Method and system for locating programming on a television
DCFirst Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- accessing, from a network accessible external content source, electronic program guide (“
EPG”
) information, the EPG information comprising, for each program, airtime, program name, program channel, and program description;
displaying, by a microprocessor executable application framework and on a screen of a television, a search panel, the search panel comprising a search term field to receive a search term and at least one previous set of search terms used by a user in a prior search, wherein selection of the at least one previous set of search terms initiates a search of the EPG information using the at least one previous set of search terms as a first selected set of search terms;
performing, by a microprocessor executable data service of the television, the search using a second selected set of search terms, the second selected set of search terms being received in the search term field or a selected previous set of search terms, said performing comprising;
receiving, from the application framework, the second selected set of search terms, the second selected set of search terms being received in the search term field or a selected previous set of search terms;
in response, a microprocessor executable content presentation service opening a socket and sending the second selected set of search terms to a microprocessor executable content aggregation service; and
providing, by the microprocessor executable content aggregation service, the second selected set of search terms to plural external content sources, wherein the plural external content sources comprise a Web site other than the EPG content source;
receiving, by the microprocessor executable content aggregation service, local search results, from a local database of the television;
the local search results responsive to the second selected set of search terms;
receiving, by the microprocessor executable content aggregation service, non-local search results responsive to the second selected set of search terms from the plural external content sources, the plural external content sources comprising an Internet site and one or both of cable and satellite content sources other than the Internet site;
the non-local search results comprising EPG information corresponding to multiple channels and/or programs;
providing, by the microprocessor executable content presentation service, the local and non-local search results, over the previously opened socket to one or more users, the providing comprising displaying, by the application framework, the local and non-local search results on the television screen;
receiving, by the application framework and from a remote control of the user, a program selection from the displayed set of local and non-local search results; and
changing, by the application framework, a current channel to a channel broadcasting the program selection, wherein, when the search session is over, the microprocessor executable content presentation service disconnects the socket.
2 Assignments
Litigations
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method, system, and executable instructions are provided that obtain, from a network accessible content provider, electronic program guide (“EPG”) information, the EPG information comprising, for each program, airtime, program name, program channel, and program description, display, on a screen of a television, a search panel, the search panel comprising a search term field to receive a search term and at least one previous search term used by the user in a prior search, wherein selection of the at least one previous search term initiates a search of the EPG information using the at least one previous search term as one or more selected search term, perform the search using one or more selected search terms, the one or more selected search terms being received in the search term field or a selected previous search term, obtain a set of search results, the set of search results comprising EPG information corresponding to multiple channels and/or programs, display the search results on the television screen, receive, from a remote control of the user, a program selection from the displayed search results, and change a current channel to a channel broadcasting the program selection.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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accessing, from a network accessible external content source, electronic program guide (“
EPG”
) information, the EPG information comprising, for each program, airtime, program name, program channel, and program description;displaying, by a microprocessor executable application framework and on a screen of a television, a search panel, the search panel comprising a search term field to receive a search term and at least one previous set of search terms used by a user in a prior search, wherein selection of the at least one previous set of search terms initiates a search of the EPG information using the at least one previous set of search terms as a first selected set of search terms; performing, by a microprocessor executable data service of the television, the search using a second selected set of search terms, the second selected set of search terms being received in the search term field or a selected previous set of search terms, said performing comprising; receiving, from the application framework, the second selected set of search terms, the second selected set of search terms being received in the search term field or a selected previous set of search terms; in response, a microprocessor executable content presentation service opening a socket and sending the second selected set of search terms to a microprocessor executable content aggregation service; and providing, by the microprocessor executable content aggregation service, the second selected set of search terms to plural external content sources, wherein the plural external content sources comprise a Web site other than the EPG content source; receiving, by the microprocessor executable content aggregation service, local search results, from a local database of the television;
the local search results responsive to the second selected set of search terms;receiving, by the microprocessor executable content aggregation service, non-local search results responsive to the second selected set of search terms from the plural external content sources, the plural external content sources comprising an Internet site and one or both of cable and satellite content sources other than the Internet site;
the non-local search results comprising EPG information corresponding to multiple channels and/or programs;providing, by the microprocessor executable content presentation service, the local and non-local search results, over the previously opened socket to one or more users, the providing comprising displaying, by the application framework, the local and non-local search results on the television screen; receiving, by the application framework and from a remote control of the user, a program selection from the displayed set of local and non-local search results; and changing, by the application framework, a current channel to a channel broadcasting the program selection, wherein, when the search session is over, the microprocessor executable content presentation service disconnects the socket. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A television, comprising:
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a television screen; a local computer readable medium; at least one of an infrared and radio frequency module to receive wirelessly input signals from a remote control of a user; a microprocessor executable application framework to display on a screen of a television, a search panel, the search panel comprising a search term field to receive a search term and at least one previous set of search terms used by the user in a prior search, wherein selection of the at least one previous set of search terms initiates a search of electronic program guide (“
EPG”
) information using the at least one previous set of search terms as a first selected set of search terms;a microprocessor executable content aggregation service to access, from a network accessible content source EPG information, the EPG information comprising, for each program, airtime, program name, program channel, and program description;
receive a selected set of search terms;
perform the search using a second selected set of search terms, the second selected set of search terms being received in the search term field or a selected previous set of search terms, receive local search results, from a local database of the television, the local search results responsive to the second selected set of search terms; and
receive non-local search results responsive to the second selected set of search terms from multiple external content sources, the multiple external content sources comprising an Internet site and one or both of cable and satellite content sources other than the Internet site;
the non-local search results comprising EPG information corresponding to multiple channels and/or programs, wherein performing the search comprises;providing, by the microprocessor executable content aggregation service, the second selected set of search terms to multiple external content sources, wherein the multiple external content sources comprise a Web site other than the EPG content source; and a microprocessor executable content presentation service operable to open a socket to send the second selected set of search terms to the content aggregation service and provide, by the application framework, the local and non-local search results, over the previously opened socket to one or more users, the providing the local and non-local search results comprising displaying, by the application framework, the local and non-local search results on the television screen; wherein the application framework receives, from a remote control of the user, a program selection from the displayed set of local and non-local search results and changes a current channel to a channel broadcasting the program selection, wherein, when the search session is over, the microprocessor executable content presentation service disconnects the socket. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A tangible and non-transitory computer readable medium, comprising microprocessor executable instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to perform operations comprising:
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one or more instructions to access, from a network accessible content source, electronic program guide (“
EPG”
) information, the EPG information comprising, for each program, airtime, program name, program channel, and program description;one or more instructions to display, on a screen of a television, a search panel, the search panel comprising a search term field to receive a search term and at least one previous set of search terms used by a user in a prior search, wherein selection of the at least one previous set of search terms initiates a search of the EPG information using the at least one previous set of search terms as a first selected set of search terms; one or more instructions to perform the search using a second selected set of search terms, the second selected set of search terms being received in the search term field or a selected previous set of search terms, said performing comprising; one or more instructions to open a socket and send the second selected set of search terms to a microprocessor executable content aggregation service; and one or more instructions to provide the second selected set of search terms to multiple external content sources, wherein multiple external content sources comprise a Web site other than the EPG content source; one or more instructions to receive local search results, from a local database of the television;
the local search results responsive to the second selected set of search terms;one or more instructions to receive non-local search results responsive to the second selected set of search terms from the multiple external content sources, the multiple external content sources comprising an Internet site and one or both of cable and satellite content sources other than the Internet site;
the non-local search results comprising EPG information corresponding to multiple channels and/or programs;one or more instructions to provide the local and non-local search results, over the previously opened socket to one or more users, the providing comprising displaying, by the application framework, the local and non-local search results on the television screen; one or more instructions to receive, from a remote control of the user, a program selection from the displayed set of search results; and one or more instructions to change a current channel to a channel broadcasting the program selection, wherein, when the search session is over, the microprocessor executable content presentation service disconnects the socket. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification