Interactive television program guide system having multiple devices within a household

• US 20050251827A1
• Filed: 07/11/2005
• Published: 11/10/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/1998
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: United Video Properties Incorporated (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: United Video Properties Incorporated (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Ellis, Michael D., Lemmons, Thomas R., Thomas, William L.
• Application Number:
  US11/179,410
• Publication Number:
  US 20050251827A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/47
• 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 21/4227 Providing Remote input by a user located remotely from the client device, e.g. at work
• 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 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• 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 21/4751 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 21/47815 Electronic shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4786 e-mailing message switching systems, e.g. electronic mail systems H04L51/00
• 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 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4856 for language selection, e.g. for the menu or subtitles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 : Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/106 : for domestic distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 : by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

An interactive television program guide system based on multiple user television equipment devices in a single household is provided. The system provides a user with an opportunity to adjust program guide settings with a given one of the interactive television program guides. The system coordinates the operation of the interactive television program guides so that the program guide settings that were adjusted with the given interactive television program guide are used by the other interactive television program guides. Program guide setting include features related to setting program reminders, profiles, program recording features, messaging features, favorites features, parental control features, program guide set up features (e.g., audio and video and language settings), etc. The operation of applications such as web browser applications, home shopping applications, home banking applications, game applications, etc. may also be coordinated.

Claims

1-94. -94. (canceled)

95. A method for using an interactive television program guide system based on a plurality of user television equipment devices located in a single household on which a plurality of interactive television program guides are accessible, wherein the user television equipment devices are interconnected by communications paths and wherein at least one of the television equipment devices comprises a recording device, the method comprising:

providing an opportunity for a user to select a program for recording on a first interactive television program guide associated with a first user television equipment device, wherein the first user television device is located at a first location in the household; and

recording the selected program on the recording device, wherein the recording device is associated with a second user television equipment device, and wherein the second user television equipment device is located at a second location within the household that is different from the first location.

96. The method of claim 95, wherein the recording device is a videocassette recorder.

97. The method of claim 95, wherein the recording device is a personal video recorder.

98. The method of claim 95, wherein the recording device is associated with a second interactive television program guide.

99. The method of claim 95, further comprising:

allowing the user to select from a plurality of recording devices, wherein;

each of the plurality of recording devices is associated with at least one of a plurality of user television equipment devices that are located at locations within the household that are different from the first location; and

recording the selected program on the selected recording device.

100. The method of claim 99, wherein at least one of the plurality of recording devices is associated with an interactive television program guide.

101. The method of claim 95, wherein one of the user television equipment devices comprises a set-top box and at least a television and the other user television equipment device comprises a television but not a set-top box.

102. The method of claim 101, wherein the set-top box comprises an embedded hard disk and wherein recording the selecting program comprises using the hard disk.

103. The method of claim 95, wherein the selected program is recorded at a future time.

104. The method of claim 95, wherein the selected program comprises a series of programs.

116. The machine-readable media of claim 95, wherein the recording device is a videocassette recorder.

117. The machine-readable media of claim 95, wherein the recording device is a personal video recorder.

118. The machine-readable media of claim 95, wherein the recording device is associated with a second interactive television program guide.

119. The machine-readable media of claim 95, further comprising machine-readable instructions recorded thereon for:

allowing the user to select from a plurality of recording devices, wherein;

each of the plurality of recording devices is associated with at least one of a plurality of user television equipment devices that are located at locations within the household that are different from the first location; and

recording the selected program on the selected recording device.

120. The machine-readable media of claim 99, wherein at least one of the plurality of recording devices is associated with an interactive television program guide.

121. The machine-readable media of claim 95, wherein one of the user television equipment devices comprises a set-top box and at least a television and the other user television equipment device comprises a television but not a set-top box.

122. The machine-readable media of claim 101, wherein the set-top box comprises an embedded hard disk and wherein recording the selecting program comprises using the hard disk.

123. The machine-readable media of claim 95, wherein the selected program is recorded at a future time.

124. The machine-readable media of claim 95, wherein the selected program comprises a series of programs.

105. An interactive television program guide system based on a plurality of user television equipment devices located in a single household on which a plurality of interactive television program guides are accessible, wherein the user television equipment devices are interconnected by communications paths and wherein at least one of the television equipment devices comprises a recording device, wherein:

a first user television equipment device is configured to provide a user with an opportunity to select a program for recording on a first interactive television program guide associated with the first user television equipment device, wherein the first user television device is located at a first location within the household; and

a second user television device is configured to record the selected program on the recording device, wherein the recording device is associated with the second user television equipment device and wherein the second user television device is located at a second location in the household that is different from the first location.

106. The system of claim 105, wherein the recording device is a videocassette recorder.

107. The system of claim 105, wherein the recording device is a personal video recorder.

108. The system of claim 105, wherein the recording device is associated with a second interactive television program guide.

109. The system of claim 105, wherein:

the first interactive television progam guide is configured to allow the user to select from a plurality of recording devices, wherein each of the plurality of recording devices is associated with at least one of a plurality of user television equipment devices that are in locations in the household that are different from the first location.

110. The system of claim 109 wherein at least one of the plurality of recording devices is associated with an interactive television program guide.

111. The system of claim 105, wherein one of the user television equipment devices comprises a set-top box and at least a television and the other user television equipment device comprises a television but not a set-top box.

112. The system of claim 111, wherein the set-top box comprises an embedded hard disk and wherein the second user television device is configured to record the selected program using the hard disk.

113. The system of claim 105, wherein the selected program is recorded at a future time.

114. The system of claim 105, wherein the selected program comprises a series of programs.

115. Machine-readable media for using an interactive television program guide system based on a plurality of user television equipment devices located in a single household on which a plurality of interactive television program guides are accessible, wherein the user television equipment devices are interconnected by communications paths and wherein at least one of the television equipment devices comprises a recording device, the machine-readable media comprising machine-readable instructions encoded thereon for:

providing an opportunity for a user to select a program for recording on a first interactive television program guide associated with a first user television equipment device, wherein the first user television device is located at a first location in the household; and

recording the selected program on the recording device, wherein the recording device is associated with a second user television equipment device, and wherein the second user television equipment device is located at a second location within the household that is different from the first location.