Multiple interactive electronic program guide system and methods

• US 8,566,871 B2
• Filed: 07/15/2005
• Issued: 10/22/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Starsight Telecast Incorporated (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Chang, Gordon, Knowles, James H, Johnson, Kenneth D
• Primary Examiner(s): Parry, Chris
• Assistant Examiner(s): Parra, Omar S
• Application Number:
  US11/182,081
• Publication Number:
  US 20050251822A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,021 Days
• Field of Search: 725/40
• US Class Current: 725/39
• 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 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• 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 21/4583 Automatically resolving scheduling conflicts, e.g. when a recording by reservation has been programmed for two programs in the same time slot
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4627 Rights management associated to the content security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47211 for requesting pay-per-view content payment schemes payment architectures or payment protocols G06Q20/00, G07F
• 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 21/4751 for defining user accounts, e.g. accounts for children
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4753 for user identification, e.g. by entering a PIN or password cryptographic authentication protocols H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08
• 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 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration
• 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 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 : by receiver means only

Abstract

A multiple Interactive Program Guide (IPG) system provides different television programming and different IPGs to several different users respectively. A single set-top box is capable of providing programming and scheduling data to several different television sets. Each of the different IPGs share a common database. Therefore, a first IPG being viewed by a first user can display data added or modified via a second IPG by a second user of the system. Furthermore, the data added or modified by the second user can influence the viewing rights of the first user. Also, all the competing and conflicting requests for limited resources, such as VCR scheduled recordings, will be brought to the users'"'"' attention and will be displayed by the system.

Claims

1. A method for displaying first and second interactive electronic program guides that are accessible from a plurality of user television equipment devices located in a household, the method comprising:

receiving, from the first interactive electronic program guide, a first event of a first type scheduled with the first interactive electronic program guide;

receiving, from the second interactive electronic program guide, a second event of a second type scheduled with the second interactive electronic program guide;

storing the received first and second events in a memory accessible to the first and second interactive electronic program guides; and

generating a list of scheduled events of the first and second types by aggregating the first and second scheduled events received from the first and second interactive electronic program guides, wherein the list of scheduled events is accessible for display from any of the first and the second interactive electronic program guides in the household.

2. The method defined in claim 1, further comprising allowing a user to select a program for recording from a given interactive electronic program guide in the household.

3. The method defined in claim 2, further comprising transmitting a control signal from the user television equipment device from which the given interactive electronic program guide is accessible to a recording device to instruct the recording device to record the selected program.

4. The method defined in claim 2, further comprising alerting the user when the selected program for recording has already been selected to be recorded with a different interactive electronic program guide that is in the household.

5. The method defined in claim 2, further comprising alerting the user when the selected program for recording conflicts with another program previously scheduled to be recorded from any of the of the first and the second interactive electronic program guides that are in the household.

6. The method defined in claim 2, further comprising allowing the user to cancel the recording of the selected program from any of the of the first and the second interactive electronic program guides that are in the household.

7. The method defined in claim 1, further comprising allowing the user to obtain additional information for any item on the list of scheduled events.

8. The method defined in claim 1, wherein the list of scheduled events includes programs scheduled to be recorded.

9. The method defined in claim 1, wherein the list of scheduled events includes series recordings, future pay-per-view purchases, and auto-tunes.

10. The method defined in claim 1, wherein the first and second interactive electronic program guides are respectively implemented on at least one of the plurality of user television equipment devices in the household.

11. The method defined in claim 1, wherein one of the received first and second events is a purchased program.

12. A system for displaying interactive electronic program guides, the system comprising:

a plurality of user television equipment devices that are located in a household and from which first and second interactive electronic program guides are accessible, wherein the plurality of user television equipment devices comprises a processor configured to;

receive, from the first interactive electronic program guide, a first event of a first type scheduled with the first interactive electronic program guide;

receive, from the second interactive electronic program guide, a second event of a second type scheduled with the second interactive electronic program guide; and

generate a list of scheduled events of the first and second types by aggregating the first and second scheduled events received from the first and second interactive electronic program guides, wherein the list of scheduled events is accessible for display from any of the first and the second interactive electronic program guides in the household; and

a memory accessible to the first and second interactive electronic program guides for storing the received first and second events.

13. The system defined in claim 12, wherein a given interactive electronic program guide in the household is configured to allow a user to select a program for recording.

14. The system defined in claim 13, wherein the user television equipment device from which the given interactive electronic program guides is accessible is configured to transmit a control signal to a recording device to instruct the recording device to record the selected program.

15. The system defined in claim 13, wherein the given interactive electronic program guide is configured to alert the user when the selected program for recording has already been selected to be recorded with a different interactive electronic program guide that is in the household.

16. The system defined in claim 13, wherein the given interactive electronic program guide is configured to alert the user when the selected program for recording conflicts with another program previously scheduled to be recorded from any of the first and second interactive electronic program guides that are in the household.

17. The system defined in claim 13, wherein the first and second interactive electronic program guides that are in the household are configured to allow the user to cancel the recording of the selected program.

18. The system defined in claim 12, wherein the processor is configured to allow the user to obtain additional information for any item on the list of scheduled events.

19. The system defined in claim 12, wherein the list of scheduled events includes programs scheduled to be recorded.

20. The system defined in claim 12, wherein the list of scheduled events includes series recordings, future pay-per-view purchases, and auto-tunes.

21. The system defined in claim 12, wherein the first and second interactive electronic program guides are respectively implemented on at least one of the plurality of user television equipment devices in the household.

22. The system defined in claim 12, wherein one of the received first and second events is a purchased program.

23. A non-transitory machine-readable media for displaying first and second interactive electronic program guides that are accessible from a plurality of user television equipment devices located in a household, the machine-readable media comprising machine-readable instructions encoded thereon for:

receiving, from the first interactive electronic program guide, a first event of a first type scheduled with the first interactive electronic program guide;

receiving, from the second interactive electronic program guide, a second event of a second type scheduled with the second interactive electronic program guide;

storing the received first and second events in a memory accessible to the first and second interactive electronic program guides; and

generating a list of scheduled events of the first and second types by aggregating the first and second scheduled events received from the first and second interactive electronic program guides, wherein the list of scheduled events is accessible for display from any of the first and the second interactive electronic program guide in the household.

24. The non-transitory machine-readable media defined in claim 23, further comprising machine-readable instructions encoded thereon for allowing a user to select a program for recording from a given interactive electronic program guide in the household.

25. The non-transitory machine-readable media defined in claim 24, further comprising machine-readable instructions encoded thereon for transmitting a control signal from the user television equipment device from which the given interactive electronic program guide is accessible to a recording device to instruct the recording device to record the selected program.

26. The non-transitory machine-readable media defined in claim 24, further comprising machine-readable instructions encoded thereon for alerting the user when the selected program for recording has already been selected to be recorded with a different interactive electronic program guide that is in the household.

27. The non-transitory machine-readable media defined in claim 24, further comprising machine-readable instructions encoded thereon for alerting the user when the selected program for recording conflicts with another program previously scheduled to be recorded from any of the first and second interactive electronic program guides that are in the household.

28. The non-transiotory machine-readable media defined in claim 24, further comprising machine-readable instructions encoded thereon for allowing the user to cancel the recording of the selected program from any of the first and second interactive electronic program guides that are in the household.

29. The non-transitory machine-readable media defined in claim 23, further comprising machine-readable instructions encoded thereon for allowing the user to obtain additional information for any item on the list of scheduled events.

30. The non-transitory machine-readable media defined in claim 23, wherein the list of scheduled events includes programs scheduled to be recorded.

31. The non-transitory machine-readable media defined in claim 23, wherein the list of scheduled events includes series recordings, future pay-per-view purchases, and auto-tunes.

32. The non-transitory machine-readable media defined in claim 23, wherein the first and second interactive electronic program guides are respectively implemented on at least one of the plurality of user television equipment devices in the household.

33. The non-transitory machine-readable media defined in claim 23, wherein one of the received first and second events is a purchased program.