System and method for efficiently tuning to channels of a variety of different broadcast types

• US 7,194,753 B1
• Filed: 03/16/2000
• Issued: 03/20/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Fries, Robert M., Pietraszak, Michael E.
• Primary Examiner(s): BUI, KIEU OANH T
• Application Number:
  US09/526,628
• Time in Patent Office: 2,560 Days
• Field of Search: 725 48- 49, 725/59, 725/38, 725/39, 725/40, 725/43, 725/45, 725/104, 725/144, 348/731, 348/732, 348/473, 348/552, 348/563, 348/569
• US Class Current: 725/38
• CPC Class Codes: H03J 1/0075 where the receiving frequencies of the stations are stored in a permanent memory, e.g. ROM
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4263 involving specific tuning arrangements, e.g. two tuners
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4384 involving operations to reduce the access time, e.g. fast-tuning for reducing channel switching latency
• 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 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/46 for receiving on more than one standard at will deflecting circuits of multi-standard receivers H04N3/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/50 Tuning indicators; Automatic tuning control

Abstract

A tuning system is described that is capable of receiving a number of different broadcast types such as analog or digital satellite, cable, Internet, and terrestrial airwave broadcasts. The tuning system stores service records, each service recording containing information required to tune to a particular channel. These service records are categorized within service spaces by tuner type, content, or in any other desired manner. A viewer selects (actively or by default) the service space in which the viewer desires to channel surf. The viewer then selects the desired channel within that service space. In response to this selection, the tuning system uses the information within the selected service record to identify the correct tuner, and to cause that tuner to tune to the selected channel.

Claims

1. In a tuning system for tuning to channels of a plurality of different broadcast types including digital broadcasts, a method of efficiently tuning to a channel of one of the broadcast types, the method comprising the following:

an act of the tuning system storing a plurality of service records in a plurality of service spaces of a memory accessible by the tuning system, wherein each service record contains tuning information including a channel identifier for tuning to a channel of one of the plurality of broadcast types;

an act of extracting additional tuning information from one or more digital data streams that are broadcast to the tuning system over one or more digital channels, wherein the additional tuning information is necessary for subsequent tuning to the one or more corresponding digital channels;

an act of storing the additional tuning information in one or more of the service records that correspond to one or more digital channels over which the digital data streams were broadcast;

an act of the tuning system categorizing the plurality of service records into a plurality of service spaces;

upon receiving a user selection of a service space, identifying a correct one of a plurality of tuners to use in tuning to one or more channels that are identified by one or more service records in the selected service space;

an act of the tuning system receiving a selection from the user of a particular channel, the particular user-selected channel corresponding to a particular one of the service records in the selected service space;

an act of the tuning system accessing the particular one of the service records from the memory, the particular one of the service records including the extracted additional tuning information; and

when the extracted additional tuning information is correct for the user-selected channel, an act of the tuning system tuning to the user-selected channel using the tuning information and the extracted additional tuning information, which is retrieved from the one or more service records rather than being re-extracted from the one or more digital data streams, and wherein the extracted additional tuning information would otherwise be required to be re-extracted from the one or more digital data streams to tune into the selected channel; and

when the extracted additional tuning information is incorrect or outdated, an act of the tuning system unsuccessfully attempting to tune to the particular channel selected by the user using the tuning information and the extracted additional tuning information, the tuning being unsuccessful due, at least in part, to the additional tuning information being incorrect or outdated, and in response to determining that the attempt to tune to the particular channel selected by the user was unsuccessful, updating the service record with updated information and thereafter using the updated information from the service record to successfully tune to the particular channel selected by the user.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the act of the tuning system storing comprises the following:

an act of the tuning system storing information that identifies a tuner in each of the plurality of service records in the memory; and

an act of the tuning system storing information that identifies a channel in each of the plurality of service records in the memory.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the act of the tuning system storing comprises the following:

an act of the tuning system accumulating the plurality of service records in the memory.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the act of the tuning system accumulating the plurality of service records comprises the following:

an act of at least one tuner of the tuning system monitoring at least one broadcast type to determine available channels in the at least one broadcast type.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the act of the tuning system categorizing the plurality of service records into a plurality of service spaces comprises the following:

for each of the plurality of service records, an act of the tuning system storing a pointer associated with the service record in at least one of the service spaces.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the act of the tuning system categorizing the plurality of service records into a plurality of service spaces further comprises the following:

an act of the tuning system creating a favorites service space for including pointers to service records that correspond to service records included in at least one other service space corresponding to a particular broadcast type, and such that a viewer can select the channel from the favorites service space.

7. A computer program product for use in a tuning system for tuning to channels of a plurality of different broadcast types including digital broadcasts, the computer program product comprising computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions for implementing the method recited in claim 1.

8. A computer program product as recited in claim 7, wherein the act of the tuning system storing comprises the following:

an act of the tuning system storing information that identifies a tuner in each of the plurality of service records in the memory; and

an act of the tuning system storing information that identifies a channel in each of the plurality of service records in the memory.

9. A computer program product as recited in claim 7, wherein the act of the tuning system storing comprises the following:

an act of the tuning system accumulating the plurality of service records in the memory.

10. A computer program product as recited in claim 9, wherein the act of the tuning system accumulating the plurality of service records comprises the following:

an act of at least one tuner of the tuning system monitoring at least one broadcast type to determine available channels in the at least one broadcast type.

11. A computer program product as recited in claim 7, wherein the act of the tuning system categorizing the plurality of service records into a plurality of service spaces comprises the following:

for each of the plurality of service records, an act of the tuning system storing a pointer associated with the service record in at least one of the service spaces.

12. A computer program product as recited in claim 7, wherein the act of the tuning system categorizing the plurality of service records into a plurality of service spaces further comprises the following:

an act of the tuning system creating a favorites service space for including pointers to service records that correspond to service records included in at least one other service space corresponding to a particular broadcast type, and such that a viewer can select the channel from the favorites service space.

13. A computer program product as recited in claim 7, wherein the additional tuning information includes information obtained from the program association table portion of the one or more digital data streams.

14. A computer program product as recited in claim 7, wherein the user selection of the service space is made from a graphical user interface.

15. A computer program product as recited in claim 7, wherein the channel selection is made from a graphical user interface.

16. A computer program product as recited in claim 7, wherein the additional tuning information includes at least one of a program number, program identifier, and a bit stream type.

17. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the user selection of the service space is made from a graphical user interface.

18. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the channel selection is made from a graphical user interface.

19. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the additional tuning information includes at least one of a program number, program identifier, and a bit stream type.

20. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one service record includes a time condition, which causes the service record to point to another service record when the time condition is unsatisfied.

21. A method as recited in claim 1, further including an act of receiving input for pausing a program and subsequent to receiving additional input for resuming display of the programming, determining an appropriate channel to return to, and wherein the appropriate channel to return to is a different channel than the selected channel and that started at a different time than the selected channel.

22. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the method further includes receiving aggregate information corresponding to a plurality of different channels over a single channel.

23. In a tuning system for tuning to channels of a plurality of different broadcast types, a method of efficiently tuning to a channel of one of the broadcast types without a user having to designate the broadcast type, the method comprising the following:

a step for storing a plurality of service records, each service record containing tuning information for tuning to a particular channel of one of the plurality of broadcast types;

a step for grouping the plurality of service records into a plurality of service spaces according to broadcast content type that is other than broadcast type, wherein at least one service space includes a plurality of different service records corresponding to a plurality of different broadcast types;

displaying the service spaces to a user according to content type;

receiving a user selection of one of the service spaces;

upon receiving the selection of one of the service spaces, displaying information corresponding to service records of the selected service space that correspond to the same content type, wherein the corresponding service records include service records corresponding to different broadcast types;

a step for receiving a selection of one of the service records corresponding to the selected service space; and

a step for tuning to a channel corresponding to the selected service record using the tuning information provided in the service record.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein the step for storing comprises the following:

an act of storing information that identifies a tuner; and

an act of storing information that identifies a channel tunable by the tuner.

25. The method according to claim 23, wherein the step for storing comprises the following:

a step for accumulating the plurality of service records.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein the step for accumulating the plurality of service records comprises the following:

an act of a tuner monitoring a broadcast to determine available channels.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein the step for accumulating the plurality of service records further comprises the following:

for each of the available channels, an act of creating a service record for the available channel if a service record does not already exist for the available channel.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein the step for accumulating the plurality of service records further comprises the following:

an act of including information that the tuner used to tune to the available channel in the service record.

29. The method according to claim 25, wherein the step of accumulating the plurality of service records comprises:

a specific act of providing a loader for each tuner in the tuning system;

a specific act of using the loader to monitor the channels tuned to by the corresponding tuner for a new channel;

a specific act of a master service control creating a new service record corresponding to the new channel; and

a specific act of including the tuning parameters used to tune to the new channel in the new service record.

30. The method according to claim 23, wherein the step for categorizing the plurality of service records into a plurality of service spaces comprises the following:

for each of the plurality of service records, an act of storing a pointer associated with the service record in at least one of the service spaces.

31. The method according to claim 23, wherein the step for categorizing the plurality of service records into a plurality of service spaces comprises the following:

an act of creating a master service space that includes pointers to all of the plurality of service records.

32. The method according to claim 23, wherein the step for categorizing the plurality of service records into a plurality of service spaces comprises the following:

an act of creating a favorites service space for including service records that correspond to desirable channels.

33. The method according to claim 23, wherein the step for tuning to a channel corresponding to the selected service record using the tuning information provided in the service record comprises the following:

an act of the tuning system tuning to a selected digital channel corresponding to the selected service record using the tuning information provided in the service record.

34. In a tuning system for tuning to channels of a plurality of different broadcast types, a computer program product for implementing a method of efficiently tuning to a channel of one of the broadcast types without having to designate the broadcast type, the computer program product comprising:

a computer readable medium for providing computer program code means utilized to implement said method; and

wherein said computer program code means is comprised of executable code for implementing the method recited in claim 23.

35. The computer program product according to claim 34, wherein the executable code for implementing the step for storing further comprises executable code for implementing the following:

an act of the tuning system storing information that identifies a tuner; and

an act of the tuning system storing information that identifies a channel tunable by the tuner.

36. The computer program product according to claim 35, wherein the executable code for implementing the step for accumulating the plurality of service records comprises executable code for implementing the following:

an act of a tuner monitoring a broadcast to determine available channels;

for each available channel, an act of creating a service record for the available channel if a service record does not already exist for the available channel; and

for each available channel, an act of including information that the tuner used to tune to the available channel in the service record.

37. The computer program product according to claim 34, wherein the executable code for implementing the step for storing further comprises the executable code for implementing the following:

a step for accumulating the plurality of service records.