Hierarchical Electronic Program Guide Display for TV Channel Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing electronic program guide (EPG) presentation techniques do not effectively display the relativity between TV programs and channels, making it inefficient for users to browse the large and diverse number of TV channels and programs.
Innovation Solution
A method for hierarchically displaying an EPG by searching a program database based on the current channel, obtaining the corresponding category, and displaying a program menu according to the dependence relationship between the category, channel, and programs, allowing for a more organized and contextual browsing experience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If all TV channels and programs are displayed in a single table with channels sorted by number, then the EPG can be presented in a simple format, but it becomes inefficient for users to browse the large and diverse number of TV programs and channels
Solution Approach 1:
The EPG display is segmented into multiple hierarchical levels: category level (e.g., news, entertainment, sports), channel level (channels within each category), and program level (programs within each channel). This segmentation allows users to navigate from broad categories to specific programs, dramatically improving browsing efficiency for large numbers of channels and programs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a categorical dimension to the traditional linear channel listing. Instead of a single-dimensional list sorted by channel number, the EPG adds a classification dimension that groups channels by content type, creating a two-dimensional navigation structure that makes program discovery more efficient.
2Loss of information
If channels are sorted by numbers in a single table, then the EPG structure remains simple, but the relativity between TV programs and TV channels is not clearly shown to viewers
Solution Approach 1:
The EPG structure implements a nested hierarchy where categories contain multiple channels, and each channel contains multiple programs. This nested structure visually and structurally represents the relationship between programs and channels, showing how programs belong to specific channels which in turn belong to broader categories, thereby preserving and displaying program-channel relativity.
Solution Approach 2:
Different parts of the EPG display different types of information relationships: the category level shows program-type groupings, the channel level shows program-channel associations, and the program level shows detailed program information. This local differentiation of information quality at each hierarchical level makes the program-channel relationships clear and meaningful.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for displaying an electronic program guide (EPG), an electronic device, and a computer readable medium are provided. After a guide enable signal is received, a program database is searched according to a current channel to obtain a current category corresponding to the current channel. The program database includes a plurality of categories, each category includes a plurality of channels, and each channel includes a plurality of programs. A program menu corresponding to the current channel is displayed according to a dependence relationship between the current category, the current channel, and the programs of the current channel in the program database.