Electronic program guide for indicating availability of past programs

• US 9,998,792 B2
• Filed: 11/03/2014
• Issued: 06/12/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: TV Guide Incorporated (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Drazin, Jonathan P.V., Kram, Achim H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kumar, Pankaj
• Assistant Examiner(s): ANDRAMUNO, FRANKLIN S
• Application Number:
  US14/531,762
• Publication Number:
  US 20150058894A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,317 Days
• Field of Search: 725 53, 725 58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• 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 21/4532 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8133 specifically related to the content, e.g. biography of the actors in a movie, detailed information about an article seen in a video program

Abstract

A system and method for providing an electronic program guide for television or radio programs includes presenting listings of present or future programs on-screen, presenting listings of past programs on-screen and indicating whether the past program is available again at a future time. Also, a system and method for handling information controllable from an electronic program guide for television or radio programs comprises receiving information in a user'"'"'s system, storing the received information in the user'"'"'s system, displaying access to the stored information by means of a user interface and enabling the user to select one of a plurality of management options for controlling the operation of the stored information through the user interface.

Claims

1. A method for using a guide on user equipment, the method comprising:

receiving, with processing circuitry, program listings data;

receiving, with video decoder circuitry, a video stream from tuning circuitry;

generating a live picture image of the received video stream;

generating for display, from the program listings data, a plurality of program listings corresponding to past transmissions of a plurality of programs simultaneously with the live picture image using on-screen display generator circuitry;

receiving a user selection that visually distinguishes one of the plurality of program listings;

in response to the user selection visually distinguishing the one of the plurality of program listings, searching the program listings data to determine whether a program associated with the selected program listing will be available again by;

extracting, from the program listings data, with the processing circuitry, metadata describing the program associated with the selected program listing;

comparing, with the processing circuitry, the extracted metadata to metadata associated with a plurality of program listings corresponding to a plurality of programs that will be available again; and

identifying, with the processing circuitry, a match between the extracted metadata describing the program and metadata of at least one of the plurality of program listings corresponding to the plurality of programs that will be available again; and

presenting selectable options when it is determined that the program associated with the selected program listing will be available again, wherein the options include watch and store functions.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising storing the selected program listing when it is determined that a program associated with the selected program listing is not available again.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the selected program listing is stored for a predetermined period of time.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

receiving a second program listings data;

automatically searching the second program listings data to determine whether the program associated with the selected program listing will be available again.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the selectable options are presented in response to determining based on the second program listings data that the program associated with the selected program listing will be available again.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a selection of the record function; and

causing the program associated with the selected program listing to be recorded automatically at a future time.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a selection of the watch function; and

causing a notification to be automatically displayed when the program associated with the selected program listing is about to transmitted.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected program listing includes a program identifier, and wherein the searching of the programs listings data comprises comparing the program identifier of the selected program listing with other program identifiers in the program listings data to identify a match.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising assigning a data pointer to the selected program listing when a program listing that corresponds to a future transmission includes a matching program identifier, wherein the data pointer identifies a memory location of the other program listing that includes the matching program identifier.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting selectable options when it is determined that the program associated with the selected program listing will be available again comprises presenting the selectable options when it is determined that the program will be transmitted again at a future time.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a user input selecting a time period prior to a current time; and

wherein the selectable options are presented in response to the user input selecting the time period prior to the current time.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to store the selected program listing when it is determined that a program associated with the selected program listing is not available again.

14. The system of claim 2, wherein the selected program listing is stored for a predetermined period of time.

15. The system of claim 2 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

receive a second program listings data;

automatically search the second program listings data to determine whether the program associated with the selected program listing will be available again.

16. The system of claim 4, wherein the selectable options are presented in response to determining based on the second program listings data that the program associated with the selected program listing will be available again.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

receive a selection of the record function; and

cause the program associated with the selected program listing to be recorded automatically at a future time.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

receive a selection of the watch function; and

cause a notification to be automatically displayed when the program associated with the selected program listing is about to transmitted.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the selected program listing includes a program identifier, and wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to search of the programs listings data by comparing the program identifier of the selected program listing with other program identifiers in the program listings data to identify a match.

20. The system of claim 8 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to assign a data pointer to the selected program listing when a program listing that corresponds to a future transmission includes a matching program identifier, wherein the data pointer identifies a memory location of the other program listing that includes the matching program identifier.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to present selectable options when it is determined that the program associated with the selected program listing will be available again by presenting the selectable options when it is determined that the program will be transmitted again at a future time.

22. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

receive a user input selecting a time period prior to a current time; and

wherein the selectable options are presented in response to the user input selecting the time period prior to the current time.

12. A system for using a guide on user equipment, the system comprising:

video decoder circuitry configured to receive a video stream from tuning circuitry;

processing circuitry configured to;

generate a live picture image of the received video stream;

receive program listings data;

generate for display, from the program listings data, a plurality of program listings corresponding to past transmissions of a plurality of programs simultaneously with the live picture image using on-screen display generator circuitry;

receive a user selection that visually distinguishes one of the plurality of program listings;

in response to the user selection visually distinguishing the one of the plurality of program listings, search the program listings data to determine whether a program associated with the selected program listing will be available again by;

extracting, from the program listings data, metadata describing the program associated with the selected program listing;

comparing the extracted metadata to metadata associated with a plurality of program listings corresponding to a plurality of programs that will be available again; and

identifying a match between the extracted metadata describing the program and metadata of at least one of the plurality of program listings corresponding to the plurality of programs that will be available again; and

present selectable options when it is determined that the program associated with the selected program listing will be available again, wherein the options include watch and store functions.