Program guide navigation tools for media content access systems and methods

• US 8,510,780 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2006
• Issued: 08/13/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Stallings, Heath, Roberts, Brian, Relyea, Don
• Primary Examiner(s): MENGESHA, MULUGETA A
• Application Number:
  US11/614,644
• Publication Number:
  US 20080244659A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,427 Days
• Field of Search: 725/39, 725/52, 725/40, 725/43, 725/45
• US Class Current: 725/52
• 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 21/4221 Dedicated function buttons, e.g. for the control of an EPG, subtitles, aspect ratio, picture-in-picture or teletext
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4314 for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
• 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 21/4532 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 21/47214 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 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time

Abstract

An exemplary system includes a media content processing subsystem configured to provide a program guide graphical user interface (“GUI”) to a display for presentation to a user, the program guide GUI including a portion of a program guide. The media content processing subsystem is further configured to provide at least one navigation tool to the display for presentation in the program guide GUI, the navigation tool including a plurality of selectable options for navigating the program guide. The media content processing subsystem is further configured to detect a user selection of one of the selectable options and initiate a navigation to a location in the program guide based on the selected option. In certain embodiments, the navigation tool includes at least one of a time-based navigation tool and a channel navigation tool.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a media content processing subsystem configured to provide a program guide graphical user interface to a first subset area of a display for presentation to a user concurrently with a media content instance displayed on a second subset area of the display, the program guide graphical user interface including a portion of a program guide;

wherein said media content processing subsystem is further configured to provide at least one navigation tool to the display overlaid on a portion of the program guide graphical user interface, the at least one navigation tool including a plurality of selectable options configured to change a focus of a selector to a location in the program guide, said media content processing subsystem being configured to detect a user selection of one of the selectable options and initiate a navigation to the location in the underlying program guide based on the selected option; and

wherein the program guide includes a plurality of content channels and wherein the navigation to the location includes said media content processing subsystem changing the focus of the selector from one subset of channels to a non-adjacent pre-selected subset of channels in response to receiving a first selected option associated with a selected category and a second selected option associated with a selected channel in the selected category, wherein the location in the underlying program guide is displayed in response to receiving the second selected option,

wherein the plurality of selectable options includes at least one of a plurality of content channel grouping options and a plurality of individual content channel options and wherein each of the content channel grouping options is associated with a pre-selected content channel included in a grouping of content channels included in the program guide.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the program guide further includes a plurality of time slots forming a matrix of cells with the plurality of content channels, and a plurality of media content instances associated with at least a subset of the cells, wherein changing the focus of the selector includes changing the focus of the selector from one of the cells to a pre-selected non-adjacent cell in the program guide in response to receiving the second selected option.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said media content processing subsystem is configured to update the program guide graphical user interface to include another portion of the program guide, a first portion including the location, in response to receiving the second selected option.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one navigation tool includes at least one channel navigation tool.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the individual content channel options is associated with an individual content channel included in the program guide.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one navigation tool includes a time-based navigation tool, the selectable options being associated with time slots included in the program guide.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one navigation tool includes a calendar navigation tool, the selection options including a plurality of selectable calendar day options.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the selectable calendar day options are associated with time slots in the program guide.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the media content processing subsystem is communicatively coupled to a media content provider, said media content processing subsystem being configured to receive data representative of the program guide from the media content provider.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising a user input device configured to provide a user input signal to the media content processing device, said user input device including a plurality of arrow buttons enabling the user to navigate the selectable options.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the display is a viewing screen, and the first and second subset areas of the display occupy adjacent portions of the viewing screen.

12. An apparatus comprising:

at least one processor configured to generate a program guide graphical user interface including a view of a portion of a program guide, the program guide including data representative of content channels and time slots associated with media content instances;

an output driver configured to provide the program guide graphical user interface to a first subset area of a display for presentation to a user and concurrently provide a media content instance to a second subset area of the display, the program guide graphical user interface including a selector positioned at a location in the program guide, said output driver being further configured to provide at least one navigation tool to the display for presentation overlaid on a portion of the program guide graphical user interface, the at least one navigation tool including a plurality of selectable options configured to change a focus of the selector to a pre-selected non-adjacent location in the program guide; and

a receiver configured to receive a user selection of one of the selectable options;

wherein said at least one processor is configured to change the focus of the selector to the non-adjacent location in the underlying program guide based on a first selected option associated with a selected category and a second selected option associated with a selected channel in the selected category, wherein the non-adjacent location in the underlying program guide is displayed in response to receiving the second selected option,

wherein the plurality of selectable options includes at least one of a plurality of content channel grouping options and a plurality of individual content channel options and wherein each of the content channel grouping options is associated with a pre-selected content channel included in a grouping of content channels included in the program guide.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein said at least one processor is configured to update the program guide graphical user interface to include an updated view of another portion of the program guide, the updated view including the pre-selected non-adjacent location, in response to receiving the second selected option.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the at least one navigation tool includes at least one channel navigation tool.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the at least one navigation tool includes a calendar navigation tool, the selection options including a plurality of selectable calendar day options.

16. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising a communication interface configured to receive data representative of the program guide from a media content provider.

17. A method comprising:

providing a program guide graphical user interface to a first subset area of a display for presentation to a user, the program guide graphical user interface including a portion of a program guide, the program guide including a plurality of content channels and a plurality of time slots forming a matrix of cells, and a plurality of media content instances associated with the cells;

providing a media content instance to a second subset area of the display for presentation to the user concurrently with the program guide graphical user interface;

detecting an occurrence of a predetermined event;

providing in response to the event at least one navigation tool overlaid on the program guide graphical user interface, the at least one navigation tool including a plurality of selectable options configured to jump a selector to a location in the program guide, the plurality of selectable options including at least one of a plurality of content channel grouping options and a plurality of individual content channel options and wherein each of the content channel grouping options is associated with a pre-selected content channel included in a grouping of content channels included in the program guide;

detecting a user selection of one of the selectable options; and

initiating a navigation to the location in the underlying program guide based on a first selected option associated with a selected category and a second selected option associated with a selected channel in the selected category, the navigation to the location including moving a selector from one of the cells to a pre-selected non-adjacent cell in the program guide in response to receiving the second selected option.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the navigation includes jumping the selector to the location in response to receiving the second selected option.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising updating the program guide graphical user interface to include another portion of the program guide, a first portion including the location, in response to receiving the second selected option.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the at least one navigation tool includes at least one channel navigation tool.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein the at least one navigation tool includes a time-based navigation tool, the selectable options being associated with time slots included in the program guide.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein the at least one navigation tool includes a calendar navigation tool, the selection options including a plurality of selectable calendar day options.

23. The method of claim 17, further comprising enabling the user to navigate the selectable options utilizing one or more arrow buttons of a user input device.

24. The method of claim 17, further comprising receiving data representative of the program guide from a media content provider.

25. A method comprising:

providing a program guide graphical user interface to a display device, wherein the program guide graphical user interface is configured to present a matrix of a plurality of cells formed from a plurality of content channels and a plurality of time slots;

receiving a request to access a navigation tool associated with the program guide graphical user interface;

providing a plurality of selectable options associated with the requested navigation tool, including at least one presentation option configured to display a media content instance concurrently with the program guide graphical user interface, the plurality of selectable options including at least one of a plurality of content channel grouping options and a plurality of individual content channel options and wherein each of the content channel grouping options is associated with a pre-selected content channel included in a grouping of content channels included in the program guide;

receiving a selection of the at least one presentation option;

providing a media content instance to the display device concurrently with the program guide graphical user interface; and

receiving a user selection of an option to move a selector from one location to a pre-selected non-adjacent location in the matrix of cells, wherein receiving the user selection includes receiving a first selected option associated with a selected category and receiving a second selected option associated with a selected channel in the selected category, wherein the pre-selected non-adjacent location is associated with at least one of the pre-selected content channels of the plurality of content channels and time slots and wherein the non-adjacent location is displayed after receiving the second user selection.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

displaying the program guide graphical user interface on a first subset area of the display device in response to the selection of the at least one presentation option; and

display the media content instance on a second subset area of the display device concurrently with the program guide graphical user interface;

wherein the first and second subset areas of the display device occupy adjacent portions of the display device.

27. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

providing, as one of the plurality of selectable options associated with navigation tool, the option to jump the selector to the location in the matrix of cells;

detecting the second user selection of the option to jump the selector to the location in the matrix of cells; and

jumping the selector from one of the cells to a pre-selected non-adjacent cell in the matrix of cells in response to receiving the second user selection.

28. The method of claim 25, further comprising providing the navigation tool overlaid on the program guide graphical user interface.

29. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

providing the program guide graphical user interface to the display device in a substantially full-screen format;

receiving a selection of the at least one presentation option, the presentation option being a picture-in-picture option;

providing the graphical user interface to a first subset area of the display device; and

providing a media content instance to a second subset area of the display device.