Electronic television program guide for a television system having two tuners

• US 5,699,125 A
• Filed: 03/31/1995
• Issued: 12/16/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Corporation Of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Corporation Of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Rzeszewski, Theodore S., Gimber, Tobin L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Peng, John K.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Flynn, Nathan J.
• Application Number:
  US08/415,181
• Time in Patent Office: 991 Days
• Field of Search: 348/6, 348/7, 348/10, 348/12, 348/13, 348/460, 348/461, 348/465, 348/467, 348/473, 348/478, 348/476, 348/477, 348/479, 348/486, 348/553, 348/563, 348/564, 348/565, 348/567 , 348/569, 348/570, 348/906
• US Class Current: 725/50
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4263 involving specific tuning arrangements, e.g. two tuners
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4332 by placing content in organized collections, e.g. local EPG data repository interfaces, Database management systems or updating for information retrieval G06F16/23; details of retrieval of video data and associated meta data in video database G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• 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 21/4586 Content update operation triggered locally, e.g. by comparing the version of software modules in a DVB carousel to the version stored locally deployment, distribution, installation, update of software G06F8/65; error detection or correction of the data by redundancy during software upgrading G06F11/1433; arrangements for updating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/25
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4755 for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73

Abstract

A method and device for receiving and storing an electronic television (TV) program guide. In a satellite, cable or broadcast TV system, electronic TV program guides may be coded into the video signals received by the TV receiver. Many currently available TV receivers also allow users to program a list of "select-channels." When the receiver is in its select-channel mode, the receiver only tunes to the channels the user stored in the list of select channels. The present invention limits the memory and processing power required to store an electronic TV program guide by only storing program guide information associated with the channels stored by the user in connection with the select-channels function of the receiver. In receivers having a second tuner, the second tuner may be used to automatically update the stored program guide.

Claims

1. A television receiver comprising:

a tuning system capable of tuning to predetermined frequency channels and converting radio frequencies received on said predetermined frequency channels to video signals;

a decoder receiving said video signals from said tuning system and decoding a database coded in said video signals;

a microprocessor controlling said tuning system and said decoder;

a first memory controlled by said microprocessor and storing a programmed subset of said predetermined frequency channels;

a second memory controlled by said microprocessor and storing said decoded database;

said microprocessor programmed to control said decoder such that said microprocessor stores in said second memory only database information associated with said programmed subset of said predetermined frequency channels stored in said first memory;

a display device coupled to a character generator and said microprocessor for displaying said database information on a screen of said display device;

said microprocessor making said database information available for display on said screen according to the following protocol;

if said tuning system is tuned to one of said predetermined frequency channels that is not among said programmed subset of said predetermined frequency channels, the database information associated with said one of said predetermined frequency channels is captured and made available for display on said screen but not stored in said second memory;

if said tuning system is tuned to one of said programmed subset of said predetermined frequency channels said microprocessor determines whether said database information associated with said one of said programmed subset channels and stored in said second memory is current;

if said database information associated with said one of said programmed subset channels and stored in said second memory is current, the database information associated with said one of said programmed subset channels and stored in said second memory is read from said second memory and made available for display on said screen;

if said database information associated with said one of said programmed subset channels and stored in said second memory is not current, the database information associated with said one of said programmed subset channels is captured and stored to said second memory, and the database information associated with said one of said programmed subset channels and stored in said second memory is read from said second memory and made available for display on said screen.

2. The receiver of claim 1 wherein:

said radio frequencies comprise television channels; and

said decoded database information comprises program information associated with said television channels.

3. The receiver of claim 1 wherein said database information is coded into a vertical blanking interval of said video signals.

4. The receiver of claim 1 having a selected station mode wherein said microprocessor controls said tuning system to only tune to said programmed subset of said predetermined frequency channels stored in said first memory.

5. The receiver of claim 1 wherein said tuning system comprises a first and second tuner, and said microprocessor automatically updates said database information in second memory according to the following protocol:

tune said second tuner to one of said programmed subset of said predetermined frequency channels;

capture the database information associated with said one of said programmed subset channels; and

store said captured database information to said second memory.

6. The receiver of claim 1 wherein said tuning system comprises a first and second tuner, and said microprocessor automatically updates said database information in second memory according to the following protocol:

sequentially tune said second tuner to each one of said programmed subset of said predetermined frequency channels;

determine whether the database associated with any of said programmed subset of channels is not current;

capture the database information for those programmed subset channels that are not current;

store said captured database information to said second memory.

7. The receiver of claim 1 wherein said tuning system comprises a first and second tuner, and said microprocessor automatically updates said database information in second memory according to the following protocol:

sequentially tune said second tuner to each one of said programmed subset of said predetermined frequency channels;

determine whether the database associated with each of said programmed subset of channels is current;

capture the database information for those programmed subset channels that are not current;

store said captured database information to said second memory.

8. A television receiver comprising:

a tuning system capable of tuning to predetermined frequency channels and converting radio frequencies received on said predetermined frequency channels to video signals;

a decoder receiving said video signals from said tuning system and decoding a database coded in said video signals;

a microprocessor controlling said tuning system and said decoder;

a first memory for storing a subset of the available predetermined frequency channels;

a second memory controlled by said microprocessor and storing said decoded database;

said tuning system comprising a first and second tuner; and

said microprocessor automatically updating said database information in said second memory according to the following protocol;

tune said second tuner to one of said programmed subset channels of said predetermined frequency channels;

capture the database information associated with said one of said programmed subset channels; and

store said captured database information to said second memory.

9. The receiver of claim 8 wherein said database information is coded into a vertical blanking interval of said video signals.

10. A method of storing database information in a television receiver, the steps comprising:

storing in a first memory a subset of the available predetermined frequency channels that a tuning system of the receiver may tune to;

providing the receiver with a selected station mode wherein said tuning system only tunes to said programmed subset of said predetermined frequency channels stored in said first memory;

decoding database information from video signals received by said tuning system on said predetermined frequency channels;

storing in a second memory only database information associated with said programmed subset of said predetermined frequency channels stored in said first memory.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein said database information is made available for display on a screen of a display device according to the following protocol:

if said tuning system is tuned to one of said predetermined frequency channels that is not among said programmed subset of said predetermined frequency channels, the database information associated with said one of said predetermined frequency channels is captured and made available for display on said screen but not stored in said second memory;

if said tuning system is tuned to one of said programmed subset of said predetermined frequency channels said microprocessor determines whether said database information associated with said one of said programmed subset channels and stored in said second memory is current;

if said database information associated with said one af said programmed subset channels and stored in said second memory is current, the database information associated with said one of said programmed subset channels and stored in said second memory is read from said second memory and made available for display on said screen;

if said database information associated with said one of said programmed subset channels and stored in said second memory is not current, the database information associated with said one of said programmed subset channels is captured and stored to said second memory, and the database information associated with said one of said programmed subset channels and stored in said second memory is read from said second memory and made available for on said screen.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein said database information is coded into a vertical blanking interval of said video signals.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein said tuning system comprises a first and second tuner, and said database information in said second memory is automatically updated according to the following protocol:

tune said second tuner to one of said programmed subset of said predetermined frequency channels;

capture the database information associated with said one of said programmed subset channels; and

store said captured database information to said second memory.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein said tuning system comprises a first and second tuner, and said database information in said second memory is automatically updated according to the following protocol:

sequentially tune said second tuner to each one of said programmed subset of said predetermined frequency channels;

determine whether the database associated with any of said programmed subset of channels is not current;

capture the database information for those programmed subset channels that are not current;

store said captured database information to said second memory.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein said tuning system comprises a first and second tuner, and said database information in said second memory is automatically updated according to the following protocol:

sequentially tune said second tuner to each one of said programmed subset of said predetermined frequency channels;

determine whether the database associated with each of said programmed subset of channels is current;

capture the database information for those programmed subset channels that are not current;

store said captured database information to said second memory.