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Description  |
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
One aspect of the present invention relates generally to a system and
process that allows a television viewer to access on screen television
program listings and use the program listings in an easy and convenient
way to control operation of a video cassette recorder (VCR) or other
recording device. In particular, it relates to a system and process that
displays on a television screen, overlaying a primary television display
or program, a small background schedule guide that can be easily accessed
by a user during lulls in the primary television display or program.
Another aspect of the present invention relates to such a system and
process that creates a directory of recorded programs by title for easy
retrieval and program playback. More particularly, it relates to such a
system and process in which the VCR or other recording device is
controlled by a simple selection of program title and a record command,
even for recording at a future date and time. Most especially, it relates
to such a system and process incorporating an intuitive user interface.
Yet another aspect of the present invention relates generally to a cable
television (CATV) decoder interface. More particularly, it relates to such
an interface for connecting the cable television decoder to a television
accessory, such as a video cassette recorder (VCR). Most especially, it
relates to such an interface which maintains full functionality of the
television accessory while connected to the decoder.
The difficulty of setting a VCR for automatic recording at a future date is
notorious. Even users who are technically sophisticated will often make
mistakes in the VCR programming procedure that cause them to record the
wrong program or not to record anything at all. This difficulty has even
resulted in a substantial body of humor dedicated to the subject of
programming VCRs.
The difficulty of VCR programming has been alleviated somewhat by the
development of VCRs that use a television set as a display for user
prompts and feedback to the user during the programming process. U.S. Pat.
No. 4,908,713, issued Mar. 13, 1990 to Michael R. Levine, discloses such a
VCR using the television set as a display for VCR programming with an
interactive user interface for directing the user on a step-by-step basis.
Such a user interface removes a great deal of the mystery from VCR
programming, but users still have difficulty with such a command-based
interface and encounter problems carrying out the programming without
making mistakes that cause them to miss recording programs they would like
to watch at a different time than when they are broadcast.
Commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,121, issued Nov. 10, 1987 to Patrick
Young, discloses a system and process in which user selections from
television schedule information are used for automatic control of a VCR.
That patent also contains a description of a proposed user interface for
such a system and process. However, the provision of a highly intuitive
user interface that makes such a system and process easy and convenient to
operate is a difficult task. Further development of this system and
process has produced considerable change in the user interface as
originally proposed.
In addition to simplifying VCR programming, users who do a substantial
amount of program taping also need an improved system and process for
keeping track of their recorded programs. Commonly assigned application
Ser. No. 07/219,971, filed Jul. 15, 1988, in the name of Patrick Young,
discloses a system and process that provides indexing capability for taped
material. A user interface for a television schedule system and process
should also handle this capability on an intuitive basis.
Thus, while the art pertaining to the control of VCRs and to television
schedule systems is a well-developed one, a need still remains for a
television schedule system and process incorporating an improved user
interface. In particular, unlike most computer menus, a grid TV guide is
an array of irregular cells, where the cell size can vary from a fraction
of an hour to many hours-extending well beyond the current screen. If this
array is navigated by a cursor that goes from cell to cell, a single
cursor command can produce violent screen changes. For example, a cursor
right command may cause an abrupt jump to a cell situated several hours
from the current page. Not only is this unsettling, but may take
considerable effort to recover. Clearly, a gentler cursor motion is needed
for the irregular cells found in a grid TV guide.
Printed grid television schedule guides often include additional
information besides the program title and broadcast names. Such grids are
also-typically provided in combination with a more detailed printed
schedule that contains a synopsis of each program, whether the program is
a repeat, ratings for movies, and other information. When using a
television set as a display for a schedule system, the size and resolution
of the television display limit the amount of text that can be displayed
with the grid. Improved techniques are required for conveying the most
amount of information to the user in an easily understood manner within
the limitations of the television display. When a large number of channels
are available for viewing, there is also a need to order the display of
information most conveniently for the user.
Programming a VCR for unattended recording becomes even more problematic
when it is desired to record cable programs. Cable television decoders
typically operate by requiring a television set and a VCR connected to the
decoder to be set to a predetermined channel, such as channel 2, 3 or 4,
and all channel selection is accomplished by the decoder. This presents
problems for unattended recording, in that not all of the advanced
features available on state-of-the-art VCRs can be used while the VCR is
under control of the decoder.
Two Zenith Electronics Corporation technical papers disclose systems which
attempt to deal with this problem. Merrell, "Tac-Timer," 1986 NCTA
Technical Papers, pp. 203-206, discloses a smart remote controller to
solve the unattended programming problem when a cable decoder precedes a
VCR. The smart controller is programmed to turn on the cable decoder at
specific times, but the VCR must be programmed independently to match the
programming of the smart controller. However, this remote controller does
not coordinate channel selection for such devices as television schedule
systems, such as disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,121, issued Nov. 10,
1987, nor does it support unique features of more advanced VCRs. For
example, this controller does not support on-screen VCR programming, even
if that feature is otherwise available on a VCR. The controller does not
include any capability for conveying information about a channel selected
on the cable decoder unit to a television schedule system or a VCR in any
useful way.
Long, "The VCR Interface," 1986 NCTA Technical Papers, pp. 197-202,
discloses two solutions for the unattended programming problem when a
cable decoder precedes a VCR. The first of these is a VCR baseband
decoder, also called BASE-TAC, and currently marketed by Zenith as
MultiPort or MP. MPs allow the core functions (descrambling and
addressing) of a cable decoder to be added to TVs and VCRs. The decoder
accepts the baseband output of the TV or VCR tuner, eliminating the need
for a separate decoder tuner and attendant need to coordinate two tuners.
This method is effective for supporting television schedule systems and
allows full functionality of advanced VCR features. However, the MP
alternative requires new TV or VCR equipment and is not compatible with
the existing installed base of cable decoders. This method has not been
well-received at this time. The second is the VCR Interface, which uses RF
switching and a centralized approach for all TVs and VCRs in the home. It
descrambles incoming CATV channels and, after modulation, combines them
back onto the CATV cable at unused upper channels. The result is that any
TV set on the cable can receive premium channels without a separate
decoder. This method eliminates the need for redundant decoders at every
TV set or VCR. As described, the system was conceived for only one premium
channel. To support a television schedule system, all premium channels
must be descrambled together and be available simultaneously. If not, it
would be necessary to provide a way of tuning the centralized descrambler
from any TV set or VCR attached to the cable. Such a scheme would be
awkward when more than one TV or VCR competes for control of the single
descrambler. The VCR interface may be implemented using retrofitted
decoders, but the overall cost may be prohibitive for the average home.
A somewhat similar system for use with the German television networks is
described in Sommerhauser, "Video Programm System: Flexibel programmieren
mit VPS," Funkschau, No. 25, December 1985, pp. 47-51.
Other prior art relating to CATV, its decoders, and programmable remote
devices includes west German Published Application 2,338,380, published
Feb. 13, 1975; U.K. Patent 1,554,411, published Oct. 17, 1979; U.S. Pat.
No. 4,375,651, issued Mar. 1, 1983 to Templin et al.; U.S. Pat. No.
4,394,691, issued Jul. 19, 1983 to Amano et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,114,
issued Jan. 31, 1989 to Sogame. While the prior art relating to cable
decoder interfaces and similar devices is a well-developed one, a need
remains for further development of such devices. None of the existing
interfaces both provides a complete solution to the problem of unattended
recording and is compatible with already installed equipment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The above problems and difficulties present in the prior art are overcome
through the use of the novel system and method of the present invention.
One aspect of the present invention is directed to a system and method to
allow automatic, unattended recording of cable television programs
supplied on a cable system as herein disclosed. A video recording system
to allow automatic, unattended recording of at least two cable television
programs supplied sequentially at different times on different channels of
a cable system includes a television receiver, a remote controllable cable
decoder and a remote controllable video recorder with unattended
programming capability connected between the television receiver and the
cable decoder. A remote controller for the video recorder includes a means
for user input of program selections from a television schedule. The
remote controller is coupled to the video recorder. A channel selection
coordinator includes a memory means for storing channel tuning conversion
information and program selections input by the user with the means for
user input of program selections. A means converts channels of the at
least two program selections to channel tuning commands recognizable by
the cable decoder using the channel tuning conversion information and the
program selections. A means automatically transmits the channel tuning
commands to the cable decoder at desired activation times of the at least
two program selections (typically the broadcast times, with a guard time
at the beginning and end of each program). A means automatically supplies
recording commands to the video recorder at the desired activation times
of the at least two program selections.
The method of this aspect of the invention automatically records cable
television programs supplied sequentially at different times on a cable
system unattended, even with channel changes between the programs. A
remote controllable video recorder having unattended programming
capability is connected between a television receiver and a remote
controllable cable decoder. Channel tuning conversion information is
stored in a memory. Program selections for at least two programs on
different channels is input from a television schedule with a remote
controller for the video recorder. The program selections are stored in
the memory. Channels of the program selections are converted to channel
tuning commands recognizable by the cable decoder using the channel tuning
conversion information and the program selections. The channel tuning
commands are automatically transmitted to the cable decoder at broadcast
times of the program selections. Recording commands are automatically
transmitted to the video recorder at the broadcast times of the program
selections.
Another aspect of the present invention is directed to a novel television
schedule system and process user interface herein disclosed. A television
schedule system including a user interface in accordance with this aspect
of the invention has a display and a means connected to the display for
displaying the television schedule on the display as an array of irregular
cells which vary dimensionally in length, corresponding to different
television program time lengths. A means is connected to the display for
providing a cursor with the television schedule on the display. The cursor
has a variable length corresponding to the length of a selected one of the
irregular cells in which the cursor is located. A means is connected to
the means for providing the cursor for moving the cursor in the array in a
series of equal length steps. At least some of the irregular cells have a
length which is greater than the length of the steps.
In the process of operating a television schedule system with the user
interface of this aspect of the invention, the television schedule is
displayed as an array of irregular cells which vary dimensionally in
length, corresponding to different television program time lengths. A
cursor is provided with the television schedule on the display, the cursor
has a variable length corresponding to the length of a selected one of the
irregular cells in which the cursor is located. The cursor is moved in the
array in a series of equal length steps, with at least some of the
irregular cells having a length which is greater than the length of the
steps.
In another aspect of the invention, a control system for a video recording
machine has a controller for starting and stopping the video recording
machine, for recording video information on recording media, and for
playing recorded video information on recording media. A display generator
provides display image generation signals. A means supplies information to
the display generator for generation of display images relating to
operation of the video recording machine. The means for supplying
information includes means for generating a recording media position
indicator graduated as segments corresponding to programs recorded on the
recording media.
In a process for controlling a video recording machine according to this
aspect of the invention, a recording media position indicator is graduated
as segments corresponding to programs recorded on the recording media. The
recording media position indicator is displayed as position of a selected
one of the recording media in the video recording machine is changed.
In a further aspect of the invention, a television schedule system includes
a display and means connected to the display for displaying the television
schedule on the display. The means for displaying a schedule is configured
to allow selection by a user of a first number of desired channels for
display of schedule information which is less than a second number of
available channels. A programmable tuner is connected to the means for
displaying a schedule. The programmable tuner is configured to follow the
first number of desired channels when the television schedule is shown on
the display in response to a channel up or channel down command. The
programmable tuner is configured to follow the second number of available
channels in the absence of the television schedule on the display in
response to a channel up or channel down command.
In a process for operating a television schedule system according to this
further aspect of the invention, a first number of desired channels is
selected for display of schedule information, which is less than a second
number of available channels. The schedule information is displayed on a
display. The first number of desired channels is followed when the
schedule information is shown on the display in response to a channel up
or channel down command. The second number of available channels is
followed in the absence of the television schedule on the display in
response to a channel up or channel down command.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, user control of a
television is simplified by a system and process that displays on a
television screen, overlaying a primary television display or program, a
small background schedule guide that can be easily accessed by a user
during lulls in the primary television display or program.
The attainment of the foregoing and related objects, advantages and
features of the invention should be more readily apparent to those skilled
in the art, after review of the following more detailed description of the
invention, taken together with the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIGS. 1-3 are diagrammatic representations of a television schedule grid
incorporating the user interface for the system and process of this
invention,
FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of a screen display used in the
system and process of the invention.
FIGS. 5-7 are additional diagrammatic representations of the television
schedule grid incorporating the user interface for the system and process
of the invention.
FIG. 8 is a flow chart for understanding the operation of the FIG. 7
diagram.
FIGS. 9-10 are additional diagrammatic representations of screen displays
of the user interface for the system and process of the invention.
FIG. 11 is a flow chart for understanding the operation of the FIGS. 9-10
diagrams.
FIGS. 12-13 are diagrammatic representations of taping and tape index
screen displays of the user interface for the system and process of the
invention.
FIG. 14-17 are diagrammatic representations of program selection by
category screen displays of the user interface for the system and process
of the invention.
FIG. 18 is a flow chart for understanding operation of the FIGS. 14-18
diagrams.
FIG. 19 is a flow chart for understanding operation of the FIG. 20 diagram.
FIG. 20 is a diagrammatic representation of a channel customization screen
display of the user interface for the system and process of the invention.
FIG. 21 is a diagrammatic plan view of a control panel for the system of
the invention.
FIGS. 22a and 22b are block diagrams of television schedule systems in
accordance with the invention.
FIG. 23 is a block diagram of a system for interfacing a cable television
decoder to a television accessory in accordance with one aspect of the
invention.
FIG. 24 is a more detailed block diagram of the system shown in FIG. 23.
FIG. 25 shows a setup screen for a background guide according to one aspect
of the present invention.
FIGS. 26a and 26b show background guide presentations according to one
aspect of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
I. User Interface
Turning now to the drawings, more particularly to FIGS. 1-7, there are
shown a series of menu screens 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 and 22 used in
operation of the system and carrying out the process of the invention.
Screens 10, 12, 14, 18 and 20 each consists of an array 24 of irregular
cells 26, which vary in length, corresponding to different television
program lengths of one half hour to one-and-one half hours or more. The
array is arranged as three columns 28 of one-half hour in duration, and
twelve rows 30 of program listings. Some of the program listings overlap
two or more of the columns 28 because of their length. Because of the
widely varying length of the cells 26, if a conventional cursor used to
select a cell location were to simply step from one cell to another, the
result would be abrupt changes in the screens 10, 12, 14, 18 and 20 as the
cursor moved from a cell 26 of several hours length to an adjacent cell in
the same row. Such abrupt changes disorient a user of the system.
An effective way of taming the motion is to assume that behind every array
24 is an underlying array of regular cells. By restricting cursor
movements to the regular cells, abrupt screen changes will be avoided.
However, there is now a potential ambiguity between the underlying cell
which governs cursor movement and a visible cell 26 which holds the
program title.
Viz.: if the cursor moves in half hour steps, and the cell length is, say
four hours, should the cursor be 1/2 hour long or four hours long? If the
cursor only spans the interval of the underlying cell (1/2 hour), the
cursor appears to be highlighting a segment of the cell, which is
misleading. On the other hand, if the cursor spans the entire four hours
of the TV listing, the cursor underlying position will be obscure. In this
case, cursor right/left commands will appear inoperative while traversing
a long cell. The absence of feedback following a cursor command is
befuddling to users. Therefore, an innovative cursor 32 (FIG. 1) for the
irregular array 24 is required which satisfies several conflicting
requirements.
With the cursor 32, the entire cell 26 is 3-D highlighted, using a
conventional offset shadow 34. The offset shadow 34 is a black bar that
underlines the entire cell and wraps around the right edge of the cell. To
tag the underlying position--which defines where the cursor 32 is and
thus, where it will move next--portions 36 of the black bar outside the
current underlying position are segmented, while the current position is
painted solid.
For an half hour cell 26, the offset shadow's underline bar will always be
solid black. FIGS. 2 and 3 show the cursor 32 as it appears for a
half-hour program. For programs that go beyond 1/2 hour, only the current
1/2 hour position will be solid black. All remaining positions will be
stripped. If the cursor is moved left or right, the solid section will
move accordingly, providing complete visual feedback. Thus, this modified
3D offset shadow cursor 32 satisfies the demands stated above: it spans
the entire cell, yet clearly highlights the current underlying position.
Movement of the cursor 32 will always be visible even for cells 26 that
are much longer than the underlying cell.
A grid continuity icon 38 is shown in FIG. 1. Printed grid television
schedule guides often include parenthetical comments, (such as "cont'd")
to indicate program continuity. In an electronic guide displayed on a TV
screen, limited text space precludes parenthetical comments. To conserve
space, an icon 38 will be used to indicate cell 26 continuity. At the
border of a cell 26 that is continued to the next screen, an arrow icon 38
pointing to the right will be overlaid. The arrow direction always points
to right, which is the direction of program elapse.
FIGS. 2 and 3 show recording status representations. When a program has
been selected for recording, its listing cell 26 will be outlined or
highlighted in red, as indicated at 40. If guard time has been added or
deleted, the cell will be stretched or shrunk to reflect the change. Cell
26 continuity will be treated the same as above. There are four other
record status representations:
If the cell is actively being recorded, the outline 40 will blink off and
on.
A recorded cell will be displayed with a solid red background 42 (Note: Not
shown in drawing).
A mis-recorded cell will be indicated by red hash-marks 44 over the title.
A mis-recording can be the result of insufficient tape, VCR loss of power,
stopped before completion, etc.
A program linking icon 46 is shown in FIG. 5. After each schedule update,
the schedule system examines the new listings for the occurrence of any
titles that match a title in Linked Titles (FIG. 23). If a title matches,
it will automatically be tagged for recording. When a linked program is
displayed in the guide, it will have two identifiers: a red outline 40
indicating that the title has been selected for recording, and a link icon
46 appended to the title to indicate that this title was link-selected.
After a linked program has been recorded, it will be treated like any
recorded program with the title shaded in red. To differentiate this
recording from others, the link icon will remain appended to the title.
Further details on the linking feature are given in screen 19 of FIG. 23.
1) A linked program 47 may be suspended by the user (perhaps to avoid
conflict with a pending recording), by de-selecting the link title in the
Link List screen, under the Record Memo command. A suspended link program
will still be identified by a link icon, but the red-outline will be
suppressed since the program will not be recorded. 2) A smart link process
is used to tame the matching of titles when there is a likelihood of
excessive candidates for recording. The Lucy show, for example, is often
syndicated on several channels, each running a different vintage series of
Lucy. Untamed linking may result in a plethora of recording, mixing
segments from one vintage with segments from another vintage. To
differentiate vintages of a series, each Lucy vintage can be given a
distinct title. For example, one may be entitled "The Lucy Hour" while
another may be "The Lucy Show" etc. However, due to syndication right
overlaps, it is possible for two or more television or cable TV stations
to carry the same vintage of a series, but still be running different
segments of the same vintage. For such series, the link list will include
the channel and time as well as the link title. For the avid Lucy-phile,
the user can locate each series individually for linking. If there is more
than one link title of the same name, the series will be numbered, in the
order of acquisition, Thus, the second Lucy will be identified as Lucy
(Two), at 47.
FIGS. 1-3 show the columns 28 headed by half-hour header status indicators.
The 1/2 hour header strip across the top of the grid TV guide has two
auxiliary functions: 1) as an indicator 48 of pending or in-progress
recording scheduled at that time, and 2) as a time-bar 50 to delineate the
past from the future. The past is darkened, while the future is lightly
shaded. If there is an in-progress recording, the 1/2 hour header will be
red-outlined at 48 in the same manner as a pending recording title cell
26.
FIG. 6 shows a television schedule grid screen 20 with a program note
overlay 52. With limited text capacity on TV displays, it is preferable to
display as many lines of TV listings as feasible. To handle program notes,
which are text intensive, on-demand overlays 52 are used. Program note
overlays 52 may include any or all of the following information:
A program genre
Program description
Stars and personalities
Year of release
Episodic subtitles
Run-time of program
Elapse time of the program
Critique (Star Ratings)
Rating (PG, G, etc.)
Call letter, channel markers
Closed caption, stereo.
Pay Per View Program
Program notes for a selected program are overlaid over the grid guide upon
request. The program note can be toggled off/on using a SELECT command.
The program note 52 overlays and hides 3 or 4 listings of a guide. To
minimize concealment of the guide, an auto-roving note is used. The
program note will overlay either the top half or bottom half of the
screen, as necessary to avoid masking the title of the selected listing.
If the cursor 32 is in the upper half of the screen, the note will appear
in the bottom half, and vice versa. If the cursor 32 is moved to the lower
half of the screen, the note will automatically position itself in the
upper half of the screen.
FIGS. 1-3 and 5-6 show a channel column 54 in the television schedule grid
24. Favorite stations and cable channels may be listed together to create
a personalized grid guide. The channel column 54, unlike most printed TV
guides, has a mix of over-the-air station names and cable services names.
The grid 24 guide lists channels by favorite combinations of station number
and cable names, and not in the usual numerical order. Note that the order
of channels can be arranged in any sequence, and need not be the numeric
grouping followed by alphabetical grouping, as shown in the figures. For
example, the first channel of column 54 may be DIS, followed next by
channel 44, next by A&E, next channel 4, etc. The method of rearranging
the channels is described in detail below. When viewing the grid 24 guide,
a Tuner Up/Down channel command will be mapped according to the channels
and order listed on the screen. When not viewing the guide, the tuner
sequence will revert back to the usual numerical order. When the last
channel on a page is reached, the next Tuner command will change the
channel to the channel listed at the beginning of the following page.
When a channel to which the tuner is tuned is displayed on the grid 24, it
is highlighted, as shown at 56. A grid 24 page may be changed by either a
page command or by entering a channel Up/Dn command as described above. If
a page is turned using the page command, the current channel is now
located in the previous page, and will not be seen in the new page.
Therefore, the new page must suppress the highlighting of a channel, since
that indicates the current channel. Note that information about the
current channel will still be presented in the channel information boxes
58 at the bottom of the screen.
When is the highlighting re-enabled? Once into the new page, the first
channel up/down command will cause the tuner to automatically change to
the channel listed in the last or first row 30 respectively of the new
page. Since the tuner channel is now located on the new page, the current
channel will be highlighted again.
If the channel highlighting is not suppressed after a page is selected, by
definition, the tuner must be changed to track the highlighted channel.
This is undesirable since casual paging should not cause the channel to
change.
When a guide is first opened, as shown in FIG. 2, both the cursor 32 and
the current channel 56 are situated on the same row 30 of the grid 24.
When the channel 56 is changed, it is desirable to drag the cursor 32
along with the channel in unison. In doing so, the cursor 32 will be ready
for a Select command (to retrieve the program note) or for a Record It
command. Cursor dragging by the channel command takes place whenever the
channel 56 and cursor 32 are united on the same row. If they are not
united, the cursor 32 is disengaged from the channel command. Note that
dragging is not reciprocal; moving the cursor 32 does not affect channel
selection.
FIG. 7 shows a screen 22, showing a program list 58 for a single channel,
generated by toggling a user What's On TV command, which switches between
the grid 24 and the list 58. The list 58 consists of rows 60 of sequential
program listings on the channel and a channel information field 62.
Program notes are overlaid on the list 58 in the same manner as shown in
FIG. 6 for the grid 24.
Each What's On TV command alternates between the grid guide 24 and the
What's Next on Channel row guide 58. While viewing the grid guide 24, the
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