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Claims  |
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What is claimed is:
1. A terminal for providing program information to a display in a cable
television system, the terminal comprising:
a memory for storing the program information including channel information
and category information indicative of categories and channels associated
with the categories;
a receiver coupled to the memory for receiving at least one user input
indicative of a selection of a category; and
a processor, coupled to the memory and the receiver and, when in a browse
mode, operative for:
setting, in response a first user input indicative of the selection of a
category, a selected category as the category associated with the first
user input;
determining, in response to a second user input indicative of the selection
of a category, if the category associated with the second user input is a
different category from the category associated with the first user input;
and
setting, in response to the category associated with the second user input
being a different category, the selected category to be the category
associated with the second user input; and
activating the display to present only program information associated with
channels included in the selected category.
2. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the receiver is operative to receive
scrolling related user input and the processor is responsive to the
scrolling related user input to cause the scrolling display on the display
of only the program information associated with the channels included in
the selected category.
3. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the receiver is operative to for
receive category display user input and the processor is responsive to the
category display user input to cause the display on the display of
information indicative of the selected category.
4. A method for providing program information to a subscriber of a cable
television system including a terminal for controlling the presentation of
the program information, a memory for storing operational parameters, and
a receiver for receiving user inputs, the method comprising the steps of:
storing the program information, including channel information and category
information indicative of categories and channels associated with the
categories;
receiving a command indicating that channel information is to be presented;
driving a display to present only program information associated with
channels included in a selected category, including presentation of
information about a first channel included in the selected category and,
responsive to receiving a scroll command, presentation of information
about a second channel included in the selected category; and
in response to receiving a category change command, changing the selected
category within the memory and updating the program information that is
presented by the display to reflect that the selected category has been
changed.
5. The method of claim 4, further comprising the step of:
causing the display to present information indicative of the selected
category.
6. The method of claim 4, wherein the driving step comprises the step of:
presenting a program guide on the display, the program guide displaying
channel information for channels included in the selected category and
omitting channel information for channels not included in the selected
category.
7. The method of claim 4, wherein the driving step comprises the step of:
presenting a browse banner on the display, the browse banner displaying
channel information indicative of a first channel included in the selected
category and program information indicative of a program name and program
time for the first channel.
8. The method of claim 7, further comprising, subsequent to the presenting
step, the steps of:
receiving a category display command; and
displaying a category banner along with the browse banner, the category
banner presenting information indicative of the selected category.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising, subsequent to the displaying
step, the steps of:
receiving a category change command;
displaying information indicative of a next category within the category
banner; and
updating the memory to indicate that the next category is the selected
category.
10. The method of claim 8, further comprising, subsequent to the displaying
step, the steps of:
receiving a programming command indicative of a selected channel to be
removed from the selected category; and
updating the memory to indicate that the selected channel is included
within the selected category.
11. The method of claim 8, further comprising, subsequent to the displaying
step, the steps of:
receiving a programmed command indicative of a selected channel to be
removed from the selected category; and
updating the memory to indicate that the selected channel is no longer
included within the selected category.
12. A method for providing program information to a subscriber of a cable
television system, the method comprising the steps of:
storing the program information, including channel information and category
information indicative of categories and channels associated with the
categories;
receiving a command indicating that channel information is to be presented
for a selected category;
causing the presentation of a browse banner on a display, the browse banner
displaying program information and channel information associated with
only the channels included in the selected category, the initial channel
information indicative of a first channel included in the selected
category and the initial program information indicative of a program name
and program time corresponding to the first channel;
receiving a category display command; and
causing the presentation of a category banner along with the browse banner,
the category banner presenting information indicative of the selected
category.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of causing the presentation of
a browse banner further comprises the steps of:
presenting information about a first channel included in the selected
category;
receiving a scroll command; and
presenting information about a second channel included in the selected
category.
14. The method of claim 12, further comprising the steps of:
receiving a category change command;
changing the selected category within the memory; and
updated the program information that is presented by the display to reflect
that the selected category has been changed.
15. The method of claim 12, further comprising the steps of:
receiving a category change command;
displaying information indicative of a next category within the category
banner; and
updating the memory to indicate that the next category is the selected
category.
16. The method of claim 12, further comprising, subsequent to displaying
information, the steps of:
receiving a programming command indicative of a selected channel to be
added to the selected category; and
updating the memory to indicate that the selected channel is included
within the selected category.
17. The method of claim 12, further comprising, subsequent to displaying
information, the steps of:
receiving a programming command indicative of a selected channel to be
removed from the selected category; and
updating the memory to indicate that the selected channel is no longer
included within the selected category.
18. A method for creating a table associating a plurality of categories
with a plurality of channels, the method comprising the steps of:
assigning at least one of the plurality of categories to at least one of
the plurality of channels;
assigning a particular bit location within a binary number to each of the
plurality of categories;
creating a binary number for the at least one channel, wherein the binary
number includes a bit at each particular bit location for each category
assigned to the at least one channel; and
creating a table associating the binary number for the at least one channel
to the at least one channel, wherein the binary number associates the
assigned at least one category to the at least one channel.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the binary number for the at least one
channel includes a single bit at a particular location representing a
single category assigned to the at least one channel.
20. The method of claim 18, further including the steps of:
creating, following the step of creating a table, a new binary number for
the at least one channel to reflect a new assignment of the at least one
of the plurality of categories to the at least one of the plurality of
channels; and
updating the table to associate the new binary number to the at least one
channel.
21. The method of claim 18, further including the step of causing a
restricted display of program information based on a user selected
category and the table, wherein the program information is restricted to
the portion of program information for the channels in the table to which
the selected category is assigned.
22. The method of claim 18, further including the step of causing a
restricted tuning of channels based on a user selected category and the
table, wherein the tuning is restricted to the channels in the table to
which the selected category is assigned. |
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Claims |
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Description |
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to television systems, and more
specifically to program guides for such systems.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Cable televisions systems receive satellite signals from which television
signals are obtained for transmission to system subscribers. Cable
television systems typically include a headend for receiving and
demodulating the satellite signals to baseband, then transmitting the
signals via communication media to subscriber equipment that tunes into
television channels for display to the subscriber. The signals to the
subscriber can be transmitted, for instance, over coaxial cables, fiber
optic cables, or a combination of the two, and taps situated along the
communication media split off the signals to provide subscriber drops.
Signals to a subscriber can be provided directly to a cable-ready
television, a cable-ready video cassette recorder (VCR), or a set top
terminal connected to a television or other display device, such as a
computer.
Many cable television systems provide television program information to
subscriber equipment so that the subscriber can view the program
information on the television itself. This program information is
typically organized for presentation purposes into a program guide format
that presents the program information by time and channel. The program
guide can, for instance, automatically scroll through the available
television channels to present the program information, such as name and
description, at the current time.
With the advent of "browsers" for use in cable television systems,
subscribers can linearly scan program information by time and channel
while viewing the tuned channel. In systems, such as analog systems, that
offer a limited number of cable television channels, these browsers permit
the subscriber to easily scan the available programs one-by-one in order
of channel number. However, many digital systems can provide hundreds or
even thousands of channels. In such systems, scanning program information
by channel number can require hundreds of keystrokes by the subscriber and
can consume a tremendous amount of time. Furthermore, locating a
particular channel can be quite difficult if the subscriber does not
already know the channel number of the channel for which he or she is
searching.
Thus, what is needed is an improved way to view and scan program
information by channel in a cable television system that provides a large
number of available channels.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a cable television system in accordance with
the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an electrical block diagram of a set top terminal included in the
cable television system of FIG. 1 in accordance with the present
invention.
FIGS. 3-9 are illustrations of various browser screens that can be
generated for display by the set top terminal of FIG. 2 in accordance with
the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a top view of a transmitter, such as a remote control, that can
be used by a subscriber to transmit commands to the set top terminal of
FIG. 2 in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a processor included in
the set top terminal of FIG. 2 in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a programming operation of the
processor included in the set top terminal of FIG. 2 in accordance with
the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a cable television system 100 including a
headend 105 for receiving satellite television signals, demodulating the
signals down to baseband, and transmitting the signals over the system
100. The transmitted signals can, for instance, be radio frequency (RF)
signals, although they are more preferably optical signals that are
transmitted over a communication medium such as fiber optic cable 125.
When optical signals are transmitted by the headend 105, one or more nodes
110 are included in the system 100 for converting the optical signals to
RF signals that are thereafter routed over other media, such as coaxial
cables 130. Taps 115 are provided within the cable system 100 for
splitting the RF signal off to subscriber equipment, such as set top
terminals 120, cable-ready televisions, video cassette recorders (VCRs),
or computers.
Referring next to FIG. 2, a block diagram of the terminal 120 and other
system equipment is shown. The terminal 120 is typically situated within
the residence or business of the subscriber. It may be integrated into a
device that has a display 235, such as a television set, or it may be a
stand-alone unit that couples to an external display 235, such as a
display included in a computer or a television, and that processes
television signals for presentation to a subscriber on the display 235.
The terminal 120 preferably comprises a data port 205 for receiving the RF
signals, which can include video, audio, and data information, from the
tap 115 and for providing any reverse information to the tap 115 for
transmission back to the headend 105. The terminal 120 further includes a
processor 210 for controlling operations of the terminal 120 and for
driving the display 235, a clock 215 for providing timing functions, and a
tuner 225 for tuning into a particular television channel to be displayed.
Additionally, the terminal 120 includes a receiver 220 for receiving
externally-generated information, such as user inputs or commands from
other devices. User inputs could, for example, be provided via a
controller or transmitter 240, such as buttons or keys located on the
exterior of the terminal 120 or a handheld remote control device that
includes user-actuated buttons.
A memory 250, such a non-volatile random access memory, coupled to the
processor 210 stores operational parameters, such as commands that are
recognized by the processor 210. The memory 250 also stores program
information that can, for instance, be downloaded over the system 100 to
the terminal 120. The program information includes program guide
information that is displayed to the subscriber in the format of a program
guide including a listing of channels, programs for viewing on the
channels, and times during which the programs are shown. The program
information also includes channel information, such as the channel number
and identification information, e.g., ESPN, Disney, WXIA, etc. According
to the present invention, the program information additionally includes
category information that is indicative of different categories and
channels included within each of the categories. By way of example,
categories could include ALL, for all available channels; SPORTS, for
sports and fitness channels; FAMILY, for channels that provide family
oriented programming; ADULT, for channels providing adult programming;
FOOD, for channels that provide programs on cooking, food, and
restaurants; and any other categories that could be of interest to the
subscriber. A FAVORITES category could also be provided in cable systems
100 that permit the subscriber to program category and channel
information. Furthermore, channels could be associated with more than one
category, e.g., a primarily sports channel could be included in the
categories of SPORTS, NEWS, FAMILY, and ENTERTAINMENT.
Preferably, the terminal 120 periodically downloads program information,
including at least programs and times by channel, into memory 250 from the
headend 105 (FIG. 1). It will be appreciated that the amount of this
information that can be downloaded and the time between downloads vary
according to memory size. When, for instance, the cable television system
100 provides access to hundreds or thousands of cable television channels,
program information, including the programs, times, and perhaps even the
categories for each channel, may be downloaded more often than when the
system 100 provides fewer channels. The terminal 120 can also receive
updated program information as needed, such as when the cable channel
lineup is changed or when the category offerings or channels included in
the categories change. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand
that various components of the program information, such as user selected
category information, could be stored solely in the memory 250, as opposed
to the headend 105.
Storage of the category information in the memory 250 can be accomplished
in a variety of ways. By way of example, a table in the memory 250 could
be stored to minimize the amount of memory required. If each category is
assigned a particular bit location in a binary number that is set in size,
an n-byte category bitmap could also be stored as follows:
TABLE 1
Category bitmap
Bit mask (binary) Category
00000001 Pay-per-view
00000010 Adult
00000100 Movies
00001000 News
00010000 Sports
00100000 Family
01000000 Religious
10000000 Favorites
According to the above table, a channel that is represented in the memory
250 as "10110100" would be included in the categories of FAVORITES,
FAMILY, SPORTS, and MOVIES.
Program information can be displayed to the subscriber in a number of ways.
For instance, the display 235 can be driven to present a conventional
program guide that provides automatic scrolling of channels in numerical
sequence along with the program names, descriptions, and times associated
with the channels. Alternatively, a static display can be provided, and
the subscriber can provide commands, such as via the transmitter 240, to
scroll through the program information. In either situation, the addition
of the hundreds of channels that can be provided in digital systems
creates a problem because viewing program information for such a large
number of channels can be very time consuming for the subscriber.
Additionally, if program information viewing is not automatic, the
subscriber may be required to execute a large number of keystrokes to
present the information.
The terminal 120 according to the present invention solves this problem by
providing a mode in which only program information associated with a
user-selected category is presented, by channel, to the subscriber. More
specifically, the subscriber can conveniently select a particular
category, such as SPORTS or ANIMALS, and only program information
associated that that category will be subsequently presented by channel
during the time in which the terminal 120 is operating in the "category"
mode. Presentation, it will be appreciated, can be accomplished in a
number of ways, either at the option of the subscriber, the service
provider, or both. When in the category mode, the terminal 120 could, for
example, drive the display 235 to present an automatic or manual scrolling
of only those channels included in the selected category in a format
similar to that of a conventional program guide. Alternatively, a banner
of information could be provided only in a particular region of the
display 235 so that the subscriber can continue viewing the currently
tuned channel. In either case, it will be understood that, once the
subscriber has been presented with information about the channels that are
included in the selected category, browsing can be further narrowed, such
as by time, title, or program theme.
FIGS. 3-9 illustrate various screens of information, according to the
present invention, that could be presented on the display 235 to provide
program information to the subscriber. FIG. 10 is a top view of a remote
control transmitter 240 that can be used by the subscriber to command the
presentation of the various screens. FIG. 3 shows the presentation of a
browse banner 310 that can be presented simultaneously with a tuned
program, as shown in the larger portion 305 of the display 235. In other
words, the subscriber can conveniently browse other channels using the
banner 310 while he or she is watching a program of interest. The browse
banner 310 could be, for example, presented upon activation of any of the
scrolling keys 440, 445, 450, 455 (FIG. 10). The browse banner 310
preferably includes channel information 315, such as a description of the
channel and its numerical indicator, program time 320, which could be to
the nearest half hour or hour, program name 325, and any other relevant
channel/program information. By way of example, and referring to FIG. 4,
the browse banner 310 could initially be displayed with information about
the currently tuned program, in which case the banner 310 may show that
the user is currently watching a program entitled "Sports News" that began
at 4:00 p.m. on Channel 52, which is ESPN. Additionally, a "browse" button
bar 330 could be displayed to indicate to the subscriber that the browse
mode is activated and that browsing in time or by channel can be performed
by activating the scrolling keys 440,445,450,455.
When the subscriber browses by channel, additional channels are displayed
in numerical sequence (FIG. 5). As mentioned briefly above, however, the
browsing process can be very tedious when a large number of channels are
available. Therefore, the terminal 120 of the present invention also
provides a "category" mode, which could be set by user actuation of the
page up/down keys 425, 435 (FIG. 10). Preferably, the category mode is
available during any time when the browse banner 310 is displayed. Upon
entry into the category mode, the terminal 120 drives the display 235 to
present a category banner 405 that includes category information 410 (FIG.
6) indicative of a category that is currently selected. If no category is
selected, a default category of ALL (FIG. 7) may be indicated to the
subscriber. The subscriber can change the selected category by scrolling
through the available categories via assigned keys, such as page up/down
keys 425, 430, of the remote control transmitter 240. For instance, the
subscriber can scroll through the available categories until the category
banner 405 shows SPORTS as the selected category (FIG. 8). When the
subscriber then begins browsing the program information again, such as by
activating the scrolling keys, the program information for the next
channel included in the selected SPORTS category will be presented, as
shown in FIG. 9.
For purposes of browsing, program information for channels not included in
the selected category is skipped so that the subscriber can conveniently
display only program information for those channels in which he or she is
currently interested. It will be appreciated that the category feature of
the present invention allows the subscriber to ignore program information
for categories that are not of interest and to quickly locate a particular
channel or program without having to view program information for each and
every channel provided via the cable television system 100. As a result,
the cable television system 100 and terminal 120 according to the present
invention provide a means by which the subscriber can quickly locate
channels of interest even in a field of hundreds or thousands of channels.
As shown in FIGS. 3-9, the subscriber can easily select a category then
browse program information for channels included in the selected category,
all without interrupting viewing of a tuned program. Other presentation
methods could, however, also be used. For instance, once the category is
selected, the subscriber could again select to view program information in
a guide-like format. In this case, the program guide information could
again be presented on the entire display 235, but could include only
program information associated with the selected category. The guide could
then be automatically or manually scrolled to show the subscriber only the
subset of information associated with the selected category, thereby
reducing the amount of time and effort required to locate a particular
channel or program.
As mentioned above, user inputs could be provided by a remote control
transmitter 240, such as that shown in FIG. 10. Such a transmitter 240
might include an on/off key 420, a program key 430 for inputting
programming commands, page up/down keys 425, 435, scrolling keys 440, 445,
450, 455, a select key 460 for selecting a highlighted option, and a
numerical keypad 465 for inputting numerical information. However, other
input means could alternatively be provided. For instance, a different
remote transmitter 240 could be used to highlight and select menu options
presented to the subscriber on the display 235, keys on the terminal 120
itself could be used, or commands could be entered via a keyboard, keypad,
or computer coupled to the terminal 120.
Referring next to FIG. 11, a flowchart illustrates an operation of the
processor 210 (FIG. 2) of the terminal 120 for providing category
functions according to the present invention. When, at step 505, the
processor 210 receives a command from the receiver 220, it determines, at
step 510, whether the command is a browse command by referencing the
memory 250. If not, other processing indicated by the command is
performed, at step 515, in a conventional manner. If the browse command
has been received, the display 235 is driven, at step 520, to present the
browse banner, including current channel information, program time, and
program name for the currently selected category. If no category has been
previously selected by the user, the default category is preferably set to
ALL. Furthermore, it will be appreciated that, at the option of the
subscriber and/or the service provider, the browse banner could either
default to ALL or retain knowledge of the selected category, in which
case, the browse banner would launch showing channel information
associated with a channel included in the selected category.
When, at step 525, another command is received, and the command is
determined, at step 530, to be a command to browse in time, the display
235 is driven, at step 535, to change the time on the browse banner in the
indicated direction. As mentioned, this could be to the nearest hour or
half hour, or browsing in time could automatically advance the subscriber
to the time of the next program. In any event, browsing in time may, of
course, necessitate a change in program name. When, at step 540, the
command is determined to be a command to browse by channel, the browse
banner is updated, at step 545, to present the channel information and
program name associated with the next channel within the selected
category. If, instead, the command is a "display category" command, at
step 550, the display 235 is driven, at step 555, to display the category
banner that shows the currently selected category. The subscriber can
then, at steps 560, 565, change the selected category by scrolling through
the available categories using, for example, the page up/down keys 425,
435. The category mode, as well as the browse mode, could be exited by
reception of a known command or simply by expiration of a period of time
in which no browse or category command is received.
It will be understood that category selection of channel information by the
subscriber is not necessarily limited to the time during which the
terminal 120 is in the browse mode. Instead, the category could be
selected, using any known command or series of commands, prior to viewing
any program information by channel. In such a case, if the subscriber
selects to be presented with the browse banner, it could appear with the
category already selected. If, on the other hand, the subscriber chooses
to display a program guide after selection of the channel category, the
guide can launch showing only the channels included in the selected
category and omitting channels that are not included in the selected
category.
FIG. 12 illustrates a method by which channels can be added to or removed
from the available categories. When, at step 605, the processor 210
receives a command from the receiver 220, it determines, at step 610,
whether the command indicates that programming of the terminal 120 is to
be performed. If not, other processing is performed, at step 615, in a
conventional manner. When, at step 610, a program command is received, the
processor 210 determines, at step 620, whether the command is a category
programming command. This could be done, for instance, by determining
whether the category banner is currently displayed, in which case
activation of the program key 430 (FIG. 10) could be associated with the
category programming command. If the command is not a category programming
command, another programming function is performed, at step 625. If it is
a category programming command, the display 235 is driven, at step 630, to
list all channels included in the currently selected category. When, at
steps 635, 640, the next command is a command that selects one of the
displayed channels, the selected channel is, at steps 645, 660, removed
from the displayed list and removed from the category by updating the
memory 250. When, at steps 635, 650, the command is a command to add a
channel to the category, both the display 235 and the memory 250 are
updated, at steps 655, 660, to indicate that the selected channel is now
included in the category. Adding a channel to the category could be done,
for instance, by activation of the appropriate keys of the numerical
keypad 465 (FIG. 10).
It will be appreciated that the methods described in FIGS. 11 and 12 for
selecting categories and programming channels included in the categories | | |
