WO2002001871A1 - System and method for channel mixing - Google Patents

System and method for channel mixing Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2002001871A1
WO2002001871A1 PCT/IL2000/000864 IL0000864W WO0201871A1 WO 2002001871 A1 WO2002001871 A1 WO 2002001871A1 IL 0000864 W IL0000864 W IL 0000864W WO 0201871 A1 WO0201871 A1 WO 0201871A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
television
channel
viewer
information
program
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/IL2000/000864
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Offer Kohen
Original Assignee
Eyescene Inc.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from PCT/US2000/017437 external-priority patent/WO2001001308A2/en
Application filed by Eyescene Inc. filed Critical Eyescene Inc.
Priority to AU20227/01A priority Critical patent/AU2022701A/en
Publication of WO2002001871A1 publication Critical patent/WO2002001871A1/en

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
    • H04N21/431—Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering
    • H04N21/4312—Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/41—Structure of client; Structure of client peripherals
    • H04N21/426—Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
    • H04N21/431—Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering
    • H04N21/4312—Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
    • H04N21/4314—Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
    • H04N21/434—Disassembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. demultiplexing audio and video streams, extraction of additional data from a video stream; Remultiplexing of multiplex streams; Extraction or processing of SI; Disassembling of packetised elementary stream
    • H04N21/4345—Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
    • H04N21/442—Monitoring of processes or resources, e.g. detecting the failure of a recording device, monitoring the downstream bandwidth, the number of times a movie has been viewed, the storage space available from the internal hard disk
    • H04N21/44213—Monitoring of end-user related data
    • H04N21/44222—Analytics of user selections, e.g. selection of programs or purchase activity
    • H04N21/44224—Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/45—Management operations performed by the client for facilitating the reception of or the interaction with the content or administrating data related to the end-user or to the client device itself, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies, resolving scheduling conflicts
    • H04N21/4508—Management of client data or end-user data
    • H04N21/4524—Management of client data or end-user data involving the geographical location of the client
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/45—Management operations performed by the client for facilitating the reception of or the interaction with the content or administrating data related to the end-user or to the client device itself, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies, resolving scheduling conflicts
    • H04N21/462—Content or additional data management, e.g. creating a master electronic program guide from data received from the Internet and a Head-end, controlling the complexity of a video stream by scaling the resolution or bit-rate based on the client capabilities
    • H04N21/4622—Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/47—End-user applications
    • H04N21/475—End-user interface for inputting end-user data, e.g. personal identification number [PIN], preference data
    • H04N21/4755—End-user interface for inputting end-user data, e.g. personal identification number [PIN], preference data for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/47—End-user applications
    • H04N21/482—End-user interface for program selection
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/41—Structure of client; Structure of client peripherals
    • H04N21/422—Input-only peripherals, i.e. input devices connected to specially adapted client devices, e.g. global positioning system [GPS]
    • H04N21/42204—User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
    • H04N21/431—Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering
    • H04N21/4312—Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
    • H04N21/4316—Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/47—End-user applications

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a system and method for channel and program mixing, such that a viewer is able to select television content from one or more channels of such content, and to mix the content according to the request of the viewer, rather than according to the limitations of the specific channels.
  • the system and method of the present invention also provide for such a selection process through interactive television devices and/or other interactive interfaces.
  • the diversity and choice of television programs has recently been increasing to overwhelming levels. With the advent of first cable and satellite transmission of television programs, as well as with digital transmission, and now with the addition of the transmission of television programs through the Internet, iTV, wireless networks, Webcast networks and other types of networks, the viewer can now select from literally hundreds of television programs at any time of the day. Indeed, the breadth of choices has resulted in a new problem, which is that the viewer may not be able to locate those television programs which are of interest within such a huge variety of television programs and channels according to which these television programs are transmitted.
  • the television programming guide has been used in the background art in an attempt to solve this problem.
  • the television programming guide provides information about television programs, such as the name of the program, identifying information about the channel, the time of day and the date for transmission of the program.
  • Information may also optionally be provided about the television program itself, but typically this information is limited to a very brief description about the program.
  • the newer interactive programming guides have some advantages over the background art paper document television programming guides.
  • An IPG may be displayed through the television itself, or alternatively through a network such as the Internet.
  • the IPG can therefore contain more information than the paper document television programming guide, and the information may be more readily searched.
  • the current IPG format has the same problems as the paper document format with regard to flexibility of display of the format.
  • Both the IPG format and the paper document format are tied to a rigid display of television programming content according to channels and times of transmission, in a grid format. Specifically, both formats feature the display of separate information for each channel, typically as the "rows" of the grid, with the time of transmission as the "columns" of the grid.
  • Such a display format is clearly inconvenient for a number of reasons.
  • the availability of video recorders (VCRs) and other mechanisms for recording the television content for later retrieval and display (pay per view) renders such a display format anachronistic.
  • Third, the display format according to the background art is not easily able to display television program information for continuous twenty-four time periods.
  • a more useful display format would advantageously use the increased variety of television content, by being more content-driven than channel-driven.
  • Such a display format would enable the viewer to mix selections from different channels according to the interests of the viewer, rather than according to the particular arrangement of the television content for transmission.
  • this format would enable the viewer to search and retrieve content of interest, and to schedule display and/or recording of such content, according to the features of the content itself.
  • Unfortunately, such a display format is not currently available. There is thus a need for, and it would be useful to have, a system and a method for channel mixing, in which the viewer selects television content according to one or more features of the content itself, rather than according to the channel for transmitting the content.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary overall system according to the present invention
  • FIG. 2 is a screenshot of an exemplary screen display for a first exemplary implementation of an interactive programming guide according to the present invention
  • FIGS. 3 A and 3B are screenshots of exemplary screen displays for a second exemplary implementation of an interactive programming guide according to the present invention.
  • the present invention features a system and method for channel mixing, such that the viewer is able to select television programs according to one or more features of the programs themselves, and not only according to the channel for transmitting the program, and/or the time at which the program is transmitted.
  • the channel mixing enables the viewers to construct a personalized interactive programming guide, which does not rely on the currently available grid format of guides in the background art. Instead, the viewer selects one or more channels, optionally also with a specific date and/or category of television programs, and then is preferably able to view the resultant television program information in a channel palette. More preferably, the viewer is also able to select one or more categories according to which television program information should be selected for display.
  • additional television program information is available as part of a separate display, for example through a separate Web page and/or window. Also most preferably, this additional information is selected for each television program according to an interface element displayed next to the name of each television program on the channel palette.
  • each channel has a separate channel palette, with the channel mixer itself featuring a plurality of such channel palettes, displayed to the viewer through the GUI (graphical user interface).
  • the present invention provides an intuitive, clear and easily operated interface for displaying channel and/or television program information.
  • the interface has a basic functionality of channel and/or program mixing which preferably remains the same, or at least highly similar, across different computational devices.
  • the intuitive nature of the design is obtained through the creation of a basic structure which is oriented toward human needs, rather than toward the background art designs of grids of rows and columns.
  • the present invention is not tied to previous designs, for example for displaying television program information through paper documents, or to variations on such designs, for example those interactive programming guides which are currently known in the art.
  • a system for displaying information about a plurality of television programs by a viewer comprising: (a) an interactive programming guide for managing information about at least one television program; (b) a viewer interface for displaying the information about the at least one television program to the viewer; and (c) a central engine connected to the interactive programming guide and the viewer interface, for retrieving the information about the at least one television program.
  • a method for displaying an interactive programming guide comprising the steps of: (a) displaying a plurality of interface elements corresponding to a plurality of channels; (b) selecting an interface element corresponding to a channel; (c) dragging the interface element to a central display area; and (d) displaying at least one program associated with the channel.
  • a method for displaying an interactive programming guide to a viewer, the interactive programming guide featuring information about at least one program for at least one channel comprising the steps of: (a) displaying identifiers corresponding to a plurality of channels; (b) selecting an identifier corresponding to a channel; and (c) displaying the identifier and the information about at least one program associated with the channel, such that the identifier and the information about at least one program are displayed in a separate location for each channel, with the proviso that the information about at least one program is not displayed in a grid format with the identifier.
  • channel mixing also refers to “program mixing”, in which individual channels and/or television programs can optionally be selected.
  • television program includes any type of broadcast, multicast, webcast or datacast media content having at least one, but preferably both, of audio and video data.
  • selecting refer to any means of supplying data including, but not limited to supply via an input device (e.g. keyboard, display screen, stylus or microphone), supply from a memory device, and transmission of a cookie.
  • an input device e.g. keyboard, display screen, stylus or microphone
  • Web browser refers to any software program which can display text, graphics, video, sound or other multimedia information, other information, or a combination thereof, from Web pages on World Wide Web sites, or any other UI (viewer interface).
  • the Web browser is preferably able to operate a program written in the Java or JavaScript programming languages.
  • Web browser also includes any software application which extracts any amount of data in one or more types of media from HTML (hypertext mark-up language) or any other type of mark-up language, and/or other World Wide Web-based information, including text, images, audio (streaming or downloaded), video (streaming or downloaded), 3D environments (VRML (virtual reality modeling language), MetaStream or others), or any other type of media content present on or through the World Wide Web or the Internet, as well as any type of World Wide Web-based software application, such as any type of Web-based browser or user interface.
  • Web browser also optionally refers to any software application which can operate and/or communicate with browser-based "plug-ins" or "controllers" and/or objects.
  • Web page refers to any document written in a mark-up language including, but not limited to, HTML (hypertext mark-up language) or VRML (virtual reality modeling language), dynamic HTML, XML (extended mark-up language) or related computer languages thereof, or to technologies such as FlashTM technology or that provided by ShockwaveTM, or any other interactive technology providing duplex two-way information streaming between the GUI of the viewer and a central system engine, as well as to any collection of such documents reachable through one specific Internet address or at one specific World Wide Web site, or any document obtainable through a particular URL (Uniform Resource Locator).
  • Web site refers to at least one Web page, and preferably a plurality of Web pages, virtually connected to form a coherent group.
  • Web server refers to a computational device or other electronic device which is capable of serving at least one Web page to a Web browser.
  • applet refers to a self-contained software module written in an applet language such as Java or constructed as an ActiveXTM control.
  • computational device indicates any type of electronic device which is capable of performing computations, including, but not limited to, personal computers (PC) having an operating system such as DOS, WindowsTM, OS/2TM or Linux; MacintoshTM computers; computers having JAVATM-OS or BeOSTM as the operating system; thin client computers; Interactive television devices, which are electronic devices which combine a television set with at least a partial set of computational functions, preferably including the display of Web pages, such as Web TVTM for example, as well as any other type of set-top box; console PlayStationTM type devices; and graphical workstations such as the computers of Sun MicrosystemsTM and Silicon GraphicsTM, and other computational devices having some version of the UNIX operating system such as AIXTM or SOLARISTM of Sun MicrosystemsTM; a PalmPilotTM, a PilotPCTM, or any other handheld device, portable device for data processing such as a PDA (personal data assistant), a cellular telephone which is WAP-enabled, or an embedded system or device;
  • PC personal computers
  • display screen refers to an electronic device which is capable of displaying a GUI (graphical viewer interface) to a viewer, including but not limited to a television set, and a monitor or other display device associated with any of the previously described computational devices.
  • GUI graphical viewer interface
  • the phrase “display a Web page” includes all actions necessary to render at least a portion of the information on the Web page available to the computational device viewer.
  • the phrase includes, but is not limited to, the static visual display of static graphical information, the audible production of audio information, the animated visual display of animation and the visual display of video stream data.
  • the method of the present invention could also be described as a plurality of instructions being performed by a data processor, such that the method of the present invention could be implemented as hardware, software, firmware or a combination thereof.
  • a software application could be written in substantially any suitable programming language, which could easily be selected by one of ordinary skill in the art.
  • the programming language chosen should be compatible with the computational device according to which the software application is executed. Examples of suitable programming languages include, but are not limited to, C, C++ and Java.
  • the present invention features a system and method for channel mixing, such that the viewer is able to select television programs according to one or more features of the programs themselves, and not only according to the channel for transmitting the program, and/or the time at which the program is transmitted.
  • the channel mixing enables the viewers to construct a personalized interactive programming guide, which does not rely on the currently available grid format of guides in the background art. Instead, the viewer selects one or more channels, optionally also with a specific date and/or category of television programs, and then is preferably able to view the resultant television program information in a channel palette.
  • the channel palette optionally and most preferably is able to display such television program information continuously for a particular time period, which most preferably is twenty-four hours in length.
  • the viewer is also able to select one or more categories according to which television program information should be selected for display, such that both the channels and the programs can optionally be individually selected or "mixed".
  • additional television program information is available as part of a separate display, for example through a separate Web page and/or window. Also most preferably, this additional information is selected for each television program according to an interface element displayed next to the name of each television program on the channel palette.
  • each channel has a separate channel palette, with the channel mixer itself featuring a plurality of such channel palettes, displayed to the viewer through the GUI (graphical user interface).
  • GUI graphical user interface
  • a system 10 features an electronic viewer interface 12, through which the viewer interacts with system 10.
  • Viewer interface 12 could be a Web browser, displaying a Web page and/or an applet, for example.
  • viewer interface 12 could be a dedicated client software program, preferably with a GUI (graphical viewer interface).
  • Viewer interface 12 is operated by a viewer computational device 14, which could substantially any type of computational device as previously described.
  • viewer computational device 14 could be a dedicated electronic device for the operation of viewer interface 12, for example as a publicly available kiosk.
  • Viewer computational device 14 is connected to a server computational device 16, which again could be substantially any type of suitable computational device as previously described, or even a combination of two or more such computational devices.
  • Server computational device 16 preferably operates a number of software modules according to the present invention. Alternatively, as previously described, these software modules could also be implemented as firmware, hardware or a combination thereof. It should be noted that these modules are described only as separate functional entities for the purposes of clarity, and that these modules could be combined into a single software program, or firmware or hardware device, for example.
  • a central engine module 18 receives information from the other modules and performs any necessary analyses or calculations, as described in greater detail below.
  • central engine module 18 manages an interactive programming guide module 20, for providing information about a plurality of television programs, as also explained with regard to Figures 2 and 3 below.
  • Interactive programming guide module 20 more preferably stores such information as the name of the television program; the channel which transmits the television program; the date and time of transmission; and information about the content of the television program, such as the subject of the program and the category of the program.
  • Other optional but preferred types of information include, but are not limited to, production network and/or channel type; broadcasting network and/or channel type; program category, type and rating; individual cast and production personnel; and so forth.
  • the television program information is provided to the viewer through "channel mixing", such that the viewer is not limited to viewing the information only according to the time of the program and/or the channel through which the program is transmitted, as explained in greater detail below.
  • channel mixing such that the viewer is not limited to viewing the information only according to the time of the program and/or the channel through which the program is transmitted, as explained in greater detail below.
  • promotional information module includes a promotional information module
  • Promotional information module 28 optionally and preferably includes promotional information for each television program, provided through a television program promotional module 30.
  • Television program promotional module 30 optionally and preferably provides such information as details of previous episodes of a particular television program; selected details of future episodes, provided as "sneak previews"; gossip and other information about the actors and actresses in a particular television program; and "behind the scenes" information about the production of various television programs.
  • television program promotional module 30 optionally and more preferably provides such information in the form of graphics, audio and video clips, in particular to obtain viewer feedback about new advertisements and television programs.
  • television program promotional module 30 may optionally and most preferably communicate with a television channel displayer 34, as described in greater detail below, in order to provide a direct link to enable the viewer to actually watch the television program of interest.
  • the term "television program” may optionally include substantially any broadcast media content, such that television channel displayer 34 may also optionally be described as a broadcast player and/or tuner device for receiving any such broadcast media content.
  • Television program promotional module 30 is preferably presented to the viewer in the form of an information center for television programs.
  • This center preferably includes an archive of detailed information on programs, advertisements, production issues, actors and a lot of related information, through which the viewer can browse to receive real-time, or close to real-time, updated information on the television programs, advertisements, actors and actresses, and virtual stocks of interest.
  • the information could be presented through a series of Web pages, optionally and preferably supported with applets and other browser-related technologies, which would enable the viewer to browse through a series of hyper-links in order to obtain the information of interest.
  • system 10 could also optionally be instructed to control the presentation of this information to the viewer, such that particular television programs could be promoted for example.
  • system 10 include a television channel displayer 34 for enabling the viewer to view entire television programs, particularly in combination with interactive programming guide module 20, such that the viewer most preferably could actually select the television program to be viewed directly from the GUI (graphical viewer interface) display of the interactive programming guide.
  • Television channel displayer 34 is preferably provided when viewer computational device 14 is implemented as Interactive television device, for reasons of bandwidth.
  • the interactive programming guide could also be provided through a Web browser on a regular computer or other device capable of displaying such a Web browser, as well as through any interactive television device such as iTV, or other interactive broadcasting device.
  • Television channel displayer 34 would enable system 10 to interface to the entire television viewing experience of the viewer, and to act as a gateway for such viewing.
  • central engine 18 would measure the period of time that a particular television program was displayed through television channel displayer 34.
  • Interactive television device generally refers to interactive television, in which the viewer interacts with the television screen rather than simply passively viewing the television program, an example of which is Web TVTM.
  • Interactive television device is a particularly preferred embodiment for implementing both the system and the method of the present invention.
  • the present invention is particularly suitable for Interactive television device, since the GUI of the interactive programming guide could provide a seamless interface for operation of Interactive television device.
  • the viewer could select and view television programs through the GUI of the system of the present invention when implemented with Interactive television device.
  • the viewer could also optionally and preferably create a viewing package of a plurality of television programs which are of interest.
  • the interactive programming guide of the present invention could therefore act as a portal to the television programs, since the viewer could view the programming choices through the GUI of the guide, and at the same time watch the television programs, thereby providing the viewer with interactive Interactive television device.
  • VOD Another useful type of interactive television technology, enables premium and/or pay-per-view television programs to be delivered to the viewer upon request.
  • the viewer can request a particular program and then receive it for an individual viewing experience, such that requested television programs are directed to those who are interested in viewing them.
  • VOD enables the system and method of the present invention to collect more information on the preferences of the viewer and on other aspects of the viewing habits of the viewer, such as the time of day that the television programs are viewed, the length of viewing, the general preferred type of television program, and other viewer information.
  • Such viewer information can then be used to extract useful statistical and demographic information by the system of the present invention, which is commercially important data to collect, particularly in conjunction with other information about the viewer which is supplied from other aspects of the present invention.
  • a second type of useful interactive television technology is RP which enables the viewer to construct a preferred viewing schedule for the television programs.
  • a schedule can optionally be constructed entirely according to the requests of the viewer, although optionally the system could add further programming and /or information where required to fill any gaps in the schedule.
  • the system could add commercial advertisements, promotional campaign video, audio or text data, or any other type of media content which the system wishes to promote to the viewer. All of this media content is optionally selected according to the profile of the viewer which is obtained from the other interactive technologies, and optionally and preferably also from the interaction by the viewer with the interactive programming guide of the present invention.
  • the RP technology could optionally and more preferably also be used in order to update a list of favorite television programs. Such a list of "favorites" is described in greater detail below.
  • the RP technology supports the automatic detection of favorite or "preferred" television programs by detecting viewer behavior, including but not limited to, such factors as which television programs are watched, the frequency with which they are watched, whether the viewer watches the entire television program, and so forth. Additionally or alternatively, the RP technology could also optionally be used to analyze the patterns of scheduled lists of television programs which the viewer requests in advance.
  • the RP technology is one example of a suitable technology for "smart" tracking, to allow the viewer to define “keep” options for favorite programs, for example in order to receive a reminder message or other alert when such a program is about to be broadcast or otherwise become available.
  • Such a technology can detect the next episode/broadcast of a specific program and automatically add it to the list of "favorites", according to the request of the viewer, thus enabling the list of favorite programs to be auto-updated.
  • the technology operates by detecting and identifying the appearance of the same program according to such identification factors as the channel, time slot and/or episode numbers. In addition, most preferably such a technology would also be used to suggest other programs to the viewer for addition to the list of favorite programs.
  • RP is also optionally employed in conjunction with additional hardware devices, such as computational devices, VCR's and PDA's to enable the viewer to receive personalized information, television programs, and other types of media content.
  • additional hardware devices such as computational devices, VCR's and PDA's to enable the viewer to receive personalized information, television programs, and other types of media content.
  • the RP technology itself optionally and preferably instructs the hardware device to perform certain actions, such as recording a particular television program or receiving stock market or other information, for example.
  • Interactive television also enables the viewer to enter direct input into the system and method of the present invention, such that all of the activities of the viewer within the system can be recorded and/or optionally processed directly in real time.
  • the total viewing experience and interaction of the viewer with the interactive programming guide of the present invention can be examined, analyzed and recorded.
  • Figures 2 and 3 show screenshots of exemplary screen displays for different preferred implementations for interactive programming guides (IPG) according to the present invention.
  • IPG interactive programming guides
  • the present invention enables the basic functionality of the IPG to be similar, if not identical, across a number of different computational devices and platforms, even if the general appearance or "look and feel" of the user interface is altered across these different computational devices and platforms.
  • the GUI of Figures 2 and 3 could optionally and preferably be implemented through a Web browser, but could also alternatively be displayed by a television set, for those television sets which are enabled for the display of such interfaces.
  • the functionality of channel and program mixing is preferably maintained, regardless of the exact appearance of the user interface.
  • Figure 2 shows a screenshot of an exemplary screen display for an interactive programming guide, particularly for an interactive television portal.
  • the present invention is generally useful with implementation with interactive television, since the system of the present invention could optionally feature one or more channels of actual programming material with interactive television.
  • the interactive programming guide of the present invention would be useful for such interactive television systems, since it combines content and entertainment with programming schedule information, such as the time of day and date of the programs for example.
  • a guide display 40 features a category listing 42 at the left, and a channel listing 44 at the right.
  • Category listing 42 enables the viewer to select programming from which types of categories is displayed.
  • the viewer preferably "drags and drops" a channel 46 from channel listing 44 to a central display panel 48 in order to be able to view programming from a particular television channel.
  • channel 46 features a list of one or more programs 50 within a particular time period.
  • the time period can be for 24 hours for each channel 46.
  • the viewer can preferably select the date from a date selector 52, shown at the bottom of central display panel 48.
  • the date and time period for which programming information is shown can optionally and preferably be synchronized for all open channels 46 on central display panel 48 through a synchronization button 54.
  • Synchronization button 54 is selected for a particular open channel 46, and causes the time period for which programming information for the remaining open channels 46 to become altered to the displayed time period for that particular open channel 46.
  • Guide display 40 has a number of advantages, in that the viewer can select which channels 46 are of interest, and can also optionally limit the program listings according to one or more categories of television programs. In addition, only information from those channels 46 which are of interest is featured in central display panel 48, thereby enabling the viewer to immediately view information which is relevant. The selectivity of the display of information clearly differentiates guide display 40 from other program listing displays which are known in the art, such as those which involve a fixed table of program listing information.
  • Figures 3 A and 3B are screenshots of exemplary screen displays for a second illustrative implementation of an interactive programming guide according to the present invention.
  • the interactive programming guide is actually a channel mixer, which allows the viewer to select content according to the features of interest, rather than being restricted to viewing the choices according to the channel for transmission.
  • Figure 3 A shows a first exemplary screen display for a channel mixer 60 according to the present invention.
  • channel mixer 60 features a plurality of channels 62.
  • Each channel 62 is separately displayed in a channel palette 72, with at least one television program 64.
  • each channel palette 72 can display the name and/or logo, and/or other identifying information, for the company which is associated with that channel 62.
  • Each television program 64 is shown with at least the name of the program, and optionally also with the time of transmission.
  • Optional but preferred scrollbars 66 enable the viewer to "scroll" through, browse through or otherwise examine and/or interact with, the different television programs 60 being displayed for each channel 62.
  • a program length indicator 68 is shown for each television program 60 through channel 62.
  • channel palette 72 displays information for television programs 60 for a given time period, for example a time period of up to twenty four hours.
  • the availability of additional information about each television program 60 is preferably indicated through a features interface element 70, which is more preferably located near television program 60 in channel 62. If the viewer selects features interface element 70, for example by "clicking on” or otherwise selecting features interface element 70 with a mouse or other pointing device, then optionally and more preferably additional information is displayed, for example through a Web page or other separate window display (not shown). Most preferably, such a separate display provides information according to any one or more of a number of different categories, including but not limited to, information about the television program itself; information about the type of television program, as explained in greater detail with regard to Figure 3B below; and information about the characters and/or actors in the television program, if any. The viewer may also optionally and preferably be allowed to view a preview about the television program and/or other promotional audio and/or video materials, or even to order the television program itself, for example through pay-per-view or other on-demand broadcasting systems.
  • Channel selector 74 displays a plurality of channels 62 from which the viewer may select one or more for display as a separate channel palette 72, and subsequently view or otherwise "access" the television program itself.
  • the viewer may "drag and drop" each channel 62 from channel selector 74 to channel mixer 60, although the specific action of the viewer depends upon the type of user interface implementation.
  • channel mixer 60 has the advantage of showing information about television programs 64 according to a flexible display which is determined by the viewer, rather than according to a rigid grid. The viewer can thus more easily locate information of interest, by effectively "creating" the interactive programming guide through the selection of one or more channels 62 and/or date for transmission, as described in greater detail below.
  • the viewer optionally and more preferably is able to determine the date according to which information should be displayed through a calendar 76 as shown.
  • the viewer selects the date of interest through calendar 76, for example by "double clicking" or otherwise selecting, the date, according to which information about television programs 64 is then altered in each channel 62 on channel mixer 60, to show information relevant for that particular date.
  • the viewer is able to synchronize channels 62 through a synchronization interface element 78. Upon "double clicking" or selection by the viewer, synchronization interface element 78 causes the time period for displaying programming in a plurality of active channels 62 to become synchronized.
  • a particular channel palette 72 is set to show television programs at a particular time period, and synchronization interface element 78 is selected for that channel palette 72, then all other channel palettes 72 for all other channels 62 then become synchronized to display television program information for that time period.
  • Figure 3B shows a second exemplary screen display for channel mixer 60 according to the present invention.
  • channel mixer 60 also preferably features a category selector 80, for enabling the viewer to determine one or more categories, or types, of television programs 64 to be displayed. For example, the viewer could optionally select categories such as "news", “sports", “children” and so forth in order to limit television programs 64 which are displayed for each channel 62.
  • category selector 80 is more preferably selected or unselected through a category interface element 82 (also shown in Figure 3 A).
  • the color of program length indicator 68 and/or features interface element 70 may also optionally and preferably be used to indicate the category for a television program 64 to the viewer.
  • the viewer is able to determine a list of one or more television programs 64 which are "favorites", for example in order to receive more information about such a television program 64. More preferably, a particular television program 64 is determined to be a favorite by "double-clicking" on, or otherwise selecting or activating, features interface element 70 by the viewer. A list of such favorite programs is then optionally and preferably displayed in a separate window and/or Web page (not shown). Alternatively or additionally, whenever information about such a television program is displayed in such a separate window and/or Web page, a favorite interface element may also be displayed to indicate that the television program is a favorite.
  • information about favorite television programs is updated on a regular basis for display to the viewer, for example through the separate display of favorite programs.
  • the RP technology or another suitable technology is used in order to automatically detect and analyze the favorite television programs of the viewer, as previously described.
  • the resultant list of favorite programs then holds all of the programs selected by the viewer and/or automatically detected as previously described, which is then preferably presented as a daily, private list of favorite programs to watch and/or record.
  • the viewer may also optionally and more preferably receive more information about each program on the list, as previously described.
  • the viewer would preferably be required to enter geographical information, such as a zip code for example, and optionally also the name of a service provider, for example for cable and/or satellite, in order for the correct television program information to be displayed.
  • geographical information such as a zip code for example
  • a service provider for example for cable and/or satellite
  • the channels which are displayed through channel selector 74 are selected according to the geographical information and the identified service provider, in order to ensure that the viewer is able to select from channels 62 which are accurate and available for that particular viewer.

Abstract

A method and a system for channel and program mixing (60). The channel mixing enables the viewer to construct a personalized interactive programming guide (64), which does not rely on the currently available grid format of guides in the background art. The viewers selects one or more channels (62), optionally also with a specific data and/or category of television program informationin a channel palette (72).

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CHANNEL MIXING
FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a system and method for channel and program mixing, such that a viewer is able to select television content from one or more channels of such content, and to mix the content according to the request of the viewer, rather than according to the limitations of the specific channels. The system and method of the present invention also provide for such a selection process through interactive television devices and/or other interactive interfaces. The diversity and choice of television programs has recently been increasing to overwhelming levels. With the advent of first cable and satellite transmission of television programs, as well as with digital transmission, and now with the addition of the transmission of television programs through the Internet, iTV, wireless networks, Webcast networks and other types of networks, the viewer can now select from literally hundreds of television programs at any time of the day. Indeed, the breadth of choices has resulted in a new problem, which is that the viewer may not be able to locate those television programs which are of interest within such a huge variety of television programs and channels according to which these television programs are transmitted.
The television programming guide has been used in the background art in an attempt to solve this problem. First available as a paper document, typically in a magazine or newspaper-like format, and now available electronically, the television programming guide provides information about television programs, such as the name of the program, identifying information about the channel, the time of day and the date for transmission of the program. Information may also optionally be provided about the television program itself, but typically this information is limited to a very brief description about the program.
The newer interactive programming guides (IPGs) have some advantages over the background art paper document television programming guides. An IPG may be displayed through the television itself, or alternatively through a network such as the Internet. The IPG can therefore contain more information than the paper document television programming guide, and the information may be more readily searched. However, .the current IPG format has the same problems as the paper document format with regard to flexibility of display of the format. Both the IPG format and the paper document format are tied to a rigid display of television programming content according to channels and times of transmission, in a grid format. Specifically, both formats feature the display of separate information for each channel, typically as the "rows" of the grid, with the time of transmission as the "columns" of the grid.
Such a display format is clearly inconvenient for a number of reasons. First, given the increasing number of channels, each time slot for transmission may have a large number of different programming choices, such that the viewer may have difficulty manipulating the guide at each time slot to locate all of the different choices. Second, this display format does not help the viewer to locate the content which is most of interest. In particular, the availability of video recorders (VCRs) and other mechanisms for recording the television content for later retrieval and display (pay per view), in combination with the large number of different channels for television content, renders such a display format anachronistic. Third, the display format according to the background art is not easily able to display television program information for continuous twenty-four time periods.
A more useful display format would advantageously use the increased variety of television content, by being more content-driven than channel-driven. Such a display format would enable the viewer to mix selections from different channels according to the interests of the viewer, rather than according to the particular arrangement of the television content for transmission. In addition, this format would enable the viewer to search and retrieve content of interest, and to schedule display and/or recording of such content, according to the features of the content itself. Unfortunately, such a display format is not currently available. There is thus a need for, and it would be useful to have, a system and a method for channel mixing, in which the viewer selects television content according to one or more features of the content itself, rather than according to the channel for transmitting the content.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and other objects, aspects and advantages will be better understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention with reference to the drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary overall system according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a screenshot of an exemplary screen display for a first exemplary implementation of an interactive programming guide according to the present invention; and
FIGS. 3 A and 3B are screenshots of exemplary screen displays for a second exemplary implementation of an interactive programming guide according to the present invention. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention features a system and method for channel mixing, such that the viewer is able to select television programs according to one or more features of the programs themselves, and not only according to the channel for transmitting the program, and/or the time at which the program is transmitted. The channel mixing enables the viewers to construct a personalized interactive programming guide, which does not rely on the currently available grid format of guides in the background art. Instead, the viewer selects one or more channels, optionally also with a specific date and/or category of television programs, and then is preferably able to view the resultant television program information in a channel palette. More preferably, the viewer is also able to select one or more categories according to which television program information should be selected for display. Most preferably, additional television program information is available as part of a separate display, for example through a separate Web page and/or window. Also most preferably, this additional information is selected for each television program according to an interface element displayed next to the name of each television program on the channel palette. Optionally and preferably, each channel has a separate channel palette, with the channel mixer itself featuring a plurality of such channel palettes, displayed to the viewer through the GUI (graphical user interface).
In contrast to the background art, the present invention provides an intuitive, clear and easily operated interface for displaying channel and/or television program information. The interface has a basic functionality of channel and/or program mixing which preferably remains the same, or at least highly similar, across different computational devices. The intuitive nature of the design is obtained through the creation of a basic structure which is oriented toward human needs, rather than toward the background art designs of grids of rows and columns. Thus, the present invention is not tied to previous designs, for example for displaying television program information through paper documents, or to variations on such designs, for example those interactive programming guides which are currently known in the art.
According to the present invention, there is provided a system for displaying information about a plurality of television programs by a viewer, the system comprising: (a) an interactive programming guide for managing information about at least one television program; (b) a viewer interface for displaying the information about the at least one television program to the viewer; and (c) a central engine connected to the interactive programming guide and the viewer interface, for retrieving the information about the at least one television program. According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for displaying an interactive programming guide, the interactive programming guide featuring information about at least one program for at least one channel, the method comprising the steps of: (a) displaying a plurality of interface elements corresponding to a plurality of channels; (b) selecting an interface element corresponding to a channel; (c) dragging the interface element to a central display area; and (d) displaying at least one program associated with the channel.
According to still another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for displaying an interactive programming guide to a viewer, the interactive programming guide featuring information about at least one program for at least one channel, the method comprising the steps of: (a) displaying identifiers corresponding to a plurality of channels; (b) selecting an identifier corresponding to a channel; and (c) displaying the identifier and the information about at least one program associated with the channel, such that the identifier and the information about at least one program are displayed in a separate location for each channel, with the proviso that the information about at least one program is not displayed in a grid format with the identifier.
Hereinafter, the term "channel mixing" also refers to "program mixing", in which individual channels and/or television programs can optionally be selected. Hereinafter, the term "television program" includes any type of broadcast, multicast, webcast or datacast media content having at least one, but preferably both, of audio and video data. For purposes of this specification and the accompanying claims the terms "entering" and
"selecting" refer to any means of supplying data including, but not limited to supply via an input device (e.g. keyboard, display screen, stylus or microphone), supply from a memory device, and transmission of a cookie.
Hereinafter, the term "Web browser" refers to any software program which can display text, graphics, video, sound or other multimedia information, other information, or a combination thereof, from Web pages on World Wide Web sites, or any other UI (viewer interface). The Web browser is preferably able to operate a program written in the Java or JavaScript programming languages. The term "Web browser" also includes any software application which extracts any amount of data in one or more types of media from HTML (hypertext mark-up language) or any other type of mark-up language, and/or other World Wide Web-based information, including text, images, audio (streaming or downloaded), video (streaming or downloaded), 3D environments (VRML (virtual reality modeling language), MetaStream or others), or any other type of media content present on or through the World Wide Web or the Internet, as well as any type of World Wide Web-based software application, such as any type of Web-based browser or user interface. The term "Web browser" also optionally refers to any software application which can operate and/or communicate with browser-based "plug-ins" or "controllers" and/or objects.
Hereinafter, the term "Web page" refers to any document written in a mark-up language including, but not limited to, HTML (hypertext mark-up language) or VRML (virtual reality modeling language), dynamic HTML, XML (extended mark-up language) or related computer languages thereof, or to technologies such as Flash™ technology or that provided by Shockwave™, or any other interactive technology providing duplex two-way information streaming between the GUI of the viewer and a central system engine, as well as to any collection of such documents reachable through one specific Internet address or at one specific World Wide Web site, or any document obtainable through a particular URL (Uniform Resource Locator). Hereinafter, the term "Web site" refers to at least one Web page, and preferably a plurality of Web pages, virtually connected to form a coherent group. Hereinafter, the term "Web server" refers to a computational device or other electronic device which is capable of serving at least one Web page to a Web browser.
Hereinafter, the term "applet" refers to a self-contained software module written in an applet language such as Java or constructed as an ActiveX™ control.
Hereinafter, the term "computational device" indicates any type of electronic device which is capable of performing computations, including, but not limited to, personal computers (PC) having an operating system such as DOS, Windows™, OS/2™ or Linux; Macintosh™ computers; computers having JAVA™-OS or BeOS™ as the operating system; thin client computers; Interactive television devices, which are electronic devices which combine a television set with at least a partial set of computational functions, preferably including the display of Web pages, such as Web TV™ for example, as well as any other type of set-top box; console PlayStation™ type devices; and graphical workstations such as the computers of Sun Microsystems™ and Silicon Graphics™, and other computational devices having some version of the UNIX operating system such as AIX™ or SOLARIS™ of Sun Microsystems™; a PalmPilot™, a PilotPC™, or any other handheld device, portable device for data processing such as a PDA (personal data assistant), a cellular telephone which is WAP-enabled, or an embedded system or device; or any other known and available operating system and computational device; as well as devices with a combination of the above functionalities, such as a multi-port devices for example, which is a system capable of connecting and/or transmitting to a variety of computational devices, an example of which is a system that can communicate with Web servers, iTV devices and WAP-enabled devices. The advantage of multi-port systems, in which each such device is assigned a "port", is that they can "display" or "present" similar sets of data to end users or viewers with a user interface (UI) which is suitable for each device through its respective port. Hereinafter, the term "Windows™" includes but is not limited to
Windows95™, Windows NT™, Windows98™, Windows CE™ and any upgraded versions of these operating systems by Microsoft Corp. (USA).
Hereinafter, the term "display screen" refers to an electronic device which is capable of displaying a GUI (graphical viewer interface) to a viewer, including but not limited to a television set, and a monitor or other display device associated with any of the previously described computational devices.
Hereinafter, the phrase "display a Web page" includes all actions necessary to render at least a portion of the information on the Web page available to the computational device viewer. As such, the phrase includes, but is not limited to, the static visual display of static graphical information, the audible production of audio information, the animated visual display of animation and the visual display of video stream data.
The method of the present invention could also be described as a plurality of instructions being performed by a data processor, such that the method of the present invention could be implemented as hardware, software, firmware or a combination thereof. For the present invention, a software application could be written in substantially any suitable programming language, which could easily be selected by one of ordinary skill in the art. The programming language chosen should be compatible with the computational device according to which the software application is executed. Examples of suitable programming languages include, but are not limited to, C, C++ and Java.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention features a system and method for channel mixing, such that the viewer is able to select television programs according to one or more features of the programs themselves, and not only according to the channel for transmitting the program, and/or the time at which the program is transmitted. The channel mixing enables the viewers to construct a personalized interactive programming guide, which does not rely on the currently available grid format of guides in the background art. Instead, the viewer selects one or more channels, optionally also with a specific date and/or category of television programs, and then is preferably able to view the resultant television program information in a channel palette. The channel palette optionally and most preferably is able to display such television program information continuously for a particular time period, which most preferably is twenty-four hours in length. More preferably, the viewer is also able to select one or more categories according to which television program information should be selected for display, such that both the channels and the programs can optionally be individually selected or "mixed". Most preferably, additional television program information is available as part of a separate display, for example through a separate Web page and/or window. Also most preferably, this additional information is selected for each television program according to an interface element displayed next to the name of each television program on the channel palette.
Optionally and preferably, each channel has a separate channel palette, with the channel mixer itself featuring a plurality of such channel palettes, displayed to the viewer through the GUI (graphical user interface). The principles and operation of a system and a method according to the present invention may be better understood with reference to the drawings and the accompanying description, it being understood that these drawings are given for illustrative purposes only and are not meant to be limiting. In particular, the present invention could also optionally be extended to multi-port systems in which the user interface is determined according to the device. Referring now to the drawings, Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary overall system according to the present invention. Although the system is described with regard to an interface which is provided by a computational device connected to a network such as the Internet, it is understood that this is for the purposes of description only and is without any intention of being limiting, as the present invention could also be operative with an interactive television platform such as iTV, as previously described.
A system 10 features an electronic viewer interface 12, through which the viewer interacts with system 10. Viewer interface 12 could be a Web browser, displaying a Web page and/or an applet, for example. Alternatively, viewer interface 12 could be a dedicated client software program, preferably with a GUI (graphical viewer interface). Viewer interface 12 is operated by a viewer computational device 14, which could substantially any type of computational device as previously described. Optionally, viewer computational device 14 could be a dedicated electronic device for the operation of viewer interface 12, for example as a publicly available kiosk.
Viewer computational device 14 is connected to a server computational device 16, which again could be substantially any type of suitable computational device as previously described, or even a combination of two or more such computational devices. Server computational device 16 preferably operates a number of software modules according to the present invention. Alternatively, as previously described, these software modules could also be implemented as firmware, hardware or a combination thereof. It should be noted that these modules are described only as separate functional entities for the purposes of clarity, and that these modules could be combined into a single software program, or firmware or hardware device, for example. A central engine module 18 receives information from the other modules and performs any necessary analyses or calculations, as described in greater detail below. In particular, central engine module 18 manages an interactive programming guide module 20, for providing information about a plurality of television programs, as also explained with regard to Figures 2 and 3 below. Interactive programming guide module 20 more preferably stores such information as the name of the television program; the channel which transmits the television program; the date and time of transmission; and information about the content of the television program, such as the subject of the program and the category of the program. Other optional but preferred types of information include, but are not limited to, production network and/or channel type; broadcasting network and/or channel type; program category, type and rating; individual cast and production personnel; and so forth. Optionally and preferably, the television program information is provided to the viewer through "channel mixing", such that the viewer is not limited to viewing the information only according to the time of the program and/or the channel through which the program is transmitted, as explained in greater detail below. Optional but preferred features of system 10 include a promotional information module
28. Promotional information module 28 optionally and preferably includes promotional information for each television program, provided through a television program promotional module 30.
Television program promotional module 30 optionally and preferably provides such information as details of previous episodes of a particular television program; selected details of future episodes, provided as "sneak previews"; gossip and other information about the actors and actresses in a particular television program; and "behind the scenes" information about the production of various television programs. In addition, television program promotional module 30 optionally and more preferably provides such information in the form of graphics, audio and video clips, in particular to obtain viewer feedback about new advertisements and television programs. Also, television program promotional module 30 may optionally and most preferably communicate with a television channel displayer 34, as described in greater detail below, in order to provide a direct link to enable the viewer to actually watch the television program of interest. As previously described, the term "television program" may optionally include substantially any broadcast media content, such that television channel displayer 34 may also optionally be described as a broadcast player and/or tuner device for receiving any such broadcast media content.
Television program promotional module 30 is preferably presented to the viewer in the form of an information center for television programs. This center preferably includes an archive of detailed information on programs, advertisements, production issues, actors and a lot of related information, through which the viewer can browse to receive real-time, or close to real-time, updated information on the television programs, advertisements, actors and actresses, and virtual stocks of interest. For example, the information could be presented through a series of Web pages, optionally and preferably supported with applets and other browser-related technologies, which would enable the viewer to browse through a series of hyper-links in order to obtain the information of interest. Of course, system 10 could also optionally be instructed to control the presentation of this information to the viewer, such that particular television programs could be promoted for example.
Other optional but preferred features of system 10 include a television channel displayer 34 for enabling the viewer to view entire television programs, particularly in combination with interactive programming guide module 20, such that the viewer most preferably could actually select the television program to be viewed directly from the GUI (graphical viewer interface) display of the interactive programming guide. Television channel displayer 34 is preferably provided when viewer computational device 14 is implemented as Interactive television device, for reasons of bandwidth. Alternatively, the interactive programming guide could also be provided through a Web browser on a regular computer or other device capable of displaying such a Web browser, as well as through any interactive television device such as iTV, or other interactive broadcasting device. Television channel displayer 34 would enable system 10 to interface to the entire television viewing experience of the viewer, and to act as a gateway for such viewing. Optionally and preferably, central engine 18 would measure the period of time that a particular television program was displayed through television channel displayer 34.
The viewing choices of the viewer could also optionally and more preferably be used for the collection of more accurate statistical and demographic information concerning television programs, since the precise length of time any television program is being viewed could be determined. In addition, the identity of the viewer who is watching the television program could also optionally be more precisely determined, since the viewer would have preferably entered a password or other viewer identifying information in order to access the interface of the present invention. Thus, Interactive television device and/or other interactive television technologies are the preferred platforms for the operation of the system and method of the present invention. The term "Interactive television device" generally refers to interactive television, in which the viewer interacts with the television screen rather than simply passively viewing the television program, an example of which is Web TV™. Interactive television device is a particularly preferred embodiment for implementing both the system and the method of the present invention. The present invention is particularly suitable for Interactive television device, since the GUI of the interactive programming guide could provide a seamless interface for operation of Interactive television device. For example, the viewer could select and view television programs through the GUI of the system of the present invention when implemented with Interactive television device. In addition, the viewer could also optionally and preferably create a viewing package of a plurality of television programs which are of interest. The interactive programming guide of the present invention could therefore act as a portal to the television programs, since the viewer could view the programming choices through the GUI of the guide, and at the same time watch the television programs, thereby providing the viewer with interactive Interactive television device. Another useful type of interactive television technology, VOD, enables premium and/or pay-per-view television programs to be delivered to the viewer upon request. The viewer can request a particular program and then receive it for an individual viewing experience, such that requested television programs are directed to those who are interested in viewing them. In addition, VOD enables the system and method of the present invention to collect more information on the preferences of the viewer and on other aspects of the viewing habits of the viewer, such as the time of day that the television programs are viewed, the length of viewing, the general preferred type of television program, and other viewer information. Such viewer information can then be used to extract useful statistical and demographic information by the system of the present invention, which is commercially important data to collect, particularly in conjunction with other information about the viewer which is supplied from other aspects of the present invention.
A second type of useful interactive television technology is RP which enables the viewer to construct a preferred viewing schedule for the television programs. Such a schedule can optionally be constructed entirely according to the requests of the viewer, although optionally the system could add further programming and /or information where required to fill any gaps in the schedule. For example, the system could add commercial advertisements, promotional campaign video, audio or text data, or any other type of media content which the system wishes to promote to the viewer. All of this media content is optionally selected according to the profile of the viewer which is obtained from the other interactive technologies, and optionally and preferably also from the interaction by the viewer with the interactive programming guide of the present invention.
For example, the RP technology could optionally and more preferably also be used in order to update a list of favorite television programs. Such a list of "favorites" is described in greater detail below. The RP technology supports the automatic detection of favorite or "preferred" television programs by detecting viewer behavior, including but not limited to, such factors as which television programs are watched, the frequency with which they are watched, whether the viewer watches the entire television program, and so forth. Additionally or alternatively, the RP technology could also optionally be used to analyze the patterns of scheduled lists of television programs which the viewer requests in advance. The RP technology is one example of a suitable technology for "smart" tracking, to allow the viewer to define "keep" options for favorite programs, for example in order to receive a reminder message or other alert when such a program is about to be broadcast or otherwise become available. Such a technology can detect the next episode/broadcast of a specific program and automatically add it to the list of "favorites", according to the request of the viewer, thus enabling the list of favorite programs to be auto-updated. The technology operates by detecting and identifying the appearance of the same program according to such identification factors as the channel, time slot and/or episode numbers. In addition, most preferably such a technology would also be used to suggest other programs to the viewer for addition to the list of favorite programs.
RP is also optionally employed in conjunction with additional hardware devices, such as computational devices, VCR's and PDA's to enable the viewer to receive personalized information, television programs, and other types of media content. The RP technology itself optionally and preferably instructs the hardware device to perform certain actions, such as recording a particular television program or receiving stock market or other information, for example.
Interactive television also enables the viewer to enter direct input into the system and method of the present invention, such that all of the activities of the viewer within the system can be recorded and/or optionally processed directly in real time. Thus, the total viewing experience and interaction of the viewer with the interactive programming guide of the present invention can be examined, analyzed and recorded.
Figures 2 and 3 show screenshots of exemplary screen displays for different preferred implementations for interactive programming guides (IPG) according to the present invention. It should be emphasized that the present invention enables the basic functionality of the IPG to be similar, if not identical, across a number of different computational devices and platforms, even if the general appearance or "look and feel" of the user interface is altered across these different computational devices and platforms. For example, the GUI of Figures 2 and 3 could optionally and preferably be implemented through a Web browser, but could also alternatively be displayed by a television set, for those television sets which are enabled for the display of such interfaces. Thus, the functionality of channel and program mixing is preferably maintained, regardless of the exact appearance of the user interface. However, the user interface has the proviso that a grid format, as previously described for the background art, is not used. Figure 2 shows a screenshot of an exemplary screen display for an interactive programming guide, particularly for an interactive television portal. The present invention is generally useful with implementation with interactive television, since the system of the present invention could optionally feature one or more channels of actual programming material with interactive television. The interactive programming guide of the present invention would be useful for such interactive television systems, since it combines content and entertainment with programming schedule information, such as the time of day and date of the programs for example.
A guide display 40 features a category listing 42 at the left, and a channel listing 44 at the right. Category listing 42 enables the viewer to select programming from which types of categories is displayed. The viewer preferably "drags and drops" a channel 46 from channel listing 44 to a central display panel 48 in order to be able to view programming from a particular television channel. Once each channel 46 is located at central display panel 48, channel 46 then features a list of one or more programs 50 within a particular time period. Optionally, the time period can be for 24 hours for each channel 46.
The viewer can preferably select the date from a date selector 52, shown at the bottom of central display panel 48. The date and time period for which programming information is shown can optionally and preferably be synchronized for all open channels 46 on central display panel 48 through a synchronization button 54. Synchronization button 54 is selected for a particular open channel 46, and causes the time period for which programming information for the remaining open channels 46 to become altered to the displayed time period for that particular open channel 46. Guide display 40 has a number of advantages, in that the viewer can select which channels 46 are of interest, and can also optionally limit the program listings according to one or more categories of television programs. In addition, only information from those channels 46 which are of interest is featured in central display panel 48, thereby enabling the viewer to immediately view information which is relevant. The selectivity of the display of information clearly differentiates guide display 40 from other program listing displays which are known in the art, such as those which involve a fixed table of program listing information.
Figures 3 A and 3B are screenshots of exemplary screen displays for a second illustrative implementation of an interactive programming guide according to the present invention. According to this illustrative implementation, the interactive programming guide is actually a channel mixer, which allows the viewer to select content according to the features of interest, rather than being restricted to viewing the choices according to the channel for transmission.
Figure 3 A shows a first exemplary screen display for a channel mixer 60 according to the present invention. As shown, channel mixer 60 features a plurality of channels 62. Each channel 62 is separately displayed in a channel palette 72, with at least one television program 64. Optionally, each channel palette 72 can display the name and/or logo, and/or other identifying information, for the company which is associated with that channel 62. Each television program 64 is shown with at least the name of the program, and optionally also with the time of transmission. Optional but preferred scrollbars 66 enable the viewer to "scroll" through, browse through or otherwise examine and/or interact with, the different television programs 60 being displayed for each channel 62. More preferably, in order to help the viewer to determine the length of each television program 60, a program length indicator 68 is shown for each television program 60 through channel 62. Most preferably, channel palette 72 displays information for television programs 60 for a given time period, for example a time period of up to twenty four hours.
According to preferred embodiments of the present invention, the availability of additional information about each television program 60 is preferably indicated through a features interface element 70, which is more preferably located near television program 60 in channel 62. If the viewer selects features interface element 70, for example by "clicking on" or otherwise selecting features interface element 70 with a mouse or other pointing device, then optionally and more preferably additional information is displayed, for example through a Web page or other separate window display (not shown). Most preferably, such a separate display provides information according to any one or more of a number of different categories, including but not limited to, information about the television program itself; information about the type of television program, as explained in greater detail with regard to Figure 3B below; and information about the characters and/or actors in the television program, if any. The viewer may also optionally and preferably be allowed to view a preview about the television program and/or other promotional audio and/or video materials, or even to order the television program itself, for example through pay-per-view or other on-demand broadcasting systems.
In order to be able to add and/or change channels 62 in a collective display of such channels 62 for channel mixer 60 the viewer preferably selects one or more additional channels 62, and more preferably an identifier for such a channel 62, from a channel selector 74. Channel selector 74 displays a plurality of channels 62 from which the viewer may select one or more for display as a separate channel palette 72, and subsequently view or otherwise "access" the television program itself. Preferably, the viewer may "drag and drop" each channel 62 from channel selector 74 to channel mixer 60, although the specific action of the viewer depends upon the type of user interface implementation. As shown, channel mixer 60 has the advantage of showing information about television programs 64 according to a flexible display which is determined by the viewer, rather than according to a rigid grid. The viewer can thus more easily locate information of interest, by effectively "creating" the interactive programming guide through the selection of one or more channels 62 and/or date for transmission, as described in greater detail below.
In addition, the viewer optionally and more preferably is able to determine the date according to which information should be displayed through a calendar 76 as shown. The viewer selects the date of interest through calendar 76, for example by "double clicking" or otherwise selecting, the date, according to which information about television programs 64 is then altered in each channel 62 on channel mixer 60, to show information relevant for that particular date. According to other preferred embodiments of the present invention, the viewer is able to synchronize channels 62 through a synchronization interface element 78. Upon "double clicking" or selection by the viewer, synchronization interface element 78 causes the time period for displaying programming in a plurality of active channels 62 to become synchronized. For example, if a particular channel palette 72 is set to show television programs at a particular time period, and synchronization interface element 78 is selected for that channel palette 72, then all other channel palettes 72 for all other channels 62 then become synchronized to display television program information for that time period.
Figure 3B shows a second exemplary screen display for channel mixer 60 according to the present invention. As shown, channel mixer 60 also preferably features a category selector 80, for enabling the viewer to determine one or more categories, or types, of television programs 64 to be displayed. For example, the viewer could optionally select categories such as "news", "sports", "children" and so forth in order to limit television programs 64 which are displayed for each channel 62. The preferred feature of category selector 80 is more preferably selected or unselected through a category interface element 82 (also shown in Figure 3 A). The color of program length indicator 68 and/or features interface element 70 may also optionally and preferably be used to indicate the category for a television program 64 to the viewer. In addition, other graphic representations could optionally be used to indicate such a category to the viewer. According to other preferred embodiments of the present invention, the viewer is able to determine a list of one or more television programs 64 which are "favorites", for example in order to receive more information about such a television program 64. More preferably, a particular television program 64 is determined to be a favorite by "double-clicking" on, or otherwise selecting or activating, features interface element 70 by the viewer. A list of such favorite programs is then optionally and preferably displayed in a separate window and/or Web page (not shown). Alternatively or additionally, whenever information about such a television program is displayed in such a separate window and/or Web page, a favorite interface element may also be displayed to indicate that the television program is a favorite. In addition, optionally and more preferably, information about favorite television programs is updated on a regular basis for display to the viewer, for example through the separate display of favorite programs. Optionally and more preferably, the RP technology or another suitable technology is used in order to automatically detect and analyze the favorite television programs of the viewer, as previously described. The resultant list of favorite programs then holds all of the programs selected by the viewer and/or automatically detected as previously described, which is then preferably presented as a daily, private list of favorite programs to watch and/or record. The viewer may also optionally and more preferably receive more information about each program on the list, as previously described.
According to other preferred embodiments of the present invention, the viewer would preferably be required to enter geographical information, such as a zip code for example, and optionally also the name of a service provider, for example for cable and/or satellite, in order for the correct television program information to be displayed. Most preferably, the channels which are displayed through channel selector 74 are selected according to the geographical information and the identified service provider, in order to ensure that the viewer is able to select from channels 62 which are accurate and available for that particular viewer.
It will be appreciated that the above descriptions are intended only to serve as examples, and that many other embodiments are possible within the spirit and the scope of the present invention.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1. A system for displaying information about a plurality of television programs by a viewer, the system comprising:
(a) an interactive programming guide for managing information about at least one television program;
(b) a viewer interface for displaying said information about said at least one television program to the viewer; and
(c) a central engine connected to said interactive programming guide and said viewer interface, for retrieving said information about said at least one television program.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein said viewer interface is a Web browser.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein said Web browser displays a GUI (graphical viewer interface) selected from the group consisting of a Web page and an applet.
4. The system of claim 2, further comprising:
(d) a Interactive television device device for operating said viewer interface, said Interactive television device being connected to said central engine.
5. The system of claim 4, further comprising:
(e) a television channel displayer for displaying at least one television program on said Interactive television device, said television channel displayer being connected to said central engine, such that said central engine measures a period of time for displaying said at least one television program.
6. The system of claim 5, wherein said television channel displayer forms a portion of an interactive television system, such that said central engine supports an interactive television portal.
7. The system of claims 1 or 5, further comprising a promotional information module for providing promotional information about the television program.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein said promotional information module provides a direct link to selecting the television program for viewing through said television channel displayer.
9. A method for displaying an interactive programming guide to a viewer, the interactive programming guide featuring information about at least one program for at least one channel, the method comprising the steps of:
(a) displaying a plurality of interface elements corresponding to a plurality of channels;
(b) selecting an interface element corresponding to a channel;
(c) dragging said interface element to a central display area; and
(d) displaying at least one program associated with said channel.
10. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of:
(e) selecting a date for determining at least one program to be displayed for each channel.
11. The method of claim 9, further comprising the steps of:
(e) requesting additional information for said at least one program; ad
(f) displaying said additional information.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein said additional information is displayed in a separate window.
13. The method of claim 9, further comprising the steps of:
(e) selecting at least one category for sorting a plurality of programs; and
(f) sorting said plurality of programs according to said at least one category.
14. The method of claim 9, wherein step (d) further comprises the step of displaying information for television programs for each channel in a channel palette, such that said central display area features a plurality of channel palettes.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein step (d) further comprises the step of displaying said information for television programs in said channel palette for a time period of twenty-four hours.
16. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of:
(e) selecting at least one television program as a favorite; and
(f) storing identifying information for said at least one television program in a favorites list.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein step (e) is at least partially automatically performed by analyzing behavior of the viewer.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein said behavior is analyzed by identifying at least one television program being watched by the viewer.
19. The method of claim 17, wherein said behavior is analyzed by identifying at least one television program being selected for later viewing by the viewer.
20. A method for displaying an interactive programming guide to a viewer, the interactive programming guide featuring information about at least one program for at least one channel, the method comprising the steps of:
(a) displaying identifiers corresponding to a plurality of channels;
(b) selecting an identifier corresponding to a channel; and
(c) displaying said identifier and the information about at least one program associated with said channel, such that said identifier and the information about at least one program are displayed in a separate location for each channel, with the proviso that the information about at least one program is not displayed in a grid format with said identifier.
PCT/IL2000/000864 2000-06-26 2000-12-27 System and method for channel mixing WO2002001871A1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU20227/01A AU2022701A (en) 2000-06-26 2000-12-27 System and method for channel mixing

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
USPCT/US00/17437 2000-06-26
PCT/US2000/017437 WO2001001308A2 (en) 1999-06-25 2000-06-26 System and method for virtual television program rating

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2002001871A1 true WO2002001871A1 (en) 2002-01-03

Family

ID=21741532

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/IL2000/000864 WO2002001871A1 (en) 2000-06-26 2000-12-27 System and method for channel mixing

Country Status (2)

Country Link
AU (1) AU2022701A (en)
WO (1) WO2002001871A1 (en)

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1562374A1 (en) * 2004-02-05 2005-08-10 Lg Electronics Inc. Display device and method of managing list of channel information in video display device
WO2005101809A1 (en) * 2004-04-12 2005-10-27 Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. Method and system for creating a customized electronic program guide for a digital television
EP2334062A3 (en) * 2009-12-11 2012-01-04 Stoneroos Holding B.V. Method of and device for displaying formatted television programme guide data
US9100547B2 (en) 2004-06-21 2015-08-04 British Broadcasting Corporation Accessing broadcast media
US10356458B2 (en) 2017-03-06 2019-07-16 The Directv Group, Inc. Controlling content presentation and display of program information in an electronic program guide

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5850218A (en) * 1997-02-19 1998-12-15 Time Warner Entertainment Company L.P. Inter-active program guide with default selection control
US6151059A (en) * 1996-08-06 2000-11-21 Starsight Telecast, Inc. Electronic program guide with interactive areas

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6151059A (en) * 1996-08-06 2000-11-21 Starsight Telecast, Inc. Electronic program guide with interactive areas
US5850218A (en) * 1997-02-19 1998-12-15 Time Warner Entertainment Company L.P. Inter-active program guide with default selection control

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1562374A1 (en) * 2004-02-05 2005-08-10 Lg Electronics Inc. Display device and method of managing list of channel information in video display device
US8127330B2 (en) 2004-02-05 2012-02-28 Lg Electronics Inc. Display device and method of managing list of channel information in video display device
WO2005101809A1 (en) * 2004-04-12 2005-10-27 Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. Method and system for creating a customized electronic program guide for a digital television
US9100547B2 (en) 2004-06-21 2015-08-04 British Broadcasting Corporation Accessing broadcast media
EP2334062A3 (en) * 2009-12-11 2012-01-04 Stoneroos Holding B.V. Method of and device for displaying formatted television programme guide data
US10356458B2 (en) 2017-03-06 2019-07-16 The Directv Group, Inc. Controlling content presentation and display of program information in an electronic program guide

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
AU2022701A (en) 2002-01-08

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US10587930B2 (en) Interactive user interface for television applications
JP6305857B2 (en) Video interaction method
JP3898335B2 (en) Query-based electronic program guide
US7197715B1 (en) System and method to provide customized graphical user interfaces via an interactive video casting network
US8108797B2 (en) Integrated content guide for interactive selection of content and services on personal computer systems with multiple sources and multiple media presentation
CA2820574C (en) Method of receiving enhanced service and video display device thereof
US20140201791A1 (en) On-screen program guide with interactive programming recommendations
US20020129364A1 (en) On-screen display area enabling media convergence useful for viewers and audio/visual programmers
US7882522B2 (en) Determining user interest based on guide navigation
EP1237367A1 (en) Program guide system with targeted advertising
JP2007181222A (en) Internet television program guide system
US20160057481A1 (en) Method of Delivering Customer Contact Service to IPTV Viewer
GB2340635A (en) Electronic programme guide with hierarchic storage of queries
US8079047B1 (en) Program information searching system for interactive program guide
US20080004960A1 (en) Interactive promotional space in a discovery interface
WO2002001871A1 (en) System and method for channel mixing
EP2339833A1 (en) Media handling system for unified media browsing
AU2008200327A1 (en) Video recorder scheduling using web browser

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
AK Designated states

Kind code of ref document: A1

Designated state(s): AE AG AL AM AT AU AZ BA BB BG BR BY BZ CA CH CN CR CU CZ DE DE DK DM DZ EE ES FI GB GD GE GH GM HR HU ID IL IN IS JP KE KG KP KR KZ LC LK LR LS LT LU LV MA MD MG MK MN MW MX MZ NO NZ PL PT RO RU SD SE SG SI SK SL TJ TM TR TT TZ UA UG US UZ VN YU ZA ZW

AL Designated countries for regional patents

Kind code of ref document: A1

Designated state(s): GH GM KE LS MW MZ SD SL SZ TZ UG ZW AM AZ BY KG KZ MD RU TJ TM AT BE CH CY DE DK ES FI FR GB GR IE IT LU MC NL PT SE TR BF BJ CF CG CI CM GA GN GW ML MR NE SN TD TG

121 Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application
REG Reference to national code

Ref country code: DE

Ref legal event code: 8642

32PN Ep: public notification in the ep bulletin as address of the adressee cannot be established

Free format text: NOTING OF LOSS OF RIGHTS PURSUANT TO RULE 69(1) EPC

32PN Ep: public notification in the ep bulletin as address of the adressee cannot be established

Free format text: NOTING OF LOSS OF RIGHTS PURSUANT TO RULE 69(1) EPC

122 Ep: pct application non-entry in european phase
NENP Non-entry into the national phase

Ref country code: JP