Filtering by broadcast or recording quality within an electronic program guide

• US 7,350,157 B1
• Filed: 09/30/2002
• Issued: 03/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: ARRIS Enterprises LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Digeo Incorporated (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Billmaier, James A., Rogan, Philip, Reid, Dewey, Kellum, John M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sax; Steven P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ke; Peng
• Application Number:
  US10/260,208
• Time in Patent Office: 2,003 Days
• Field of Search: 715/718, 715/810, 715/811, 715/812, 715/813, 715/817, 715/818, 715/819, 715/820, 715/821, 715/822
• US Class Current: 715/818
• 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: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• 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 21/4438 Window management, e.g. event handling following interaction with the user interface
• 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 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72

Abstract

A memory associates a media quality indicator with each media program in a set of media programs. A filter selects from the set those media programs having at least a specified media quality. A display interface displays a list of the selected media programs in an electronic program guide.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

providing a first sequence of cards graphically representing media programs, at least one card being associated with a media format indicator;

providing a second sequence of cards graphically representing media format filters;

displaying at least a subset of the second sequence of cards along a first axis of the user interface intersecting a focus area;

allowing a user to scroll a particular card from the second sequence of cards along the first axis into the focus area;

filtering the first sequence of cards to produce a third sequence of cards in response to the particular card from the second sequence of cards being scrolled into the focus area and without an additional selection action by the user, the third sequence of cards representing those media programs having at least a specified media format determined by the media format indicator of the particular card within the focus area; and

displaying at least a subset of the third sequence of cards along a second axis of the user interface intersecting the focus area, the second axis being perpendicular to the first axis, wherein the at least a subset of the third sequence of cards is automatically displayed in response to the particular card being scrolled into the focus area.

2. A method comprising:

associating one or more media programs with respective media format indicators;

providing one or more media format filters for identifying those media programs having associated media format indicators specifying at least a particular media format;

displaying one or more graphical representations of the one or more media format filters along a horizontal axis of a user interface, the horizontal axis passing through a focus area;

allowing a user to select a media format filter by scrolling the one or more graphical representations along the horizontal axis to move a particular graphical representation of a media format filter into the focus area;

applying the selected media format filter to identify the one or more media programs having the media format indicator associated with the selected media format filter; and

displaying one or more graphical representations of the one or more identified media programs along a vertical axis of a user interface, the vertical axis intersecting the horizontal axis within the focus area, wherein the one or more graphical representations of the one or more identified media programs are automatically displayed in response to the graphical representation of the selected media filter being scrolled into the focus area without a separate selection action by the user.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the media format indicator comprises an HDTV indicator specifying an HDTV video format of at least 720p, such that one or more identified media programs graphically represented in the second axis have an HDTV video format of at least 720p.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the video format indicator comprises an HDTV indicator specifying an HDTV video format of at least 1080i, such that one or more identified media programs graphically represented in the second axis have an HDTV video format of at least 1080i.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the video format indicator comprises a wide-screen indicator specifying an aspect ratio of at least 16:

9, such that one or more identified media programs graphically represented in the second axis have an aspect ratio of at least 16;

9.