Electronic television program guide schedule system and method

• US 6,661,468 B2
• Filed: 07/13/1998
• Issued: 12/09/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: United Video Properties Incorporated (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Alten, Jerry, Davis, Bruce, Morris, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): LEE, MICHAEL
• Application Number:
  US09/114,811
• Publication Number:
  US 20020049973A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,975 Days
• Field of Search: H04/M.550, H04/M.5445, 348/906, 348/563, 348/569, 348/570, 348/564, 348/731, 348/10, 348/12, 348/13, 725/39, 725/40, 725/41, 725/42, 725/43, 725/44, 725/61, 725/38, 725/45, 725/46, 725/47, 725/48
• US Class Current: 348/569
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/338 using television networks
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/533 for prompting the player, e.g. by displaying a game menu
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/308 Details of the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/409 Data transfer via television network
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4524 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; systems specially adapted for using geographical information in broadcast systems H04H60/70; protocols in which the network application is adapted for the location of the user terminal in communication control or processing H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• 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 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47211 for requesting pay-per-view content payment schemes payment architectures or payment protocols G06Q20/00, G07F
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• 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 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/50 Tuning indicators; Automatic tuning control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17354 in an intermediate station common to a plurality of user terminals

Abstract

An electronic program schedule system which includes a receiver for receiving broadcast, satellite or cablecast television programs for a plurality of television channels and a tuner for tuning a television receiver to a selected one of the plurality of channels. A data processor receives and stores in a memory television program schedule information for a plurality of television programs to appear on the plurality of television channels. A user control apparatus, such as a remote controller, is utilized by a viewer to choose user control commands and transmit signals in response to the data processor which receives the signals in response to user control commands. A television receiver is used to display the television programs and television program schedule information. A video display generator receives video control commands from the data processor and program schedule information from the memory and displays a portion of the program schedule information in overlaying relationship with a television program appearing on a television channel in at least one mode of operation of the television programming guide. The data processor controls the video display generator with video control commands, issued in response to the user control commands, to display program schedule information for any chosen one of the plurality of television programs in overlaying relationship with at least one television program then appearing on any chosen one of the plurality of channels on the television receiver.

Claims

1. A method for allowing a user to create a new channel-tuning sequence for television channels in which at least some of the television channels are re-ordered out of their normal tuning sequence comprising:

displaying on-screen information identifying a plurality of television channels;

grouping the information identifying the television channels according to criteria;

displaying the on-screen information identifying the television channels in a two-dimensional array;

displaying the critera along one dimension of the array and displaying the television channels associated with each of the criteria along a second dimension of the array, wherein the second dimension is perpendicular to the first dimension;

allowing a user to sequentially select channels from the identified television channels in a given order;

building the new channel-tuning sequence by adding the selected channels to the new channel-tuning sequence one after another in the given order, wherein in the given order at least some of the channels are out of their normal tuning sequence; and

using the new channel-tuning sequence to control the order in which the user tunes to television channels.

2. A method for displaying on-screen information for a user with an interactive television program guide, comprising:

displaying on-screen information identifying a plurality of television channels in a group, wherein the interactive television program guide selects the plurality of television channels from available television channels and each of the plurality of television channels is selected based on if that television channel is a premium television channel;

allowing the user to select the displayed information for a given one of the premium television channels; and

tuning to the given channel in response to the selection of the displayed information.

3. The method defined in claim 2 further comprising:

displaying on-screen information identifying a plurality of channels;

allowing a user to sequentially select channels from the identified channels in a given order; and

building one of the plurality of user-specified channel sequences by adding the selected channels to the one of the plurality of user-specified channel sequences one after another in a given order.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising removing a specific channel from the one of the plurality of user-specified channel sequences by selecting the specific channel from the identified channels.

5. The method of claim 3 further comprising allowing the user to sequentially select channels from the identified channels with a remote control.

6. The method of claim 3 further comprising displaying the on-screen information on a television.

7. The method of claim 3 further comprising grouping the information identifying the channels according to criteria.

8. A method for allowing a user to create plurality of user-specified channel sequences, comprising:

allowing a user to create the plurality of user-specified channel sequences from all available channels;

displaying on-screen information identifying a plurality of channels;

grouping the information identifying the channels according to the source of the program information appearing on the channels;

allowing a user to sequentially select channels from the identified channels in a user-specified order;

building one of the plurality of user-specified channel sequences by adding the selected channels to the one of the plurality of user-specified channel sequences one after another in a user-specified order; and

using a selected one of the plurality of user-specified channel sequences to control the order in which the user tunes to channels.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein there are multiple sources selected from the group consisting of broadcast, cable, and satellite, the method further comprising grouping the information identifying the channels separately according to the source of the program information appearing on the channels.

10. A method for allowing a user to create a plurality of user-specified channel sequences, comprising:

allowing a user to create the plurality of user-specified channel sequences from all available channels;

displaying on-screen information identifying a plurality of channels;

grouping the information identifying the channels according to criteria;

displaying the on-screen information identifying the channels in a two-dimensional array;

displaying the criteria along one dimension of the array and displaying the channels associated with each of the criteria along a second dimension of the array, wherein the second dimension is perpendicular to the first dimension;

allowing a user to squentially select channels from the identified channels in a user-specified order;

building one of the plurality of user-specified channel sequences by adding the selected channels to the one of the plurality of user-specified channel sequences one after another in a user-specified order; and

using a selected one of the plurality of user-specified channel sequences to control the order in which the user tunes to channels.