Methods and apparatus to conditionally display icons in a user interface

• US 8,499,256 B1
• Filed: 12/24/2008
• Issued: 07/30/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DIRECTV, LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Iten, Tommi J., Bennett, Eric J., Wintibaugh, Tyson L., Green, David P., Black, Brian
• Primary Examiner(s): LEGGETT, ANDREA C.
• Application Number:
  US12/343,914
• Time in Patent Office: 1,679 Days
• Field of Search: 715/810, 715/841
• US Class Current: 715/810
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• 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 21/4424 Monitoring of the internal components or processes of the client device, e.g. CPU or memory load, processing speed, timer, counter or percentage of the hard disk space used error monitoring in general G06F11/30; arrangements for monitoring conditions of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/32; diagnosis, testing or measuring for television receivers H04N17/04
• 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 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver

Abstract

A method of conditionally displaying an icon to indicate a status within a user interface as part of a media presentation system is described. An example method includes updating a status of content within the media presentation system, displaying at least one icon within a guide menu containing one or more menu sections with each menu section containing a plurality of menu layers, and displaying the icon within a first menu layer to indicate the status of content within menu layers associated with the first menu layer.

Claims

1. A method of conditionally displaying an icon to indicate a status within a user interface as part of a media presentation system, the method comprising:

updating a status of content within the media presentation system;

displaying at least two icons within a guide menu containing a plurality of menu layers;

displaying a first icon associated with a first user within a first tab of a first menu layer to indicate the status of content in the first menu layer; and

simultaneously displaying a second icon, different than the first icon, associated with a second user within a second tab of a second menu layer to indicate the status of content in the second menu layer, wherein the first icon and the second icon are simultaneously visible.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the status of updated content comprises an indication of one of a newly recorded program, a downloaded program, a downloaded content, a newly available content, a newly available channel, a newly available service, a program limit, a content limit, a program deletion, a warning for a program deletion, or a memory limit.

3. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising changing one or more properties of one or more of the first icon or the second icon.

4. The method as defined in claim 3, wherein the properties include an icon type, an icon color, conditions to display an icon, an icon shape, or an icon type associated with one or more of the first user or the second user.

5. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising displaying one or more of the first icon or the second icon as one or more of a graphical image, a text, an animation, an audio sound, or a video image.

6. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the status of content of the first menu layer is otherwise unseen in the first menu layer.

7. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising at least one of selecting the first icon within the first menu layer to open a menu sub-layer associated with the updated content.

8. The method as defined in claim 7, wherein selecting the first icon includes at least one of clicking on the first icon, selecting the area around the first icon, highlighting the first icon, lassoing the first icon, or boxing the first icon with a cursor.

21. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the content within one or more of the first menu layer or the second menu layer includes a plurality of programs and the first icon is related to at least a first program of the plurality of programs.

22. The method as defined in claim 21, wherein the second icon is related to at least a second program of the plurality of programs.

9. A media presentation system comprising:

a transmission system to generate and transmit streams of audio visual data;

a receiver to receive audiovisual data and to generate video and audio output signals;

a display device, wherein the receiver, the transmission system, and the display device are in communication; and

a user interface comprising;

a guide menu containing one or more menu layers;

a first icon associated with a first user displayed within a first menu layer indicating the status of a first content within the first menu layer; and

a second icon associated with a second user displayed within the first menu layer indicating the status of one or more of the first content or a second content within the first menu layer.

10. The media presentation system as defined in claim 9, wherein displaying the icons within a program guide comprises displaying the icons adjacent to or within at least one of a tab, a button, a menu item, or a selectable menu item associated with the first menu layer.

11. The media presentation system as defined in claim 9, further comprising displaying one or more of the first icon or the second icon as one or more of a graphical image, a text, an animation, an audio sound, or a video image.

12. The media presentation system as defined in claim 9, wherein the first menu layer is at least one of a menu section, a guide menu, a user interface menu, a widget, or a channel banner.

13. A non-transitory machine accessible medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause a machine to present a user interface on a display by causing the machine to:

provide one or more menu sections including a first menu section containing a first menu layer having a first plurality of sub-layers and a second menu layer having a second plurality of sub-layers;

display a first icon in a tab of the first menu layer indicating status of content within a first sub-layer of the first menu layer;

display the first icon within the first menu layer adjacent the first sub-layer;

display a second icon in the tab of the first menu layer indicating status of content with a second sub-layer of the first menu layer;

display the second icon within the first menu layer adjacent the second sub-layer; and

output the first menu layer and the first and second icons to at least one of a receiver or a display.

14. The machine accessible medium as defined in claim 13, having instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause the machine to provide a setting menu to configure one or more properties of one or more of the first icon or the second icon.

15. The machine accessible medium as defined in claim 14, wherein the setting menu includes one or more of an icon type, an icon color, conditions to display an icon, an icon shape, or an icon type associated to a user.

16. The machine accessible medium as defined in claim 13, wherein the status of updated content comprises an indication of one of a newly recorded program, a downloaded program, a downloaded content, a newly available content, a newly available channel, a newly available service, a program limit, a content limit, a program deletion, a warning for a program deletion, or a memory limit.

17. The machine accessible medium as defined in claim 13, having instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause the machine to display one or more of the first icon or the second icon as one or more of a graphical image, a text, an animation, an audio sound, or a video image.

18. The machine accessible medium as defined in claim 13, wherein the first menu layer is at least one of a menu section, a guide menu, a user interface menu, a widget, or a channel banner.

19. The machine accessible medium as defined in claim 13, wherein the status of content within menu sub-layers of the first menu layer is otherwise unseen in the first menu layer.

20. A non-transitory machine accessible medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause a machine to present a user interface on a display by causing the machine to:

provide a menu section containing a first menu layer displayed when the menu section is selected, the first menu layer including a first tab and displaying a plurality of selectable menu layers;

provide a second menu layer including a second tab, the second menu layer tab selectable within the first menu layer;

provide a list of a plurality of recorded programs unseen when viewing the first menu layer, the list located within the second menu layer including a list entry corresponding to a recorded program of the plurality of recorded programs;

display an icon in response to recording the recorded program;

display the icon on the first tab of the first menu layer viewable within the menu section indicating the recorded program on the list within the second menu layer;

display the icon on the second tab of the second menu layer; and

display the icon adjacent to the list entry corresponding to the recorded program when the list of the second menu layer is shown in the first menu layer.