CONDENSED PROGRAM GUIDE FOR MEDIA CONTENT ACCESS SYSTEMS AND METHODS

• US 20120042341A1
• Filed: 10/26/2011
• Published: 02/16/2012
• 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: Stallings, Heath, Mehta, Japan, Relyea, Don
• Granted Patent: US 10,222,934 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 method includes a computing device providing a program guide that includes a matrix of cells associated with a plurality of media content instances and providing a condensed program guide that includes a condensed matrix of a subset of the cells and a plurality of interstitial symbols. In certain embodiments, each interstitial symbol in the plurality of interstitial symbols represents a single cell included in the matrix of the cells and excluded from the condensed matrix of the subset of the cells. In certain embodiments, the plurality of interstitial symbols does not occupy matrix grid space in the condensed matrix. Corresponding systems and methods are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

providing, by a computing device, a program guide that includes a matrix of cells associated with a plurality of media content instances; and

providing, by the computing device, a condensed program guide that includes a condensed matrix of a subset of the cells and a plurality of interstitial symbols, each interstitial symbol in the plurality of interstitial symbols representing a single cell included in the matrix of the cells and excluded from the condensed matrix of the subset of the cells.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each interstitial symbol in the plurality of interstitial symbols indicates a matrix position of the single cell represented by the interstitial symbol.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein each interstitial symbol in the plurality of interstitial symbols comprises a spatially insubstantial indicator of a matrix position of the single cell represented by the interstitial symbol.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of interstitial symbols do not occupy matrix grid space in the condensed matrix.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing, by the computing device, a first program guide view of the program guide for display; and

providing, by the computing device, a second program guide view of the condensed program guide for display.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

receiving, by the computing device, user input; and

toggling, by the computing device in response to the user input, between providing the first program guide view and the second program guide view.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the computing device, user input;

identifying, by the computing device, the subset of the cells based on the user input;

removing, by the computing device, each of the cells not included in the identified subset of the cells from the matrix of cells;

spatially condensing, by the computing device, the subset of the cells to form the condensed matrix; and

inserting, by the computing device, the plurality of interstitial symbols in the condensed matrix.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

removing, by the computing device from the matrix of cells, each of the cells excluded from the subset of the cells; and

repositioning, by the computing device, at least one cell included in the subset of the cells along a loose time axis to fill in at least one gap in the matrix of the cells created by the removing.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the cells included in the matrix are positioned relative to a time axis, and the subset of the cells included in the condensed matrix are positioned relative to a loose time axis.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the loose time axis accommodates unaligned time slots within the condensed program guide.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the condensed matrix includes a column of cells within the subset of the cells, the column of cells associated with different time slots.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting, by the computing device, a user selection of an interstitial symbol included in the plurality of interstitial symbols included in the condensed program guide; and

removing, by the computing device in response to the user selection, the selected interstitial symbol from the condensed matrix; and

adding, by the computing device to the condensed matrix in response to the user selection, the single cell corresponding to the selected interstitial symbol to the condensed program guide.

13. The method of claim 1, tangibly embodied as computer-executable instructions on at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium.

14. A method comprising:

providing, by a computing device, a program guide that includes a matrix of cells associated with a plurality of media content instances; and

providing, by the computing device, a condensed program guide that includes a condensed matrix of a subset of the cells and a plurality of interstitial symbols representing a remainder of the cells excluded from the condensed matrix;

wherein the plurality of interstitial symbols do not occupy matrix grid space in the condensed matrix.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein each interstitial symbol in the plurality of interstitial symbols indicates a matrix position of a single cell included in the remainder of the cells excluded from the condensed matrix.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein each interstitial symbol in the plurality of interstitial symbols represents only a single cell excluded from the subset of the cells.

17. A method comprising:

providing, by a computing device, a program guide view that includes a matrix of cells associated with a plurality of media content instances;

receiving, by the computing device, user input;

identifying, by the computing device, a subset of the cells based on the user input;

removing, by the computing device from the matrix, a remainder of the cells not included in the identified subset of the cells;

condensing, by the computing device, the matrix to form a condensed matrix of the identified subset of the cells, the remainder of the cells not included in the identified subset of the cells being excluded from the condensed matrix;

inserting, by the computing device in the condensed matrix, a plurality of interstitial symbols representing the remainder of the cells excluded from the condensed matrix; and

providing, by a computing device, a condensed program guide view that includes the condensed matrix.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein each interstitial symbol in the plurality of interstitial symbols represents only a single cell excluded from the subset of the cells.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the plurality of interstitial symbols do not occupy matrix grid space in the condensed matrix.

20. A system comprising:

at least one processor; and

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

provide a program guide that includes a matrix of cells associated with a plurality of media content instances, and

provide a condensed program guide that includes a condensed matrix of a subset of the cells and a plurality of interstitial symbols, each interstitial symbol in the plurality of interstitial symbols representing a single cell included in the matrix of the cells and excluded from the condensed matrix of the subset of the cells.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein each interstitial symbol in the plurality of interstitial symbols comprises a spatially insubstantial indicator of a matrix position of the single cell represented by the interstitial symbol.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein the plurality of interstitial symbols do not occupy matrix grid space in the condensed matrix.

23. The system of claim 20, wherein:

the cells included in the matrix are positioned relative to a time axis;

the subset of the cells included in the condensed matrix are positioned relative to a loose time axis; and

the loose time axis accommodates unaligned time slots within the condensed program guide.