Systems and methods for providing a scan

• US 8,127,329 B1
• Filed: 08/11/2008
• Issued: 02/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Kunkel, Gerard, Radloff, Jon P., Ellis, Michael D., Craner, Michael L., Iyer, Rajeshwari B., Jakubowski, Andrzej
• Primary Examiner(s): SHEPARD, JUSTIN E
• Application Number:
  US12/189,386
• Time in Patent Office: 1,296 Days
• Field of Search: 725/37
• US Class Current: 725/41
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4263 involving specific tuning arrangements, e.g. two tuners
• 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 21/432 Content retrieval operation from a local storage medium, e.g. hard-disk details of retrieval of video data and associated meta data in video databases G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4383 Accessing a communication channel
• 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 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/462 Content or additional data management, e.g. creating a master electronic program guide from data received from the Internet and a Head-end, controlling the complexity of a video stream by scaling the resolution or bit-rate based on the client capabilities
• 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 21/47208 for requesting near-video-on-demand content
• 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 21/84 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 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/783 Adaptations for reproducing at a rate different from the recording rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8205 involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the colour video signal

Abstract

Systems and methods for a video scan are provided. The scan may be dynamically interactive and a function of characteristics of the programs in the scan (e.g., commercial breaks or the end of a program approaching) The scan may simultaneously display multiple scan windows for a plurality of programs, for example in a scan wizard. The scan wizard allows the user to simultaneously view a scan window and an information panel, select criteria for the scan from a criteria panel, and control the scan using a scan control panel. The scan may allow the user to record a program displayed in the scan without interrupting the scan (e.g., by using an additional tuner). The scan may display, within the scan interface, trick-play functions for appropriate scanned programs (e.g., recorded, cached and on-demand programs). The user may select and perform trick-play functions for a scanned program without exiting the scan mode.

Claims

1. A method for providing a video scan, comprising:

receiving at least a first scan criterion and a second scan criterion for a scan;

identifying a first plurality of programs related to the first scan criterion;

identifying a second plurality of programs related to the second scan criterion;

substantially simultaneously displaying;

the first plurality of programs in an order defined by a first scan sequence in a first window, and

the second plurality of programs in an order defined by a second scan sequence in a second window;

in response to displaying one of the first plurality of programs in the first window;

retrieving a relevance indicator indicating relevance of one of the first plurality of programs currently displayed in the first window to the first scan criterion, and

displaying the relevance indicator simultaneously with the program currently displayed in the first window; and

once a display length for one of the first plurality of programs has lapsed;

displaying a next program in the first plurality of programs in the first window,

retrieving a relevance indicator indicating the relevance of the next program to the first scan criterion, and

displaying the relevance indicator simultaneously with the program currently displayed in the first window.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

displaying the first identified programs comprises directing a first tuner to sequentially tune to the first identified programs; and

displaying the second identified programs comprises directing a second tuner to sequentially tune to the second identified programs.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second scan criteria are the same.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the first identified programs are current programs;

the second identified programs are future programs;

the first window is a video window; and

the second window is an information window.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein substantially simultaneously displaying the first and second identified programs comprises simultaneously tuning to the first and second identified programs with at least one of an analog tuner, a digital tuner, a network socket, and an MPEG encoder/decoder.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein relevance of a currently displayed program is visually indicated in an information window associated with a most relevant criterion.

7. A method for providing a video scan, comprising:

(a) identifying current programs for a scan based on a scan criterion;

(b) identifying a transport streams on which the identified programs are transmitted;

(c) tuning to a frequency that is encoded with a digital bitstream representing at least two identified current programs;

(d) extracting the at least two identified current programs from the digital bitstream;

(e) displaying a first of the two extracted programs in a first of a plurality of video windows and a second of the two extracted programs in a second of the plurality of video windows, wherein the display of a temporal portion of the first of the extracted programs is at least partially concurrent with the temporal display of a portion of the second of the extracted programs;

(f) in response to displaying one of the extracted programs in the first window;

retrieving a relevance indicator indicating the relevance of the extracted program currently displayed in the first window to the scan criterion, and

displaying the relevance indicator simultaneously with the extracted program currently displayed in the first window;

(g) waiting for a scan length for at least one of the displayed programs to lapse; and

(h) once the scan length has lapsed, displaying a different one of the identified programs in the video window within which the at least one of the displayed programs was displayed.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the digital bitstream is a QAM stream.

9. A system for providing a video scan, comprising a display device and control circuitry, the control circuitry configured to:

receive at least a first scan criterion and a second scan criterion for a scan;

identify a first plurality of programs related to the first scan criterion;

identify a second plurality of programs related to the second scan criterion;

direct the display device to substantially simultaneously display;

the first plurality of programs in an order defined by a first scan sequence in a first window, and

the second plurality of programs in an order defined by a second scan sequence in a second window;

in response to displaying one of the first plurality of programs in the first window;

retrieve a relevance indicator indicating relevance of one of the first plurality of programs currently displayed in the first window to the first scan criterion, and

display the relevance indicator simultaneously with the program currently displayed in the first window; and

once a display length for one of the first plurality of programs has lapsed;

display a next program in the first plurality of programs in the first window,

retrieve a relevance indicator indicating the relevance of the next program to the first scan criterion, and

display the relevance indicator simultaneously with the program currently displayed in the first window.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

direct a first tuner to sequentially tune to the first identified programs; and

direct a second tuner to sequentially tune to the second identified programs.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the first and second scan criteria are the same.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein:

the first identified programs are current programs;

the second identified programs are future programs;

the first window is a video window; and

the second window is an information window.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to simultaneously tune to the first and second identified programs with at least one of an analog tuner, a digital tuner, a network socket, and an MPEG encoder/decoder.

14. A system for providing a video scan, comprising a display device and control circuitry, the control circuitry configured to:

(a) identify current programs for a scan based on a scan criterion;

(b) identify a transport streams on which the identified programs are transmitted;

(c) tune to a frequency that is encoded with a digital bitstream representing at least two identified current programs;

(d) extract the at least two identified current programs from the digital bitstream;

(e) direct the display device to display a first of the two extracted programs in a first of a plurality of video windows and a second of the two extracted programs in a second of the plurality of video windows, wherein the display of a temporal portion of the first of the extracted programs is at least partially concurrent with the temporal display of a portion of the second of the extracted programs;

(f) in response to displaying one of the extracted programs in the first window;

retrieve a relevance indicator indicating the relevance of the extracted program currently displayed in the first window to the scan criterion, and

display the relevance indicator simultaneously with the extracted program currently displayed in the first window;

(g) wait for a scan length for at least one of the displayed programs to lapse; and

(h) once the scan length has lapsed, direct the display device to display a different one of the identified programs in the video window within which the at least one of the displayed programs was displayed.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the digital bitstream is a QAM stream.