Interactive access to media or other content related to a currently viewed program

• US 8,555,167 B2
• Filed: 03/11/2009
• Issued: 10/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Friedlander, Steven, Ho, Tracy, Nishikawa, Yuko, Yeh, Sabrina, Yi, Hyehoon
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Kieu
• Assistant Examiner(s): LOWENBERGER, AARON J
• Application Number:
  US12/402,215
• Publication Number:
  US 20100235740A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,672 Days
• Field of Search: 715/790, 715/768, 715/788, 715/719, 725/43, 725/47
• US Class Current: 715/719
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• 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 21/44204 Monitoring of content usage, e.g. the number of times a movie has been viewed, copied or the amount which has been watched monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; protecting generic digital content where the protection is independent of the precise nature of the content G06F21/10; arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services in broadcast systems H04H60/31
• 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 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4858 for modifying screen layout parameters, e.g. fonts, size of the windows

Abstract

A method for providing content related to a multimedia program on a display device where currently viewed multimedia programs are monitored so that content related to the currently viewed multimedia program may be retrieved from a content source and displayed on a flexible user interface on the display device upon request by the user, in which the user is able to adjust a size and position of the flexible user interface on the display device.

Claims

1. A method of providing content related to a multimedia program on a display device, comprising:

monitoring a currently viewed multimedia program on a display device;

retrieving content related to said currently viewed multimedia program from a content source based on information obtained from said currently viewed multimedia program; and

displaying at least a portion of said content on an interactive user interface on said display device upon request by a user viewing said currently viewed multimedia program;

said user being able to adjust a size and position of said user interface on said display device,

in which said user interface comprises at least a first and a second module, such that said first and second modules display different content related to said currently viewed multimedia program,

wherein a transparency of the user interface is adjustable along a sliding scale ranging from opaque to transparent on a per module basis or collective basis,

wherein said user being able to adjust a size and position of said user interface on said display device includes

adjusting an amount of said content displayed on said user interface by increasing or decreasing said size of said user interface and

a group manipulation action where said first and second modules are simultaneously adjusted in size and position,

wherein said group manipulation action is performed with a single press of a button and permits said user to cycle through a set of group configurations where each group configuration includes different position, size, transparency, and content settings for each module displayed and where an amount of said content displayed on said user interface increases and decreases in accordance with each group configuration, and

wherein the user interface is automatically not displayed upon completion of said cycling through the set of group configurations.

2. The method of claim 1, in which said content is displayed simultaneously with said currently viewed multimedia program and said user interface overlays at least a portion of said currently viewed multimedia program.

3. The method of claim 1, in which said user interface is positioned on said display device such that said user interface and said currently viewed multimedia program do not overlap.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising modifying either said size or position of said user interface with a remote control device.

5. The method of claim 1, in which said user is able to select which of said at least first and second modules is displayed on said display device.

6. The method of claim 1, in which said modules of said user interface are separable, such that each of said modules is able to be moved to different positions on said display device independently of other modules.

7. The method of claim 6, in which said user is able to adjust a size of each of said modules with a remote control device.

8. The method of claim 1, in which said content source comprises a cable headend signal.

9. The method of claim 1, in which said content source comprises a satellite dish signal.

10. The method of claim 1, in which said content source comprises an Internet connection.

11. The method of claim 1, in which said user interface comprises at least one application tool that allows said user to select further related content not displayed on said display device.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said related content comprises other available multimedia programming related to said currently viewed multimedia program, such that said user has an option to view or record said available programming.

13. A multimedia user interface system for providing content related to a currently viewed multimedia program on a display device, comprising:

a display device for displaying a currently viewed multimedia program, said multimedia program comprising metadata comprising information about said multimedia program;

an interactive user interface also displayed on said display device; and

a means for retrieving only content related to said information about said multimedia program from a content source,

said content being then displayed on said user interface,

in which said user interface is modular, such that said user interface comprises at least a first and a second module, each of said first and second modules comprising different content related to said multimedia program, and content displayed in each of said first and second modules is able to be modified by a user,

wherein a transparency of the user interface is adjustable along a sliding scale ranging from opaque to transparent on a per module basis or collective basis,

wherein said user interface includes a group manipulation action where said first and second modules are simultaneously adjusted in size and position,

wherein said group manipulation action is performed with a single press of a button and permits said user to cycle through a set of group configurations where each group configuration includes different position, size, transparency, and content settings for each module displayed and where an amount of said content displayed on said user interface increases and decreases in accordance with each group configuration, and

wherein the user interface is automatically not displayed upon completion of said cycling through the set of group configurations.

14. The system of claim 13, in which a size of said user interface is adjustable, such that an amount of content displayed on said user interface is adjusted by either increasing or decreasing said size of said user interface.

15. The system of claim 13, in which said user is able to further modify content displayed on said user interface by adding or removing modules from said user interface.

16. The system of claim 13, in which said content comprises metadata comprising information about other available multimedia programming determined to be related to said multimedia program.

17. A method of providing content related to a currently viewed multimedia program on a display device, said method comprising:

with a control device, selecting modules for a user interface from among a list of available modules, such that said selected modules are displayed on a display device, each module containing a different type of information, at least some of which is specific to said current viewed multimedia program being shown on said display device;

with said control device, adjusting a size or position of any of said modules independent of other said modules on said display device and relative to a currently viewed multimedia program being shown on said display device,

wherein a transparency of the user interface is adjustable along a sliding scale ranging from opaque to transparent on a per module basis or collective basis, and

wherein said control device includes a group manipulation action where every module displayed on the display device is simultaneously adjusted in size and position,

wherein said group manipulation action is performed with a single press of a button and permits said user to cycle through a set of group configurations where each group configuration includes different position, size, transparency, and content settings for each module displayed and where an amount of said content displayed on said user interface increases and decreases in accordance with each group configuration, and

wherein the user interface is automatically not displayed upon completion of said cycling through the set of group configurations.