System and method for providing channel selection in an electronic programming guide

• US 7,721,309 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2000
• Issued: 05/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Saturn Licensing LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Diaz, Ronaldo, Nishikawa, Yuko S., Chow, Jenny Su, Dew, Aaron John
• Primary Examiner(s): Shang; Annan Q
• Application Number:
  US09/745,606
• Publication Number:
  US 20020078457A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,436 Days
• Field of Search: 725 37- 61, 725/132, 725/134, 725/140, 725/142, 709217-223
• US Class Current: 725/44
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• 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 21/4755 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

Abstract

The present invention relates to an entertainment system and method for selectively storing broadcast channels by the entertainment system. To store a broadcast channel, the system first receives programming data associated with the channel. A show associated with the channel is displayed and a menu associated with the storing of the channel in memory may also be displayed. The viewer may then select to add to or remove from memory the programming data associated with the currently tuned channel via a one-step process, and the programming data is subsequently loaded into the memory.

Claims

1. A method for selectively storing, at an entertainment system, data being received and displayed by the entertainment system where the data is associated with a broadcast channel, the method comprising:

receiving programming data associated with the channel;

displaying a show associated with the channel;

displaying a menu associated with storing of the channel in memory including displaying an add icon that is selectable for adding the channel associated with the show currently being displayed when the current channel is not stored in said memory and displaying a remove icon in place of the add icon where the remove icon is selectable to remove the channel associated with the show currently being displayed from said memory when the current channel is stored in said memory and including a mark icon that is selectable for listing channels previously selected for adding to memory;

receiving a selection, in response to detecting a selection of the add icon displayed in the menu when the current channel is not stored in said memory, to store the programming data of the channel associated with the show currently being displayed into memory of the entertainment system;

storing the programming data associated with the channel currently being displayed into the memory; and

displaying a second menu, in response to detecting a selection of the mark icon, where the second menu comprises;

a graphical portion and a list of channels stored in said memory, wherein said list of channels is scrollable and said graphical portion displays a show corresponding to one of the channels in said list of channels during scrolling;

wherein the second menu further comprising an instruction displayed in the graphical portion and superimposed over the show displayed in the graphical portion, where the instruction comprises a string of textual data explaining an action to be performed by a user to display the channel depicted in the graphical portion.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the storing includes specifying that the channel is to be added to a list of stored channels.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising

removing, in response to detecting a selection of the remove icon displayed in the menu in place of the add icon when the current channel is stored in said memory of the entertainment system, the current channel from the list of stored channels.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting for display a list of stored channels and displaying the list of stored channels.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving programming data comprises receiving a digital bit stream including the programming data and sensory data corresponding to the programming data.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving the selection to store the programming data comprises:

executing software by a central processing unit, implemented within the entertainment system, to produce the menu; and

receiving the selection of the add icon of the screen menu to prompt selection of the channel for storage in the memory.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the storing the programming data into the memory includes storing the channel number information and source of the channel into the memory.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

displaying a list of the stored channels, in response to receiving a selection to display the list of the stored channels; and

causing a broadcast receiver to tune to an identified channel in the list of the stored channels to display a show corresponding to the channel in response to receiving a selection of the identified channel from stored channels.

9. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

receiving a selection of an option to exit the screen menu; and

removing the screen menu from being displayed in response to receiving the selection to exit the screen menu.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the displaying the second menu comprises displaying the second menu superimposed over the playback of the programming data associated with the channel currently being displayed and where the instruction comprises a string of textual data explaining a series of actions to be performed by a user to display the channel depicted in the graphical portion.

11. An entertainment system comprising:

a display monitor; and

a broadcast receiver coupled to the display monitor, the broadcast receiver including a front-end unit capable of receiving programming data associated with a show broadcast for viewing on the display monitor, a memory, and a central processing unit coupled to the memory, the central processing unit coupled to receive the programming data associated with a broadcast channel, the central processing unit to execute software to load the programming data associated with the channel currently being displayed into the memory, to cause a first screen menu to be displayed on said display monitor, the first screen menu including a first icon selectable to add the current channel to a list of channels stored in said memory when the current channel is not included in the list of channels and including a second icon in place of the first icon where the second icon is selectable to remove the current channel from the list of channels stored in said memory when the current channel is currently stored in the list of channels; and

wherein the central processing unit to execute software to display a second screen menu where the second screen menu comprises;

a graphical portion and the list of channels stored in said memory;

wherein said list of channels displayed in the second screen menu is scrollable and said graphical portion displays a show corresponding to one of the channels in said list of channels during scrolling; and

wherein the second screen menu further comprising an instruction displayed in the graphical portion and superimposed over the show displayed in the graphical portion, where the instruction comprises a string of textual data explaining an action to be performed by a user to display the channel depicted in the graphical portion.

12. The entertainment system of claim 11, wherein the display monitor includes a television receiver.

13. The entertainment system of claim 11, wherein the broadcast receiver includes an integrated receiver decoder and the integrated receiver decoder comprises:

an amplification circuitry;

a demodulator;

a main logic block;

a transceiver device;

a remote command unit interface;

an extension bus that couple with and provides a communication path between at least the main logic block and each of the transceiver device and the remote command unit interface; and

a memory;

wherein the remote command unit interface receive at least a first command from a remote control device and transfers a first interrupt request signal, corresponding to the first command, to the central processing unit such that the central processing unit, in response to receiving the first interrupt, executes interrupt software contained in one of the memory and the second memory to implement storing, into the memory, the programming data associated with the channel currently being displayed to add the current channel to the list of channels stored in said memory.

14. The entertainment system of claim 11, wherein the central processing unit executes software to add the currently displayed channel to the list of channels stored in said memory when the central processing unit detects a selection of the first icon.

15. The entertainment system of claim 14, wherein the first screen menu further comprises a third icon selectable to display, by the central processing unit upon detecting a selection of the third icon, the second screen menu.

16. The entertainment system of claim 11, wherein the second screen menu further comprises a text portion, said text portion including a description of said show corresponding to said one of the channels in said list of channels during scrolling.

17. The entertainment system of claim 16, wherein the second screen menu, when displayed, is superimposed over the playback of the programming data associated with the channel currently being displayed.

18. The entertainment system of claim 17, wherein the instruction comprises the string of textual data explaining a series of actions to be performed by a user to display the channel depicted in the graphical portion.