Zoomable user interfaces for television

a user interface and zoom technology, applied in the field of zoomable user interfaces for television, can solve the problems of difficult to find suitable content, difficult to easily and efficiently select from among the hundreds of stations, channels, and/or entities broadcasting a given type of music, video or program, etc., to enhance the display of useful information for users, easy to determine the broadcast status associated, and effective

US20080060011A1Inactive Publication Date: 2008-03-06IDHL HLDG INC
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Patent Information

Authority / Receiving Office
US · United States
Current Assignee / Owner
Publication Date
2008-03-06
Estimated Expiration
Not applicable · inactive patent

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Abstract

A navigation interface display system generates a navigation element that organizes television programming data in an easy-to-use manner. The navigation element employs a hierarchical display protocol for a plurality of selection items that represent the various television programs, channels, and / or networks. The hierarchical display scheme displays a limited number of active selection items at a first magnification level and additional active selection items at a second magnification level. In addition, the selection items are displayed on distinctive areas or features of the navigation element, where such features represent different content genres or categories. Subcategories can also be displayed in a hierarchical manner, thus providing additional information related to the content as the magnification level of the navigation element changes.
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Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60 / 195,955, titled “Method and Apparatus for Providing Streaming Media in a Communication Network,” filed Apr. 10, 2000. This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 746,149, titled “Interactive Display Interface for Information Objects,” filed Dec. 22, 2000.FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates generally to interactive menu interfaces for identifying content provided via a communication system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system for retrieving television programming information and for generating an interactive navigation interface for displaying such television programming information. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The prior art is replete with communication and entertainment systems that provide information in different formats to many users. For example, digital ca...

Examples

Embodiment Construction

[0026] The present invention may be described herein in terms of functional block components and various processing steps. It should be appreciated that such functional blocks may be realized by any number of hardware components configured to perform the specified functions. For example, the present invention may employ various integrated circuit components, e.g., memory elements, digital signal processing elements, logic elements, look-up tables, and the like, which may carry out a variety of functions under the control of one or more microprocessors or other control devices. In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be practiced in conjunction with any number of data transmission protocols and that the systems described herein are merely exemplary applications for the invention.

[0027] It should be appreciated that the particular implementations shown and described herein are illustrative of the invention and its best mode and are not int...