INTEGRATED CONTENT GUIDE FOR INTERACTIVE SELECTION OF CONTENT AND SERVICES ON PERSONAL COMPUTER SYSTEMS WITH MULTIPLE SOURCES AND MULTIPLE MEDIA PRESENTATION

• US 20120110512A1
• Filed: 01/03/2012
• Published: 05/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/1996
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Brian V. Belmont, John P. Stautner, Richard J. Lawson
• Inventors: Stautner, John P., Lawson, Richard J., Belmont, Brian V.
• Granted Patent: US 8,578,296 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/835
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/033 Pointing devices displaced or positioned by the user , e.g. mice, trackballs, pens or joysticks; Accessories therefor digitisers characterised by the transducing means G06F3/041
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4143 embedded in a Personal Computer [PC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/433 Content storage operation, e.g. storage operation in response to a pause request, caching operations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• 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 21/4788 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 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

A integrated content guide for multiple sources is provided with hyper-text type links to allow for the selection of various programs. The hyper-text links are provided for a transmitted and then stored digital bit stream. This allows for the embedding within the content guide what could be additional commercial information. The embedding may also be as to additional information for other related television or radio shows or the like. Information can be additional television shows, related information or activities on on-line services or automatic telephone ordering of products or services being displayed.

Claims

1. A computer program product stored in digital media and including executable code that, when executed, is configured to cause a data processing apparatus to:

receive a search request related to a plurality of content information files stored in a searchable database;

execute a search of the searchable database to obtain search results including a subset of the content information files which correspond to the search request;

determine supplemental content information associated with at least one content information file of the subset of content information files;

provide a graphical user interface within a display, the graphical user interface providing a content guide that includes an organized display of a plurality of selectable elements corresponding respectively to the subset of content information files;

provide a graphical reference to the supplemental content information within a selectable element of the plurality of selectable elements;

receive a selection of the graphical reference; and

execute an action based on the selection and on the supplemental content information.