User-interactive displays including theme-based dynamic video mosaic elements

Abstract

The present invention teaches a method of creating and presenting a user interface comprising a Dynamic Mosaic Extended Electronic Programming Guide (DMXEPG) using video, audio, special applications, and service dynamic metadata. The system enables television or digital radio service subscribers to select and display of various programs including video, interactive TV applications, or any combination of audio or visual components grouped and presented in accordance with the dynamic program / show metadata, business rules and objectives of service providers, broadcasters, and / or personal subscriber choices, collectively referred to as mosaic element presentation criteria.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 647,287, filed Jan. 27, 2005 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 678,773, filed May 9, 2005, both of which are included by reference in their entirety for all purposes.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Television service providers including cable, satellite, terrestrial, video over Internet, IPTV, and others can deliver a large number of channels to subscribers. To choose and select desired program among hundreds of available channels, subscribers can browse channels one by one or use grid or mosaic based Electronic Programming Guides (EPG) by which they might search for possible choices, with the effect to that those subscribers are able to select one or more choices for presentation. However, while they achieve the general goal of allowing users to search and select, known systems are subject to several draw-backs.[0003]Browsing a large number of channels in ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The invention provides a system for creating and accessing a dynamic mosaic extended programming guide (DMXEPG) for visual and audio content on digital TV and radio networks. The system allows users to select and display various programs, including video and interactive applications, using a unique channel identifier. The system also allows users to print the programming guide and access value-added services, like VOD, by using a unique channel identifier. The invention also allows users to simultaneously display multiple video and application graphics on a single screen, and to customize the programming guide to their preferences. The technical effects of the invention include improved content recognition, simplified user interface, and enhanced user experience."

Problems solved by technology

However, while they achieve the general goal of allowing users to search and select, known systems are subject to several draw-backs.

Browsing a large number of channels in a search of a desired show is time consuming and inefficient.

Moreover, grid based EPG does not allow users to observe the actual video content of several channels at once, thus forcing subscribers to decide on channel and program selection merely from its textual description, and not its actual content.

Although some EPGs allow subscribers to preview in PIP a program selected from the grid, still users can not simultaneously observe content of more than one program.

Existing mosaic based EPG (MEPG), used by CANAL+ in France for example, is also limiting since it creates pages made of mosaic element each of which is assigned for an extended period of time to a specific channel.

When a subscriber whishes to compare content of two or more channels not present on the same screen, he or she has to toggle between two or more EPG screens, rendering such system as cumbersome, inconvenient, and difficult to use.

Such static MEPG systems do not allow subscribers to customize EPG screens to simultaneously display video content of their favorite channels on the same screen.

Also, existing MEPG systems, when attempting to group channels by category (e.g. movies, news, cartoons) fail because the same channel broadcasts shows that can belong to different content categories at different times of the day: “Cartoons” in the morning, “Soap Operas” in the afternoon, “News” in the evening, and “Movies” at night.

However, this solution does not work for the television broadcasting environment where each channel's metadata is not static, but dynamic, since it is being contentiously updated and changed.

The '593 application does not allow subscribers to simultaneously view video feed from one of any broadcasting channels on one part of the screen while simultaneously accessing MEPG in the remaining portion of the same screen.

In addition to the difficulties of selecting among a large number of currently broadcasting programs, as described above, subscribers also have many challenges selecting upcoming shows using existing EPGs.

This task becomes very arduous because by default programs in the existing grid and mosaic based EPGs are organized by channel and time, but not by program category.

Unfortunately, existing EPG services have not been designed to display program's visual representation and allow subscribers to choose desired program by it.

There, subscribers have to deal with the same problems of choosing desired content based on its textual representation, but not on its visual representation.

With hundreds of simultaneously available programs, this task becomes as challenging as selecting video content from digital TV service providers.

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