more channels of the plurality of channels match the wanted program represented by the corresponding item in the list further comprises:

comparing the items in the list with program names carried by data streams of programs on the channels, respectively.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of searching the plurality of channels to determine whether one or more channels of the plurality of channels match the wanted program represented by the corresponding item in the list further comprises:

comparing the items in the list with program names of programs on the channels by utilizing a strict matching criterion.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of searching the plurality of channels to determine whether one or more channels of the plurality of channels match the wanted program represented by the corresponding item in the list further comprises:

comparing the items in the list with program names of programs on the channels by utilizing a loose matching criterion.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

when the wanted program is a program to be transmitted on the new channel, allowing the user to determine whether to switch to the new channel at once, or automatically switching to the new channel around a start time of the wanted program.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether a specific item in the list is expired; and

when determining the specific item in the list is expired, deleting the specific item.

11. A multi-channel broadcasting program receiver comprising:

a tuner arranged to select one of a plurality of channels;

a video processing module arranged to decode according to selection of the tuner;

a memory arranged to store a list comprising a plurality of items, wherein each item represents a program; and

a controller arranged to provide a user with a program finding service, wherein the controller provides the user with a user interface to allow the user to add, change or adjust an item in the list;

wherein when the user triggers a finding operation intended for finding a wanted program, the controller controls the video processing module to output at least a portion of items of the list to be displayed on a screen and allows the user to select the wanted program from the list, in order to trigger a switching operation for switching to a new channel on which the wanted program is transmitted.

12. The multi-channel broadcasting program receiver of claim 11, wherein the controller performs statistical operations on programs viewed by the user with respect to time in order to generate statistical results;

and when controlling the video processing module to output the portion of the items of the list to be displayed on the screen, the controller controls the video processing module to output items corresponding to a current time according to the statistical results.

13. The multi-channel broadcasting program receiver of claim 11, wherein the controller derives a program name of a program on a current channel that the user is viewing from an electronic program guide (EPG) or from a data stream of the program on the current channel that the user is viewing;

and the controller adds the program name into the list.

14. The multi-channel broadcasting program receiver of claim 11, wherein the controller controls the multi-channel broadcasting program receiver to search a plurality of channels to determine whether one or more candidate channels of the plurality of channels match at least one item in the list;

and when determining one or more candidate channels of the plurality of channels match at least one item in the list, the controller allows the user to select a candidate channel from the candidate channels that match the item(s).

15. The multi-channel broadcasting program receiver of claim 14, wherein the controller compares the items in the list with program names of programs on the channels in an electronic program guide (EPG), respectively.

16. The multi-channel broadcasting program receiver of claim 14, wherein the controller compares the items in the list with program names carried by data streams of programs on the channels, respectively.

17. The multi-channel broadcasting program receiver of claim 14, wherein the controller compares the items in the list with program names of programs on the channels by utilizing a strict matching criterion.

18. The multi-channel broadcasting program receiver of claim 14, wherein the controller compares the items in the list with program names of programs on the channels by utilizing a loose matching criterion.

19. The multi-channel broadcasting program receiver of claim 11, wherein when the wanted program is a program to be transmitted on the new channel, the controller allows the user to determine whether to switch to the new channel at once or automatically switches to the new channel around a start time of the wanted program.

20. The multi-channel broadcasting program receiver of claim 11, wherein the controller determines whether a specific item in the list is expired;

and when determining the specific item in the list is expired, the controller deletes the specific item.