Interactive user interface

• US 8,522,277 B2
• Filed: 10/07/2010
• Issued: 08/27/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: TiVo Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Comcast IP Holdings I LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Gordon, Donald F., Ludvig, Edward A., Osborn, Nathan W., Edmonds, Jeremy S., Bayrakeri, Sadik
• Primary Examiner(s): HUYNH, AN SON PHI
• Application Number:
  US12/899,797
• Publication Number:
  US 20110022961A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,055 Days
• Field of Search: 725 39- 41, 725 43- 46
• US Class Current: 725/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/577 Motion compensation with bidirectional frame interpolation, i.e. using B-pictures
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23424 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for inserting or substituting an advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23608 Remultiplexing multiplex streams, e.g. involving modifying time stamps or remapping the packet identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23614 Multiplexing of additional data and video streams arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information H04H20/28
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2365 Multiplexing of several video streams
• 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 21/4344 Remultiplexing of multiplex streams, e.g. by modifying time stamps or remapping the packet identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4347 Demultiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4348 Demultiplexing of additional data and video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44016 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for substituting a video clip
• 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 21/482 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6547 comprising parameters, e.g. for client setup
• 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 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309

Abstract

A user interface for an interactive information distribution system comprising a graphics region, a video region and a mask/reveal layer. The user interface is generated in a head end of the system as a digital bitstream and transmitted to subscriber equipment for display. Operation of the user interface is facilitated by functions on both a local level with the subscriber equipment and on a system level within the head end. One embodiment of the user interface is an interactive program guide.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

generating, with one or more service provider equipment devices, a plurality of user interfaces, each of the user interfaces representing an interactive guide page which lists channel content;

generating a graphics layer to facilitate a mask/reveal function within each of the user interfaces;

transmitting, using a transmitter within at least one of the one or more service provider equipment devices, each of the user interfaces as a bitstream having a unique identifier to a user terminal via a communication network to distribute the channel content; and

transmitting the graphics layer with each of said plurality of user interfaces to the user terminal;

wherein each of said plurality of user interfaces includes a video region and a graphics region, each video region for displaying a video sequence common to all of the user interfaces, and each graphics region for displaying a respective different plurality of graphics objects;

wherein said graphics layer comprises graphics layer imagery visually cooperating with at least one graphics object of said respective different pluralities of graphics objects, said graphics layer controllable by said user terminal to selectively mask or reveal said at least one graphics object; and

wherein said graphics layer has a level of controlled opacity to mask or reveal said at least one graphics object.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

deemphasizing a masked object with respect to a revealed graphics object.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said graphics layer reveals the at least one graphics object and masks a remainder of graphics objects of the different pluralities of graphics objects.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said different pluralities of graphics objects comprise guide content.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said guide content comprises a list of program titles.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of user interfaces are associated with a connectivity map that relates each user interface of the plurality of user interfaces to at least one other user interface of the plurality of user interfaces.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein each user interface comprises sound associated with the video sequence.

8. A system comprising:

one or more service provider equipment devices to;

generate a plurality of user interfaces, each of the user interfaces representing an interactive guide page which lists channel content, and

generate a graphics layer to facilitate a mask/reveal function within each of the user interfaces; and

a transmitter to;

transmit each of said user interfaces as a bitstream having a unique identifier to a user terminal via a communication network configured to distribute the channel content, and

transmit the graphics layer with each of said plurality of user interfaces to the user terminal;

wherein each of said plurality of user interfaces includes a video region and a graphics region, each video region for displaying a video sequence common to all of the user interfaces, and each graphics region for displaying a respective different plurality of graphics objects;

wherein said graphics layer comprises graphics layer imagery visually cooperating with at least one graphics object of said respective different pluralities of graphics objects, said graphics layer controllable by said user terminal to selectively mask or reveal said at least one graphics object; and

wherein said graphics layer has a level of controlled opacity to mask or reveal said at least one graphics object.

9. The system of claim 8, further comprising:

a compositor configured to combine the different pluralities of graphics objects and the video sequence to generate the plurality of user interfaces as a plurality of frame sequences.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising:

an encoding unit configured to encode the plurality of frame sequences.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the encoding unit comprises an audio encoder configured to encode audio information associated with said video sequence.

12. The system of claim 8, further comprising:

a modulator configured to modulate the plurality of user interfaces, wherein the one or more service provider equipment devices are further configured to distribute the modulated plurality of user interfaces to the user terminal.

13. A method comprising:

receiving, at a user terminal from one or more service provider equipment devices, a plurality of user interfaces, each of said user interfaces representing an interactive guide page which lists channel content, each of said user interfaces being received by the user terminal as a bitstream having a unique identifier via a communication network for distributing the channel content, each of the user interfaces including a video region and a graphics region, each video region for displaying a video sequence common to all of the user interfaces, and each graphics region for displaying a respective different plurality of graphics objects; and

receiving at the user terminal, with each of said plurality of user interfaces, a graphics layer to facilitate a mask/reveal function within each of the user interfaces, wherein said graphics layer comprises graphics layer imagery visually cooperating with at least one graphics object of said respective different pluralities of graphics objects, said graphics layer controllable by said user terminal to selectively mask or reveal said at least one graphics object, said graphics layer having a level of controlled opacity to mask or reveal said at least one graphics object.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the user terminal comprises a set top box.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

storing said graphics layer at the user terminal; and

retrieving said stored graphics layer at the user terminal to facilitate said mask/reveal function.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

controlling with said user terminal a level of controlled opacity of the graphics layer imagery in said graphics layer;

combining said graphics layer having said level of controlled opacity with at least one of said user interfaces; and

outputting said combined graphics layer and said at least one of said user interfaces to a display.

17. An apparatus comprising:

a processor; and

memory storing instructions, that when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to;

receive, from one or more service provider equipment devices, a plurality of user interfaces, each of said user interfaces representing an interactive guide page which lists channel content, each of said user interfaces being received by the apparatus as a bitstream having a unique identifier via a communication network to distribute the channel content, each of the user interfaces including a video region and a graphics region, each video region for displaying a video sequence common to all of the user interfaces, and each graphics region for displaying a respective different plurality of graphics objects; and

receive, with each of said plurality of user interfaces, a graphics layer to facilitate a mask/reveal function within each of the user interfaces, wherein said graphics layer comprises graphics layer imagery visually cooperating with at least one graphics object of said respective different pluralities of graphics objects, said graphics layer controllable by said apparatus to selectively mask or reveal said at least one graphics object, and said graphics layer having a level of controlled opacity to mask of reveal said at least on graphics object.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the apparatus to:

control a level of controlled opacity of the graphics layer imagery in said graphics layer;

combine said graphics layer having said level of controlled opacity with at least one of said user interfaces; and

output said combined graphics layer and said at least one of said user interfaces to a display.