System and method for establishing TV channel

Abstract

A system and method for automatically establishing TV channels, based on time / date / geographic location / location of the TV within the home either entered manually or using a locater system such as GPS.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates generally to television systems. [0003] 2. Description of the Related Art [0004] Televisions and computers have become ubiquitous, and since both usually entail a visual display, efforts have been made to integrate both functions into a single system. In this way, a consumer need not purchase and operate two separate systems, which can burden some consumers who, while familiar with operating a television and its remote control, might not be familiar with operating, e.g., an Internet computer. [0005] To the extent that attempts have been made to combine television with Internet features, it has generally been with the focus of producing what might be thought of as a “lean forward” system. That is, hybrid TV / computers have typically been more oriented toward productivity, generally thought of as a computer system characteristic, and less toward entertainment (“lean back”), generally regar...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

In this way, a consumer need not purchase and operate two separate systems, which can burden some consumers who, while familiar with operating a television and its remote control, might not be familiar with operating, e.g., an Internet computer.

In terms of currently expected speeds of Internet access, this consumes an undue amount of time.

All of these features—use of a keyboard, knowledgeable use of a browser, and wait time for Web page access—are not per se unacceptable for a lean forward experience, but would severely detract from a lean back experience.

Also, waiting for entertainment to load or otherwise be prepared for playing is distracting in a lean-back, group-oriented experience.

But as exemplified above by the WebTV system, current systems that attempt to integrate television and computers essentially do so by grafting a TV onto what is essentially an underlying, lean forward computer system, and consequently provide less than optimum lean back experiences.

As an example, a large number of potential TV settings are available, and unlike a computer user who might expect to alter computer settings frequently based on the task at hand, a TV viewer might not want to laboriously establish each one every time viewing circumstances change.

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