Media Content Listing Organization for Interactive Television
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional media guidance applications primarily organize content by broadcast time, which can be inconvenient for users who do not remember the title of a program or its schedule, lacking flexible navigation options.
Innovation Solution
A media guidance system that allows users to select display options for media content listings, including filtering by content providers, arranging listings alphabetically or by genre, and excluding duplicates, with graphical information and user-defined sorting criteria, enabling more intuitive navigation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If content listings are arranged by broadcast time schedule, then the listings follow a chronological order that reflects the actual viewing schedule, but users cannot easily locate content when they do not remember the title or schedule
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically changes the organization method of content listings based on user selection. Users can switch between broadcast time order, alphabetical order, and genre category order. The display structure adapts from a fixed chronological arrangement to flexible user-defined arrangements, resolving the contradiction between maintaining chronological relevance and providing navigation flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the sorting parameter of content listings from a fixed time-based parameter to selectable parameters including alphabetical order and genre category. This parameter change allows users to navigate content according to different criteria, solving the problem of locating content when title or schedule is not remembered.
2Loss of information
If all content listings are displayed including duplicates, then complete information is provided, but the display becomes cluttered and harder to navigate
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and removes duplicate content listings from the display while maintaining the complete information set. By identifying and eliminating redundant entries, the system reduces display clutter and improves navigability without losing access to the underlying complete content database. Users can still access full information through the streamlined interface.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple sorting criteria are applied, then users can navigate by different parameters such as title, genre, or date, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the sorting functionality into distinct, independent sorting criteria that can be applied separately. Rather than implementing a complex multi-criteria sorting algorithm simultaneously, the system divides sorting into separate options (alphabetical, genre, date) that can be independently selected and applied, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining versatility.
Data Source
AI summary
An interactive television program guide method and system is provided in which a viewer may direct a media guidance application to display program listings independent of scheduled broadcast time. Selectable options are presented to viewer on the screen, allowing the user to select a subset of content providers and view associated listings. The media guidance application removes duplicate listings from the listings display, in accordance with the viewer's preference. Listings may be displayed in a variety of arrangements, including alphabetical order by title, by genre, or by day scheduled for broadcast. Listings can also be sorted according to several criteria and displayed for further convenience to the viewer. The viewer may specify a broadcast time interval to further narrow the subset of listings that are displayed. Additional options displayed on the screen allow the viewer to re-sort listings on the display screen.