PCT
`
`International Bureau
`WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION
`
`INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION PUBLISHED UNDER THE PATENT COOPERATION TREATY (PCT)
`(51) International Patent Classification 5 :
`(11) International Publication Number:
`W0 92/04801
`
`H04N 5/75
`
`.
`
`(43) International Publication Date:
`
`19 March 1992 (19.o3.92)
`
`(21) lntemational Application Number:
`
`PCT/US9l/06367
`
`(22) International Filing Date:
`
`10 September 1991 (10.09.9l)
`
`(74) Agents: CHICKERING, Robert, B. et al.; Flehr, Hoh-
`bach, Test, Albritton & Herbert, Four Embarcadero Cen-
`ter, Suite 3400, San Francisco, CA 94111-4187 (US).
`
`(30) Priority data:
`579,555
`
`10 September 1990 (10.09.90) US
`
`(71) Applicant: INSIGHT TELECAST, INC. [US/US]; 285
`Hamilton Avenue, Suite 260, Palo Alto, CA 94301 (US).
`
`(72) Inventors: YOUNG, Patrick ; 1496 Cherrywood Drive, San
`Mateo, CA 94403 (US). ROOP, John, H.
`; 3511 Cowper
`Street, Palo Alto, CA 94306 (US). EBRIGHT, Allan, R.
`;
`1612] Wood Acres Road, Los Gatos, CA 95030 (US).
`FABER, Michael, W.
`; 833 Abbie Street, Pleasonton, CA
`94566 (US). ANDERSON, David ; 534 Bush Street,
`Mountain View, CA 94041 (US).
`
`(81) Designated States: AT (European patent), BE (European
`patent), CA, CH (European patent), DE (European pa-
`tent), DK (European patent), ES (European patent), FR
`(European patent), GB (European patent), GR (Euro-
`pean patent), IT (European patent), JP, LU (European
`patent), NL (European patent), SE (European patent).
`
`Published
`I/Vth international search report.
`
`(54) Title: USER INTERFACE FOR TELEVISION SCHEDULE SYSTEM
`
`122
`
`,',l,._‘uocE PART 1
`GOLDEN GIRLS
`
`3*
`
`.22
`
`||PRFE,.STR LOVIG T
`SESAME STREET
`22
`‘
`
`FUGITIVE
`Iuromulnous
`
`33 #
`
`LUNCH BOX
`
`FRUGAL GOURM
`
`TUE APR 3
`
`(57) Abstract
`
`Screen (10) for a user interface of a television schedule system and process 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.
`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 screen (10). By restricting cursor movements to the regular
`cells, abrupt screen changes will be avoided. A conventional offset shadow (34) which is a black bar 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.
`
`Comcast, Exhibit—1OO
`
`1
`
`Comcast, Exhibit-1005
`
`

`
`FOR HIE PURPOSES OF INFORMAUON ONLY
`
`Codes used to identify States party to the PCT on the front pages of pamphlets publishing international
`applications under the PCT.
`
`AT
`AU
`BB
`BE
`BF
`86
`BJ
`BR
`CA
`CF
`CG
`CH
`CI
`CM
`CS
`DK
`
`Austria
`Australia
`Barbados
`Belgium
`Burkina Faso
`Bulgaria
`Benin
`Brazil
`Canada
`Central African Republic
`Congo
`Switzerland
`Cole d'lvoire
`Cameroon
`Czechoslovakia
`Germany
`Denmark
`
`ES
`Fl
`FR
`GA
`GB
`GN
`GR
`HU
`IT
`JP
`KP
`
`KR
`Ll
`LK
`LU
`MC
`
`Spain
`Finland
`France
`Gabon
`United Kingdom
`Guinea
`Greece
`Hungary
`Italy
`Japan
`Democratic People's Republic
`of Korea
`Republic of Korea
`Liechtenstein
`Sri Lanka
`Luxembourg
`Monaco
`
`Madagascar
`Mali
`Mongolia
`Mauritania
`Malawi
`Netherlands
`Norway
`Poland
`Romania
`Sudan
`Sweden
`Senegal
`Soviet Union
`Chad
`Togo
`United States of America
`
`Any designation of “SU” has effect in the Russian Federation. It is not yet known whether
`+
`any such designation has effect in other States of the former Soviet Union.
`
`2
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`W0 92/04801
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`USER INTERFACE FOR TELEVISION SCHEDULE SYSTEM
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`1. Field of the Invention:
`
`The present invention relates generally to a system
`
`and process that allows a television viewer to access
`
`onscreentelevisionprogramlistingsandusethepmogram
`
`listings in an easy and convenient way to control
`
`operation of a video cassette recorder (VCR) or other
`
`recording device.
`
`In addition,
`
`it 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.
`
`2. Description of the Prior Art:
`
`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
`
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`body of humor dedicated to the subject of programming
`VCRS.
`
`has
`programming
`The difficulty of VCR
`alleviated somewhat by the development of VCRs that use
`a television set as a display for user prompts and
`
`been
`
`feedback to the user during the programming process.
`U.S. Patent 4,908,713, issued March 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.
`
`issued
`Commonly assigned U.S. Patent 4,706,121,
`November 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 Serial
`No. 07/219,971, filed July 15, 1988,
`in the name of
`Patrick Young, discloses a system and process that
`
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`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-
`a need still remains for a television
`developed one,
`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
`For example, a cursor right commandlnay
`to a cell situated several hours
`cause an abrupt
`jump
`from the current page. Not only is this unsettling, but
`may take considerable effort to recover. Clearly, a
`ntler cursor motion is needed for the irregular cells
`
`screen changes.
`
`des often
`
`and broadcast names.
`
`found in a grid TV guide.
`Printed grid television schedule gui
`programtitle
`include additional information besides the
`Such grids are also typically
`a more detailed printed
`
`provided in combination with
`schedule that contains a synopsis of each program,
`whether the program is a repeat, ratings for movies, and
`When using a television set as a
`the size and resolution
`
`other information.
`
`display for a schedule system,
`of the television display limit the amount of text t
`Improved techniques are
`can be displayed with.the grid.
`information
`required for conveying the most amount of
`od manner within the
`to the user in an easily understo
`limitations of the television display.
`number of channels are available for viewing,
`also a need to order the display of information most
`
`When a large
`
`there is
`
`conveniently for the user.
`
`5
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`\V()92/04801
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`PCT/US9l /06367
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`-4-
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to
`sprovide a television schedule system and process with
`a user interface that is configured to compensate for
`the particular nature of
`the television schedule
`information.
`It is a further object of the invention to provide
`such a user interface having a cursor operation that
`compensates
`for
`an irregular grid format of
`the
`television schedule information.
`It is another object of the invention to provide
`such a user interface in.which the schedule information
`is presented in a format that compensates for limited
`resolution of the television display.
`the invention to
`It is still another object of
`provide such a user interface in which supplemental
`schedule information is presented.
`in. overlays that
`obscure a minimum amount of useful other information.
`It is a still further object of the invention to
`provide such a user
`interface in which order of
`presentation of the schedule information is customizable
`
`by user preference.
`The attainment of these and related objects may be
`achieved through use of the novel television schedule
`system and process user interface herein disclosed. A
`television schedule system including a user interface
`in accordance with this invention has a display,
`A
`means is 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
`A means
`is connected to the display for
`lengths.
`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
`
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`in which the cursor is located.
`
`A means is connected
`
`to the means for providing the cursor for moving the
`
`cursor in the array inia 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 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,
`
`a
`
`recording media position indicator
`
`is
`
`graduated as segments corresponding to programs recorded
`
`on the recording media.
`
`The recording media position
`
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`
`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 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 upyor 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, a first number of desired channels is selected
`
`for display of schedule information, which is less than
`
`a second number of available channels.
`
`7 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.
`
`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
`
`35
`
`invention,
`
`taken together with the drawings, in which:
`
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`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`Figures 1-3 are diagrammatic representations of a
`
`television schedule grid incorporating the user interface
`
`for the system and process of this invention.
`
`Figure 4
`
`is a diagrammatic representation of a
`
`screen display used in the system and process of the
`invention.
`
`Figures
`
`5-7
`
`are
`
`additional
`
`diagrammatic
`
`representations
`
`of
`
`the
`
`television schedule grid
`
`incorporating the user interface for the system and
`
`process of the invention.
`
`Figure 8
`
`is a flow chart for understanding the
`
`operation of the Figure 7 diagram.
`
`Figures
`
`9-10
`
`are
`
`additional
`
`diagrammatic
`
`representations of screenciisplays of the user interface
`
`for the system and process of the invention.
`
`Figure 11 is a flow chart for understanding the
`
`operation of the Figures 9-10 diagrams.
`
`Figures 12-13 are diagrammatic representations of
`
`taping and tape index screen displays of
`
`the user
`
`interface for the system and process of the invention.
`
`Figure 14-17 are diagrammatic representations of
`
`program selection by category screen displays of the user
`
`interface for the system and process of the invention.
`
`Figure 18
`
`is a
`
`flow chart
`
`for understanding
`
`operation of the Figures 14-18 diagrams.
`
`Figure
`
`19
`
`is a
`
`flow chart
`
`for understanding
`
`operation of the Figure 20 diagram.
`
`Figure 20 is a diagrammatic representation of a
`
`channel customization screen display of
`
`the user
`
`interface for the system and process of the invention.
`
`Figure 21 is a diagrammatic plan view of a control
`
`panel for the system of the invention.
`
`Figure 22
`
`is a block diagram of
`
`a television
`
`schedule system in accordance with the invention.
`
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`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
`
`Turning now to the drawings, more particularly to
`
`Figures 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
`
`the result would be abrupt
`from one cell to another,
`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
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`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 (Figure 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. Figures 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 Figure 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
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`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.
`
`Figures
`
`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 Figure 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 (Figure 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.
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`Further details on the linking feature are given
`
`in screen 19 of Figure 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. Untamed linking of Lucy may result
`
`in a plethora of recordings. 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.
`
`Figures 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.
`
`Figure 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
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`are used.
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`Program note overlays 52 may include any or
`
`all of the following information:
`0
`so
`
`A program genre
`Program description
`Stars and personalities
`Year of release
`
`o o o o o o o o o P
`
`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.
`
`rogram 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 bottonlhalf, and vice‘versaJ
`
`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.
`
`Figures 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. 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
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`revert back to the usual numerical orderu 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
`
`is now located in the
`the current channel
`command,
`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
`
`the tuner must be
`a page is selected, by definition,
`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 Figure
`
`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
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`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
`
`Figure 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 Figure 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 next What's
`On TV command will replace the grid guide 24 with a
`single-channel
`row guide 58.
`Figure 8
`is the flow
`diagram for the What's On TV command.
`
`The page relationship.between the two guides 24 and
`58 are tightly coupled. The single channel guide will
`open to the channel and schedule time that was selected
`
`by the cursor 32 on the grid 24. While viewing the
`single channel guide 58, the Up/Down channel command.may
`be used to change the channel to be listed. When exiting
`the single channel guide 58 and returning to the grid
`guide 24,
`the grid cursor 32 will be pointed to the
`channel and schedule time last selected on the single
`channel guide 58.
`
`Figures 9 and 10 show channel grazing overlays 64
`and 66 that.provide information.on current.progran5 when
`switching channels while watching television.
`In the
`
`overlay 64, when scanning channels,
`
`the title of each
`
`program is overlaid at 68, along with the name of the
`
`TV service (HBO, ABC etc.), the cable channel number,
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`and the current date, day of week,
`
`and time in the
`
`channel information field 62. The overlay 66 is the same
`
`as the overlay 64 except that this overlay includes a
`
`program note 70, which is similar to the program note
`
`52 in Figure 6, but contains information pertinent to
`
`a program currently being broadcast on the selected
`
`channel. To access program notes, press the Select key.
`
`In addition to the program note 70, elapsed time is
`
`indicated by a percentage calibrated time bar 72. The
`
`bar is bracketed by S for start, and F for finish.
`
`By
`
`default, titles will appear automatically when channels
`
`are scanned. Grazing Titles may be de—activated using
`
`the CANCEL key.
`
`To restore auto-titles, press Select
`
`while
`
`viewing
`
`TV.
`
`The
`
`flow diagram governing
`
`titles/program notes, while viewing TV,
`
`is shown in
`
`Figure 11.
`
`An express recording screen 74 is shown in Figure
`
`12. The express recording screen includes the following
`information:
`
`Title of Program
`
`Length of Program
`
`Tape Time Remaining
`
`Recording Speed.
`
`Figure 13 shows a tape index screen 76. Locating
`
`a recorded segment is often an.arduous task when several
`
`programs have been recorded on the tape . Without a table
`
`of contents, the VCR users muddle through stretches of
`
`recording trying to find what's recorded on the tape,
`
`where the beginning of the desired program is, andnwhere
`
`7 the tape is now. Some premium VCRs provide tape indexing
`
`that automatically finds the start of each recording.
`
`However, while the viewer can find the start of a
`
`recording, the indexing VCRs do not record titles. The
`
`net result is about as useful as a having a table of
`
`contentswithoutchaptertitles. Considerablesearching
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`is still required to find what is recorded at each index.
`
`The tape index screen 76 provides a virtual tape
`
`directory, giving the equivalent function of a table of
`
`contents for a tape recording. There is a list 78 of
`
`titles of recorded programs, a pointer 80 to the start
`
`of the program, and a current position indicator cursor
`
`82 showing the "chapter" location on the tape.
`
`The
`
`virtual directory is automatically compiled, revised and
`
`stored in off-tape memory as the user records over the
`
`tape.
`
`The What's on Tape command will display a list of
`
`titles of programs recorded on the tape. The title of
`
`the selected program (the segment of
`
`tape that
`
`is
`
`positioned over tape head) is highlighted by the cursor
`
`82 . The tape position pointer 80 dynamically tracks the
`current tape position.
`I-ill searching is done simply by
`title, bypassing the need for index numbers. The tape
`directory is equivalent to a table of contents showing
`
`titles, but not page number.
`
`It automatically opens to
`
`the starting page by simply pointing to the title of the
`
`program.
`
`In addition to the tape directory 78 of
`
`recorded programs,
`
`the screen 76 includes a program
`
`duration field 84, a recorded speed of each title field
`
`86, a remaining time left on tape field 88, a remaining
`
`time left on program field 90 and a next scheduled
`
`recording time field 92.
`
`The virtual tape directory is generated as follows .
`
`It is difficult to implement a competent self-contained
`
`tape directory for a non-random access storage such as
`
`a video tape. No matter where the directory is stored
`
`on the tape,
`
`the latent access time to locate the
`
`directory and return to current position (for a standard
`
`six hour tape) is excruciating, slow, in the order of 6
`to 10 minutes.
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`If redundant directories are recorded uniformly
`
`across the tape to minimize latency time,
`
`the problem
`
`of sluggishness is merely shifted from playback to
`
`updating the multiple directories. After each video
`
`program is recorded, the entire tape must be scanned to
`
`update each directory. Even if this update process is
`
`automated, there is a question of excessive wear on tapes
`
`and the VCR itself. Viz: each recording, no matter how
`
`short, results in high-speed scanning of the entire tape
`
`in order to revise all directories.
`
`Even more troubling_ is the question of when to
`
`perform the update, since there is no "safe"