System and method for displaying editorial content through television navigation controls and electronic program guides

• US 7,120,925 B2
• Filed: 12/17/2001
• Issued: 10/10/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cox Communications Incorporated (Cox Enterprises Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Sedna Patent Services LLC
• Inventors: Plotnick, Bruce, D'Souza, Errol, Palazzo, Francis D.
• Primary Examiner(s): SALCE, JASON P
• Application Number:
  US10/022,650
• Publication Number:
  US 20060117348A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,758 Days
• Field of Search: 725/40, 725/41, 725/42, 725/43, 725/51, 725/52, 725/54, 725/56, 725/57, 725 32- 36, 725/87, 725/90, 725 93- 96, 725/98, 725/109, 725/110, 725/112, 725/132, 725/140, 725/152
• US Class Current: 725/100
• CPC Class Codes: C07D 333/22 Radicals substituted by doubly bound hetero atoms, or by two hetero atoms other than halogen singly bound to the same carbon atom
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234 Processing of video elementary streams, e.g. splicing of video streams or manipulating encoded video stream scene graphs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4349 by extracting from data carousels, e.g. extraction of software modules from a DVB carousel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4424 Monitoring of the internal components or processes of the client device, e.g. CPU or memory load, processing speed, timer, counter or percentage of the hard disk space used error monitoring in general G06F11/30; arrangements for monitoring conditions of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/32; diagnosis, testing or measuring for television receivers H04N17/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/443 OS processes, e.g. booting an STB, implementing a Java virtual machine in an STB or power management in an STB
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4438 Window management, e.g. event handling following interaction with the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8549 Creating video summaries, e.g. movie trailer retrieval in video databases by using presentations in form of a video summary G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/858 Linking data to content, e.g. by linking an URL to a video object, by creating a hotspot
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

A system and method for presenting advanced editorial content items to subscribers in a distribution network. The method comprises presenting an electronic program guide comprised of data representing program availability on a broadcast distribution network and a selectable editorial content control to present an editorial content index page. An editorial content index page is presented on a display device within the context of the electric program guide in response to selecting the editorial content control, the editorial content index page comprising one or more links or pointers, such as hyperlinks, to editorial content items. A user selects a pointer to an editorial content item from the set of pointers and the editorial content item is presented on the display device.

Claims

1. A method for presenting editorial content items on a display device within the context of an electronic program guide, the electronic program guide operative to display information regarding programming available on a broadcast distribution network, the method comprising:

receiving and storing an editorial content index page and one or more editorial content items at a client device, wherein the editorial content index page includes one or more links to the editorial content items;

while the electronic program guide is displayed, selecting a control to present the editorial content index page on the display device;

recovering and displaying the stored editorial content index page;

selecting a link to an editorial content item from the set of one or more links;

if the editorial content item of the selected link comprises a video item, determining if a video-on-demand (VOD) software is installed on the client device, tuning the client device to a video-on-demand channel if the VOD software is installed, else retrieving the video item from an in-band channel if the client device lacks the VOD software; and

recovering and presenting the editorial content item on the display device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the editorial content item comprises graphics data.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the editorial content item comprises video data.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the editorial content item comprises interactive program code and wherein presenting the editorial content comprises executing the interactive program code.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the interactive program code enables a client device to interact with a remote program code and data.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein presenting the editorial content item on the display device comprises:

determining a type of the editorial content item;

selecting a rendering program based on the type of the editorial content item; and

executing the rendering program to present the editorial content item on the display device.

7. A method for presenting editorial content items on a display device, the method comprising:

receiving and storing an editorial content index page and one or more editorial content items at a client device, wherein the editorial content index page includes one or more pointers to the editorial content items;

presenting an electronic program guide operative to display information regarding programming available on a broadcast distribution network and a selectable editorial content control within the electronic program guide to present an the stored editorial content index page;

presenting the stored editorial content index page on the display device within the context of the electronic program guide in response to a selection of the editorial content control;

selecting a pointer to an editorial content item;

if the editorial content item of the selected pointer comprises a video item, determining if a video-on-demand (VOD) software is installed on the client device, tuning the client device to a video-on-demand channel if the VOD software is installed, else retrieving the video item from an in-band channel if the client device lacks the VOD software; and

recovering and presenting the editorial content item on the display device.

8. The method of claim 7 receiving the editorial content index page and one or more editorial content items is performed on a periodic basis.

9. The method of claim 7 comprising receiving the editorial content index page and one or more editorial content items at a client device through a carousel distribution system distributing the editorial content index page and one or more editorial content items in a carousel fashion.

10. The method of claim 7 comprising:

exiting the editorial content index page; and

presenting the electronic program guide and editorial content control upon exiting the editorial content index page.

11. The method of claim 7 comprising:

exiting the editorial content index page; and

presenting a channel displayed on the display device when the step of presenting the electronic program guide is executed.

12. A method for presenting editorial content items on a display device, the method comprising:

presenting a surf guide configured to display program information concurrently with a tuned channel and with a selectable editorial content control to present an editorial content index page;

receiving and storing editorial content items and an editorial content index page having pointers to the editorial content items;

presenting the editorial content index page on the display device within the context of the surf guide in response to a selection of the editorial content control;

selecting a pointer to an editorial content item from the set of one or more pointers;

if the editorial content item of the selected pointer comprises a video item, determining if a video-on-demand (VOD) software is installed on a set top terminal (STT), tuning to a video-on-demand channel if the VOD software is installed, else retrieving the video item from an in-band channel if the STT lacks the VOD software; and

presenting the editorial content item on the display device.

13. The method of claim 12 comprising:

exiting the editorial content index page; and

presenting the surf guide and the editorial content control upon exiting the editorial content index page.

14. The method of claim 12 comprising:

exiting the editorial content index page; and

presenting a channel displayed on the display device when the step of presenting the editorial content index page is executed.

15. Computer readable media comprising program code, the program code capable of being executed by a microprocessor, the program code comprising a method for presenting editorial content items on a display device, the method comprising:

presenting an electronic program guide operative to display information regarding programming available on a broadcast distribution network and a selectable editorial content control within the electronic program guide to present an editorial content index page;

receiving and storing editorial content items and an editorial content index page having pointers to the editorial content items;

presenting the editorial content index page on the display device within the context of the electric program guide in response to a selection of the editorial content control;

selecting a pointer to an editorial content item from the set of one or more pointers;

if the editorial content item of the selected pointer comprises a video item, determining if a video-on-demand (VOD) software is installed on a set top terminal (STT), tuning to a video-on-demand channel if the VOD software is installed, else retrieving the video item from an in-band channel if the STT lacks the VOD software; and

presenting the editorial content item on the display device.

16. A system for presenting editorial content items on a display device, the system comprising:

one or more received and stored editorial content items comprising, audio, video, and interactive data and combinations thereof;

a received and stored editorial content index page comprising a set of pointers to the stored one or more editorial content items; and

presentation software operative to generate and present on a display device navigational controls and an electronic program guide, the presentation software further operative to display the editorial content index within the context of the electronic program guide and render the editorial content index page and one or more editorial content items on the display device in response to a selected user command, wherein if the one or more editorial content items selected comprises a video item, video-on-demand (VOD) client software operatively renders video data if the VOD client software is installed, else retrieving the video item from an in-band channel if the VOD client software is not installed.