Television scheduling system for displaying a grid representing scheduled layout and selecting a programming parameter for display or recording
DC
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method, performed by a computer, of obtaining from a user a selected program from among a plurality of television programs, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) storing, for each of the television programs, a program name, a time of broadcast, and textual and graphic descriptions of the television program;
(b) providing to a display device, for each of the television programs, the program name and the time of broadcast for display in a schedule layout which visually associates the program name with the time of broadcast;
(c) obtaining from the user a designation of the selected program; and
(d) providing to the display device the textual description of the selected program and a graphic description of the selected program for concurrent display with the schedule layout in a separate location so that the textual and graphic descriptions do not overlay the displayed schedule layout.
2 Assignments
Litigations
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A computer method and system for providing a user with efficient selection of a television program to view or record. The method provides concurrent display of a television schedule with a graphic description and a textual description of the television program currently selected by the user from the displayed television schedule. The displayed television schedule comprises a schedule layout displayed to the user on a screen display. The schedule layout includes a number of program names arranged in an adaptively learned order based on the frequency of the user'"'"'s previous selections. Each time a program name is selected by the user, the graphic description and the textual description of the television program represented by the selected program name are displayed concurrently with the adaptively ordered schedule layout. Thus, the user can select a television program perceptively and without delay.
483 Citations
34 Claims
-
1. A method, performed by a computer, of obtaining from a user a selected program from among a plurality of television programs, the method comprising the steps of:
-
(a) storing, for each of the television programs, a program name, a time of broadcast, and textual and graphic descriptions of the television program; (b) providing to a display device, for each of the television programs, the program name and the time of broadcast for display in a schedule layout which visually associates the program name with the time of broadcast; (c) obtaining from the user a designation of the selected program; and (d) providing to the display device the textual description of the selected program and a graphic description of the selected program for concurrent display with the schedule layout in a separate location so that the textual and graphic descriptions do not overlay the displayed schedule layout. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
-
19. A computer system for selecting and displaying a television program from among a plurality of television programs, comprising:
-
a display; an input device through which the selected television program is selected from a user; and a computer coupled to the display and to the input device, comprising an input unit for obtaining the selected television program from the input device, a memory for storing a program name and a time of broadcast of each of the plurality of television programs, and a processor four obtaining the selected television program from the input unit, for reading the program name and time of broadcast for each of the plurality of television programs from the memory, for displaying on the display the read program names and times of broadcast, and, when the selected television program is currently being broadcast, for displaying the selected television program concurrently with the program name and time of broadcast of the plurality of television programs. - View Dependent Claims (20)
-
-
21. A method in a computer system for displaying television information about a plurality of television programs on a display device, the method comprising the steps of:
-
receiving the television information for each of the plurality of television programs, the television information include a name and a time of broadcast, and a graphics information or the television program; for each of the plurality of television programs, displaying on the display device the name of the television program and an indication of the time of broadcast of the television program; receiving from a user of the computer system a selection of a television program; and in response to receiving the selection, displaying on the display device the graphics information of the selected television program simultaneously with the displayed names and indications of time and channel of broadcast of the television programs. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
-
-
24. A method in a computer system for displaying television information about a plurality of television programs on a display device, the method comprising the steps of:
-
receiving the television information for each of the plurality of television programs, the television information include a name and a time of broadcast; for each of the plurality of television programs, displaying on the display device the name of the television program and an indication of the time of broadcast of the television program; receiving from a user of the computer system a selection of a television program; and in response to receiving the selection and when the selected television program is currently being broadcast, displaying the broadcast of the selected television program simultaneously with the displayed names and indications of the time of broadcast of the television programs.
-
-
25. A method in a computer system for displaying television information about a plurality of television programs on a television screen, the television information for each television program including a name and a time of broadcast, the method comprising:
-
for each of the plurality of television programs, displaying on the television screen the name of the television program and an indication of the time of broadcast of the television program; receiving from a user of the computer system a selection of a television program whose information is currently displayed on the television screen; and in response to receiving the selection of the television program, determining whether the television program is currently being broadcast; when it is determined that the selected television program is currently being broadcast, displaying the broadcast of the selected television program on the television screen simultaneously with the displayed names and indications of the time of broadcast of the television programs; and when it is determined that the selected television program is not currently being broadcast, displaying additional information about the television program on the television screen. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29)
-
-
30. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for causing a computer system to display a schedule for a plurality of television programs on a television screen by:
-
displaying the schedule on the television screen; receiving from a user of the computer system a selection of a television program from the displayed schedule; and in response to receiving the selection of the television program, determining whether the television program is currently being broadcast; when it is determined that the selected television program is currently being broadcast, displaying the broadcast of the selected television program on the television screen simultaneously with the displayed schedule; and when it is determined that the selected television program is not currently being broadcast, displaying additional information about the television program on the television screen simultaneously with the displayed schedule. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34)
-
Specification
-
- Resources
Litigation Campaign Assessment
Thank you for your request. You will receive a custom alert email when the Litigation Campaign Assessment is available.
×
Litigation Data
-
Current AssigneeRovi Technologies Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
-
Original AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation
-
InventorsThorne, Edwin III, Riker, Gregory, Rauch, Adam Christopher, Myhrvold, Nathan Paul
-
Primary Examiner(s)Peng, John K.
-
Assistant Examiner(s)Flynn, Nathan J.
-
Application NumberUS08/713,588Time in Patent Office588 DaysField of Search348/6, 348/7, 348/10, 348/12, 348/13, 348/906, 348/553, 348/563, 348/564, 348/565, 348/566, 348/567, 348/568, 348/569, 348/570, 348/731, 348/732, 348/460, 348/473, 348/734US Class Current725/40CPC Class CodesG11B 27/028 with computer assistanceG11B 33/10 Indicating arrangements; Wa...H04N 21/4135 external recorder interface...H04N 21/4143 embedded in a Personal Comp...H04N 21/42692 for reading from or writing...H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphica...H04N 21/4334 Recording operations record...H04N 21/44222 Analytics of user selection...H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characte...H04N 21/4667 Processing of monitored end...H04N 21/47 End-user applicationsH04N 21/47214 for content reservation or ...H04N 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted o...H04N 21/8146 involving graphical data, e...H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of...H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between ...H04N 5/775 between a recording apparat...H04N 5/782 on tapeY10S 348/903 including side panel inform...
