Dynamic program guide information
First Claim
1. A system comprising:
- one or more processors to;
receive, from a server, first program guide information,the first program guide information relating to a group of programs,the group of programs including a first program and a second program, andthe first program guide information indicating that, at a first point in time, more set-top boxes are tuned to the first program than are tuned to the second program,provide, for display and based on the first program guide information, a program guide,the program guide representing the first program as a first shape and the second program as a second shape, anda first size of the first shape being larger than a second size of the second shape based on more of the set-top boxes being tuned to the first program than are tuned to the second program at the first point in time,receive, from the server and after providing the program guide, second program guide information,the second program guide information indicating that, at a second point in time that is later than the first point in time, more of the set-top boxes are tuned to the second program for display than are tuned to the first program, anddynamically increase the second size of the second shape based on more of the set-top boxes being tuned to the second program program for display than are tuned to the first program at the second point in time.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A set-top box may receive program guide information from a server. The program guide information may identify a group of programs and specify, for each program, an indicator of set-top boxes tuned to the each program or providing the each program. The set-top box may further provide, to a display and using the received program guide information, a program guide, where the program guide represents each program, in the group of programs, as a shape, and where a size of each shape corresponds to the indicator of set-top boxes tuned to the represented program or providing the represented program. The set-top box may also receive updated program guide information from the server and dynamically increase or decrease at least one shape in the program guide, based on the updated program guide information.
160 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
one or more processors to; receive, from a server, first program guide information, the first program guide information relating to a group of programs, the group of programs including a first program and a second program, and the first program guide information indicating that, at a first point in time, more set-top boxes are tuned to the first program than are tuned to the second program, provide, for display and based on the first program guide information, a program guide, the program guide representing the first program as a first shape and the second program as a second shape, and a first size of the first shape being larger than a second size of the second shape based on more of the set-top boxes being tuned to the first program than are tuned to the second program at the first point in time, receive, from the server and after providing the program guide, second program guide information, the second program guide information indicating that, at a second point in time that is later than the first point in time, more of the set-top boxes are tuned to the second program for display than are tuned to the first program, and dynamically increase the second size of the second shape based on more of the set-top boxes being tuned to the second program program for display than are tuned to the first program at the second point in time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method comprising:
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receiving, by a server, program information from a plurality of set-top boxes, the program information including information identifying programs to which the plurality of set-top boxes are tuned; determining, by the server and based on the program information, a quantity value for a particular program of the programs, the quantity value representing a first quantity of set-top boxes, of the plurality of set-top boxes, tuned to the particular program at a first point in time; providing, by the server and to a particular set-top box, information identifying the particular program and first information relating to the quantity value, the information identifying the particular program and the first information relating to the quantity value being used by the particular set-top box in providing a program guide that represents the particular program as a first shape and a different program, of the programs, as a second shape, and a first size of the first shape being larger than a second size of the second shape based on more of the plurality of set-top boxes being tuned to the particular program than are tuned to the different program at the first point in time; updating, by the server, the quantity value to obtain an updated quantity value for the particular program; and providing, by the server and to the particular set-top box, second information relating to the updated quantity value after the particular set-top box provides the program guide, the updated quantity value representing a second quantity of set-top boxes, of the plurality of set-top boxes, tuned to the particular program at a second point in time that is later than the first point in time. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13)
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14. A system comprising:
a server to; receive, from a plurality of set-top boxes, program information, the program information indicating a plurality of programs to which the plurality of set-top boxes are tuned, determine, for the plurality of programs, quantity indicators, a particular quantity indicator, of the quantity indicators, representing, for a particular program, of the plurality of programs, a first quantity of set-top boxes, of the plurality of set-top boxes, that are tuned to the particular program at a first point in time, and provide, to a particular set-top box of the plurality of set-top boxes, first program guide information based on the quantity indicators, the first program guide information being used by the particular set-top box to provide a program guide that represents the particular program as a first shape and a different program, of the plurality of programs, as a second shape, and a first size of the first shape being larger than a second size of the second shape based on more of the plurality of set-top boxes being tuned to the particular program than are tuned to the different program at the first point in time, update the quantity indicators to obtain updated quantity indicators, a particular updated quantity indicator, of the updated quantity indicators, representing, for the particular program, a second quantity of set-top boxes, of the plurality of set-top boxes, that are tuned to the particular program at a second point in time that is later than the first point in time, and provide, to the particular set-top box and after the particular set-top box provides the program guide, second program guide information based on the updated quantity indicators. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22)
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15. A method comprising:
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receiving, by a set-top box, first program guide information from a server, the first program guide information identifying a group of programs, the group of programs including a first program and a second program, and the first program guide information indicating that, at a first point in time, more set-top boxes are tuned to the first program than are tuned to the second program; providing, from the set-top box to a display and based on the first program guide information, a program guide, the program guide representing the first program as a first shape and the second program as a second shape, a first size of the first shape being larger than a second size of the second shape based on more of the set-top boxes being tuned to the first program than are tuned to the second program at the first point in time; receiving, after providing the program guide, second program guide information from the server, the second program guide information indicating that, at a second point in time that is later than the first point in time, more of the set-top boxes are tuned to the second program than are tuned to the first program; and dynamically increasing the second size of the second shape based on more of the set-top boxes being tuned to the second program than are tuned to the first program at the second point in time. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification