US 5,844,620 A · Method and apparatus for displaying an interactive television program guide

Abstract

An interactive on-screen visual interface guides a user through a menu of individual events available via an information network while allowing continuity of viewing of the current channel. The invention is especially applicable to the provision of an interactive program guide (IPG) for events such as television programs, movies, concerts, sporting events, interactive services, and the like which are available over a digital broadcast satellite (DBS) system or a cable television (CATV) network. A user can easily switch back and forth between a partial screen guide and a full-screen guide by a command entered, for example, on a hand-held remote control. The guide can be switched back to a non-display status. The guide's graphics can also be blended with video being viewed. The primary viewing channel can be resized to allow the user to view all of the primary channel while also accessing the guide. A trickle data stream provides programming information for a current time period, e.g., the next forty-eight hours, and is stored in a local memory for immediate access. A demand data stream provides programming information for a future time period, e.g., one week beyond the current period, and is acquired on a real time basis in response to a subscriber's request for future scheduling information.

Claims22

Dependent claims

A method for providing an interactive electronic program guide for a plurality of programming services available via an information network, comprising the steps of:

transmitting a trickle data stream at a first data rate with schedule data of at least one of said programming services for a current time period over said information network to a decoder;
providing a guide display area on a primary display area of a display device associated with said decoder which comprises a limited portion of said primary display area and provides information from said schedule data regarding the attributes of at least one of said programming services;
thereby allowing a user to access the guide while continuing to view the programming displayed on the primary display area;
storing said schedule data in a memory at the decoder;
providing said schedule data stored in said memory to said display device for use in said guide display area;
and
transmitting a demand data stream at a second data rate which is higher than said first data rate over said information network to the decoder;
wherein said demand data represents schedule data for a future time period which follows said current time period;
and a portion of said demand data stream which corresponds to a subset of said future time period is adapted to be selectively recovered from said transmitted demand data stream at said decoder according to a user command to view schedule data from said subset of said future time period.

6 more elements

Decoder apparatus for providing an interactive electronic program guide on a video display in response to signals received from an information network, comprising:

means for recovering trickle data from said received signals at a first data rate, said trickle data comprising current schedule data for a current time period and being adapted for storage in a decoder memory and substantially instantaneous display at any time during a current time period;
means for selectively retrieving demand data from said received signals at a second data rate that is faster than said first data rate, said demand data being provided in pages and comprising future schedule data representing a future time period which follows said current time period, each of said pages containing demand data for different future time slots;
and
means for storing selectively retrieved pages of said demand data which corresponds to a subset of said future time period for display after the retrieval thereof from said information network;
said storing means being responsive to a user command to view schedule data corresponding to said subset of said future time period;
said video display comprising a primary display area and a guide display area, said guide display area comprising a limited portion of said primary display area;
wherein said guide display area provides information from at least one of said current and future schedule data;
thereby allowing a user to access the guide while continuing to view the programming displayed on the primary display area.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method and apparatus for displaying an interactive television program guide

Life of this patent

Method and apparatus for displaying an interactive television program guide

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims22