Condensed Program Guide With Interstitial Symbols
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional program guides for set-top boxes become inefficient as the number of media content choices increases, making it time-consuming for users to find desired content, and existing search and filter tools often require users to leave the standard view, disrupting the user experience.
Innovation Solution
A condensed program guide is provided, which includes a subset of cells from the full program guide matrix with interstitial symbols representing excluded cells, allowing for intuitive access to excluded content and maintaining a similar user experience through spatial condensation and non-intrusive representation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If conventional program guides display all media content choices, then users have access to complete content information, but navigation becomes time-consuming and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The program guide is segmented into multiple pages, with each page displaying a condensed subset of cells (e.g., one hour time slot per channel). Users can navigate through pages to access different time slots, thereby reducing the navigation time while maintaining access to complete content information across all pages.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a temporal dimension by organizing content into time-based pages. Instead of displaying all channels simultaneously in a single view, the guide divides content across multiple time slots (pages), allowing users to navigate through time to find desired content, thus reducing the complexity of the main view.
2Loss of information
If conventional program guides display all media content choices, then users have access to complete content information, but the interface complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The interface is segmented into manageable pages, each showing a condensed view of one hour of content across multiple channels. This segmentation reduces the number of elements visible at once, simplifying the interface while maintaining access to complete information through page navigation.
Solution Approach 2:
Each page displays a partial view of the complete program guide (one hour time slot), which is sufficient for users to make content selections without being overwhelmed by the entire guide. Users can perform multiple partial actions (page transitions) to access different time slots.
3Productivity
If search and filter tools are used to reduce content options, then navigation efficiency improves, but users must leave the standard program guide view
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the functions of content filtering and condensed display into a single integrated view. The program guide automatically filters and condenses content to show one hour time slots per channel, eliminating the need for separate search operations while maintaining the standard program guide interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The program guide performs self-service by automatically organizing and condensing content into manageable time-based pages without requiring users to manually apply filters or search criteria. The system autonomously presents optimized views that improve navigation efficiency while maintaining interface continuity.
Data Source
AI summary
An exemplary method includes a computing device providing a program guide that includes a matrix of cells associated with a plurality of media content instances and providing a condensed program guide that includes a condensed matrix of a subset of the cells and a plurality of interstitial symbols. In certain embodiments, each interstitial symbol in the plurality of interstitial symbols represents a single cell included in the matrix of the cells and excluded from the condensed matrix of the subset of the cells. In certain embodiments, the plurality of interstitial symbols does not occupy matrix grid space in the condensed matrix. Corresponding systems and methods are also disclosed.