Distributed, interactive television program guide; system and method

• US 8,181,203 B2
• Filed: 06/04/2007
• Issued: 05/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: TiVo Solutions Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: TiVo Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Beach, Brian, Waterman, Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): VU, NGOC K
• Application Number:
  US11/757,958
• Publication Number:
  US 20070240187A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,807 Days
• Field of Search: 725/29, 725/52, 725/53, 707/3, 707/4, 707/6, 707/7, 707/102
• US Class Current: 725/53
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2747 Remote storage of video programs received via the downstream path, e.g. from the server
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• 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 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4586 Content update operation triggered locally, e.g. by comparing the version of software modules in a DVB carousel to the version stored locally deployment, distribution, installation, update of software G06F8/65; error detection or correction of the data by redundancy during software upgrading G06F11/1433; arrangements for updating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/25
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4668 for recommending content, e.g. movies
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4826 using recommendation lists, e.g. of programs or channels sorted out according to their score
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8405 represented by keywords
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

In an interactive network-based personal video recording system, a user interface is provided that allows viewers to search a database of program guide information according to program title, indexed program attributes such as actor and director, and key word. Viewer interaction is by way of a remote control unit.

Claims

1. A system for an interactive television program guide database, comprising:

a plurality of clients, each client in the plurality of clients is in periodic communication with at least one server;

a subsystem for periodically receiving, at a client, program guide information from the at least one server;

a subsystem, at the client, that for each periodically received program guide information;

extracts text from fields in the program guide information;

processes the extracted text to create keys, each created key is associated with a program identifier;

sorts the created keys;

eliminates redundant keys from the created keys to create a set of unique keys so that each unique key is paired with a list of program identifiers corresponding to each occurrence of the unique key in the created keys before the elimination of redundant keys; and

sorts the unique keys;

a viewer interface on the client that accepts viewer alphanumeric input; and

a subsystem, at the client, for searching the program guide information by comparing the unique keys to a viewer'"'"'s alphanumeric input.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a subsystem for grouping the unique keys according to specific indexes;

wherein each index is associated with a group of the unique keys; and

wherein a viewer selects an index and the searching subsystem performs a search on the group of the unique keys associated with the selected index.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the searching subsystem incorporates a prefix matching feature that matches the viewer'"'"'s alphanumeric input with the group of the unique keys associated with the selected index as the viewer enters the alphanumeric input and displays a list of program information by referring to the at least one program identifier associated with each matched unique key and extracting program information from the program guide information for display to the viewer.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the viewer selects programs for the client to record from the displayed list of program information.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the searching subsystem incorporates a prefix matching feature that matches the viewer'"'"'s alphanumeric input with the unique keys as the viewer enters the alphanumeric input and displays a list of program information by referring to the at least one program identifier associated with each matched unique key and extracting program information from the program guide information for display to the viewer.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the viewer selects programs for the client to record from the displayed list of program information.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the searching subsystem further comprises a screen for entering a program title and displaying a list of program titles, the screen for entering a program title and displaying a list of program titles comprising:

a virtual alphanumeric keypad for entering alphanumeric characters to spell a program title;

a text box for displaying the entered alphanumeric characters; and

a scrollable list of program titles, wherein the prefix matching feature causes the list of program titles to automatically scroll to titles in the list having prefixes that match an alphanumeric string displayed in the text box.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the viewer enters alphanumeric characters by activating controls on a remote control that correspond to virtual controls on the virtual alphanumeric keypad.

9. A method for an interactive television program guide database, comprising:

periodically receiving, at a client from among a plurality of clients, program guide information from the at least one server;

wherein each client in the plurality of clients is in periodic communication with at least one server;

for each periodically received program guide information, the client;

extracting text from fields in the program guide information;

processing the extracted text to create keys, each created key is associated with a program identifier;

sorting the created keys;

eliminating redundant keys from the created keys to create a set of unique keys so that each unique key is paired with a list of program identifiers corresponding to each occurrence of the unique key in the created keys before the elimination of redundant keys; and

sorting the unique keys;

accepting viewer alphanumeric input via a viewer interface on the client; and

searching, by the client, the program guide information by comparing the unique keys to a viewer'"'"'s alphanumeric input.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

grouping the unique keys according to specific indexes;

wherein each index is associated with a group of the unique keys; and

wherein a viewer selects an index and the searching step performs a search on the group of the unique keys associated with the selected index.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the searching step incorporates a prefix matching feature that matches the viewer'"'"'s alphanumeric input with the group of the unique keys associated with the selected index as the viewer enters the alphanumeric input and displays a list of program information by referring to the at least one program identifier associated with each matched unique key and extracting program information from the program guide information for display to the viewer.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the viewer selects programs for the client to record from the displayed list of program information.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the searching step incorporates a prefix matching feature that matches the viewer'"'"'s alphanumeric input with the unique keys as the viewer enters the alphanumeric input and displays a list of program information by referring to the at least one program identifier associated with each matched unique key and extracting program information from the program guide information for display to the viewer.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the viewer selects programs for the client to record from the displayed list of program information.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the searching step further comprises a screen for entering a program title and displaying a list of program titles, and further comprises:

accepting viewer input of alphanumeric characters to spell a program title on a virtual alphanumeric keypad;

displaying the entered alphanumeric characters in a text box; and

wherein the prefix matching feature causes a list of program titles to automatically scroll to titles in the list having prefixes that match an alphanumeric string displayed in the text box.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the viewer enters alphanumeric characters by activating controls on a remote control that correspond to virtual controls on the virtual alphanumeric keypad.