Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SYSTEM AND METHOD OF DEFAULT CHANNEL LINEUP AND DISPLAY
WITH CUSTOMIZATION OF ELECTRONIC PROGRAM GUIDE GRIDS
REFERENCE TO CROSS-RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.
60/113,967, filed
on December 28, 1998, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to television systems, and more particularly,
to a television
system including a default channel lineup for default display of the
electronic program guide, the
electronic program guide being customizable according to viewer preferences.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A television system today is capable ofreceiving hundreds of channels.
Information about
all these channels cannot be displayed by the television system at a single
given time in its
electronic program guide (EPG) grid. Thus, for an initial display of the EPG,
a determination
needs to be made as to the default channels that will appear on the grid. A
determination also
needs to be made as to the default channels that will get a program
description if such program
description cannot be displayed for all of the default channels due to memory
limitations at the
television system. Once these choices are made, the default order in which to
display the
channels must also be decided.
One method of handling these decisions is by transmitting to the television
system, a
channel lineup of all channels available to the viewer and selecting the
channels at the top of the
list as default channels that will appear on the EPG grid. The channel lineup
is transmitted in a
display priority packet ("DPP") and stored in the television system's memory.
The EPG then
displays, as a default, the channels that appear at the top of the list (e.g.
the first 50 channels).
All the displayed channels also get a program description. For example the
following channel
lineup may be transmitted in the DPP:
1) Major Network 1
2) Major Network 2
3) minor network 1
4) minor network 2
5) Major Movie Channel 1
6) Major Movie Channel 2
7) Major Movie Channel 3
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8) Major Movie Channel 4
9) minor movie channel 1
10) minor movie channel 2
If four channels are to be displayed by default, those four channels,
according to the illustrated
example would be Major Network 1, Major Network 2, minor network 1, and minor
network 2.
For a different default display of channels, the channel lineup in the DPP is
changed and re-
transmitted to the television system. For instance, if two Maj or Networks are
to be displayed by
default with the two Major Movie channels, the above illustrated channel
lineup would be
changed to look as follows:
1) Major Network 1
2) Major Network 1
3) Major Movie Channel 1
4) Major Movie Channel
2
5) minor network 1
6) minor network 2
7) Major Movie Channel
3
8) Major Movie Channel 4
9) minor movie channel 1
10) minor movie channel 2
A viewer desiring to include an additional channel to be displayed on the EPG
retrieves
the channel lineup from memory and selects the desired channel from the
lineup.
One of the drawbacks of the described method is that the order of the listing
of the
channels on the channel lineup also dictates which channels are to be
displayed by default. Thus,
a channel to be displayed by default must appear together at the top of the
channel lineup, often
apart from the rest of the channels to which it belongs. The channels in the
channel lineup,
therefore, cannot be kept together by category/theme. As a result, the
channels on the EPG grid
0 can also not be kept together by category/theme if channels other than the
default channels are
to be enabled by the viewer.
For instance, in the above example, if only the two Major Network channels and
the two
Major Movie channels are to be displayed on the guide, the guide appears
organized based on the
theme of the channels, and the viewer may easily locate a particular network
channel or movie
channel by looking at the network channel section or the movie channel
section, respectively.
However, if the viewer wants to enable minor network 1 to also appear on the
guide, it will be
displayed below the maj or movie channels rather than with the rest of the
network channels since
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the channel lineup dictates the order of the display of the channels. As more
and more channels
appear on the guide, it becomes more and more important to maintain the
channels displayed on
the EPG grid in an organized fashion, thereby allowing the viewer to quickly
locate a desired
channel.
Another drawback with the described method is that the channels displayed by
default also
get a detailed program description. However, a viewer may access the detailed
program
descriptions of programs of only particular channels that the viewer watches
most, and rarely
access the detailed program descriptions of the remaining channels that the
viewer is not
interested in. Thus, storing detailed program descriptions of these channels
is an inefficient use
of the television system's memory space.
Accordingly, there is a need for an EPG where the default channels to be
displayed may
be maintained together with the non-default channels in its category, allowing
the channels to be
organized based on theme. There is also a need for an EPG where the channels
that are displayed
bY default do not automatically get a detailed program description. Instead, a
viewer would be
able to select the channels which are to get the detailed description.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention comprises a system and method for displaying an EPG grid
according to a default channel lineup. The display of the EPG grid may then be
customized
according to user preferences.
In one embodiment of the invention, the default channel lineup is transmitted
in two
different packets: and enabling priority packet and an extended display
priority packet. The
television apparatus receives in the enabling priority packet a list of
default individual channels
to be displayed on the electronic program guide grid. The television apparatus
also receives in
the extended display priority packet a list of channel groups indicative of an
order of display on
the electronic program guide grid of all individual channels available to the
television apparatus.
The list of default individual channels and list of channel groups are then
stored in the memory
of the television apparatus. It will be appreciated, therefore, that the
channels in the channel
lineup may now be maintained together based on category 1 theme.
For a default display of the EPG grid, the television apparatus retrieves the
list of default
individual channels and their associated program schedule information from the
memory. The
television apparatus then displays the list of default individual channels and
a portion of the
program schedule information associated with the individual channels on the
electronic program
guide grid according to the order of display indicated by the list of channel
groups.
In one particular aspect of the invention, the default individual channels
also get a detailed
program description of programs telecast by the default individual channels.
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In another particular aspect of the invention, a viewer may modify the default
display of
the EPG grid by enabling a non-default individual channel from a channel
editor screen. The
non-default individual channel and its program schedule information is then
displayed according
to the order indicated by the list of channel groups. The viewer may further
modify the
individual channels that get a detailed program description, or the order in
which the individual
channels are displayed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG.1 is a schematic block diagram of an interactive television schedule
system including
a television system and a cable box according to one embodiment of the
invention;
FIG. 2 is a more detailed schematic block diagram of the cable box of FIG. l;
FIG. 3 is a more detailed schematic block diagram of the television system of
FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a schematic layout diagram of an enabling priority packet;
FIG. 5 is a schematic layout diagram of an extended display priority packet;
FIG. 6 is a schematic layout diagram of an extended display priority packet
according to
an alternative embodiment;
FIG. 7 is an illustration of an EPG screen displaying channels according to
the information
in the enabling priority packet of FIG. 4 and the extended display priority
packet of FIG. 5;
FIG. 8 is an illustration of the EPG screen of FIG. 7 according to an
alternative
embodiment; and
FIG. 9 is an illustration of a channel editor screen for modifying an EPG
screen display.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In general terms, the present system and method is directed to an interactive
television
schedule system having a television apparatus equipped with an interactive
electronic program
guide (EPG) that provides a customizable display of channels and detailed
program descriptions
appearing on the EPG.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an interactive television schedule
system according
to one embodiment of the invention. The interactive television schedule system
includes a
television system 45 receiving input from a cable box 20 and an IRD box 25.
The television
system 10 includes a television 50 and a VCR 15.
The television 50 is configured with an interactive EPG 45 for displaying
television
schedule information and information relating to additional services
(collectively referred to as
"EPG data") as is described in further detail below. A viewer interacts with
the television 50 and
EPG 45 via a viewer input device 40, preferably taking the form of an IR
remote control 40,
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according to conventional methods. Other viewer input devices 40 might also be
utilized, such
as a keyboard, keypad, joystick, mouse, track ball, touch pad, and the like.
Many different transmission schemes are available for providing EPG data to
various
receivers 20, 2~, 30, 35 of the television system 10. For example, EPG data
can be provided via
cable and/or Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) through the cable box 20 and/or
IRD box 25,
respectively. An antenna 35 coupled to the television 50 can also be used as
an additional source
of EPG data. Furthermore, the data can be transmitted through other inputs 30
such as
conventional satellite systems, coax cables, telephone lines, and fibre optic
cables.
FIG. 2 is a more detailed schematic block diagram of the cable box 20 of FIG.
1 for
providing EPG data to the television system 10. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the
cable box 20
includes a processor 60 and a memory 65. The memory 65 of cable box 20 stores
software 70
for receiving, organizing, and displaying EPG data as well as the EPG data
itself. The EPG data,
however. is preferably stored in a memory of the television system 10 as is
described below in
conjunction with FIG. 3.
The memory 65 may further store data related to the viewer's profile and the
like. In one
embodiment of the invention, a portion of the data stored in memory 65 is
obtained via the
Internet through a cable modem 75. Other portions of the data are generated by
the processor
from data received from a cable head end.
FIG. 3 is a more detailed schematic block diagram of the television system 10
of FIG. 1.
With reference to FIG. 3, a source of television signals 100 such as the
antenna 35, cable box 20,
or IRD box 25 is connected to a television tuner 105. The output of tuner 105
is a modulated
intermediate frequency signal I I 0 containing video and audio television
information. The tuner
105 is connected by an intermediate frequency amplifier (IF AMP) 110 to a
picture detector
(PICTURE DET) 115 and a sound detector (SOUND DET) 120, which produce base
band video
and audio signals, respectively. The audio signal is coupled by a sound
amplifier (SOUND
AMP) 125 to a loudspeaker 130. The video signal is coupled by a video
amplifier (not shown)
to one input of a switch 135. The sound detector 120 and picture detector 115
are connected to
the audio and video inputs, respectively, of the VCR 15. Alternatively,
television signal source
100 could be directly connected to the RF input of the VCR 15 if its internal
tuner and
demodulating circuitry is to be utilized.
The output of the VCR 15 is connected to the other input of the switch 135.
The output
of the switch 135 is connected to one input of a conventional picture-in-
picture (PIP) integrated
circuit chip 140. The output of the PIP chip 140 is connected to the video
input 142 of the
television SO having a screen (not shown).
According to one embodiment of the invention, the television system 10
illustrated in FIG.
3 includes an EPG memory 145 for storing an updatable database of television
program schedule
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information. The database can be updated by a continuous data link in the
vertical blanking
interval (VBI) of a television channel broadcast to the television system 10
in well known
fashion.
The EPG memory 145 is connected to a microprocessor 150 that is programmed to
control
the operation of the television 50. An oper4ting program for the
microprocessor 150 is stored
in a read only memory (ROM) 155. The viewer input device 40 is coupled to the
microprocessor
150 to provide commands from the viewer and interact with the EPG.
A video processor 160 is coupled to microprocessor 150. When the viewer wishes
to see
the television program schedule information, the microprocessor 150 recalls a
portion of the
relevant data from the EPG memory 145 and couples it to video processor 160,
where the
program listings are formatted for display. Preferably, the information stored
in video processor
160 is a bit map of what is displayed on the screen of television 50.
The video processor 160 is further connected to the other input of the PIP
chip 140.
Preferably, the viewer input device 40 controls the microprocessor 150 by
cursor movement on
the screen of television 50. To this end, microprocessor 150 and video
processor 160 are coupled
to a cursor position register 165. Alternatively, the viewer can select items
of information
displayed on the screen by selecting a particular keys on the viewer input
device 40.
The microprocessor 150 is also coupled to the tuner 105 for channel change, to
the VCR
15 for play/record selection and start/stop, to the switch 135 for selection
of one of its inputs, and
to the PIP chip 140 for selection of the mode of PIP operation.
Referring back to the EPG memory 145, television program schedule information
is stored
in a program schedule database of the EPG memory and includes the program
schedules of all
the available channels for a prescribed period of time, e.g. a day or a week.
These program
listings typically include; for each program, the title, a program
description, the day of the week,
the start time of the day, the program length, and the channel on which the
program is transmitted
and thus available for reception at source 100. In a preferred embodiment of
the invention, the
period of time for which the program listings are stored is different for the
guides, depending
upon viewer priorities and preferences. For example, the information may be
stored for one or
two days, or for a week or more.
The EPG memory 145 further stores the channel lineup of all the channels
available to the
viewer according to the order in which they are to appear on the EPG grid. The
ordering of the
channels in the channel lineup is not dependent on the default channels that
are to be displayed
on the EPG grid. Thus, the channels that are to be displayed by default need
not appear together
at the top of the channel lineup, but all the channels in the channel lineup
may kept organized
according to their themes.
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In this regard, unlike the prior art where channel lineup information was
transmitted in a
single DPP packet, the channel lineup information according to one embodiment
of the invention
is transmitted in two separate packets: an enabling priority packet ("EPP")
and an extended
display priority packet ("XDPP"). The EPP contains a list of default
individual channels that are
to be enabled (i.e. displayed on the EPG grid) and are to have detailed
program descriptions. The
XDPP contains a channel lineup of all channel groups listed in the order in
which the individual
channels belonging to each of the channel groups, once enabled, are to be
displayed on the EPG
grid. In this way, the enabled channels may appear together in the guide
according to their
groups, allowing an organized look and feel to the EPG grid.
FIG. 4 is a schematic layout diagram of an exemplary EPP 200. According to the
example
illustrated in FIG. 4, among the default individual channels to be displayed
on the EPG grid are
three network channels, "WCVBS," "WABC," "WBGH," all affiliates of the ABC
network.
Other default channels include three movie channels, "HBOl," "HB02," and
"SHOWTIME,"
1 ~ an "MTV" channel, and one sports channel, "ESPN." All of these default
channels will also
include a detailed program description available through the EPG. The detailed
program
description appears in a separate information box upon selection of one of
theses channels, as is
described in further detail below.
FIG. 5 is a schematic layout diagram of an exemplary XDPP with a channel
lineup of all
channel groups to which individual channels belong, transmitted along with the
EPP illustrated
in FIG. 4. According to the example illustrated in FIG. 5, all the individual
channels belonging
to the ABC network, such as "WCVBS," "WABC," "WBGH," of FIG. 4, will be
displayed on
the top of the guide once they have been enabled, either by default or by
viewer interaction with
the guide. The individual channels belonging to the ABC network will be
followed by all the
individual channels belonging to the FOX network, CBS network, and NBC
network. Following
the network channels are all the MTV channels, SHOWTIME channels, HBO
channels, AMC
channels, and ESPN channels.
In an alternative embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, the channel groups listed
in the XDPP
are generic channel categories not associated with any particular television
or cable network. For
0 instance, all individual channels belonging to the major television networks
are grouped under
a "Major Network" category regardless of whether the network is "ABC," "NBC,"
or any other
major television network. Furthermore, all movie channels are grouped under a
"MOVIE"
category regardless of whether the movie is being provided by "HBO,"
"SHOWTIME," or any
other movie channel.
js FIG. 7 is an illustration of an EPG screen 170 generated by the video
processor 160 (FIG.
3) under the control of the microprocessor 150. The viewer invokes an EPG
guide mode for
displaying the EPG screen 170 by pressing a "guide" key on the viewer input
device 40. The
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viewer returns to a full screen television mode by the same key or invoking a
linked television
program.
The EPG screen 170 is divided into a number of different display areas. A PIP
window
172, a first panel ad window 174, and a second panel ad window 176 are
arranged along the left
side of screen 50. The remainder of the EPG screen 170 is typically occupied
by an action key
bar 178, a navigation bar 180, a grid guide 182, and an information box 184.
In the embodiment
illustrated in FIG. 7, the position of the windows, and other user interface
features, including the
action key bar 178, navigation bar 180 and grid guide 182, are fixed. In
another embodiment of
this invention, the position and size of the windows and other user interface
features are
customizable by the viewer.
The PIP window 172 displays real time broadcast programs or pre-recorded video
clips
produced by the PIP chip 140. A translucent overlay of the PIP window 172 can
display a title,
channel (local number and/or station name), and status (locked or unlocked) of
the PIP window
172.
The first and second panel ad windows 174 and 176 display advertisements for
future
telecast programs or for products and services. An advertisement for a future
telecast program
is linked to a time and channel of the program allowing the viewer to watch or
record the
program automatically by highlighting the advertisement and pressing a watch
action button 178a
or a record action button 178b,respectively.
Highlighting an advertisement for a product or service allows the viewer to
read one or
more pages about the product or service from the information box 184.
Alternatively, the
advertisement is linked to a time and channel of an infomercial allowing the
viewer to watch or
record the infomercial by highlighting the advertisement and pressing the
watch action button
178a or the record action button 178b, respectively.
The viewer accesses television program schedule information
by actuating a grid button 180a from a list of menu buttons listed on the
navigational bar 180.
Upon actuation of the grid button 180a, the grid guide 182 displays a list of
television programs
with their respective channel designations in a series of program tiles. The
default list of
channels displayed on the grid guide 182 is determined by the individual
channels listed in the
EPP. The ordering of the channels on the grid guide 182 is determined by the
ordering specified
in the XDPP.
Selection of a program tile causes a display of additional information about
the selected
program in an information box 184. Such additional information might include a
detailed
;5 description of the selected program, such as who is to appear on the
program and what the
program is about.
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In addition to the program tiles, the grid guide 22 includes advertisement
tiles 190 with
virtual channel advertisements. A virtual channel ad may promote, for
instance, a current or
future television program. Such a virtual channel ad for a television program
is linked to a time
and channel of the program allowing the viewer to watch or record the program
automatically.
According to one embodiment of the invention, the EPG screen 170 further
includes a
number of menu buttons (not shown) associated with different channel groups.
The selection of
a particular menu button causes the screen cursor to jump to the portion of
the grid guide with
the program tiles associated with the selected channel group. Alternatively,
the program tiles are
displayed in a separate information box 184 upon selection of the menu button.
In yet another
embodiment, page down buttons within the EPG screen 170 or on the viewer input
device 40 are
utilized to jump from channel group to channel group within the grid guide
182. Any of these
methods become desirable when, due to the sheer number of displayed channels,
it becomes
problematic to locate individual channels within the grid.
For instance, the menu buttons may contain titles such as "MOVIES", "SPORTS",
and
"NEWS." Upon selection of the "MOVIES" menu button, either all the program
tiles of
channels belonging to movie channel groups such as HBO, SHOWTIME, and the
like, are
displayed in the information box 184, or the screen cursor jumps to the first
of these program
tiles.
FIG. 8 is an alternative representation of the EPG screen of FIG. 7. According
to the
embodiment of FIG. 8, all the channels belonging to a particular channel group
are compressed
into a single program tile 206 which is expandable upon selection of the tile.
The program tile
206 is identified by the name of the channel group 206a, and includes
instructions 206b to select
the tile for viewing program tiles related to individual channels. For
instance, in the grid guide
182 of FIG. 7, the three channels belonging to the ABC network, "WCVBS,"
"WABC,"
"WBGH," may now be compressed into a single "ABC" listing shown in FIG. 8.
Upon selection
of the program tile 206, the program tiles of individual channels belonging to
the identified
channel group are expanded within the grid guide 182 itself, or in the
information box 184.
According to one embodiment of the invention, the default channels displayed
on the grid
guide 182, as well as the ordering of the channels displayed, may be modified
by the viewer
according to his or her preferences, through a channel editor screen. FIG. 9
is an illustration of
an exemplary channel editor screen 210. The screen 210 includes two fields, a
three column field
212 listing up to 36 unabridged channels and a single column field 208 listing
the viewer's
favorite channels. Additional channel pages are available (using a page key of
the viewer input
device 40 to swap between the pages) to accommodate more than 36 channels.
Each cell 214 in the three column field 212 contains a channel number and a
channel
descriptor (e.g. WCVBS, MTV). The channels in the three column field are
initially listed in the
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order designated by the XDPP. In addition, each cell 124 is color-coded to
indicate an ON state,
an OFF state, and a MY state. The ON state indicates that the channel is
currently enabled, and
will thus be displayed on the grid guide 182. A cell indicating the ON state
is depicted in a light
green background. Initially, the individual channels listed in the EPP are all
indicated with an
ON state.
The OFF state indicates that the channel is currently disabled, and will thus
not be
displayed on the grid guide 182. A cell indicating the OFF state is depicted
in a gray background.
The MY state indicates that the channel is enabled and currently listed one of
the viewer's
favorite channels. A cell indicating the MY state is depicted in a blue
background.
A viewer enables a disabled channel by selecting its cell and actuating an ON
button 216.
The viewer may also disable an enabled channel by actuating an OFF button 218,
or designate
the channel as a favorite channel by actuating a MY button 220. A user may
further designate
an enabled channel as getting a detailed program description by selecting the
channel and
actuating an Information button 222. Cells with channels with detailed program
description are
identified by an information icon 224 in the corresponding cell. Initially,
all channels listed in
the EPP automatically get a detailed program description. The channels listed
as the viewer's
favorite channels also automatically get a detailed program description. The
viewer may
further modify the ordering of the channels displayed on the grid guide 182.
In this regard, the
viewer selects a cell 214 for a channel whose listing order is to be changed,
and drags the cell to
the desired location in the three column field 212. In an alternative
embodiment, the user
is limited to moving groups of channels instead of allowing him or her to move
individual ones.
For instance, a user who watches a lot of sports might move the sports
channels to the top of the
grid. Alternatively, the channels or types of channels most watched by the
viewer are
automatically tracked by the television system, and those channels or types of
channels are
automatically bubbled-up to the top of the grid. The viewer would have the
ability to disable this
function, however, to prevent the constant reorganization of channels due to
the bubbling of
channels to the top of the grid. These channels may also be automatically
designated as favorite
channels in the single column field 208 of the channel editor screen 210.
Although the present invention has been described in certain specific
embodiments, many
additional modifications and variations would be apparent to those skilled in
the art. For
instance, the EPG data might be stored in one or more locations, such as on
different servers
accessible through a global communications network such as the Internet. In
another
embodiment the EPG data is stored in a database at a central location, such as
in a database that
is part of the EPG provider's computer system. It is therefore to be
understood that this invention
may be practiced otherwise than is specifically described without the exercise
of further inventive
activity.
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