System and method for presenting program guide information in an electronic portable device

• US 10,728,626 B2
• Filed: 09/11/2014
• Issued: 07/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Universal Electronics, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Universal Electronics, Inc.
• Inventors: Arling, Paul D., Hayes, Patrick H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Saltarelli, Dominic D
• Application Number:
  US14/483,647
• Publication Number:
  US 20150135220A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,147 Days
• Field of Search: 725 39- 51
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/46 for recognising users' preferences
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/65 for using the result on users' side
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/72 using electronic programme guides [EPG] focusing on identifying broadcast space time H04H60/39 ; menu type display of EPG in television receivers H04N21/47
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/80 characterised by transmission among terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/82 the transmission system being the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41265 having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4143 embedded in a Personal Computer [PC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42225 characterized by types of remote control, e.g. universal remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 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 21/482 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 21/4858 for modifying screen layout parameters, e.g. fonts, size of the windows
• 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 controlling device is provided with the ability to present personalized program guide information by using personal preferences provided to a home computing device. The personal preferences are used to filter program guide data received at the home computing device whereby the program guide data will include only programming information for user-specified sources of programming for each of plural, different user-specified periods of time. The filtered program guide data is then downloaded to the controlling device from the home computing device for use in connection with an application of the controlling device that functions to display program guide information within a display of the controlling device.

Claims

1. A non-transitory, computer readable media having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by a processing device of a controlling device, function to display in a display that is an integral component of the controlling device a favorites page having a plurality of activable icons each of which is associated with at least one command transmittable by the controlling device to cause an appliance to access a media that is provided by a one of the plurality of media sources, the instructions performing steps comprising:

receiving a request to display the favorites page in the display of the controlling device;

subsequent to receiving the request to display the favorites page in the display of the controlling device, accessing an external source of media information to retrieve supplemental media data that is associated with the media that is provided by each of the plurality of media sources;

subsequent to accessing the external source of media information, using the retrieved supplemental media data to determine an appearance that is to be provided to the favorites page; and

subsequent to using the retrieved supplemental media data to determine the appearance that is to be provided to the favorites page, causing the favorites page to be displayed in the display of the controlling device with the determined appearance.

2. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the step of accessing the external source of media information is performed in response to the request to display the favorites page in the display of the controlling device being received.

3. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the step of accessing the external source of media information comprises accessing one or more websites that have been associated with the favorites page.

4. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 3, wherein user input is provided to the controlling device to associate the one or more websites to be accessed with the favorites page.

5. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the media provided by one or more of the plurality of media sources comprises a sporting event and wherein the supplemental media data comprises a time remaining in the sporting event.

6. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the media provided by one or more of the plurality of media sources comprises a sporting event and wherein the supplemental media data comprises a score in the sporting event.

7. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the step of using the retrieved supplemental media data to determine an appearance that is to be provided to the favorites page when the favorites page is caused to be displayed in the display of the controlling device in response to the received request comprises using the retrieved supplemental media data to determine a positional layout for the plurality of icons within the favorites page to be displayed.

8. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the step of using the retrieved supplemental media data to determine an appearance that is to be provided to the favorites page when the favorites page is caused to be displayed in the display of the controlling device in response to the received request comprises using the retrieved supplemental media data to determine if one or more of the plurality of icons is to be highlighted within the favorites page to be displayed.

9. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the supplemental media data comprises user rating data for the media that is provided by each of the plurality of media sources.

10. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the instructions cause the supplemental media data to be periodically updated while the favorites page is being displayed within the display of the controlling device and wherein the updated supplemental media data is used to periodically alter the appearance that is provided to the favorites page as the favorites page is being displayed in the display of the controlling device.

11. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 10, wherein the media provided by one or more of the plurality of media sources comprises a sporting event and wherein the supplemental media data comprises a time remaining in the sporting event.

12. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 10, wherein the media provided by one or more of the plurality of media sources comprises a sporting event and wherein the supplemental media data comprises a score in the sporting event.

13. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 10, wherein the step of using the retrieved supplemental media data to determine an appearance that is to be provided to the favorites page when the favorites page is caused to be displayed in the display of the controlling device in response to the received request comprises using the retrieved supplemental media data to determine a positional layout for the plurality of icons within the favorites page to be displayed.

14. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 10, wherein the step of using the retrieved supplemental media data to determine an appearance that is to be provided to the favorites page when the favorites page is caused to be displayed in the display of the controlling device in response to the received request comprises using the retrieved supplemental media data to determine if one or more of the plurality of icons is to be highlighted within the favorites page to be displayed.

15. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 10, wherein the retrieved supplemental media data is caused to be displayed with a corresponding one of the plurality of activable icons within the favorites page.

16. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 15, wherein the media provided by one or more of the plurality of media sources comprises a sporting event and wherein the supplemental media data comprises a time remaining in the sporting event.

17. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 15, wherein the media provided by one or more of the plurality of media sources comprises a sporting event and wherein the supplemental media data comprises a score in the sporting event.

18. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the media provided by one or more of the plurality of media sources comprises a broadcast program and wherein the supplemental media data comprises a time remaining in the broadcast program.

19. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 18, wherein the retrieved supplemental media data is caused to be displayed with a corresponding one of the plurality of activable icons within the favorites page.

20. The computer-readable media as recited in claim 1, wherein the retrieved supplemental media data is caused to be displayed with a corresponding one of the plurality of activable icons within the favorites page.