Expanded Programming Guide Grid Navigation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional programming guides on content receivers are limited in displaying programming information over a short timeframe and a small number of channels, making it difficult for users to navigate and search through large amounts of data.
Innovation Solution
An expanded programming guide is generated by a content receiver, displaying a grid of regions representing multiple channels over a longer timeframe, allowing users to select and magnify regions for detailed viewing and search results, with marked regions indicating matching search criteria.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If traditional programming guides display only a limited time range and small number of channels, then the interface remains simple and easy to operate, but the user cannot access or navigate large amounts of programming information
Solution Approach 1:
The programming guide is divided into multiple pages, with each page displaying a specific time range and channel range. Users can navigate between pages to access different segments of the overall programming information, allowing the system to present large amounts of data without overwhelming the user interface
Solution Approach 2:
The system adds a temporal dimension to navigation by organizing programming guides chronologically across multiple pages. Instead of attempting to display all channels and time periods simultaneously in a single二维 grid, the information is distributed across multiple time-based pages that users can sequentially access
2Loss of information
If the programming guide displays a comprehensive grid of all channels and time periods, then all programming information becomes accessible, but the interface becomes complex and difficult to navigate
Solution Approach 1:
The comprehensive programming information is segmented into manageable pages, each displaying a subset of channels and time periods. This segmentation reduces the visual complexity on any single screen while ensuring all information remains accessible through page navigation
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the programming guide display based on user interaction. Pages are generated and displayed according to the current time, and the system adapts to user navigation choices, providing a dynamic rather than static viewing experience
3Loss of information
If users must scroll through the entire programming guide to find specific programming events, then complete information is available, but the time required to locate desired content increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-generates multiple pages of programming guide information organized by time ranges. This preliminary organization allows users to jump directly to relevant time periods rather than scrolling through all content sequentially, reducing search time while maintaining complete information availability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces search functionality as an intermediary mechanism between the user and the programming guide content. Users can input search criteria to quickly locate specific programming events across all pages, and the system retrieves and displays matching results, eliminating the need for manual scrolling through entire guides
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A
AI summary
Systems, methods and computer program products utilize a content receiver to generate a dynamically modifiable expanded programming guide with a grid containing a plurality of regions. Each region is associated with a plurality of channels over a timeframe. The content receiver transmit the expanded programming guide to a content display. The grid may be utilized to navigate through regions and therefore across a large amount of programming information associated with a wide range of channels and timeframes. The content receiver may transmit a magnified view of the expanded programming guide and may display content-related information associated with a subset of regions for the associated channels and timeframes.