Method and Apparatus For Finding The Same Or Similar Shows

a technology of programming guides and programs, applied in the field of electronic programming guides for television, can solve the problems of limited program information that can be displayed, little or no viewer control, and certain limitations

Inactive Publication Date: 2007-12-06
JLB VENTURES LLC
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

However, they provide little or no viewer control, and are limited in the amount of program information that can be displayed.
However, since the EPG can search the program data for only exactly the same show demonstrates certain limitations.
This is primarily because the number of characters allowed in most EPGs is very limited, thereby requiring most show titles to be abbreviated.
Second, if a viewer tunes into the last broadcast of a particular show, a search of the program data would not help because it cannot find any future showings of that particular show.

Method used

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  • Method and Apparatus For Finding The Same Or Similar Shows
  • Method and Apparatus For Finding The Same Or Similar Shows
  • Method and Apparatus For Finding The Same Or Similar Shows

Examples

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Embodiment Construction

[0017]FIGS. 1a-1c illustrate a prior art electronic program guide display with a search function and search function result. FIG. 1a illustrates a prior art EPG display 100 that contains an example of a show listing from a selection by the viewer with a few shows appearing, such as Cheers, Frasier, Friends, M.A.S.H, and Touched by an Angel. FIG. 1b illustrates the same prior art EPG display 110 in which the viewer has marked one of the shows, in this case Touched by an Angel 111 broadcast on ABC at 8:00 pm, in preparation for actuating a search function 105 for other instances of the Touched by an Angel show. Note, however, that the show title displayed in the prior art EPG displays 100 / 110 has been abbreviated to “Touch by an Ang.” The prior art search function 105 performs a simple and straightforward search for shows matching the abbreviated show title “Touch by an Ang” and the search results are illustrated in the EPG display 120 in FIG. 1c. As shown in FIG. 1c, besides the orig...

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Abstract

A method and apparatus providing for expanded search functionality in an electronic program guide (EPG) for television is described. The expanded search function finds show titles that are the same or similar to the show title of the program data currently displayed by the EPG. The expanded search function also finds shows similar to the one currently displayed by the EPG by using additional search elements based on the descriptive part of the EPG program data, such as actors, director, genre, etc., as well as search parameters based on the show time, channel, etc. Rather than only finding exact matches, the expanded search function uses fuzzy logic to find near matches and prioritizes the results according to the search elements and parameters as specified by the viewer.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09 / 752,612, filed Dec. 29, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,213,256, which claimed the benefit of provisional application No. 60 / 202,303, filed May 5, 2000, the disclosures of each of which are hereby incorporated herein.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates generally to electronic programming guides for television. In particular, the present invention relates to providing a method for searching for the same or a similar show using an interactive electronic program guide. [0004] 2. Description of Related Art [0005] Electronic programming guides (EPG) are known in the art and provide television viewers with on-screen television schedule information. Widely used are the on-screen program schedules that are continuously transmitted over a dedicated viewing channel, such as those available on community antenna television (CATV), c...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): H04N5/445
CPCH04N5/44543H04N7/163H04N21/4532H04N21/4828H04N21/4756H04N21/482H04N21/466H04N21/47
Inventor KIKINIS, DAN
Owner JLB VENTURES LLC
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